History and False Beliefs, The War of 1812, PBS Feature

"The warriors and the soldiers who survived the War of 1812 went home, grew old and died. In the end what lived on was a story about history; how its glories are enshrined in the heart of a nation. How its failures are forgotten, how its inconvenient truths are twisted to suit or ignored forever." From PBS's The War of 1812.

In this brief history of the war of 1812, the producers explain how the nations of the United States, Canada, but also native Americans have a distinctly conflicting view of this war. In this two hour feature one learns the origins of the phrase, "Don't give up the ship." Why the USS Constitution is called Old Ironsides. How the Star Spangled Banner was created, and the country and western version of history in the song by Johnny Horton, The Battle of New Orleans. Little of what Americans believe is true. But many hold their beliefs strongly. H. L. Mencken calls this the human condition. 

http://www.pbs.org/show/war-1812/



Battle of New Orleans, In 1814

https://youtu.be/50_iRIcxsz0

White House Potemkin Villages

[From article]
It may take only one veto over-ride to bring down all of Obama’s initiatives; it depends mainly on coalitions forming among angry Democrat senators.
[. . .]
[Iran nuclear weapons treaty]
But it’s not a done deal; Congress has not seen all of the secret side-agreements
[. . .]
India has already announced a doubling of its domestic coal production by 2020. Even Germany is forced to build new coal-fired power plants, while the US has closed nearly half its coal capacity in order to comply with ever-stringent EPA regs.
[. . .]
they produce promises that the WH can brag about in Paris.
[. . .]
most of the States have decided to sue EPA,
[. . .]
Obama’s war on coal is progressing.
[. . .]
To satisfy the EPA quotas, coal-fired plants must shut down and be replaced with unreliable solar and wind.
[. . .]
All published calculations suggest that the US cost of electric power will quadruple.
Obama’s single-minded irrational war on fossil fuels could activate Democrat senators from the Rockies to the Appalachians and cause them to oppose him also on other policies, like Iran and Paris.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/09/obamas_house_of_cards.html

September 15, 2015
Obama's House of Cards
By S. Fred Singer

Propaganda Increases Interest In Falsehoods, Bad Policies

[From article]
By emphasizing differences and distorting reality, propagandists incite mistrust and hostility, compelling followers to line up dutifully behind partisan agendas, never to Think Again.
Yet as Adolf Hitler understood — and history proves — blind partisanship is dangerous. “What good fortune for governments that the people do not think,” observed modern history’s greatest propagandist and destroyer of humanity.[. . .]
Meanwhile, the Iran deal would convey a jackpot of sanctions-relief, conventional arms and ballistic missiles, enriching and emboldening the world’s worst warmongers — the tyrannical ayatollahs whose declared goal is to establish a global caliphate and “raise the banner of Islam over the White House.”
[. . .]



Normally, far-reaching international agreements — particularly nuclear-related ones — require a two-thirds Senate majority to assure domestic support. Fearful of constitutionally mandated scrutiny, the administration framed the deal as an executive agreement requiring no congressional approval. To reassert its treaty powers, Congress agreed that disapproval requires an unprecedented two-thirds majority in both houses.
Most worrisome, the administration has circumvented voters, the Constitution and American sovereignty by obtaining U.N. approval of the Iran accord — including secret side deals — before Congress’ review. Should Congress reject the deal, administration officials argue America would be violating international law.
[. . .]
Similar to San Francisco, more than 300 jurisdictions routinely ignore immigration laws as tens of thousands of criminal illegal immigrants have been released into unsuspecting populaces. Between 2010 and 2014, 121 released illegal immigrants proceeded to commit murder — that’s two preventable tragedies per month. Yet propagandists obscuring these facts call sanctuary-city opponents racist.
Similarly, it’s a “war on women” to be critical of Planned Parenthood, even after secretly recorded videos exposed the human cost — and price — of salable baby parts, harvested from late-term abortions at their clinics.
[. . .]



George Orwell said, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it,”
[. . .]
Think Again — by reversing Hitler’s insight, imagine the good fortune for society when the people do think.

http://www.aspentimes.com/opinion/17481140-113/sturm-search-for-truth-amid-the-propaganda

Sturm: Search For truth amid the propaganda

Melanie Sturm
Think Again
July 30, 2015

False Beliefs By Humans In Technology

Why the pervasive belief in infallibility of computers? 

[From article]
There are two elements to every computer: hardware and software. Hardware is the computer circuitry, and is objective. But hardware is useless (except as a very accurate clock) without software. Software - programs - instruct the hardware as to what to do. Software is designed and written by people. And we know that people can be less than objective, can have personal agendas.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/12/the_computer_is_objective.html

December 20, 2014
The Computer Is Objective?
By Warren Beatty

History of Jews in Israel, Film Review

http://www.bodyandsoulthemovie.com/

Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish Nation
documentary by Gloria Greenfield
Film Company: Doc Emet.

[From article]
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the UK, who tells us that "Jewish identity is born in the land of Israel. It begins with two momentous journeys, of Abraham and Sarah from Mesopotamia, and the other, several centuries later by Moses and the Israelites from the Egypt of the Pharoahs; and ever since, in a sense, to be a Jew has meant to be on a journey to the Promised Land."
The story continues. Author and historian Robert Wistrich points to the fact that though it is hard to document exactly when the special relationship of the Jewish people with the land began, it was at "the very minimum close to 3,000 years" ago, and possibly much longer.
[. . .]
Shalmanesser III of Assyria, "a great monarch of the ninth century before the common era," who describes how he fought against a "coalition of Levantine monarchs led by Ahab the Israelite, who went to war with 2,000 chariots."
[. . .]
a touchsone to the Second Temple period, written between about 250 BCE and 68CE, when the Romans devastated Qumran on their march of destruction to Jerusalem.
The goal of this terrible march was of course the extinction of Jerusalem -- and the Temple -- in 70 CE. Some years after the catastrophe, as Gafni says, there was a major Jewish uprising in the province of Judea led by the Jewish general, Bar Kochba. "That uprising, the last Jewish uprising of antiquity, failed," and many thousands of Jews were killed or taken abroad as slaves.
[. . .]
a touchstone to the Second Temple period, written between about 250 BCE and 68CE, when the Romans devastated Qumran on their march of destruction to Jerusalem.
The goal of this terrible march was of course the extinction of Jerusalem -- and the Temple -- in 70 CE. Some years after the catastrophe, as Gafni says, there was a major Jewish uprising in the province of Judea led by the Jewish general, Bar Kochba. "That uprising, the last Jewish uprising of antiquity, failed," and many thousands of Jews were killed or taken abroad as slaves.
[. . .]
from the 1840s onwards, Jews were a majority in Jerusalem, outstripping Muslims and Christians. From then to now, that never changes.
[. . .]
"The first three great secular Zionists," he continues, "Moses Hess, Yehudah Leib Pinsker, and Theodor Herzl, were all driven by successive phases of antisemitism," in Germany, in Russia, and on the streets of Paris during the Dreyfus affair. So "there was the pull of religion and the push of antisemitism."
[. . .]
Anita Shapira of Tel Aviv University sees the phenomenon of Zionism as a triangle: "The people, the Book, and the Land -- three inseparable entities."
[. . .]
Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School discusses in this context the Yassir Arafat lie: "That the Jews never lived in what is now Israel, that it is all a myth, that the Jews really come from Eastern Europe, that they have no Middle Eastern DNA…and he sold that bill of goods to many, many Palestinians."
[. . .]
"One of the goals of Palestinian historians, begun in the 1990s, is to write a history of Palestine that won't allow for the existence of any other people in the land” -- what Victor Davis Hanson of the Hoover Institution calls a “pseudohistory.” The Palestinian Authority, continues Marcus, "often cites the persecution of Jews in European countries as proof, not that the Jews were persecuted, but as proof of the Jews' evil nature."
[. . .]
So what they have done is turn Jesus into a Palestinian, indeed into a Muslim, and thereby denied Christian history.

http://americanthinker.com/2014/10/body_and_soul_the_state_of_the_jewish_nation.html

October 19, 2014
Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish Nation
By Janet Tassel

Israel's Real Crime

[From article]
Israel's crime against them is very rare, so rare it doesn't even have a name, so I will invent one: I'll call it paradigmocide, destroying the intellectual basis for cherished beliefs that are empirically wrong. One well-known incident of this crime was some four hundred years ago when Galileo committed it against the Catholic Church by producing evidence for a heliocentric solar system.
Kill a man's child, rape his wife, drown his dog; many men can forgive these offenses. Present him with evidence that his most deeply-held beliefs are wrong, and that he cannot forgive.
[. . .]
Since the Left seeks power and believes it is entitled to that power because of its superior intellect, knowledge, wisdom, and morality -- think of them as the mirror image of the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz
[. . .]
religious groups chose to see Israel's very existence as a sin, rather than consider that their theology might be wrong.
[. . .]
The problem starts in academia, where social scientists seek to ingratiate themselves with the Left because the Left presents itself as more intelligent and well-informed, which is how academics regard themselves,
[. . .]
And they know they're wrong, even if they won't admit it. If they thought they were right, they would make the case using reasoned arguments and supportable facts.
[. . .]
A key consideration is that if you reject the idea that self-appointed elites are entitled to rule, the only basis for legitimate power remaining is consent of the governed, a principle so central to the American creed that it appears in the Declaration of Independence. This may be why those segments of the American people who believe in this ideal, and similarly-minded people around the world, invariably support Israel. Israel is a symbol of the principle that the consent of the governed is the only legitimate basis for holding power and is thus anathema to members of elites who see themselves entitled to rule without accountability.

http://americanthinker.com/2014/09/israels_real_crime.html

September 5, 2014
Israel's Real Crime
By Fred Baggins

Eight Biggest Myths About Sex

http://nypost.com/2014/06/21/8-of-the-biggest-myths-about-sex/

8 of the biggest myths about sex
By Larry Getlen
June 21, 2014 | 2:55pm

Dumbed Down Population, False Beliefs

[From article]
On Sept. 17, Constitution Day, a student at Modesto Junior College was told to stop distributing copies of the Constitution until he had filled out the requisite forms for permission to use the college’s designated “free speech area.” The Bank of England is putting Jane Austen on a new 10-pound note because without a woman on some notes, British currency would “not command respect and legitimacy.” Queen Elizabeth II is on all notes.
[. . .]
MSNBC, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Gov. George Wallace’s attempt to prevent the integration of the University of Alabama, identified Wallace as a Republican.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will112813.php3#.UpeSaN00i6Y

Jewish World Review
Pardon these turkeys: Give thanks to the year 2013
By George Will
November 28, 2013

List of Misguided Policies, False Beliefs

[From article]
Barbarians with electronic devices are still barbarians.
[. . .]
One of the best peace speeches I ever read was one delivered back in the 1930s -- by Adolf Hitler! He knew that peace speeches would keep the Western democracies from matching his military buildup with their own, or attacking him to prevent his buildup from continuing. Peace speeches by Iran today serve the same purpose of buying time -- until they can create a nuclear bomb.
[. . .]
One of the painfully sobering realizations that come from reading history is the utter incompetence that is possible among leaders of whole nations and empires -- and the blind faith that such leaders can nevertheless inspire among the people who are enthralled by their words or their posturing.
[. . .]
Which is more dangerous, inequalities of wealth or concentrations of power?
[. . .]
One of the reasons it has taken so long for some people to finally see through Barack Obama is that people do not like to admit, even to themselves, that they have been played for fools by a slick-talking politician.

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell112613.php3#.UpeV8900i6Y

Jewish World Review
Nov. 26, 2013/ 23 Kislev, 5774
Random Thoughts
By Thomas Sowell

Obama Overcame Adversity Solo?

Bill O'Reilly joins liberal myth/legend creators and believers that Obama made it to the presidency in spite of having no father around and a "loopy" mother -- all by himself. This is fantasy. Obama's father Obama Sr. was a finance minister of Kenya not a slave. US Sen. Ted Kennedy brought Obama Sr. to Harvard before Obama was born. (O'Reilly has a MA degree from the Kennedy School of Government.) The Kennedy family adopted Obama, Jr. before he was born and raised him in private schools and groomed him for politics. They have been doing this for many years with young bright people from poor backgrounds. The lack of awareness or complicty of journalists in petpetuating a false Horatio Alger story is more pleasing than reality. It is no longer possible for poor persons to rise above their birth status, without assistance from the upper classes. Only with the help of upper class organizations like the Kennedy cult can a person like Bill Clinton make the leap. Trying to maintain a false outdated story only adds to cynicism of the population. It is what people are angry about. O'Reilly joins show business promoters in the Obama administration continuing to mislead and to deceive citizens.

"despite having no father present and a rather loopy mom, the president was able to prosper and achieve the most powerful position in the world. If young Barry Obama could overcome his rather chaotic upbringing (which included a stint in Indonesia), most American kids in difficult circumstances can do the same."

http://billoreilly.com/newslettercolumn?pid=28820

President Obama and Common Sense

By Bill O'Reilly 

BillOReilly.com

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Clueless Readers


Readers are as clueless about suspects as voters are about politicians. Saying an innocent person would be screaming about his innocence is nonsense. That would be used by the courts as evidence of mental illness and they would have the suspect placed in a mental hospital for evaluation. Many innocent persons try suicide when in custody. Studies show that confessing to crime is not certain proof of guilt. These comments show how ignorant people are and how many people they think they know when they only believe what they think with no evidence.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1167712

Sources: Cops make gun link in Philip Markoff case
By O’Ryan Johnson, Marie Szaniszlo, Laurel J. Sweet & Dave Wedge
Boston Herald
Friday, April 24, 2009 -

Frontal Lobe Syndrome

Frontal Lobe Syndrome

First they claimed mental illness causes violence. Now they say mental illness makes violence impossible. "Defense psychiatrists also will argue that Odierno suffered from 'frontal lobe syndrome,' and so couldn't intentionally murder his wife." Huh? (LAURA ITALIANO, "E. SIDE NIGHTMARE," New York Post, January 8, 2007)
Who needs spin doctors when lawyers and psychiatrists make it up as they go?

--
Roy Bercaw, Editor
ENOUGH ROOM
Cambridge MA USA

E. SIDE NIGHTMARE
New York Post
By LAURA ITALIANO
January 8, 2007

--
A woman was screaming inside 422 E. 84th St. The first cop dispatched to the three-story brownstone near York Avenue on April 24, 2005, peered through the mail slot. He saw a chair topple over. He heard moans. The cop pounded the front door with his fist. No answer. Just then, the two brothers who shared the brownstone with their parents came home from getting a bite to eat, and unlocked the front door for the officers.
In a scene that will be described this week for a Manhattan Supreme Court murder jury, they found Ben Odierno, then 71, a commercial and residential landlord, on the blood-splattered kitchen floor, knife in hand. His legs were draped over the petite body of his still-breathing wife, Christine, 57. More than two-dozen stab wounds, cuts and bruises marked her pale skin. The auburn-haired, hazel-eyed beauty spoke her final words - telling officers her husband had stabbed her in the heart.
[...]
laura.italiano.@nypost.com