A deadly blob of oil and gunk edges ever closer to a delicate shoreline with each passing wave.  Fear not, Hollywood celebrities will save the day.

The boundary between entertainment and reality is growing more clouded every day.  Because of their respective expertise with complex aquatic equipment, James Cameron and Kevin Costner have stepped forward as potential heroes to resolve the BP oil spill disaster.  I guess most have forgotten what a flop "Waterworld" was at the box office.

However since the films for which these celebrities are best known, "Avatar" and "Dances With Wolves", are quite distinct in regards to the worldviews through which they hope to persuade audiences, can these personalities be trusted to assist in the preservation of our technologically dependent civilization or will they manipulate the crisis to impose cultural primitivism upon broad swaths of humanity?

Running around half-naked riding psychedelically-colored dinosaurs might look fun during an innovative three hour fantasy.  But if it was real, after awhile one would realize that it’s not as glamorous as it looks up on the big screen with no Preparation H in sight for the relief of the chaffed hemorrhoidal tissues that would no doubt result.

by Frederick Meekins

To most Americans, environmentalism is perceived as a benevolent cultural force charged with preserving the earth's endangered natural treasures and resources.  After all, who could possibly oppose freshwater, clean air, and efforts to save fury creatures. Yet few realize there is also a dark underbelly to the growing body of thought that motivates this enthusiastic social movement, causing it to often stand in opposition to fundamental Christian assumptions regarding God, man, and the relation of each to the broader Creation.  These faulty assumptions in turn end up posing a major threat to both the liberties we enjoy as Americans and the standard of living possessed by industrialized nations resulting from technological advancement.

There is more to radical brands of environmental ethics --- also know as "Deep Ecology" --- than the perennial dilemma between paper or plastic.  To a number of the movement's followers, such rigorous devotion to nature serves the function of a comprehensive worldview.  This perspective molds understandings of theology, anthropology, and forms of cultural engagement.

Fundamental, therefore, becomes this outlook's interpretation of ultimate reality.  In one sense, Deep Ecology can be seen as an eclectic philosophical movement finding its well of inspiration from the confluence of several streams of thought. 

Sociology Professor Bill Devall, who helped coin the movement's name, is quoted in "Green Rage: Radical Environmentalism & The Unmaking Of Civilization" by Christopher Manes as saying, "We are arguing that you can start from Buddhism, you can start from Darwinism, you can work your way from Native American tradition and work your way to a Deep Ecology position....(140)."  What draws these disparate starting points together is the common assumption of interconnectedness where all components of the environment are dependent upon one another and comprise a totality greater than themselves known as the ecosphere.

The systemic interconnectedness promoted by Deep Ecology exhibits considerable similarity to the religious concept of pantheism, the idea that the sum of the universe constitutes God itself.  This no doubt accounts for the considerable crossover between the ranks of the New Age and radical environmentalist movements. 

Deep Ecology's affinity towards pantheistic spirituality bears much of the responsibility for the hostility that has developed between orthodox Christian belief and the more exacting brands of environmentalist thought.  Though adherents are somewhat mistaken as to the philosophical justification for the ecological degradation found in the world, dedicated environmentalists are astute in recognizing the divergences between these competing conceptions of morality.

On the one hand,  Deep Ecology perceives the world and its contents as a singular undifferentiated reality.  Christianity, on the other hand, acknowledges the shared attributes of the created order while recognizing separate points and shades of ontological valuation along the continuum of being.  In the essay "The Historical Roots Of Our Ecological Crisis", Lynn White, Jr. argues that Christianity's distinction between man and nature serves as the root excuse justifying the despoilment of the planet's ecology.  While White's hypothesis may be a bit fanciful in its interpretation, his contention does highlight the stark contrast in the epistemological frameworks presented by each of these systems.

Deep Ecology descends from its pinnacle of philosophical monism to address the matters of existence in the world through the vehicle of ecocentrism, the ethical position that everything in nature possesses the same degree of intrinsic worth.  Rik Scarce writes in Eco-Warriors: Understanding The Radical Environmental Movement, "Deep Ecologists argue that human-centered , or 'anthropocentric' worldviews grant people a privileged status... Ecology teaches that no individual or species warrants such a special status.  For ethical purposes ecocentrism places humans on par with trees, blades of grass, mountain lions, and roaches (36)." 

Such thinking ought to send chills down the spines of rational people everywhere.  It also no doubt explains the reluctance of local governments to spray for burgeoning mosquito populations despite the increasing threat posed by the potentially deadly West Nile virus.  We certainly wouldn't want to harm those darling mosquitoes.

It is through ecocentrism that the abstractions of environmental philosophy begin to take concrete shape in the form of policies and political positions.  Deep Ecology's social outlook is centered around bioregionalism, a form of socio-political organization whereby boundaries of a territory are delineated according to an area's ecological characteristics (Scare, 38).   This is done in the hopes of bringing about the advent of a new revolutionary society.

The purpose of bioregionalism is to establish sustainable communities integrated wholly into the ecosystem in an attempt to halt the expanse of industrial society.  Christopher Manes points out in Green Rage: Radical Environmentalism & The Unmaking Of Civilization that thinkers such as Heidegger and Marcuse claim that attempts by technology to totalize all aspects of existence ultimately cut the individual off from the fabric of the universe (226). 

While such rhetoric may make one want to belt out Coca-Cola jingles atop a lush mountain, these words mean much more than planting a garden or ordering cloths from the L.L. Bean catalogue.  And even though there are slightly different paths to the same goal, all of them seek to drastically alter the cultural foundations upon which Western civilization rests.

The first trail to ecotopia winds its way through the dark grove of anarchism.  A number of Deep Ecologists think of the ideal form of political organization in terms of Ghandi's adage that "The ideally nonviolent state will be ordered anarchy (Scarce, 38)."  Movement leader Dave Foreman endeavors to downplay anarchism's shady connotations by clarifying, "I consider myself a tribalist, not an anarchist (Scare, 38)."

Foreman claims that such social arrangements provide considerable individual freedom within the context of an ethical and cultural framework.  But as we shall see, neither Foreman nor those following in his path have done much to dispel the perception of anarchy as a justification for violence or done much to promote traditional conceptions of freedom.

The archetype upon which most subsequent activism has been modeled is no doubt Earth First!.  Earth First! was established by a group of environmentally conscientious acquaintances led by Dave Foreman, a former staff member of the Washington, DC office of the Wilderness Society who grew disenchanted with the increasingly establishmentarian postures of the more prominent environmental groups.  For whereas organizations such as the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society were marked by their efforts to work within the American political system to achieve some degree of environmental compromise, organizations and activists following in the Earth First! mold would be characterized by a more confrontational and direct course of action.


The tactics pursued by groups such as Earth First! are known as environmental terrorism or ecotage.  These acts are also referred to as "monkey wrenching" in honor of the inspiration for them drawn from the novel "The Monkey Wrench Gang" by Edward Abbey published in 1975.

In the novel, the protagonists set out to save the environment from developers by engaging in acts of vandalism against the implements of ecological degradation.  The characters accomplish their mission by burning billboards, driving bulldozers over cliffs, blowing up railroad tracks, and by pulling up survey stakes (Scarce, 240).

Such fiction would inspire more practical treatments of the subject that would translate these ideas from the realm of literature to the world of action.  Foremost among such treatises ranks “Ecodefense: A Handbook On The Militant Defense Of The Earth” by none other than Earth First!’s own Dave Foreman.

Modeled after but perhaps a bit more subdued than the infamous terrorism manual “The Anarchist’s Cookbook“, “Ecodefense” provides the aspiring eco-saboteur with helpful hints on how to destroy construction equipment, how to pull up power and seismographic lines, how to make smoke bombs, and how to elude detection by authorities (Manes, 82).  This manifesto would inspire numerous acts of defiance, the best known form being tree spiking which consisted of driving large nails into trees in the hopes of destroying any saw bent on defacing the woody masterpieces of the forest.

Earth First! was most active during the mid 1980's.  Dave Foreman has since moved back to "mainstream" environmental activities as he now campaigns to reintroduce wolves into the wilds of the eastern United States.  Apart from the serious danger of saw blades ricocheting off an implanted spike, most of the antics perpetrated by these groups promoting an anti-civilization/back to nature mentality at that time were more examples of silliness than actual security risks.

For instance, in December 1989 a faction of Earth First! calling itself the "Gross Action Group" staged a "puke-in" at a Seattle shopping mall in the hopes that self-induced acts of regurgitation would persuade Christmas shoppers as to the putrid nature of their consumerist ways (Scarce, 89).  Despite the seeming silliness, the Heritage Foundation in its 1990 report "Eco-Terrorism: The Dangerous Fringe Of The Environmental Movement" warned, "...radical environmentalists' extremist philosophy is leading to a guerilla movement that is destroying property...and one day will kill innocent workers or park employees (Scarce, 265)."

In a sense, Earth First! was undone by its own success in promoting its rigorous environmental crusade as its own brand of radical activism would become overshadowed by an even more intensive form of interventionism.  Capitalizing upon innovations in communications technology such as the Internet, Mother Nature's avant-garde enjoys a degree of technological sophistication and aptitude for mobilization that early Earth First! could have never hoped to possess.  These advantages make such a network of like-minded fanatics an even greater threat to both the public's safety as well as the nation's way of life.

Walter Laqueur writes in The Age Of Terrorism, "If terrorism is propaganda by deed, the success of a terrorist campaign depends decisively on the amount of publicity it receives (121)."    It is precisely this opportunity for increased visibility that has spurred radical environmentalism onwards to greater and greater levels of destructive mayhem.

One such group making the most of increasing levels of technological sophistication is the Earth Liberation Front.  With the proliferation of the Internet, such groups have become increasingly difficult to track.

The Special Agent In Charge of the FBI's Seattle Field Office told that city's Post Intelligencer in an article titled "Elusive Radicals Escalate Attacks In Nature's Name" published 6/18/2001, "We don't have an organizational structure to attack --- no finances, no membership lists, no meetings."  In other words, the leaders of these cells enjoy the anonymity provided by cyberspace while issuing directives and encouragement via webpages to decentralized vigilantes acting alone of their own accord as they carry out such deeds. 

Such mischief has included the smashing of sports utility vehicles, the torching of houses under construction, and the theft of laboratory animals.  Others preferring street theater to guerilla raids use the same technologies to disseminate their ideas via email, message boards, and webzines summoning unscrubbed revelers to mass demonstrations where the zealous besiege and destroy any symbol of global consumer culture befalling their path as evidenced at noted rallies in Seattle, Quebec, and Genoa.

Having abandoned a Biblical understanding as to the nature of the universe and man's relation to it in favor of a more pantheistic model, radical environmentalist policies are fraught with a number of inconsistencies harboring serious social implications.  The first glaring hypocrisy that no doubt leaps out at even the most casual observer of current events is how a movement claiming to be dedicated to the integrity of all forms of life and the principles of nonviolence and so willfully engage in such blatant acts of sabotage.

Unencumbered by Biblical injunctions upholding the propriety of the individualized ownership of resources, covert ecoteurs and raucous protestors alike do not view their acts of mischief as violence but rather as minor acts of vandalism.  This is because such deeds are directed at inanimate technological objects or structures of economic development rather than at manifestations of the natural world such as life forms and landscapes.

Yet that does not mean residents of the industrialized world can breathe a sigh of relief that these campaigns have reached the pinnacle of their destructive onslaught.  One of the movement's operatives subdued by authorities warnedin the Seattle Post Intelligencer warned that, if the federal government were ever to carry through on plans to increase the role of nuclear power in America's energy policy, the stakes would be so high that it would not be out of the question for activists to target the homes of nuclear executives or even the executives themselves.  The American people, however, should not think of themselves or their possessions as beyond the scope of this disruptive brand of political participation.

Many of the most radical environmentalists, and thus the most likely to act, long for a day when society will no longer be dependent upon modern technology.  Such a goal seems at present unattainable as gadgets, gears, and gizmos seem to proliferate at every turn.

But according to the September 2001 issue of Popular Mechanics, there is a new device on the horizon called an “e-bomb” that could make these utopian aspirations a reality.  The e-bomb would emit an electromagnetic pulse with the potential to destroy nearly every computer, electrical appliance, and motor in the civilized world without technically taking a single life in the attack itself.  Casualties would no doubt mount afterwards, but environmental terrorists would dance around this by pinning that blame on the victims themselves for losing touch with the land and growing too dependent on mechanical conveniences.

Such a scenario is no doubt already being mulled over in the minds of those who craft the popular imagination.   This very development served as part of the back story for the sci-fi drama “Dark Angel” set amidst an America struggling to rebuild after just such an ambush by ardent technophobes.

Chaos and mayhem are not the only dangers posed by those caught in Deep Ecology’s web.  Despite the movement’s tendency seemingly towards anarchy, it also displays a frightening streak towards authoritarian elitism.

For example, while often claiming to represent the interests of the so-called “indigenous peoples” of the world, these activists would think nothing of preempting the rights of self-determination these natives should enjoy as human beings.  Science correspondent Ronald Bailey points out in the July 2001 issue of Reason Magazine in the article “Rage Against The Machines: Witnessing The Birth Of The Neo-Luddite Movement” that certain green intellectuals propose that traditional tribal cultures be prevented from acquiring the technologies that would disrupt their established ways of life.

Often this complaint has little to do with the well-being of the rainforest;  one author thought it was just terrible that one ethnic group in India no longer sat around the campfire singing songs but now instead listens to the radio.  Bailey points out that one particular article on the website Primitivism.com questioned whether or not mass ownership of computers should even be permitted, the use of such devices no doubt restricted to those agreeing with the editorial slant of that particular website.

A number of Deep Ecologists --- despite all of their hemming and hawing against the inequities perpetrated by globalist institutuons --- do not themselves believe in inalienable rights or some form of constitutional representative democracy as given absolutes.  Kirkpatrick Sale writes in Mother Of All, “Bioregional diversity....does not mean every region...will build upon the values of democracy, equality, liberty, freedom, justice or other suchlike desiderata.”  Such a statement leaves the room for numerous human rights abuses perpetrated by a cadre of Platonic philosopher-kings operating on behalf of the environment.

Those taking solace in the fact that the rulers of such an ecotopia will suffer along with us in this Spartan existence devoid of automobiles, air conditioning, and microwave ovens are in for a rude awakening.  For the leaders of such a regime will likely continue to enjoy a reasonably luxurious existence.  Responding to comments made by Barbara Streisand on her webpage that Californians ought to turn off their lights and hang their laundry on a clothesline to conserve energy, columnist Dave Berry in a July 8, 2001 Miami Herald column titled "California Should Conserve On Car Chases" remarked how uplifting it is to be lectured to by someone whose residence consumes more electricity than many Third World countries and questioned if Streisand even did her own laundry.

These hypocritical conservation tips are not the only example of environmentalism run amok that the rich and famous would impose upon the remainder of society in earth's holy name.  This threat is epitomized by a trend referred to as the "slow food movement". 

The slow food movement seeks to replace agriculturally intensive but economic foods with higher-quality, less-efficient traditional varieties utilizing organic methods.  While the elite whould be free to procure whatever delicacy titillates their palates or assuages their consciences, what are the rest of us going to eat when decreased food supplies and more labor-intensive production techniques result in astronomical prices?

Addressing the reluctance of Christians to tackle this delicate area of scientific and social inquiry, in Moral Dilemmas: Biblical Perspectives On Contemporary Ethical Issues, Kerby Anderson writes, “Christians fear the prevailing pantheistic influence on the environmental movement.  But New Age influence ... may be due to the...withdrawal of Christians from this arena.  When Christianity did not fill this void, pantheism and other wordlviews filled it instead (195).”  The result has been absolute ethical confusion and the inversion of the moral pyramid.

Peter Huber notes in "Hard Green: Saving The Environment From The Environmentalists” that certain environmentalists consider Unabomber Ted Kacyznski a more pristine example of the moral ideal they are crusading for than even environmental theoretician Al Gore since, unlike the former Vice President, this homicidal hermit lived in a rundown shack and fathered no children.  Never mind the fact that Kacyznski maimed and killed fellow human beings with makeshift pyrotechnics.

It would seem these warped sensibilities are gaining a more widespread acceptance throughout Western culture.  Kacyznski's own rambling tractate, published by the Washington Post and New York Times under duress of further bombings, is now assigned at Harvard not as part of a course on criminal psychology or the ideological motivations behind acts of terrorism but as part of a literature course exploring more accomplished intellects.  Amidst such bewilderment, Christians must step forward to provide a degree of balance acknowledging the need to preserve God's handiwork as well as our right to enjoy it now not as slaves but rather as its free stewards.

by Frederick Meekins

According to Brian McLaren in an episode of his podcast regarding creation care posted at EmergentVillage.com, God is not all that pleased with us living in square boxes. I'd like to know what other shape we are suppose to use to get roofs over our heads. No matter how large that religious circus tent of McLaren's in Burtonsville, Maryland might be, it is still basically in the form of some kind of box. Much of the purpose of the Emergent Church is to deride so-called "middle class values" and to undermine America's traditional Judeo-Christian culture (or in other words, minding your own business and providing for oneself as empowered by God). Perhaps someone ought to point out that McLaren's understanding of nature reeks of the bourgeoisie naivety he and his leftist cohorts spend so much of their time criticizing. To McLaren, nature consists of the beauty of this annual sunflower and the run off pond he stocks with fish that he mentions in the podcast. Both of these acts, by the way, go against nature left in a pristine state since the sunflower mentioned is deliberately planted by a human being and the fish are not going to slither by themselves into what sounds like a landlocked pond. If it were not for the contrived boxes McLaren seems to loathe and the technology making such comfort possible, I doubt he would find nature to be all that amicable as he would otherwise be subjected to extremes of heat and cold that would make life unbearable and likely even unlivable. by Frederick Meekins

The presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Katherine Schori came to a Maryland suburb outside of Washington, DC to bless the denomination's increasing Hispanic numbers.

Are similar plans being made to brownnose the remaining Caucasian members as well?

The racial pandering was justified on the grounds that Episcopalian membership is increasing only in its immigrant congregations.

However, once these also have their resistance worn down and brainwashed into accepting the ecclesiological pathologies plaguing the Modernistic branches of the Anglican communion such as the widespread acceptance of homosexuality, the overall emasculation of the faith through the introduction of less than feminine leftist female clergy, and the outright denial of foundational Christian doctrines such as the Resurrection and even the existence of God, it won't be long until attendance at these now vibrant parishes begins to collapse as well.

by Frederick Meekins

Another Obama Administration official, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, has admitted to not reading the Arizona immigration law.

When this confession is coupled with the revelation that members of Congress failed to read the healthcare bill despite that legislation's potential to revolutionize nearly all of America's economic and political system, it makes the concerned citizen cringe.

Many of the regulations being imposed upon the people of the United States in terms of tyrannical policies may not even be known about before it is too late.

But even more importantly, the actions taken by government officials wallowing in their own ignorance on any wide array of political and legal matters might not even be authorized by any properly promulgated law if this failure to read actual statutes is as widespread as we are now being led to believe.

by Frederick Meekins

The Council Of The Religious Leaders Of Metropolitan Chicago have released a statement condemning the Arizona immigration law.   Given that Chicago is perennially going to hell in a handbasket because of its high crime rate and the legendary corruption of the city’s municipal authorities, you'd think these clergymen would be too busy to comment on affairs taking place halfway across the country.   Perhaps conservative pastors in Arizona with virtually no connections to Chicago whatsoever should hand down as a group their own lengthy proclamation as to what they perceive as to the shortcomings of Obama's adopted hometown.

A fuss is being made over the abandoned boyhood home of Mitt Romney being torn down. Any other time the power of government to snatch homes from people is heralded as a wonderful sign of progress and anyone thinking otherwise had better remain silent or they will be labeled as one of those "Tea Party Terrorists".

When questioned by a member of Congress, Attorney General Eric Holder was unable to admit that radical Islam is responsible for the vast majority of terrorist attacks upon the United States.  Can you imagine in the 1940's what a mess this country would be in if its highest officials were unable to even enunciate how we were at war with Germany or Japan?  I bet these Obamaphiles have no problem about saying things against White folks, Christianity, and the Tea Party movement.

If George Bush is to be derided as an intellectual lightweight because of his rumored aversion to dense lengthy tomes, isn't Eric Holder even more of a mental nit for failing to read the Arizona immigration law despite proceeding to make pronouncements on it in an almost ex-cathedra fashion as America’s highest practicing barrister?

Contrary to Pope Pelosi, the Gospel is about Jesus as the only Begotten Son Of God dieing for our sins and rising from the dead so that we might have eternal life in Heaven.  It says very little about immigration and more about complying with the law through the doctrine of rendering to Caesar.

The United Nations is plotting to impose an Internet tax in the name of providing health services to poor countries. However, why should average Americans be punished because jungle savages can't keep their pants on (or perhaps rather leaves) and keep having kids they obviously can't afford to provide for?

CBS laments how the Times Square bomber didn't get to experience the American dream. Just think of how many American dreams would not have been realized if this piece of human debris had been successful.

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagin opposes the military, Christianity, the unborn, traditional marriage, and free speech.  Thus, any Republican that votes in the affirmative for her opposes these things also.  If Orin Hatch votes to confirm Kagin to the Supreme Court, he is as much an enemy of the Constitution as Obama and Kagin.

If student mobs today are permitted to foist Mexican flags over American schools, it won't be long until Chinese armies will be raising their banner over all of the United States.

Isn't the Texas lad that removed the Mexican flag in an illegal position of superiority over Old Glory just as much a patriot as Rosa Parks or Barbara Fritchie?

Barack Obama's illegal alien aunt is to remain in America, likely as a welfare mooch.  An immigration court has granted her asylum despite her refusal to comply with a 2004 deportation order.  Like her more famous nephew, she has resided in public housing.  Since she is disabled by Guillain-Barre syndrome it is unlikely she is able to provide for herself and no doubt receives more government benefits than actual Americans who have been denied them despite paying into the system their entire working lives.

It has been hypothesized that a liberal is a conservative that hasn’t been mugged yet.  Confirmation of the conjecture is now available in the form of a Supreme Court ruling that finds it violates constitutional provisions regarding cruel and unusual punishment to hand down a life sentence to a minor for offences other than homicide.  Obviously, the majority of the justices have not been victimized by out of control hellions.  But then again, I guess there are not too many interested in running their fingers through Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s lingerie drawer.

Liberals only like blonds if they are quiet, pliant arm candy.  Miss Oklahoma was booed when she gave the "incorrect" answer to a question as to what she thought of the Arizona immigration law.  As a result,  Miss Michigan won the pageant.  The winner herself is an immigrant of Lebanese Islamic origins whose kin are no doubt proud she has achieved notoriety for acting like a Western harlot as she previously won accolades for her acumen with the stripper pole.

by Frederick Meekins

When pondering the evils of Nazism and Adolf Hitler, one's mind reflexively turns to the horrors of the Second World War and the Holocaust because of the overwhelming loss of life surrounding these historical events.  However, coming in high on the list of the Third Reich's atrocities was its use of state power to undermine the most basic of human rights and the subordination of all other social institutions to the prerogatives of the Party.  In “Life In The Hitler Youth” by Jennifer Keeley, the reader learns of the Nazi subversion of the family and realizes the disturbing parallels that can be drawn with developments unfolding in our own nation.

According to Keeley, all of German life (including the minutest detail of one's personal life) was brought under Nazi control through the policy of Gleichschaltung or coordination so that all of society and culture reflected National Socialism (9).  As such, the 1936 Law Concerning The Hitler Youth decreed that all of German youth were to be incorporated under the banner of this organization.

Most Americans would probably marvel how all these things unfolded in Germany and take comfort thinking the same sort of thing could not happen in the United States.  However, then reading “Life In The Hitler Youth”, one comes away with an uneasiness in the pit of the stomach when one realizes the similarities of the philosophies justifying a number of the programs in Nazi Germany and the United States of America.

Many will be outraged by such a statement.  And though the United States is nothing like Nazi Germany in terms of destroying innocent human lives (at least in regards of those making it out of the womb without being hacked to pieces), if Americans do not now get a hold of certain ideological trends festering below the surface of public policy, the nation could very easily find it self sliding in this kind of downward direction.

In both the Nazi and secular progressiveist systems, it is not so much the individual created in the image of God protected by a set of unchanging eternal laws that matters but rather the larger group that counts.  For as much as the word “community” is used in “Life In The Hitler Youth”, one could end up thinking one was reading the press releases of the national service proposals of either the Democratic or Republican parties.  For example, the 1936 Law Concerning The Hitler Youth read in part,  "The whole of German youth is to be educated, outside the parental home and school, in the Hitler Youth physically, intellectually, and morally in the spirit of National Socialism for service to the nation and community (16).”

Often, justification for the Hitler Youth was couched in language that would not be al that foreign to our own ears.  As evidenced in one of Hitler’s speeches: “learn...that life for you must mean sacrifice, sacrifice of your personal freedom, sacrifice of your free time, sacrifice of many of the small pleasures of life; sacrifices when you take on yourself charges, not for the individual, not for yourself alone...but for your small, and yet so great community (39).”  Ladies and gentleman, have we not heard as of late the word “sacrifice” on the lips of another aspiring demagogue that has irrationally mesmerized the dupable masses?

Sophisticates will groan that Hitler Youth programs were compulsory while Obama’s are voluntary (at least for now anyway).  Eventually, it was indeed compulsory to join the Hitler Youth; however, the communalist rhetoric justifying such is worthy of Amitai Etzioni.

In much the same way the national service proposals brought before Congress and the American people claim to be voluntary, some of the service required of German youth was not explicitly obligatory but mandated anyway.  Keeley writes,
“To teach Hitler Youth the importance of their Volk community, the National Socialists suggested members participate in a form of land service.  Although not obligated to do so by any mandate or decree, every year young people ... were expected to help the Volk community...This was designed to teach young people about putting the needs of the community before their own (40).”

The objective of such programs --- be they either in a dictatorship or even in a representative democracy --- is ultimately to undermine the loyalty of its participants in regards to other authorities such as family or religion and to replace it with an absolute fealty to the organs of the state.  In pursuit of this goal, a number of policies were implemented to get the young away from what would likely have been moderating and counterbalancing influences.

Though always of maniacal intentions, the first phase of this program was seemingly innocuous enough as it consisted of scheduling so many activities and meetings that the good Nazi family had to take part in that they were basically kept running around, away from one another, and unable to reflect more critically about what they were being lured into.  This wasn't really all that much different than what is going on in many of these Emergent and Purpose Driven megachurches these days where activities and meetings are scheduled multiple nights per week and it is insinuated you are less than an ideal Christian if you only show up for the traditional scheduled Sunday and perhaps Wednesday services.

Those running afoul of National Socialist authorities underwent a process of scrutiny by the social service agencies of that day in a manner those under suspicions other than quantifiable physical abuse in our own time could relate to.  Parents refusing to go along with the Hitler Youth agenda could have their children taken away on the grounds of being “politically unreliable” (the old term for politically incorrect).  One might say such parents failed to have their children “properly socialized”, a term often invoked by those opposing home and private forms of education.

Common to all forms of socialism --- be they the Communist, Fascistic, or even more democratic and less blatantly homicidal varieties  --- is the aspiration to so totally order the existences of those living under these systems that the state comes to take the place once reserved for God in the hearts of the people.  Unlike Communism that was blatantly atheistic early on, the Nazis were a bit more sly in their manipulations to get Germans to unseat the Lord as the supreme authority in their hearts.

Keeley writes, “Finally, the Nazis attempted to replace Christianity with National Socialist ideology in the lives of youth.  Some National Socialists expressed discontent with the so-called Jewish roots of Christianity...The Nazis began to remove symbols, such as the cross, from schools (57).”  Sounds like a move straight out of the ACLU playbook.

 An example of the extent to which the Nazis would go to accomplish this objective was epitomized by a prayer children were required to recite in order to receive a free school lunch (a form of welfare also prominent in our public schools today): “Fuehrer, my Fuehrer, bequeathed to me by the Lord, protect and preserve me as long as I live.  Thou hast rescued Germany from deepest distress.  I thank thee for my daily bread.  Abideth thou long with me, forsaketh me not, Fuehrer my Fuehrer, my faith and my light.  Heil mein Fuehrer (58).”

With President Obama regularly refusing to speak with the name of and images pertaining to Christ in the background in a manner similar to the way a vampire cringes before a cross and with Youtube videos of songs such as “Sanctuary” being applied to him that should only be applied to Jesus, it is only a few short steps until the word “Fuehrer” is replaced with “Barack” in that blasphemous invocation.

From her work as an historian in this particular publication, one cannot decipher the politics of Jennifer Keeley regarding the election and administration of Barack Obama.  However, if allowed to speak for themselves, the facts and truths of history as chronicled in “Life In The Hitler Youth” serve as a warning no freedom loving American can afford to ignore.

by Frederick Meekins

Totalitarianism is defined as a political system where the state attempts to govern every aspect of public and private life.

Obama has favorably endorsed the linguistic alteration to the uniforms of the Phoenix Suns (and why didn't he go out of his way to mention what city the Spurs were from as well).

Is there any doubt that the level described above is the extent to which the President desires to intervene in our lives?

One would think that the country is so screwed up right now that Obama wouldn't have time to assume the role of the nation's chief fashion critic.

by Frederick Meekins

The Obama White House has more respect for the homicidal enemies of the United States than it does for the average American citizen.  For while Obama operatives at one point set up an email account to gather intelligence on those critical of healthcare legislation and categorized those questioning the need for end of life counseling as astroturf protestors, it has been announced that America is no longer at war with terrorism or even jihadists for that matter.  

Instead of blowing this human scum into Sheol, the administration plans to increase aide to foreign governments that will no doubt come back to be used against Americans.  There is nothing quite like having the best enemy that money can buy.

Despite their shortcomings, one must acknowledge that America's enemies do not respect weakness.  However, that is exactly what the nation is projecting.

Changing what is said about the situation is not going to change the situation.  Nor is it going to change what the enemies of the United States think about the United States or their intentions towards Americans.

Interestingly, instead of mustering the intellectual wherewithal to rise to the challenges to our freedom and very existence, leaders throughout various institutions are going out of their way to cater to Islamist preferences and shackle Western perceptions.

Many policy eggheads are attempting to either outthink the issue or to paint themselves with a veneer of psuedosophistication by sneering down their noses that we cannot refer to these malcontents as jihadists either since that is a legitimate religious term meaning "to purify oneself or to wage a holy struggle for a moral good."    read more »

The electric company is trying to hoodwink customers into signing up for web-programmable thermostats. But if you can set your temperature over the Internet, what is to prevent it from being set by a party other than the homeowner? On the advertisement it reads that the web-programmable thermostat will be used to "cycle off air conditioners during peek hours". Control to this extent is the ultimate goal of the so-called "smart grid" advocated by Obama. However, you will no doubt be the one left perspiring in the summer heat even though the Obama hag is the one that insists upon going around sleeveless. by Frederick Meekins