(Or, an easier-to-read, more complete account with live links, is here)

AUTHENTIC MORALITY

GENUINE FAMILY VALUES

A FREE COUNTRY? (or, Why we Need Church/State Separation)

...On the Bush family front, it surfaced briefly in the media on October 17, 2003 about the president's grandfather getting busted by Congress on October 20, 1942, for his decade of money-laundering for Hitler. Prescott Bush and his Union Banking Corporation partners were gung-ho for Adolf! They outright admired the concepts of Master Race and corporate control of society, and they frankly hoped this elitist/traitorous agenda would then spread to America.

No less than the US Ambassador to Germany acknowledged this in 1937. In William E. Dodd's memoirs, he recalled his alarm:

"A clique of US industrialists is hell-bent to bring a fascist state to supplant our democratic government and is working closely with the fascist regime in Germany and Italy. I have had plenty of opportunity in my post in Berlin to witness how close some of our American ruling families are to the Nazi regime. They extended aid to help Fascism occupy the seat of power, and they are helping to keep it there."

Well, Prescott Bush's assets were seized and the operation was shut down, just as our boys were sent over to Europe to fight Hitler and die. But the Bush Gang agenda never went away, it only went underground...

WE HAVE ALL BEEN DEEPLY DECEIVED

by Connie Cook Smith

I remember childhood friends teasing me for reading World Books on the front porch on summer days -- sometimes actually AFTER my chores were done! I seriously wanted to understand how our world works, so I read everything I could get my hands on.

I'm almost sorry now I kept on investigating. I regret to report that the enormous progress humanity is capable of -- progress that would eliminate war, disease, poverty -- such progress has actually been blocked by men and women who take perverse pleasure in winning while making the rest of humanity lose.

It has happened in my own life -- the shock of someone I loved being a phony, cheerfully lying to my face while operating against me behind my back. But overall, people I personally know act with honesty and good will.

But that's why it may be so hard for good people all over this nation, to believe what's been going on. For example, think of all the folks in Wichita who just learned that the man with whom they shared church suppers for 30 years has been, behind the scenes, a torturer and murderer whose perverse pleasure was dominating other human beings unto death.

Well, the disturbing facts I've learned over my years of non-stop research is that a number of American leaders we have trusted -- for 30 years and more -- have also taken perverse pleasure in presenting themselves as admirable citizens. Yet behind the scenes, they are gleefully and profitably operating against us all, even undermining the foundations of the United States.

Do you know there are over 14 lawsuits against Donald Rumsfeld -- and not just for war crimes in Iraq? In the 1970's, he was CEO of Searle, the manufacturer of aspartame artificial sweetener. But studies revealed that aspartame converts to wood alcohol in the body and aggravates the symptoms of every disease known to man.

Congress was about to go after Rumsfeld and Searle for foisting this poison on the American people. But after the dirty-tricks "October Surprise" of 1980, Reagan/Bush got into the White House -- and they allowed Rumsfeld to proceed unobstructed with poisoning the American people and raking in mighty profits.

Rumsfeld is as reckless today with the lives of our soldiers as he was with American consumers 30 years ago. And I suppose the current Bush White House and "Justice" Dept. will make sure he gets another pass, despite how many people continue to suffer and die.

On the Bush family front, it surfaced briefly in the media on October 17, 2003 about the president's grandfather getting busted by Congress on October 20, 1942, for his decade of money-laundering for Hitler. Prescott Bush and his Union Banking Corporation partners were gung-ho for Adolf! They outright admired the concepts of Master Race and corporate control of society, and they frankly hoped this elitist/traitorous agenda would then spread to America.

No less than the US Ambassador to Germany acknowledged this in 1937. In William E. Dodd's memoirs, he recalled his alarm: "A clique of US industrialists is hell-bent to bring a fascist state to supplant our democratic government and is working closely with the fascist regime in Germany and Italy. I have had plenty of opportunity in my post in Berlin to witness how close some of our American ruling families are to the Nazi regime. They extended aid to help Fascism occupy the seat of power, and they are helping to keep it there."

Well, Prescott Bush's assets were seized and the operation was shut down, just as our boys were sent over to Europe to fight Hitler and die. But the Bush Gang agenda never went away, it only went underground.

Once you know that the current president's uncle, Jonathan Bush, has been on the board of Riggs Bank, which cleared checks paid to two 9/11 hijackers, and once you know the president's brother Marvin Bush held security contracts for the World Trade Center, you can begin to see flashes of behind-the-scenes activities that continue to sabotage humanity and democracy. (While cheerfully lying to your face about promoting it!)

ALL researchers of 9/11 now understand that far worse skyscraper fires, some that burned for more than a day, never before brought down even one single steel building! It was IMPOSSIBLE for the World Trade Center to collapse after only an hour of fire, without the towers' internal security having been somehow compromised beforehand. And it was Marvin Bush who was in charge of that "security."

Yes, folks, if you've fallen for smiling, smirking pronouncements about "democracy" while corporations are increasingly protected, while programs for people are increasingly abandoned -- and while our dear soldiers are maimed and killed for no legitimate reason -- then you need to wake up and stop allowing all this to happen! You need to stop supporting the gangsters now in charge of our country who gleefully cause, then profit from, war -- and who are actually eliminating freedom in America while spouting "democracy" abroad.

A few books will help you adjust to reality.

If you read "Killing Hope, US Interventions Since WWII" by former CIA-man William Blum, the scales will fall from your eyes about exactly why the American flag is hated almost everywhere abroad. Likewise with "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins. What "our leaders" have covertly done for decades is beyond atrocious -- it's outright evil.

If you read "An Act of State," by William F. Pepper, you will learn about the 1999 trial that proved involvement by the FBI, CIA, US military, and the Memphis police in the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By implication, the same forces were involved in the assassination of JFK a few years earlier -- because the progress for humanity that JFK and MLK represented had to be stopped at all costs -- stopped by stealth-fascists like Prescott Bush and Gang -- all the Bushes, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Kissinger, etc. -- who resumed the gradual take-over of our country after WWII.

(Few people recall that Nixon's memoirs praised Prescott Bush for recruiting and funding Nixon -- basically grooming him for the fascist agenda.)

And if you will read "Into the Buzzsaw" by Kristina Borjesson, you will learn about all the reporters who have been fired or threatened by corporate/government forces for trying to report this information I've shared with you today.

Please consider all these facts -- if for no other reason, for your psychological health when the truth-pot boils over, and you learn how appallingly we've all been deceived.

Connie Cook Smith

WHY my panorama of controversial subjects?  

Because it's all about Love.

Even though I've had a lot of exotic experiences, at heart I'm a Midwestern wife and mom who feels like Everybody is family - and that Everybody needs love.

But when bullies show up and start picking on my family - read that, humanity - then I feel compelled to lecture the bullies and do what I can to stop their attempts to control or to harm their fellow human beings.

In the case of ABORTION RIGHTS: I nearly died from a 106.7-degree fever after 30 hours of labor with my very much wanted and beloved daughter. But frankly, because I love her, I hope she never goes through this ordeal!

Pregnancy and childbirth are no "inconvenience." They are potentially always a risk to a woman's life, even when - like me - there were no risk factors and no complications throughout the entire 9 months. (I was often nauseous and increasingly physically miserable, but that's just normal, for pregnancy.)

But the point is, giving life does risk a woman's life, and it begs the question:

If life is sacred, can a woman be forced to risk her life against her will?

Further:

If life is sacred, can a woman be forced to bear a child she can't care for,

or be forced to face the life-long horror of giving a child away?

From a life-IS-sacred point of view, I think the clear answer to these questions is NO.

Most especially a woman cannot be bullied into these life-ruining ordeals, primarily because an abortion or a miscarriage under 3 months of development is far from being a physically separate life.

And spiritually, I believe that the biblical words, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you," mean that all souls exist prior to life on earth (as well as after life on earth). And that if a pregnancy aborts or miscarries - and fully 1/3 of all conceptions DO miscarry! - that soul will still have as many opportunities as necessary for a pregnancy to complete, and for that soul to be born on earth.

And so our primary concern is with respecting life HERE, and never allowing bullies to pass laws that cruelly force a woman to continue an unintended pregnancy -- laws that force her to risk her life and her future against her will. Because -- life is sacred!

That said, humanity's perpetuation can count on the millions of women who are always willing and able to give birth!

*

As for GAY RIGHTS, I will never understand why some people get upset at how other people have sex. If a guy is attracted to another guy, or a woman to a woman, all of a sudden there is this focus on "how they do it." Yet we don't normally go around (do we?) thinking about couples we know and how they "do it." A LOT of people are really kinky in bed, but who cares? It's not an issue.

As for the Bible on this subject: I know that Lev. 20:13 brands homosexuality an abomination, for which the penalty is death. But also branded an abomination, Lev. 11:12, is the eating of "that which hath no fins nor scales," such as shrimp and crab. And I just wonder when biblically-correct bombers like the fugitive Eric Rudolph will attack Red Lobster restaurants!

Biblically-correct bomber? Yes, the evidence is that this guy is part of the Christian Identity movement, which believes that God means for the United States to be ruled by WHITE, REAL MEN. Thus Rudolph bombed the Olympics because white American males are supposed to rule other cultures, not unite with them. He bombed an abortion clinic, because men must rule women and not allow them to make any decisions about their bodies or their lives. And he bombed a gay bar because of the biblical condemnation of homosexuality. So, according to other biblical condemnations - such as forbidding the eating of shrimp and crab -- it makes sense that Red Lobster restaurants will get hit next!

While we're at it, take note that Lev. 21:7 equates divorced women with whores, that Lev. 21:17-24 denies communion with God for all who are blind or lame or crookbacked. And check out Deut 23:2, which forbids illegitimate children to join a congregation - including their offspring -- for ten generations!

While you're at it, read ALL of Deuteronomy, and learn that God wants you to destroy others' religions, that you must kill family members who turn to other religions, that women wearing men's clothing is another one of those "abominations" (and abominations are punishable by death), that a rape victim must marry her rapist - oh, and of course, there can be "no graven images" in society - no "similitude nor likeness" made of any living thing.

Excuse me, but when I first read this stuff as a church-going teenager, I could see that none of this was loving or intelligent, and I never believed God wrote it. (And years of study later on, how the Bible came to be, have demonstrated to me that indeed, it was really Grumpy Old Men who wrote much of it.)

*

And that brings up my other main topic under Politics - which is, A FREE COUNTRY - or SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.

Our founding fathers of the 1700's were appalled not only by the religious atrocities in Europe, but by the American Puritans of the 1600's, who felt they had the God-given right to kill, not just "witches," but anyone - like innocent Baptists, Quakers, and Catholics - simply because they were not Puritans! To this day in Boston, there stands a statue of Mary Dyer, a woman who was tried, convicted, and hanged by the Bible-thumping Puritans "for repeatedly bearing witness to her faith." She was a Quaker.

Thus we have the First Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits a governmental "establishment of religion." No more religious fanatics, "who represent God's will," controlling THIS nation, thank you!

And we have Article 6 in the Constitution, which states that "no religious test shall ever be required" to hold public office. Thus, a citizen professing any religion, or no religion, can aspire to any U.S. office, if he or she can garner the support.

When the Baptists wrote President Thomas Jefferson to inquire as to the exact meaning of the First Amendment, regarding religion, he enthusiastically described it as "a wall of separation between church and state."

And of course, this works both ways. A bad government at the moment cannot control or depose a good religion. But mainly, a bad religion (like Puritanism or Christian Identity) cannot control or depose a good government, like our democracy - unless the citizens allow it to happen.

And so all caring citizens of the United States, and all supporters of democracy around the world, must be adamant in our support of the ideal of separation of church and state. It protects religion from bad government. And it protects people from being governmentally forced to adhere bad religion.

Which brings us back to some of the horrific, "God says" commands in the Bible - like a death-sentence for cussing -- dammit! (Lev. 24:14)

If we in the United States, and in the world, want to live in a free country anywhere, we must all make a commitment to the preservation and the reinforcement of the most loving protection and greatest safety for humanity ever devised: the Separation of Church and State.

What follows are titles that link to published letters on these important topics - first, abortion rights and how that applies to authentic morality and genuine family values - honoring and protecting LIFE -- wives, moms, daughters, and sisters, and all the men who care about them and need them.

Then there is my published letter that equates the 1998 block of openly-gay James Hormel's ambassadorial appointment with religious tyranny -- followed by my unpublished protest against the bigotry of a former gay man and lesbian woman who insist that gays can change (read that, must change.) To which my husband and I respond, "Christian Bigots Can Change."

And finally, there is the documentation from President John Adams which states, "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion," along with my own locally published essay, "Thank God for Separation of Church and State." It explains the connection between religious beliefs and racial murders over the Fourth of July in the Midwest.

THE "EXEMPLARARY" GEORGE W. BUSH

by Connie Cook Smith, Canton, Illinois

It’s alarming that a person as mentally impaired as George W. Bush is regarded as a contender for the office of U.S. president. In my mind, "Dubya" is "Dumya." But it’s really not funny to have a candidate whose mentality seems limited to platitudes, and he can’t even get them right.

"We ought to make the pie higher,"and "I know how hard it is to put food on your family," are typical. He campaigns now on the idea that we’re in an education recession, but could that just be his own"subliminable" problem? He worries: "Will the highways on the Internet become more few?" He ponders: "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"

The answer to that in Texas, where he’s governor, is "No, they isn’t." A 60 Minutes news program demonstrated that elementary students there mainly study how to pass an annual test. Children unlikely to pass the test are not allowed to take it in order to skew the score upward. And once the students get to high school, many drop out from lack of basic academic skills. But Dumya praises the artificial test-scores as being "exemplarary" models of his education record as governor.

And what will this genius do for the nation with regard to trade? He has just informed us that "more and more imports are from overseas." (That’s why they’re called imports, George.) He’s on record with a promise to end tariffs and barriers – but it came out as "ending terriers." Some reporters heard it as ending "terrors." Huh?

Which leads us to his foreign policy expertise. He won’t allow terrorists to "hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile." And he grasps the budget. He explained, "It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it."

Also, his morals and values are not in question. When his twins were born, he promptly quit drinking – 4 years later. He showed up "for work" most days at the ballpark he built for the team he owned. He "got tough" with a woman condemned to execution by mocking her in a sing-song voice: "Please save me." And he has just accepted the Governor of the Year award from the Safari Club International. This is a group that fences in exotic animals so that "big-game hunters" can shoot them down.

But tell me, after 8 years of bitter attacks on Clinton for avoiding Vietnam, are the Republicans going to elect a draft-dodger of their own? Al Gore and his congressman father opposed the war, but young Al volunteered to go, and he served as a reporter in the field. Afterwards he enrolled in divinity school to sort out his beliefs in a God that could allow such carnage.

George Bush’s precious boy, however, was safely placed in the National Guard’s "champagne unit," as a fighter pilot bravely defending the border of Texas from Mexican invasion. And W.’s attitude? He clowned around at Yale as a frat boy. When asked whether he engaged in discussions about Vietnam during this nation’s most divisive days, he responded, "Maybe we did, but I don’t remember."

I think it’s obvious that Senator/now-Vice-President Al Gore has been a serious, intelligent, and good-hearted public servant all his life. He has written "Earth in the Balance," a visionary masterpiece of both literature and policy. But his opponent often can’t think straight and was dumb enough to call a reporter an "a-hole" near an open microphone.

Unless tightly rehearsed, George W. Bush obviously does not know how to conduct himself. If the American people realize this glaring truth by November, then in Bush’s own words: "That puts the final nail on the coffin."

# # # # #

TIME TO STOP OUR AMERICAN HITLER

©2003 Connie Cook Smith

In America right now we are seeing a repeat of exactly how Hitler rose to power. Random House Encyclopedia attributes the rise of fascism in Germany to "intense nationalism, aggressive foreign policy, frightened middle class and conservative elements, corrupt corporations" -- and a tough-talking leader.

Hitler manipulated people with religion and patriotism. In a 1938 speech, he asserted, "I have come to complete the work that Jesus Christ began." And people thought his dedication to Christ was just wonderful!

Flag-flying became a litmus test of whether you are "for us or against us." So it was alarming to read in a major news magazine that Karl Rove, Bush's right-hand man, looked out over a baseball stadium where Bush spoke, with everyone waving a flag and cheering on their leader -- and Rove beamed with approval and exclaimed, "It's just like a Nazi rally!"

For that matter, Bush himself stated on December 18, 2002, "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." Even a passing thought like this from the leader of the free world is both shocking and shameful.

And now we have the man and his minions demanding to roll over Iraq like Hitler rolled over Poland, with absolutely no provocation. Newspaper stories carry the administration's intent to use so many thousands of missiles that Iraq will respond only with "shock and awe." Isn't that called "blitzkrieg?"

Above all, Hitler was granted dictatorial powers because of a terrorist attack. Germany's parliament, the Reichstag, was somehow set on fire, and immediately, Hitler demanded expanded powers to "deal with this threat." The Weimar Republic constitution was suspended and the government was empowered to arrest anyone they wanted to for any reason -- especially for dissent. This is so much like Patriot Act I which was knee-jerk passed right after 9/11, and Patriot Act II which is now proposed, that it is utterly chilling.

People, get a clue! We are in the hands of evil deal-makers, not authentic American leaders.

Individual attitudes and actions are crucial. My husband and I feel that since Karl Rove sees flag-waving and cheering our leader as a Nazi rally, we absolutely won't participate. And since Bush thinks it's funny to joke about dictatorship, we deplore him. And even though we believe in God, we do not in any way support Bush's Vicious Version of Christianity -- and most religious leaders don't either.

Like Hitler, Bush has hijacked the flag, and religion, and patriotism to use for self-profiting, world-destroying purposes. He has hijacked the American people, and I say it's time for all of us to take down this enemy within, who is far worse than any enemy without. "Let's roll." Impeach Bush now!

WHY THE PROTESTERS ARE RIGHT

I’m wondering if people realize our current U.S. situation is nothing like WWII, and nothing like Korea or Vietnam – and therefore our attitude about the Iraq war needs to be different.

In WWII, it was imperative that Americans unite in a war effort, so that neither German nor Japanese declared enemies could conquer and occupy the United States. God bless all those soldiers and civilians who sacrificed so much to save us!

Then came the murkier conflicts of Korea and Vietnam. The draft was in place, so our guys had to go. But there were legitimate questions about the necessity. It is tragic to all who were lost and maimed that history now sees Vietnam, in particular, as being a horrific foreign policy blunder.

During that time, we saw the rise of the protest movement, which ultimately was one of the elements that brought about a halt to the killing. The protesters knew long before the rest of society: our soldiers and our status in the world should not be sacrificed to a totally wrong-headed war.

During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, part of the strategy was to make it so brief that resistance to it could scarcely get organized. The actual war catalyst was Kuwait side-drilling into Iraq, sucking out their oil. Saddam warned Kuwait to stop or he would attack, which he did.

What we heard over here, though, was that Kuwait was innocent and we must run to help. In truth, it was George Bush Sr’s crowd and their shifting financial loyalties in the Middle East – plus a business grudge against Saddam – which caused our soldiers to be cynically used.

Free Kuwait? Spread democracy? Oh sure. To this day, women still can’t vote in Kuwait. A look into Reagan/Bush of the 1980's makes clear how the deals with business-buddy Saddam all fell apart and were the real cause of the grudge-match. But before that? Well, there’s a famous news photo of Rumsfeld practically HUGGING Saddam in 1983!

There was no U.S. condemnation when Saddam gassed his own people in the 80's. No focus on that was permitted because many of the poisonous agents came from American corporations, and politicians, who were making profits from this arrangement.

And this brings us to the monumental deception, the absolute outrage, of Bush II’s invasion of Iraq. Are we so ignorant and uninformed that we turned a blind eye to Saddam’s atrocities before, then suddenly Bush II tells us to be mad about it and go to war?

And even though the media made it clear – the CIA told Bush there’s no connection between 9/11 and Iraq – suddenly we’re told it’s "patriotic" to destroy and re-build that country?

In furious helplessness, I have wept as our first casualties were reported. In shock, I have watched as our military can look like invaders more than liberators. In bewilderment, I have wondered why, when we have no draft, American troops are killing thousands of people who have done nothing to our country.

How can all this horror be called "defending our freedom?" And how is it that protesters -- mainstream Americans who want our troops not to be killed and our country not to be shamed -- are told to shut up? How can we profess belief in American freedom, yet not respect our protesters’ most basic rights under the United States Constitution?

JFK said, "Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind." And he looked forward to that day "when the conscientious objector enjoys the same prestige that the warrior does today."

It is very cold comfort that, once again, the demonstrators are right – are way ahead of society in grasping that our soldiers and our status in the world should not be sacrificed to a totally wrong-headed war.

 Incisive observations 

based on personal commitment to 

accuracy and honesty.