It is time, beyond time, to choose a side and contribute in whatever way one can contribute.

Amen, brother. The problem at the moment is that we don’t have any real leadership. We need someobody who will “connect the dots.” Bush isn’t doing it, at least not publicly.

We have a massive arms buildup in China while France and Germany are trying to change EU policy to sell them arms. We have a nuclear North Korea and a China who won’t do cut them off. We have a pre-nuclear Iran and Russia is selling them nuclear technology. We have Castro and Chavez aligning with Iran, Al Qaeda, China and the narco-terrorists to build a Latin American Communist sphere. We have the Saudis funding madrassas all around the world, including right here in America.

Is it unreasonable to ask whether there is some level of coordination going on and where it is leading?

When the contracted period of time was up, the bank wanted it’s property back. The artist did not want to dismantle her art work and so refused to honor the terms of the contract. The bank took her to court and the court gave the bank the property back with the order to remove the crosses so the bank could use, sell or lease it’s property once again.

The German government had no part in any of this.

Kind of a shame to have to abandon folks who do those sorts of things but, then again, it was a young man’s game anyway.

Well dang me, Knucks, I thought it was Teufelsberg.

Ex- (NOT retired) SP6 Bob, Co. B, USASAFS Berlin ’67 – ’70.

Excellent point. Sometimes the answer to the question, “Can’t we all just get along?” is a resounding “No!”. At some points in history the travesty and tragedy of going along to get along become far too obvious to be ignored.

It is far too late to go on pretending we’re tip-toeing our way through tulips – we’re many miles into the depths of a minefield. No more Missouri Compromises or Dread Scott decisions. No more McClellans. It is time, beyond time, to choose a side and contribute in whatever way one can contribute.

No doubt it is just one of my funks but my patience and tolerance for the “other side” are growing ever thinner. To me the situation is nearly beyond any matter of differences of strongly held opinion. We’ve reached the point of choosing which side one stands on and I find myself ever more frequently looking as deeply as I can as I can manage into the eyes of some my fellow human beings and realizing they have chosen the other side.

I don’t like it but so be it.

After leaving Roger’s place, I wandered over to Belmont Club and came across this post:

http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2005/06/oh-say-can-you-see.html

As someone who is always looking to the past for parallels, Wretchard’s post made me realize something. For a long time, I had seen the period leading up to WWII as the best prior historical precedent. But after reading that post, it dawned on me that the era leading up to the American Civil War provides the most applicable precedent.

In this era of globalization, it is becoming clear that the world can no longer exist half-free and half-slave. At some point in time, we will either be all free or all enslaved. The tyrant can’t abide the free, and the free cannot abide the tyrant. The inevitable conflict is rapidly approaching.

There is no need to make any attempts, last or otherwise. I find grudges ponderous to carry so I keep only a very select few.

I am aware of, and havementioned, your points #1 and #2. As for #3, the Berlin court and BAG have, to paraphrase Jacque Chirac, missed an opportunity to pick a different Monday.

didn’t mean to be glib

That’s OK. My comment was a bit of a buzz-killer.