Google Custom Search

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Climate: The only thing that never changes is change

The old adage, "The only thing that never changes is change," suddenly has taken on a new sense of relevance when it comes to one of the most important issues of our day --  climate change. No one can argue the point that the climate is changing. The point of contention is whether or not mankind is causing it and thus, should governments mandate massive changes in human behavior to address it.

The Obama administration is now ready to unleash a highly restrictive series of executive orders in order to address his grand pronouncement last week that manmade climate change is on the brink of destroying the planet. It was one of the worst "the sky is falling" types of hysteria ever to proceed from the White House.
Click here to continue reading.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Death traps at VA hospitals hold sobering lessons for Obamacare

With more reports coming in each day that VA hospitals around the country have been and are continuing to be death traps for the nation's veterans, a much broader issue lurks beneath surface involving Obamacare. The fact that hundreds of vets in multiple states are beset with long waiting lines and lengthy delays in being able to see a doctor or get treatment had created a culture of death that permeates the facilities. All of this holds sobering lessons for Obamacare and should serve as an urgent cautionary tale.

Click here to continue reading.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Gun Rights and Liberty News Roundup for 5/15/2014

Since this will be the only roundup provided for this week, I decided I would offer an expanded version. There ought to be enough below to keep you busy with enough to read. Read on!

David Codrea declares that the grade of "C" for an anti-gun sheriff, given by a California gun group, should be an "F."

The War on Guns comments on a laughable analysis from ThinkProgress (a George Soros outfit) on the futility of armed citizens against government. 

Kurt Hofmann reports that gun ban zealots are about to have an attack of acute panic over THIS.

Christian Mercenary blogs on the dream of a nation reborn. Do yourself a favor and read it.

Mike Vanderboegh focuses on the upcoming Operation American Spring and the Washington Times' report on it.

Nicki has some choice words for MSNBC's Ed Schultz. And look at what he said to merit them!

WRSA muses on the case for hearts and minds in this present war to save and restore the Republic.

Karl Denninger calls our attention to the medical scam of the day.

Way Up North reports that the HAARP program, which has been part of our national defense, will be shut down.

Traction Control has all of his latest additions to his gun dealership on display.

The Wandering Minstrel updates us on the "guns save lives" court case in Arizona.

From Tam: "Trust in government? Are you kidding?"

Brigid blogs on the Smith & Wesson 637 stubby.

Golden Geese News says he gets some satisfaction when liberals get burned...badly...after they have been warned.

Days of our Trailers wants to know why the Dept. of Agriculture is seeking to buy .40 caliber S & W submachine guns. An excellent question that deserves an honest answer from the Feds!

Gateway Pundit reports that the head of the DNC -- Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- stated that it is senseless and wrong to punish men who slip abortion inducing drugs into pregnant women's drinks. I kid you not. So, now the Democrat Party is openly the Party of cold blooded murder.

Alphecca shows us a sign spotted outside a gun store. Spot-on!

Roberta X informs us of some shenanigans involving Deputy Attorneys General in New Jersey.

Pamela Geller presents the latest atrocity from "the religion of peace."

Blonde Sagacity has a cartoon editorial on "atheist chaplains" in the military. As a former chaplain myself, I can only say it figures. Chaplaincy is largely controlled by ultra-liberal organizations that take an anything goes stance. It was bound to come to this sooner or later. 

A Geek with Guns says, "Well, this changes everything." Take a look.

Misfires and Light Strikes says that this is the only piece of gunblogging advice he will ever give.

The Armed Lutheran reports that so-called "tolerant liberals" are taking potshots at a black man who is an ardent supporter of firearms rights.

JulieG announces she is back in action as a participant in the 2014 NRA Flagler Cup. Plenty of good photos too.

The Miller shows off his new rifle, and man, is that a beaut!

Interned in Northfield declares it's time for healthcare solutions that actually work. Is there such a solution? Actually there are many. I've talked about a lot of them right here. But Interned has yet another for consideration.

90 Miles from Tyranny calls our attention to "the new Fascists." Take a look.



Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Major Democrat implicated as IRS scandal deepens

The Examiner has learned that late this evening Judicial Watch released documents pertaining to the IRS scandal. In 2012 the IRS broke the law by targeting conservative and Tea Party groups that had requested tax exempt status. The IRS admitted to the activity.

But the Obama administration has been stonewalling on turning over subpoenaed documents that Congressional Republicans say prove that the scandal is much worse than the American people have been led to believe. It took a lawsuit by Judicial Watch to force the administration to release the documents.
Click here to continue reading.

Should racist comments deprive an owner of his property?

Now that the raucous uproar has abated somewhat in the case of Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, perhaps cooler heads can prevail. What has been sorely needed all along is a detached, logical analysis of the law and the constitution and bylaws of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Such a thing is difficult if not impossible in the middle of a frenzy as everyone from players to other NBA owners to sports reporters have rushed to judgment without stopping to consider the facts.

The most obvious and shocking fact that can be discovered concerning Sterling's punishment is that practically none of it is called for in the NBA's constitution and bylaws. 
Click here to continue reading.

And now, a musical interlude

I'm up late, rather worried about some things, and thus, you know what this means if you are a regular here at The Liberty Sphere. Time for some music.

At the age of 17 Dylana Jenson was the first woman and the youngest person to win the silver medal in violin competition at the Tchaikovsky festival in Moscow. She became an immediate sensation as a solo violinist throughout the world, as well as here in the United States.

Here in the video below you will see a delightful conversation between Jenson, who was 19 at the time, and Eugene Ormandy just prior to Jenson's first performance as guest violin soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra as they present their rendition of Jean Sibelius' violin concerto. Sibelius was a Finnish composer who had a long and prolific career, but this is the only violin concerto he ever wrote. He did, however, write seven symphonies.

The video was first presented in 1981 in Philadelphia on its PBS station. Ormandy had retired but was still active with the orchestra as Conductor Laureate. He had worked out an agreement with the new conductor, Ricardo Muti, and the Board to conduct the orchestra regularly, in addition to Muti's schedule. Muti's was the full schedule of weekly concerts that Ormandy had maintained through his 44-year tenure with the orchestra. As Conductor Laureate Ormandy's schedule was more limited than before but still regular nonetheless. This gave him plenty of time to accept the avalanche of invitations all over the world to guest conduct other orchestras, many of which had been put off for years due to his vigorous schedule in Philadelphia.

Ormandy and the orchestra had introduced to the world Sibelius' music as they had Rachmaninoff and others who were basically unknown until Ormandy and the Philadelphians not only performed but recorded their works, which were then sold world wide under either the RCA label or Columbia Masterworks label.

On one occasion in the 1950s Ormandy had taken the orchestra on a performing tour of Europe, and he decided that he would pay a visit to Sibelius, with the full orchestra in tow. Sibelius and Ormandy by that time were good friends, but Sibelius refused to come out. Aside from being a very shy and modest man, he told Ormandy he was suffering from a cold. At that point Ormandy said, "You do realize that this is the orchestra that made you and your music famous, don't you?"

Sibelius decided that he could, at the very least, come out and give the orchestra a personal greeting.

Another interesting part of the video is at the beginning when he is rehearsing with Jenson. He stops to give her tips on playing the piece, particularly at one section in the concerto. Ormandy, of course, had been a solo violinist who toured Europe prior to his immigrating to the United States. And thus, it was Ormandy who molded the Philadelphia Orchestra to emphasize the violins. It was his specialty, and the sound he produced reflected it. No orchestra on earth has ever been able to reproduce those rich, mellow, and full tones that was Ormandy's signature sound. He did not want the other instruments to overshadow the violins. This did not mean he held back on the crescendos on the part of the brass instruments when the music called for it. He let them play full force when it was called for. But he made sure that the violins and other strings, plus the woodwinds, could be heard just as clearly and distinctly as the brass. It was a "big sound" that one could describe as "the classic orchestra in the grand tradition."

Sibelius did not write easy music. Much of it is quite difficult to play. But as the video shows, both Jenson and Ormandy (and, by extension, the orchestra) were equal to the task. There is nothing here to indicate a "second tier" conductor, as one numbskull music critic once said of Ormandy. After all, he developed what was considered the finest orchestra in the world. Only the very best can accomplish that.

Since this video is on Dylana Jenson's YouTube page, I cannot embed it here due to copyright restrictions, so here is the link that will take you directly to the YouTube video. If you like fine music, it gets no better than this. Do yourself a favor and watch it. It is a treasure, a piece of music history.

Click here to see Jenson, Ormandy, and the Philadelphia Orchestra as they play Sibelius' violin concerto.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Underground source reports high level threat to Benghazi investigators

On Thursday, May 8, 2014, a source who described himself as a part of the "underground resistance" told this reporter that a top level government official had relayed information to a fellow patriot in the resistance movement, information that represents a dire threat to investigators of the Benghazi attacks. The threat was directed specifically to those who have been chosen for the Select Committee on Benghazi in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as reporters who are investigating the Benghazi attacks.

Although the nature of the threat was unclear, the government source was adamant that at the very least those who attempt to get at the real truth about Benghazi would "be destroyed politically." 

Click here to continue reading.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Mothers Day 2014

A very Happy Mothers Day to all of my faithful readers and casual visitors to this site.

I was blessed enough to have a Mother who was everything I ever wanted to be, except for the femininity part. Being female was not the factor that made her so special. She was simply a role model in Christian living, in morals and ethics, in humility, in compassion, and in fortitude and determination.

As a Mother I could not have asked or hoped for any better. She took care of me when I was sick, and that was often when I was growing up due to childhood asthma. If you never had a severe case of asthma either as a child or as an adult, there is no way you can begin to relate to those of us who were thus afflicted. I know of nothing any worse or more frightening, especially for a child, than not being able to breath. She sat with me all night until the breaking of the day when I was finally able to fall asleep. Back in those days the meds they gave you for asthma made you severely nauseated. Sleep was not possible. But she was there, always, to help me. The fact that she was always there came to be my comfort through many dark nights.

Reflect on your Mother today. I know that not everyone had a good experience growing up with either their mothers or fathers. But for those that did, contemplate what they meant to you on this day. And vow you will never forget.

Happy Mothers Day.