Observations From the Back Row

By Rich Kozlovich

It isn't always possible, but I try to have a theme for my "Observations" posts. Today it was easy!  My theme is "Welcome to Oceania"!

It has been years since I read George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, and I have repeatedly asked if everyone else has.  Oceania is where "newspeak" was the official language and non-consensus thinking is considered a thought crime, where the ruling doctrine is Ingsoc, the newspeak term for English Socialism, "I don't think the vast majority of people have read either one of these books, in spite of the fact that what he wrote about is being played out right now. More subtly perhaps --but nonetheless --it is happening.

The Orwellian American Left
As I heard Barack Obama and his propaganda minister, Jay Carney, endorsing tax cuts as a vehicle for economic growth, I was reminded, again, of George Orwell's "1984" and the striking similarities between his Oceania and the American left's vision for America.
Oceania's Big Brother regime had "four Ministries between which the entire apparatus of government was divided," the Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love and the Ministry of Plenty. Each department was dedicated to the opposite principle suggested by its title. "Truth" disseminated lies. "Peace" promoted war. "Love" enforced uniformity of thought. And "Plenty" manipulated the economy to impoverish the people while enriching the ruling class. God was expelled and absolute truth abolished, while "doublespeak" was promoted...

Some things Obama left out of his speech
In 2007, then-Sen. Barack Obama insisted that the coming presidential primary and general election campaigns "shouldn't be about making each other look bad, they should be about figuring out how we can all do some good for this precious country of ours. That's our mission." "And in this mission," he continued, "our rivals won't be one another, and I would assert it won't even be the other party. It's going to be cynicism that we're fighting against." I guess I missed the moment when Obama hung his "Mission Accomplished" banner. Because from where I'm sitting, it looks more like the president not only lost his battle against cynicism, he defected to the other side.

USPS' Cost-Cutting Plan Shows Need for Privatization
The Postal Service has announced how it plans to fight increased competition for First Class mail — by providing worse service. If the USPS doesn't want to deliver the mail, Congress should let others give it a try…….On the one hand, it's weighed down by unions that control 85% of its workforce, impeding reasonable efficiency improvements. Example: In just the first six months of this year, the Postal Service spent $4.3 million paying postal workers to do literally nothing, thanks to labor agreements that require the service to keep workers on the payroll even when mail volume is low or machinery breaks down.......A Cato Institute report finds the consistent result abroad has been improved productivity and lower costs, without a decline in quality. Selling anything less than privatization as the solution to the Postal Service's problems would constitute mail fraud.

Top 10 Inconvenient Truths about Global Warming
Global warming alarmists are getting a chilly reception these days as the public is starting to catch on to something that we have been yelling about for years: The whole thing is a scam. And here are the reasons why: The Top 10 Inconvenient Truths about Global Warming.

1. Climategate, Part 2:
2. Evidence of natural causes:
3. Skeptical scientists:
4. Flat temperatures:
5. False predictions:
6. Ground station scandal: .
7. Economic impact:
8. Benefits of warmth:
9. Public support drops:
10. Hypocrisy:

Crusade for Fewer People on the Earth Seeks Volunteers
On Oct. 31, the United Nations announced the birth of Planet Earth’s 7 billionth human. Later that day, the United Nations admitted that “no one can know the exact number of people on the globe,” noting that perhaps the 7 billionth human might be born sometime during the next four months. …... 73 members of the U.S. Congress…..signed a letter on Dec. 10, 2009, urging the White House to spend $1 billion on “slowing the [human] population’s rapid growth”…..“one in four Britons…..would like to see the [human] population reduced by up to a third.” ……. If you are a human who believes that there should be fewer human beings on Planet Earth: Fine, you go first.

Pearl Harbor Was FDR’s Back Door to War
Given that today is the anniversary date of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, we’ll no doubt be treated to standard interventionist articles stating what a great thing World War II was…… What a sick and deadly joke that turned out to be. Only 15 years later, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis had assumed power in Germany, and within only a few more years, World War II had broken out. And guess what the major factor was in the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. You guessed it: U.S. intervention in World War I, which led to the total defeat of Germany, rather than a negotiated peace, followed by the vindictive Treaty of Versailles……The American people were overwhelmingly opposed to entry into World War II. That’s not surprising given the consequences of World War I. There was absolutely no reason for the United States to intervene in that war. …… There was one big problem, however: Roosevelt was lying — knowingly, deliberately, and intentionally lying. In actuality, he had every intention of sending America’s boys into foreign wars. He just had to figure out a way to do so.

Hillary to U.N.: No religion trumps 'gay' rights
Says biblical objections to homosexuality like 'justification for honor killings' - In a speech designed to convince the world that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said religious objections to homosexuality should not stand in the way of vigorous United Nations action to promote the homosexual rights agenda......Wilson cited her comments as one of several examples that has convinced some observers the Obama administration is waging a “war on religion.”

4th-graders brainwashed with Occupy 'propaganda'
Student's dad complains to Scholastic News publisher - A Connecticut dad has accused an industry giant in education, Scholastic, of delivering Occupy Wall Street propaganda to his 4th grade daughter in her school classroom. The company's response? "We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with us and I made sure that staff in our corporate headquarters will see your comments. Again, thank you. We truly appreciate your support of Scholastic Book Clubs." The father, Edward, whose last name is being withheld so his daughter is not identified, told WND it was the standard, "We don't care about your opinion" response that he expected…… But he said he grew up in the old Soviet Union, and recalls when an official media there would print the "news," from only one perspective. "When I see something like this it just boggles my mind," he said.


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