Gore REFUSES to Sign Global Warming Pledge

Former Vice President Al Gore has once again proved that he is not as sure about Global Warming as the movie he made and for which he received an OSCAR. But then, with four houses, one of them a 20-room Mansion in Belle Meade (Nashville, TN) with a heated swimming pool, "taking the pledge" might cause some "hardship" as The Tennessean has already gone on record showing that Mr Gore consumes as much energy in a month as the average American consumes in a year.

WASHINGTON, DC – Former Vice President Al Gore refused to take a “Personal Energy Ethics Pledge” today (March 21. 2007) to consume no more energy than the average American household. The pledge was presented to Gore by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, during today’s global warming hearing.

The Pledge States:

As a believer:
· that human-caused global warming is a moral, ethical, and spiritual issue affecting our survival;

· that home energy use is a key component of overall energy use;

· that reducing my fossil fuel-based home energy usage will lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions; and

· that leaders on moral issues should lead by example;

I pledge to consume no more energy for use in my residence than the average American household by March 21, 2008.”

Gore refused to take the pledge.


Washington D.C. - On December 8, 2006, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the outgoing Chairman of Environment & Public Works Committee, is pleased to announce the public release of the Senate Committee published booklet entitled “A Skeptic’s Guide to Debunking Global Warming Alarmism. Hot & Cold Media Spin Cycle: A Challenge To Journalists who Cover Global Warming.” The book features web links to all supporting documentation.

"The American people are fed up with the media for promoting the idea that former Vice President Al Gore represents the scientific “consensus” that SUV’s and the modern American way of life have somehow created a 'climate emergency' that only United Nations bureaucrats and wealthy Hollywood liberals can solve,” Senator Inhofe said in October.

Skepticism that human C02 emissions are creating a “climate catastrophe” has grown in recent times. In September, renowned French geophysicists and Socialist Party member Claude Allegre, converted from a believer in manmade catastrophic global warming to a climate skeptic. This latest defector from the global warming camp caps a year in which numerous scientific studies have bolstered the claims of climate skeptics.

Scientific studies that debunk the dire predictions of human-caused global warming have continued to accumulate and many believe the new science is shattering the media-promoted scientific “consensus” on climate alarmism.

INHOFE OPENING STATEMENT: Hearing on Vice President Al Gore’s Perspective on Global Warming
March 21, 2007

Lastly, the cost: Global warming is now big business. Thousands of individuals and even some Fortune 100 companies stand to make tens of billions of dollars.

I was on the floor opposing the ’93 Clinton-Gore tax increase of $32 billion, but the cost of Kyoto and other CO2 reduction schemes are estimated to be over $300 billion, ten times the cost of your ’93 tax increase. And who’s paying for it? Those on fixed incomes and the poor, who as a percent of their monthly budget spend five times more on energy than the average household.

Largest tax increase in history – 10 times Clinton-Gore of ’93 and the poor pay for it… and the science isn’t there. We just can’t do that to America, Mr. Vice President… and we’re not gonna.

I said all along that this Global Warming issue was a smoke screen for Al Gore to be the "savior-of-the-planet Presidential Candidate" who is encouraged by green-grassroots environmental liberals and leftists to run for the Presidency in 2008.

Baraka Hussein Obama, Jr. set himself up to run for President in 2008 by writing two books so that he would not have to answer the "hard" questions about his religious upbringing. After all, he explained himself in his books, never mind that the information in those books is inaccurate according to his classmates and school records.

But Al Gore, Jr. has done an even better job of setting himself up to be the "savior" candidate in 2008. He narrates a "documentary" movie about global warming and wins himself an OSCAR. Never mind that more and more scientists are debunking his movie as mere propaganda.

Could a documentary be false and misleading?

Addendum:
Tourism Among Worst Polluters according to Discovery News.

March 21, 2007 — Holiday-makers may be ruining their favorite destinations through pollution and greenhouse gases, making the tourism industry one of the world's worst polluters, experts say.
A flight to that pristine beach and a few nights in an air-conditioned hotel room, when repeated on the mass scale of modern tourism, is all it takes to put the holiday business on a polluting par with heavy industries.

The True Cost of War

The Children in Iraq are paying the price of their parents' religious hatred. Why don't the anti-war activists take their protests to the various Iraqi factions instead of marching in Washington, D.C? If they are truly against this war, don't they realize it will be "over" the day that the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds quit fighting among themselves and kick the Iranians, Saudis, Syrians, Jordanians, and other al Qaida and Taliban insurgents out of their Country?

Anti-war talk and marching in Washington, D.C, is "cheap." If a person is truly against this war, take the argument to the warring factions in Iraq. Otherwise, sit down and shut up because you're not truly committed to the anti-war movement, you're just enjoying the camaraderie of the moment.

Fresh Blood Can Kill & other news

Heart wrenching story about the AIDS epidemic among children in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, near the Uzbekistan border. Seems doctors there, with beginning salary of $175 a month, are making money by ordering blood transfusions on children for non-blood related diseases. The doctors charge $20 and keep half. One child had 25 unnecessary blood transfusions.

The British have issued 10,000 fraudulent passports. Two convicted terrorists were issued with two false British passports each.

One was a Moroccan found guilty of a bombing in Casablanca, and the other was Dhiren Barot, from London, who was sentenced to life last November for plotting to kill thousands of people in the UK and US. During Barot's trial, the court heard he considered using a radioactive "dirty bomb".

Visitors to the HUALAPAI INDIAN RESERVATION, in Arizona will have to drive 2 hours on a curvy dirt road to arrive at an architectural wonder: a glass-bottom observation deck allowing them to gaze 4000 feet into the Grand Canyon beneath their feet. The "Skywalk" is a glass-and-steel horseshoe which extends 70 feet beyond the canyon's edge and has no visible supports above or below. Cost for the opportunity will be $75. Hualapai leaders say they weighed environmental concerns for years before agreeing to build the Skywalk. With a third of the tribe's 2,200 members living in poverty, the tribal government decided it needs the tourism dollars.

Free land has already been claimed, but perhaps other interior towns with dwindling populations will be inspired to give away land to increase their populations. Anderson, Alaska, population 300 prior to the giveaway, has winter temperatures of 60 below zero, but that didn't stop hundreds (perhaps thousands) from applying for the homesteads.

One more round about with global warming

The Climate Change Hypocrites

Al Gore, David Cameron, the Independent - they all talk about Climate Change but do they practice what they preach? Watch this short film on the Climate Change Hypocrites and find out that Mr. Gore has a heated pool that costs $500 in natural gas a month!

Article from Wall Street Journal OpinionJournal entitled "Whose Ox Is Gored? The media discover the former vice president's environmental exaggerations and hypocrisy" includes this closing paragraph:

Mr. Gore has called the campaign to combat global warming a "moral imperative." But Mr. Gore faces another imperative: to square his sales pitches with the facts and his personal lifestyle to more align with what he advocates that others practice. "Are you ready to change the way you live?" asks Mr. Gore's film. It's time people ask Mr. Gore "Are you ready to change the way you live, as well as the way you lecture the rest of us?"

Two quotes from the National Association of Manufacturers blogsite:

"As a falsifying, exaggerating, sanctimonious propagandist of global-warming doom, DOOM!, former Vice President Al Gore deserves all the jibes and condemnation that come his way."

"Al Gore ranks as world's chief global-warming alarmist and advocate of silencing debate; as such, he warrants constant, critical attention and, for his many excesses, condemnation."

“The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tomorrow. They come to be accepted by degrees, by precedent, by implication, by erosion, by default, by dint of constant pressure on one side and constant retreat on the other - until the day when they are suddenly declared to be the country’s official ideology.” — Ayn Rand

A Call to Convert

The Triangle Online, the student newspaper at Drexel University, published a call to convert written by Sheikh Usama bin Akhmed, on their Op Ed page on April 2, 2004.

Fortunately for the reader "all the respected newspapers we contacted, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Triangle, have refused to run our opinion pieces and have even reported us to the FBI."

The giveaway was perhaps in the title of the Op Ed piece: "Convert to Wahabbism now lest you die infidel pigs"

Or maybe the first paragraph of the article:

"America is corrupt! America is immoral! America is ruled by Satan, who employs the Jews to carry out his bidding! If you are still reading this, that means that there is still some hope for your soul. I, Sheikh Usama ibn Akhmed, am the president of Wahabbism Now for America. Our organization recognizes the massive moral shortcomings of this immoral culture and attempts to fix it by enforcing the purest form of Islam; this form of Islam, Wahabbism, is the law of the Holy Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we will impose it on America and all its inhabitants."

He ends by saying: "Of course it goes without saying that soon all shall be forced to convert to our religion and follow our beliefs."

Now, what part of The Constitution of the United States of America and The Bill of Rights do you think this Saudi doesn't understand?

Maybe it's the gun-toting red-neck in me, but I doubt that Saudi Wahabbism is going to go over very well in the South.

Egypt confronts freedom and freedom loses

Egypt Moves to Eliminate Freedom to Protest, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to Speak per Sandmonkey who writes:

"A crackdown on the Egyptian opposition continues its second day with the warrant for the arrest of 19 activists including every single Kefayah leader (the Egyptian secular opposition group), and three of Egypt’s most prominent bloggers: Wael Abbas, Mohamed Sharqawi, and Alaa seif el-Islam.

These arrests are not the only blows to freedom of speech in Egypt: Just last week the appeal for the detained Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim Soliman got rejected, and a lawsuit demanding the shut down of 21 more websites and blogs has been filed. Freedom of speech, for the lack of a better expression, is dying in Egypt."

Kefaya anti-Mubarak demonstration



First person report regarding police crack down on Kefaya demonstration; at least 35 detained. Lots of photographs in this report.

On February 18, 2007, Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al- Faisal, resigned. He stressed that the Saudi-US relations were strong.

A little history about the branch of Muhammadanism taught in Saudi Arabia:

Wahhabism accepts the Qur'an and hadith as fundamental texts, interpreted upon the understanding of the first three generations of Islam. It also accepts various commentaries including Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's book called Kitab al-Tawhid ("Book of Monotheism"), and the works of the earlier scholar Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328).

Wahhabis do not follow any specific madhhab (method or school of jurisprudence), but claim to interpret the words of the prophet Muhammad directly, using the four maddhab for reference. However, they are often associated with the Hanbali maddhab. Wahhabi theology advocates a puritanical and legalistic stance in matters of faith and religious practice.

In 1924 the Wahhabi al-Saud dynasty conquered Mecca and Medina, the Muslim holy cities. This gave them control of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage, and the opportunity to preach their version of Islam to the assembled pilgrims. However, Wahhabism was a minor current within Islam until the discovery of oil in Arabia, in 1938. Vast oil revenues gave an immense impetus to the spread of Wahhabism. Saudi laypeople, government officials and clerics have donated many tens of millions of US dollars to create religious schools, newspapers and outreach organizations.

"In Saudi Arabia, codes of public modesty are strictly enforced by the Islamic religious police, or Mutaween (“Authority for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”). These police, who's values stem from the Wahhabi movement, have the power to arrest men and women for socializing in public, or for violating perceived modesty standards in the country. Many public beatings, amputations of the hands and feet, and executions have taken place in Saudia Arabia after people were arrested for violating modesty codes or accepted sexual practices (i.e. practicing homosexuality).?

President Bush and many Congresspeople consider the Saudis as allies of the USofA?

Invasion or Migration? Just add Kennedy Amnesty Bill & Stir Until Well Blended

"The United States respects rule of law. But in the debate on migration, I remind my fellow citizens that family alues do not stop at the Rio Grande River, that there are decent, hardworking honorable citizens of Mexico who want to make a living for their families. And so, Mr. President, my pledge to you and your government -- but, more importantly, the people of Mexico -- is I will work as hard as I possibly can to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

It's already started

What's already started? The "debate" about Baraka Hussein Obama, Jr's faith-walk. Only the problem is that a Muhammadan doesn't have a "faith-walk" because being a Muhammadan is not a choice a person makes. Just as being born in the USofA makes an illegal alien's child a US Citizen, so being born with a Muhammadan father makes a boy a Muhammadan. There's no getting around this truth. A Muhammadan cannot just "say" that he's converted to Christianity without having a fatwah placed against him and without signing his own death warrant. The fact (F A C T) that Baraka Hussein Obama, Jr does not have a fatwah against him proves that the Muhammadan community knows that his "conversion" to Christianity was made to deceive the American public.

Why is this so hard for liberals to comprehend.

The only thing that Baraka Hussein Obama, Jr wants is to be President of the USofA. He is willing to deceive the American public to accomplish this goal. He started his deception with his "autobiographical" books well in advance of his pursuit of the highest elected office in the USofA. And he didn't tell the truth in those books.

Barry Sotero's (Obama) schoolmate, Rony Amiris, at Besuki Primary School remember's young Barry as enjoying playing football and marbles and of being a very devout Muslim. Amir said, "Barry was previously quite religious in Islam. His birth father, Barack Hussein Obama was a Muslim economist from Kenya ... all of the relatives of Barry's father were very devout Muslims"

"We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong he looked funny," said Rony.

Amiris now the manager of the Bank Mandiri, Jakarta, recently said, "Barry was previously quite religious in Islam. His birth father, Barack Hussein Obama was a Muslim economist from Kenya. Before marrying Ann Dunham, Hussein Obama was married to a woman from Kenya who had seven children. All the relatives of Barry's father were very devout Muslims"

Rony extrapolates further, that Obama at one point had to change his religion if he ever intended later to run for the office of President of the United States because America would never elect a Muslim to the be President of the United States.

All I know to do is to present the truth. It is up to you to decide if you'll accept the truth or be deceived. And I'll be the first to say "I told you so" when "Barry" reverts to Muhammadanism.

The High Road Leads to Deception

The problem with the truth is that someone is going to be offended. The problem with 'the high road' is that someone is going to be deceived.

The truth is that there is no such thing as a "moderate" Muhammadan. The term "moderate Muslim{sic}" has been coined in order to deceive non-Muslims{sic}. The Koran clearly states:

"They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing : But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah. But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and take no friends or helpers from their ranks;" Quran 004.089

What this means is that neither you nor I are racist nor intolerant when we spread the truth about Muhammadanism (aka Islam{sic}).

Islam{sic} does not acknowledge the equality of all humans. There are three types of people: men, women and infidels. Non-Muslims{sic} are worth nothing. A Muslim{sic} man may commit any crime against a non-Muslim{sic} with impunity, even murder.

"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him;" Quran 003.085

"O ye who believe! take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers if they love infidelity above Faith: if any of you do so, they do wrong." Quran 009.023

"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." Quran 009.029 (Jizya : tribute)

"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;" Quran 005.033

If anyone tries to tell you that Muhammadanism or Islam is a "religion of peace" you may want to memorize the above quote giving instructions to execute or crucify those who wage war against "allah" so that you can tell that person the truth.

Tweaking completed

My CD-RW died and has been replaced with a DVD-CD-RW. And I got some extra memory. All for the reasonable price of $175. It's good to live in a small town where the local computer guy only charges $45 an hour.

Now I have the computer back and I am going to catch up on the news.

Have a great weekend!

What's the WOT like in Iraq?

Learn what it's like for our Military in Iraq; not from the mainstream media where the recurrent song is "woe is us" or is that "woe to the U.S.," but from Independent Reporters who pay their own way to Iraq, who are embedded with various fighting units and who report what is REALLY happening there.

Michael Yon

Michael Totten

Bill Roggio

Bill Ardolino

Pat Dollard

J.D. Johannes

Down for tweaking

Blog is going down for a couple days for some much needed tweaking. Real Player won't and Windows shuts down when I attempt to read PDF files.

So, if you haven't skimmed the blog to read what suits your fancy, now is your chance to start from the beginning.

If you get bored, there's always my old standby for good reading and links: Instapundit.

Later!
AuntieCoosa

Told ya so, told ya so!

The British TV station Channel Four is coming out with a scientific rebuttal to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."

"The Great Global Warming Swindle" features experts in climatology, meteorology and other disciplines — from such places as MIT and NASA. The film disputes the link between carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures.

One scientist calls the recent U.N. summary report on climate change "a sham" that included the names of scientists who actually disagreed with its findings.

So, did I tell you so or did I tell you so. Global Warming is a HOAX. It's a smoke-screen. And when a person like Al "I buy pollution indulgences" Gore promotes the thesis of "Global Warming," you can be pretty sure that it's all about politics and not about science.

I'll even go a step or two farther into "green" and "environment" politics. Ever since the earth was inhabited by humans, we have had an effect on the environment. There is no way to go "back" to the 'pristine' because the 'pristine' existed before the first humanoid, in fact, before the first animal, fish, fowl, bug, insect, molecule of living-being ever existed.

The first time a molecule separated into two and then four and then sixteen, such activity began the destruction of the 'pristine' earth. The 'pristine' was a void. A blank. Without any life. A dead-zone.

And then, the first "life" occurred. Whether you believe as I do that God created the earth and then populated it with living beings, or if you believe that some molecule got zapped and suddenly morphed into something living, as soon as there was something living in the void, that void lost its 'pristine' existence.

Oh my goodness. A salient thought. A sudden awareness. There is no way to return to 'pristine.' Even blowing up earth would not return it to 'pristine.' Killing all the humans and animals and fish and birds and bugs and bacteria and germs wouldn't bring the earth back to 'pristine.' It simply cannot be done.

Well, sputter, sputter, what about . . . ? We can't return to 'pristine' but we can reduce, reuse, recycle and try to do as little additional damage to the environment as possible. Each of us has to accept responsibility for our individual part of the current state of the environment. If you own a car, you're polluting the environment. Buying "pollution indulgences" (carbon off-sets) as Al Gore does, from his own company, yet, so that he can heat and cool three houses, including a 20-room mansion in Nashville, is cheating. Al Gore is not 'down-sizing' at all. He's using up the environment at least three times faster than the average family in a six, seven, or eight room house.

Which is why I said and I say, Global Warming is a HOAX. Al Gore brought it up so that he can appear to be the 'earth's savior' when he's 'talked' into running for President (again) in 2008. Global warming is all about politics and has nothing to do with saving the environment. How can it be about saving the environment when the 'herald of hope' is Al "I buy pollution indulgences from my own company" Gore?

Recycled, Inconvenient, & Pre-mature

Does anyone recall a Paul Ehrlich who wrote "Population Bomb" in 1989? In May of 1989, Ehrlich claimed, global warming was going to melt the polar ice caps, causing a flood in which "we could expect to lose all of Florida, Washington D.C., and the Los Angeles basin...we'll be in rising waters with no ark in sight." Ehrlich commanded that to forestall doom, the world needed to cut its energy use in half over 20 years. Industrialization needed to be dragged to a screeching halt, not only in America, but especially in the Third World. It’s been almost twenty years, we never cut our energy use in half, and Florida is still above water, not to mention D.C. and Los Angeles.

So, why is Al Gore recycling Paul Ehrlich? In 2027, will Al Gore be around to explain why his doomsday predictions never occurred or will he, like Paul Ehrlich, fade into oblivion?

In mid February, tiny Amillia Taylor made her public debut. Amillia was delivered at 21 weeks and 6 days, the shortest period of time a child has been carried in utero and lived to survive. ABC World News Tonight was the only broadcast news outlet to make the connection between Amillia’s gestational age and laws governing abortion. Kudos to ABC anchor Charlie Gibson. ABC made a point of presenting both sides of the story.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper, 360 also tackled the abortion-related issues surrounding Amillia’s birth, but couched the discussion in terms of “fetus viability.” Bioethicist Arthur Caplan showed his true colors when he said, “… it isn’t just a question of biological life, it’s also a question of at what price to the child.” What price to the child? Living with disabilities is a small price to pay, considering the alternative – not living at all. What does that say about the countless children born with problems similar to those of a pre-mature infant? Are their lives worth less because of their disabilities?

God bless little Amillia Taylor.

Politics at the center

As usual, if you're curious about all the hoopla over the hypocrisy of Al Gore, I direct you to Instapundit. I've read a number of the posts there (plenty of links there, so if you're curious, link on and look) and I am amazed at how easy it is for the liberals to give Al Gore a pass on his hypocrisy and how adamant they are to point out the hypocrisy of a conservative. What puzzles me is that liberals do not see the inequity of their actions. Now, why is this? What's the motivation behind ignoring the plank in your own eye while screaming about the toothpick in someone else's eye?

One writer tries to convince the audience that Al Gore "isn't like the rest of us" and so doesn't have to live under the same set of rules. Hello? Is he breathing the same air as I am? Then he does have to live under the same rules as I do. For a Democrat, a "Party of the People," to claim that one of its leaders is a member of an "elite class" who doesn't have to share in the proletariat's sacrifices for the common good is outrageous hypocrisy.

How anyone can justify that kind of illogical duplicity is beyond me. There is no excuse for it. Period. And if you are a Democrat, then you are part of the deceit or you can speak out to your Congresspeople and to your Party and hold them accountable.

Al Gore owns three houses. One is a 20-room mansion in Nashville, TN. For anyone to say he represents the "common man" is the height of pomposity, pretentiousness, and dishonesty. And anyone who defends this type of deceit is as guilty as Al Gore is.

If the Democrats want any rational person to listen to them, they might want to try being honest.

Inconvenient Truth for Al Gore

Recuperating from bronchitis. Took my own advice and checked out Instapundit and located some additional discussion on Global Warming since Al Gore's "Oscar" for his movie.

Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

The Captain states:

Gore doesn't want to make the same kind of sacrifices that he's asking other families to make. He's using a modern form of indulgences in order to avoid doing the penance that global-warming activism demands of others. It means that the very rich can continue to suck up energy and raise the price and the demand for electricity and natural gas, while families struggle with their energy costs and face increasing government regulation and taxation.

The Anchoress has this to say in an article documenting that President Bush is much "greener" than former Vice President Al Gore:

if the big boys of Global Warming aren’t really taking the issue seriously…if they find it so unserious as to allow the issue to be used as a political wedge or a rabble-rousing sound-bite, and that’s all…well, then I don’t have to take it seriously, either.

She also states:

(the) most emphatic reason for disbelieving all the Global Warming hoo-hah is a simple one that lots of true believers probably won’t understand. If the people promoting the hysteria on warming were serious - if the issue were a real one and not simply a political tool, then the hyper-concerned folks would be welcoming and heralding thoughtful environmental programs and helpful policies from any-and-all quarters, even - gasp - from the right. Even - gaspgasp - from George W. Bush. (You know, the guy who frees oppressed women and is cursed at by the feminists, the guy who keeps an eco-friendly ranch and is restoring the destroyed wetlands of Iraq and is hated by the enviros.)

You probably don’t know what I am talking about. You probably have no idea that President Bush has been working with China, India, Japan, South Korea and Australia on a creative - not Kyoto - environmental policy.

Challenge you to read the articles linked. It could be an eye-opener for some. For others, there's no tellin' -- Auntie Coosa

Two Photos: One Freedom

Take a look at this photo. What do you see? This man was tried and convicted in Egypt (our ally?) for Internet-based journalism. He was charged with "inciting hatred of Islam" and insulting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on his blog. His name is Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman and he will be in jail for four years.


Take a look at this photo. What do you see? The man passing out small US Flags is Eric Odessit. He is not a natural-born American. He was born and raised in the Soviet Union, and emigrated to the United States in the late 1980s. He has since become a naturalized citizen and staged a one-man counter protest in San Diego recently.

Two men.
Two worlds away.
One is jailed for exercising freedom of speech on the Internet.
One hands out US Flags in counter-protest in San Diego.
Both men have a common bond: Freedom of Speech.

A letter from Iraq

Hope Rides Alone By Eddie

I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.

I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.

There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not. And to think, I volunteered for this... And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.

But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.

I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they kn ow nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.

People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming our enemy.

Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam. In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war.

Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the Internet...and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed...for doing their job.

It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this. Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq? Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that Bush was right.

America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It's not like World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a service member, its life as usual...the war doesn't affect you.

But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece together what's left of them after their service...where will the detractors be then? Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their friends? They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders.

We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its end. But the country must unite in this endeavor...we cannot place the burden on our military alone.

We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our cause.

Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't. Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight! Isn't that what America is about anyway?

Is it Bush's Fault?

Dr. Sanity's viewpoint.

Former Mayor of NYC, Ed Koch's viewpoint.

A World Without America?

I won a head cold?

Had a great weekend with my son and family. Watched the Daytona 500 on television. Noticed that there are a lot of NASCAR fans who don't fit the profile the media caters toward. The media doesn't spend much time with NASCAR, other than the announcers you'd expect to be knowledgeable, like Darrell Waltrip (Boogity, boogity, boogity). Thankfully FOX gives NASCAR air time and the other major outlets do so in smaller quantities because NASCAR really IS big business.

NASCAR fans are loyal. Even in the wake of reported anomolies (do we have to say "cheating?"), NASCAR fans support their favorite drivers. They also support the businesses who support NASCAR. Look at the advertisements on the vehicles and you'll see "middle America" at its best.

If you don't understand NASCAR, there's even online instruction.

My favorite driver didn't win, but I didn't come home empty handed, I brought home a head cold.

More news than a car full of NASCAR drivers at Instapundit.

If you were wondering why bread and water are not good for you, the answer is here. Oh, surely you were wondering, weren't you? Bookmark Dark Roasted Blend for additional outrageous information and for days when you just need a good laugh . . . that's every day, right?

“HOUSE HEARING ON ‘WARMING OF THE PLANET’ CANCELED AFTER SNOW/ICE STORM”

How to purchase a camera

1- Decide what you want in a camera.
2- Read the reviews and compare sample photos at Steve's Digicams.
3- Purchase new camera from manufacturer's website. In this case, Sony.
(Steve's Digicams lists trusted merchants on his site.)

I chose to order from the manufacturer because the price was comparable and shipping was free. And if there was a question, I have their phone number on my cell phone.

Why is it always someone else's fault?

Why can't some people just apologize and admit that their actions or words were offensive and that they will contain their contempt in the future?

Amanda Marcotte has left the John Edwards campaign and in the process maligned Bill Donohue once again.

If Ms Marcotte really supports John Edwards, she could volunteer her services to him. And if she really supports him, she will be willing to curtail her disingenuous remarks on her blog at least for the duration of the electoral process.

Stay tuned.

Addendum:
The open letter that the GOP doesn't want you to read found here

The Saga of "the NIB Camera that wasn't"

True Saga.

In January of this year I finally decided on a camera to take backpacking: the Sony Cyber-shot DSC S600. I came to this conclusion by comparing pictures at Steve's Digcams and talking to my brother. (Hmm, his website is still under construction.)

Anyway, I made a major mistake. At Steve's Digicams, if I had scrolled down, I would have found online stores that sell the camera. But I played "Scot" and did a froogle search. The best price was at Rite Buys dot Com. So I proceed to order online. I got an email asking me to contact them by phone. I called and ordered a New In Box (as advertised) Sony DSC S600 camera. The salesman stated that the camera didn't have any memory and I'd need a memory card. (Now this RED FLAG should have indicated a problem in the making.) I assumed the salesman was just a phone operator and didn't know anything about cameras. He offered a 1 Gig Sony memory card for $89, at which I balked. Then he offered a 512 mb card for $69, at which I balked. So he stated he'd sell me the 1 Gig card for the price of the 512 mb card, which was fine. And he stated he was including for free a Sony new camera kit. I then received in quick succession an email confirmation and verification of my order. (More RED FLAGS as neither email listed the items I had purchased.)

I went on a short vacation and when I returned, I picked up my mail and the box with my camera. In great anticipation, I opened the box and to my surprise, the first thing I see is the memory card. It's NOT a Sony Memory Pro card, it's a SanDisk 1 Gig memory card. I'm disappointed as I already priced the SanDisk at a local store and online and could pick up a 1 Gig card for a lot less than $69. I remove the packing and there sits a rather "banged up" (tossed around, shuffled across a floor, scuffed up) box for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC S600. I carefully look at the box. It's been opened. In fact, it's been opened so many times that the manufacturers tape over the opening tab is totally missing. Lots of tape residue, no tape. The opening tab had been bent back, there appeared to be the SONY UPC code on one side of the box and another unknown (think refurbished, maybe) UPC code on the other side. I carefully open the box and the various booklets and the CD were not stacked in any order. Some were upside down some were hind-part before. Hmmm, I'm thinking, something is amiss. Then I look at the camera. It's in the box, but the wrapping doesn't look right. The batteries are tossed in the box and not in a glascene wrap. The wrist strap is just tossed in the box. I'm getting a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then I look at the camera kit. It's not a Sony kit. I don't even bother opening it up. I can't take any more disappointment at this point.

I have been scammed. Bait and switch. And then the disappointment is replaced by anger. I am not a happy camper.

The next day, I go to a friend's office and show him the camera and relate the story to him. I then make a phone call to the salesman. He argues with me. I ask for his supervisor. He forwards the call to a woman who answers with something other than Rite Buys dot Com and I ask her if the phone number is Rite Buys, she states yes, so I put my phone on "speaker phone" before I talk to her. I am polite and firm. I mention to her that the shipping receipt states that opened packages are not eligible to be returned and that they have scammed me because they sent me an opened box. I tell her that I am sending the camera back and I'm not paying a restocking fee. The woman argues with me. I ask to speak to her supervisor. She states she has none. I ask to speak to her manager. Again, she says she handles all complaints and has no manager. I think ask for the name of the president of her company. She refuses to give me a name. Then I ask for the names of her board of directors and their phone numbers. She states she has no board of directors. (By this time, I am fully aware that this woman is lying through her teeth.) She tells me I will have to fill out a form to return the camera and it will be emailed to me within 24 hours. She finally gives me a name of the president as she's hanging up.

The Return Authorization request form is emailed within a few minutes and I make a copy, complete it and fax it to the number on the form. I then receive an email with a number and instructions on how to return the item. I complete three pages of explanation and include a dozen and a half photos I've taken of the box and the camera to show that it was not "NIB" (new in box), but an opened box.

While I'm writing this letter, I do a bit of research. I learn the truth about Rite Buys dot Com. They are not a new-camera store, they are a RESELLER. All the information you will ever need for Rite Buys or all the other active and inactive business names used by "the 1 Stop Camera Family" can be found here. And that's not all. There are pages of RESELLER RATINGS for Rite Buys here.

I did my homework, I just failed to dig a bit deeper to where Rite Buys dot Com's skeletons were.

After I mailed the package back with signature tracking and insurance Priority Mail, I emailed Rite Buys and asked them if the package had been received. They emailed me a day later claiming that they had not received it. So I emailed back and told them, yes they had and included the USPS tracking information. No response. A few days later I found the ratings page on the Internet and I contacted my charge card and disputed the amount billed, not to Rite Buys as the many companies owned by "the 1 Stop Camera family" do not use that name for billing. They used Digital Net Shop when they billed me.

Then the other day I got a letter from my charge card with instructions for information they needed for their files. Needless to say, I sent them just about everything and wrote another three page letter describing in greater detail what I've just posted here.

The lesson? Search a little deeper before you buy something on the Internet unless it's from a well-known and trusted company.

My favorite online companies -- and they all have great return policies --

REI

Campmor

BassPro

Sierra Trading Post

L L Bean

Northern Mountain Supply

Sports Authority

Radio Shack

Kohls

Referrals on a Busy Saturday in February

Today, I refer you to:

Instapundit for lots of good information and news.

Extreme Mortman discusses the Washington Post "misattribution" of the source of information on Iraq. The actual source for the "intelligence information" was a Democrat Congressman and not the Pentagon's inspector general. Seems like a reporter for the WaPo wouldn't confuse those two sources. Not that the WaPo would lie for emphasis or anything.

OnPoint Blog written by embeds in Iraq. Great stories of what's really happening in Iraq. We are winning the hearts and minds of the various tribal sheiks. It just takes time and patience. And we have to have a product that's better than what AlQaida in Iraq has.

The Volokh Conspiracy has an article which describes the desperation of the Global Warming fanatics. Global Warming advocates don't want anyone questioning the results of their environmental studies and are proposing that we nay-sayers are "now on a par with Holocaust deniers" (according to Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe). And that's not all. Former Vice President Al Gore reportedly "has proposed that the media stop covering climate skeptics." Heidi Cullen, chief climatologist of the Weather Channel states in her blog:

"If a meteorologist can't speak to the fundamental science of climate change, then maybe the AMS shouldn't give them a Seal of Approval."

If they were sure of their science, would they not want other scientists to question their statements, if only to come to the same conclusion? What are they afraid of?

Hot Air, Michelle Malkin's blog, responds with video proof that William Arkin of the Washington Post misspoke when he stated:

"So, we pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them . . . ."

Watch the video before you comment.

More on the Edwards and his bloggers situation.

Just saw this and wonder why in the world do they even attempt to act as if they're "doing the correct thing" when they know they're going to find some way to worm around what's correct and still get what they want. They? Congress!

Tolerance and the lack thereof

Tolerance.

The catch word for "anything and everything goes." The excuse used for offending others. If I publish something on this blog that is obscene, crude, rude and repulsive and you mention it, then I can screech "freedom of speech" and "you're intolerant."

What a slap in the face the word "intolerant" is.

Well, maybe.

If I am tolerant of you and your beliefs, then, do I publish things on this blog that are obscene, crude, rude and repulsive? In other words: Is Tolerance a Two Way Street?

If you live in this society, do you use freedom of speech responsibly? Do you screech obscenities about a certain religion and then hide behind your interpretation of the Bill of Rights when someone confronts you for your obscenities? Do you call the other person "intolerant" because they are offended by the volatile words you use and the disrespectful comparisons you make?

We bloggers have a right to question, to confront, to expose. We also have a responsibility to do so in a respectable manner.

I could use expletives when discussing the fallacies in Muhammadanism. I would probably lose readers. Do I tell the truth? Yes. Do I use logic and reason? Yes. So what would using profanity prove? How would it help my argument?

My mother always told me that people who use profanity have small vocabularies.

Maybe the two "Edwards Bloggers" are just "vocabulary challenged." And maybe their understanding of tolerance is entirely one-sided and hasn't matured into a complete understanding of the respect and responsibility which goes hand in hand with tolerance.

Women in the news

A very sad occurance early this afternoon was the untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith. No matter what you thought of her, she was a new mother of a five month old whose 20-year old first born son died three days after her daughter was born. Her life was turmoil and popularity. She was beautiful, talented, and considered herself akin to Marilyn Monroe. It appears that like Marilyn Monroe, Anna Nicole Smith died before her time.

Then there's the story of the Astronaut, Lisa Nowak, charged with attempted murder. NASA is going to revamp its psychological screening process as a result of Mrs. Nowak's actions.

And finally, there's Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan. If you're not familiar with them, then you have not visiting the John Edwards for President in 2008 website. The two women take an anti-Catholic position in their blogs (as well as anti-men and anti-South) and carry that attitude over to Mr Edward's website. William Donohue of the Catholic League wrote Mr Edwards about their anti-Catholic harangue. Other bloggers blogged. And there were no apologies. The women are still working for Mr Edwards.

The question for the reader: does this or how does this affect you personally?

Missing Shame

Would we get headlines like this if we/they felt shame?
Astronaut Charged with Kidnap Attempt.
State Lawmaker: Send Ninth-Graders to Prison to Teach Them Lesson.
FEMA Seeks to Recoup $309 Million in Katrina Recovery Aid.
Britain Plan to list paedophile web names.
Lost Greek boy "may be sex victim".
Indian Army and Police Tied to Kashmir Killings.

Lack of feeling shame for one's indecent, illegal actions creates headlines like these. Feel free to add the url/web address of other headlines in which a feeling of shame might have stopped a person's actions.

It's criminal; it's a crime; it's a crying shame

A New York City police officer was hospitalized in serious but stable condition this morning (02/05/07) after being attacked by a man with a baseball bat while on foot patrol in Queens, the police said.

The man stole his gun but another Officer (also on foot patrol in the high-crime area) was able to chase down the perpetrator and arrest him.

There were 161 homicides in New Orleans last year, and there have been 18 so far this year, making New Orleans by most measures the nation’s per capita murder capital, given its sharply reduced population.

Other cities have plenty of murders. But only in New Orleans has there been the uniquely poisoned set of circumstances that has led to this city’s position at the top of the homicide charts. Every phase of the killing cycle here unfolds under the dark star of dysfunction: the murderers’ brutalized childhoods, the often ineffectual police intervention, a dulled community response, and a tense relationship between the police and prosecutors that lets many cases slip through the cracks.

Hurricane Katrina’s devastation loosened the fragile social restraints even further, making the city perhaps more dangerous than ever.

Two-thirds of the murders in New Orleans have not been solved. They still have no crime lab, although the Federal Government has put up $5 million. When arrests are made, by the time the evidence is gathered, the 60-day jail time has passed and the criminals are on the street again. There is a lot of mistrust between the police and inner-city residents.

Eric E. Malveau, who has worked as a prosecutor and a public defender stated “As long as you have a large population that is uneducated and has no job and no hope, what else is there to do but sell drugs? Until you fix that, it’s hard to see the problems getting much better.”

Bureau of Justice Statistics
FBI Uniform Crime Reports
Federal Crime Statistics compiled by the White House

Crime statistics are a crying shame. Why? Because as a Nation, as individuals, we have allowed ourselves to be emotionally anesthetized beyond the point of shame.

Shame? Yes: A painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace. Capacity for such a feeling.(1)
We have allowed ourselves to be unaffected by crime. We watch realistic television and dull our senses. We feel no shame when we lie, steal, cheat, or kill. We excuse our own or others behaviors which would have been considered "improper" a few years ago and would have caused us or others to feel a sense of shame.

Would there be less crime if we, if each of us, regained a sense of shame? If murder were not considered a gang "rite of passage" but instead was a disgrace to the person and his/her family, would murder statistics decline? If rape, theft, larceny, car jacking, fraud, embezzlement were considered a disgrace to the person and his/her family, would those statistics decline? If adultery were considered a disgrace, would Hollywood's "musical bedrooms" continue to make the headlines in the "movie magazines?"

Where does shame belong in morality? Is shame even a part of moral decisions? Deep thoughts for a Monday morning.


(1)Modern Language Association (MLA): "shame." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 05 Feb. 2007.

Video on Immigration

Roy Beck's celebrated demonstration of the population consequences of current U.S. immigration policies has entertained and shocked all audiences across the country. This video is packed with the facts and analysis that make moral and practical sense of a complex and highly contentious issue.

Linked through the subject line and the photo of Mr. Beck. This 14 minute video is worth your time. Please forward this to your State and Federal Legislators.

For more detailed information go to NumbersUSA.

How to win in Al-Anbar

1- ABC News article about Capt. Travis Patriquin, author of the idea.
Another ABC article regarding the Captain.

2- HamNation YouTube demonstration of Capt. Patriquin's idea.

Capt. Travis Patriquin, 32, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, was killed by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, Iraq, on December 6th.

HeraldNewsOnline.com article.

Michael Fumento's article regarding the late Capt. Travis Patriquin.

CopTheTruth.com article.

BlackFive honors Capt. Patriquin.

From FindAGrave.com:

Travis is a direct descendant of John Hart, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War, John Hart lost everything he had -- his farm, his home, his wife, his children, and his life -- for freedom and independence. He was known as "Honest John" and he followed his heart, beliefs, dreams, and hopes to help establish the lifestyle we all enjoy today. Travis did the same thing. History does repeat itself.

Surviving family includes Patriquin's wife, Amy, and three children, Emily, 7, Harmon, 5, and Logan, 1. There is a memorial fund for the Captain's children at:

TRAVIS PATRIQUIN FAMILY MEMORIAL FUND
HARRIS BANK
111 W. MONROE ST. 111/1C
CHICAGO, IL 60603

Global Warming, again.

When John Travolta gives up his "gas guzzling" 707 and Gulf Stream, I'll worry about how much I am personally "warming" the environment.



Addendum 02/13/2007
When Al Gore explains how the USofA is responsible for Mars' global warming, I'll worry about how much I am personally "warming" Mars' environment.

Global warming is a smoke screen for bigger government and additional State and Federal regulations which will erode our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. The ‘Left’ has made global warming an emotional issue and attacks dissenters with a vengeance. Instead of promoting scientific discussion, they effectively impede it by attacking the scientists who disagree with the “official” party ideology. As far as the Left is concerned, the issue of global warming has been resolved and no analytical, rational proof to the contrary will persuade them to abandon their dogma.

The Leftists, Liberals, Democrats have determined the “enemy” of the people to be “the people.” And they have named themselves as the “redeemer” and their doctrine as the only legally acceptable authority.

Who's to Blame for The Killing

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, February 2, 2007; Page A15 The Washington Post

We have made a lot of mistakes in Iraq. But when Arabs kill Arabs and Shiites kill Shiites and Sunnis kill all in a spasm of violence that is blind and furious and has roots in hatreds born long before America was even a republic, to place the blame on the one player, the one country, the one military that has done more than any other to try to separate the combatants and bring conciliation is simply perverse.

It infantilizes Arabs. It demonizes Americans. It willfully overlooks the plainest of facts: Iraq is their country. We midwifed their freedom. They chose civil war.

Interesting War Statistic

An Interesting Statistic:

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the US involvement in Iraq, here's a sobering statistic:

There has been a monthly average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths. That gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington DC is 80.6 per 100,000 persons for the same period.

That means that you are about 25 percent more likely to be shot and killed in the US Capital than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The US should pull out of Washington

How Illegal Aliens Affect the USofA

Wooldridge: How Much Further Into This Nightmare?

t-fire-news documents 25 reasons to deport illegal aliens.

Immigration Facts by Texans for Immigration Reform.

Immigration and Welfare

Some people mistakenly think that immigrants are not eligible for welfare. Several years ago, Congress did attempt to render immigrants ineligible for most forms of welfare. However, subsequent backpedaling by Congress and the executive branch has undone most of those reforms. Furthermore, many immigrant families get welfare through the eligibility of their U.S. citizen children. (It is also important to realize that even when immigrants are ineligible for federal welfare programs, the burden of their support is simply shifted over to the state and local welfare agencies.)

Here's the real Christmas story of illegal invaders by Robert Ussery in the DesMoines Register.

Today, kingpins from Mexico sent their mules to the north, bearing 80 percent of its imports of cocaine, 50 percent of its imports of heroin and, in Iowa, bringing 80 percent of its meth.

The illegal invaders also bring with them leprosy, multiple-drug-resistant TB, Chagas disease, dengue fever, polio, malaria and intestinal parasites.

How Tennesseans view illegal immigration.

Citizens for a Constitutional Republic on illegal immigration.
I direct your attention to the links on this page concerning the prosecution of two Border Patrol Agents and the immunity granted to an illegal alien drug smuggler for his testimony against those Border Patrol Agents. The facts of this case would have created a different conclusion had all the evidence been presented. The DA not only prosecuted men who are supposed to stop illegal alien drug smugglers, he also incorrectly used a Texas law to put those Border Patrol Agents in jail.

Until we in the USofA stop hyphenating our nationality/race/religion, we will not be the great Country we once were. Either we are a "melting-pot" called US Americans or we sink into a "multicultural third world identity." Take your pick.

Who is Baraka Hussein Obama, Jr.?

1- After two years in the U.S. Senate, he is running for President? Has he even been in Washington long enough to be able to direct a tourist from Capitol Hill to the White House without getting him lost?

2- His full name--as by now you have probably heard--is Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Hussein is a Muslim name, which comes from the name of Ali's son--Hussein Ibn Ali. And Obama is named after his late Kenyan father, the late Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., apparently a Muslim.

And while Obama may not identify as a Muslim, that's not how the Arab and Muslim Streets see it. In Arab culture and under Islamic law, if your father is a Muslim, so are you. And once a Muslim, always a Muslim. You cannot go back. In Islamic eyes, Obama is certainly a Muslim. He may think he's a Christian, but they do not.

3- . . . in his own two autobiographies, Obama writes that his teacher at the school sent a note home to his mother that Obama made trouble by making faces while the class was studying the Koran. Uh, sorry, but public schools DO NOT study the Koran. Islamic schools do. And which suras was Obama studying? How about the many suras that preach deception and killing of Infidels? It's doubtful that the school didn't teach those. It's more likely that they did. And which violent Hadiths did the school teach? We'll never know. And Obama won't be trumpeting them.

4- An investigation of Mr. Obama by political opponents within the Democratic Party has discovered that Mr. Obama was raised as a Muslim by his stepfather in Indonesia. Sources close to the background check, which has not yet been released, said Mr. Obama, 45, spent at least four years in a so-called Madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in Indonesia.

5- Is Barack Obama Lying About His Life Story?

I leave this for you to decide after doing your own research. Do not accept anything you hear or read at face value. Research. Ask the hard questions. Learn about Muhammadanism. You will find that the Koran does declare that lying is forgiven by "allah" if the lying is done to further the cause of Muhammadanism. This begs the question: "Can a Muhammadan be trusted to tell the honest truth?"

I can't answer this question for anyone except myself. Using reason and logic, what conclusion do you come to?

Integrity - some lack it

This is totally disgusting behavior. This is uncivilized.

But I forgot, they call themselves "Anarchists" and so they are.

Anarchist: a person who seeks to overturn by violence all constituted forms and institutions of society and government, with no purpose of establishing any other system of order in the place of that destroyed.*{Source listed below}

Here's a short description of Anarchist behavior over the weekend:

Anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint on part of the west front steps of the United States Capitol building after police were ordered to break their security line by their leadership, two sources told The Hill.

Approximately 300 protesters were allowed to take the steps and began to spray paint "anarchist symbols" and phrase such as "Our capitol building" and "you can’t stop us" around the area, the source said.

The Anarchists use First Amendment Rights to get close enough to the Capitol Building to have done more damage than "just" graffiti. Why were they allowed to get that close to the Capitol Building? Why were the police told not to stop them? Where was security?

Do we have to wait until some "anti" group destroys a Federal Government Building before we do something to protect the remainder?

I want answers and I will be writing my Congressmen in an attempt to get an answer to this breach of security.

Now is no time for apathy. Apathy is a destroyer our democracy.

The Capitol employs Safety Ambassadors who remove graffiti. They were undoubtedly busy after the "Anti-War Protest" this past weekend.

*{Source of definition} Modern Language Association (MLA):
"anarchist." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 29 Jan. 2007.

Michael Yon an embedded photographer/reporter

Michael Yon is a young man who has the distinct privilege and honor to be allowed to pay his own way to Iraq so that he can embed with our soldiers. His photographs and his front-line reports are awe inspiring. I encourage you to stop, click on the title or the photo and spend some time with Mr. Yon through his photos and reports from Iraq. I hope you encounter a similar admiration for this fine young man as I have.

God Bless Our Troops. God Bless America.

Of lies and distortions

The War on Terror in Iraq is not immune to distorted reporting. There's an article at Mickey Kaus' blog in reference to Andrew Sullivan's obviously distorted version of what is occurring in Iraq as US Soldiers act as advisors while Iraqi National Forces apprehend insurgents. The insurgents were in a vehicle carrying a bag full of mortars.

Sullivan was not in the Iraqi vehicle to know what the insurgents were saying to their captors which precipitated the Iraqis stopping to pummel an insurgent. Nor can he truthfully comprehend what it is like to fear for your life because you belong to one sect of a religion/cult which is considered by another sect of the same religion/cult as merely "targets" and not "true" followers of that religion/cult.

But what disturbs me is that so many people will accept what Andrew Sullivan says as truthful. It's a distortion. Andrew Sullivan lies in order to promote an agenda contrary to the facts in this situation. That is the bottom line.

Articles on Global Warming and Mars Warming

List of scientists opposing global warming consensus.


Photo of Mars from Hubble Space Telescope
Mars is warming. Can this be blamed on the Space Utility Vehicle (SUV) Rover?
Heartland Institute Environmental News referenced above.

National Center for Policy Analysis articles on Global Warming. Approximately 150 articles.

Humans are not the initial or direct cause of Global Warming or of Mars Warming. There's not enough evidence to blame humanity for Global Warming and definitely not any evidence to blame humanity for Mars Warming! The cycle of life is at work in the Universe. And the Earth is a part of that Universe. Think about it.

POLITICS, that's why

The reason I'm putting off my Thru Hike this year . . . is politics. I can't go off and worry that some "Tokyo Rose" or "Tokyo Ross" is voicing her/his opinion and my voice is silent because I'm on the Appalachain Trail for six months.


Tokyo Rose
She had the best music on her station and most people just laughed. She reported that one ship was sunk no less than five times but each time Davey Jones threw her back up.

During World War II -- the Japanese developed a way to demoralize the American forces. Psychological warfare experts developed a message they felt would work.

They gave the script to their famous broadcaster "Tokyo Rose" and every day she would broadcast this same message packaged in different ways, hoping it would have a negative impact on American GI's morale.

What was that demoralizing message? It had three main points:

1. Your President is lying to you.
2. This war is illegal.
3. You cannot win the war.

Does this sound familiar?

Is it because:

Tokyo Hillary,
Tokyo Harry,
Tokyo John,
Tokyo Teddy,
Tokyo Nancy,

have picked up the same message and are broadcasting it on

Tokyo CNN,
Tokyo ABC,
Tokyo CBS,
Tokyo NBC,

to our troops?

The only difference is that they claim to support our troops before they demoralize them.

Come to think of it, Tokyo Rose told the troops she was on their side, too!

News and Views

Guess I should do as Glenn Reynolds and post every day, even if it's just for a website I've found that is interesting.

How do you feel about animals being killed for convenience?

From July 1998 through the end of 2005, PETA killed over 14,400 dogs, cats, and other "companion animals" -- at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. That's more than five defenseless animals every day. Not counting the pets PETA spayed and neutered, the group put to death over 90 percent of the animals it took in during 2005.

I'm not making this up. There's a trial in Winton, NC right now. And the North Carolina District Attorney hints that the killing of animals by PETA in NC is not an isolated incident.

I'd like to see Al Gore and the Global Warming theorists try to pin the warming on Triton, Neptune's largest moon, on the USofA.

The Earth is not alone in suffering global warming. According to observations made by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and several ground-based instruments, temperatures on Neptune's largest moon have increased dramatically since the Voyager space probe swung by in 1989. So much so, in fact, that Triton's surface of frozen nitrogen is turning into gas, making its thin atmosphere denser by the day.

So, you think maybe the idea that 'global' or 'universal' warming isn't the USofA's fault has any credibility? What do you die-hards say? Keep it clean and I'll post it in comments.

Pres. Bush; Mr. Cheney; Ms. Pelosi

What are you thinking?

The Senate voted yesterday to allow illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits based on past illegal employment -- even if the job was obtained through forged or stolen documents. They commit a FELONY and now they cannot be prosecuted; they can draw money on forged documents and false Social Security numbers. Sounds like amnesty to me.

It's not "FAIR" you say? What's not fair? Someone coming into a country illegally and depleting resources that could and would be used by resident citizens of that country? Illegals go to emergency rooms because they know they can sign a form stating they'll pay a certain amount each month and then never pay it because the hospital can't find them. They used false paperwork and gave false Social Security numbers. And WHO ultimately pays the bill? Resident citizens in higher health costs or increased deductibles.

It's not "FAIR" you say? Someone comes into a country illegaly, uses a false identity and Social Security number to work and then thinks he's/she's a VICTIM when he/she cannot draw Social Security payments based on those false documents?

I'll tell you what's UNFAIR -- Congress. They are acting very close to traitorous toward resident citizens of the United States of America. They (or at least 51 Senators of which we are aware) are trying to undermine the financial stability of the USofA. And the financial stability of this country is hanging by a hair as we spend billions all over the world and take responsibility for anything and everything Nature (or God - the REAL One) throws into the mix.

I'll tell you what's UNFAIR - While Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican was among 44 Republicans and five Democrats who voted for his ammendment to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 to permanently block Social Security payouts to illegals who used faked identity and Social Security numbers to work in the USofA, 51 Senators: 40 Democrats/Independents and 11 Republicans voted to "table" this issue and never to bring it up again during this Congress!

From Progressive U

The bill that says, "you stole someone's social security number and ruined their credit history and job history? No problem, you can have some of their benefits as well!" Are you kidding me!!!! This is completely outrageous!!! We continue to be duped and now even conservatives are being duped!!! Or are they? Are we the people this dumb? How can something like this fly by without being noticed? Well senator John Ensign (R-NV) noticed it and Voted No on the bill. He even went a step further and proposed an amendment to the bill that would "ensure that persons who receive an adjustment of status under [the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act] are not able to receive Social Security benefits as a result of unlawful activity." The senate then by a vote of 51-49 voted to kill the amendment and never bring it up again in what's called a Motion to Table.

These are the Senators who voted to for the Motion to Table, thereby stoping Senator Ensign's best efforts to have that part of the Amendment of allowing illegals to recieve benefits be changed to read that should those illegal immigrants later apply for US citizenship, none of the years they worked and paid Social Security while they were using forged documents could be used when subsequently applying for Social Security:
Alabama:
Alaska: Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Arizona: McCain (R-AZ), Yea
Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea
California: Boxer (D-CA), Yea Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Colorado: Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Yea Lieberman (D-CT), Yea
Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea
Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea
Georgia:
Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Yea Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Idaho:
Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Yea Obama (D-IL), Yea
Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa: Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky:
Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Maine:
Maryland: Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Sarbanes (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Yea Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Minnesota:
Mississippi:
Missouri:
Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Nevada: Reid (D-NV), Yea
New Hampshire:
New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
New York: Clinton (D-NY), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea
North Carolina:
North Dakota: Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Ohio: DeWine (R-OH), Yea Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma:
Oregon: Wyden (D-OR), Yea
Pennsylvania: Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island: Chafee (R-RI), Yea Reed (D-RI), Yea
South Carolina: Graham (R-SC), Yea
South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Tennessee:
Texas:
Utah:
Vermont: Jeffords (I-VT), Yea Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Virginia:
Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea
West Virginia: Rockefeller (D-WV), Not Voting
Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Wyoming:

To write a thank you note to Senator John Ensign of Nevada, go here.
Thank you.