The Leftist War on the Individual ? Continued

Josey1

The Leftist War on the Individual - Continued Neal BoortzThursday, Feb. 7, 2002 [Editor's Note: Neal did not write a column for Friday, Feb. 8.]I mentioned this on the air yesterday, but it wasn't in my notes. I decided to add this segment today so nobody out there will miss this gem.Just call me Paul Revere. In this case it's not the British who are coming - it's the collectivists. You know - collectivists, socialists, leftists - the anti-individualism crowd.I've been telling you for years that there is a war against individualism and the very concept of the individual going on in this country. The left simply doesn't like the idea of individualism. Individuals, after all, have individual rights; and among those individual rights would be the right to their own life, the right to the control of their own body and the right to property. The left has a rich history of anti-individualist quotations. Just a few . Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all. - Nikita Khrushchev All our lives we fought against exalting the individual, against the elevation of the single person. - Vladimir LeninThere is the great, silent, continuous struggle: the struggle between the State and the Individual. - Benito Mussolini The main plank in the National Socialist program is to abolish the liberalistic concept of the individual. - Adolf Hitler (Remember, present-day conservatives would be called liberals in the 1940s.) OK ... now for some current news from the front in the war against the individual. First we have Ted Kennedy. He had a statement read into the Congressional Record on Monday. The statement was supposed to be praise for the New England Patriots football team for its incredible victory in the Super Bowl. Kennedy, however, found time while praising the Patriots to get in a little volley against the concept of the individual. This is from his statement: "At a time when our entire country is banding together and facing down individualism, the Patriots set a wonderful example, showing us all what is possible when we work together, believe in each other, and sacrifice for the greater good." So, there you have it. Did you actually realize that we were now in the process of "facing down individualism"? Well, now you do. And just how are the Democrats - including Ted Kennedy - working to face down individualism? Well, how about your individual right to plan for your own individual retirement? How about your right to keep the money that you earn and not have it seized to redistribute to Democratic voters? How about your right to go out there and buy your own health insurance policy and not have to rely on your employer or your government for your health care? And - how about your right to be recognized for who YOU are instead of what racial, gender or ethnic group you happen to belong to - as determined by others? Second example: Catherine Reynolds is a businesswoman and philanthropist. She donated $38 million to Washington's Smithsonian Institution for a "Spirit of America" exhibit. The exhibit was to include a "Hall of Achievers." The purpose of the Hall of Achievers was to demonstrate the power of the individual to shape history. There were going to be about 100 people represented in the Hall of Achievers - including Martin Luther King Jr., Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and others. Well . here comes the anti-capitalist left. Some group called "Commercial Alert" didn't like the idea for the exhibit at all. They issued the usual protest . the exhibit would be an "extension of corporate America." Then the Smithsonian staff got into the act. Staff members criticized the exhibit because - pay attention now - the focus was on individuals rather than groups. Well . Catherine Reynolds has had enough. The $38 million gift has been withdrawn. Reynolds issued a statement saying "Apparently, the basic philosophy for the exhibit - the power of the individual to make a difference - is the antithesis of that espoused by many within the Smithsonian bureaucracy, which is that only movements and institutions make a difference, not individuals." The leftist war against the individual. Are you starting to wake up? Almost MurderOK ... please forgive me a little foray into the world of general aviation again. There was a crash of a small general aviation airplane in Atlanta yesterday. Four people died. Three of them didn't deserve to.Here is what the media are reporting thus far: Conditions: A solid overcast measuring between 400 and 600 feet. Rain. Cold - very cold. There were icing advisories in effect. Aircraft: A Piper Cherokee Six. IFR-equipped, but not certified to fly in known icing conditions. Four souls on board, including the pilot. Pilot: He got his private pilot's license last March. According to news reports, the pilot was NOT licensed to fly in instrument conditions (though one private individual has informed me that he may have received his instrument rating in December).Now - assuming that all of the above information is correct, this comes close to murder. First of all - it was against federal law for that pilot to take off in that airplane with those passengers in that weather if he was not properly rated and the aircraft properly equipped. Furthermore, once he did take off there was very little chance he and those passengers were going to survive that flight - especially if he had very little or no instrument training.Look - I have about 1,800 hours as pilot in command of private aircraft. I am instrument rated. I have a great deal of flight time in my logbook over the past several months, so my proficiency is high. There is NO WAY IN HELL I would have taken off in those conditions yesterday in an aircraft that was not certified to fly in known icing conditions.Look, folks - just because someone brags about having their pilot's license, you still need to think twice, and take a few precautions, before you leap into an airplane with them. Here are some helpful hints you might want to consider:If you don't have some independent knowledge that this person is actually licensed to fly that aircraft, why not ask him for his license to see for yourself? If the airplane has two engines and his license reads "airplane single engine land" you might want to reconsider. If it's a cloudy day - and especially if the clouds are low with a solid overcast - look for the words "instrument airplane" on the license. If it's not there, you don't be there either.The most important piloting skill is judgment. Do you know the pilot? Are you satisfied he is a person who is known for showing good judgment? If your pilot buddy doesn't show good judgment in his actions on the ground, why would you expect him to show better judgment in the air?My guess is that those three passengers who got into that airplane with that unqualified pilot yesterday didn't know he wasn't instrument rated (if, indeed, that is the case.). Maybe they didn't know that there were warnings for ice. In this case, what they didn't know ended up killing them.This just infuriates me. I like to take people for rides - to show them why I love flying so much. Many of the people I work with are frightened to death of flying in small airplanes. This idiot killing three supposedly innocent people yesterday doesn't help matters. Will the U.S. Go It Alone Against Saddam Hussein?This ought to send some of our European "friends," especially the French, into a real lather. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the House International Relations Committee that President Bush is considering action to change regimes, as he puts it, in Iraq. Yes, that means getting rid of Saddam Hussein.Well - I guess that it's time for Saddam to start beating his chest again. Maybe he'll use that "Mother of all Wars" nonsense again. Four Democrats Snub ReaganThe House of Representatives had a vote yesterday . a vote to send birthday greetings to Ronald Reagan. Four members, however, decided that they didn't want to be a part of any birthday message to Ronald Reagan. All four, of course, are Democrats. One from Texas, three from California.Here are the names: Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, website: Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-30) Pete Stark, D-Calif., website: www.house.gov/stark/email.html Diane Watson, D-Calif., no website Barbara Lee, D-Calif., website: Barbara Lee (D-09) Knock yourselves out. The Democrats' Web to Enron ... Some QuestionsDavid M. Walker is the general comptroller of the GAO and is suing Vice President Dick Cheney to get notes, minutes and tons of other information from Cheney's energy policy meetings last year. Did you know that Henry Waxman and John Dingall first demanded that Walker get this information on April 19 of last year - months before Enron was even an issue? Did you know that David Walker was appointed to the GAO by the Clinton administration? Did you know that before Clinton moved him to the GAO in 1998, Walker held the job of "Global Managing Director of Human Capital Services Practice" at Arthur Andersen, Enron's auditor and financial adviser? Did you know that Walker still served on the board of Arthur Andersen until last month? Have you ever heard any media outlet mention any possible legitimate reasons for Enron's failure, e.g., the sudden drop in energy prices in California last year or Enron's loss of a $3 billion power plant in India (a deal that was carefully orchestrated by the Clinton administration in Enron's favor)? Have you heard any comparisons to Pacific Gas & Electric going bankrupt a full eight months before Enron? No? Neither have I. I wonder why. Every day that goes by it becomes more and more apparent that Henry Waxman, John (dangling-at-the-airport) Dingall and David Walker are only interested in political advantage and in inflicting any damage they can to the Bush administration. With these guys on the right flank, and Daschle and Gephardt on the left flank, plus the New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, et al., it's amazing that Bush has been able to accomplish anything. http://toogoodreports.com/column/general/mostert/20020206.htm And Also From Toogood Reports, This Quote:"It goes without saying that the more power a government assumes, the bigger it grows, and the bigger it grows, the more it costs. The more a government costs, the more it requires of its citizens, and the more it requires of its citizens, the more subjugated those citizens become. The more subjugated the citizens become, the more power a government assumes ... You get the idea." - Lee SheltonNeal Boortz is the hugely popular nationally syndicated radio host. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/2/7/203530.shtml