Last December, President Obama announced the latest in a series of escalations of the war in Afghanistan. When he took office one year ago, there were 32,000 troops in Afghanistan. During 2009, that number was increased to 68,000. When this most recent escalation is completed, there will be 100,000 U.S. troops and 150,000 contractors in Afghanistan.

In 2009 the death toll for U.S. troops tripled starting in June, and rose to a monthly high of 59 in October. General Barry McCaffrey, who studies our Afghan operations for West Point, warns that American casualties will reach 500 per month by summer.

The death toll for Afghan civilians has skyrocketed as well, particularly since the U.S. has radically increased the number of drone attacks which indiscriminately kill innocent civilians. Estimates are that 98 innocent Afghans are killed for every two terrorists killed by drone strikes.

Pro-life Hypocrisy

Churches all across America observed Sanctity of Human Life Sunday on January 24. Literature was passed out on the evils of abortion. Sermons were preached on the sin of abortion. The 1973 Supreme Court decision in the case of Roe v. Wade was denounced. The immorality of being a doctor who performs abortions was proclaimed. The horrors of partial-birth abortion were explained. Testimonies were read of women who regretted having abortions and doctors who felt guilty in having performed them. Prayers were made on behalf of women contemplating having an abortion. Gruesome pictures of abortions gone awry were shown. Calls were made for a constitutional amendment banning abortion. Planned Parenthood was singled out for special condemnation. Yet, nary a word was said about the ongoing slaughter of innocents that is funded by the U.S. government.

In the past, I spent lots of money and lots of time supporting this or that candidate, advocating for or against this or that legislation, as a lot of "political activists" have done, and continue to do. Looking back, I now not only realize that it was a total waste of time trying to beg "the system" for freedom, but I realize that it was WORSE than if I had done nothing at all. By bickering over who should be my new master, or whining to the masters to please do what I wanted (they didn't), I was only reinforcing the notion that "the system" is legitimate--that I should HAVE a master, and that I have some obligation to do what he tells me to do.

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"Democracy came into the Western World to the tune of sweet, soft music," wrote H.L. Mencken as the opening to his Notes on Democracy. With the ascent of Barack Obama, the music was triumphant and loud, captivating the entire center-left media establishment, the nation’s youth, the official counterculture, the legions of professional victimologists, the mainstream antiwar movement, the civil bureaucracy, the legal profession, the unions, most traditional Democrats and the young and old members of American academia. For the lion’s share of Obama’s loyal supporters, his ascent to the throne marked something nearly as significant as the entrance of democracy itself onto the Western scene. It signaled a turning point to one day be listed on a short list of American victories for the modern world – a watershed to appear on timelines featuring the Emancipation Proclamation, women’s suffrage and the Civil Rights movement.

By Joe Skinner

Saturday January 16th 2010 was an unseasonably warm day in the New Hampshire region. Because of this my roommate Mike and I figured it would be a perfect day to go, live free and hold an impromptu 420 celebration at Veteran’s Park in downtown Manchester. Celebrations like the one we were planning that morning were held throughout the late summer and fall in both Keene and Manchester, NH. These celebrations, in which the participants partake in the public and open consumption of cannabis, were left completely unmolested in every instance of them occurring in the Manchester area. That is until that Saturday in January.

A small group of anti-Fed activists attempted to barricade the Federal employees into their own compound in central Concord, New Hampshire on Saturday January 9th, 2010. They held signs explaining some of their problems with the U.S. government. They said the wall was to protect the people from the thugs and spouted extreme left and right wing slogans like "End the War" and "Taxation is Theft".

They began constructing a siege wall surrounding the Fed Compound. The wall consists mainly of large granite blocks originally installed to protect the U.S. government outpost. The gaps were being filled with ice and snow. The construction workers got particular pleasure trapping the Federales behind a wall of their own making.