The Left's Continuing Influence in the World.

The Russian Revolution occurred 89 years ago, and though its seed and legacy have left a trail of human misery, the Left has still somehow successfully transmuted the word "Communism" into the realm of the vulgar and boorish cliche; just a word with no more significance or threat than bogeyman. But the spirit of Marxism continues to live and breathe in the Left to this day, and continues to threaten the world's peace and prosperity.

Marxist theory sounds noble enough to the naive, but it always comes down to a few unaccomplished thugs stealing the possessions of people who have actually built something. Power is concentrated in the hands of one, or a small group of men... detractors are intimidated with violence... wealth (while it lasts) is redistributed to the poor... the Church is discredited or physically attacked... and a paranoid nationalism is preached to the masses.

I read an article by Lowell Ponte (linked below) that chronicles the governing style of Venezuela's leftist dictator, Hugo Chaves. Chavez, who according to his former personal pilot refers to himself in private as a communist, has followed the Marxist's road to power.

Embracing Castro, and propping up Cuba's failed economy with Venezuelan oil money, Chavez has imported up to 20,000 of Castro's secret police to quell any move that threatens or even questions his authority. He is currently stealing the property of European and American oil companies (after these companies have invested billions). He has thrown out Christian missionaries and replaced them with Cuban "teachers," and has called the religious leadership in his country "a tumor." He openly calls the United States Government a threat to Venezuelan sovereignty and allies himself with our enemies in Cuba... and Iran.

And what is the reaction of the Left in this country and around the world? The usual suspects who hate America... Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Jesse Jackson , and others... make their way to Venezuela for a photoshoot with the Leftist dictator. Cindy Sheehan, the poster-girl for the Left, has been there. The anti-capitalist "Global Exchange" of San Francisco now arranges tours of Venezuela for the fashionable leftists in America. Chaves recently toured Europe where he lectured Europeans on the virtues of socialism which, of course, caused him to be embraced by Europe's lunatic Left and their leftist publications.

But, as in Cuba and every other country that has "tried on" Communism, this Socialist "Utopia," in Venezuela is turning out to be a disappointing disaster. The poverty rate has risen to more than 50% as oil money flows into Cuba, and Chaves spends the Venezuelans' inheritance to buy friends and purchase weaponry. Caracas has the world's highest murder rate per capita, with Chavista mobs and spies patrolling its streets. Venezuela finds itself isolated from its neighbors as they withdraw, fearing Chavez's territorial ambitions.

But still the sycophants and fawners of the Left drool over this thug in the white suit, ignoring his atrocities.

While the Left has all but destroyed Europe and done much to bankrupt America and dilute its freedoms, this country still enjoys a clear majority of freedom junkies and capitalists. Still, we are also burdened with a left-leaning Federal Government that exhibits an insatiable appetite for power. And, as its immigration policies throw open wide the border to more and more of the world's poor and uneducated, our population shifts towards a mind-set and character that is vulnerable to the liberal lie and the promise of the "free meal" ...and "utopia." While we are safe for now from the raving socialist and the Marxist revolutionary, the leftist bureaucrat and the liberal politician, who misrepresents himself and his politics, already have a secure foothold in our system. If it comes, ours will be a slow descent, with the Left greasing the skids of our economic and cultural demise.

For those who love their freedoms and the opportunities that capitalism affords them and their posterity, the watchword continues to be vigilance. The failure of Socialism throughout the world and the rise of Conservatism in the United States has unhinged the radical Left, leaving them embittered and with suspect allegiances. With the support of the ever-cooperative mainstream media and cultural elites, the Left is free to subvert, to sabotage... to proselytize and misinform with relative impunity. They are a plotting, pandering pandemic... a poison that slowly and silently accumulates in our nation's soul. They are the untrustworthy caretaker, ready to surrender the keys to the estate. They seduce our young and scoff at patriotism. They seek to change who we are... as they challenge what is best is us.

We simply can no longer take for granted that our way of life will perennially survive. The American Experiment... our little revolution, continues to require our attention and an active participation to secure its survival.

As rocky and frustrating as our way has been lately, this is no time to lift our hands from the plow.


You'll find Lowell Ponte's article here:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=22622

Amnesty by Any Other Name...

Ben Johnson writes about the Senate Immigration Bill for Front Page Magazine:

This bill doubles the amount of legal immigration, while reorienting our employment visas, for the first time, toward unskilled laborers. (The National Academy of Sciences found each “migrant” with less than a high school education costs the United States $90,000, and that immigrants only begin to “contribute to our economy” if they have a post-secondary education.)

But our economy will contribute to them. In addition to millions of dollars U.S. taxpayers spend for the welfare, education, health care, and incarceration of illegals, the Senate assures aliens will receive all the money they “contributed” to Social Security – even if they stole someone’s identity in the process. They’ll also be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. In all, this “comprehensive” reform could cost $54 billion within a decade. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-PA, surmised, “[It] certainly is possible that it will bust the budget.”

54 billion...

Elsewhere, the bill makes clear enforcement is not a Senate priority. Russ Feingold and Sen. Sam Brownback successfully moved to allow activist judges to stay deportations essentially at will.

54 billion

The Conference Committee will have to iron out the differences between the Senate amnesty bill and the House’s all-enforcement bill, passed last December. The House, which by design is constitutionally and ideologically closer to the American people, has pledged to stand firmly against any amnesty in committee. Perhaps no bill whatever will result – which, contrary to Tony Snow, would not be received by Americans less favorably than amnesty. Or perhaps the two will coalesce along the lines of a bill introduced by conservative leader Rep. Mike Pence, R-IN. It includes a guest worker program – but unlike his Senate colleagues, Pence “gets it” on border enforcement. He recently noted, in 2005 alone, more than 200 illegals detained by Border Patrol came from the Middle East, “countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and others.” His plan would require workers to leave the country before receiving a biometric worker ID card – and would provide no “path to citizenship” for those blazing the trail north for economic reasons. After a specified period, the illegals would be required to leave the country.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=22656

54 billion

Voting "yes" were 38 Democrats, 23 Republicans and one independent.
Voting "no" were 32 Republicans and four Democrats.

Democrats Yes
Akaka, Hawaii; Baucus, Mont.; Bayh, Ind.; Biden, Del.; Bingaman, N.M.; Boxer, Calif.; Cantwell, Wash.; Carper, Del.; Clinton, N.Y.; Conrad, N.D.; Dayton, Minn.; Dodd, Conn.; Durbin, Ill.; Feingold, Wis.; Feinstein, Calif.; Harkin, Iowa; Inouye, Hawaii; Johnson, S.D.; Kennedy, Mass.; Kerry, Mass.; Kohl, Wis.; Landrieu, La.; Lautenberg, N.J.; Leahy, Vt.; Levin, Mich.; Lieberman, Conn.; Lincoln, Ark.; Menendez, N.J.; Mikulski, Md.; Murray, Wash.; Nelson, Fla.; Obama, Ill.; Pryor, Ark.; Reed, R.I.; Reid, Nev.; Sarbanes, Md.; Schumer, N.Y.; Wyden, Ore.

Democrats No
Byrd, W.Va.; Dorgan, N.D.; Nelson, Neb.; Stabenow, Mich.

Democrats Not Voting
Rockefeller, W.Va.; Salazar, Colo.

Republicans Yes
Bennett, Utah; Brownback, Kan.; Chafee, R.I.; Coleman, Minn.; Collins, Maine; Craig, Idaho; DeWine, Ohio; Domenici, N.M.; Frist, Tenn.; Graham, S.C.; Gregg, N.H.; Hagel, Neb.; Lugar, Ind.; Martinez, Fla.; McCain, Ariz.; McConnell, Ky.; Murkowski, Alaska; Smith, Ore.; Snowe, Maine; Specter, Pa.; Stevens, Alaska; Voinovich, Ohio; Warner, Va.

Republicans No
Alexander, Tenn.; Allard, Colo.; Allen, Va.; Bond, Mo.; Bunning, Ky.; Burns, Mont.; Burr, N.C.; Chambliss, Ga.; Coburn, Okla.; Cochran, Miss.; Cornyn, Texas; Crapo, Idaho; DeMint, S.C.; Dole, N.C.; Ensign, Nev.; Enzi, Wyo.; Grassley, Iowa; Hatch, Utah; Hutchison, Texas; Inhofe, Okla.; Isakson, Ga.; Kyl, Ariz.; Lott, Miss.; Roberts, Kan.; Santorum, Pa.; Sessions, Ala.; Shelby, Ala.; Sununu, N.H.; Talent, Mo.; Thomas, Wyo.; Thune, S.D.; Vitter, La.

Others Yes
Jeffords, Vt.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060526/D8HR4FBO1.html

54 billion... Can you believe it? That's our money, I'm pretty sure. Are these Senators insane, or is the electorate insane for not screaming its collective head clean off? Who are these Senators working for these days?

If your Republican Senator is up for re-election and actually voted for this insanity... find the Libertarian lever this November and send him a message. I know I won't be voting for Dick Lugar.

54 billion... With this kind of generosity Vincente Fox may be looking for a home in Arizona. And if enough of the Senate Bill makes it out of committee there should be enough of his fellow countrymen moving north to elect him to the United States Senate. I think he has many friends there and would fit right in.

Senator Lugar Plays to the Beltway

I heard on Limbaugh today that Senator Dodd slipped an amendment into the recent Immigration legislation that requires a consultation with Mexico (pronounced Meh-hee-ko) before the building of any wall on our southern border. This suggests that there will be no wall in our future... at least not anytime soon.

(b) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.--Consultations between United States and Mexican authorities at the federal, state, and local levels concerning the construction of additional fencing and related border security structures along the United States-Mexico border shall be undertaken prior to commencing any new construction, in order to solicit the views of affected communities, lessen tensions and foster greater understanding and stronger cooperation on this and other important issues of mutual concern.
http://michellemalkin.com/

This amounts to all but veto power by the Mexican government. I don't know how many Hoosiers think Mexico should get to "OK" our immigration policies, but my guess is that they are few in number. Still, Republican Senator Dick Lugar voted in favor of the Dodd amendment.

Senator Frist voted against it. Mitch McConnell, Kay Bailley Hutchinson, Chuck Grassley, George Allen, and Jeff Sessions voted against it. Several other Republican Senators voted against it. But Dick Lugar sided with the RINOs... and against the people who voted him into office.

I feel a little foolish because this post started out to be a call to replace tired old Country-Club Dick. (I was going to suggest Congressman Mike Pence as his replacement) But it turns out that Senator Lugar is in this fall's election, in a very safe race... and since he will be 80 the next time around, this is probably his last term. We can hope...

Here is a picture of Senator Lugar with the type of person he is evidently listening to these days.

Wilted Lettuce

Have you ever seen a brighter green? Leaf lettuce is the easiest thing in the world to grow, but you must get it out early to avoid the worms. As soon as I see the white moths flying about my garden I roto-till the lettuce.

I grew up eating "Black-Seeded Simpson," but now I prefer Gurney's "Green Ice" because the leaves are more substantial.

1) Fry two pieces of bacon
2) Wash lettuce and cut sideways to 1.5 inches, enough to fill half a big bowl.
3) Cut two green onions into quarter-inch pieces including half the leaves.
4) Add bacon, torn up.
5) To bacon grease in skillet add 1/2 cup Splenda (or sugar)
6) To grease and Splenda add 3/4 cup white vinegar.
7) Bring to a boil, then pour over lettuce and mix.
8) Serve immediately. Serves two... or one if it's me.

You need at least 1.5 TBSP bacon grease for this to be good... so don't be a baby.

Lord John

For all the national attention surrounding John McCain’s two highly anticipated, protest-ridden commencement speeches in New York last week, the Senator actually saved some of his best material for the crowd that gathered on Friday behind closed doors in the back of the Regency Hotel.

“One of the things I would do if I were President would be to sit the Shiites and the Sunnis down and say, ‘Stop the b...s...,’” said Mr. McCain, according to Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, an invitee, and two other guests.

Ah... why didn't we think of that... John McCain speaks and the seas part.

"What kind of a country do we want to be?” Mr. McCain asked his audience, walking around in the middle of a horseshoe-shaped table as he proceeded to answer his own question.

He cautioned against ghettoizing immigrants, which he noted has brought about disastrous results in France, and criticized elements in his own party as “nativist” before lambasting the punditry of Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs and Michael Savage for helping to “fuel the problem,” according to two of the sources.
http://www.observer.com/20060529/20060529_Jason_Horowitz_pageone_newsstory1.asp

No, John... Republicans in name only, such as yourself, are the problem. Rinos and others who ignore the will of 75% of the American people on illegal immigration are the problem.

So he appeals to the liberals in a state he has no chance of carrying? That's nice. Sometimes I think the mainstream media cozy up to McCain because they know he can be beaten. I think they know that any Republican candidate who fails to inspire the conservative base is going to lose. And McCain has angered so many of us that it might require the Democrats nominating Dennis Kucinich in order to bring the conservatives to the polls en masse, should John actually manage to get on the ticket. Yes, Dennis could do it.

"John McCain- The Lesser of Two Evils" is not a winning slogan.

Inconvenient Al

A top aide to Al Gore is telling reporters that if his boss decided to challenge Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, he'd be a better candidate than he was in 2000.

Well now that's aiming high.

Arlie Schardt was Gore's press secretary when he made his first run for president in 1988 and has teamed up with his old boss to help promote Gore's new global warming movie, "An Inconvenient Truth."

Schardt told the paper (Newsday) that if Gore got back into the race, he wouldn't allow his handlers to micromanage his image the way they did six years ago.

Al Gore is capable of no image other than that of a stiff and annoying loon. He would bring to the Democrat ticket a treasure-trove of "self-seeking" ordnance. "An Inconvenient Truth" for Al is that anyone who embraces the wacko-environmentalist bilge proffered in this cinematic masterpiece would mean the death knell for our economy if elected. Thinking people know this.

I've heard the comparisons of Al's career with Richard Nixon's comeback in 1968, but there really is no comparison. Nixon was mainstream. Nixon exuded competence, not the oily residue of liberalism.

Gardening Tip #3

You can't have too many onions in your garden.

If you have an unheated garage or root cellar... or even easy access to your crawl space, what you see above will keep you from buying onions till next spring.

Always buy onion plants form your favorite seed catalog or nursery. Bulbs are OK, but they won't get nearly as big.

Yellow Sweet Spanish (Illegal Onions, as we say in Greentown) are good keepers and get pretty big. I'm also trying Texas Grano this year.

While you're at it, plant garlic in with your onions. Just break up a couple cloves and stick the pieces down in the dirt. You can't eat too much garlic.

Gardening Tip #2

Raised Beds

This is what I would call a slightly raised bed, and is useful when your garden sits low on your property or drains poorly. (click on picture to enlarge) It is accomplished using a garden rake by dragging the dirt toward you creating a little gulley. Then you stand in the gulley and drag dirt toward you from the side where you originally stood. Then you turn the garden rake over and smooth it out. These tomato plants would not have survived the recent heavy rains had they not been planted this way.

In late June I will plant carrots in a narrow, high raised bed that resembles a coffin lid.

Good News from Michael Barone

Michael Barone writes:

First, economic growth. In 2005, as in 2004, the world economy grew by about 5 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund, and the IMF projects similar growth for several years to come. This is faster growth than in all but a few peak years in the 1980s and 1990s, and it's in vivid contrast to the long periods of stagnation or contraction in history.

The great engine of this growth is, of course, the United States, which produces more than one-quarter of world economic product and whose gross domestic product has been growing at around 4 percent -- 4.7 percent in the latest quarter. Other engines are China and India, each with about a sixth of the world's people, and economic growth of 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively. But other areas are growing, too: Eastern Europe (5 percent), Russia (6 percent), East Asia (5 percent), Latin America (4 percent), even the Middle East (6 percent) and sub-Saharan Africa (5.5 percent).

Lagging behind are the Euro area (1 percent) and the rest of Western Europe (2 percent). Lesson: Sclerotic welfare states produce mass unemployment and stifle initiative and innovation. In contrast, the Chinese and Indian growth rates show how freeing up an economy produces rapid growth, and the continued contrast between the United States and Europe makes the same point. Free market economic growth is enabling millions of people to rise out of poverty every year.

But aren't we also living in times of record strife? Actually, no. Just the opposite. The Human Security Centre of the University of British Columbia has been keeping track of armed conflicts since World War II. It reports that the number of genocides and violent conflicts dropped rapidly after the end of the Cold War, and that in 2005 the number of armed conflicts was down 40 percent from 1992.

Wars have also become less deadly: The average number of people killed per conflict per year in 1950 was 38,000; in 2002, it was just 600. The conflict in Iraq has not significantly changed that picture. American casualties are orders of magnitude lower than in the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, and precision weapons have enabled us to vastly reduce the civilian death toll.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/05/heard_the_good_news.html

So there you go. Thanks Mike, I needed that.

Gooseberry Island

When your 84-year-old father likes gooseberry pies, and you are a good son (not the kind that runs off to Florida... and though the reason was to start a new church will probably still burn in hell for deserting his family) ...where was I... you do the right thing and and make your dad a gooseberry island.

I think the fact that the rabbits and the birds won't touch them... speaks volumes.

The gooseberries you see above will be ripe in a few weeks. In my opinion, after maturation they will still taste lousy. Their you go, Dad... enjoy. (Bon Apetit', as we say in Greentown.)

Muslim Strengths vs The West's Weakness

In Front Page Mag:

A former top Homeland Security official warns that the terrorists aren't confined to the battle fronts abroad, but are already here in America living among us.
"While we certainly should continue to take the fight to the enemy wherever he is, we need to face the awful reality that the enemy may already be in our very own backyard," says former Homeland Security Department Inspector General Clark Kent Ervin. "The frightening truth is that there are already terrorists among us."
And Ervin points out that the bureau (FBI)... knows of at least 1,000 al-Qaeda sympathizers in the U.S. today -- a number that he calls "low." It's possible there are thousands of sympathizers supporting and facilitating hundreds of terrorist operatives inside the U.S., he fears, and the FBI has yet to make the connections.

Also in Front Page Mag, Abigail Esman talks about how second -- and third-generation -Muslims, who were born and raised in Holland and Belgium, are radicalized:

You have a combination of adolescent rebellion and adolescent rage, you have children and teenagers who are growing up in violent homes, in a culture where what they learn is that the way to solve problems or exert your will or express your needs is through violence, not words. Add to that radical imams in local mosques that are often funded by the Saudis, radical Islamicist propaganda that circulates in various Islamic "Sunday schools," satellite dishes feeding propaganda from the Arab world into their homes -- and these shows are turned on all day most days, especially in homes where the parents have not yet learned to speak or understand Dutch.
And then you have the Internet, and web fora, and misinformation, and the kinds of elements that can contribute to any sort of immersion in a trend, a cult, a way of life. But unlike dressing Punk or Gothic, becoming a radicalized Muslim overtakes your entire way of life: you are reading the Koran and listening to your radical peers and hearing the words of your heroes, you are mentored. And every step into that world leads to another, further and further in.
Why do the societies allow it? In some ways, I think for the same reasons that it happened to begin with: they just close their eyes. They don't want to see. They don't want to talk about things that are politically incorrect, or that indicate a form of intolerance.

1)http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=22533
2)http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=22561

Is America's future promising... and for whom? Our radical Islamic enemies watch the slow, dissolution of Europe into Eurabia. They watch as our so-called leaders fail to secure our borders and argue the very existence of the War on Terror. They watch the spoiled, lazy American people rapidly become disenchanted with the war and those that lead in its fight.

Fifty years ago present trends would have resulted in a sustained near-global war and the deportation of every Muslim that in any way suggested he was sympathetic to radical Islam and hostile to the U.S. or even its allies. But we are no longer a hard-nosed people. As we slide down the slippery slope of complacency, and the Left leads us by the nose towards destruction, who can we blame but ourselves?

Peggy Noonan on the Week's News

On the President's speech:

What was needed was a definitive statement: As of this moment we will control our borders, I'm sending in the men, I'm giving this the attention I've given to the Mideast.

The disinterest in the White House and among congressional Republicans in establishing authority on America's borders is so amazing--the people want it, the age of terror demands it--that great histories will be written about it. Thinking about this has left me contemplating a question that admittedly seems farfetched: Is it possible our flinty president is so committed to protecting the Republican Party from losing, forever, the Hispanic vote, that he's decided to take a blurred and unsatisfying stand on immigration, and sacrifice all personal popularity, in order to keep the party of the future electorally competitive with a growing ethnic group?

I continue to believe the administration's problem is not that the base lately doesn't like it, but that the White House has decided it actually doesn't like the base. That's a worse problem. It's hard to fire a base. Hard to get a new one.

And on the DaVinci Code Opening:

Speaking of the detachment of the elites, the second big news of the week--in some ways it may be bigger--is the apparent critical failure of "The DaVinci Code." After its first screening in Cannes, critics and observers called it tedious, painfully long, bloated, grim, so-so, a jumble, lifeless and talky.

I do not understand the thinking of a studio that would make, for the amusement of a nation 85% to 90% of whose people identify themselves as Christian, a major movie aimed at attacking the central tenets of that faith, and insulting as poor fools its gulled adherents. Why would Tom Hanks lend his prestige to such a film? Why would Ron Howard?

"The DaVinci Code" could still triumph at the box office, but it has lost its cachet, and the air of expectation that surrounded it. Its creators have not been rewarded but embarrassed. Good. They should be.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/

When I see Peggy Noonan interviewed on television I am struck by just how uncool she comes across before the camera. She has this hyper-sincerity about her that makes me somehow uncomfortable, probably because I want her to be cool and impressive and she never is. Interviews are not the vehicle that displays her genius.

This lady was a speech writer for Reagan and Bush 41 and wrote some of the best speeches that have ever been delivered by a politician. And, she was in her 30's at the time, for crying out loud.

I remember sitting with a friend in the summer of 1988 watching George HW Bush give his acceptance speech at the Convention. I'm sure Peggy Noonan wrote the following:

For seven and a half years, I’ve worked with a great President -
I have seen what crosses that big desk. I’ve seen the unexpected crisis that arrives in a cable in a young aide's hand. And I have seen problems that simmer on for decades and suddenly demand resolution. And I’ve seen modest decisions made with anguish, and crucial decisions made with dispatch.
And so I know that what it all comes down to, this election - what it all comes down to, after all the shouting and the cheers - is the man at the desk.
And who should sit at that desk?
My friends, I am that man.

At that point I turned to my friend and said, "George just won the election!"

The whole speech was good, but those couple paragraphs made Bush 41 look and sound presidential... like a guy you'd want to be your president. That's what put him over the top... and that's the genius of Peggy Noonan.

Howard Dean's Urine

On Peter Heck's web site I found the following Howard Dean quote:

"Now that we're on dog pee, we can have an interesting conversation about that. I do not recommend drinking urine, but if you drink water straight from the river, you have a greater chance of getting an infection than you do if you drink urine." ...teaching an eight-grade science class in La Crosse, Wisconsin

I know Mr Heck thought this was a pretty strange thing to say, (perhaps it is...) and that is why he posted it. However if I taught a biology class this is something that I would pass on to my students.

From our earliest days we are taught that our waste products are dirty. That's fine. However, as a medical technologist I can tell you that if you put a healthy person's urine on blood agar, no bacteria will grow. If you put tap water on blood agar, bacteria will grow. This means that in terms of what qualifies as "dirty," a healthy person's urine is cleaner than tap water... and much much cleaner than the water in Mexico (pronounced meh'-hee-ko).

Urinary tract infections (or UTI's as we say in Greentown) are usually caused by E. coli that originated in the bowel... and usually caused by fouling one's bed, or women wiping in the wrong direction. The urine is usually cloudy and has a terrible odor. However when some people eat asparagus, their urine has a similar odor to an infected specimen. So on your wedding day it might be best to pass on the asparagus. Certain odors have no business wafting through the honeymoon suite.

Of course waste from the other end (doo doo, ka ka, poo poo) is loaded with bacteria, and it's odor increases in direct proportion to protein intake. As Mr Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins), a vegetarian, says in The Road to Wellville... "My own stools, Sir, are gigantic and have no more odor than a hot biscuit. "

Well said.

I found a web site with a list of stupid Howard Dean Quotes. You'll find it here:
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/stupidquotes/a/deanquotes.htm

Yes I know. But look at it this way: there's nowhere to go but up from here.

So Who is the Guy in the Big White House?

Representative Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, who pushed a tough border security bill through the House of Representatives, had this to say about the President:

"He basically turned his back on provisions of the House-passed bill, a lot of which we were requested to put in the bill by the White House. That was last fall when we were drafting the bill, and now the president appears not to be interested in it at all."

Not interested? A clear majority of Americans is interested in this bill and support its proposals. The people that believed in President Bush enough to contribute to his campaign and work hard towards his election are interested in this bill.

President Bush has always been stubbornly loyal to his friends, but who are his friends? Vincente Fox? Illegal trespassers whose future illegal votes so many politicians are courting?

Who is this guy, George Bush?

I know he is the guy that put his presidential legacy on the line in order to face down radical Islam and preemptively strike against our enemy. He is the guy that pushed through tax cuts that saved our economy after 9/11. He is the one who nominated two strict constructionists to the Supreme Court that will have influence for years to come. But who is this guy?

To me, he looks like a tired man. I would describe him as a good leader and a mediocre politician, who has had just about enough of the hateful rhetoric, the laid traps, and the self-centered ambitious of Washington. I don't think 2008 can come fast enough for him.

We on the right are no strangers to hateful rhetoric. When he nominated Harriet Miers for the supreme court, George Bush learned a little of our loyalty to him. He made a mistake, and then made it right, but not before suffering a barrage of belittling pot shots from his friends.

I don't understand the President's policy on Illegal Trespassers. But Washington is what it is, and George Bush is navigating a maze of pitfalls that few of us can appreciate or understand. While I will continue to criticize his and the government's policy, I hope to couch my criticism in respect.

I think Peter Heck put it best on a recent post: "I love the President and respect him...but I cannot and do not respect his ideas on immigration."

I, too, love and respect this president. And though my frustration sometimes masks my loyalty, I stubbornly refuse to forget the good he has done.

The DaVinci Dud

I love these reviews. This is a rare case in which celebrating another's misfortunes is OK. So we should enjoy it, right?

The film is a disaster from beginning to end... The characters run from clue to clue, and it’s not until about an hour has gone by that you realize you don’t care.
David Fararci, CHUD.com

It's just not that the movie is way too long and duller than watching Da Vinci's paint dry, but it takes away any of the book's little credibility and makes the flaws in it that much more obvious.
Edward Douglas, comingsoon.net

...an oppressively talky film that isn't exactly dull, but comes as close to it as one could imagine with such provocative material.
Todd McCarthy, variety.com

it’s not very good — long (2hr.32min.) and mostly inert.
Richard Corliss, TIME magazine

Roger Ebert likes it... case closed!

More from State Senator Jeff Drozda on Illegal Immigration

I sent out a couple more emails asking specifics from my state representatives. I've yet to hear back from Eric Turner, but Drozda sent me this:

The states have little say on the specific issue of immigration ie. sending them back. However, we do have a say on who can and cannot receive state funding and programs. It is my understanding that hiring illegals already carries a fine...the feds must enforce. But the state may be able to pass similar laws. If we can't put up walls on the entire US borders (they are working in the San Diego area), then we have got to do what we can to track them and document them in Indiana.

Even though the emasculating effect of the Federal Government on State Legislatures is relatively complete, it sounds to me as if there are state options that could be effective. Still, it would take action on the part of the public to stir a back-biting two party system into action, even on the state level.

We all know just how much frustration and disgust is out there on this issue. But that doesn't always translate into letters, emails, and phone call to representatives in government. We are a spoiled, distracted, and lazy lot in this country, and when we as private citizens fail to lobby our representatives, all they hear are the special interest groups.

If every citizen who is royally ticked off over the government's inaction would take the time to voice their angry opinion to their state reps, there just might be a new law written... and maybe even passed.

P. Eric Turner Checks In

This is an update to my previous post.

Within 12 hours of my contacting my State Representative, P. Eric Turner, he sent me this email:

Chris,
I authored a bill this year, HB 1383, which would codify Federal Law preventing health care and government benefitsfor illegal immigrants but it was not successful. I agree with you we should not be rewarding illegal immigrants.
Thanks for communicating with me.
Eric

Does anyone out there know what it means to codify a Federal Law? I could guess...

Once again, we apparently have a state legislator who is much more responsive to the will of the people than the jokers in Washington. This may be the way to go on this issue.

Question: Why does this man have more influence in Washington than a clear majority of Americans?

This morning I sent an email to my federal and state representatives. (Well, I didn't bother with Evan Bayh because... why bother?)

I respectfully told the federal guys that I wanted a wall on our southern border or I was going to vote for their opponents.

I told my state reps that I wanted Indiana State Law to be decidedly Illegal-Unfriendly. And that I wanted laws with stiff fines for employers that hire illegals. I said do it, or I'm voting for your opponent.

I also told my state senator to get rid of the "en espanol" option on his web site.

I continue to lose respect for the Republican leadership in Washington, from the President on down. State legislatures may turn out to be the last outpost of common sense on the immigration issue. In this country where the will of the people pales beside the whims of the Washington elites, we may still be able to effect our destiny by pressuring the politicians closer to home.

Since it doesn't matter who we vote for, maybe if we throw out a few of these clowns they will start listening to us... instead of listening to criminals and the Mexican government.

...and read this excellent post from Christina that expresses better than I can how frustrating Washington's response has been:
http://the-right-perspective.blogspot.com/2006/05/president-bushs-wall.html


UPDATE:
State Senator Jeff Drozda emailed me within the hour and said:

I agree. We will see legislation next year that will address the issue.
As for the "en espanol" on my home page, that is standard for all Senators and I have no control on that.

Thanks Senator... come through for us and you'll have my vote.

Two Wars

SkyePuppy has an outstanding post that is a must read: Find it here:
http://skyepuppy.blogspot.com/2006/05/al-aqsa-praises-death-of-american-teen.html#comments

Phone Records

Bryan Alexander has a great post about the current media furor over phone records and the president's invasion into citizen's privacy. You'll find it here:
http://r-thinking.blogspot.com/2006/05/left-is-out-of-touch-as-usual.html

Honest Americans have it right; strict respect for one's privacy is of little use if one is blown up. Still all this negativity is having its effect on the President's approval ratings. People just aren't getting along with each other under this President's leadership! It's not fair... this constant dissonance... but it won't end anytime soon... because it's working.

Bachelor Tip for May

Yes, I've decided that as a public service I will give one tip to young bachelors each month. (Who better than I?) After all I've been on my own for a long long time and I've learned the ropes, mostly through trial and error. So here is my tip for May.

Rotate your Underwear

It's economically sound to rotate your underwear... Take from the top... Replace from the bottom... because underwear should age equally, wear out at the same time, and be replaced all at once. By the time your underwear is frayed or irreparably stained... and you know what I mean!... you can and should replace the entire lot.

But Chris, what is the most efficient way to accomplish this?

It's really simple you know... If you fold and stack your underwear!Shown here is an easy way to fold socks, briefs, boxer briefs, and boxers. (click to enlarge)
Shown here is an efficient way to arrange your underwear drawer. (click to enlarge) Simply take socks from the bottom left and take underwear from the top of the stack. Soon you'll be taking such pride in your underwear drawer that you'll want to show it off to your friends. But resist this idea. Only a jerk places his underwear drawer on public display, except for educational purposes, of course.

But Chris, should I wear briefs, boxers, or boxer briefs?

You need all three. Boxers and boxer briefs are closest to what nature intended so wear them to work, to luncheons, and to the store. Wear briefs when you jog or work around farm machinery.

Well that's it for May. Come back next month for the much anticipated "How to Get Women!"

New Truck (click to enlarge)

This is my new truck. It's a Chevy Silverado. It's alright. But my previous truck had the extended cab and so this truck looks very small to me. I would have preferred the color "summit white." "Silver birch metallic" would have been OK. But as you see, I got "Adolescent Red." I'm feeling funny about the color, and the short bed doesn't look very manly. It looks as if I took a cut in pay and this was all I could afford.

It's alright.

Faith in Islam

What I find most striking about the current state of affairs in the Muslim world... Ahmadinejad's letter, the actions of the Muslims here through CAIR, is that these people are stepping out with such confidence. They know the infidel much better than he knows them, and they have faith that one day the world will be theirs.

We should fear their anger and their violence. But it's their confidence that gives me chills.

Hope

You look around and you see things that just make your heart sink. Thanks to the press, most Americans think the war is unwinable and want to pull our troops out. Hollywood is manufacturing filth like never before, and the church and morality are revered only for their use as a punch-line. You see thousands of dissatisfied people marching in the streets.

That's what 1969 was like. I'd just started high school and I saw nothing that made me think there was a bright future ahead. And things got worse.

I traveled 500 miles to college in Tennessee just in time for gas lines. There was the impeachment of the first man I voted for. Then I remember his successor holding up a "win" button... Whip Inflation Now! Inflation was so bad that many retirees' nest eggs were made sorely insufficient for their needs.

We elected Jimmy Carter and things got worse again. Unemployment was high. Interest rates were so high that first-time home buyers faced budget-crippling mortgage payments. In Iran our embassy was stormed, hostages were taken, and it seemed we were powerless to do anything... about anything. Jimmy Carter spoke to the nation about a "malaise" we were suffering from, and that perhaps America's best days were behind us. Why have hope? When would things ever get better?

Then we somehow elected Ronald Reagan, and America's attitude changed. Inflation, interest rates, and unemployment plummeted. He lowered taxes, and though the press attacked him at every turn, I noticed they stopped using the derisive "Reaganomics" when the economy miraculously improved. After years of foreign policy back-peddling, Reagan stood his ground, rebuilt the military, negotiated from strength, and said, "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall." For the first time in my adult life I was hopeful for the future. After over a decade of depressing decline, America was back.

Sometimes I look around today and I wonder how we will survive our troubles. It's hard to be hopeful when problems simmer for years and the nation's resolve wander's from its roots. We look at our leaders and we see no Washingtons, or Roosevelts, or Reagans.

But we have things going for us that few nations do. First and foremost, we are a nation that prays. Maybe not in the percentages of the last century, but God is in the hearts of so many and we are no longer silent. Secondly, we have been free for a long, long time, and freedom is a hard habit to break. We may wait awhile for our next Reagan, but when he arrives the seeds of success will be there waiting. This nation has faced many daunting challenges in 200+ years and I believe our prayers have brought a leader for every challenge... a leader who remembers who we are and what this nation is about.

I picked up little Miss Em, my great-niece, in my arms last Saturday. I know Emily will be raised to be a woman that prays. And that gives me hope.

You Won't Believe This

Please go to Bryan Alexander's site and read this:
http://r-thinking.blogspot.com/2006/05/outrageous.html

The U.S. Subsidizing the World's Troubles

The perception of Palestinians as victims has become the most powerful marketing tool Palestinians have and no one uses it more effectively. Time after time we have seen Palestinian figureheads like Michael Terazi and Hanan Ashwari plead the Palestinian cause and point to the Israeli "occupation" as the root cause of all Palestinian problems.

Furthermore, organizations like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) advocate the perception that, regardless of the reality, the Palestinians are occupied for life. The Bush administration has agreed to contribute $51 million to the agency's emergency appeal this year, more than double the $20 million it contributed last year. Overall, the U.S. donation to UNRWA amounts to over $100 million annually.

The monies themselves illustrate how the United States is perpetuating a state of utter dependency in which the Palestinian upper class fobs off all economic responsibilities onto the international community. If one looks at Palestinian society as a whole, more than anything it is lacking social mobility. There are two social classes in Palestinian society: a small affluent class and the poor, who comprise the majority of the population. However, poverty in Gaza is ghastly not because of the so-called occupation. Rather, it is a self-inflicted state of affairs created by Palestinian leaders who are supposed to govern and better the lives of Palestinians but instead prosper at their expense.

As long as Palestinians cling to the false notion of being occupied with Israel in the role of the oppressor, they will not assume responsibility for themselves.

The twisted psychology that Palestinians use to further their sense of victimization has successfully co-opted the feelings of the international community, to the detriment of both. It was former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir who said that as long as the Arabs hate the Jews more than they love their own children, there will never be peace in the Middle East. The continued incitement of terrorism suggests that that time has not yet arrived. For this, and for much of their suffering, the Palestinians have only themselves to blame."
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=22404

It's particularly troubling that our taxes are being used to, in effect, keep the Palestinians in the state their in, and enable their leaders to continue to terrorize Israel.

In the same way our welfare system perpetuates failure and dependence among our poorest, in a nation filled with opportunities for advancement.

In the same way our government's benevolence towards illegals keep Mexicans crossing the border, and prop up a corrupt Mexican Government.

Buying influence and friends (and votes) has become such an ingrained habit that our government no longer seems interested in results and outcomes. Throw money here... Throw money there... At least we're doing something...

But subsidizing a terrorist regime? I don't want my tax dollars invested in terrorism. Pursuing dividends of death is a sign that our brokers aren't representing our interests.

Another Reason to Vote Republican this Fall

The left wing Democrat who will become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee if his party wins back Congress in November wants to hold full blown congressional hearings on whether the government should pay African Americans reparations for slavery.

Michigan Rep. John Conyers has attracted attention in recent months for his House resolution calling for an impeachment investigation against President Bush.

Conyers states:

"My bill does four things:
• It acknowledges the fundamental injustice and inhumanity of slavery.
• It establishes a commission to study slavery, its subsequent racial and economic discrimination against freed slaves.
• It studies the impact of those forces on today's living African Americans.
• The commission would then make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies to redress the harm inflicted on living African Americans."
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/5/9/232714.shtml?s=ic

Yep, that's what we need in this country right now... a circus.

We all remember Conyers as the Congressman from Michigan who used his staff for babysitting and, the last I heard, was facing some sort of ethics investigation. Of course investigating a liberal black congressman is a whole different matter than investigating say... Tom Delay? Don't expect wall-to-wall coverage by the mainstream media.

Muslim Hate Rallies... In America

All around America, Muslim student groups are testing the limits of Free Speech by bringing radicals to their respective campuses to give hate-filled talks. One of the institutions that this practice has become prevalent in is Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

The Muslim Student Organization (MSO) at FAU, for the past seven years, has celebrated its annual hatefest – “Scholar’s Night” – with the worst of extremists.

The keynote speaker of the Scholar’s Night was a dark-eyed individual by the name of Fadi Kablawi .

Kablawi, in his speech, tried to mask his sentiments towards others by bringing up such terms as “the three Abrahamic faiths.” But in the end, he couldn’t hide the obvious, which were his disdain for the West and his idea of a future dominance of Islam over the world. He stated, “And from here I say, the solution for all people and the whole world is the religion of Islam.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=22366

Terror U, formerly known as Florida Atlantic University (not to be confused with the University of Terror, formerly known as the University of South Florida which employed covicted terror facilitator Sami Al-Arian) no doubt gets our tax dollars as do other universities whose campuses sponsor these events.

It reminds me of all those Japanese rallies back in the 40's...

No wait... That's right... During WWII, FDR put Japanese Americans in internment camps.

While I'm not suggesting this for Muslim Americans and students, hate rallies calling for a worldwide theocracy seems just a bit much. It just wouldn't have happened in 1942.

What? ...No More Attention?

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Convicted Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui says he lied on the witness stand about being involved in the terrorist plot and wants to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial. The judge turned him down.

Moussaoui said he was "extremely surprised" that he was sentenced to life in prison instead of execution and now believes he can get a fair trial from an American jury.

In a motion filed Monday, Moussaoui said he testified on March 27 that he was supposed to hijack a fifth plane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House "even though I knew that was a complete fabrication."
http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/Articles/Moussaoui%20Asks%20to%20Withdraw%20Guilty%20Plea.html

Perhaps after the sentencing Moussaoui finally figured out what 23 hours per day alone in a 7 x 12 cell was going to be like.

The question I have is this: As a Muslim Moussaoui is encouraged to lie to the infidel... so which is the lie? Which fabrication are we to reject?

Na na na na... Na na na na... Hey Hey... Have a nice internment.

Washington Plays Kick the Can

In Washington there have always been bitter rivalries that produced rhetoric of the most vile nature. So maybe it's just my limited lifetime experience and memory that sees the 60's as a turning point in the character of our federal government. Still, our culture began its descent in that decade into the anti-hero, anti Christian, anti-all that was upright and noble about our land... that pervades the popular culture of today. I believe our leaders naturally or unwittingly have followed our culture's lead.

Today, every problem, challenge, and crisis is couched in the contentious game of politics. So much so, that even the most practical and apolitical solutions are tethered to controversy. A shallow and childish petulance permeates Washington and mindlessly strikes out against every move made by the opposition... making every move a political gamble. No matter how high the stakes, and with little regard for facts, partisan politics has immobilized our government at a time when decisions and policies are critical to our future way of life. The result is that Washington, faced with tremendous threats and challenges... kicks the can down the road.

Social Security faces bankruptcy but Democrats play to the politics of fear, blocking the President's privitization plan, and insuring a future of suffering and financial hardship. The budget deficit climbs ridiculously high, and the President creates a new entitlement and Republicans in Congress feast on pork-barrel politics. We face in radical Islam the greatest threat to our way of life since communism, and the Democrats treasonously undercut the war effort for political gain. Our borders are porous and illegal immigration threatens to crush our economy and change our culture forever... and our President and Congress sheepishly capitulate to the demonstrations of illegal aliens. And every move is calculated not on its merits, but in terms of political survival.

In Washington, kicking the can down the road is the easy and safe way to keep your job and avoid facing the tough decisions. It's politically expedient... and it's cowardice... and it in no way resembles leadership.

Somewhere we stopped electing statesmen. I hope and pray our nation survives this era of career politicians.

Gas Map and other Great Posts

You might want to add Logic Lifeline to your bookmarks. AICS always has something interesting to say. Please check out this map which reveals gas prices across the nation. (I love maps.)
http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

AICS also has a revealing look at Amnesty International...
http://logiclifeline.blogspot.com/2006/05/think-tank-amnesty-international.html

... and a great story about the UN in Liberia...
http://logiclifeline.blogspot.com/2006/05/un-peacekeepers-continue-sexual.html

...always good reading at Logic Lifeline!

Mullahs Make Lousy Scoutmasters

Quran 52:24 Round about them will serve, (devoted) to them, young male servants (handsome) as Pearls well-guarded.
Also in Surah 76:19 Allah promises fresh youths to Muslim men.
And round about them shall go youths never altering in age; when you see them you will think them to be scattered pearls.

When Catholic priests molest children there is a law, there is a justice that holds them accountable. The Mullahs ARE the law, justice and the government. So they can do their shameful acts in public and who is going to stop them?
http://www.faithfreedom.org/Gallery/16.htm

If you like little boys... really like little boys, then Islam may be for you. It makes you wonder what these humorless, sadistic men are really fighting to preserve; is it their religion, or is it the right to mess with kids? Do they seek to serve God, or are they serving themselves when they abuse women and treat them as chattel? Is the murder and maiming an expression of faith, or is it simply an excuse to exercise their pathological hatred?

On her site, Michelle Malkin quotes Robert Spencer:

Anyone who thinks that God's greatness is established by such acts of barbaric cruelty must be resisted at all costs. Yet those who hold to the same ideology, and who think that God Himself will grant Paradise to those who "kill and are killed" for Him (Qur'an 9:111), are streaming into Western countries, by the design and forethought of Western leaders, with no attempt whatsoever made to determine whether or not they approve of such slaughters and the ideology that motivates them.
This is insane.

Insanity may well be defined as recognizing evil, feeling its sting, and then inviting it to move in next door. And as evil crosses our open borders and colonizes our country, our feckless leaders in Washington play politics; selling-out our culture, and mortgaging our security in the pursuit of votes.

Peter Heck and Friends a Great Success

Famed radio personality, Peter Heck, shown here cavorting shamelessly with one of his many "babes," held a benefit Saturday night for Crisis Pregnancy Center which featured Himself, John Branyan, Alan Kaye, Nate Beals, and a musical performance by Joyful Noise.

It was a great show. Heck was superb (extremely funny... wowed the audience) and the guest comedians were good as well. The Eastern Howard Performing Arts Auditorium holds 823, so I would estimate the crowd at between 500 and 600... and obviously from their reaction to the show, they had a great time.

If the donations were proportional to the quality of the entertainment, then Crisis Pregnancy Center should benefit quite nicely.

And, if Mr Heck ever gets tired of teaching and talk radio... he obviously has the talent to pursue a career as a stand-up comic.

Spring

The tiny village of Greentown awoke this morning to Mother Nature's finest offering of the year as she kissed the rooftops with the golden glow of soft morning sunshine through a cloudless sky. She spread her dress of light dew over bright green lawns, as the breeze of her sweet breath carried the fragrance of her sweet flowers through the tidy streets of the town. Her tiny birds chirped and chanted a cheery message to all... as they winged their way above the dancing treetops.

It was enough to make you sick.

....

The DaVinci Code We Won't See

In a few days Ron Howard's departure into spiritual pornography will hit the theaters. In response, several Christian organizations have put together programs and pamphlets to debunk the story behind the movie, and others have called for a boycott.

To this, Hollywood and the Left cries foul... that a boycott is nothing less than censorship... that Christians are over-reacting to a harmless film... a film that calls their Savior a fraud.

We Christians are such easy targets. You insult and smear what we hold most sacred and what do we do? We pray for you, and argue in the defense of our faith. Pretty mild stuff, really.

But there is a better religious story out there... a true story for Hollywood to profit from. It is a religion filled with rioting, murder... and the call for the killing, raping, and subjugating of the infidel. It starts with a prophet that takes a nine-year-old girl to his bed. Many of his followers to this day practice the sanctioned sexual abuse of boys and the sodomizing of girls. This religion maims, tortures, terrorizes... It treats women as sub-human creatures to be used and abused. This is an epic yarn made for film makers.

But this story doesn't interest Hollywood. Political correctness forbids painting and characterizing Islam... even with the truth. Lies about Christ are more to their liking... and much, much safer.

Hollywood is so transparent, and its duplicity and cowardice are overwhelming. Its disdain and contempt for Christianity is chronicled in almost every product it produces. And this latest blasphemy will no doubt evoke from Christians the most strident, inspired, and militant... prayer.

But if you're waiting for a DaVinci Code-like blockbuster that uncovers the evils of Islam... don't hold your breath.

Coming Soon to a Public School Near You

This shouldn't be too much of a stretch for the current guardians of education and culture.

Money for Iran's Freedom

George Bush stated in his 2005 State of the Union address: “And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.” And just exactly how do we do that, Mr President?

Amil Amani writes:

In Iranian polls, Bush won the 2004 election by a landslide, even though in America, Bush won by only a few hundred votes. Today, Bush is sinking in American polls, but his popularity continues to climb in Iran. Persian speaking people have found a friend who says he cares about them. But, at this point, we must ask how serious is President Bush about Iran? Is it all words, with no action?

For five years, President Bush has consistently supported the Iranian people in his state of the union addresses. But it’s been simply a big carrot on a long stick. Or, as they say in Texas, it’s all hat and no cattle. While we have supported the president’s efforts to liberate Iraq and bring democracy to the region, we know the key to peace in Iraq and the region is in the hands of the Iranian people. As long as they are powerless to overthrow the Islamic terrorist regime in Iran, Iraq will never see the light of democracy.

But consider this: the United States holds billions of dollars of Iranian assets in U.S. banks. Why not use this financial source to support the Iranian opposition groups who will actively seek regime change in Iran?

It is time for the US government to get serious about regime change in Iran. Bombing Iran will not help the cause. In fact, it will probably create either civil war, or some kind of desperate, lethal unity inside Iran.

The more effective way to achieve regime change is to spend the Iranian assets in the right way. We can create a secular, democratic Iranian nation with our own Iranian money, and obliterate the venomous theocratic regime in Iran—which the majority of Iranians consider to be alien occupiers. The clock is ticking and the majority of Iranians want to be free from the oppressors now. The Bush administration must stop the useless, wasteful bureaucracy and get down to business of regime change, immediately.

Amil Imani is an Iranian-born American Citizen and pro democracy activist living in the United States of America.
http://amilimani.com/index/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=9

I would be interested in knowing just what percentage of the Iranian people would welcome reform and what percentage of them are the nuts we see marching in the streets. After the PollyAnnish predictions we heard before the Iraq war, I think we should weigh our options very carefully.

United 93 Number 1

I saw on Drudge that U-93 had jumped to first place on Monday. I've been wondering about its effect on the politically unconscious. Does this movie represent to them just another disaster flick, or does it effectively suggest to them the ongoing threat of radical Islam?

I'd love to see a movie with a fictional plot that really drives the point home... Something just a little preachy... Void of political correctness... Full of heroes... Navy Seals meets Pearl harbor with a little James Bond mixed in. (Where is John Wayne when you need him?) The theaters kept America focused in '42 and they could do wonders today.

Bruce Willis could produce and direct it, and it would make money.

I know... I know... Hollywood. But the Passion of the Christ somehow got made. And I know a well-made patriotic movie would kill at the box office.

Well I can dream.

Too Many Parking Tickets

Actually I'm not sure what this person's offense was. Evidently his/her appeal process had run its course.

To stone someone, you wrap the guilty party in a sheet, bury them to their waist, and then... have at it. It's just another example of the gentle ways of Islam.

If immigration trends persist, certain communities in Michigan may soon be adopting this form of punishment.

Another Side

Even among Palestinians...

Ahmed was shot by Israeli soldiers who thought his toy gun was real.

The parents of a Palestinian boy killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank have donated his organs for use in Israel, in the hope of promoting peace. Twelve-year-old Ahmed Ismail Khatib was shot in the town of Jenin by troops who mistook his toy gun for a real one. His organs were transplanted into five Israeli children and a woman aged 58.

His father, Ismail, said saving lives was more important than religion, and added: "I feel that my son has entered the heart of every Israeli."

Ahmed died in hospital from his injuries after being shot in the body and head while throwing stones at Israeli soldiers who were hunting suspected militants in Jenin. The Israeli army expressed regret over his shooting.

Israel's parliamentary speaker, Reuven Rivlin, praised the Khatib family's action as a "remarkable gesture" after decades of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Mr Khatib said he was very proud that his son's organs would help six Israelis.

Ahmed's parents said they were proud to help save other children: "I have taken this decision because I have a message for the world: that the Palestinian people want peace - for everyone," he told the AFP news agency. "We have no problem whether it is an Israeli or a Palestinian [who receives his organs] because it will give them life," added the boy's mother, Ablah Khatib.

Ahmed's kidneys, liver, heart and lungs were transplanted into Israelis including Jews, Arabs and a Druze girl, medical officials said.

The girl, aged 12 and from Israel's Bedouin Arab minority, received Ahmed's heart, bringing to an end a five-year wait for a transplant. Her father, Riad Gadban, called the donation a "gesture of love" and said his daughter was regaining strength after the operation.

This moving story is further testimony that Islam is what cause Muslims hate others. Without the influence of Islam, Muslims are as good humans as anyone else. Ahmed lives in all of us.

http://www.faithfreedom.org/Announcement/511100020.htm

This story gives us a glimpse into the heart of a family that may well represent many in the Muslim world. They are tired of the fighting and the bombs. They want to live with their families in peace. But surely these same people would have to take up arms against the religious radicals to make those wishes reality. If my town was run by vicious and murderous thugs would I risk my life and the lives of my family to get rid of them?

New Word for May

Poofter...

From "Religion of Pieces"

Someone who identifies himself as Religion of Pieces left this as a comment on one of my previous posts. Because it parallels other things I've read and posted, I'll post it here... cleaned up a little.

Again, how widespread and homogenous these practices, thoughts, and ideals are among the Middle East countries and Muslim communities... I don't know.

I welcome alternative research and opinions.

Twenty facts about Islam every infidel should know. Islam ...

1) Is a mind-control and information-control cult founded by a murderer, torturer, brigand, rapist and pedophile called Mohammed. The mind-control and information-control aspects require that all criticism be silenced.

2) Is Mohammed's personality cult. Has no foundations other than Mo's murderous rantings (Koran and Hadith). The Koran consists of two conflicting parts - Meccan and Medinan (peaceful and violent resepectively). The Medinan stuff supersedes ('abrogates') the Meccan stuff. Muslims act Medinan, but quote Meccan verses to the gullible infidels.

3) Claims to worship the same God as Christians and Jews, but in fact worships Allah - a demonic manifestation of Mohammed's pyschopathic ego. The Death Cult mixes garbled versions of Christian and Jewish scriptures with pagan practices such as moon and meteorite-worship, and cut-throat blood sacrifice of animals and non-believers.

4) Has no rational, philosophical nor theological basis, and the whole belief-system is contradicted by science, philosophy, commonsense, human decency and internal inconsistency.

5) Cannot withstand rational criticism. Can only spread and maintain itself by ignorance, illiteracy, war, terrorism, and intimidation. Islam has bloody borders and cannot co-exist peacefully with other belief systems. Winston Churchill said that Islam in a man is as dangerous as hydrophobia (rabies) in a dog.

6) Has a superstitious dread of images of pigs, crosses, Buddhas, Saint George (and his flag) and of course Motoons.

7) Regards Islamic women as semihuman. Wife-beating, incest and child abuse (including mufaÂ’khathat or 'thighing' - the ritual abuse of infants) are encouraged.

8) Regards all unbelievers (Kaffirs, Kuffar, Kufrs, Kafirs) as ritually unclean subhumans to be killed, subjugated, enslaved, exploited or parasitised. Kafirs are described by the Arabic word 'najis' - literally 'filth'. That's why Muslim hatred of Kafirs is intrinsic to their 'religion'. A Kafir doesn't need to DO anything to offend a Muslim, his very existence is enough of an affront.

9) The ethical system applies only to Muslims. Allah encourages rape, pillage, extortion and enslavement of non-Muslims. Morality does not extend beyond the global gang (ummah). Muslim ethics are the ethics of the Mafia.

10) Allah's followers are motivated by hatred, greed and lust. There is no love, mercy or compassion. Allah is vindictive, unpredictable, capricious and devious - "Allah leads astray whom he pleases".

11) The only religion NOT founded on The Golden Rule. Morality is based on Mohammed's example. If Mohammed did it then it's OK for all Muslims. Hence the encouragement of rape, pillage, subjugation and murder of non-believers and the institutionalised pedophilia prevalent thoughout Muslim society (justified by Mohammed's activities with Ayesha, his child sex-slave).

12) All human relations are defined by Dominance/Subjugation. Muslims have schizoid inferiority/superiority complexes. (A well-balanced Muslim is one with a chip on each shoulder). They respect strength but despise compromise as weakness. Appeasement invites more aggression. The only political system which has been strong enough to subjugate Islam is Stalinism.

13) Polygamy ensures alpha-males get extra women, leading to a shortage of women for the betas. Beta-males must either ______(masturbate) (a sin leading to hell), or form dog-packs and rape or capture kafir women as booty in a razzia, or else self-destruct then they can ____(have sex with) 72 mythical virgins in Allah's bordello in the sky.

14) Lying and deception of infidels (taqiyya) is encouraged. This may take many forms, including outright lies, feigned moderation, and condemnation of terrorist attacks to the Kaffir while rejoicing with fellow Muslims. All Muslims are victims of some group of Kafirs and harbor grudges against them and against Kafirs in general. Individuals may appear law-abiding and reasonable, but they are part of a totalitarian movement, and must be considered potential killers who can flip in an instant (SJS -'Sudden Jihad Syndrome').

15) Muslims are forbidden to befriend Kaffirs except for purposes of deceit or where conversion may be possible.

16) The Koran is Allah's final word and cannot be changed or challenged. To do so is punishable by death. Consequently, the Death Cult can never change or be reformed. The instructions to murder and rape infidels are just as valid now as the day they were written. Since Islam cannot be modernised, the Muslims are attempting to Islamise modernity. This requires spreading Islam in the West and simultaneously preventing any criticism of the cult by intimidation and PC legislation to curtail freedom of expression.

17) Treaties and agreements with Kaffirs are made to be broken (Hudna). The word of a Muslim to a Kafir counts for nothing in the eyes of Allah.

18) The world is divided between Dar-al-Islam and Dar-al-Harb (the domain of war, the Kufr lands). Muslims living in Dar-al-Harb must work to disrupt their host nations until these can be brought into Dar-al-Islam.

19) Muslims have no obligation to their host nations and in fact are encouraged to parasitise them. Welfare fraud, identity theft, forgery etc are endemic in Western Muslim populations, and serious crime against Kaffirs is regarded as normal and justified. Extortion rackets against Kafirs are mandated by the Koran ('jizya' is the Arabic term for 'protection money' payable by Jews and Christians to Muslims).

20) The attack on the host nation isn't just against its religion and economy, but is aimed at its very cultural identity. Islam is a complete system, including a culture, which Muslims regard as superior (despite all evidence to the contrary) to other cultures. Muslims are therefore required to destroy the symbols of 'Jahiliya' (sometimes sp. Jahiliyya) - non-Muslim culture. In the East this has included destruction of Hindu temples and Christian churches and replacement with mosques, and destruction of Buddhist artwork and universities and replacement with heaps of rubble. This process of cultural replacement is now beginning in the West. The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our time.
5/01/2006 5:02 PM

Again, I'm sure there are Muslims living in this country that object to everything "ROP" wrote above. I welcome their comments.

Communism used to threaten this world and our way of life. But there were borders attending that evil and our country hadn't yet fallen into the liberal, multicultural, morally bankrupt, and weak condition that we find ourselves in today. In the 50's and 60's we fought and held the line against those who would subjugate us and change our way of life. Sadly, today we invite its immigration.

Are we up to this threat? Some of our leaders don't even recognize its existence... and they may soon gain control of Congress. And many of those who recognize the threat refuse to protect our borders.

There is time to change our course and avoid a very ugly future, but that time may quickly be running out. This is not the time for weakness or appeasement. Ours must be a hardnose and merciless determination to remain who we are... for our sake, and for our children's sake.

Al Gore Shows Up In South Park

At the risk of losing all my Christian friends, my parent's love, and my link at PeterHeck.com, I must confess that I have a weakness... for South Park.

Oh it started innocently enough, wandering in on some of the inoffensive episodes during fits with insomnia... developing my TIMMY!!! impersonation, and saying cool like Cartman (coo-uh). Was it the Michael Jackson episode that hooked me? Was it the Elian Gonzales episode with a cartoon Janet Reno?

I always turned it off when it offended me... I really did. Really.

Generally I avoid South Park... like porn and booze... and other stuff like that.

But how could I resist a parody belittling Al Gore and global warming? I couldn't help myself. It was great. "EXCELSIOR!!!!~"

I still don't get the "genius" of South Park. Funny yes, genius no. Genius would be accomplishing it all without the profanity and lewdness. Then I could be a regular viewer. Then South Park would really be "coo-uh."

Danforth on Gay Marriage

Former Sen. John Danforth says a conservative push to ban gay marriage through a constitutional amendment is silly, calling it the latest example of how the political influence of evangelical Christians is hurting the GOP.

You remember Danforth. He was the Episcopal Priest at Reagan's funeral. He is sort of the moderate version of Reverend Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

The Senate is scheduled to vote in June on a constitutional amendment that its supporters hope will head off any decision in the federal courts that could legalize gay marriage. The measure would need to be approved by two-thirds of those voting in the House and Senate and then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.

But Danforth said he is opposed. "The basic concept of the Republican Party is to interpret the Constitution narrowly, not expansively, so that legislatures, and especially state legislatures, can work out over a period of time the social issues in our country," he said.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/4/30/191928.shtml?s=ic

What? No John, the idea here is not to take the decision away from state legislatures, but rather to take the decision away from unelected federal judges.