Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

At a time of disaster, there are always people quick to take advantage of others. Just yesterday there were reports of motels and hotels in Florida raising their rates to make as much as possible, however possible.

Not so at Disney World, according to Neal Boortz, who saw it all first-hand.

We were staying at the Ft. Wilderness Lodge villas. Friday afternoon they came around and put flashlights in every room. We never needed them. The electricity never went out. Disney has its own power system, and all lines are underground. The Disney theme parks all closed at 1:00 pm on Friday, so guests were swarming back into the hotels. Staffers put up craft tables to occupy the kids, free movies were being run on the in-room televisions. The restaurants closed for about two hours to let the hurricane pass through, then reopened late in the evening.

Kinda reminds me of the “Old” Disney.

I would like all of you who claim to not believe the US is the greatest place in the world, those who would say we are somehow less than the rest of the world, to spend the next two weeks without ever cheering for an American athlete.

Go on…. See if you can do it.

And don’t miss the post Charles just left at The Discerning Texan regarding our new media star, La Shawn, and her compatriots.

I must add Avery Tooley to my list of links. It is a moral imperative. The man speaks with good sense. I cannot remember where I first ran across his site, but La Shawn recommends him, and I’ve checked back to see what he has to say irregularly. It will now be a regular visit. The fact that he once was a wrestling coach gives him even more credibility in my eyes. Wrestling requires self-reliance.

For a sampling of what Avery has to say, check this post:

I can understand wanting to defend the poor and the defenseless, but sometimes they need to step their game up, too. If my stated objective is to help someone advance and I know that some element of their behavior will be an impediment to that advancement, then what I am doing and what I am saying are not in agreement, which would make me a hypocrite. The fact that I did the same thing at an earlier point does not make me hypocritical. If anything, it should give me additional validity.

We all make mistakes. We try to learn from them. And we want others not to make the same ones we did. That is not being a hypocrite.

La Shawn has once again strayed from the Plantation, and was taken to task for it.

Will she never learn?

I’ve considered my views on how our social values impact the political process many times. I dislike the terms “liberal” and “conservative” as they are used to describe a political philosophy because they really have no meaning in that venue. I tend to use “leftist” as a derogatory term because of my views on socialism. I want to be as clear as I can in this that I mean to talk about social and cultural beliefs, not their parallels in politics.

The base definition of liberal is a perspective which views change as good, counter to conservatism which sees the staus quo as good. A social liberal is one who believes that as long as someone doesn’t impose themselves on others, they should have the freedom to do as they please. A conservative would expect all to behave in a similar manner, even if coerced to do so.

Now, consider those two concepts for a second and think about which fits the actions of the different “groups” in this country. Don’t simply respond in knee-jerk fashion. Think about it in some detail, especially in light of current social issues.

Now consider that the concept of socialism is for total equality in all things for everyone, regardless of ability, talent, or work ethic.

Where do those who consider themselves to be liberal really fall in this measure? Those who consider themselves conservative?

A true liberal doesn’t care what your skin color is, or what sexual partner you prefer. A conservative does care, and wants you to care, too. All must believe alike. A true liberal would believe that some people can graduate from high school with only 10 years in the classroom, but others might need 15. A true conservative would believe everyone should finish school in the same amount of time.

What we see now is that the two terms have really become reversed in many ways. I’m considered a conservative. But I don’t care about anyone else’s sexual preferences. I just don’t want them in my face about it. I don’t want to know anything about Madonna’s sex life, either. It isn’t a heterosexual/homosexual issue with me. That’s my freedom. Those who are today considered liberal want everyone to celebrate someone’s homosexuality. Everyone. Think about that for a while in terms of other issues and see if your own beliefs match something other than you thought.

Today, Nathan Hale has an interesting perspective at The American Thinker. Perhaps in this highly-charged political atmosphere of the day, we can all sit back for a while and ponder our own biases and beliefs in the larger context of World History. And consider that this nation was formed by a group of men who understood very clearly that no colony had ever before successfully divorced itself from the Mother Country. They knew history, and they knew the risks. They looked at themselves very closely before deciding on a direction. We know which way they chose.

Can you make that monumental decision for yourself? Will you let others tell you how to think? Can you weigh the consequences of a wrong decision without resorting to clich