Strappado Wrack

Strappado Wrack
Provocative Political Archive Articles for Unlocking the Meaning of Current Affairs

Friday, February 21, 2014

None Dare Call It Conspiracy!

"The Carl Sandburgs of the future will spend whole lifetimes trying to analyze the drama of this week and this scene. What it all comes down to - after the assassination of a president, the wounding of a governor, the slaying of a policeman, and the killing of a man nobody really knew - is little Jack Ruby." - Syndicated columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, February 1964 

 When Info Babes are all the rage, two that had the most, are not around to tell their tale. You don't have to swallow those stories of UFO's to know that Dorothy Kilgallen knew more then us. And who would question that Marilyn Monroe, had the inside track on the men from the top. So why should we reminisce upon their untimely demise, when we have such fond memories?

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Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Question that Demands an Answer

In an era where open debate is severely restricted in the traditional media, it is refreshing to consider the recent exchange between two well known titans of thoughtful reason. However, you feel about their individual politics, you should ponder the questions that are presented. In Scott McConnell's, An Open Letter to David Horowitz on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, to the essay by Mr Horowitz: Why Israel Is The Victim And The Arabs Are The Indefensible Aggressors In the Middle East; we have the makings of a very worthy discussion. Since it is rare that this subject can be approached with intellectual clarity, both of their arguments, deserve evaluation. This same point is made by Mr McConnell, when he laments the risk of losing our Jewish friends if disagreement on Middle East policy, conflicts with Zionist goals.

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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

To Conspire or Not to Conspire, - That is the Question?

Recognizing that the great bard himself asked this timeless question in another form, why do so many avoid it, today? When Hamlet spoke the famous soliloquy "To be, or not to be, that is the question . . .", he was contemplating suicide. Modern day Shakespeare's could update the doubt of personal existence to encompass all of society. Why do the aggregate of masses deny confronting the record of power politics, that shapes and determines the future of our collective reality? The convenient answer really is an excuse. In order to entertain that history is best understood as a study in the conflicts of competing factions for the ability to rule, disturbs most people. Average folks would listen to the likes of Jeff Rense and come away shaking their heads. 

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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Is Meaningful Change Possible?

The way society is going, meaningful change is virtually impossible. One need not read into this statement that it is infeasible, only that the current attempts are doomed to fail. Conservatives, Libertarians and those who generally consider themselves to be on the right side of issues, are typically spinning their wheels when they propose changes to the social order. Most agree that society is 'out of control' and that fundamental reforms are necessary to save ourselves from the outcome of the 'collectivist culture'. So what mistakes are being made by those recommending a plan for combating the socialist progressives? 

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Monday, February 17, 2014

2002 - The Year of the RADICAL

With the passage of time, every day matters. The direction of events and the ultimate consequences of the pivotal transformation in America, cannot be clearer. Yes, the War on Terror, is changing the Nation more than the horror of those eight Clinton years. The prime fault lies not with the Bush administration, but rests with the American People. That is not to exclude the President or his appointees from allowing this frightful trend to take hold. So what is this threat to civilization and the national heritage? Well, it should be obvious, it is called Patriotism. 

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Friday, February 14, 2014

How Is Bush Doing?

As the year ends, and the prospects for another, under war conditions begins, how is President Bush doing? Forget the polls and the support he is receiving from the American public about the way he is conducting the campaign, because this begs the question. The proper standard to judge all presidents is never the current status on a battlefield. It should be obvious that success should be viewed within the context of realization of American ideals. But if that norm is used, few if any of our leaders can be showered with laurels. 

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Thursday, February 13, 2014

'Twas The Nightmare Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas,
 when all through the house
So few of courage, and oh so many who act as a louse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
With goodies for all and freebies for all who dare;
 The children were nestled all snug in the beds,
While their future's have been hurt and all but dead;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Have ignored our care and are all over the map,
When out in the lawn there arose such a clatter,
To accept another gov't check, that makes us fatter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
And opened the letter, I need my cash.

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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

It's time to bring in the A Team

Armey's Army has gone down to defeat. As one of our allies, a sound and correctly oriented fellow, Dick Armey failed as majority leader for the Republican cause. The fault was not his alone. The entire leadership bought into a false strategy, upon assuming the reins of the majority. The revolution of 1994 has fizzled, leaving the taste of a flat soda pop. The greatest regret in our lifetime, is the legislative record of the Republicans that couldn't shoot straight. The bulk of the responsibility reverts back to the Newt Gingrich era and his false 'Third Wave' influences. The sad conclusion is that Republicans have never learned what it means to be the majority power. 

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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Media Inevitably Begins in Earnest

The seriousness of the beginning of the end, has been unleashed in the land of Palestine. The level of escalation has been scaled up to reach the inevitable final conflict. The agony of suffering and distress is for all to see. The prospect for peace is virtually dead. The basis for the inescapable is not a rejection of free will or the ability to choose an armistice. No it is the result of an eager willingness to fulfill a destiny of animosity between factions from the same ancestry. 

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Monday, February 10, 2014

What Monsters We Have Become!

The news that science has entered into the realm of the uncharted has been heard throughout the media. The public is now introduced to Advanced Cell Technology. Luminaries of the likes of Jose B. Cibelli, Robert P. Lanza and Michael D. West, all three being ACT principals; are extended limbs of Mary Shelley's family. Avid proponents of a technology that will alter the human species is a hefty responsibility. What better way to announce to the world this grand achievement than to write about it in Scientific America! 

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Friday, February 7, 2014

Thankful For More Than You Know

Thanksgiving is the one holiday celebration that expresses our own personality. Legal holidays that commemorate national anniversaries and religious observances, have their origin in institutions, civic and religious design. While the ritual of 'Turkey Day' is rooted in the feast of the Pilgrims. Each of us view the intention of giving thanks from our unique perspective. Football may reign supreme on the tube, and cranberry may dress up the plate, but the real purpose of this day, represents our humble gratefulness for all that we have been blessed to receive. 

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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Justice for Me But None for You

Having never been a fan of the DoJ, it is somewhat encouraging that AG John Ashcroft is turning the house of cards upside down. Yes, you say; the eavesdropping on phone calls between lawyers and those deemed to evoke 'reasonable suspicion', should send up the red flag. Well, here is a news flash! Do you really think that those conversations were private to begin with? If you are one of those types who have never soiled their hands by talking with an alumni of the federal big house, you will never understand the realities of the judicial system. 

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

The Joy In Micro Ruling The Soft World

Once upon a time there was a shy nerd of a boy,
He was so gifted that all he wanted was to play with toys,
School bored him so that he decided to design codes,
He became so good at this natural talent in all their modes,
That he got some friends to join him to go to work,
And set off to create a place were all would have every perk,
The dream was dreamt, and all the goals were set,
Ready to go we were on the way to get them met.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Anti-Terrorism Bill - the new RICO?

Now that the fate of individual liberty is secure in the hands of the DoJ, we all can rest assure that only the criminals will get their due. At least, that is what we are told to believe. All that Attorney General Ashcroft has asked, has been granted. The tools have been authorized and their storage case will reside within the hands of law enforcement. Now the eradication of these cells can get under way in earnest. Well, if it was that simple. When RICO was passed we were told that organized crime was above the reach of the G-men and that the threat of these peddlers in sleaze and drugs, would now be put out of business.

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Monday, February 3, 2014

Oil Runs More Than The Economy

The ability to go beyond the simplistic sentiment that anger generates, is an attribute that is in short supply. For those who are determined to get to the source of the current hostilities, a practical approach needs to be employed. As with most violent conflicts, the popular explanation, seldom tells the whole story. Basic human motivations are not restricted to clerics or politicians, but are also imbedded into the fabric of economic commerce. 

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