Judge Denies Bail for Accused Chicago Teen Gunman

Two Chicago area teens, one 19 and one 17, are being held on first degree murder charges for a Saturday shooting outside Simeon Career Academy. The 19 year old is being held in lieu of a $1million bail, the 17 without bail.

Circuit Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. set bail at $1 million for 19 year old Ronald Little and denied bail for 17 year old Samuel Hill in the parking lot of Simeon Career Academy shooting this year, which left 18 year old Chavez Clarke dead on Saturday, the 20th this year for Chicago Public Schools. Two other teens were arrested in relation to the shooting but released without charges.

Prosecutors Monday said Little pulled a gun from his waistband after he and his three friends were approached in the parking lot of the school by a large, unarmed crowd. An argument broke out. Hill took the gun from his friend and fired the shot that struck Clarke, officials said.

As Hill and his friends ran off, Hill handed the gun back to Little, prosecutors said. When police responded to reports of shots being fired near the school they saw Little drop the weapon, police said.

Hill's lawyer, Howard Weisman, stated that they shooting was in self-defense, and that the men had been confronted by around 18 people in the parking lot. Both he and Gresham Police Cmdr. Eddie Johnson said that there had been previous altercations between the two men and Clarke.

The incident was captured mostly on the schools surveillance equipment and is being examined. Johnson said that he believed that Saturday was chosen by Hill and Little because they thought that there would be fewer security guards and police in the vicinity.

Both teens admitted their involvements in sworn video statements to the police.

School leaders and Chicago Public Schools chief Arne Duncan met with Simeon students behind closed doors this morning, and later made statements in which they called for more gun control. Current Illinois law prohibits the sale of handguns to persons under the age of 21. Hill and Little are both in their teens.

Duncan also compared the two teens to al-Qaeda, stating, "These are basically suicide missions. They are not just destroying somebody else's life, they are destroying their own. They are done forever."

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Breaking: Body Found in Mall Bathroom

in the second incident in two days, Mesa, Arizona police have had to respond to the Fiesta Mall after a body was discovered in a bathroom near the food court, prompting a homicide investigation.

Police responded yesterday to the stabbing of a 22 year-old man at Macy's, who suffered non life-threatening injuries.

Police said the suspect grabbed the victim from behind, then stabbed him with a knife once in the neck and three times in the stomach.

The victim tried to get away, and walked toward a cash register, according to authorities.

Police are unsure at this time if the two incidents are related, and investigations are underway in both incidents.

At this time police have no suspects in either case.

More on this story as it develops.

[Update-] The stabbing from Sunday and tonights murder are connected, according to police.

Police say that two recent stabbings at Fiesta Mall are related, and they have a suspect in custody.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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The Muslim Takeover of the West: How it Works

Cross posted from Radarsite from an original article in ACT
http://blog.americancongressfortruth.com/

Note from Radarsite: For anyone who may still have lingering doubts about the real danger of the Muslim onslaught of the West, this may be the most revealing analysis of the threat of the Islamic Jihad that you will ever read. The reasoning is impeccable and the conclusions reached are both obvious and startling.

"Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world and all of us against the infidel." -- Leon Uris, "The Haj"

Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system.Islam has religious, legal, political, economic and military components. The religious component is a beard for all the other components.Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called "religious rights."

When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to "the reasonable" Muslim demands for their "religious rights," they also get the other components under the table. Here's how it works -- percentages source CIA: The World Fact Book
(2007).

As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness:
United States -- Muslim 1.0%
Australia -- Muslim 1.5%
Canada -- Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1%-2%Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:
Denmark -- Muslim 2%

Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. (United States).

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- Muslim 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5% Switzerland -- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad & Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world but to establish Sharia law over the entire world.

When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions (Paris -- car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats (Amsterdam -- Mohammed cartoons).

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 10-15%

After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%
At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:
Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%
Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of "Dar-es-Salaam" -- the Islamic House of Peace -- there's supposed to be peace because everybody is a Muslim:
Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 99.9%

Of course, that's not the case. To satisfy their blood lust, Muslims then start killing each other for a variety of reasons.
"Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world and all of us against the infidel." -- Leon Uris, "The Haj"
It is good to remember that in many, many countries, such as France, the Muslim populations are centered around ghettos based on their ethnicity. Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. Therefore, they exercise more power than their national average would indicate.

Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat. www.frontline.org.za/books_videos/sti.htm


Where are we in this picture? And what are we doing about it?

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Arms Supplier in Fort Dix Plot Gets 20 Months

Some may remember a plot that was foiled when 6 foreign-born Muslims were arrested for planning to kill US soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey, back in May of 2007.

The 6 men were arrested and accused of plotting to attack the Army's Fort Dix and massacre scores of U.S. soldiers and the men even took a video of themselves firing assault weapons to a store to have the footage put onto a DVD.

At the time, J.P. Weis, a FBI said, "Today we dodged a bullet. In fact, when you look at the type of weapons that this group was trying to purchase, we may have dodged a lot of bullets. "We had a group that was forming a platoon to take on an army. They identified their target, they did their reconnaissance. They had maps. And they were in the process of buying weapons. Luckily, we were able to stop that."

Today, Agron Abdullahu, an Albanian immigrant who obtained arms for that group was sentenced to 20 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler.

Abdullahu had admitted to supplying rifles, shotguns and a pistol to five others, including three illegal immigrants that had been involved with the foiled Fort Dix plot. he also claimed he was not involved in the plot against Fort Dix itself.

He went on to apologize for the pain he caused and claimed that he would have broken off his association with the other suspects if he had known what they were going to do, saying, "If I had known they were going to do anything of the sort, that would have been the end of that."

Prosecutors had fought to sentence Abdullahu to a five year maximum sentence for the charge of supplying guns and ammunition to illegal aliens.

Judge Kugler said that Abdullahu deserved more than the 10 to 16 months that sentencing guidelines call for, stating, "I am convinced that he is not as innocent as he'd like us to believe. This is not a common, ordinary, technical violation of the law."

The judge further asserted that although there was no evidence showing that Abdullahu knew of the specific plot against Fort Dix, that he had become to close to the men involved with the plot and that according to tapes offered into evidence, he did join in conversations that frequently referenced "jihad," or Islamic holy war, against the United States.

Yet the judge did not even give Abdullahu half the amount of time the maximum sentence would have imposed and with time served and credit for good behavior, it is possible that Abdullahu would be released by the end of this year. He could then face deportation.

But the judge noted that Abdullahu, 25, had been a hard-working immigrant with no criminal record who had supported his family when they fled to the United States as refugees from ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia in 1999.

Kugler highlighted a letter he had received from the defendant's parents describing the "gripping and harrowing tale" of the family's flight from Serbian forces who were killing ethnic Albanian civilians, an experience that gave Abdullahu post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The other five men accused of plotting to kill US soldiers at Fort Dix are scheduled for trial beginning on September 29, 2008.

20 months for obtaining weapons for Jihadists that were planning a massacre at Fort Dix against the US troops stationed there.

Some would claim this is a perfect example of the US court system being completely unprepared to deal with court cases that pertain to terror acts against the United States of America.

Here is the original 23 page criminal complaint against Abdullahu.

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LiveLeak Tightens Security and Reactivates Geert Wilders Fitna Film

LiveLeak, in the name of free speech and freedom of expression has allowed the controversial Geert Wilders' film to be shown and after having members of their staff physically threatened, they removed the film.

The have now tighten security and restored the film to its original URL. (Hat Tip A Blog For All)

Statement on the LiveLeak URL says:

On the 28th of March LiveLeak.com was left with no other choice but to remove the film "fitna" from our servers following serious threats to our staff and their families. Since that time we have worked constantly on upgrading all security measures thus offering better protection for our staff and families. With these measures in place we have decided to once more make this video live on our site. We will not be pressured into censoring material which is legal and within our rules. We apologise for the removal and the delay in getting it back, but when you run a website you don't consider that some people would be insecure enough to threaten our lives simply because they do not like the content of a video we neither produced nor endorsed but merely hosted.

LiveLeaks statement when they originally took the Fitna Film down said:

Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.

This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one.
Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one anothers culture.
We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high.

Brave move by LiveLeak to restore the film and a welcome stand for free speech in doing so.

All WUA posts regarding this film all on one page, right here.

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John McCain's Early Polling Numbers

Wake up America has been trying to keep up with the trends of polling from different organizations and the recent trends look good for John McCain the last few weeks.

These are only trends and will undoubtedly continue to fluctuate throughout the year up until the November elections. While the Democratic candidates are fighting the battle for who will be chosen as their eventual nominee, either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, John McCain has been seeing a rise in favorable ratings and in election matchups.

Today we see some further Rasmussen polling which shows John McCain will be competitive in certain states that generally are considered Democratically favored states, like New Jersey and Michigan, as well as holding a small lead in Wisconsin.

Michigan: McCain/Obama figures show McCain at 43 percent and Obama at 42 percent- it is a statistical tie but for a state that usually leans heavily in favor of Democrats, the numbers for Mccain here are significant.

Michigan: McCain/Clinton figures show McCain at 45 percent and Clitnon at 42 percent, again only a slight lead but with Michigan demographics, a worrisome one for Democratic leaders.

Michigan has cast its Electoral College votes for the Democrats in four straight Presidential elections and it would be difficult for Obama or Clinton to reach the White House without carrying the state. However, the economically devastated state has been trending Republican in recent elections—Bill Clinton won Michigan by thirteen points in 1996, Al Gore won by five in 2000, and John Kerry won by just three points in 2004.

Yet another heavily favored Democratic state, New Jersey, shows the same trend, a small McCain lead over either Democratic candidate.

New Jersey: McCain/Obama figures show McCain at 46 percent and Obama at 45 percent and with a question of McCain/Clinton, figures show McCain at 45 percent and Clinton at 42 percent.

The report goes on to state that New Jersey has not voted for a Republican Presidential candidate in twenty years but if McCain can keep the state competitive in the fall it will be a good sign for his campaign.

That is a big if, but favorable ratings in New Jersey show McCain is viewed favorably by 61% of New Jersey voters, Obama is viewed favorably by 58 percent, Clinton by 50 percent.

New Jersey and Michigan are still assumed to go to the Democrats in November, although if these trends continue, that may not come to pass.

In Wisconsin, McCain holds the same small lead over Obama with 48 percent for McCain and 46 percent for Obama, although McCain's lead jumps there when matched against Hillary Clinton which has McCain at 50 percent with Clinton at 39 percent.

Overall, McCain is viewed favorably by 61% and unfavorably by 37%. Obama’s ratings are 54% favorable, 45% unfavorable. Clinton earns positive reviews from 39% and negative feedback from 55% in Wisconsin.

The Rasmussen Presidential Tracking Poll for March 31, 2008 shows that McCain still holds the lead on Obama with 47 percent to 42 percent and that lead widens to a nine percentage point lead when up against Clinton with McCain at 49 percent and Clinton at 40 percent.

Among all voters nationwide, McCain is now viewed favorably by 53% of voters nationwide and unfavorably by 44%. Obama’s reviews are 49% favorable and 49% unfavorable. For Clinton, those numbers are 43% favorable, 55% unfavorable

You can see individual state by state numbers at Rasmussen 2008 state by state snapshot page.

Bear in mind that there are many months to go before the November elections and a lot can happen by then, this is simply a trend occurring right now and for the last weeks and anything could potentially change that trend.

The longer the Democratic candidates continue to battle it out for their party's nomination, the better McCain's numbers are trending and the statistical data will have better value once they have chosen their candidate and it is a one on one race between John McCain and whichever candidate is the eventual nominee for the Democrats.

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Politico Busts Barack Obama In More Lies

Political opinion

The other day we wrote a piece covering some of Barack Obama's bigger lies during his campaign and his political life, which included, his lies about his association with Tony Rezko, then his lies about how much money he received from Rezko, then his admitting to the fact that he received more than he originally said.

Then we went to his NAFTA lies, and his lies about what he heard from his Pastor, Jeremiah Wright and when he heard it, as we showed his statement saying he never heard those controversial "God Damn America" remarks as well as the racial remarks and anti-American remarks and just four days later, made a speech where he admitted he had her controversial remarks.

He lies, then he lies to spin his way out of his previous lies and then when he can lie no more he tells part of the truth and ignores his previous lies.

This has become a very bad habit which he has been shown publicly to have....a habit of a pathological liar.

Now The Politico has just busted more Obama lies, wide open.

During his first run for elected office, Barack Obama played a greater role than his aides now acknowledge in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion — positions that appear at odds with the more moderate image he has projected during his presidential campaign.

The evidence comes from an amended version of an Illinois voter group’s detailed questionnaire, filed under his name during his 1996 bid for a state Senate seat.

Late last year, in response to a Politico story about Obama’s answers to the original questionnaire, his aides said he “never saw or approved” the questionnaire.

They asserted the responses were filled out by a campaign aide who “unintentionally mischaracterize[d] his position.”

But a Politico examination determined that Obama was actually interviewed about the issues on the questionnaire by the liberal Chicago nonprofit group that issued it. And it found that Obama — the day after sitting for the interview — filed an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obama’s own handwritten notes added to one answer.

The two questionnaires, provided to Politico with assistance from political sources opposed to Obama’s presidential campaign, were later supplied directly by the group, Independent Voters of Illinois — Independent Precinct Organization. Obama and his then-campaign manager, who Obama’s campaign asserts filled out the questionnaires, were familiar with the group, its members and its positions, since both were active in it before Obama's 1996 state Senate run.

Through an aide, Obama, who won the group’s endorsement as well as the statehouse seat, did not dispute that the handwriting was his. But he contended it doesn’t prove he completed, approved — or even read — the latter questionnaire.

The Politico piece is three pages long, but it is worth the read.

The longer Barack Obama is in the political spotlight, the better because the media has started to do some actual research and every time they do, they show his lies, his past lies, or his present lies which generally lead to his future lies to try to spin out of the wind for his original lies.

The old expression about tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceived is quite appropriate here because Barack Obama is caught in the web of his own lies and he doesn't seem to be able to break free of one before the next set of them are brought to the publics attention.

I love this comment from Hot Air's, Ed Morrisey:

This makes no sense at all. If Obama’s handwriting is on the survey, then he filled it out. If the answers didn’t reflect his views, why didn’t he change them when he “jotted some notes” on it? If the answers were wrong, Obama would have “jotted some notes” to that effect, rather than allow such mistakes to get transmitted to IVI. And the “eleven years in public office” defense might make sense if Obama hadn’t spent much of that time voting “present” instead of taking actual stands.

Once again, we have more evidence that Obama represents nothing more than the political winds. He has zero credibility, zero experience, and a penchant for telling people what they want to hear rather than any truth about what he actually believes. Either he lied to IVI or he’s lying now. In either case, it’s hardly the New Politics Obama has promised.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

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Police: Man Kills His Three Children At Baltimore Hotel

The front desk of the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards received a phone call yesterday from a guest of the hotel, who was reporting the deaths of his three children. Police allege the man, Mark Castillo, drowned his children, one at a time.

Mark Castillo has been charged in the deaths of his three children, Anthony, 6, Austin, 4, and Athena, 2, claiming that Castillo, who has a history of mental problems, submerged them in a bathtub, one at a time.

According to Officer Troy Harris, a city police spokesman, "About 1:15 p.m., hotel security received a call from a guest who said "he had killed three of his kids" and was considering doing harm to himself."

When security entered the room on the 10th floor they found the three children dead and Castillo suffering from "minor cuts that appeared to have been self-inflicted," said another police spokesperson, Sterling Clifford.

The children were with Castillo on a regularly scheduled visit and was supposed to spend Saturday with them and return them to their mother Amy Castillo, by the end of the day. When the children were not returned by 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Amy called the Montgomery County police.

Amy and Mark Castillo had been involved in a custody dispute over the children at the time of the their deaths, according to Maryland court records.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III stated at a press conference that Mark Castillo had no prior criminal record, adding, "There is indication that there had been prior disputes with his wife concerning their marriage and custody of the children."

The earliest case found during my own research through the court records was from 2005, over insurance and that case is marked closed.

The another domestic abuse case filed on 12/25/06.

The Plaintiff was Amy Castillo, the defendant was Mark Castillo and the first hearing was on 12/25/06, was listed as an interim hearing and the court orders were as follows:

Court Orders:
Shall not abuse
Shall not contact
Shall not enter residence

That was followed up with a temporary hearing on 12/27/06 and the court orders were as follows:

Court orders:
Shall not abuse
Shall not contact
Shall not enter residence
Shall stay away from employment
Respondent shall vacate the home

On 1/3/07 on a final hearing, the case was transferred from the Rockville District Court to the Montgomery County Circuit Court, filed 1/2/07.

The outcome of that case shows that the ruling Judge, Joseph A Dugan, denied the final protective order.

In the midst of all of the court hearings, the fight for custody was still ongoing and in the Maryland court records, date of filing 7/19/06, and by 7/28/06, Amy Castillo was given temporary sole legal and sole physical custody of the three minor children.

That particular court records shows hearings and actions from 2006 until the last one dated today 3/31/08.


Mark was granted visitation rights after Amy was awarded sole custody and twice last year, Amy filed motions to withhold visitation, which were denied by the court.

Amy was even fined for denying visitation once.

The Pediatrics service chief for the Mid-Atlantic Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, Vanderwalde, said that Amy, "tried so hard to do what she could for her children."

One neighbor, Keith Lamirande, said that he had witnessed police called to the Waterford Road home where Amy and the children lived, "at least a half-dozen times," including once within the past week.

This is a case where the system failed and that failure resulted in the deaths of three innocent children.

Deaths that from the court documents shows, could have been avoided.

[Update] CNN points out that the mother did, indeed, warn the court that the husband had threatened to make her suffer by killing their three children.

But Castillo's wife wrote in court documents that her husband had threatened to make her suffer by killing the children. She sought a protective order December 25, 2006, and asked that the court order Castillo to receive counseling.

"He has never actually hurt [the children], but did tell me that the worst thing he could do to me would be to kill the children and not me so I could live without them," she wrote in the petition.

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Robber Steals Truck, Gets a Bonanza Of Weapons As Prize

A police officer from El Mirage in Arizona, stopped a bar called McDuffy's for about 45 minutes Sunday night and when he left, he discovered his truck had been stolen. Inside his truck were, guns, an assault rifle, vests, uniforms, ID's and badges.

This was reported in the local news last night, and the thief did, indeed, get more than he bargained for when he stole the white 2003 Ford F-350 with a slight lift and a chrome toolbox in the bed.

Inside that ruck were two .40-caliber Glock pistols with 100 rounds of ammunition, an AR-15 assault rifle with five fully loaded magazines, a ballistic vest, police uniforms and IDs, flat badges and wallet badges.

Not exactly the type of items the police want in the hands of a criminal.

Sgt. Jon Meck of the Peoria police department told reporters, "You anticipate most of the bad guys you come in contact with are going to have some form of weapon, but now we're giving them an assault rifle, which is a long distance weapon, and several pieces of ammunition to go along with it. Not to mention a ballistic vest, and it kind of gives them an advantage when we have to deal with them."

The officer who owned the truck had recently transferred to the El Mirage division from the Flagstaff police department, where he was part of the special weapons and tactics unit.

Border control and authorities across the state have been notified and are on the lookout for the truck. It has an Arizona license plate CC-21638 ad anyone who sees it is asked to call 911.

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Battleground SoCal

Two separate shootings on the San Fernando Valley Freeway have left one man dead in Los Angeles and an investigation into the second shooting in Long Beach. Today's shootings are just the latest in a string of shootings over the past few weeks.

Police officials report that the San Fernando Valley man crashed his car after being shot in the head on the 101 today. Rescue crews discovered him in response to a call for a rolled over vehicle on the roadway early this morning.

Traffic was closed in the Van Nuys area until rescuers could transport the man and clear the road. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition, and later died from his injuries.

The second incident took place around 30 miles away on the 710 freeway near Del Amo Boulevard on Saturday evening, sending the victim in this case to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, after being shot by the driver of another vehicle. Police officials say the man characterized the incident as a case of road rage.

These two shootings are latest in what has been a string of shootings ranging back to late February, when a 46 year-old man was hospitalized after being shot on the Foothill Freeway. Another incident was reported on March 1st in which a 26 year old man died after being shot on the 101 Freeway following an argument with another individual on Hollywood Boulevard. A 54 year-old woman also died after being hospitalized for her injuries after being shot in the head on the San Bernardino Freeway in mid-March.

Police are asking for witnesses to call in about this morning's lethal shooting in the San Fernando Valley.

"Maybe somebody just saw the car spinning out of control and they didn't see anything else," Miller told KNX. He asked if "anybody who was on the freeway this morning around 8 o'clock, that saw any of what happened, could give us a call."

The Honda sedan could have been travelling on the 101, could have entered the eastbound freeway at Van Nuys or Sepulveda boulevards, or could have transitioned onto the 101 from the 405 just before the shooting, police said.

Detectives can be reached by calling the LAPD's main phone number, (877) LAWFULL, or (877) 529-3877.

At this time there have been no arrests in any of the shootings over the past two months.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Hillary Clinton Stiffs The Working People

There is something seriously ironic about a woman that will tell a bunch of rich people at a 2004 San Francisco fundraiser that she is going to "take things away from you on behalf of the common good", referring to taking from the rich to give to the working class, and then proceed to stiff that same working class when she owes them monies for services rendered.

The Hillary Clinton campaign has avoided paying hundreds of bills and vendors and service providers are warning people to get paid up front before rendering any services to the Clinton campaign or they may not get paid at all.

A pair of Ohio companies owed more than $25,000 by Clinton for staging events for her campaign are warning others in the tight-knit event production community — and anyone else who will listen — to get their cash upfront when doing business with her. Her campaign, say representatives of the two companies, has stopped returning phone calls and e-mails seeking payment of outstanding invoices. One even got no response from a certified letter.

Their cautionary tales, combined with published reports about similar difficulties faced by a New Hampshire landlord, an Iowa office cleaner and a New York caterer, highlight a less-obvious impact of Clinton’s inability to keep up with the staggering fundraising pace set by her opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

The Clinton campaign claims they are paying their bills but the people they owe money to, say , not so!

Some of the debts the Clinton campaign owe, more than a month old include but are not limited to;

Sioux City Art Center Board of Trustees $3,500 for catering and venue costs;

New Hampshire’s Winnacunnet Cooperative School District $4,400 in event costs;
Qwest $24,000 for phone service;

Various branches of the Iowa-based supermarket chain Hy-Vee $15,000 for food, beverages and catering;

$7,700 to Ohio and Massachusetts branches of the theatrical stage employees’ union, for equipment costs.

In fact, about a third of the nearly 700 individual debts Clinton reported at the end of February were for various types of “event expenses,” including $319,000 for catering and venue costs, $420,000 for equipment, $11,000 for photography and $9,000 for security.

These are debts for services rendered, people that make their living providing services, and they are getting stiffed by the Clinton campaign so that Hillary Clinton can continue to pay for "media buys" to advertise in states where she is in a tight contest with Barack Obama.

An employee of an event production company Forty Two of Youngstown, Ohio, says, "I feel insulted by the way that the campaign treated this company and treated us personally."

The employee also adds, "We worked very hard to put together these events on a moment’s notice and do absolutely everything to a ‘t’ to make it look perfect on television for her and for her campaign. Sen. Clinton talks about helping working families, people in unions and small businesses. But when it comes down to actually doing something that shows that she can back up her words with action, she fails."

Hillary Clinton, the woman that prides herself for her agenda for the common good, prides herself of being willing to take from the rich to give back to the working class, is now refusing to pay that same working class for services rendered to her and her campaign and not even offering the respect of returning their calls.

Jim Phillips, the owner of Show Tyme Exhibits, who has political events for years and had never had problems getting paid before Clinton, is only owed $607.00 and says ,"It was only $607, but I’m a small guy; I could use that", and although he is willing to wait for his money he says he regrets voting for Hillary Clinton and would be reluctant to work for her again.

Some of these people are not huge organizations, they are small business owners and they are getting the shaft from the Clinton campaign in a time where money for services rendered is very important.

Despite her campaigns inability to pay their bills in a timely manner, Hillary Clinton vows, via the Washington Post, to stay in the race, all the way until the August Democratic Convention.

UPDATE: This really has to be read to be believed. Included in these debts, from the queen of Hillarycare is her neglecting to pay her staff's healthcare premiums.

Among the debts reported this month by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s struggling presidential campaign, the $292,000 in unpaid health insurance premiums for her campaign staff stands out.

The campaign claims they have now been paid and it will be reflected in the report the campaign will file this month with the Federal Election Commission.

Unreal.

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Gore Emerges as Democratic Nominee?

With the Texas Primaries second phase behind them and still no clear cut lead for either candidate, the Democratic Party is starting to prepare for a brokered convention, and the possibility of a compromise candidate.

Have you ever seen a tug of war competition between the two strongest, most able bodied people that you know? They're fairly close in size, weight, strength, and endurance. Put them one each end of a rope to face off with one another, and they're likely not going to make much headway unless one or the other of them blunders and falls. NOW, at our hypothetical community picnic, let's turn around behind us at the OTHER tug of war contest; this one between two of the smaller, more sickly, more conniving and less than honorable people you know, still about the same build and whatnot, but the personalities are different. It's a bit different to watch, these two are scrapping it out for every inch they can take from the other, but there's a difference; neither side is playing clean. They're kicking sand at each others faces, name calling, and sending people to their opponents saying "Why don't you just quit now?"

Definitely a more interesting battle, right?

So what happens if someone else comes along, steps in the middle between these two smaller dirty players, takes a pair of shears, cuts the rope in two, watching the other two fall backwards and blink in shock and outrage as he declares to the crowd, "I win?" Everyone looks up at him, trying to figure out what he's doing there, in his plaid shirt and beard looking like he's just hugged a Ponderosa pine (wait, scratch that, let's rewind just a bit here and put him in a suit and tie, clean shaven, and sporting a Nobel prize).

Confusing to consider, isn't it? Mind boggling to say the very least, according to some. I've been predicting this for weeks, along with others of significantly more influence than I have (i.e Rush Limbaugh and Steve Gill among others). For some of us, it was obvious. It was the only solution. It was the only thing that we could see that would unify the Democratic party before November. And now they're admitting that they're considering it.

Al Gore may very well walk away from the Democratic National Convention as the nominee for President of the United States.

If neither Mr Obama nor Mrs Clinton has the 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination, and if both appear unable to beat Mr McCain, under one scenario a group of about 100 party elders - the "super-delegates" - could sit out the first ballot in Denver, preventing either candidate winning outright, and then offer Mr Gore the nomination for the good of the party.

Tim Mahoney, a Democrat congressman from Florida, said last week: "If it goes into the convention, don't be surprised if someone different is at the top of the ticket." This suggests the party would accept a Gore-Clinton or a Gore-Obama pairing.

Following a brief flurry of speculation that he might jump into the race last year, Mr Gore claimed he had "fallen out of love" with politics, but he has pointedly refused to rule out another tilt at the White House and said that the only job in public life that interests him is the presidency.

The fallout from a move like this on the part of the democrats? Not good. The Democrats have created this situation for themselves in large part by the creation of "super-delegates" and coming up with such complicated methods for choosing their candidates to begin with, not to mention the fact that they have put forward two candidates for the final bid for nomination, each candidate clearly despised by nearly half the party, causing the two halves to be split on making a nominee choice.

In walks Al Gore, after having been properly courted by the DNC upper echelon. He's clean shaven, he's in a new suit, he's holding his Nobel Prize, and there are no splinters visible as the wooden boy steps out of the back rooms to take the stage and say "I accept the nomination of the party" in August.

That may actually send Obama over the top with screams of "Allah Akbar" and make him charge the stage with a scimitar, while Hillary finally has that final overload of circuitry and mutters "target acquisition mode: engaged" as she points her finger at Gore like a gun, surprising everyone as the tip falls aside on a hinge to expose a barrel.

I wonder if they'll be wearing parkas? Al Gore, speaking engagement, hmmmm. It might do well to check the weather one last time before flying into Denver this August come convention time.

There is a problem with bring Gore in as the nominee, though, and I'm not quite sure that the Democrat leadership has really taken this into consideration. Now be easy reading these next few words, I know this is going to come as a shock to many reading this, especially those with leanings toward the idea of a Gore campaign for 2008. It's big. You might pass out from shock at what I'm about to say. Ready? Deep breath, hang on, it'll be over before you know it...Gore didn't even win his home state of Tennessee last time he ran for President when he actually RAN for President in the fully campaign race. So how is it that the Democratic leadership thinks that Gore can be the savior of the party when he didn't even win his OWN bid for the Presidency and by bringing him out as a compromise candidate it's going to cost them votes?

The closer it gets to the Convention, the more panicked Democrats are becoming in trying ANYTHING to win the White House. By bringing Gore out, cleaning him up, dusting him off, checking him for termites, it becomes more obvious just exactly how desperate they are becoming.

I'm just glad Gore gave us the internet so we could follow it all.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Private Plane Crashes Into Residential Homes in London

(A private aircraft carrying five people crashed in a residential cul-de-sac in Farnborough, Kent, on Sunday afternoon. Pic: Fernand Kwasi-Frimpong Jnr)

A private plane crashed into the residential area of Farnborough in Kent, southeast of London, injuring people on the ground and the five occupants on the plane are unaccounted for, according to authorities.

A Cessna Citation airplane contacted air traffic control in Biggin Hill and reported difficulty right after taking off for France and requested to return for landing but when attempting to return the plane then hit a two story building in Farnborough.

Police say the accident happened at 2:37 pm and It took approximately three hours before firefighters and emergency services could even approach the wreckage, due to safety concerns.

Ian Todd, assistant director of operations for London Ambulance Services, said, "There is aviation fuel involved, and also gas canisters have been located at the scene of the incident which are currently being cooled to make it safe to approach."

As of now there are no fatalities reported from those injured on the ground, but the two pilots and three passengers on the plane have not been located.

Six fire engines and a search and rescue team were dispatched and witness say they heard an explosion before the crash.

One of those witnesses was John Crane, a local resident, told Sky News, "When I got there there was just a massive red fireball and two or three explosions."

Crane's wife said the plane had been flying erratically before it went down.

Neighbors rushed into their backyards to see fire and billowing smoke from the house that had been hit in their immediate neighborhood. Some took photos of the scene right after the crash.

(Neighbours came rushing out after hearing what one called an "absolutely almighty noise".--Photo Ben McIntyre)
The Telegraph has reports from other eye witnesses. One of which is Jason Murrell, a 39 year old father of four who said, "I looked into the eyes of the pilot and a female passenger just seconds before it crashed because the plane was heading straight for my house in Hale Close. I saw it coming straight at us. My girls were outside so I ran out and grabbed them. I took them inside the house with me and hoped for the best. I thought it was going to hit our house and kill us but looking up I could see the terror in the plane passengers' eyes as they whizzed past us."

Others describe explosion noises and their fear as the plane crashed into their neighborhood.

Although search and rescue were sent to the scene the five occupants of the plane are believed to be dead.

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al-Sadr Tries To Save Face In Basra

Quite a few reports have come out since the start of the offensive in Basra. It has been spun in every direction in the media and the latest news is that al-Sadr has ordered his fighters to stand down.

Al-Sadr’s statement was issued by his headquarters in Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques.

“Because of the religious responsibility, and to stop Iraqi blood being shed ... we call for an end to armed appearances in Basra and all other provinces, anyone carrying a weapon and targeting government institutions will not be one of us.”

He has his list of "demands" yet he is in full retreat and those demands are his was of trying to save face.

Different people declare different reasons for Sadr's actions, some claiming he was doing it from a position of strength and others assert it is because he was losing and needed to limit his losses as best he could.

So which is it?

Bill Roggio explains it by using the numbers, which do not look good for Sadr....not good at all.

With the fifth day of fighting in Baghdad, Basrah and the South completed, the Mahdi Army has suffered major losses over the past 36 hours. The Mahdi Army has not faired well over the past five days of fighting, losing an estimated two percent of its combat power, using the best case estimate for the size of the militia.

A look at the open source press reports from the US and Iraqi military and the established newspapers indicates 145 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 81 were wounded, 98 were captured, and 30 surrendered during the past 36 hours.

Since the fighting began on Tuesday 358 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 531 were wounded, 343 were captured, and 30 surrendered. The US and Iraqi security forces have killed 125 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad alone, while Iraqi security forces have killed 140 Mahdi fighters in Basra.

When the Brits withdrew from Basra, everyone knew there would come a time where that area had to be dealt with, one of the last strongholds for insurgent forces and this five day offensive against the Mahdi Army, undertaken by al-Maliki and Iraqi security forces, with support from the US Military and coalition forces was a good example of what has been maintained since we started training their security forces.

They showed an incredible ability, with our help, to take on the toughest of fights and force Sadr and his Mahdi Army to stand down.

Recent reports blasted headlines that some Iraqi security forces were taking off their uniforms and joining the Mahdi Army, and Roggio addresses that by the numbers as well.

The Sadrist movement claimed numerous Iraqi policemen and soldiers are defecting. "Groups of Iraqi troops came to us to lay down their arms," said Sheikh Salam al Afraiji, the leader of the Sadrist movement in eastern Baghdad.

But the spokesman of Baghdad Operations Command denied Iraqi security forces are defecting en masse. "The registered number that we have [defecting to the Sadrists] is that 15 soldiers were able to escape," said Major General Qassim Atta in a briefing today in Baghdad. Atta stressed that there are over 50,000 Iraqi security forces operating in Baghdad, and some level of defections should be expected. Atta also said Maliki has "ordered [the military] to prosecute those soldiers according to the Military Punishments Law."

It seems in some areas, Iraqi's are happy to see al-Maliki and the Iraqi security forces uprooting the Mahdi Army, and are actually taking to the street for a rally to show al-Maliki support.

While there has been few press reports from Diwaniyah, several hundred residents felt the security situation was good enough to hold a rally in the center of the city. More than 200 demonstrators marched in support for Maliki's operation to uproot the Mahdi Army in Basra. Police and tribal militias were also seen patrolling the streets.

Read Roggio's entire piece.

The most telling about all of this is where al-Sadr is now.

Hiding in Iran.

Where is al-Maliki?

In Basra.

Game. Set. Match.

The fighting will continue on a lesser scale, 5 days of offensive by al-Maliki is but a drop in the bucket in Basra, which has been under the control of the Mahdi Army since 2005 and al-Maliki had to wait until his army was strong enough to be a force in this battle.

They will continue to weed out the insurgents from the Mahdi Army, but the main offensive will be quieter now.

More from Iraq The Model, an Iraqi that reports from Iraq.

[Update] As a side note- In Sadr's statement he also denied his fighters had any heavy weaponry. This makes us wonder what he calls the 25 missile launchers, 60 rifles, five mortars and a large amounts of ammunition that police seized from two large Mahdi Army networks the police uprooted in Karbala and in Babil province.



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The Texas Two-Step: Obama and Clinton War Rages On in the Lone Star State

Texans returned to the polls today to settle the dust over the March 4 primary/caucus results. On the 4th, after the polls closed, Texans went into the caucuses to continue the selection process for the Democratic nominee. The results of the two events left no clear winner between Clinton and Obama, with Clinton having taken the primaries in a 51% to 47% decision, and Obama taking the caucuses 56% to Clintons 44%. The results gave Clinton 65 national delegates for the convention, and Obama came away with 61.

Tonight, as the results come in from district primaries, the remaining 67 Texas delegates are at stake in the increasingly hot Clinton/Obama race.

Because of the huge Democratic turnout in Texas' primary and caucuses, registration took hours Saturday. At large conventions in Houston, Dallas and Austin, arguments erupted and confusion set in as complaints were lodged about the legitimacy of some delegates.

Many of the challenges were brought by Clinton supporters questioning the validity of Obama delegates. The Clinton campaign said it wouldn't lodge any challenges itself but that it was helping supporters who would.

Obama has fared better overall in caucuses this year, winning 13 to Clinton's 3.

As of this morning, Obama, with 1,623 delegates, leads Clinton, who has 1,499. A total of 2,024 delegates are needed by either candidate to secure the nomination at the DNC in August, a nod that would appear to be in the hands of the super-delegates at this point.

The results of the Texas primaries for tonight, updated as they come in. Keep checking back periodically as they will change until all reports are in.

Clinton 44%

Obama 55%

76% of Texas conventions reporting in.

[Update-] From 2008 Democratic Convention Watch, we see what the approximate breakdown of Delegates should be according to percentages should be:

Obama Vote %: 53%-54.5% Obama will get 36 delegates, Clinton 31
54.5%-56% Delegates will be 37-30
56%-57.46% Delegates will be 38-29 (projection from March 4).
57.46%-58.96% Delegates will be 39-28
56.96%-60.4% Delegates will be 40-27
60.4%-61.9% Delegates will be 41-26

[Update #2] The Statesman.com has Obama's press release:

With more than 56 percent of the results tallied from today’s 284 Democratic district conventions across Texas, Sen. Barack Obama currently is projected to earn a 38-29 pledged delegate win in the Texas caucuses, exactly as projected on the day after the March 4th precinct caucuses. The nine delegate margin in the caucuses means Obama will gain a net margin of five pledged delegates from Texas because Senator Clinton narrowly won the Texas primary by only four delegates, 65-61.

“Despite the Clinton campaign’s widespread attempts to prevent many Texans from participating in their district convention, the voters of Texas confirmed Senator Obama’s important delegate win in the Lone Star State,” said Obama spokesman Josh Earnest. “Today’s record-shattering turnout sends a clear message that the American people are ready for change in Washington and new leadership in the White House that will stand up for working families.”

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Patriots Alert: VFF National Heroes Tour on Blog Talk Radio

~Snooper~

Our friend and fellow BTR Host Cyber Pastor will be conducting a special show tomorrow. The details are here and the program link is here. Cyber Pastor is a fellow proud member of Vets For Freedom and we will be with Vets On The Hill in April.

Use this link to get live updates, and hopefully some of the speeches from the National Heroes Tour Stop in Evansville, IN. The radio program will begin at 2:30 pm (Central), and the actual program in Evansville will start at 3:00 pm (Central). [...]

Be sure to tune in!!

BREAKING; Letter From Move America Forward to US Attorney's Office Regarding Crimes in Berkeley CA.

Thanks to Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward, Wake up America has a copy of the letter that has been sent from Move America Forward's attorney to the US Attorney's office regarding the criminal actions in Berkeley California, demanding an investigation. More at Melanie Morgan.com.

We first told you of MAF's announcement that they would be sending a request letter for investigation to the US attorneys office, two days ago, when they issued their press release.

The Letter:

BY FEDERAL EXPRESS DELIVERY

Tracking No.: 7984 0570 0813

The Honorable Joseph P. Russoniello

United States Attorney, Northern District of California

11th Floor, Federal Building
450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055
San Francisco, California 94102

Dear Mr. Russoniello:

This Firm represents Move America Forward, Inc. (hereinafter “MAF”), a non-profit organization committed to supporting members of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

Our client participated in what began as a peaceful demonstration in support of the United States Marine Corps Recruiting Center, located on Shattuck Avenue in the City of Berkeley, on February 12, 2008. MAF obtained a permit from the City of Berkeley prior to the demonstration. Sadly, the peaceful demonstration was disrupted with violence. During the demonstration, several incidents occurred which the Berkeley Police Department failed to respond to adequately. MAF supporters were harassed, threatened, and intimidated by opposing groups. In addition, several acts of violence were committed against MAF supporters, and the Berkeley Police Department ignored their repeated requests for assistance. The police failed to protect its citizens during what should have been a peaceful demonstration. These incidents of intimidation, violence, and government inaction were widely reported in both the Bay Area and national media.

Our client also remains concerned that recent legislative action by the Berkeley City Council, which ultimately precipitated the unfortunate events of February 12, 2008, runs afoul of federal law. As you are likely aware, the Berkeley City Council approved a resolution on January 29, 2008, that provided in pertinent part that “the Marine recruiting office is not welcome in [Berkeley], and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders….” The Council then resolved to “encourage all people to avoid cooperation with the Marine Corps recruiting station, and applaud residents and organizations such as Code Pink, that may volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in the City of Berkeley.” The legacy of this “encouragement” was the shameful events that transpired in Berkeley on February 12, 2008.

The City of Berkeley is actively, through the legislative action by the City Council, encouraging private organizations to disrupt the lawful governmental operations of the United States in the City of Berkeley, by encouraging groups to “impede” the efforts of the United States Marine Corps to recruit qualified young people to serve in the Corps. There is little question that Berkeley, as a college town, is an appropriate place for the Marine Corps to recruit qualified, patriotic young people to serve their country as United States Marines. By encouraging disruptive behavior patently calculated to drive the Marine Corps out of the City of Berkeley, the City Council appears to be soliciting unlawful, and quite possibly criminal, interference with the lawful operations of a federal agency operating within the City of Berkeley.

We hereby request an investigation into the timely lack of response by the City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Police Department during the events of February 12, 2008. In short, the City of Berkeley failed to protect its citizens engaged in the lawful exercise of their rights under both the First Amendment and federal civil rights laws. As you know, these laws fully protect our client’s right to participate in such peaceful expression, and they have the right to be protected from such acts of violence. Further, Move America Forward requests that your office inquire into the legal propriety under applicable federal law of the efforts of the City of Berkeley to “encourage,” through legislative action, organizations actively committed to undermining the ongoing military operations of the United States both at home and abroad to impede the lawful activities of a federal agency operating within the city limits.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.


Sincerely,

SWEENEY & GREENE LLP



James F. Sweeney

As I just finished reporting about the financial costs to the city of Berkeley, I showed a quote from Morgan, where she said, "We have been fighting them all the way and this is simply the next step," she then concludes with, "Berkeley has got to realize that we’re not going away."

The Berkeley city council has publicly encouraged and incited code pink and other organizations to commit criminal acts and the US attorneys office must investigate and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.

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Illegal Immigration Taken on by Local Law Enforcement Agencies

Under growing pressure from citizens across the country, local law enforcement agencies have begun to utilize the training program offered for 12 years by ICE so that they can begin handling illegal aliens when they are apprehended.

The ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Agency has had a program available since 1996 to teach local law enforcement agencies how to properly handle the capture of suspected illegal aliens. Until 2002, only one agency had participated. Now, after growing political and public pressure to address illegal immigration, ICE has trained 41 additional agencies and has 92 more lined up waiting to complete training as well.

Deputies in Houston, Texas, routinely check the immigration status of individuals who are booked into the county jail. New Jersey law enforcement is under orders from the state attorney general to verify citizenship status of individuals taken into custody. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has ordered state officials to enforce immigration laws. And, it goes without saying, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix, Arizona, is taking on the enforcement of immigration laws.

Critics have lined up on both sides of the argument for and against the current move toward apprehending illegals. Some argue that it makes certain individuals more suspicion and apprehensive in contacting law enforcement when they need it out of fear of having their residency status scrutinized. Others feel that it's past time for local agencies to step in and do their part in enforcing the laws that are on the books which make being in the country illegally a crime.

That fear has been exacerbated by accounts — some rumored, some real — of people being turned over to immigration officials after being stopped for minor offenses such as traffic violations and loitering, or after going to police to report a crime.

In Newark, N.J., a freelance photographer who stumbled upon on a dead body in an alley and reported the discovery to police was detained and asked about his immigration status.

In Falls Church, Va., staffers at the Tarirhu Justice Center, which works with immigrant victims of domestic abuse, say they are fielding calls from women who have been assaulted, yet refuse to go to police.

Rumor and speculation, sometimes spread by those who advocate amnesty for those living here illegally, don't help dispel mistrust for law enforcement agencies who are simply trying to enforce the law.

One thing is for certain, and that is that with the large number of illegal immigrants who have already established themselves in our country, it's not going to be an easy task for any agency or agencies. However, perhaps the words of Joe Arpaio sum it up better than any that have been spoken by any other law enforcement official; "People ask me why I am taking this on? The last I heard, crossing the border is an illegal activity. I took an oath of office to enforce the law, so I am enforcing the law."

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Woman Robs Peoria AZ. Bank With Bag of Potatoes

(Woman that robbed Peoria Bank with threat of a bomb in a bag- Photo from Wells Fargo security video footage)

A woman walks into a Wells Fargo bank in Peoria Arizona, places two bags on the counter, told the bank teller she had a bomb and demanded money then took the money and left the bag behind. The bomb squad responded and found just a bag of potatoes.

The woman is described as a black woman ,5 feet 7-8 inches tall with a medium build and straight shoulder-length hair. She is in her mid-20s to early 30s. She was wearing a brown hat with an Interstate Batteries logo and a green long-sleeved shirt.

The suspect walked into a Wells Fargo bank, on 107th and Peoria avenues, on Friday morning, and proceeded to a window and gave a teller a note that demanded large bills and indicated that she had a bomb in her bag.

The teller gave her an undisclosed amount of money which also contained a dye pack, which is used by the FBI to trace the money.

It is unknown whether the suspect left by vehicle or on foot.

After she left, the Maricopa police were alerted and the Maricopa County Sheriff's bomb squad was dispatched to the scene and they sent a robot into the bank to detonate the device and it turned out there were potatoes in the bag and no bomb.

Anyone with information about this event, or who recognizes the woman in the picture at the top of this article is asked to please call the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office at 602-876-1000.

Photos of the scene and the bomb squad can be found here.

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The Financial Cost to Berkeley California For Their Anti-Military Stance

[Update] 4/3/08- Another business leaves Berkeley.

Berkeley California has been the subject of news for months since the City Council of Berkeley issued a resolution calling the Marines "uninvited and unwelcome intruders." They later rescinded that resolution, but what has it cost them?

It started with a resolution (opens in PDF) passed on January 29, 2008, in which a statement was made that said, "Direct the City Manager to send letters to the Marine Corps Recruiting Station at 64 Shattuck Avenue and to General James T. Conway, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, advising them that the Marine recruiting office is not welcome in our city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

That statement kicked off a firestorm of protest against Berkeley with politicians demanding that federal funding be stripped from Berkeley, business owners declaring they would no longer do business in Berkeley and pro-troop organizations charging into the town of Berkeley to show support of the Marines of Berkeley.

With members of Code Pink and other anti-military organizations facing off against pro-troop organizations like Move America Forward, joined with local members of the Berkeley community, right outside of the City Council chambers for the next scheduled meeting, the council rescinded that resolution.

They did not apologize to the Marines of Berkeley though.

Code Pink holds protests at the Marine recruitment center on a weekly basis and counter protests are also held to support the Marines of Berkeley.

(Eagles Up in downtown Berkeley on March 22, 2008- Photo courtesy of Move America Forward)
Which brings us to the cost to the city of Berkeley.

In the last six weeks alone, the city of Berkeley has spent over $210,000 in police overtime to keep peace during these protests and counter protests, according to police.

The Berkeley police department has 186 officers on duty and in a statement from police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, they usually spend between $2,500 and $3,500 per week on overtime during a normal week.

She further states that from Feb. 12 to March 22, that rose to $210,814.13 and that the city spent approximately $93,000 Feb. 12 during an all-day protest at Old City Hall that drew about 2,000 anti-war and military supporters.

Since then, anti-military groups like Code Pink and the World Can't Wait have continued to hold weekly protests which have required anywhere from three to eighty officers to work overtime, saying that the anti-military groups mentioned above have become "increasingly raucous."

Last Monday, March 24, 2008, they say that the police had to arrest another four CodePink protesters during a rally.

Those arrested were Benjamin, 55, of San Francisco; Suzanne Joi, 57, of Berkeley; Pamela Bennett, 45, of San Francisco; and Mari T. Blome, 52, of El Cerrito.

"We feel it's important to have some measure of presence at any type of protest or demonstration," Kusmiss said, adding that the department is worried about the "comingling" of CodePink with the groups the World Can't Wait and the ANSWER Coalition, which police say, unlike CodePink, chain themselves to buildings and purposely antagonize police officers.

Code Pink vows to continue their protests every week until the Marine recruitment center leaves town, as stated by the co-founder of Code Pink, Medea Benjamin, who says, "If people are concerned they should put pressure on the (recruiting center) landlord to break the lease. The recruiters are the ones who should have never come in to Berkeley. If whomever in the city wants to stop the protests, they should encourage the recruiters to leave. Democracy comes at a price."

Benjamin is correct about the price and it does not stop with the financial strain on the city of Berkeley for police over time.

(Eagles Up and military supporters gather in downtown Berkeley to support the Marines- March 22, 2008- Photo courtesy of Move America Forward)
The Lafayette War Veterans Golf Committee has moved their third annual fundraising golf tournament outside of the Berkeley. Their stated reason is " due to the cities hostile attitude toward the Marine Corps."

They have raised over $60,000 the last two years to help people who have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and are being treated at the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center at the Veterans Administration hospital in Palo Alto.

Ted Garrett, CEO of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce said they had received at least 140 emails from people saying they would not do business with Berkeley. That was in early February, the number has risen since then.

According to Garrett, "Most are threatening to never set foot in Berkeley and never have anything to do with businesses in Berkeley. I know of at least one instance now where an innkeeper has reported that one visitor has canceled their reservation because of the council's actions."

On February 4, 2008, the Government Affairs committee had a meeting where they discussed plans to withhold business license taxes to protest the resolutions' effects on their business.

That would require the approval of the chamber's executive committee or board of directors and Carolyn Henry Golphin, the immediate past chair of the chamber's board, says that should always be a last resort option, the further states, "We have to do what we have to do. We do need to make a stand together if that's what we all agree on."

By the end of February, Garrett says the number of emails, faxes and letters had reached over 300 and reports were coming out about hotels, restaurants and theaters, all saying they were seeing cancellations with hostility from opponents of military branch cited.

Some businesses reported a decline of 10 to 15 percent and those communications Garrett spoke of were from people outlining their plans to boycott the city.

The shops downtown are suffering because people are avoiding the downtown area because "the weekly anti-war protests have become increasingly volatile."

Nearly a month after the Berkeley City Council refused to apologize to the U.S. Marine Corps for calling them "uninvited and unwelcome intruders," Berkeley businesses are feeling the backlash from people who do not want to spend their money in the city.

The last counter protest held in Berkeley, on March 22, 2008, to show support for the troops, which Move America Forward joined Eagles up, who consists of mostly military veterans that wanted to show their support for the troops, and thundered into the town of Berkeley with 400 motorcycles, showed that even those going to Berkeley refused to spend money in Berkeley and chose to use hotels outside of the town.

(Eagles Up rolls into the town of Berkeley to show support for the Marines- Photo Courtesy of Melanie Morgan, chairman of Move America Forward)

According to the group they spent spent $25,000 to $30,000 in neighboring cities to penalize Berkeley financially for its recent anti-military stance..

The rally organizer Doug Lyvere, a retired Marine sergeant major and the West Region coordinator of Eagles Up, said, "If Berkeley does not want the military in town, then veterans should not be spending any money there."

He goes on to say they did spend money at one Berkeley business, a pizza joint, because that establishment supports the military.

One notable aspect of that rally, which had 400 veterans but anywhere from 600- 800 total participants, is that city officials and police say there was not one arrest made.

The Chamber of Commerce's, Garrett made a statement for that report also, saying, "When businesses can't even open their doors, there is a loss of business here in Berkeley."

Garrett says the Chamber officials have met with the Mayor, who is an active supporter of Code Pink, and attends their rallies wearing a pink hat (see third photo down) and has heard nothing to indicate that the council intends to apologize to the Marines, saying, "They aren't looking like they are going to budge, but that doesn't stop us from working diligently to try and come up with a solution that is going to protect our businesses."

Councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Laurie Capitelli, Betty Olds and Gordon Wozniak did vote on a motion to send a formal apology to the Marines. That motion was put forth by City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, when, after the motion was defeated, said, "When our council adopts such outrageous language, we owe an apology for using that language. More importantly than words, I think we need to show some genuine, positive, practical support for our veterans."

The businesses of Berkeley are laying the blame directly at the feet of the city council as another member of the Chamber of Commerce's board, Mark McLeod, who is also the president of the Downtown Berkeley Association says he believes the Berkeley City Council should have considered the implications of its actions before voting for the resolutions.

McLeod stated, "The council can't operate as an isolated unit-the university, council and chamber have to realize they're all members of a large, complex community and have to act with a realization of the effect of their actions on all members of the community."

While the council refuses to issue a formal apology to the Marines, as well as provides free parking permits and encouragement to members of code pink, while other people have to pay for their parking permits, pro-troop organizations continue to plan events to counter the protests at the recruitment center in Berkeley California.

Last but not least, Move America Forward's attorney has drafted a letter the US Attorney's office to ask them to investigate Berkeley City Council's encouragement to anti-military groups to "impede" the work of Marine recruiters to determine if it constitutes a breach of law.

Chairman of Move America Forward, Melanie Morgan says, "We have been fighting them all the way and this is simply the next step," she then concludes with, "Berkeley has got to realize that we’re not going away."

The financial cost to Berkeley for the council's actions has been high and as of now, there seems to be no end in sight.

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Howard Dean Was For Experience Before He Was Agaiant It

Howard Dean is the Democratic National Committee chairman and he issued a response to John McCain's new general election ad, which we showed you yesterday after McCain released it.

The New Ad:

The text of that ad:

John McCain: Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong. Do not yield. Stand up. We're Americans. And we'll never surrender.

Announcer: What must a president believe about us? About America?

That she is worth protecting?

That liberty is priceless?

Our people, honorable?

Our future, prosperous, remarkable and free?

And, what must we believe about that president?

What does he think?

Where has he been?

Has he walked the walk?

Interviewer: What is your rank?

John McCain: Lt. Commander in the Navy.

Interviewer: And your official number?

John McCain: 624787

Announcer: John McCain

The American president Americans have been waiting for.

John McCain: “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.”

Howard Dean's response:

John McCain can try to reintroduce himself to the country, but he can’t change the fact that he cast aside his principles to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Bush the last seven years. While we honor McCain’s military service, the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers real solutions, not a blatant opportunist who doesn’t understand the economy and is promising to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years.”

Blatant opportunist is what he calls John McCain because McCain highlights his service to his country.

Many already know but for those who do not, John McCain was a prisoner of war, in Vietnam, for over five years.

John McCain has been awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service to this country.

He has walked the walk, but what is more interesting about Howard Dean's words and criticisms is his calling McCain "opportunistic" for highlighting his service to America.

Howard Dean was for experience before he was against experience as is shown in a Washington Post article from 2004 when Dean was offering reasons for supporting John Kerry in the 2004 presidential elections, he said:

"The real issue is this: Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star on the battlefields of Vietnam?"

For Howard Dean, the "real issue" seems to have changed in his mind.

H/T Liberty.

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Another Dismissal of Charges Against Haditha Marine

Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum, under charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment for the deaths of 24 civilians two years ago in Haditha, Iraq, has been cleared of all charges pending his court martial, and will not face trial for the Haditha incident.

Currently, there has been no official explanation for the dropping of charges against Tatum, but there is speculation that he may be called to testify in the court martial trial of his squad leader at the time of the incident.

The government has been trying to compel Tatum to testify against his squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. In recent weeks, it offered Tatum testimonial immunity – meaning that anything Tatum said during Wuterich's trial couldn't be used as self-incrimination.

Wuterich and Tatum are part of the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. A roadside bomb struck their unit's convoy Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha, killing one Marine and wounding two others.

The investigation in the Haditha shootings and bombing are still under investigation, and have been covered extensively here at Wake Up America:

al-Qaeda Planned the Whole Haditha Massacre

Haditha Marines, John Murtha and the New York Times

Haditha Marines: Judge Orders John Murtha to testify in defamation case

Another Haditha Marine Exonerated-Still No Apology From Murtha

Haditha Marine, Col. Jeffrey Chessani to Sue John Murtha

Haditha Investigator:Drop Marine murder case

So far there is STILL no apology from John Murtha.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

[Update] More from Let Freedom Ring.

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LiveLeak Staff Threatened for Showing Geert Wilders' Fitna Film- Film Shown Here

I updated and bumped the previous piece announcing the release of Fitna. I am also publishing this new article to show what has happened to LiveLeak for their stand to refuse to censor the Fitna films release.

From LiveLeak:

Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.

This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one.
Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one anothers culture.
We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high.

I left the original LiveLeak embed on the previous piece because when it is clicked, the message above is what comes onto the screen instead of the movie.

Once something is released on the Internet, the genie cannot be put back into the bottle though.... sooo, here is FITNA still live from DailyMotion, who still has it online though right here.





It can also be embedded from Daily Motion here.

They may have threatened LiveLeak into surrendering to protect their staff, but they cannot threaten us all, so we will continue to make this available in the name of free speech. LiveLeak did a wonderful job of getting it out there...their job is done, now the rest of us must take up the free speech battle.

Geert Wilders' site is up and running and he too is showing his film.

By showing this film we are taking a stand for free speech and are refusing to be intimidated by those that would violently threaten people for exercising their right to free speech simply because it may offend some.

[Update] More on Geert Wilders and Fitna from, CentreRight, Michelle Malkin, Washington Times

More buzz online over at memorandum.

[Update] Pat Dollard puts it a little more bluntly than I did, but he is taking the same stand.

More to come as it develops...

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Geert Wilders' Fitna Film Released- Liveleak Version Shown- UPDATED AND BUMPED- LiveLeak threatened

[Update] March 30, 2008- The link to the movie is active, as one site deactivates or removes it, I am updating the link to yet another active one. So the links may change but I am making sure before changing it that the one I am linking to is the same original film. Thank you for your patience which allows me to keep a running active link for readers to see the film for themselves to judge.

[UPDATE] TWO different embeds below for the move--Due to threats against LiveLeak, they have a message relaying the type of physical threats they have had to endure for having the courage to host the Fitna video and have been forced to remove it for the sake of their employees safety.

It is all over the web though and you can get Torrent downloads here and tons more here.

DailyMotion still has it online though right here.

[End Update]

[Update #2] (YOUTUBE version removed from this article because they keep removing it from their site, the Daily Motion version above is still active.)

They may have threatened LiveLeak into surrendering to protect their staff, but they cannot threaten us all, so we will continue to make this available in the name of free speech. LiveLeak did a wonderful job of getting it out there...their job is done, now the rest of us must take up the free speech battle.

[End Update #2]

Original post March 27, 2008--


LiveLeak has two versions of the controversial Geert Wilders' short film that has just been released despite repeated attempts to stop its release.

The English Version is below and below that I will link to the other version.

(UPDATE)3/31/08- LiveLeak restored the film after taking it down for their staff's protection, they tightened security and it is active once again.

It loads slowly due to traffic, so have patience. Please be aware there are very graphic scenes in this film.



H/T Michelle Malkin.

It is a 15 minute film showing the violence associated with the Koran.

As MM explains it ends with the image of a hand about to tear out the murderous verses of the Koran and a sound effect of tearing (with a caption explaining that the sound was actually the sound of a page being torn from a phonebook)."

Other portions shows a Jihadist declaring they will rule the work, "We will take over the USA!!", "We will take over the UK!", "We will take over Europe!", and "You will defeat them all and you will get victory!".


The Netherlands' version can be found at LiveLeak here.

The short film does make a very powerful statement about verses from the Koran and how they are used to justify violence and murder in the name of religion.

With that said, there are millions of Muslims that do not use their Koran to murder and slaughter people, to behead them or stone them to death, but those that do, the extremists, are hijacking the whole religion.

[Update] LiveLeak has issued a statement regarding Fitna:

LiveLeak.com has a strict stance on remaining unbiased and allowing freedom of speech as so far as the law and our rules allow. There was no legal reason to refuse Geert Wilders the right to post his film (Fitna) on LiveLeak.com and it is not our place to censor people based on an emotive response. We in no way endorse Geert Wilders, his views, nor the views expressed within Fitna. To many of us involved in LiveLeak.com some of the messages therein are personally offensive. That being said, our being offended is no reason to deny Mr Wilders the right to have his film seen. Pre-emptive censorship or a discriminatory policy towards freedom of speech are both things we oppose here on LiveLeak.com. A person has a simple, clear choice about whether to view this film. No one is being forced to view it and nor is it being broadcasted on every channel on their television set. If you click on media simply to be annoyed, it is pointless to blame others for your choice.

We do not intend on defending the content of Fitna, only our choice to allow it. Anyone has the full right of reply on LiveLeak.com. Any person or organizations are free to post their opinion and, dependent on said response falling within both the law and our rules, we will afford such responses equal exposure. There are undoubtedly better ways to spark a discussion but this film is now out there and we believe we should all grasp this opportunity to create an open dialogue and discussion on this subject.

[Update] According to SwissInfo news, demonstrators took to the streets before even seeing the film.

Dutch News reports that experts say, "the film can hardly be described as as insulting the Muslim faith."


[Update] Jawa reports that Wilders' site is down as is his party website.

[Update] I will list others showing this as they come to my attention.

PoliGazette, by Michael van der Galien, is showing the film.

The Jawa Report, snapped shot, A Blog For All, Jammie Wearing Fool, Hot Air.

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Limbaugh Safe from Ohio Voter Fraud Charges

Ohio officials have announced that talk radio show icon Rush Limbaugh has no worries of being prosecuted for promoting voter fraud in the Ohio primaries. Limbaugh's goal has been to keep the Democrats split up until the August DNC Convention in Denver.

For the past few weeks, talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh has been promoting what he calls "Operation Chaos," his plan to make sure that the "soap opera" of the race between Senators Clinton and Obama continues as they both seek the Democratic nomination for the Presidency in the general elections this coming November.

Part of the strategy of "Operation Chaos" has been to urge Republican voters in the remaining primary states to cross over and vote for Hillary Clinton in the primary elections. At stake have been Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other states who have not yet held their primary elections.

The problem facing it's success in Ohio was the sworn declaration of loyalty to the party required by the Ohio Democratic Party, in which the person signing the document would swear allegiance to the party and support it's ideals and candidates in good faith. Violation of the contract is considered to be a felony offense. This, however, lies in contrast with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and is basically not prosecutable.

Thus, Limbaugh is safe from prosecution for promoting "voter fraud."

We have no intention of prosecuting Rush Limbaugh because lying through your teeth and being stupid isn't a crime," said Leo Jennings, a spokesman for Democratic Attorney General Marc Dann.

When asked whether she has concerns about what Limbaugh did, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, replied, "I think it's very bad form, but I think most voters are intelligent enough to make their own decisions."

While certain media outlets have had Limbaugh under fire during this campaign season for his "Operation Chaos," the concept his hardly new to this election process. Limbaugh, by his own admission at the onset of the plan, was inspired by the same tactics called for by DailyKos back in January for Democrats to vote for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the Michigan Primaries.

If you know someone in Michigan, send them the email I've included below the fold. If you don't know someone in Michigan, send the email to your liberal friends and see if THEY have friends in Michigan. Get the word out, whether by blog, mailing list, MySpace or Facebook page, or whatever.

If we can help push Mitt over the line, not only do we help keep their field fragmented, but we also pollute Romney's victory. How "legitimate" will the Mittster's victory look if liberals provide the margin of victory? Think of the hilarity that will ensue. We'll simply be adding fuel to their civil war, never a bad thing from our vantage point.

Michigan, as well as Florida, had it's nominees stripped for the DNC Convention, nullifying the Democratic Primaries for those two states. This was the situation prompting the DailyKos call for Democrats to infiltrate the Republican Primary in Michigan.

It should be noted that Mitt Romney is no longer in the race for the Presidency, but that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are still vying for the Democratic nomination.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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John McCain's New General Election Ad

The ad, is called "624787, which was John McCain's Navy serial number. (YouTube URL for those getting this via the WUA email subscription service)

The text of the ad reads:

John McCain: Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong. Do not yield. Stand up. We're Americans. And we'll never surrender.

Announcer: What must a president believe about us? About America?

That she is worth protecting?

That liberty is priceless?

Our people, honorable?

Our future, prosperous, remarkable and free?

And, what must we believe about that president?

What does he think?

Where has he been?

Has he walked the walk?

Interviewer: What is your rank?

John McCain: Lt. Commander in the Navy.

Interviewer: And your official number?

John McCain: 624787

Announcer: John McCain

The American president Americans have been waiting for.

John McCain: “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.”

The narrator is Powers Boothe.

It is believed that this ad is targeted against Barack Obama, understanding that Obama is favored to become the Democratic nominee.

McCain is already drawing comparisons between himself and Obama which can be seen clearly in the reference to walking the walk.

While the Democratic contenders are still battling it out with each other, sniping, fighting and generally tearing each other to shreds, John McCain is giving us a sneak preview at the campaign strategy that will be used during the general election.

Perhaps even given the idea from Hillary Clinton's own words when she said, "I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House and Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."

She was highly criticized for that when she said it, and John McCain is smart to use that same theme because during the general election, if Obama does win the Democratic nod, then McCain will not be the only one pointing out Obama's lack of experience because there are soundbites, news reports and video of Hillary Clinton making the very same argument.

Clinton will not be able to take those words back and it will be very powerful in the general election to see McCain and Hillary, (via the video clip) arguing that Barack Obama, hasn't walked the walk and doesn't have the lifetime experience that John McCain does.

A very good, powerful ad and we can expect to see Obama/Clinton supporters talking about it shortly......5....4.....3....2....1

[Update] It starts. More from the left side of the blogosphere.

[Update #2] Quick flashback to Another YouTube video moment for McCain to use. Susan Rice, part of Barack Obama's campaign saying, "Clinton hasn't had to answer the phone at 3 o'clock in the morning and yet she attacked Barack Obama for not being ready. They're both not ready for that 3am phone call...."

McCain can just use the Democrats own words against Obama in the general election if they chose him as the Democratic nominee.

The New Game For the Democrats: Who Can Tell a Bigger Lie?

One would swear that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were deliberately trying to see who could tell the bigger lies and who could tell more of them.

We have already covered Hillary Clinton's lies about Bosnia, her exaggerations about her so-called experience and her determination to consider such outrageous lies, just a "minor blip".

Barack Obama is now catching up in the fairy tale category with Hillary.

First there was the Rezko lies, with Obama saying his association with Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who is currently facing federal charges of attempted extortion, money laundering, and fraud, wasn't a close association.

That was proven to be a lie very publicly. Obama also lied about the amount of money he received from Tony Rezko... again, proven to be a lie because it was far more than what Obama admitted to.

Then Obama admitted to having poor judgment regarding Rezko.

NAFTAGATE

Obama's next set of lies were in relation to some harsh comments he made regarding NAFTA, and it was revealed later that Obama's campaign had secretly told Canada officials not to take the political positioning too seriously.

Once again, Barack Obama denied that his campaign spoke to the Canadian officials, but oooops, a memo was later circulated showing that Obama's senior economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, did indeed meet with them and did assure them not to pay attention to Obama's rhetoric about NAFTA.

JEREMIAH WRIGHT

Jeremiah Wright has been Barack Obama's pastor for the better part of 20 years and recently videos of some of Wright's sermons made headlines and were shown from one end of the globe to another. His more infamous sermon where he says "God Damn America" as well as many other racial, Anti-American comments, can be found at YouTube or on WUA's previous piece here.

Immediately after those videos hit the airwaves, blogs, media and video sites, Barack Obama wrote a long piece for Huffington Post, denying that he had ever heard Wright's rhetoric.

Obama:

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation.When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments...

Now lets look at the words Barack Obama said in his speech to try to counter the questions his long association with Wright brought up.

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

I think those two statements, made within 4 days of each other, make a valid point of a direct lie told, yet again, by Barack Obama.

Then Hillary Clinton, in an obvious attempt to distract from her recently public lies about her Bosnia experience (see above)says about Jeremiah Wright, "He would not have been my pastor. You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."

Which brings us to Barack Obama today in the news. He spoke about Jeremiah Wright on ABC's The View and he said, "Had the reverend not retired, and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying at the church."

After almost 20 years of listening to what Jeremiah Wright was preaching, Obama would have left the church?

Was Wright on the edge of retirement for 20 years? Or would Obama have left only because those controversial words from the pastor came to light publicly?

That isn't the lie though, at least not the big one for today... the lie is that Jeremiah Wright never "acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate."

When did Wright apologize? When did Wright admit his words were inappropriate? Where is the news coverage?

It all comes down to something Wright himself admitted to, reported by the New York Times:

Mr. Wright, who has long prided himself on criticizing the establishment, said he knew that he may not play well in Mr. Obama’s audition for the ultimate establishment job.

“If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me,” Mr. Wright said with a shrug. “I said it to Barack personally, and he said yeah, that might have to happen.”

Had Obama not been running for the presidency, he would have probably still been sitting in that church, listening to Jeremiah Wright, and the only reason he s distancing himself now, or trying to, is because of his desire to become president.

The kicker here for me though, after laying out lie after lie from Barack Obama, is the audacity ohe shows when he says, "You know, I’m a pretty tough – I’m skinny but I’m tough. (Laughter.) I think that the way to handle attacks, wherever they’re coming from – and, you know, there’ve been some tough punches thrown in this Democratic primary; it’s not like, you know, I’ve been just kinda takin’ a cakewalk through this primary – the way I like to handle attacks is to answer honestly, swiftly, forcefully and truthfully. I think the truth is a powerful weapon.”

That about made me spew my drink all over the keyboard.

Back to the original question.... which Democratic presidential candidate lies more and who does it better, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?

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Arab Leaders Snubbing Syria By Refusing to Attend Arab Summit

Syria's alliance with Iran and Hizbullah as well as their interference with Lebanon, who has not had a Lebanese president since November, nor a functioning parliament since 2006 because of Syria's interference, via Hizbullah, has brough the leaders of countries such as Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt which has joined the long list of Arab leaders that will not attend the summit hosted by Syria.

Lebanon is boycotting it altogether because of Syria's role in blocking the election of a new Lebanese president.

The Lebanese government issued a statement explaining their reasoning which said, "Based on the injustice that Syria has subjected Lebanon to (and) in light of the vacuum in the presidency ... the council of ministers decides that Lebanon will not take part in the Arab summit in Damascus that is scheduled for March 29-30."

The statement made note also of the fact that Lebanon had never missed an Arab summit until now and called it regrettable that it come to this.

Saudi Arabia -- which supports Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet in Lebanon also blames Syria for the crisis, which has led to the announcement that Saudi King Abdullah will not be attending the Syria hosted Arab summit either.

Relations with Saudi Arabia worsened after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who made billions building palaces for the Saudi royal family, and carried a Saudi diplomatic passport. Harri was killed when the Syrian military, deployed in Lebanon since the 1975 to 1990 civil war, dominated Lebanon's security and political landscape.

Syria has done everything in their power to stop a full investigation into Harri's death and a U.N. inquiry into his death initially concluded that Syrian intelligence agents were involved. Syria denies that and refuses to cooperate with a tribunal being established in The Hague for the trial of suspects in Harri's assassination.

Almost like a snowball effect, other leaders are following suit. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is only sending a junior official in his place and Jordan's King Abdullah II has yet to announce whether he will be participating at all.

Andrew Tabler, Damascus-based editor of Syria Today magazine says, "The fact that the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Egypt are not attending the summit is a bad sign. Decision making in this region comes from the top, so this makes the summit less able to settle major differences. This underlines the division between Syria and moderate Arab states and makes conflict this year more likely."

Syria is becoming more and more isolated within the Arab community because of its alliance with Hizbullah as well as being known as a proxy for Iran.

When the latest election for presidency failed in Lebanon, the conservative Arab leaders decided it was time to let Syria know that its interference in Lebanon as well as sponsoring terrorism by aligning and backing Hizbullah and continuing to work as a proxy for Iran, would not be tolerated anymore.

Syria has backed the wrong horse by aligning themselves with Iran and by actively sponsoring the terrorist group Hizbullah and this snubbing from the powerful Arab leaders is a warning to Syria to stop interfering with Lebanon.... the question now is, will Syria heed that warning or continue the course they are on?

Sources: Reuters and SFGate.

Move America Forward Demands U.S. Attorney Investigate Lawbreakers In Berkeley, CA.

Press Release via email from Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pro-Troop Group Demands of US Attorney: “Investigate Anti-American Activities in Berkeley”

City Accused of Encouraging Interference with Federal Officers

SAN FRANCISCO---A law firm representing a pro-troop organization has sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco asking the federal government to investigate whether the Berkeley City Council’s official anti-Marine position and encouragement of anti-war groups to “impede” the work of Marine recruiters constitutes a breach of law. If the City Council violated the law, the letter asks the U.S. Attorney to prosecute the perpetrators.

The letter was drafted by the attorney for pro-troop organization Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org), which is the nation’s largest pro-troop grassroots nonprofit. The correspondence also voices concerns that the Berkeley Police were unresponsive and negligent to public safety during a protest the group organized in Berkeley on Feb. 12, 2007. The original copy has already been mailed and an additional copy will be hand-delivered Monday morning with a press conference immediately following.

“We will explore every avenue to ensure that Marine Corps personnel are not harassed for simply doing their jobs, especially not by a city government,” said Catherine Moy, Executive Director of Move America Forward.

Move America Forward has been active in organizing demonstrations as well as several ad campaigns rebuking the Berkeley City Council since they called Marine Recruiters “uninvited and unwelcome intruders” at a Jan. 29 council meeting. The council also reserved a publicly funded parking space and gave free sound permits to a radical anti-war group protesting the office.

“That is a blatant misuse of tax dollars and a violation of civil rights” said Moy, referring to the privileges granted to Code Pink, the antiwar group that received special treatment from the council.

“We have been fighting them all the way and this is simply the next step,” said Melanie Morgan, Move America Forward’s co-founder. Morgan is also demanding that Berkeley’s mayor give a full and official apology to all military personnel, veterans, and their families, and rescind the resolutions giving special treatment to Code Pink.

“Berkeley has got to realize that we’re not going away,” Morgan concluded.

WHEN – 10:00 AM Monday March 31st, 2008

WHERE – North Entrance of U.S. Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, Ca.

CONTACT – Ryan Gill, MAF Operations Director (650) 678-7732

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Clinton Willing to Vote for Inexperienced Candidate for Presidency?

I just read an article about Hillary Clinton and something struck me funny.

She is asked a question about what "she would tell frustrated Democrats who might consider voting for McCain in the general election out of spite."

The reason that question was asked is because the latest polls show that 28 percent of Clinton supporters say if Obama wins the nomination, they will vote for John McCain. Only 19 percent of Obama supporters said they would vote for McCain in that particular poll.

(Click to enlarge)

Further more, another more in depth look at those numbers from Gallup, shows exactly what groups will be the defectors, that was released today.

At the end of her answer today though, she makes a statement that contradicts previous statements she has made.

“I intend to do everything I can to make sure we have a unified Democratic party,” she said. “When this contest is over and we have a nominee, we’re going to close ranks, we’re going to be united.”

Really?

Wasn't it Hillary Clinton that said, and I quote, "I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House and Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."

Yes it was!!!! In fact, we have video of those comments from the first time she said them (she went on to say it more)



So, after stating outright that Obama doesn't have the experience to become President, she is now saying if he wins the nomination that people should unite around a candidate that has no practical experience to bring to the White House?

Anyone else think that is irresponsible?

Just saying.

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After Losing His Mother, Man Brings gun To Hospital and Kills Two and Wounds Two More

Two people killed and two critically wounded when a man, after suffering the loss of his mother from natural causes, brought a gun to Doctors Hospital in Columbus and proceeded to open fire on individuals.

Charles Johnston, 63 years old, walked into Doctors Hospital, in Columbus Georgia with a gun, went to the fifth floor and started shooting.

According to Police Chief Ricky Boren, at a news conference, Johnson had lost his mother at that hospital, from natural causes and came back, went to the fifth floor, shot a male nurse, killing him, then shot a secretary who is in critical condition.

When authorities arrived, an officer saw Johnson leaving the building and witness him shoot a bystander in the head. That bystander is in critical condition.

The officer followed the Johnson into the parking deck where the man opened fire on police. Police returned fire, and one plainclothes officer shot the man in the shoulder and he is currently receiving hospital treatment.

The other victim that died was an administrative assistant that died after surgery.

There are conflicting news reports about when Johnson's mother actually died.

Some accounts say she died in 2004 and Johnson had held a grudge since then and other accounts say that Johnson's mother had died earlier that same morning.

The Police Chief, Ricky Boren stated in the news conference that the mother had died Thursday morning, March 27, 2008, and in a couple of other newspapers, they quote witnesses that say the mother died in 2004.

Officials from the hospital said that no patients or family members of patients were shot, it was only hospital employees.

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Officials Reveal Documents of Toronto Terrorism Plot

Detailing plans to storm Parliament Hill, behead politicians, of drill exercises in military tactics and weapons training, and plans to purchase weapons for their assault, the report shows how a cell of Canadian Muslims planned to bring Jihad to Toronto.

The document was released in Brampton court yesterday, outlining the investigation of a group that had intended to wage an attack in Toronto that would be "much larger" than the London bombings of 2005 in which 52 people were killed.

The documentation was presented for the first time yesterday in the Crown's case against a young man charged with involvement in a terrorist group. The youth has pled not guilty of the charges, which are damning.

Along with the outlines for storming Parliament Hill and the beheading of politicians, known as Operation Badr, the Crown also revealed evidence that the group know as the "Toronto 18" had attempted to secure safe-houses, military weapons and ammunition, and places to conduct military drills in preparation for a campaign that they "should be willing to die for." There were also transcripts of wire and videotaps presented as evidence, in which members discussed their plans for waging a campaign of terror on Toronto.

The document and the evidence to be presented in the case had been kept away from the public under a court ordered ban until yesterday, with the Crown arguing that for the information to be made available to the public could taint the trials of those indicted.

While some of the allegations have already surfaced in public reports, a great deal in the factum had never been published. Some of that expected evidence includes:

* Videos of terrorist indoctrination, in which the accused are exhorted to wage battle in the new empire of "Rome" in North America, "whether we get arrested, whether we get killed."
* Wiretap surveillance in which they discuss their desire to "establish the religion of Allah and to get rid of the oppressors" and the need for funds to finance their goals of building a "team" to "go make an attack."
* The construction of a "radio frequency remote-control detonator" that needed to be improved because its range was nine metres.
* Allegations the accused attended two training camps. One was a 12-day camp near the town of Washago, Ont., where they practised military-style exercises in camouflage gear and undertook firearms training with a 9-mm firearm. The second was a two-day camp at the Rockwood Conservation Area, where they donned camouflage clothing and made a propaganda-style video of their military drills.

According to the Crown's factum, the alleged terrorists first popped onto the radar of police in August 2005, when two of the adults were stopped at the Canada-U.S. border in a rented vehicle while attempting to smuggle firearms and ammunition into the country.

After connecting the attempted smuggling incident and the car rental to certain telephone calls that investigators had intercepted, police officials managed to infiltrate the local Muslim community and had their informant make contact with two members of the terrorist cell. The cell members were eager to have what they believed was the assistance of the informer, Mubin Shaikh, whom they hoped to have help them with their military training in preparation for their planned operations. Shaikh was taken to a secluded area that the cell members had proposed to use as a training site, and reported that he was also shown "cop killer" bullets in a weapon magazine.

Over the next several months, until June, 2006, police and investigators continued to build their case against the group, recording fund raising activities for the purchase of weapons, attempts by group members to improvise radio controlled detonators for explosive devices, and the initial conducting of military training drills for the members of the group. Plans were also underway to find a site to conduct more advanced commando type operations drills at Rockwood.

On March 5, two of the adults met with a man named Talib, hoping he would help them generate funds to purchase military assault rifles and other weapons, which one of them had already paid a down payment. As they attempted to recruit Talib, one man expressed their desire to establish "the religion of Allah," adding "we're not just a bunch of young guys." The other spoke of the "global fight."

Meanwhile, a second, more advanced training camp was in the works and took place at Rockwood May 20-22, police allege. A number of the accused attended, as well a man named Shal Syed, who later voluntarily met with investigators and offered a statement about an adult's comments and the group's activities.

Syed said an adult said the purpose of the camp was to "train" and to prepare for jihad. Again, an adult led a discussion circle inside a tent discussing so-called military strategies. One of the men asked Syed if he could teach others how to use firearms and grenades and whether he had access to such weapons. He also promised to show Syed recorded lectures given by Osama bin Laden.

On 2JUN06, over 400 police officers began the round up of the suspected cell members, bringing 17 adults and older teenagers into custody. The 18th suspect was apprehended two months later.

In an Editorial in The Australian dated 5JUL07, Irshad Manji asks why there are so many terrorists who come from well-educated, more affluent backgrounds instead of being "poor and dispossessed." According to Manji, the root of this is based in religious symbolism.

Again, we must confront religious symbolism. The blade is an implement associated with 7th-century tribal conflict. Wielding it as a sword becomes a tribute to the founding moment of Islam. Even the note stabbed into van Gogh's corpse, although written in Dutch, had the unmistakable rhythms of Arabic poetry. Let's credit Bouyeri with honesty: at his trial he proudly acknowledged acting from religious conviction.

Despite integrating Muslims far more adroitly than most of Europe, North America isn't immune. Last year in Toronto, police nabbed 17 young Muslim men allegedly plotting to blow up Canada's parliament buildings and behead the Prime Minister.

They called their campaign Operation Badr, a reference to prophet Mohammed's first decisive military triumph, the Battle of Badr. Clearly the Toronto 17 drew inspiration from religious history.

Manji goes on to call for moderate Muslims to speak out in a greater voice against the violence, and calls for reformations in Islam that would do away with the mindset of religious intolerance found to be so predominant in extremist sects of the religion.

Reinterpreting doesn't mean rewriting. It means rethinking words and practices that already exist, removing them from a 7th-century tribal time warp and introducing them to a 21st-century pluralistic context. Un-Islamic? God, no. The Koran contains three times as many verses calling on Muslims to think, analyse and reflect than passages that dictate what's absolutely right or wrong. In that sense, reform-minded Muslims are as authentic as moderates and quite possibly more constructive.

Perhaps, with the rising of moderates in Islam calling for reinterpretation, the world is on the verge of witnessing, in the 21st century, a reformation movement begin in the religion, such as Christianity underwent during the time of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the doors of the Wittenberg Castle Church.

In the meantime, investigations such as the one in which the Toronto 18 are under trial for may become more common place in Western society.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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After Resolved Hostage Situation at a KY. University, Two Children Found Dead in Home

After resolving a hostage situation at the University of Louisville, in Kentucky, school officials asked authorities to check on children at a Louisville home and police found two children fatally shot.

Thursday morning, at about 8:30 am, a woman walked into the Belknap Campus Student Health Services building at the University of Louisville, armed with a weapon in what is being reported as a hostage situation.

According to the University's website, the Counseling Center in the Health Services had called the University police to come escort a woman to a mental health facility, but when police arrived, they found the woman holding the counselor hostage.

The school immediately sent safety alerts to student phones, cell phones and posted one on its Web site.

The University police secured the area, called in the Louisville Metro Police Department, then went back into the room and managed to get the woman disarmed.

Details are sketchy, but the University website refers to the woman as a student, but police have not verified that as of yet.

The University police then asked the city police to check on children in a Louisville home and when the authorities arrived at he two-story red brick home, in what is described as a tidy middle-class neighborhood, they found two children dead at the scene.

According to Officer Phil Russell of the city police department, officers found the children "fatally wounded". Earlier reports said the two children had been shot, but that it was not confirmed at the scene.

Police do say the deaths are related to the hostage situation but the woman's relationship to the two children is still unclear and the names of the woman and children are not being released as of yet.

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Two People Wounded After Sniper Fire on Virginia Highway

[Update] 3/28/08- Two teens have been arrested.

There is a manhunt in Virginia for a sniper(s) that shot and wounded two people while they were driving along the Interstate-64 highway in Albemarle County this morning. The highway was closed for over five hours.

The area between exit 118 in Charlottesville and 96 in Waynesboro were closed for over five hours after a sniper or snipers, fired on and hit five vehicles along an eleven mile stretch of the westbound section of the interstate.

The woman that was wounded was brought to Augusta County Medical Center by ambulance and the man that was hurt was able to drive himself to the hospital. Both were treated and released from the hospital.

It is not immediately clear if the wounds were from the bullets or from the shattered glass.

It is believed that there was more than one shooter and the police have identified where the shots were fired from as being The westbound offramp at the Ivy exit--mile marker 114, The overpass at Route 690 around mile marker 106 and The Virginia Department of Transportation building at Yancey Mills.

According to state police Col. Steve Flaherty, "I really don't have a good feel for how long this went on. We have evidence that it was more than one suspect."


The Albemarle County website announced the closing of the County's schools:

Albemarle County Schools will be closed today, Thursday, March 27. School officials have been in ongoing discussions with law enforcement personnel and the School Division has decided to close schools for the entire day to make sure that no students or staff are placed in any potentially dangerous circumstances while the investigation into the shootings along I-64 continues and the situation remains unresolved. Further information about the status of the schools will be announced as soon as it is available.

The Albemarle County Police Department is working jointly on this investigation with the Charlottesville Police Department, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office, the University of Virginia Police Department, the Staunton Police Department, the Virginia State Police, the U.S. Marshalls Service as well as both the FBI and ATF.

The police are asking anybody with information to please call the Virginia State Police in Charlottesville at (434) 293-3223, or the local Crime Stoppers at (434) 972-4000.

[Update] Police are following up on a possible sixth vehicle that may have been shot overnight.

Police have found shell casings about 40 feet from the VDOT vehicle that was unoccupied when it was shot up and they are being sent to the ATF lab to determine whether they came from the same gun.

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Network Solutions Starts Suspending DNS Services On Hizbullah Sites

The ramifications of the pre-censorship actions of Network Solutions against Geert Wilders before he was able to publish his highly controversial short film, have been severe in more ways than one.

In previous pieces we explained what Network Solutions did to stifle Wilders' freedom of speech, then we showed the backlash that hit them as complaints started pouring as well as customers that started canceling Network Solution services.

It didn't stop there though, hat tip to Kafir from the Jawa Report for leaving a comment on one of our previous pieces, which led me to see what else has been happening.

Bloggers started mentioning that Network Solutions were providing services to Hizbullah sites. Hizbullah was designated a terrorist organization by Executive Order 13224 and any US company that provides goods/services even for free to any specially designated terrorist group can be fined $250000 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Those complaints against Network Solution led to them shutting down the www.hizbollah.org site as well as multiple others as listed by Jawa.

The following URLs were also PWNED as of this posting!

www.moqawama.org
www.ghaliboun.net
www.moqawama.tv
www.nasrollah.org
www.hizbollah.tv

Network Solutions has opened up a few cans of worms here and the backlash has only begun.

Go to The Jawa Report to see what other terrorists organizations are having services hosted by Network Solutions.

Previous pieces about Geert Wilders and/or Network Solutions:

Pending Film Release Prompts Dutch Terrorism Watch
Has Geert Wilders' Mission Already Been Accomplished?
Network Solutions Practices Pre-Censorship On Geert Wilders' Film Site
Network Solutions Censors Geert Wilders' Film and Czech Party Offers to Host "Fitna"
Geert Wilders' Fitna Movie Trailer.

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Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and Help Me Get My Foot Out of my Mouth

If you were a member of a congregation whose pastor was openly racist, politically slanted, and incorrect in his Biblical references, could you continue to go to that church? Given these three bases, how has Jeremiah Wright been a pastor for this long?

The pastor of a church is supposed to be an exemplary figure, someone to be looked up to, admired, respected, and above reproach. His duties are the ministry of the Gospel and the spiritual well being of the congregation. Often this branches out into roles such as marriage counselor, visitor to the sick and injured, and someone you can come to and talk to who will help you through times of trouble.

First and foremost, the pastor of a Christian church is supposed to be exemplary of the love of Christ for all of mankind.

I tend to stay away from religious commentary due to my own "wandering" in recent years outside the bounds of the organized church. For reasons of my own, I walked away from organized religion some years back and have continued my own explorations of spirituality in my own time and my own manner. That does not mean, however, that, having grown up IN the church, having studied the Bible and other theological doctrines and writings through the years, that I don't have a working knowledge of how things are supposed to be IN an organized congregation of a denominational body.

It can truthfully be said that I have forgotten more religious studies than many pastors standing before their congregations on any given Sunday morning.

Given all of this personal background that I don't generally go into, I have to say this; it sickens my soul every time I hear some people referred to as "Reverend," "Minister," or "Pastor," after hearing the hatred and clearly non-Biblical teachings that they spew forth when they open their mouths.

Jeremiah Wright is the latest "preacher" to absolutely turn my stomach. We have all seen, at this point, portions of his "sermons" in which he goes off on a tangent about the Clinton's, 9/11, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and whites in general. In my mind, these are not issues for the pulpit. These are issues for a political rally. The very images of his descriptions of Bill Clinton "riding dirty," with graphic motions to emphasize his point are not something that I, personally, would want my 8 year old daughter to be sitting in the pew seeing on Sunday morning. I can assure you, that preacher and I would be having some rather hot words rather than a chorus of "Amen's," quite possibly at that point rather than after the so-called sermon.

The argument that this is because it's a black preacher addressing a black congregation doesn't wash with me, either. I've attended black churches in my time; they are some of the most spiritual, most reverent, most Bible-based sermons I've ever heard in my life. I have a very, very good friend that I think the world of. He's a black pastor. We haven't discussed Jeremiah Wright yet because it's been a while since we've talked (Lewis, if you're reading this, by the way, I'll be hollering at you soon...lol). Distance and busy schedules are the factors in play there more than anything else.

Now Jeremiah Wright has decided that it's not enough that he's targeted the whites of America, he's decided to take on the Italians as well. In a blast of statements that are both Biblically and historically inaccurate, he has managed to insult the Italian people over the Crucifixion.

(Jesus') enemies had their opinion about Him," Wright wrote in a eulogy of the late scholar Asa Hilliard in the November/December 2007 issue. "The Italians for the most part looked down their garlic noses at the Galileans."

Wright continued, "From the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth (in a barn in a township that was under the Apartheid Roman government that said his daddy had to be in), up to and including the circumstances surrounding Jesus' death on a cross, a Roman cross, public lynching Italian style. ..."

I suppose Wright ignores the Old Testament and it's prophecies which foretell of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ, and as well ignores that Ceasar didn't force Joseph and Mary to sleep in a stable that night (which was likely a cave in the hillside, which would have been a much warmer and more private place for the birth of Jesus than in an inn overcrowded with travellers). Wright also fails to mention that Pilate had turned Christ over to the Jews to determine his fate, and they cried out for him to be crucified.

To coin a phrase I tend to save for Al Gore, how inconvenient.

I grew up listening to the same pastor for nearly a decade myself. I can tell you today, twenty years later, what the man believed, what he taught, and where he stood on things. He WAS and IS a man above reproach. His successor has some very large (figuratively speaking) shoes to fill in having taken over the congregation where I went to church in my youth, but having known the current pastor almost all of my life, having camped with him and fished with him, attended ball games, and sitting side by side with him in classrooms all through high school, I can say with great confidence that he, too, is a man above reproach and an example for others to follow.

You can not attend a church for that long and not know what your pastor is about. And as far away as I've wandered from those very simple little lessons about life from my youth, the core of them is still there. Several years of preaching does influence a person.

For good, or for bad.

There is an old saying that I've heard surrounding churches, "As a pastor goeth, so follows his flock." From my experience, I've seen this to be true time and time again

For good.

Or for bad.

The State of the Democratic Race for Nomination Between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

As I am typing this article I have seven specific tabs open in my browser all of which showing conflict, data and statistics and news articles all discussing the Democratic party, some declaring a potential "disaster" within the Democrat party, others criticizing Hillary Clinton, some taking Nancy Pelosi to task for her recent words and some recent polls from different organizations and last and not least one about Bill Clinton and his thoughts on the negativity of within the campaigning of late.

All these articles have one thing in common..... the contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and what it is doing to the party as a whole.

Early March, the 4th to be exact, it was reported that Bill Nelson the Democratic Senator from Florida warned the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that the Democrats were facing the "biggest train wreck you’ve ever seen."

He was speaking about the DNC's decision to not seat any Florida delegates because Florida went against the DNC rules and moved their primaries ahead, but his statement about a trainwreck is as close to foreseeing the near future as a person can get, albeit for many more reasons than he stated.

Fast forward to today and we see another Democrat, Phil Bredesen, the two-term governor of Tennessee and an uncommitted superdelegate warning that the Democratic party needs to "avert disaster", saying, "if the contentious slog continues until the Democrats’ late-August convention in Denver, the party would have a vastly diminished chance of recapturing the White House."

Bredesen then adds, "They have a much steeper, rockier hill to climb if it goes to the convention. You’re going to spend this whole summer — and lots of money and time and effort — trying to convince people that whoever isn’t eventually nominated, isn’t electable. That’s a heck of a hole to climb out of come the first of September. What’s been going on for the last 90 days just gets worse and worse as the summer goes on."

His suggestion to avert the disaster is to hold a superdelegate primary” in June, in which the 795 party bigwigs would gather to hear one last time from Clinton and Obama before casting a final vote.

To Bredesen, an even-keeled political pragmatist, superdelegates are certain to ultimately decide the nominee, so it makes no sense for them to do it later rather than sooner.

On the other side of the issue, Hillary Clinton, in an interview with CNN, vows to go on with her campaign until the very end, which is a scenario that has some superdelegates saying that would be "devastating for the party".

Other superdelagtes are saying that Clinton's tactics against Obama are turning them off and that Clinton's campaigns tactics in recent weeks are doing more harm than good, yet they do not believe she should drop out of the race.

While the Democratic leaders, delegates and superdelegates are all expressing worry about the tactics that the Clinton campaign are using, Bill Clinton states flat out that he does not agree and said, "You know, I don't give a rip about all this name calling that's going on", he then continues with, "If a politician doesn't wanna get beat up, he shouldn't run for office. Let's just saddle up and have an argument. What's the matter with that?"

Enter Nancy Pelosi who has stated that superdelegates have an obligation to reflect the will of the voters and back the candidate with the pledged delegate lead. That would benefit Barack Obama as of right now, and that led to Clinton supporters sending Nancy Pelosi a letter admonishing her and suggesting that she rethink her position.

The majority of political pundits do not believe that it is possible, from the numbers alone, that Hillary Clinton can catch up on a pledged delegate count with Barack Obama, but depending on what the superdelegates decide to do, they could throw their weight behind either candidate and bring them to the magic number of 2,025 delegates needed for one of the candidates to win the nomination.

For those that are suggesting that Hillary Clinton step aside, what they are not looking at nor considering is that the Clinton and Obama party supporters, the voters themselves, have become just as entrenched in the fighting and their desire to see their candidate win.

In some cases, it has come to the point of "either my Democratic candidate wins or no Democratic candidate gets the vote".

Two polls released today shows some very disturbing figures that have risen since the last polls were released.

The Gallup poll shows that 28 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters state that they will vote for John McCain in the general election in November if Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination for presidency. 19 percent of Obama supporters say that if Hillary wins the nomination, they will vote for John McCain.

The latest Rasmussen poll shows that 6% of Democratic supporters are so fed up with both campaigns they want both Democratic candidates to quit the race and that 22 percent of Democratic supporters want Hillary Clinton to withdraw and equally 22 percent of them want Barack Obama to withdraw.

The big problem for the Democrats at this moment is that no matter what happens a large group of party supporters will be unhappy and bitter and as the campaign season grinds along, and the fighting intensifies, those numbers could very well rise and fracture the party from within and was stated by the Democratic leaders themselves.

When you look at one article, or one poll or statements from one Democratic leader at a time, it is easy to think that things aren't as bad as that particular article is making out, but when you looks at everything together, in context, the bigger picture being painted shows a party conflicted, a party on the edge and a party that sees no end in sight to the conflict.

A party in total chaos.

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Anonymous Shooting Threat Sparks Increased Security at Western Illinois University

A note left in a payment drop box at an off campus apartment complex, threatens that a shooting would occur at Western Illinois University, which in turn sparked heightened security and students have been informed they don't have to attend classes.

A worker at the off campus apartment complex found the note early Wednesday morning, notified authorities via the safety office at the school at 8:15 am, who in turn posted a news release on the University's website by 9:30am and activated Western's Emergency Alert System by (;45 am, which sends out e-mails and text messages and calls cell phones of the students.

That alert message informed the students of the threat and directed them to go to the University's website for more information.

Police patrols have been increased on the Western Illinois University campus and University officials are working with the Macomb police to find whoever is responsible for the threat.

Common areas of residential halls, which usually are not locked during the daytime, have been secured so only residents with keys can enter, although the school itself is not on lockdown.

According to the Western Illinois University website, students who wish to remain in their residence halls and apartments will not be penalized for missing classes today (March 26). Faculty and staff who wish to be absent should contact their supervisors.

The University's president, Al Goldfarb, says, "While this is an anonymous off-campus threat, it is imperative that we take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our students, staff and faculty."

Some students have decided not to attend classes because of fears stemming from the recent Northern Illinois University shooting that occurred on Valentines day, February 14, 2008, which killed five people and wounded 18 before turning the gun on himself.

One student, Evan Crum, who is a senior at WIU said he would not be stepping foot on campus, "I'm not going to class. I'm not taking any chances. Not after what happened at Northern."

Crum learned of the threat through the University's Alert System.

According to Crum, the majority of the students he had spoken with will also not be attending classes on Wednesday and he says, "Some people are going to class, but a lot aren't because of what's going on right now, what happened at Northern Illinois. A lot of people are really nervous."

Illinois State Police, the Macomb Police Department and the McDonough County sheriff's office are all working to increase security at the school and any unusual or suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the Office of Public Safety by calling 911 from any campus phone or 309-298-1949.

Some people think that University aged students should have weapons to defend themselves and every time there is a shooting threat or a school shooting, that argument gains traction.

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The Clever Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Cross-posted from Faultline USA

Hot Dog Anti-American publicity hound Rev. Jeremiah Wright plans to turn the tables on the “white establishment” he so hates. The AP has announced that Wright has canceled several appearances in Florida and Texas. Wright cites “security issues” for the hosting facilities, for his family, and for himself as his reason for cancelling. But we know better.

Unfortunately for Wright’s case, none of the local police departments in Florida or Texas know of any security issues and have already offered to beef up security for Wright.

Wright, the perpetrator of anti-White racism, is planning on turning himself into the imaginary victim of racism. Clever, don’t you think?

Well it’s likely to work among those who already buy into Wright’s type of perpetual victim-mentality!

The Daily Skiff, TCU’s campus newspaper, is lamenting the fact that the event honoring the “controversial” pastor was moved off campus.

“Many of the comments by Barack Obama's Chicago pastor are certainly offensive, but should be tolerated for an optional event on a college campus.”

I’ll buy into that logic as soon as TCU invites a white racist like David Duke to be tolerated for an “optional event on a college campus.”

Meanwhile, according to OneNewsNow, “Conservative black leader Ken Blackwell is denouncing a Texas divinity school's decision to give an award to Barack Obama's former pastor for his 40 years of ministry, despite Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sometimes hateful and anti-American rhetoric.

Blackwell, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, says while Brite Divinity and Wright have the legal right to be theologically wrong, they cannot force anyone to accept their beliefs or institutional decision. Blackwell disagrees with the liberation theology that Wright espouses from the pulpit.

"Liberation theology is a belief system that teaches that biblical phrases such as the Messiah coming to 'set the captives free' speaks to overthrowing government to aid the downtrodden, rather than teaching that freedom comes about by achieving spiritual freedom through an individual relationship with God," Blackwell notes.

He says liberation theology is only practiced by a minority of black churches in America and does not represent orthodox Christianity. "We have a tradition in the African-American church of pursuing social justice [and] of breaking down our walls of exclusion, and I think that is consistent with traditional Christian thought and Christian doctrine," Blackwell says.

Blackwell also contends that liberation theology, as it has been practiced in Latin America and Africa over the past 50 years, "has been advanced by insurgent regimes that have been more about political agendas and collectivist economies than encouraging people to seek an individual relationship with God. . ."

Digg It!

Note: This is the eighth post in a continuing series concerning the fateful decision of Brite Divinity School to honor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on March 29th. For background read (1) Brite Divinity School to Honor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, (2) Brite Divinity School Jeremiah Wright Update, (3) Brite, Jeremiah Wright, and the Out of Context Card, (4) The Brite-Jeremiah Wright Debate Continues, (5) Brite Divinity School Accused of Violating Its Own Covenant, and (6) Jeremiah Wright’s 9/11 Sermon “In Context”, and (7) An Outraged Active Democrat Tells Brite Divinity School Off

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22% Want Clinton To Withdraw- 22% Want Obama to Withdraw

The kicker from Rasmussen's latest poll is that 6% of Democratic supporters want both candidates to drop out.

Twenty-two percent (22%) of Democratic voters nationwide say that Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination. However, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that an identical number—22%--say that Barack Obama should drop out.

62% of Democratic voters do not think either candidate should withdraw from the race as of yet.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of all voters say that Barack Obama would be the stronger general election candidate against John McCain. Thirty-five percent (35%) say Clinton would provide the bigger challenge. Among Democratic voters, 47% say Obama would be the stronger candidate while 42% say Clinton. Both Democrats currently trail John McCain nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Looking ahead to the General Election in November, John McCain continues to lead both potential Democratic opponents. McCain leads Barack Obama 51% to 41% and Hillary Clinton 50% to 43%

In other news, Hillary Clinton vows to push on to the very end.

This is making Democratic leaders very nervous and they are talking of potential "disaster".

Democrats are increasingly nervous about their party’s protracted nomination fight, and some prominent figures are publicly warning that the party needs to act fast to avoid disaster.

Superdelegates are getting "antsy" and going public with their concerns.

One of those superdelegates is Edward Espinoza, of Long Beach, a member of the Democratic National Committee. He was blunt in a recent conversation with Times' reporter Peter Nicholas, saying that if the contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton lasts through the Democratic convention in late August, it would be “devastating’’ for the party.

Last but not least, Obama and Clinton are still at each other's throats while John McCain is in the news talking about actual issues.

The fight has gotten so bitter between Obama and Clinton supporters that now 28% of Clinton supporters say that if Barack Obama wins the party nomination they will vote for John McCain.

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US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) Sends Suspected Murderer Back to Mexico

US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE), in conjunction with International authorities, identified an illegal alien that was suspected of murder in Mexico and has sent him home to face his charges.

Gregorio Delgado-Munoz had been convicted in September of 2007 for illegal re-entry after deportation under an alias - Guillermo Capatello-Rico and he was sentenced to a 26 month prison sentence.

Although he was arrested using a false identity, cooperation between ICE and International authorities identified him and found that INTERPOL had a warrant from Cocula Jalisco, Mexico for Delgado-Munoz, for murder.

The field office director for ICE's Office of Detention and Removal in Philadelphia, Thomas Decker, issued a statement saying, "Returning this fugitive to Mexico is a prime example of how ICE, the Marshals Service, Mexican authorities and INTERPOL work together to ensure that international fugitives are returned to their home country to face justice. This dangerous suspect brazenly used a false identity to avoid prosecution in his home country. In the end, the law caught up to him."

Delgado-Munoz has been removed from the country twice before in 2000 and 2005. In 2006, he was turned over to ICE by local authorities in Boston, which led to his conviction and prison term. The suspect was flown from Harrisburg, Pa., to Laredo, Texas, where he was subsequently turned over to Mexican authorities at the border without incident.

ICE also announced the conviction of twenty illegal aliens which were former employees of Iowa Pre-Stressed Concrete in West Burlington, IA., and who were indicted May 16, 2007 on various charges, including: fraud and misusing documents, using false immigration identification documents, making false statements in immigration documents, misusing a Social Security number, illegally re-entering the United States after deportation, aggravated identify theft, and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to obtain employment.

All twenty were from Mexico.

The majority of those illegal aliens received a 24 month prison sentence and will be processed for deportation after their release from prison.

Since 2005 ICE has removed more than 786,686 aliens nationwide and last year, the ICE Criminal Alien Program filed immigration violation charges on approximately 164,000 aliens serving time in jails and removed approximately 95,000 criminal aliens.

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Geert Wilders' Fitna Movie Trailer.

[Update] 3/27/08- FITNA has been released, see full 15 minute film here.

Hat tip to Jawa Report.

Geert Wilders created a film to show the atrocities that Islamic extremists commit using their religion to hide behind.. actions that have been condemned and denounced by moderate Muslims that just wish to practice their faith in a peaceful manner.

Wilders' life has been threatened, countries have bowed down in fear of retribution if his short 11-15 minute film is shown and a company called Network Solutions has violated his free speech rights by pre-censoring his film and disabling the site he bought to host it, before it was every published on the site. This led to a Czech group offering to host the film for Wilders.

Here is the trailer of his film, uploaded to YouTube by Jawa Report.

The blowback for Network Solutions for their violation of free speech as well as their practice of pre-censorship, is still being felt, as of now there are 383 news stories, dozens of cases of people canceling Network Solutions' services and emails still being sent to them complaining of their actions.

Network Solutions can also be reached by e-mail: webmaster@networksolutions.com

Via phone:

In the U.S. and Canada call:
General Support
1.888.642.9675
Technical Assistance
1.866.391.HELP (1.866.391.4357)

Outside the U.S. call:
1.570.708.8788

Also: Network Solutions Horror Stories reports that you can reach the executive Center at 1-570-708-8700, just ask for Rick at ext 8162 or Kim at 8162.

Contact form for General Support.

Contact form for Technical Support.

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More McCain Converts?

On March 21, 2008, I noticed a few liberal bloggers were getting depressed with the new figures that said "among Obama supporters, 20 percent said they would vote for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, if Clinton beats their candidate for the nomination. Among Clinton supporters, 19 percent said they would support McCain in November if Obama is the Democratic nominee. (See poll)"

Today Gallup shows that the division within the Democratic party supporters is increasing and the number of Hillary Clinton supporters that would vote for John McCain has risen considerably.

A sizable proportion of Democrats would vote for John McCain next November if he is matched against the candidate they do not support for the Democratic nomination. This is particularly true for Hillary Clinton supporters, more than a quarter of whom currently say they would vote for McCain if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee.

28 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters say they will vote for John McCain if Barack Obama is chosen as the Democratic nominee.

“The data suggest that the continuing and sometimes fractious Democratic nomination fight could have a negative impact for the Democratic Party in next November's election. A not insignificant percentage of both Obama and Clinton supporters currently say they would vote for McCain if he ends up running against the candidate they do not support.”

It isn't unusual during a bitter contest for nomination for supporters to take this line and it is doubtful if the full percentage answering that way would follow through, but some will.

With Clinton's lies about Bosnia coming out so publicly and Obama's recent willingness to get down and dirty despite his pledges not to do so as well as his contradicting himself about whether he heard his pastor's, Jeremiah Wright's, racists anti-American rhetoric, the party supporters are getting bitter and leveling harsh attacks against the the opposing candidates.

The ill will this is causing, in some cases, won't be repaired once the Democratic nominee is chosen...which benefits no one more than John McCain.

John McCain understands what this could mean for him also.

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93 Year Old Man Charged In Prostitution sting

Hat tip memorandum.

The ridiculous story of the day is that Frank Milio is one of two 93 year olds that got caught up in a prostitution sting in Florida. The other man is Carlos Underhill, also 93 years old and he will not be charged. According to police records, in November of last year, Frank Milio tried to pay an undercover police officer $20 for sex.

Milio said in an interview with Herald-Tribune that he was only flirting with the woman, stating, "I haven't had that in years. Ninety-three is kind of old."

Manatee county prosecutors have decided to proceed with a case against Milio, they have issued subpoenas and plan to take him to trail in April 2008.

Carlos Underhill, 93, will not be charged, although he does not deny stopping to chat with the "good-looking girl" who made eyes at him and turned out to be an undercover officer.

Although Underhill was willing to pay $30 and told the undercover officer he would return, he cannot be charged because the police have no way of knowing if he actually intended to return.

Underhill claims he was not cruising for sex, he just wanted to chat with the girl that smiled at him as he drove by.

Underhill says, "All I was going to do was talk. It wasn't for sex. I am 93, you know."

It is a little hard to believe that prosecutors don't have more important cases to bring to trial that a 93 year old horny old man.

Sermon That Jeremiah Wright Was To Deliver At Florida Church Canceled

Long story short as a recap, Jeremiah Wright is Barack Obama's pastor and has been for almost 20 years and recently videos have been blasted across the media and Internet showing him making racists Anti-American comments during his sermons, including phrases like "God Damn America"...... see the video for yourself of his hatefilled remarks.

Earlier the news was reporting that Jeremiah Wright was to give a speech at a Tampa, Fla., church.

Tampabay.com has issued an update on that, saying that the speech that Jeremiah Wright was to give has been canceled.

TEMPLE TERRACE -- Appearances this week by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. at the Bible-Based Fellowship Church of Temple Terrace have been canceled, the church's pastor said today.

The Rev. Earl Mason cited security concerns and said the three-night revival featuring Wright was turning into an "event" and media circus, rather than the celebration of the church's 10th anniversary that it was intended to be, so Mason asked him to stay in Chicago.

Wright, the former pastor of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, has drawn national attention in recent weeks over inflammatory remarks he made from the pulpit, which Obama has disavowed. This week's revival was to have been his first public appearance since the controversy erupted.

Mason cites part of the reason as being the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which had agreed to provide extra security for the event, notified him Monday it would no longer do so.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter disputed Mason's account.

In all likelihood the situation just got a little too hot for the church to handle.

Having a racist, who has been publicly exposed for what he is, speak at a church would likely damage the reputation and credibility of the church itself, which would be reason enough to cancel Wright's appearance.

Wednesday night's revival session will take place, though without Wright, but Tuesday and Thursday's services are canceled.

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Minnesota High School Cancels Veterans Tour Engagement

What does a group of touring veterans do when they have an event suddenly canceled out from under them? They find a place offered to them by other veterans to stage their event, of course.

Forest Lake Area High School was to be the site of an event featuring the group Vets for Freedom today, an event planned to be a part of a social studies activity for students of the high school, allowing students the chance to have a question and answer session with veterans of the war in the Middle East.

There were to be no political endorsements, no political statements, no political agendas; it was strictly an event in which high school students were to be given a chance to meet with veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Around 12 hours prior to the event, Forest Lake alum and Vets for Freedom head Pete Hegseth was informed by the schools principal that the event was not going to be permitted to take place at the school, citing "several phone calls" from an unspecified number of "concerned parents" that the event was going to be a political forum, and that if it was held there would be protests.

I think it's extremely unfortunate that a school would bow to the political pressure of outside groups and not bring in a veterans organization," Hegseth said. "Are we saying that patriotism and duty and honor have no place in our public schools?" So far, the tour has visited one school, albeit a private school.

The stop in Forest Lake was supposed to involve about 150 social studies students and was going to be closed to the public but open to the media. But the last-minute venue change left Hegseth wondering how many people would actually show up today.

Under a cloud of uncertainty, the tour made arrangements to move to the American Legion post, unsure if there would be anyone to actually show up for the event on such short notice of the change of venue. As it wound up, the Legion Post wound up with over 200 people attending, a standing room only crowd for the tour.

While it is uncertain as to the actual number of parents to have called the school to complain about the event, two possibilities come to mind; was the pressure significant enough for the principal to make a determination that the event needed to be canceled, or was it internal pressure of school administrators, perhaps the principal himself, that caused the cancellation of the event at Forest Lake?

While it is hardly as publicized as the protestations outside the Marine recruiting station in Berkeley, California, Minnesota has seen more than a few incidents in recent years of protests against both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and indeed protests against the military itself. Minnesota is also the first state to have elected a Muslim to Congress, during a time when our nation is at war with factions of radical extremist Muslims.

This situation with Forest Lake gives one pause for a moment to think, and to reflect, upon the inherent contradictions within our society today. We celebrate "the Greatest Generation," paying tribute to them and their sacrifices during the World War II era. Our fascination with them is reflected in film today, with such outings as Saving Private Ryan, Flags of our Fathers, Band of Brothers, and other such movies and mini-series; we pay homage to the foundation of our nation with such films as the Patriot and John Adams, and yet a Minnesota high school will not allow a group of modern veterans, with no political agenda, to hold an event that would contribute greatly to the historical education of it's students.

But that in itself is a story for another day.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


[UPDATE]

It seems that some of the high school students made it to the event at the Legion Post and participated after all.

Dozens of students at Forest Lake High School were so upset that they skipped school to go see the speech.

"My brother's in the armed forces...it's a slap in the face for people with family members in the armed forces," said student Elijah Miller.

The non-profit, non-partisan group does talk about staying in Iraq, but Hegeseth said the current speech has been adjusted for public school students. He said it's about sharing experience.

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Hillary Clinton Tries To Distract From Her Bosnia Lies By Invoking Obama's Pastor

Quick flashback to March 21, 2008, when it was reported by the New York Times that Hillary Clinton's campaign has specifically asked her allies "not to talk openly" about Barack Obama's pastor and his racial remarks nor his "God Damn America" comments.

In fact, they reported that Hillary Clinton herself had "sidestepped" the issue:

Mrs. Clinton, of New York, sidestepped reporters’ questions on Thursday about Mr. Wright and electability. At one point, she turned from a reporter, pursed her lips and shook her head no. A spokesman said later she was unaware of anyone involved in the campaign pushing the Wright issue with superdelegates.

That was reported on the 21st and just four days later, quite a bit has changed Hillary Clinton's mind it seems.

In that four days a serious credibility issue arose about Hillary Clinton , with some statements she made about a trip to Bosnia, that filmed news coverage showed to be untrue. You can read more about that here and then read where she claimed her "misstatement" was just a "minor blip".

Today Hillary Clinton just jumped headfirst into the Jeremiah Wright issue in a wide ranging interview with Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters and editors, saying she would have left her church if her pastor made the sort of inflammatory remarks Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor made.

"He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."

I guess having so much time and space devoted to her Bosnia lie is real motivating to change campaign policy to try to distract attention away from her and back onto Barack Obama's pastor.

Obama's capaign spokesmen, Bill Burton, responds:

After originally refusing to play politics with this issue, it’s disappointing to see Hillary Clinton’s campaign sink to this low in a transparent effort to distract attention away from the story she made up about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia. The truth is, Barack Obama has already spoken out against his pastor’s offensive comments and addressed the issue of race in America with a deeply personal and uncommonly honest speech. The American people deserve better than tired political games that do nothing to solve the larger challenges facing this country

To be truthful, if she would have not dodged the question back on the 21st, then her answer now wouldn't seem quite as calculated to draw attention away from her own embarrassment about her Bosnia lies.

Hot Air has a decent poll question about which lie is worse.... Hillary dogding sniper fire or Obama claiming he belonged to a church for 20 years and yet didn't know his pastor was a America hating racists.

Go vote in the poll.

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Network Solutions Censors Geert Wilders' Film and Czech Party Offers to Host "Fitna"

[Update] 3/27/08- FITNA has been released, see full 15 minute film here.

Yesterday we discussed Network Solutions and their pre-censorship of the Geert Wilders' film Fitna as well as providing contact methods to call or email Network Solutions.

More on that today.

Geert Wilders is set to release his controversial film, Fitna, which supposedly is be shown on a split screen, with verses and suras from the Koran on one side and examples of Sharia law being carried out on the other, including a beheading and a stoning.
The Wilders' film has been the subject of much controversy and Wilders is under protection for threats to his life because of the short film called "Fitna".

NetWork Solutions, which is a website name registrar has pre-emptively censored and disabled a site registered to provide an outlet to the Wilders' film.

They did this the day before the film was to be released.

Prior to the site's being closed down this weekend, its only content was a picture of a gilded Koran along with the text "Allahu Akhbar," (God is Great), and the words "Geert Wilders presents Fitna - March 23, 2008".



What is seen now when you click the sites URL, http://www.fitnathemovie.com/ is this message:

This site has been suspended while Network Solutions is investigating whether the site's content is in violation of the Network Solutions Acceptable Use Policy. Network Solutions has received a number of complaints regarding this site that are under investigation. For more information about Network Solutions Acceptable Use Policy visit the following URL: http://www.networksolutions.com/legal/aup.jsp

This pre-censorship action, as it is being called in the media and blogs across the web, has sparked questions and massive amounts of phone calls and emails to the Network Solution's company, some of which have been reported on blogs. Others have canceled their accounts hosted by Network Solutions in response to what they are calling censorship.

Network Solutions is not just seeing criticism from American media and bloggers, but this has made a splash in Spanish and German news and/or blogs as well.

Susan Wade, spokeswoman for Network Solutions, said, "In this situation with the dialogue that’s happening throughout the world we’ve made the choice to suspend the site as of last night. This site is suspended so people can’t see the content right now…”

The Dutch film-maker is still planning on releasing his 15-minute movie by the end of the month, despite the fact that the one Website that has agreed to promote the anti-Islamic film has been temporarily shut down. The movie is entitled “Fitna” and nobody really knows any details on it, except maybe for the Dutch film-maker’s view of the Qur’an as being fascist.

Wilders' statement after the Network Solutions action was, "If necessary I'll go hand out DVDs personally on the Dam."

It looks like he will not have to do that after all though.

This firestorm in the media and blogs continued into today and according to Spiegel Online, a Czech Republic Party has offered to screen it if Wilders can't find another outlet.

The Czech Republic's small National Party offered to release the film on the Internet using one of its servers, in a message posted Sunday on its Web site.

According to the Czech Party that is making this offer to Wilders, it is, "a response to the Islamist terrorists destroying European countries by extortion and attacks."

The continue by saying that they offered to help Wilders with this release, "in reaction to the media's blatant concessions to Islamists."

No one but Wilder himself truly knows the content of the film to be released and other than his words, no one can even prove if there is a film at all.

The questions raised by Network Solutions preemptive censorship, is not whether Wilders' film might be offensive, if it even truly exists, but what is being asked across the Internet, is how could Network Solutions disable a site quoting "complaints about content", when there was no content other than what was shown above, published on the site at the time that they disabled it?

In a previous Spiegel Online piece, they asked if Wilders hadn't already accomplished what he set out to do without even having to publish his film.

All this leaves Wilders is the Internet -- unless, of course, he decides not to show the film, which no one has seen and of which no one can say whether it even exists. The truth is that the "provocateur" has already achieved his goal. Wilders has managed to portray the Dutch and the Europeans as cowards, shouting "we capitulate!" before the battle has even begun.

Is Spiegel Online right and has Network Solutions just further proved Wilders' point?

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Hillary Clinton: Misstatement About Bosnia is a "Minor Blip"

Recently Hillary Clinton made statements about a 1996 trip to Bosnia when she was First Lady, which were shown to be false, via video. In an interview afterwards, she admits to making a "misstatement" and says she thinks it is just a "minor blip".

The video above (YouTube URL) also shown on another Wake up America article and it is being shown again so people can see for themselves, Hillary Clinton's exact words, with actual film footage from the time in question, showing her words to be false.

Clinton's words:

"I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia. I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

That was said last week, but she had also recounted a version of the same story back in late February when she was rolling out her "red phone, 3 am ad" and this account of hers was made to show she had the credentials and the experience in handling a security crisis.

Reporters came to suspect her story about her March 1996 Bosnia trip because Sinbad, the comedian, was on that trip with her as well as the popular singer Sheryl Crow, and after hearing Hillary Clinton's statement in February, Sinbad publicly recounted a different version of what had happened on that trip.

That led to the comments quoted above where she embellished a little more in describing the harrowing experience.

That is when the film footage was dug up and placed on YouTube as well as being run in the US media, showing that her memory, her account, was not exactly truthful.

In an attempt to limit the damage to her credibility, Hillary Clinton agreed to an interview with Daily News Attywood, when she went to the Daily News and Inquirer building in Philideplphia to seek their endorsement.

In that interview, Clinton revised her Bosnia story and recounted a third version of what happened:

"Now let me tell you what I can remember, OK -- because what I was told was that we had to land a certain way and move quickly because of the threat of sniper fire. So I misspoke -- I didn't say that in my book or other times but if I said something that made it seem as though there was actual fire -- that's not what I was told. I was told we had to land a certain way, we had to have our bulletproof stuff on because of the threat of sniper fire. I was also told that the greeting ceremony had been moved away from the tarmac but that there was this 8-year-old girl and, I can't, I can't rush by her, I've got to at least greet her -- so I greeted her, I took her stuff and then I left, Now that's my memory of it.

When the interviewer asked Clinton a follow up questions as well as pointed out that the whole episode had raised questions about Clinton's credibility on foreign policy, Clinton responded by saying, "No, I went to 80 countries, you know. I gave contemporaneous accounts, I wrote about a lot of this in my book. you know, I think that, a minor blip, you know, if I said something that, you know, I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement."

If this had been the only time that Clinton's credibility had come up as an issue in this campaign, the "minor blip" might have been a little easier to explain, but the Chicago Tribune has also documented other instances where her foreign policy claims have been exaggerated, in some instances, quite a bit.

Barack Obama's campaign spokesman, Tommy Vietor, issued a comment about the Bosnia blip, where he says that her story "joins a growing list of instances in which Senator Clinton has exaggerated her role in foreign and domestic policy-making."

Sinbad, a known Obama supporter, brings a little levity to the whole situation by saying that the scariest part of the trip for him was wondering where the next meal would come from.

[Update] Clinton camp in lockdown mode about the Bosnia lies? Looks like they have said all they intend to....which isn't a bad idea because the more she speaks, the more lies she gets caught in, so staying quiet might just be her best decision in years.

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McCain Benefits from Democrat's "Soap Opera?"

As the ongoing warfare between Clinton and Obama continues, John McCain has a chance to regroup and prepare his campaign strategy for the coming November general elections. What can he do to remain in the public's mind from now until then?

The slug-fest between Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama continues. Currently, Obama leads in the popular vote and has secured the support of several states, while Clinton has secured several larger states and possibly holds sway over a number of super-delegates for the upcoming Denver convention in August. And the mud is slinging and flying. From Obama's controversial religious ties and affiliations to Clinton's embellishments on her role in international affairs as First Lady, including a very embarrassing version by her of events on her trip to Bosnia, neither candidate is doing themselves any favors as the primary season begins winding down to a close. At this point, both of them are covered with mud, and they're largely not slinging it each other, but winding up falling, face first, into the puddle and muddying themselves.

There is little doubt that either candidate can garner enough support at the polls to become the clear-cut leader going into the convention. Neither candidate seems willing, at this point, to concede to the other and bow out. This leaves the playing field wide open for voters in the remaining primaries and caucuses, and a convention seeing the entry of not one clear choice for the party, but two equally determined individuals to choose from.

The good news is that an ugly convention fight is highly preventable. The one advantage of a scenario that's both completely hair-raising and utterly foreseeable is that everyone has an incentive to stop it. The bad news is what's not preventable: a contest that rolls into June. Even without a messy convention, the current trajectory of the primary campaign could easily destroy the party's White House prospects.

Democrats have never been known for Spock-like rationality, but even they see the logic of avoiding a convention fiasco. "It's in nobody's interest in the Democratic Party for that to happen," says Mike Feldman, another former Gore aide. "There is a mechanism in place--built into the process--to avoid that." That mechanism, such as it is, involves an en masse movement of uncommitted superdelegates to the perceived winner of the primaries. Almost everything you hear from such people suggests this will happen in time. "I think once we have the elected delegate count, things will move fairly quickly, " says Representative Chris Van Hollen, who oversees the party's House campaign committee. Increasingly, there is even agreement on the metric by which a winner would be named. Just about every superdelegate and party operative I spoke with endorsed Nancy Pelosi's recent suggestion that pledged delegates should matter most.

We've all seen exactly how wonderfully Nancy Pelosi can run things by now, haven't we?

With so much focus on the fighting amongst the Democrats, what is going on with the Republican side of the campaign? John McCain is taking a little time to regroup and form his strategy for entry into the general election segment, and Rush Limbaugh has implemented what he calls "Operation Chaos," his plan to keep the "soap opera" of the Democratic primaries race going on through the August convention in Denver.

Folks, we are doing it! Do you realize, we are doing it! Things are happening out there on our terms. Why, this is just fabulous. "McCain leads 46 percent to 40 percent in a hypothetical matchup against Obama in the November presidential election, according to the poll. That is a sharp turnaround from the Reuters/Zogby poll from last month, which showed in a head-to-head matchup that Obama would beat McCain 47 percent to 40 percent. ... Matched up against Clinton, McCain leads 48 percent to 40 percent, narrower than his 50 to 38 percent advantage over her in February. 'It's not surprising to me that McCain's on top because there is disarray and confusion on the Democratic side,' Zogby said." Wait a minute. McCain's on top means Hillary's on bottom. We were told Hillary will never be on bottom, particularly when it comes to this dream ticket.

McCain's campaign manager has stated that the focus for the next phase will be on McCain's positive aspects, his service records both in the navy and in government, and to make the public more aware of who McCain is as an individual. One of the hurdles McCain faces will be in how to best spend his campaign money; McCain is historically not a candidate who has been successful in raising huge amounts of campaign funds. Reestablishing the campaign infrastructure is another priority for the McCain camp, having to rebuild it since it's 2007 collapse due to lack of funding.

McCain is gaining ground in the polls, however, in large part due to the infighting of the Democratic party, and several polls show him leading either top Democrat in the race for the White House in November.

Mr. McCain commands considerable support among independents, especially against Mrs. Clinton, of New York. This suggests that should she win the Democratic nomination, he would have an easier time winning states like New Hampshire and Colorado. Against Mr. Obama, Mr. McCain fares worse among independents but slightly better among Democrats. That signals opportunity in states filled with lunch-bucket Democrats, like Michigan and Ohio.

Long before the Democratic race ends, Mr. Fabrizio said, Mr. McCain must “war game” a strategy and a message for either outcome.

This is probably the main problem facing the McCain camp, for the moment. With no clear cut leader on the Democratic side, McCain can really do little more than await the emergence of the Democrats nominee and ultimate candidate that he will face for the November ballot. Until the August conventions, all any of us can really do is await the outcome of "Operation Chaos."

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Ayman al-Zawahri Calls for attacks on US and Israel

Two messages from bin Laden and now one from Ayman al-Zawahri, all in a matter of a week. The bin Laden tape led to questions about when it was made and why it was different from his other threatening messages and this new one by Ayman al-Zawahri calls for Muslims to attack Jewish and American targets worldwide.

Issuing so many in such a short time frame has some believing al-Qaeda is showing desperation and trying to use every prejudice and Arab anger to rally support for the terror network.

Bruce Hoffman, a counterterrorism expert, said that with al-Qaida in Iraq suffering setbacks, al-Qaida "has to look further afield and at least give an impression of an upward trajectory, that it's operating across the Middle East."

He noted al-Qaida's media arm, Al-Sahab, has dramatically stepped up output of audio and video tapes, issuing an average of one every three days in 2007, or more than double the 2006 rate.

"There comes a time when you have to back up your words," said Hoffman, a professor at Georgetown University. "With the increased drumbeat of propaganda ... it becomes an element of necessity — if you're talking so much you have to do something."

"Perhaps they don't have the ability to attack the United States, so they may turn to the next best enemy, either Israel or Europe," he added.

al-Zawahri, "Muslims, today is your day. Strike the interests of the Jews, the Americans, and all those who participated in the attack on Muslims. Monitor the targets, collect money, prepare the equipment, plan with precision, and then — while relying on God — assault, seeking martyrdom and paradise."


As usual both cowards, Bin Laden and al-Zawahri urge suicide attacks, bombing and murdering of innocent men women and children and as they watch their network losing support and their membership shrink as Muslims get tired of the violence against innocents, they will continue with all they have left.

Video and audio tapes begging for help.

The danger is real, there are still terrorists out there that are loyal to al-Qaeda and their murderous ideology and with the US Congress having let the FISA amendments expire, our intelligence gathering abilities are severely hindered according to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who said that Congress' failure to act has, "delayed passage makes it harder to track terrorist suspects by the day."

Desperation often creates more danger and al-Qaeda's desperation could very well translate into high casualty rates and yet Congress still is showing their incompetence by not doing their job to protect the US.

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Rasmussen:John McCain continues to lead both potential Democratic opponents

Today's Daily Presidential Tracking Poll from Rasmussen shows John mcCain leading both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Looking ahead to the General Election in November, John McCain continues to lead both potential Democratic opponents. McCain leads Barack Obama 50% to 41% and Hillary Clinton 49% to 42%

The report doesn't stop there either, it seems McCain holds better favorable ratings with voters nationwide that either of the Democratic contenders and lower unfavorable ratings as either Hillary or Obama.

On Monday, McCain is viewed favorably by 55% of voters nationwide and unfavorably by 42%. Obama’s reviews are 46% favorable and 52% unfavorable. For Clinton, those numbers are 42% favorable, 55% unfavorable

This has been an ongoing trend from multiple different polling organizations, as shown previously and looks to be a sustainable one at that.

Considering it is also being reported that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are embellishing their credentials and lo and behold the press is noticing it and highlighting it, John McCain can continue to rise while the two Democrats as well as their supporters continue to drag the whole party down.

Hillary being caught lying outright by saying one thing and then seeing film of the exact opposite being shown, as well as Obama playing the "race" card to try to distract from the damaging Jeremiah Wright, "God Dam America" fiasco, is doing nothing but benefiting John McCain and the latest data keeps coming in and proving.

An update on yesterdays piece about Hillary Lying (linked above) we see that now that her lies have been exposed, via film, she is saying she "misspoke".

The Clinton campaign says Senator Hillary Clinton may have “misspoke” recently when she said she had to evade sniper fire when she was visiting Bosnia in 1996 as first lady.

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Typhoid Fever Warning Issued to Patrons of New York Restaurant

A restaurant food handler at Mama Sbarro’s, at 265 North Broadway, in New York has contracted Typhoid Fever and Nassau County health officials issued a warning on Saturday, March 22, 2008, to anyone who had recently eaten in the restaurant located in Hi

The man's name has not been released but a spokesperson for the Nassau County Department of Health said that the risk to the public was low, based on two health inspections and no serious health code violations were found. The restaurant remains open.

Patrons of Mama Sbarro’s who ate there between March 14 and March 16 were urged to be aware of the risk of exposure. It may take one to three weeks for symptoms to appear. Anyone with symptoms — including fever, headache, constipation or diarrhea, and sometimes a rash — was urged to contact a health care provider.

This is usually treated with antibiotics.

Typhoid fever is a life-threatening sickness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. In the US about 400 cases occur each year, and 75% of these are acquired while traveling internationally. Typhoid fever is still common in the developing world, where it affects about 21.5 million persons each year.

Typhoid fever is usually spread by foods or liquids contaminated by feces from an infected person.

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Network Solutions Practices Pre-Censorship On Geert Wilders' Film Site

[Update] 3/27/08- FITNA has been released, see full 15 minute film here.

[Update] 3/25/08- Czech Party Offers to Host "Fitna"

[Update below]

The highly controversial release of the short film created by Geert Wilders, has just entered a new stage of controversy.

NetWork Solutions, which is a website name registrar has pre-emptively censored and disabled a site registered to provide an outlet to the Wilders' film.

Prior to the site's being closed down this weekend, its only content was a picture of a gilded Koran along with the text "Allahu Akhbar," (God is Great), and the words "Geert Wilders presents Fitna - Coming Soon."

When you click on the site now, this is what you get:

This site has been suspended while Network Solutions is investigating whether the site's content is in violation of the Network Solutions Acceptable Use Policy. Network Solutions has received a number of complaints regarding this site that are under investigation. For more information about Network Solutions Acceptable Use Policy visit the following URL: http://www.networksolutions.com/legal/aup.jsp

The problem here was not the content, because the Wilders film had not been released yet.... the problem was Network Solutions letting themselves become a pawn for political correctness because people that did not want the film released pre-emptively complained about what they had "heard" the film would be about.

Geert Wilders' film, which supposedly will be shown on a split screen, with verses and suras from the Koran on one side and examples of Sharia law being carried out on the other, including a beheading and a stoning

Susan Wade, spokeswoman for Network Solutions, said, "In this situation with the dialogue that’s happening throughout the world we’ve made the choice to suspend the site as of last night. This site is suspended so people can’t see the content right now…”

The Dutch film-maker is still planning on releasing his 15-minute movie by the end of the month, despite the fact that the one Website that has agreed to promote the anti-Islamic film has been temporarily shut down. The movie is entitled “Fitna” and nobody really knows any details on it, except maybe for the Dutch film-maker’s view of the Qur’an as being fascist.

In a Washington Post article, a few relevant questions are asked about this censorship, or "pre-censorship" decision on the part on Network Solutions:

To me, this raises the question of what Network Solutions would do if dozens of people who'd registered domains through the company spontaneously decided to mirror the controversial movie once it goes live. Wade declined to speculate on such a situation, saying the company would respond to each complaint on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, there must be other sites registered by the company that host content that violates the company's AUP or would be seen as offensive to some individual or group.

If it's not patently illegal material, where does a registrar draw the line? Is Network Solutions opening a can of worms here?

Network Solutions has put itself in a bind here by allowing themselves to be intimidated into censoring material before that material is known or seen, thereby censoring a persons right to free speech and freedom of expression before anything had even been published.

To contact Network Solutions to make your feelings know about this type of pre-censorship, I am listing the contact information below.

Network Solutions can also be reached by e-mail: webmaster@networksolutions.com

Via phone:

In the U.S. and Canada call:
General Support
1.888.642.9675
Technical Assistance
1.866.391.HELP (1.866.391.4357)

Outside the U.S. call:
1.570.708.8788

Also: Network Solutions Horror Stories reports that you can reach the executive Center at 1-570-708-8700, just ask for Rick at ext 8162 or Kim at 8162.

Contact form for General Support.

Contact form for Technical Support.

[Update] The Jawa Report called and reports the conversation he had with Network Solutions.

Bloggers have joined in a blogburst type actions against Network Solutions which includes:

Macsmind

Michelle Malkin

Klein Verzet

Ironic Surrealism

GeistesWelt

News Bleat

Chip Bennett

Red State

Clint’s Blog

Salibiyyah Blog

Tel Chai Nation

A Future in Freedom

Stop the ACLU

My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Spanish Pundit

Stecki’s Blog

Civilian Irregular Information Defense Group

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Barack Obama is Black

Listening to the two candidates before the whole Jeremiah Wright, Obama's Pastor and his anti-American racists comments came to light, via video that has been seen by most of the country and world by now, where he says "God Damn America" and blames America for every wrong that ever happened and continues to happen to anybody that happens to be black, the two candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, both made lovely sound bite speeches about how gender and race should have nothing to do with the national dialog.

That was blown out of the water long before Jeremiah Wright's sermons were blasted in every media outlet, blog, newspaper and forum, when Bill Clinton and other Clinton surrogates managed to "imply" at every given moment that Obama's race would be a factor.

Surprise announcement to everyone.... Obama is Black.

Now, by attempting to "explain" the black point of view that his pastor holds dear, Barack Obama has done the one thing he claimed he didn't want to do.

He made his ongoing battle with Clinton about the color of his skin, with his speech where he disavowed some of the comments that Jeremiah Wright made, yet did not and refused to disavow the man.

That is costing him and will continue to cost him, especially if he does become the nominee of choice for the Democratic party.

Wwilliam Kristol in the New York Times has written a piece titled, "Let’s Not, and Say We Did", and he is referring to a sentence within Obama's speech where he said, "But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now.”

As soon as I heard that, I knew what we’d have to endure. I knew that there would be a stampede of editorial boards, columnists and academics rushing not to ignore race. A national conversation about race! At long last!

Of course, memories are short. In 1997 President Bill Clinton announced, with great fanfare, that he intended “to lead the American people in a great and unprecedented [if he did say so himself] conversation about race.” That conversation quickly went nowhere. And just as well.

The last thing we need now is a heated national conversation about race.

He is right, pure and simple, the last thing America needs is an election that is all about race instead of issues.

Yet, according to some, that is what is happening, thanks to Obama and his pastor.

In rejecting the racist views of his longtime spiritual mentor but not disowning him, Obama has unwittingly enhanced his image as the African American candidate -- as opposed to being just a remarkable candidate who happens to be black. That poses a dilemma for unelected superdelegates, who as professional politicians will settle the contest because neither Obama nor Clinton can win enough elected delegates to be nominated.

Superdelegates, though they were inclined toward Clinton as recently as three months ago, now flinch at the idea of rejecting Obama. They fear antagonizing African Americans, who have become the hard-core Democratic base. But what if national polls continue their post-Wright trend and show Obama trailing both Clinton and Republican John McCain in popular support? The Obama strategists' hope of reversing that trend depends on whether his eloquent race speech, which he continued to reprise on the campaign trail all week, can overcome videos exposing his pastor's demagoguery.

[...]

That means Clinton must convince superdelegates that Obama is not electable -- validating this judgment by a neutral Democratic leader: "It was a great speech, but it cannot overcome the powerful [Wright] video." Since Obama's race declaration, he has fallen behind McCain nationally in various polls and trails by as much as eight percentage points in Rasmussen tracking.

In here lies a major problem for the US in a close race between the Democratic candidates, issues and policy have gone to the wayside and are rarely spoken about and has been replaced with the color of Obama's skin.

Kansas City.com has some letters from their readers and again, it is dominated with talk of Wright, Obama and how Obama responded to his pastors hatred filled sermons and yet continued to be a member of that church for almost two decades.

In one letter from Joyce Howard, we see:

I’m not sure what offends me most: a preacher standing in the pulpit, bashing white people and cursing America, or now listening to Sen. Barack Obama and others in the black community making excuses for it.

[...]

If Obama attended Wright’s church and listened to garbage like that, he’s no better than the one who delivered it, and this would show him to be a complete contradiction of whom he presents himself to be.

This is the national dialog now. Not who is better for this country. Not where the politicians stand on policies and issues.

It is about Obama, his pastor and the color of his skin.

Barack Obama is a black man. Everyone clear on that?

Barack Obama being a black man, is not a policy, not an issue and not a reason to vote for him or not vote for him.

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Peace Activist Slaps Citizen Journalist at Rally and Gets Arrested

On Saturday, March 22, 2008, at a pro-troop rally in West Chester Pennsylvania, a member Chester County Peace Movement (CCPM) was arrested after slapping a Citizen Journalist twice in the face.

This information came to me via email, from Melanie Morgan, who is the chairman of Move America Forward, which is one of the biggest pro-troop organizations in the US, and who forwarded me (with permission) a set of emails between her and the Citizen Journalist that was slapped at the rally in West Chester, PA.

The name in the email will be redacted and be replaced with her online blogging name of "Skye" for privacy purposes.

Citizen Journalism has much in common with the main stream media, CJ's now actively report news, especially local news where they can physically go bear witness to events to write about them, they take photos and video and they provide reportage of situations as they transpire.

Skye was doing exactly that on Saturday at a pro-troop rally in West Chester.

(Pro-Troop rally held in West Chester, PA)
A little after noon, Skye was video taping and exchange between the rally members and members of the Chester County Peace Movement (CCPM), when a member of the peace group approached her and slapped her in the face, twice.

The police were called and arrived within 5 minutes and announced to the crowd that they were conducting an investigation. Witnesses pointed out the man that had slapped the Citizen Journalist and when the police told him to come forward, the man became belligerent and uncooperative and refused.

The police approached him and the man, then, physically pushed the officer which resulted in the officer's partner tackling him to the ground to be handcuffed, where the man continue to struggle. Members of CCPM surrounded the police officers while this was happening.

(Peace protester being handcuffed after shoving and officer during the investigation- Photo courtesy of Skye)
Skye's reaction is stated in one of the original emails, where she says, "I've prided myself in my professional conduct at this rally and to be struck twice by a 'peace' protester who has been present since the time I began covering this rally is truly disturbing."

Skye also runs a blog called MidnightBlue, where she says, "Snarky retorts, name calling and mis characterizations by the CCPM are common place events in my 7 month documentary of this rally. Yesterday crossed the line, when I was struck twice by a peace protester. I can deal with all the above, but will NOT tolerate any form of violence against my person. I am consulting legal advice on this matter."

Saturday was not the only incident during the Easter holiday weekend, six protesters from a group called Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War were also arrested on Easter day, in a Chicago church after standing up and screaming about Iraq while squirting fake blood all over themselves and other parishioners until security guards and ushers removed them, then the police arrested them.

They were taken away while the crowd in the churched booed them, some following, one of which was a Mass attendee, Mike Wainscott of Chicago, who yelled at the anti-war protesters, "Are you happy with yourselves. There were kids in there. You scared little kids with your selfish act. Are you happy now?"

That was reported yesterday, here.

[Update] Emails are still coming in, video expected soon but here is a picture of the man that hit Skye.

((Man known as John M., member of CCPM that struck Skye, the Citizen Journalist- Photo courtesy of Skye and Melanie Morgan)

Baptism of Muslim Journalist Sparks Vatican Controversy

Op-Ed

Easter, according to Christian tradition, is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Today's Easter Mass delivered at the Vatican has been the center of growing controversy. The reason? The baptism of a former Muslim journalist.

The Pope has kicked off the modern Crusades.

That's right, you read it right. The Pope has given his blessings for it, the Holy Church is behind it.

God wills it.

At least that's the message that militant Islamic extremists around the world are touting today after the Pope's Easter Mass in Vatican Square, which included the baptism of Egyptian born journalist and critic of radical Islam Magdi Allam, a Muslim-born convert to Christianity.

The Egyptian-born Allam's conversion to Christianity -- he took the name "Christian" for his baptism -- was kept secret until the Vatican disclosed it in a statement less than an hour before the Saturday night service began.

Allam, who is a strong supporter of Israel and who an Israeli newspaper once called a "Muslim Zionist," has lived under police protection following threats against him, particularly after he criticized Iran's position on Israel.

Writing in Sunday's edition of the leading Corriere della Sera, the newspaper of which he is a deputy director, Allam said he realized that he was in greater danger but he has no regrets.

Allam has been a fierce critic of radical Islam, having writing at one point, "... the root of evil is innate in an Islam that is physiologically violent and historically conflictual," but is happy with his decision to convert to Christianity despite the price he may have to pay if some Muslim extremists have their say in the matter.

He said before converting he had continually asked himself why someone who had struggled for what he called "moderate Islam" was then "condemned to death in the name of Islam and on the basis of a Koranic legitimization."

His conversion, which he called "the happiest day of my life," came just two days after al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden accused the pope of being part of a "new crusade" against Islam.

So far, I don't see any knights polishing up their armor or sharpening their swords, ordering pages and squires around to gather gear, equipment, and supplies to make the long journey to the Holy Land.

So far, I don't see any knights polishing up their armor or sharpening their swords, ordering pages and squires around to gather gear, equipment, and supplies to make the long journey to the Holy Land.

One of the great tenets of Western religion is the concept of free will; man is free to choose his own destiny, to determine his own life, and free to choose to believe or not to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind from eternal life in the fires of Hell.

Religion has been, and probably will continue to be, one of the great driving factors in the conflicts of mankind throughout the ages. The original Crusades were as much politically motivated as religiously, although that is a fact that is often overlooked by many so-called Crusade experts of today.

Perhaps, in the minds of some, this is a sort of modern day Crusade that is being undertaken. Perhaps the conversion of Allam to Christianity from Islam can be perceived as being a part of that Crusade. There can be no doubt that it is a conflict of culture, a conflict of ideals, and a war that was begun in the name of religion. Those with any doubts should take a moment and read the accounts of survivors of attacks in which the cries of "Allah ackbar" can be heard shouted by suicide (i.e. homicide) attackers.

Religion, spirituality, and the like should be, in the minds of many, a private thing, something to be experienced between the individual and the object of worship. While it is true that behavior can be imposed upon others, belief can not. What a person believes, or chooses not to believe, can not be prescribed upon them at the point of a gun, or in many cases involving Islamic radicals, the point of a sword.

Belief, and disbelief alike, are personal, private, and up to the individual. Who we worship, how we worship, and if we choose to worship at all, can not be something that is forced upon us, as people.

Hillary Clinton Busted on Bosnia and Caught On Film

Major hat tip to Moderate Voice.

Hillary Clinton has been making claims about her experience, to which some have come out and contradicted her outright. One example was the her claim that she was a major part of the Good Friday Agreement for Northern Ireland to which Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey, Nobel Prize winner and former First Minister of the province says that Hillary Clinton's claim that she played a role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, is "a wee bit silly", and others involved called her no more than a cheerleader.

Then her criticism of NAFTA and her claim that she was opposed to it, has been called into question by people who were present at a November 10, 1993 pro-NAFTA meeting for businesswomen.

Laura E. Jones, executive director of the United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, was there and said, "That's ludicrous. There was no question that everyone who spoke including the First Lady was for NAFTA, it was a rally on behalf of NAFTA to help it get passed. It's unquestionable. And there are many people out there who were there who remember the incident who work in this industry."

That is confirmed by Julia K. Hughes, senior vice president of the same organization, who asserts, "This is such a non issue to us, because obviously it was a pro-NAFTA group and a pro-NAFTA event. It was a 100 percent pro-NAFTA event. No one suggested any inklings of doubt since part of the agenda was to promote enthusiasm for passage of NAFTA."

When asked straight out if that included Hillary Clinton, the answer was clear, "Absolutely. She was the highlight of the event. She was absolutely the capper to the event. It was a positive rally. I assure you if there had even been a hint of waffling from her -- because we were in the last days before NAFTA passed and it was a pretty hectic time -- we would have freaked out."

Now that over 11,000 documents have been released showing the former First Lady's schedules, many questions have arisen from them, but the Good Friday Agreement and the NAFTA discussion could still be seen, reasonably, as a "he said she said" type of problem.

The Video you are about to watch is different though... Hillary claims, publicly that a trip to Bosnia in 1996, was so rife with danger that they had to land "under sniper fire" and "no greeting ceremony", she also says, they "ran with our heads down and was basically told to run to our cars".

It was plausible and could have been believed except for the fact that there was news coverage, film footage of that trip showing her being greeted, the only thing covering her head was her hair and no one was running and there was no gunfire. (YouTube URL here)

When it is one memory versus another memory, one can reasonably believe either person, but when it is Hillary Clinton saying something that is contradicted by film itself, this poses a big credibility problem.

The Washington Post says there are "numerous problems with Clinton's version of events."

One of the Washington Post reporters, John Pomfret, covered that trip to Bosnia and according to him the, "Tuzla airport was "one of the safest places in Bosnia" in March 1996 and "firmly under the control" of the 1st Armored Division."

Far from running to an airport building with their heads down, Clinton and her party were greeted on the tarmac by smiling U.S. and Bosnian officials. An 8-year-old Muslim girl, Emina Bicakcic, read a poem in English. An Associated Press photograph of the greeting ceremony, below, shows a smiling Clinton bending down to receive a kiss.

The contradicted claims and the video evidence of extreme exaggeration brings into question every claim of executive experience she makes now.

BUSTED.

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6 War Protesters Arrested For Disturbing Chicago Easter Mass

[Update - video below]

Angela Haban, 20; Regan Maher, 25; Mercedes Phinaih, 18; Ephran Ramirez Jr., 22; Donte D. Smith, 21; and Ryane J. Ziemba, 25, members of a group called Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War, were arrested today after standing up and screaming about Iraq while squirting fake blood all over themselves and other parishioners until security guards and ushers removed them, then the police arrested them.

Police arrested the protesters and charged them with one count each of felony criminal damage to property and two counts each of misdemeanor simple battery.

"Even the Pope calls for peace," the demonstrators shouted as they were escorted out of a church auditorium where the Mass was held because the church proper is under construction.

One Mass attendee, Mike Wainscott of Chicago, yelled at the anti-war protesters.

"Are you happy with yourselves?" he said. "There were kids in there. You scared little kids with your selfish act. Are you happy now?"

Obviously they did care one iota about scaring the children and I want to point out a comparison here.

Earlier I wrote about 400-600 Eagles Up and Move America Forward members that thundered into the town of Berkeley to stage their own protest yesterday.... please notice that not one of them were arrested or broke the law.

I will ask again, why do "supposed" peace protesters always break the law and end up being arrested?

Is it because they aren't as peaceful as they like to pretend to be?

Yup.

Chicago police said all six were scheduled to appear in bond court on Monday to face the felony charge; they have court date set for March 31 on the misdemeanors.

Seems the numbers get smaller for these anti-war groups and their message gets lost in the disgust that people now view them because of their antics, especially on Easter and in a house of God.

The red substance, which one protester later described as "stage blood," initially drew gasps and a few terrified yelps from the 600 worshipers at the mass. The shock, however, quickly transformed into anger as people booed the six as they were escorted from the parish auditorium where the holiday service was taking place.

So, instead of making a point as they had hoped to, they scared children and angered the parishioners and got themselves arrested to boot.

Sounds about right.




[Update] More from Gateway Pundit.

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Glenn Greenwald Humiliates Himself Yet Again

OPINION

Since I have previously pointed out the hackery (If it isn't a word it should be and it should have a picture of Glenn Greenwald right next to it) of the Master hack himself on more than one occasion (all on one page here), it seems fitting that Greenwald's continuing humiliation be pointed out yet again.

Instapundit is correct when he says:

I know it's hard to get your mind around the idea that multiple pseudonymous writers might actually be different people, but . . . .

Go read Instapundit to see Greenwald's latest examp0le of stupidity and hackery.

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Teenager Dies After Being Tasered

Although an autopsy is needed to find out the cause of death, from what is known right now, Darryl Wayne Turner, 17 years old, died after being shocked with a taser gun in a supermarket in Charlotte North Carolina.

Turner worked at Food Lion, in Northeast Charlotte at 3024 Prosperity Church Road, bagging groceries and a cashier.

Officers were called to the supermarket, Thursday, at approximately 1:15pm when reports of a disturbance were called in and upon their arrival they witnessed the teen throwing something, not yet identified for reporters, at the store manager.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) press release, Turner was "highly agitated", and refused all verbal commands from the police and advanced toward them.

Police officer, Jerry Dawson Jr, used his taser to get Turner under control.

Consistent with CMPD policy when a Taser is deployed, the Charlotte Fire Department and MEDIC were called to the scene. They noticed Mr. Turner had become unresponsive and transported him to CMC University where he was pronounced deceased. As with any death investigation, the Medical Examiner will determine cause of death in this case.

Also according to the CMPD website, they have used tasers since 2004, and last year alone they availed the use of tasers 138 times, with no deaths associated with their use.

Following standard operating procedure, Officer Dawson, who has been a police officer for almost 15 years, has been placed on Administrative Leave pending an investigation, which the results of will be reported to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's office.

There will also be a separate Internal Affairs investigation.

Turner's mother, Tammy Fontenot, said her son, "had manners" as well as having, "a temper", but she could not see her son throwing something at anyone during an argument.

Around lunchtime, Turner had come home to eat and told his mom that he had stolen a couple of Hot Pockets from the store. A supervisor planned to get a district manager involved and he feared disciplinary action, she said.

She said she told him to go back to the store and face up to what happened.

It wasn't long after lunch she got a call from one of her son's co-workers, who told her about the incident, she said.

On Friday the medical examiner issued a statement saying, "Preliminary autopsy results show no obvious cause of death," they declined to elaborate further until the full autopsy results are in.

The police department has not yet released the original 911 tapes in which the officers were called to the scene.

Turner's family has hired an attorney, Ken Harris, to represent them, who stated to WCNC, "We would want to know what circumstances confronted the officers at the time they decided to use whatever force they used at the scene. That would certainly stimulate litigation if we find that protocol was not followed."

At this time, eyewitness reports are not available.

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Democratic Fears

OPINION

TPM shares one of their readers deepest fears:

Here's the scenario that I'm worried about...

Let's suppose that Hillary has a very good day in Pennsylvania, perhaps a 15-20 point win. If that happens, there is no way the superdelegates are going to move to lock it down for Obama. It's likely that she will also do fairly well in Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky, chipping away at Obama's lead. She probably won't overcome his current margin, but she will be close enough to be able to make the case to the superdelegates that she has the momentum, and that the Pastor Wright mess renders Obama unelectable.

Thus, we go into the convention with a bitterly divided Party, with tensions running high, and both of our potential nominees battered and less able to take on McCain in November. The superdelegates will be in the very uncomfortable position of having to risk alienating the newly-inpspired and huge African-American and youth components of the Party if they hand the prize to Hillary Clinton. If they give the nod to Obama, the Clinton faction is going to raise all kinds of hell and may not be supportive of Obama in the general election.

Read the rest for yourself but my question here is....YA THINK?

The other day we showed how new data was depressing liberals:

Seems that what we have been saying for a while now about the Democratic contenders beating each other up publicly being of incredible benefit to John McCain is finally starting to penetrate the minds of the left and they aren't happy. (H/T ANO)

Now that both Hillary and Obama have been beaten to pulps in the press, and now that St. BBQ has gotten nothing but glowing coverage, do you think we’re completely screwed? I do.

Then they quote some of the article linked above and end with this:

What makes this so goddamn depressing to me is that this primary isn’t revolving around policy disputes: it’s all about identity politics, and it’s becoming a nightmare that is likely to launch St. BBQ into the White House.

I’m really depressed now.

Now what really astounds me is that it took this long for them to realize what was happening and they actually needed a poll to tell them.

HELLO????????????????

Many of us have been writing about this effect for months now because we saw it, we quoted others that saw it, we wrote about it at length and we provided examples.

How freaking slow are these people?

It isn't only one little poll either...it is the TREND from multiple different polls.

Democratic party supporters are stating publicly they are depressed, they are imagining worse case scenarios when even best case scenarios are not looking so good for them now, they are watching Hillary and Obama turn this into a race or gender contest and they are sitting there declaring their disgust with how the campaigns are handling each and every issue.

They are pointing to the recent polls and trends that show McCain has higher approval ratings and is benefiting from each and every battle the Dem nominees are fighting out and they are correctly stating that the Democratic politicians, in their quest for presidency, are fracturing their party.

The laughable part of it all... very amusing to me is that some of them are still planning to vote for one of these Democratic clowns.

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The BBC Lies Again, Gets Caught And Has To Apologize On Air

The BBC has apologized for significant errors in two recent news reports on Israel.

In a news item on March 7, following the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva attack, the BBC showed a bulldozer demolishing a house, while correspondent Nick Miles told viewers: "Hours after the attack, Israeli bulldozers destroyed his family home. Later, mourners set up Hamas and Islamic Jihad banners nearby."

The house, however, was not demolished; the BBC was embarrassed when news reports from other broadcasters showed the east Jerusalem home intact and the family commemorating their son's actions.

Last week, the BBC apologized live on its news program, admitting it had used footage of another house being demolished.
News anchor Geeta Guru-Murthy said: "Now, we would like to clarify a report we heard at this hour last Friday about the attack by a Palestinian gunman on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem. In the report, the day after the attack, BBC World said that the gunman's home in east Jerusalem had been demolished by the Israeli authorities. That was not correct, and the images broadcast were of another demolition."

You can go read the second example for yourself, but these apologies are always given after the fact, after the damage has been done and after the original reports have been blasted across every newspaper and headline in the MSM.

It is not like the BBC hasn't already discovered for themselves that their whole organization has a serious problem with bias and outright lies, time and tme again.

Back in July of 2007, we reported about an article in Times Online, called BBC in Need, where their company bigwigs were shocked....SHOCKED I SAY, that their producers had been deliberately misleading the public.

Much to the apparent surprise of Bennett and Abramsky, two experienced and highly respected corporation bureaucrats, a procession of contrite and nervous producers came forward to ’fess up. The public, it seemed, had been deceived with unnerving consistency, particularly over programmes with phone-in polls and competitions. And on the corporation’s most noble flagship enterprises, too. Comic Relief and Children in Need, for example.

“We just sat there absolutely stunned,” one executive board member told me, “shocked beyond belief. Nobody had any idea that this was going on on such a scale.”

So, once again, they get caught, they apologize, but no one in the leadership of BBC does anything to get to the root of the problem about their "news" reporting nothing more than propaganda and lies and only correcting it when they get busted.

Just another sad example of why the public has such distrust and contempt for the mainstream media these days.

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EAGLES UP!!!!! Soars Into Berkeley

[Update] Melanie Morgan has more on this event.....she sounds like she is on cloud nine.



A teaser:

The most deeply moving moment of the day came when a young man, fresh from Iraq and a close haircut, literally wandered into our gathering. He was stunned.

He had NO IDEA so many people supported him, especially in BERKELEY.

I wish I got our soldier's name, but he was a bit embarrassed because he was crying. I gave him a hard, long hug and whispered, "Welcome Home, Soldier."

That's when he really broke down.

God Bless our soldiers, and all of you. Never before in American history has there EVER been a counter protest movement to the so-called 'Peace Crowd', a fringe group of people who are screaming like hyenas, calling our troops thugs, baby-rapers and murderers.

They are NOT.

They are HEROES and I was proud to stand in support of their service and sacrifice.

Damn, now I am crying.

Now go read the rest of her firsthand account...... go.

Eagles Up is comprised, mostly, of Military Veterans as well as military supporters.

Today they did what they do best and instead of the town of Berkeley seeing the anti-American, anti-Military protests from groups such as Code Pink that call our troops murderers.... Berkeley saw patriots protesting against the Berkeley city council.

They were protesting against the Berkeley City Council for their disgusting behavior toward our troops in earlier in the year, calling the Marines at the Marine recruitment center, unwelcome and uninvited intruders in the town of Berkeley.

This caused such outrage from around the country, businesses boycotted Berkeley, Move America Forward and military supporters from across the country descended on the Berkeley city council with all the wrath they deserved.

The Berkeley city council rescinded that resolution with the offensive language as they even saw their own town members protesting alongside of Move America Forward.

But they did not apologize to the Marines.

You can read about the whole saga every step of the way we kept up with the news and it is all on one page here.

TODAY, Eagles up, descended on Berkeley as well to hold their own protests against the city council.

Eagles Up Mission statement:

1. Pursue every opportunity, within our means, to actively stand up, support, and defend, the principles embodied in our United States Constitution.

2. Support our warriors in harms way, around the world, and their families, with a fervor worthy of their sacrificial service for our freedom.

3. Honor and protect the memorials to our fallen, missing, and support their loved ones.

In that vein, 400-600 flag-waving, leather-clad, pro-troops bikers roared into Berkeley today to show their support for an "often besieged Marine recruiting center in the city."

"I'm here because I support my Marines," said Steve Bosshard, a retired San Francisco police officer who came from Santa Rosa. "I don't like what Berkeley's done. They don't realize the effect it has on the troops."

The center was criticized by the Berkeley city council and is often the target of protests.

Today's demonstrators, most of whom are military veterans, said they were protesting the Berkeley city council decision in February to waive the amplified-sound permit fees and provide reserved parking in front of the Marines' office for Code Pink, an anti-war group that stages protests at the recruiting center.

Never to miss an opportunity to show support of our troops, in this case the Marines of Berkeley, Move America Forward was right there and the chairman of Move America Forward and my friend, Melanie Morgan, rode into town on the back of a Hog.

Melanie says, "I’ve never had so much fun in my life as I did on the back of that bike!"

These groups will continue to besiege the Berkeley city council until the apologize to our troops as even members of the council have said they need to.

To Move America Forward and to Eagles Up....good Job and HOOOOOOOOOOOAHHHHHHHH!!!

To the fine, upstanding, brave Marines in Berkeley, I say but one thing.

Semper Fi.

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Internet Providers Pull Out of Deal For Wireless Cities

Plans to erect large municipal Wi-Fi grids around the country to provide citiwide Wi-Fi access, have suffered a serious setback as Internet providers pull out of the deal, due largely to a lack of profitability.

Cities like Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and other major cities and smaller towns, which were to follow the lead of Philadelphia after they announced in 2005, that they were going to provide wireless access to over 135 square miles, with free or low cost services to all residents.

Those plans have suffered a serious setback as Internet providers such as Earthlink, who cornered the market on the plans by larger cities, suddenly withdrew.

EarthLink announced on Feb. 7 that “the operations of the municipal Wi-Fi assets were no longer consistent with the company’s strategic direction.” Philadelphia officials say they are not sure when or if the promised network will now be completed.

In January 2007, Garry Betty, Earthklink's chief executive and most vocal advocate of municipal Wi-Fi, died of cancer and since then his successor, Rolla P. Huff, announced plans to change the direction of the company.

In doing so, Huff laid off half the company's workforce, approximately 900 people and withdrew from the municipal wireless projects.

Other cities have also run into trouble with their wireless efforts. One example given was Tempe, Arizona, which was one of the first cities to go live with the citywide wireless project in 2006, when they contracted with with Gobility, a Texas-based provider to provide residential service for about $20 a month.

In December, due to a lack of subscribers, the company pulled their service.

Smaller cities, such as St. Cloud, Florida, already have about 70 percent of their households using their free wireless system, without difficulty.

Larger cities are not able to financially sustain the same type of system providing wireless to the masses.

Other places such as Athens, Leipzig and Vienna, already have the capability and are offering free or inexpensive Wi-Fi in many areas.

The report states that now all eyes are turning to Minneapolis, who is in the midst of rolling out a new business model that analysts believe will overcome problems such as those suffered by Earthlink in Philadelphia and other areas.

Philadelphia, in the meantime is hoping not to be disconnected midstream and the city’s chief information officer, Terry Phillis, says, "We expect EarthLink to live up to its contract."

The problem there and one that doesn't bode well, is that when the city council held a meeting in December to speak to Earthlink and get assurances about how they intended to fulfill the contract, Earthlink never showed up.

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Clinton's adviser, Carville, Compares Richardson's Endorsement for Obama to Judas

“Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic,” Mr. Carville said, referring to Holy Week.

The New York Times reports that Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico described a "tense telephone call" between himself and Hillary Clinton when he called to inform her that despite pleas from both her and her husband, he would be endorsing Barack Obama.

Richardson had held two senior positions during Bill Clinton's presidency, energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations, and the Clintons, especially Bill Clinton has been after Richardson's endorsement for his wife in a very public manner.

As of a few days ago, Richardson stopped returning Bill Clinton's calls and even though he spoke to Hillary Clinton to inform her of his decision, he still has not spoken to Bill about his endorsement of Obama.

His words when he announced his endorsement were potentially harmful to the Clinton run for the nominations when he said, "I’m not going to advise any other candidate when to get in and out of the race. Senator Clinton has a right to stay in the race, but eventually we don’t want to go into the Democratic convention bloodied. This was another reason for my getting in and endorsing, the need to perhaps send a message that we need unity."

This endorsement led to James Carville, who is a friend of Bill Clinton's and an adviser to Hillary to call the Richardson endorsement of Obama and "act of betrayal," and then he went on to compare him with Judas, who sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Richardson says the phone call between Hillary and himself was "cordial, but a little heated".

Mr. Richardson said he was dispirited by the tone of the Democratic nominating fight, reflecting a sentiment that has been increasingly voiced by party leaders. Unlike many others, though, Mr. Richardson placed the blame on Mrs. Clinton.

“I believe the campaign has gotten too negative,” Mr. Richardson said, speaking to reporters in Portland. “I want it to be positive. I think that’s what’s been very good about Senator Obama’s campaign — it’s a positive campaign about hope and opportunity.”

Many believe this was a big blow to the Clinton campaign, especially since Richardson is also a superdelegate and this makes the number of supers reach 62 who have endorsed Obama since Feb. 5, compared with fewer than five who have moved into Mrs. Clinton’s column since then.

In the meantime, today, like every day it seems, there has been more negativity and controversy, over words that Bill Clinton said, to which and Obama aide responded and to which Hillary tried to "explain", which was in the news this morning and which I wrote about in a previous piece, found here.

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Arizona Home Owner Shoots Burglar

In Peoria Arizona, a 62 year old home owner shoots a burglar that broke into his house through the rear arcadia door and when he confronted the man, gun in hand and told him to stop, the burglar continued towards him, so he shot him.

The suspect is Jason Jesus Rodriguez, an 18 year old that broke into the home of John J. Kallas, 62 years old.

Kallas heard Rodriguez break into the house and told police he armed himself with his handgun when he went to investigate and found Rodriguez, told him to stop where he was and when Rodriguez continued walking towards him, in fear for his life, he shot the would be burglar in the shoulder.

Rodriguez was taken to a Valley hospital, his shoulder wound was not life threatening and has been booked into the 4th Avenue Jail and charged with burglary and aggravated assault.

The police found Rodriguez's vehicle, a 2002 Infiniti, in front of Kallas' house, its engine still running.

The shooting and the attempted burglary is still under investigation.

Kallas, who is a Vietnam veteran, told reporters, "I didn't shoot to take the man's life. I only shot to protect myself," he added, "I hoped I'd never have to use it but I did have it for protection."

According to the Peoria Police Department spokesman, Mike Tellef, "It looks like he thought it was going to be an easy score for him," referring to Rodriguez.

Kallas concluded his statement with, "He picked the wrong house with the wrong fella, I guess. I think his luck ran out today."

This is the second incident this week that a would be burglar has been shot during an attempted burglary.

On Tuesday, a stunt man turned salon owner in Phoenix shot a robber twice during an attempted hold up.

Arizona recently passed a new law called the Castle Doctrine, which automatically presumes homeowners are being threatened when someone breaks into their home.

The Castle Doctrine designates one's place of residence or in some cases place of business and any place legally occupied, as a place in which a person is allowed to protect themselves from illegal trespassing and violent attack.

It then goes on to give a person the legal right to use deadly force to defend that place (his/her "castle"), and/or any other innocent persons legally inside it, from violent attack or an intrusion which may lead to violent attack.

You can see the recent burglary incidents, in Peoria, by looking at the Peoria Police Department Burglary Map just for 3/5/08 to 3/11/08, (1 page PDF file) to get an idea of the problem that burglary is in Peoria Arizona.

One example of why an individuals right to bear arms, to protect and defend themselves, should never be infringed upon.

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Raining McCain--A laugh to start the day

[Updates below]3/23/08

For no other reason than to start the day off with a laugh, I ran across something over at Wonkette that appealed to my sick sense of humor.

So, for your viewing enjoyment.......It Is Raining McCain.

For those getting this via email subscription, the video doesn't show up, so here is the YouTube URL.

Now on to some actual news.

One of the reasons it is "raining McCain" is the consistent negativity between Obama and Clinton, which has surpassed policy issues and brought the race to personal attacks, color and gender and the latest reports show that 20 percent of Obama supporters would vote for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, if Clinton beats their candidate for the nomination. Among Clinton supporters, 19 percent said they would support McCain in November if Obama is the Democratic nominee.

If even half of those people make good on that threat, it bodes well for McCain and not very good for either Democratic candidate.

This isn't stopping the candidates at all because the first thing I saw this morning was reports that Bill Clinton made a comment yesterday that Obama supporters took as questioning his patriotism.

From FirstRead at MSNBC:

CHARLOTTE, NC -- At a small VFW hall in Charlotte, NC, today, former president Bill Clinton contemplated a McCain/Clinton general election matchup, saying that it would one between "two people who loved this country" without "all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics."

"I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country," said the former president. "And people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues, instead of all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics."

So, of course, that starts the sniping and Tony McPeak, a retired Air Force general and current co-chair of Obama's presidential campaign said he was disappointed by the comments and compared them to those of McCarthy, the 1950s communist-hunting senator.

That led to the campaign spokesman Phil Singer, rejecting the comparison and lobbing public attention back where the Clinton campaign things it shoud be...on Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright and his controversial comments that have caused Obama such damage in the last couple of weeks.

"To liken these comments to McCarthyism is absurd," Singer said. He said McPeak was "clearly misinterpreting" the remarks and suggested that might be an intentional effort to divert attention from a recent controversy involving controversial statements by Obama's former pastor.

All that back and forth made Hillary Clinton post a response on her website, The FactHub:

Actually, as is indicated by the quote itself, President Clinton was talking about the need to talk about issues, rather than falsely questioning any candidate's patriotism.

He was lamenting that these kind of distractions "always seems to intrude" on political campaigns. This is consistent with his criticism of the "politics of personal destruction," which dates back 16 years.

Well Tony McPeak, who served under Clinton and the first President Bush, isn't buying that at all.

"It's a use of language as a disguised insult. We've seen this before, this little clever spin that's put on stuff," McPeak said. "I have no idea what his intentions are, but I'm disappointed in the statement. I think Bill Clinton is, or ought to be, better than that."

Quick question- When was the last time, other than the Democratic debate itself, when you heard either of these candidates discuss an actual issue, a policy issue?

Just saying.



(Joe McCarthy-Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period of extreme anti-communist suspicion inspired by the tensions of the Cold War.He was noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the federal government and elsewhere. Ultimately, McCarthy's tactics and his inability to substantiate his claims led to his being discredited and censured by the United States Senate. The term "McCarthyism," coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist pursuits. Today the term is used more generally to describe demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents)


[Update] Seems that others are finally starting to show and/or talk about the 'Raining McCain' video.

Matthew Yglesias, Althouse, AMERICAblog, The Moderate Voice, Eschaton and Buck Naked Politics.



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Denver DNC Convention - The Eve of Destruction?

There is an old proverb that says, "Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it." Is the Democratic National Convention this year heading towards a historical reinterpretation of the 1968 Convention?

In 1965, Barry McGuire released his hit, "Eve of Destruction", an interpretation of the world at that time.

The eastern world it tis explodin',
violence flarin', bullets loadin',
you're old enough to kill but not for votin',
you don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin',
and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Today, more than 40 years later, we're seeing history repeating itself in many ways in this country. If a group called "Recreate 68" has any say in the matter, we will see a near replay of the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention played out at the 2008 Denver Democratic National Convention.

The 68 Convention was one marked by infighting of the Democratic Party's members and violent confrontations between the Chicago police, reportedly under "shoot to kill" orders by then-mayor Richard Daly, and anti-war protesters. Bobby Kennedy had been assassinated two months earlier, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated three months prior to that, Lyndon Johnson had declined to run for re-election as President and the nation was, indeed, on the "Eve of Destruction."

There were even suggestions, prior to the meeting of the Convention, that it not be held in Chicago, but rather in Miami, where the Republican party was slated to hold it's Convention. This suggestion was met with violent disagreement by Mayor Daly, who promised to enforce the peace and threatened to withdraw his support for the apparent nominee, Hubert Humphrey, if the convention were to be moved. President Johnson also preferred Chicago, having been rumored to have said "Miami is not an American city."

The Convention itself was filled with tension and apprehension, after a downbeat keynote address by Hawaiian Senator Dan Inouye, and as pro-war and anti-war delegations debated the issue of Vietnam. Peace protesters caused delays in the debates and their confrontations with the police lasted through the length of the Convention.

Humphrey eventually took the nomination for the party, and lost the general election to Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate, in November.

So how does this tie in to today, and the upcoming Denver Convention for the Democrats? The anti-war group known as "Recreate 68" has lost their bid for a permit for the Civic Center to the host committee for the convention.

"When things blow up because the police have to enforce a permit that the Democrats got, don’t blame us for that," said Glenn Spagnuolo, an organizer for the Re-create 68 Alliance.

"Blame the Democrats for trying to silence dissent in the city of Denver."

The lottery for permits to protest, pray or hold other events in city parks during the DNC Aug. 24 through 28 resumed Thursday after the city bungled the drawing Tuesday by accidentally leaving out some of the applicants' names.

This is just one group that is calling for a replay of the 68 convention. Former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder has predicted riots if the popular vote isn't adhered to in selecting the Democratic nominee. Obama is currently leading Clinton in the popular vote.

Personally, I understand the desire for peace, and appreciate the work that is done to achieve peace between conflicting factions. Few know greater how precious peace is than those who have seen conflict. What I don't understand, honestly, is the threat of violence to promote the cause of peace. In my mind, in my way of thinking, that's a contradiction. As I've said before, contradictions can not exist. To protest, peacefully, in the name of peace, for the sake of peace, for the purpose of peace, makes a statement. To protest violently and proclaim that you are promoting peace, contrarily, seems more like an excuse to act in a violent manner for a cause that you don't truly believe in. Violent protestations for peace come across as hypocritical, and the message for the promotion of peace becomes tainted by the advocacy of those who proclaim it, but don't practice what they are preaching.

There is a time for war, and a time for peace, if one is to believe the teachings of the Bible and other ancient texts that have been handed down from generation to generation through the centuries and millennial. A time to kill, a time to let live. A time to sow, a time to reap. If this sounds like a song, too, that's because it is a song, "Turn Turn Turn", by Pete Seeger, and it was based straight out of the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

Regardless of the situation as it was in 68, the 08 DNC promises to be interesting in it's own right, as well. With the Clinton machine gearing up for full confrontation and a determination to remain in the race right up until the very end of the nomination process, and the continued revelations of Obama's associations and their anti-Semitic, Afro-centrist agenda's, the continued bad light he has fallen under because of his pastor (who is currently working ON Obama's campaign staff), it's sure to be a slug fest right up until a candidate is finally nominated and approved.

And in case no one has mentioned this, the possibility has been suggested that neither Obama nor Clinton could wind up as the party nominee.

Has anyone noticed how quiet Al Gore has been lately?

It definitely is winding up toward a very interesting Democratic National Convention for Denver.