"We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."... John F. Kennedy
On this day in 1874, a child was born in England who would ultimately change the course of world history: Winston Churchill.
Part of my childhood was spent as a resident of the neighbourhood for which Churchill was a Member of Parliament. As I grew up, Churchill was always a fixture, an integral part. Many books have been written about him. He was an officer in the British Army, an artist, a Nobel Prize winning writer (1953). Even though Churchill was part of my history lessons at school, I had no idea what a prolific writer he was:...
(The Taj Mahal engulfed in smoke during a gun battle between Indian commandos and the militants)
The Daily Mail has a chilling account of how the attack in Mumbai, India was planned and executed as well as what the goal was. He was told to "kill until the last breath."
His name is Azam Amir Kasab, he is 21 and from Pakistan and he describes the planning and the attack like it was of no consequence.
According to one police source "He [Kasab] was telling our people this in a most dispassionate way and responded to the horror their faces betrayed by shrugging his shoulders, as if it was all of no real consequence."
The targets were "whites, preferably Americans and British."
According to the account of Kasab’s interrogation, given by police sources, the terrorists were trained over five months in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, then had a month off before the attacks. At some stage, they also received intensive instruction in ‘marine assault’ operations.
Kasab and the nine other terrorists, who communicated using BlackBerry mobiles, began their journey to Mumbai on November 21.
Initially unarmed, they left an isolated beach near Karachi in a small boat, before being picked up the following day by a larger vessel.
At this point they were each given eight hand grenades, an AK-47 rifle, an automatic pistol and ammunition. And in anticipation of a lengthy siege, they also carried dried fruit.
Kasab told police that the group then hijacked a fishing trawler bearing the name Kuber near the maritime boundary between Pakistan and India.
Four of its crew are missing while the fifth has been found dead, apparently beheaded. Its owner and his brother are being questioned by police.
On November 23, after reaching Porbandar in the Indian state of Gujarat, 310 nautical miles from Mumbai, the insurgents were intercepted by two coastguard officers. The group hoisted a white flag and allowed the two men to board their boat.
According to Kasab, one of the militants then attacked one of the officers, slitting his throat and throwing him overboard. The other man was forced to help the group reach their destination before being executed as the vessel drew near to Mumbai.
For most of the journey, Kasab’s friend, 25-year-old Abu Ismail, a trained sailor, steered the vessel using GPS equipment. Three speedboats met the Kuber a mile and a half from the Mumbai seafront on Wednesday. After waiting for the light to fade, they moved off, later transferring to two inflatable dinghies to go ashore.
The two groups then split up. Four men went to to the Taj hotel, two to the Jewish centre of Nariman House, Kasab and another man set off by taxi towards the railway station, and two headed for the Leopold restaurant.
While his colleagues were executing hostages at the Taj, Kasab and Ismail first opened fire with their assault rifles at around 10.20pm, killing dozens of people standing at Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station.
Then they hijacked a police 4x4, killing the two officers inside. Kasab told investigators they continued their killing spree by attacking a petrol station and blowing up a taxi before being stopped.
‘I have done right,’ he told investigators. ‘I have no regrets.’
They planned this for months in advance and while they did not accomplish their goal of killing 5,000, they did slaughter hundreds and injured hundreds more.
The report also claims that many of the "hostages" were already dead while the terrorists were claiming they were alive being held as hostages.
Evidence was emerging last night that the the gunmen killed their victims early in the siege and fooled Indian security forces into thinking that they were holding hostages.
At the Sir J.J. Hospital morgue, an official said that of the 87 bodies he had examined, all but a handful had been killed during Wednesday night.
This terrorist scumbag piece of (CENSORED****CENSORED***CENSORED***) scum plays dead and once at the hospital says “I don’t wanna die?” Some Warrior of Allah he turned out to be? Why would he not want to die and go get his virgins? Maybe because he has some inkling that his masters (the cowards who trained him) are full of (CENSORED) and he is simply tossing himself on the Altar of Stupidity? I know one thing. I’d wager the authorities in India don’t really hold much care for the Geneva conventions or any other protections normally afforded “enemy combatants” captured by our guys. What is, I wonder, the phrase in India for “Gimme those jumper cables?”
Along with whatever the authorities in India do the authorities in Jolly Old England *motto; The Home of the New Kinder Sharia Law* will probably have their hands full ignoring the fact of early intel showing much of the financing for this attack came from (wait fooor it) BRITISH MOSQUES! (I know, I am just as surprised as you. I would NEVER have thought those peaceful British Muslims would FINANCE a terror attack, surely this must be some plot of the EVIL JOOOOOOS)
A nice little rundown of Day 5 from Barcepundit, English Edition and Jules Crittenden has some good linkage to all the recent information coming out.
YID With LID ha s a piece showing that India had the intelligence about this attack a week in advance and failed to stop it.
OK. For the recent uninformed visitor that goes by "Barbara", due to "her" inability to do "her" own homework and due to "her" obvious lack of the ability to think for "herself" (could be attributed to "her" self-proclaimed age of 62), the following are the posts, articles and items I have collected since last July. I have them classified as COLB and COLB Forgery. My personal posts are located here and here.
At one point in time, I was under the understanding that the issue of Barack's citizenship was a non-issue and the ensuing witch hunt that was prevalent from last January was an embarrassment. It wasn't until the weekend of the Move America Forward major and huge on-line Troopathon that my original opinion of this issue began to fade. During the time that I thought the issue was an atrocity perpetrated from the nuts on the right, I did not write on the subject but visited other sites and left comments trying to persuade others to drop it and fight on issues that mattered. I never brought up the issue on my Blog Talk Radio shows either.
That all changed on 04 JUL 08 thanks to my friend Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs whom I disagreed with on this issue of the COLB v Birth Certificate. Since that time, using my investigative skills and my Spook training and verbiage analysis training and applications learned, developed and expounded upon for decades, I began to see an underlying current in this issue as it began to unfold. Most missed it. Some still miss it. I bring up that which most have missed or perhaps disregarded was the fact that Barack Hussein Obama can place this whole issue to bed very easily and quickly yet has not done so. The question is why he hasn't to this point.
It could be because of the audacity of people to dare question him. We have all seen the way he reacted (never responded - there is a difference) to anyone questioning him on any issue. It could be his narcissistic and arrogance that has caused him to not place this issue to bed and that has resulted in his inability to appear weak and cornered. He, being the typical American liberal democrat, cannot ever be seen as weak or vulnerable or to take personal responsibility for a bad decision and that bad decision was to drop this issue back in April of 2008.
He could have very well ended all discussions of his natural-born status when John McCain's was ended but he did not. Perhaps because he could not and cannot still.
In April of 2008, Senator McCain's "natural born" citizen status was settled by Senate Resolution 511. I thought it peculiar that Patrick Leahy would make the comment that the term "natural born citizen" was not defined in the Constitution when it clearly is defined. One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to detect the Constitutional definition when the definition is clearly stated in the Constitution. There is other verbiage in the Resolution that is equally suspect.
[...] Whereas previous presidential candidates were born outside of the United States of America and were understood to be eligible to be President; [...]
This statement was added to the Resolution by none other than Barack Hussein Obama. Why?
In the process of my self-admonitions of following for a well crafted scam, I ran across this post recently after Pamela Geller rocked my world back in July.
[...] From Obama own website:
Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor sworn an oath of allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired on Aug. 4,1982.”
Question?
How could it expire, if he never had it? [END]
Indeed. My learning and my cravings for knowledge will never end on this subject. In the linked post, I learned several other items of interest and I do believe that honest people will also see the light, as it were. Naturally, the apologists that can never admit to being in error will claim high and mighty blissful ignorance.
That segment linked above has since been scrubbed from Obama's web site and by his own admissions, he is of Kenyan birth. Perhaps that is why the Kenyan Ambassador to the United States has stated in a recent interview that Obama's birthplace in Kenya is well known and why Kenya has proclaimed a National Holiday in honor of one of their own ascending to the Presidency of the United States. I did a special show on the Kenyan connection last week where we aired the interview with the Ambassador. If Obama was not born in Kenya, why then did his Kenyan citizenship expire in 1982 and how did he come to have dual citizenship when Kenya does not recognize or allow dual citizenship other than British?
A shortened portion of that interview can be heard here and the entire interview can be heard here, complete with mundane chit-chat. The first 10 minutes is fairly boring actually.
By the way, the photo to the left is not a viable birth certificate but it is just as valid as the COLB posted around the internet. I find it comical in a sad sense that the COLB that was proven to be a forgery is still being presented as authentic when the original postings as MoveOn, KOS and Obama's web sites have all been removed. There is a pathology to that I am sure.
Barack Obama and his campaign have spent nearly $800K to NOT reveal the authentic vault birth certificate that every American is issued upon birth. The average cost of obtaining a certified copy of the obtainable birth certificate is $10. Why not spend the $10 and put this issue to rest. If he is in fact a natural born citizen, so be it and we can get along fighting his Marxist nonsense and his pathetically vague policies.
The forged COLB being passed off as a birth certificate (a COLB is not a BC) process is detailed here. Thank God for document forensic science.
It is said that there is a vault copy in Hawaii dated 1961 which is type writer written and sealed from public view and is said to have been released on November 15th. That never happened.
The lad to the right is the forgery dude and he has been cornered and caught. This happened on 06 JUL 08 and the Obama Media is oddly silent. He is or was the Obama Spokesman that stated that the forgery was real and was the official birth certificate. Oddly enough, or not, Labolt didn't know that a COLB wasn't a birth certificate as most of the libtards don't know as well. Curious, ain't it? This is merely one more example in a very long and historical list of examples of how the Leftinistra repeat a lie for long periods of time hoping and knowing that the easily led and easily duped with believe a lie when it is heard over and over, over a long period of time.
Further studies and searching revealed this paper written in 2006: in part, pdf located here:
AMENDING THE NATURAL BORN CITIZEN REQUIREMENT: GLOBALIZATION AS THE IMPETUS AND THE OBSTACLE SARAH P. HERLIHY
INTRODUCTION
The natural born citizen requirement in Article II of the United States Constitution has been called the “stupidest provision” in the Constitution,1 “undecidedly un-American,”2 “blatantly discriminatory,”3 and the “Constitution’s worst provision.”4 Since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s victory in the California gubernatorial recall election of 2003, commentators and policy-makers have once again started to discuss whether Article II of the United States Constitution should be amended to render naturalized citizens eligible for the presidency.5 Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution defines the eligibility requirements for an individual to become president. Article II provides:
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.6
Although these sixty-two words are far from extraordinary, the natural born citizen provision is controversial because it prevents over 12.8 million Americans from being eligible for the presidency.7 In addition to Governor Schwarzenegger, the natural born citizen clause prohibits many other prominent Americans from becoming president, including Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm,8 former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao,9 and over 700 Medal of Honor Winners.10 Even though many of these individuals have served in high political positions or fought in a war on behalf of America, they are not able to become president simply because they were not born in the United States.11
The natural born citizen clause of the United States Constitution should be repealed for numerous reasons. Limiting presidential eligibility to natural born citizens discriminates against naturalized citizens, is outdated and undemocratic, and incorrectly assumes that birthplace is a proxy for loyalty. The increased globalization of the world continues to make each of these reasons more persuasive. As the world becomes smaller and cultures become more similar through globalization, the natural born citizen clause has increasingly become out of place in the American legal system. However, even though globalization strengthens the case for a Constitutional amendment, many Americans argue against abolishing the requirement. In a recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll taken November 19–21, 2004, only 31% of the respondents favored a constitutional amendment to abolish the natural born citizen requirement while 67% opposed such an amendment.12 Although some of the reasons for maintaining the natural born citizen requirement are rational, many of the reasons are based primarily on emotion. Therefore, although globalization is one impetus that should drive Americans to rely on reason and amend the Constitution, this paper argues that common perceptions about globalization ironically will convince Amendment. [...]
Why would the natural born clause be an obstacle?
And, in whose path is the obstacle in the way of? Interesting this is indeed. The answer is in further study and discovery, using the legalese of the Friends of Barack, mainly the law firm of whose employ the author of this piece is beholden to. When did Barack decide to run as President? Wasn't it in 2006, officially? What are the odds that Leftinistra law firms and Leftinistra Chicago lawyers of that law firm, which had/have long historical relationships with Czarbie, suddenly be wanting to "deal with" that damned pesky "natural-born clause"? Hmm?
Be prepared, ladies and gentlemen. A fully socialized and "communal" (globalized) America is on the horizon if we do not rise up to the salvation od our Freedoms so richly threatened by the globalization socialists that dwell among us. And morons say that the List of 45 is crazy. HA!
I find all of this ironic because GWB's critics criticized him for his "Globalization" outreach yet these same critics are themselves Globalists. I guess once more that Globalization is only good when the socialists do it.
Go ahead Barack. Make my day. Show your VAULT birth certificate and stop being a coward, cowering behind your Goon Squads and that forged Certificate of Live Birth fraud and scam. If you have an honest bone in your body, you would end this once and for all. Oh. Wait.
The shooting in Mumbai (Bombay) is apparently over, and even as the blood still runs in the streets, political pundits and talking heads rush to declare the "who, what, why, and how".
One local paper says:
"Who's the brain behind the Mumbai attacks?
The prime suspect ...is Abdul Subhan Qureshi a 36 year old computer engineer who is also believed to have masterminded multiple bombings throughout India earlier this year." [here: ]
The article and graphics go on to suggest that the group claiming responsibility for the latest attacks is an "offshoot of SIMI - linked to Pakistani Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Tolba. The group calls itself Deccan Mujahideen."
Britain's Daily Mail loudly trumpets:
Massacre in Mumbai: Up to SEVEN gunmen were British and 'came from same area as 7/7 bombers'
. British-born Pakistanis among arrested militants
And you KNOW I have more to say! Go to NewsBlazehere for the rest....
What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Er, sorry, wrong founder.
The fact is, the fundraiser is now over. Well, no, only a part of it is. The friendly competition between the services is indeed over, with more than $78,000.00 showing right now. That total is not final, however, as I believe a few more checks have come in/are coming in and the final total is still some days away.
No, we didn't make our goal, but we knew we wouldn't from the start. There were a number of factors in play that meant we would not make the $250,000.00 goal. While I wish we could have raised more, I am glad we raised what we did, and I point out cheerfully that Team Army is -- so far -- leading the way. While it would have been nice to make the goal, I think we are all glad for what we did raise and I want to thank each of you that contributed.
Go read the rest, here. And THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Black Friday, the day stores hope will put them in the black, making a profit, is the Friday after Thanksgiving Day and stores provide sales to draw the masses.
In Long Island, at a Wal-Mart, the masses were waiting outside the door for the store to open and when it did, they stampeded in, like no more than cattle and in their desire to be first, to get to "sales" to beat everyone else to the merchandise, hundreds of supposedly civilized human beings trampled a man to death.
"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too...I literally had to fight people off my back."
The unidentified victim was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., police said.
The cause of death was pending.
A 28-year-old pregnant woman was knocked to the floor during the mad rush. She was hospitalized for observation, police said.
Three other shoppers suffered minor injuries, cops said.
Even as emergency crews were around the man, before the store was closed down, people continued to walk right on by him to shop with few stopping to even acknowledge the man was dead.
Some reports say the pregnant woman mentioned above, miscarried.
Make that two deaths.
The authorities should be looking over the video and identifying each person that knocked the man and woman over, that stepped on him/her and they should prosecute them for the deaths.
Just linking you up to a few updates about the massive attack perpetrated on Mumbai, India, in which over a hundred have been murdered and hundreds more injured.
CNN with details about five more hostages found dead in the Jewish center which was one of what is believed to be 10 separate targets attacked.
The bodies of five hostages have been found at a Jewish center in Mumbai, according to reports, and fighting still rages at a hotel in the city two days after terrorists launched a series of deadly attacks.
Fox with an update showing nine militants are in custody and although no one is sure who is ultimately responsible for this terror attack, it is suspected that there is a Pakistan connection.
The New York Times provides more details about Indian forces fighting the terrorists.
The Washington Post suggests "Characteristics of Plot Suggest Attackers Were Trained Outside India, Analysts Say."
Two British-born Pakistanis were among eight gunmen seized by Indian commandos who stormed buildings to free hostages, Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Mumbai, reportedly said.
More linkage will be added here as reports come out.
The LA Times reports that top military leaders briefed President Bush this week regarding a cyber attack against military computers, affecting a highly classified network, a U.S. Central Command which oversees our military in combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan as well as affecting computers in those combat zones.
Although details about the extent of the damage have not been released, one defense official has stated "This one was significant; this one got our attention."
Although officials are withholding many details, the attack underscores the increasing danger and potential significance of computer warfare, which defense experts say could one day be used by combatants to undermine even a militarily superior adversary.
Bush was briefed on the threat by Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mullen also briefed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
Military electronics experts have not pinpointed the source or motive of the attack and could not say whether the destructive program was created by an individual hacker or whether the Russian government may have had some involvement. Defense experts may never be able to answer such questions, officials said.
The defense official said the military also had not learned whether the software's designers may have been specifically targeting computers used by troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It is suspected the origin of the malware affecting the computers was Russia but that is just a suspicion at this point and even then, they have no clue as to whether it was a private hacker or group or whether the government was involved.
The malware is known as "agent.btz" and last week Pentagon officials placed a worldwide ban on the use of external computer flash drives. Evidently agent.btz has the ability to "spread to any flash drive plugged into an infected computer."
Defense officials acknowledged that the worldwide ban on external drives was a drastic move. Flash drives are used constantly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many officers keep them loaded with crucial information on lanyards around their necks.
Banning their use made sharing information in the war theaters more difficult and reflected the severity of the intrusion and the threat from agent.btz, a second official said.
Officials would not describe the exact threat from agent.btz, or say whether it could shut down computers or steal information. Some computer experts have reported that agent.btz can allow an attacker to take control of a computer remotely and to take files and other information from it.
In response to the attack, the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the military's cyberspace defenses, has raised the security level for its so-called information operations condition, or "INFOCON," initiating enhanced security measures on military networks.
Cyber attacks of this nature has worried our government for years and while much has been done to protect our computer networking systems, a good hacker or a government that utilizes them can do a massive amount of damage to a country or countries.
Washington Post has a piece out, which explains so much.
So much for the wisdom of The People.
A new report from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) on the nation's civic literacy finds that most Americans are too ignorant to vote.
Out of 2,500 American quiz-takers, including college students, elected officials and other randomly selected citizens, nearly 1,800 flunked a 33-question test on basic civics. In fact, elected officials scored slightly lower than the general public with an average score of 44 percent compared to 49 percent.
Only 0.8 percent of all test-takers scored an "A."
America's report card may come as little surprise to fans of Jay Leno's man-on-the-street interviews, which reveal that most people don't know diddly about doohickey. Still, it's disheartening in the wake of a populist-driven election celebrating joes-of-all-trades to be reminded that the voting public is dumber than ever.
Read the whole thing... commentary not even needed.
It appears to have been ten separate attacks in Mumbai, India, explosions rocking the city with CNN reporting 125 dead and hundreds injured.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggested the group behind the terrorist attacks, which killed 125 people, was based outside the country.
CNN reporters said regular gun fire and blasts could be heard at the Oberoi and Taj Mahal hotels and a Jewish center in the city.
According to the same report, witnesses heard gunfire as well, hostages were taken.
A fire from earlier billowed smoke through one of the hotel's windows, as firefighters poured water over the plumes.
A few blocks away, at the Hotel Oberoi, a major fire raged Thursday night through one floor there, CNN's sister network in India, CNN-IBN, said.
The network reported 30 people were trapped, and said gunshots could be heard. Later, an explosion was heard from the hotel's rear side.
At least three or four terrorists are still holding hostages in both the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, British officials told CNN on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Singh suggested the group behind the attacks probably had "external linkages."
"It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the financial capital of the country," he said.
The Foreign Ministry opened up a situation room, news via YNet:
The Foreign Ministry has open it's situation room following Wednesday's terror attack in Mumbai, India.
Sixteen people were killed in an apparent series of firing incidents and blasts in Mumbai. No Israelis were reported among the casualties. The situation room can be reached at 972-2-5303155.
In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets -- the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 101 and sending hundreds of injured to hospital, according to latest reports. ( Watch )
The attacks have taken a tragic toll on the city's top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed. ( Watch )
The attacks appeared to be aimed at getting international attention as the terrorists took upto 40 British nationals and other foreigners hostage. The chairman of Hindustan Unilever Harish Manwani and CEO of the company Nitin Paranjpe were among the guests trapped at the Oberoi. All the internal board members of the multinational giant were reported to be holed up in the Oberoi hotel.
Times of India say the number opf injured could be as high as 900.
It also appears that British and American citizens were heavily targeted and one of the reasons the attackers had the ability to do so much damage could be the fact that the witnesses are saying they were "very young, like boys really, wearing jeans and T-shirts."
“They said they wanted anyone with British and American passports and then they took us up the stairs. I think they wanted to take us to the roof,” he said. He and another hostage managed to escape when they reached the 18th floor, he said.
The Deccan Mujahideen is claiming credit for this organized unprecedented attack an d Weekly Standard has more on that group.
There are still a lot of questions about how any group could organize an attack of this magnitude with ten separate sites and as more information comes out, I will update.
[Update] Haaretz reports that although it is unlcear what the hostage takers want, they are continuing with hostage negotiations, moving slowly to try to save as many as possible.
One man, a who identified himself as a Pole but did not give his name, told reporters he had seen many bodies inside, but refused to give more details, saying he had promised the police not to discuss details of the rescue operation.
The Maharashtra state home ministry said 84 people had been freed from the Oberoi - 60 of them hostages - and dozens more were still trapped inside.
Police said they were going slowly to protect the captives.
Among the dead were at least one Australian, a Japanese and a British national, said Pradeep Indulkar, a senior government official of Maharashtra state. An Italian and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries.
On this American Thanksgiving Day 2008, I have much to be thankful for. For ALL my American coalition partners, both at home and in the sandbox, no fancy words. I am the richer for having each of you in my life. To "my" soldiers deployed far from home (and their families here), "my" veterans, to "my" Gold and Silver Star families, to all my American Soldiers' Angel buddies, to all "my" military mums who grace me with their friendship, and for my American blogging partners, and readers. You each know who you are, and the place you have in my heart. You all teach me so much every single day, and I really AM thankful for the lessons.;) I will always be grateful to every single one of you.
As the holiday season swings into high gear, there are many of our military families who are now facing new realities. Days that once held joyous celebration with family, now approach with different dynamics. TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) has put together what they are calling "Practical Tips To Help."
Dealing With Grief Over the Holidays: Practical Tips to Help National Organization Comforting Families of the Fallen Offers Advice to Help All Who Are Grieving
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 24, 2008
WASHINGTON – Holiday cheer and merrymaking may be everywhere this time of year, but for thousands of Americans grieving the loss of a loved one, the holiday season can be an emotional minefield. And there’s no roadmap for easy navigation.
“The holiday season can be particularly challenging for families who are grieving the recent loss of a loved one,” said Bonnie Carroll, the founder and chairman of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, TAPS. “We offer tips to help surviving military families, and they are applicable to anyone who is grieving.”
For more than a decade, TAPS has helped surviving families of those who have died in military service. Carroll and TAPS offer the following tips to help anyone who is grieving during the holiday season.
Take charge of your holiday season. Anticipating the holiday, especially if it’s the first one without a cherished family member, can be worse than the actual holiday. Taking charge of your holiday plans, and mapping out how you will spend that time, can help relieve anxiety.
Make plans. Plan to spend the holidays where you feel nurtured, emotionally safe, and comfortable. An escape plan may be difficult to carry out, because American holidays are celebrated in many places world-wide, and there often is no way to escape all of the reminders of the holidays.
Find sustenance for the soul. Your church, synagogue, mosque, or other faith community may offer services, resources, and support networks to help. You may want to look for a support group for people who are grieving and have suffered a similar loss. Families who have lost a loved one serving in the military may find comfort by connecting with other survivors through our online community, online peer support groups, or care groups.
Don’t be afraid to change your holiday traditions. Some traditions may be a comfort, while others might cause pain. Consider which traditions to keep, and which ones to forego this year. Do not feel like you have to do something because you have always done it that way.
Include your lost loved one in gift-giving. Consider making a donation to a charity in memory of your loved one. Give a gift on behalf of your loved one to someone else.
Create a tribute. Light a candle, display a favorite photograph, or set a place at the dinner table to represent the missing loved one. Consider writing a letter to your loved one about the holidays and your special memories with that person.
Be gentle with yourself. Realize that familiar traditions, sights, smells, and even tastes, may be comforting, or may jolt your emotions. This is the time of year when you need to be careful with your emotions and listen to yourself.
Attend holiday functions if you can. Consider attending holiday parties and events, especially if you’ll be able to spend time with supportive family members and friends. Make an escape plan in case the event is more than you can handle, and trust your hosts to understand if you need to slip out. If you think a holiday gathering might be more than you can handle, it is ok to stay home.
Don’t pretend you haven’t experienced a loss. Imagining that nothing has happened does not make the pain of losing a loved one go away, nor does it make the holidays easier to endure. Even though holiday memories may be painful, they can also be comforting. It is ok to talk with others about what you have lost, and what the holidays mean to you.
Pay attention to your health. It’s often difficult for people who have experienced a recent loss to sleep. Make sure you get regular rest and drink lots of water. Do not over-indulge in sweets or alcohol. If you feel overwhelmed, talk with your medical care provider.
Take stock of both joy and sadness. Give yourself permission to feel joy as well as sadness. Don’t feel like you have to “be a certain way” because of your loss. Just be yourself.
Express your feelings. Bottling up your feelings may add to distress, not lessen it. To express your feelings, use your creativity to write a poem, talk with a supportive friend, create a painting, or pen a journal entry.
Share your holiday season with someone else. There are many lonely people who might like to experience the holiday season with someone else. Consider volunteering with a local charity or soup kitchen, inviting a neighbor for a special holiday meal, or including others in your holiday activities.
For more tips on dealing with grief during the holidays, go to the TAPS website at www.taps.org.
TAPS is the national organization providing compassionate care for the families of America’s fallen military heroes. TAPS provides peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, seminars for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, case work assistance, and 24/7 crisis intervention care for all who have been affected by the death of a loved one serving in the Armed Forces. Services are provided free of charge. For more information go to www.taps.org or call the toll-free crisis line at 800.959.TAPS.
Go to TAPShere to find out more of the many programs they offer.
*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita and also on NewsBlazehere*
Well, as you can see, there have been some changes, some very nice changes. If you go here to see the Team standings you can get the whole picture (Navy, we do have smelling salts standing by).
There are some people that have come through for both Team Army and -- most of all -- Project Valour-IT. They have a challenge for you, and it is best expressed by malclave:
Just sent another hundred bucks for Team Army... I'd been holding it, figuring I could help out the Coast Guard team if we met our goal soon enough.
Anyway, I was just lower enlisted stationed at a hospital in the late 80s... surely there are plenty of folks who can outdo an REMF like me, right?
Malclave and others have issued challenges. My question to you is, will you rise to the challenge, or slink away and not even give a dollar? Folks, if everyone who comes to this site in a day pitches in a dollar, it puts us roughly ten percent (okay, closer to five) towards the goal. We are only at 27 percent for the year....
Go read the rest of what Laughing Wolf has to say, here.
Pete Williams of NBC raised the question on MSNBC this afternoon: Is Hillary Clinton barred by the Constitution from accepting the post of secretary of state?
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
I have no idea if this means she can't take the office because salary for cabinet positions was increased last year while Clinton was a Senator. I doubt anyone will seriously challenge this position on these grounds, but it may make Obama and Clinton think twice. Any constitutional scholars or lawyers out there want to weigh in on this one?
One commenter at Say Anything says this has happened before:
This is not the first time this Article has stood in the way of a cabinet appointment. In 1973, at the height of Watergate, President Richard Nixon nominated William Saxbe (R) to be Attorney General and the issue was raised because Saxbe was in the Senate in 1969 when the Attorney General’s pay was raised.
In that instance, Congress lowered the pay for the AG, allowing the appointment to proceed. Democratic Senators complained, however, and 10 senators actually voted against the transparent scheme on constitutional grounds. At the time, Sen. Robert C. Byrd deemed it was clearly unconstitutional saying we should not delude the American people into thinking a way can be found around the constitutional obstacle.
The usual workaround is for Congress to lower the salary of the job back to what it was so that the nominee can take it without receiving the benefit of the pay increase that was approved while the nominee was in Congress. This maneuver, which has come to be known as "the Saxbe fix," addresses the clear intent of the Constitution, to prevent self-dealing.
But many legal scholars believe it does not cure the Constitutional problem, because the language of Article I is so clearly an absolute prohibition: No senator or representative, period.
"The content of the rule here is broader than its purpose,” said Professor Michael Stokes Paulsen, a Constitutional law expert at St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. “And the rule is the rule; the purpose is not the rule.”
"A 'fix' can rescind the salary,” he added, “but it cannot repeal historical events. The emoluments of the office had been increased. The rule specified in the text still controls.”
Each Holiday season we hear reports of increased security due to intelligence gathered which hints at an attack of some kind or other.
While this latest intelligence is unsubstantiated, there is no choice but to remain vigilant and for our government to make sure they increase security, which is what is being done during the holiday season on New York subways, according to an Associated Press report:
Federal authorities are warning law enforcement personnel of a possible terror plot against the New York City subway and train systems during the holiday season, and police are beefing up security in preparation.
An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press says the FBI has received a "plausible but unsubstantiated" report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system.
A person briefed on the matter, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the intelligence-gathering work, said the threat may also be directed at the passenger rail lines running through New York, such as Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road, which are particularly busy with Thanksgiving holiday travelers.
A U.S. counterterror official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do so publicly, said senior government officials have been briefed because the FBI very recently received credible information about possible attacks over the holiday season, and authorities are particularly concerned about this long holiday weekend.
Better safe than sorry. It is when this type of activity and threats, substantiated or not, is ignored, that we are in the most danger.
In the past two weeks, four people--four very dear people--have become seriously ill. Two are family members, one is a former family member and the fourth is a blogging family member.
The youngest is my grandson. He just turned 3 months old. He was losing weight and there was no explanation why. So he was hospitalized for testing. After much prodding and poking, reviewing feeding procedures with my daughter, seeing how well this child ate, they finally came to a preliminary diagnosis. Cerebral Palsy. A very mild form, will not affect him in his mental development, is not expected to become worse over time and will only mildly hamper his motor development.
Next is my nephew. He just turned 15. A Texas boy. A star athlete and always in trouble with his mischief. Last Tuesday, he was playing basketball and hurt his leg in the game. It was still hurting so my sister took him to the doctor. I found out today he has osteosarcoma-bone cancer. My sister is in extreme denial, thinking the surgery next week will be simple and non-invasive. After doing some research tonight, I know it's probably going to be exploratory to determine the size and features of the tumor (calcium malignant, attached at the site) and treatment options. There is a very good chance he will lose part of his leg--if not his life. The exploratory is prior to chemo starting as well.
Then my ex father-in-law. Frankly, I would dance on the graves of my ex and his family. But not him. Out of the entire clan, he was the only one who was ever decent to me. He is in his late 70's and is suffering from heart failure. He's been very ill for quite some time, but he has given up. He has been brought home from the hospital to die, and makes no bones to the grandkids he will be spending Christmas with Santa Clause. He isn't expected to live past Thursday. This once robust, hearty man is a mere shell of himself and it's heartwrenching to see. He's worked his whole life for a family full of ingrates, who always put him down because he wasn't a "book learned" man--although he found a way to put four children through private schools, supported a wife from hell who expected him to cater to her (she refused to even drive a car) while all she could do was denigrate him. He did it quietly, with dignity. When he was out of work from the mines, he worked side jobs and always paid the bills--in cash. He loved his grandchildren, each as they came along. He was the only one in the family to welcome me when I married into it and for that I will always be grateful. While the hellspawn of his family can take a long walk off a high cliff, I do not wish a holiday death on anyone. Having lost both of my parents, it's hard and it will only hit them just how special this man is after he is gone. And it will be too late for them to say a simple "thank you".
Last, but by no means least, is our friend Roger Gardner from Radarsite. He is also fighting for his life, but better bloggers than I have addressed Roger and his trials. However, we have good news on Roger--his prognosis is getting better and better each time we hear from him, and we thank God for that.
Two weeks from hell. Four very dear people, ranging in age from 3 months to early 80's. Obama wants to talk Main Street. I got your Main Street right here. And mine is real--it's not a fantasyland concocted in the wild dreams of a meglomaniac.
Sorry, Stinky--my priorities are far and away more important than your fantasies.
You will just have to wait until you royally screw up--and then you will most definitely hear from me on your so-called change which is nothing more than recycled Clinton. Yeah--you're "green"--green from the stench of decay.
I have my family and friends to worry about. Maybe you should get in touch with real Main Street Americans and what is on our minds--not your ice cream dreams and lollipop sundaes.
The rumor mill has been working over time lately and one rumor that has had the far left "progressives" howling at the moon was the news that Barack Obama was going to ask Robert Gates to retain his position as Defense Secretary.
Today we see news reports claiming it is a done deal and Gates has accepted the position and the far left base of the Democratic party were not happy at all when it was rumor and that is an understatement from some of the reactions previously seen.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay on under President-elect Barack Obama, according to officials in both parties. Obama plans to announce a national-security team early next week that includes Gates at the Pentagon and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as secretary of state, officials said.
The most important appointment decision Obama will make during the transition, bar none, is who becomes, or remains, Secretary of Defense. As I have noted in the past, the Department of Defense oversees the expenditure of 52% of all discretionary spending, rendering it literally impossible for any other cabinet Secretary to oversee as much federal money. Further, keeping Gates on would only worsen Democratic image problems on national security, as he would be the second consecutive non-Democratic Secretary of Defense nominated by a Democratic President. The message would be clear: even Democrats agree that Democrats can't run the military.
For instance, as Chris Bowers argues persuasively, keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates is inherently a bad idea, because it keeps the same leadership in charge of half the Federal budget and, worse, sends the message that Republicans are needed to manage national security.
That mode of critique doesn't involve making any speculative extrapolations about Obama's future policy directions, and seems like a far more sensible way to look at his choices.
Daily Kos previously made the case against keeping Gates on (like Obama bothers listening to them?)
The retention of Bob Gates at the Department of Defense for any length of time would signal Obama’s support for policies he has publically questioned in the past and indicate that he lacks confidence in his own ultimate choice to be Secretary of Defense. Gates has been an enthusiastic supporter of such Bush Administration policies as the deployment of a ballistic missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic; the rush to bring Ukraine and Georgia into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; continued spending on a National Missile Defense (currently the most expensive weapons system in the Pentagon’s inflated budget); and the abrogation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. These policies have weakened the international regime for non-proliferation and the arms control process with Russia and should be reversed by the new Obama Administration.
Furthermore, Gates has failed to tackle the huge budgetary, personnel, and organizational problems that exist at the Department of Defense. A recent study by the Government Accountability Office revealed nearly $300 billion in cost overruns on the largest defense acquisition programs, a problem that Gates has not addressed. Gates also favors an expanded role for the Pentagon in nation-building, which will lead to huge increases in the already-inflated defense budget as soldiers on the ground become both cops and social workers.
Some may think Gates is acceptable but I don't. First. Gates supports increasing U.S. forces in Afghanistan. As I written here on several occasions, Afghanistan is the black hole for foreign forces. Not since Alexander the Great has a foreign army successfully invaded and occupied and conquered the Afghan people. Since then Afghanistan has chewed up and spit out foreign invaders. The same thing lies ahead for the Americans.
Second. Gates as DefSec believes military power is effective in pursuing U.S. interests. I disagree totally with the premise. Shooting and killing foreigners does nothing to advance U.S. interests anywhere in the world.
That one is also annoyed about Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State:
As for Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, Obama seems to have forgotten what Clinton said about the Iranians, how she would "obliterate" them in the event of a war with Israel. If you were Iranian, I am sure you would judge Clinton to be another crazed militaristic American intent on conquering the world through bombs and missiles and tanks. Someone who even considers obliterating another people or another nation is not suited to be the chief diplomat of the United States.
That is representative of what is being seen already as reaction from the far left to the news about Gates staying on for at least one year as Defense Secretary.
The stomach continues to churn as the "progressives" howl, piss and moan and basically continue to whine about everything Obama is already doing before he even takes office.
Those people are incapable of being happy for more than a day or two before finding something to stay angry about huh?
Previously written under the "As The Stomach Churns" Label:
The Liberal think tank, Center for American Progress, has issued a 36-page report explaining why and how talk radio must be, and easily can be, regulated by a Fairness Doctrine - but not regulated in the way we conventionally think of a Fairness Doctrine.
This is a simple and doable plan for Democrats. The Fairness Doctrine will happen this way: All stations will be required to issue many new licenses to minorities - ethnic and women, which is known as "localism." Licenses will be up for review, and reissue, every three years rather than the current eight years. Programming will be basically local.
Moreover, the original Communications Act of 1934 still authorizes the FCC to require "reasonable access to or to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time" by a legally qualified candidate for federal elective office, and equal opportunities must be afforded all their candidates for that office....
These obligations come from the same set of concerns from which the Fairness Doctrine arose. And Section 315 of the Communications Act still requires commercial broadcasters "to operate in the public interest and to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of issues of public importance."...
Thus, the public obligations inherent in the Fairness Doctrine are still in existence and operative, at least on paper.
The Center for American Progress says that the original Fairness Doctrine's real value was not in the "fair discussion of important issues," but in the way licenses could be issued:
...limited license terms to three years [from eight, I think], subjected broadcasters to license challenges through comparative hearings, required notice to the local community that licenses were going to expire, and empowered the local community through a process of interviewing a variety of local leaders.
Perhaps the plan is to scrap the Telecommunications Act of 1996, mandated by Congress, which increased the number of radio stations that "one entity could own in the same market." However, doing so may not be necessary to bring achieve a plethora of Liberal programming and deny Conservative content.
The death of syndicated programming (nation shows like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity) is imminent if Democrats have their way, to be replaced with local programming. In public, Democrats will say this has little to do with providing opposing viewpoints, but as this study finds, the new licensees will be decidedly Liberal.
...of all 10,506 licensed commercial radio stations in the country suggests that stations owned by racial or ethnic minorities are statistically less likely to air conservative hosts or shows and more likely to air progressive hosts or shows....
This is an issue Barack Obama and Congress need not direct. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can accomplish all of the above without a word from Congress or the President.
A question for readers: Any opinions about advertisers and the enormous income to stations from successful programming, supported by advertising dollars? How will the money be replaced? Does it matter if stations are smaller, local and not in need of big money?
Weeks after the election we are still waiting for the final outcome of the Minnesota Senate race between Al Franken (D) and Norm Coleman (R), in which Coleman came out ahead by 215 votes before the recount, the number being so low that Franken was entitled to a recount.
They have gone up and down as the recount has been ongoing and the latest news is 78 percent of the precincts are finished (81 as of now) and Coleman still holds a 210 vote lead, according to the Star Tribune, with other tabulations putting the lead as low as 170+.
More than 78 percent of the votes had been recounted as of Monday night, and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's advantage over DFLer Al Franken stood at 210, according to a Star Tribune compilation of results reported to the secretary of state and gathered by the newspaper. Before the recount, Coleman led Franken by 215 votes out of about 2.9 million cast, a margin that has fluctuated over the past week.
There also seems to be an equal number of challenges from both campaigns, 3,000 of them according to that same article.
Andrew Malcolm from LA Times' Top of the Ticket shows us some examples of the type of "challenges" that are being seen.
A couple examples of a ballots for Coleman that are being challenged by Franken:
Then one for Franken that is being challenged by Coleman:
Talk about a huge waste of time and tax payers money!
According to SC Times .com, Stearns County Auditor-Treasurer Randy Schreifels is calling some of these challenges “frivolous”.
But as of 10 a.m., there already had been seven ballots challenged where voter intent was very clear, he said in a news release.
Schreifels called the challenges “frivolous” in the news release and said most of them came from one challenger affiliated with Democrat Al Franken’s campaign.
One ballot was challenged because the oval wasn’t completely blackened, and another because there was a small mark elsewhere on the ballot that was not near the U.S. Senate race, Schreifels said.
On Friday, there were 15 challenges, most of which were also frivolous, he said.
Officials have until December 5, 2008 to complete their recount and deal with all challenges.
Jihad is not just fought with guns and bombs one of its most effective weapons is Political Correctness. The Organization of Islamic Conference are trying push through a bill in the UN that would make defamation of religion a crime under international Law. It might sound like a noble effort, but its real purpose is to targeting the US and Western Europe branding them as Islamophobic (its not paranoia if they are REALLY after you). Under this bill every time one says that there is a global war on Islamic Terror they will be violating international law.
The 2001 UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban quickly became a disgusting display of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel Propaganda. Much of the hatred took place in a six-day NGO Forum in a large cricket stadium attended by six thousand representatives of close to two thousand NGOs. It is there that the "Durban Strategy" was formulated, that is delegitimize the Jewish State via branding it as a racist entity. To his credit Then Secretary of State Colin Powell walked out of the conference. Last month the United Nations released the draft statement for the follow-up conference scheduled for Geneva in April 2009. This conference is planned to be worse than the first one, It is an Anti-Jewish, Anti-America and Anti-Freedom HATE FEST. There are even sections which will restrict freedom of speech. Other nations have announced that they will not attend.
On Jan. 23, the Canadian foreign minister made the clear statement of principle that "Canada will not participate in the 2009 conference." A week later, 27 senators sent a letter to Rice asking her to do the same. Having had no response, on Feb. 13 during a Senate hearing, Sen. Norm Coleman asked Rice point-blank, would she make the same statement and refuse to "provide credibility to this process by participating?" Rice answered: "No, we've not made that statement. ... We have not tried to make a final decision on this."
The Secretary of State had decided to punt it to the NEXT administration.
The United States should show leadership and morality. President-elect Obama shouldannounce immediately that we will NOT attend this hate fest. His decision to attend or not will be an early test of his true intentions regarding the Middle-East, as well as the appeasement of Islamo-fascism and anti-Semitism.
FOX News Channel's (FNC) Alan Colmes will relinquish his role as co-host of Hannity & Colmes at the end of the year.
In announcing his decision, Colmes said, "I approached Bill Shine (FNC's Senior Vice President of Programming) earlier this year about wanting to move on after 12 years to develop new and challenging ways to contribute to the growth of the network. Although it's bittersweet to leave one of the longest marriages on cable news, I'm proud that both Sean (Hannity) and I remained unharmed after sitting side by side, night after night for so many years."
Colmes will continue to have a presence on FNC as he will serve as a liberal commentator on a variety of FOX News programming, including Foxnews.com's The Strategy Room and continue hosting his radio program, The Alan Colmes Show on FOX Talk, a division of FOX News Radio. He will also begin developing a weekend program.
Shine said, "We're very sorry to see Alan reach this decision but we understand his desire to seek other creative challenges in his career. We value his incredible hard work in making Hannity & Colmes the most successful debate program on cable news and we're going to miss him on the show. Thankfully, he will begin developing a weekend pilot for us."
FOX News Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Roger Ailes added, "Alan is one of the key reasons why FOX News has been such a remarkable success. We're sad to see him leave the program but we look forward to his ongoing contributions to the network."
Hannity & Colmes is the only FNC program which has remained in the same timeslot for 12 years, catapulting to number one in 2003 and never relinquishing the top spot. The second highest-rated program in cable news behind only The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity & Colmes averaged 3.3 million viewers nightly for the Nielsen month of October and is poised to mark 60 consecutive months at number one at the end of November.
Hannity added, "Not only has Alan been a remarkable co-host, he's been a great friend which is rare in this industry — I'll genuinely miss sparring with such a skillful debate partner."
One of the most critical times for America is during the transition from one president to the next, whether it is a national security issue or economic issues, the transition must go as smoothly as possible.
Whether you like the fact that Obama was elected as the next president or not, he was and therefore it is President George Bush's responsibility to make sure that the transition is handled as smoothly as possible and he is doing just that.
An announcement today shows that Bush is doing exactly that.
Bush:
“Secretary, thank you very much for inviting me in for a cup of coffee. The secretary and I share the concerns of our citizens: concerns about jobs, concerns about their savings accounts. This is a tough situation for America, but we'll recover from it. And the first step to recovery is to safeguard our financial system.
“Now, last night on Air Force One, coming back from Peru, I talked at length to the secretary about his recommendation on the decisions made to safeguard Citigroup — Citicorp. Now, we have made these kind of decisions in the past. We made one last night. And if need be, we're going to make these kind of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future.
“I talked to President-elect Obama about the decision we made. I told the American people, and I told the president-elect when I first met him that any time we were to make a — a big decision during this transition, he will be informed as will his team.
“Secretary Paulson is working closely with the president-elect's transition team. It's important for the American people to know that there is close cooperation. It's important for the American people to know that we will safeguard the financial system as the first step necessary for financial and economic recovery. .. Mr. Secretary, thanks for your hard work. ‘Preciate it. Thank you.
Many disagree with all the bailouts being proposed, but that is a discussion for another post. The issue here is the cooperation between the President's team and Obama's transition team in making sure that when Obama takes over in January he has the knowledge available and the handover is as smooth a possible.
[Update] Obama says he and Bush are "united" in their efforts to get the economy back on track.
President-elect Barack Obama on Monday called the financial crisis one of "historic proportions" and said that he and the Bush administration are "united" in their efforts to get the economy back on track.
As Obama unveiled his economic team, he said there isn't "a minute to waste" when it comes to rebuilding the economy.
"My commitment is to do what is required. President Bush has indicated that he has the same approach, the same attitude," Obama said at a news conference in Chicago, Illinois.
Obama's remarks came just hours after the federal government announced a massive rescue package for Citigroup -- which President Bush said he'd spoken about with Obama before it was announced.
I haven't done a War News Update in quite a while due to the fervor of the elections quagmire but now that it is almost over, I will begin these updates at least once a week. I do have nearly 700+ dispatches saved up so expect a flurry of data that the media cannot reveal. Seeing that this is Victory In Iraq Day (VI-Day), let us begin with some information that has been widely ignored b y the Defeatocrats and those responsible for the war going as long as it has.
The first order of business will be a report from GrEaT sAtAn'S gIrLfRiEnD with the Military Advisors Manual. This report reveals what I have been espousing for quite some time seeing that I have some experience in this area. It is a worthy report and I agree with it entirely. General David Petraeus is a genius and it is too bad that politics got in the way of his ability to win this war earlier. If his ideas and concepts had been implemented sooner, perhaps the traitors and subversives would have been put in their proper places...in prison. Then again, the folks that could have done that are too cowardly to actually enforce current law.
CIA: Every Major Terror Threat, World Wide, Involves Pakistan This has been known for quite some time but it wasn't politically expedient to make it known. I am sure Czarbie would know something about this seeing that he did spend quite some time in Pakistan before he had threatened to bomb the hell out of Pakistan during his illegal campaign. Illegal campaign? Yes, that is what I said...the fool isn't a US citizen but that won't stop the enemies of the US from the coronation of the impostor.
Other posts I have done involve the Global Cultural Jihad. England is experiencing this and the United States is on track for Shar'ia Law by 2050. I suppose the Democrats will realize this when they are the first to be put to death by the sword of allah. In accordance with Shar'is Law, the ungodly will die first. The fools that have been "upset" by Prop 8 in California will be the most surprised.
In spite of the alleged Obama victory, Iran has decided not to honor their original "promises". They will continue their Hate America mantra. They are also going to have a meeting. This isn't a big surprise to me seeing that I still have difficulty differentiating the basic democrat party leader from the terrorists and their leaders...they speak the same language - America Sucks.
Steven J. Rosen has a piece up at the American Thinker published on 11/16 entitled, "Did Iran Offer a 'Grand Bargain' in 2003?" Without getting into the details here at this time, we all know where this is going and from where it came. We also know that the premise was born in the bowels of the morons that have prolonged this war for the sake of political expediency and power. It was a farce and a lie then and it is even more so now. Rosen explains it in detail and I have the background of all that nonsense stored right here...have fun.
It is said that OBL is still alive and his busily farming out details of more attacks now that the week-kneed and thin-skinned coward Obama has theoretically won the election. They, the terrorists, know that Czarbie will do nothging to defend this Nation so their plots and plans will move forward in the hopes to reverse their losses in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraqw as well as just about everywhere else.
Vindication. It smells and tastes oh so sweet. For those of you that know me, you will know and remember that I have said this for years: CIA Agent Confirms Al-Qaeda Was In Iraq In 2002. Remember? This is one of the many areas that I have major issues with President Bush. It wasn't politically expedient to make this known. Why? I have no idea. I do know that the war was prolonged because of it. I also know for a fact that the ones that made hay-day over President Bush being silent on this FACT also knew the data was factual but utilized the silence to further their cause of political power. They also rendered aid and comfort to the enemy during that process. Did I not make it widely known that we "watched them flee Afghanistan and flee to the Four Winds"? Yes, I did. I will stress this once again. We watched the enemy flee Afghanistan to Pakistan, Iran and Iraq. We stopped them in Tajikistan. Flopping Aces has more. However, neither Gateway Pundit, Flopping Aces or CQ Politics has what I have in my head and heart. They were not there. I was. Like I said. Vindication is sweet. Eat that you libtard morons. The libtards can also eat their BS about the WMD deal as well.
In other news, Stealth Jihad? It seems as though the Jihad is using the List of 45. Interesting that. Please note that I didn't say "surprising". Then again, we can always consider the Muslim Brotherhood and their ties to CAIR and the List of 45, can't we? The proponents of CAIR and their democrat and RINO sympathizers are useful idiots in the demise of this Nation and the libtards are "Rather" pleased with themselves. I am going to laugh at them as their heads are lopped off by the sword of allah and just might break out the marshmallows to roast over their burning bodies. Then we can focus on killing the Jihadi scum in this nation.
While we are at it, seeing that Obama was having meetings with HAMAS all during his campaign, what if we had an investigation about that and why Syria and Iran have given HAMAS the green light? Surely there is something to that besides Obama being the pathological liar that he is. And, knowing that Obama is such a pathological liar on top of being a narcissist, can we really believe that he will not support the "Saudi" Israeli-Arab peace pact? Or, can we actually know why Iran is now backing off from their previous statements about supporting SOFA? Why on Earth wold they support that Plan now that the weakling Czarbie is set to steal the White House? Isn't it just like a terrorist to act like a democrat and "change their mind" when politically expedient to do so? Democrats and terrorists...same-same.
Oh. And expect the usual "illegal war" crap to come up again. Naturally, thee isn't any evidence to support that BS but that won't stop the pathological liars on the left, will it? Then again, when they are clueless about the Iraq War, why should anyone really give them the attention they lust after?
As our Troops have won in Iraq and are winning in Afghanistan, NATO not withstanding, the Confederate Yankee tells us to brace for a total loss in the future. It is what the Democrats are all about. Then again, when the terrorists declare war on Pakistan, one has to wonder where all of this is going. Obama and the terrorists want to bomb Pakistan...
Whereas the treatment of President Bush has been off the charts and psychotic, at times I think he may have deserved it. He never seemed to take the libtards seriously. I do and don't blame him for it but when it put our troops in danger, he should have at least came out and shamed the libtards out in the open and in public.
Some are saying that Afghanistan is barely winnable and I think that is primarily a NATO result. I have been a long supporter of disbanding NATO due to its ties to the UN. But, that is for another post for a different day.
Just remember to read all I have collected on Victory In Iraq Dayright here.
I have been remiss in writing on this but I cannot hold back any longer. Political correctness is a cancer in this nation and that cancer has spread to the USMC. I suppose that we can't risk offending murderous scum Jihadi thugs "over there" or "over here". But, we should just consider ourselves lucky that we have more class than the murdering scum Jihadis and the whores of CAIR and those that worship at the trouser openings of similar Jihadi scum. My bad. The PC Nazis can kiss my ass.
Those that have more class than we do have announced and proclaimed Obama as an apostate - JUST LIKE I HAVE DONE - and I have been called "bad names" for it. I guess you have to have class to get away with it even though it is true. Obama is an apostate Muslim - once born and Islami scum, always an Islami scum whether or not one is apostate or not. It doesn't matter. It is Shar'ia Law. I call that another case of vindication. This data has been made known for a very long time and if Obama is as smart as he claims to be, he would have known this also.
Once again, the fraud Obama claims that he alone will fix all there is to fix by sucking on the loins of the enemy. Simply amazing. After all, our moral standards in the country are so much lower than those of the Islami scum nations. We don't stone our pregnant women...we just murder their babies. We don't hang our gays...we let them subvert the Constitution. We don't "kidnap" those that dissent...we let them tell the enemy our State Secrets. There's more but I am sure you get the point. Crusader Rabbit has more. Czarbie and the morons that "selected" him are so much m ore moral than anyone else...just ask the idiots. They will confirm it. No wonder the Jihadi scum are laughing at us.
The Higher Moral Taliban throw acid at girls that do not conform and now that threat may be coming Stateside. Glad to have the Higher Moral people paying us a visit.
Any of my regular readers KNOW I always share the voices of our troops. To me, their views, their experiences, ALWAYS trump the flapping jaws of the home based politicians or naysayers. Every last one of our men and women serving overseas gets to live the difference they are making.
The following was found on A Soldiers Perspective, and it truly IS a must read. Honestly, I know I say that a lot, but read it, print it, share it. THIS we on the home team can do. Read on:
I found this essay, written by the father of a deployed Soldier, on the American Legion website. It was introduced into the Congressional Record by Frank R. Wolf, R-Va, on September 16th. It's a very touching and inspirational story should be required reading by the defeatists in Congress. Here it is:
“Whatever your political take on the war in Iraq, nothing can alter it more than having a loved one in the midst of it. Nor is anyone’s current perspective balanced until they hear at least some things from a soldier’s point of view.
“My wife and I learned these truths when our son, a 2004 Handley graduate, decided to join the Army in 2006. His reasoning was simple: he wasn’t comfortable knowing that thousands of others his age were sacrificing their own freedoms to protect his. When he signed up to join those thousands, it changed our perspective as well.
“Up to that point, it had always been other people’s sons and daughters doing the fighting. Now it would be our own child. Naturally, no one wants their child to volunteer to go in harm’s way for freedom’s sake. It was something of a conviction, though, when my wife and I had to ask ourselves why it shouldn’t be our own son in the Middle East, why we should be spared the rituals of anxiety, prayer, hope and waiting that tens of thousands of other families over here have already endured.
“In early June, we flew to Fort Hood, Texas, to see our son deploy for a 15-month tour in Iraq. Again, one’s perspective is limited until one attends a deploying ceremony for a unit of soldiers. Spouses, children, parents, siblings and friends, all crowding a gym, all clinging closely to their treasures in uniform, accompanied by flags, prayers, cheers and tears. Our son had joined a ‘band of brothers.’ My wife and I had joined the ‘band of others’ who would be waiting at home. Both those going, and those left behind, carry the war on terror in a personal way.
“Still, those of us left behind need to see something of what our soldiers see, and not only what is offered us in the news. To that end, here is one story our son, Luke, shared with us by phone that must be shared with anyone who claims an interest in what our soldiers are doing in the Middle East.
“Stationed outside a city on the Tigris River, Luke had accompanied his colonel into town as part of a security team, while the colonel spoke with a local sheik. While standing guard, Luke noticed a woman approaching from behind and cautiously turned in her direction, his rifle at the ready.
“An interpreter told our son it was OK – the woman just wanted to touch a soldier. Still uneasy, Luke stood still while the woman reached out her hand and touched his face, tears in her eyes....
To read these words is to get some very small glimpse of the reality of what our troops are doing, and what their families face, EVERY SINGLE DAY. Go read the rest of it here - NOW!
I so wanted John McCain to win the election, no doubt about it, but the bright side of his losing and Barack Obama winning, yes folks, I always can find a silver lining, is watching the far left have a cow over Obama's decisions, even before he has taken office.
I am learning that there is something to be said for a good old fashioned soap opera.
I am naming this one, "Obama's White House- As The Stomach Churns," and it is going to be a four year series.
The other day I pointed out how some members of the left were already expressing that are prepared to "go to war" with Obama before he takes office, because of his choices.
The cast is Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, people Obama is choosing for his cabinet and top positions, and of course the far far left of the Democratic party. We will throw in Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the far left political players of the Democratic party as well, because there is no doubt that they will be extras in this soap opera.
The Independent gives us a list of who has been confirmed picks for Obama as of now:
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle, 60, former Senate Democratic leader
Senior adviser: David Axelrod, 53, Obama's campaign strategist
Senior adviser: Valerie Jarrett, 52, Chicago business-woman
White House counsel: Greg Craig, 63, former counsel to Bill Clinton
Chief of staff: Rahm Emanuel, 49, Political director under Bill Clinton
Political director: Patrick Gaspard, 41, a New York labour official
White House press secretary: Robert Gibbs, 37, political consultant
Vice President's chief of staff: Ron Klain, 31, former chief of staff of vice president Al Gore
Then it goes on to those that have been confirmed by sources but have not been formally announced as of yet, or still need to be vetted.
Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton, 61
Treasury Secretary: Timothy Geithner, 47
National Security Adviser: James Jones, 64
Attorney General: Eric Holder, 57
Head of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano, 50
Commerce Department Secretary: Bill Richardson, 61
Stage is set, actors are cast and reactions from the far left are coming in about the names available already.
Part one of As The Stomach Churns will deal with Hillary Clinton, because Clinton and Obama will definitely be the lead players in As The Stomach Churns, we see that there were a few conditions set by Clinton before she would agree to accept the position of Secretary of State.
The first sign of friction in the Obama camp as Mrs Clinton demands - and gets - a purge of her critics before accepting Secretary of State role.
The advisers who helped trash the former First Lady's foreign policy credentials on the campaign trail are being brutally shunted aside, as the price of her accepting the job of being the public face of America to the world. In negotiations with Mr Obama this week before agreeing to take the job, she demanded and received assurances that she alone should appoint staff to the State Department. She also got assurances that she will have direct access to the President and will not have to go through his foreign policy advisers on the National Security Council, which is where many of her critics in the Obama team are expected to end up.
But when they met on Wednesday they agreed on one thing: "He's making a mistake." As one of the participants told a friend later that night: "She'll do a good job but she'll do it for herself, not for Barack. I can't bear the drama again."
She, of course, is Hillary Clinton, former First Lady, figurehead of Democratic women, presidential candidate with 18 million votes and now would-be Secretary of State.
[...]
"They can't help themselves," the Obama aide told his friend, a fellow Democrat strategist. "Every event is a potential ladder up or a bullet to be dodged. They're positioning and spinning all the time. They lost. Now we seem to be handing them the farm."
Most shocking to Mr Obama's team is the loss of discipline and control that they have experienced since coming to Washington.
The President-elect's campaign was tightly controlled, with very few uncoordinated leaks. The candidate was known as "No Drama Obama." David Corn, Washington Bureau Chief of the left of centre magazine Mother Jones, summed up the problem: "The presidential transition of no-drama Obama became infected by the never-ending soap opera of the Clintons. And it really is time to turn that programme off."
The Washington Post columnist and Clinton sceptic, David Ignatius, added: "The idea of subcontracting foreign policy to Clinton, a big, hungry, needy ego surrounded by a team that's hungrier and needier still, strikes me as a mistake of potentially enormous proportions." It is a view that many around the President-elect now share.
[...]
Steven Clemons, senior fellow at the left-leaning think tank the New America Foundation, summed up their dilemma: "This rock star President-elect may either be confused, deluded and self-destructive in sculpting a team that has a high probability of paralysing itself in vicious internal skirmishes - or he may just be brilliant, really, really brilliant."
What is certain is that Hillary Clinton is here to stay - and it won't be dull.
The far left on Hillary Clinton:
From the other Telegraph article (linked above) we see some reactions about Hillary Clinton being chosen as Secretary of State
Chris Bowers of the influential OpenLeft.com blog complained: "That is, over all, a centre-right foreign policy team. I feel incredibly frustrated. Progressives are being entirely left out of Obama's major appointments so far."
Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos site, the in-house talking shop for the anti-war Left, warned that Democrats risk sounding "tone deaf" to the views of "the American electorate that voted in overwhelming numbers for change from the discredited Bush policies."
Other reactions to the Clinton pick found on liberal blogs:
Why would Obama want to tarnish his brand new administration with the Clinton soap opera of Monica, Whitewater, Vince Foster, Marc Rich and company when he could start fresh with an entirely new team? And why would he want a mortal enemy like Hillary who is probably at this very moment plotting her comeback strategy for 2012, inside his administration, leaking to the press and undermining him? I thought he put the Clintons away for good. He seems too smart to do something like this.
Also via Huffington Post we see Christopher Hitchens appeared on "Hardball" calling the choice of Clinton a "Ludicrous Embarrassment." (Video at the link)
The Washington Independent questions whether Clinton will fill those positions under her, as Secretary of State with loyalists.
Let is be said here that the more moderate liberals, which I always separate from the far far left liberals, do not seem to be having the same problem with the Obama choice of Clinton for the Secretary of State job and are not reacting as strongly as the media and far left pundits are.
The reactions across the blogosphere and in the media to the remaining names on the list given above of the Obama picks which are confirmed and/or not formally announced yet, will be shown in part two of "Obama's White House- As The Stomach Churns."
For now I will leave you with a quote from EmptyWheel:
When it comes to the netroots, Barack Obama has the long arm-short arm syndrome. He has taken much from us in terms of support, voice, momentum, money, footwork and energy. Obama has given little, if anything, in return to the netroots. Unless you count disdain and scorn. And pokes in the eye with a blunt stick.
All future "As The Stomach Churns" pieces can be found here.
"I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future...But I'm not going to do anything violent to promote that. I'm going to do it through education." Ibrahim Hooper CAIR Spokesman.
This should be reported as plainly as possible. Follows some details of the United Nation's attempt to silence non-Muslims, and bear in mind, the U.N. is now run by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Barring free speech is the first step to the institution of Islam world-wide.
The following is excerpted from Islamist Watch and features only snippets of their comments. I encourage you to read the article and follow the links therein.
"As if the endless tales of corruption, ineptitude, and financial waste were not enough to sully one's view of the United Nations, here is another reason to look askance at Turtle Bay: the organization is pushing a global blasphemy law designed to thwart criticism of the Islamic faith:"
"...a global law to punish blasphemy — a campaign championed by the 56-member Organization of Islamic Conference that puts the rights of religions ahead of individual liberties."
Consider one key draft resolution at the event.
Introduced jointly by the Philippines and Pakistan, it openly seeks to limit press freedoms. Translation: Don't even think of publishing those Danish cartoons or anything even close to them. And forget about questioning authorities in places like, say, Riyadh.
The Islamist agenda: "Politically correct appeals and soft intimidation."
Culture of peace? This is the culture of censorship and the West should have none of it.
End Islamist Watch.
If you think the actions and protests shown in these pictures will fade away under new anti-defamation laws, think again. The Koran allows and encourages the subjugation of all peoples to Islam. Islam will not be silenced.
*****
"Those who stay in America should be open to society without melting, keeping Mosques open so anyone can come and learn about Islam. If you choose to live here, you have a responsibility to deliver the message of Islam ... Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faiths, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." Omar Ahmad Co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Reactions to the video below are hysterical, simply hysterical. (Video below)
The video above is the uncensored version.
No one really wants to "see" the slaughter of animals, but yet, unless you are a vegetarian, you truly have to know that folks kill the animals before you find it packaged in your grocery store.
The above interview with Sarah Palin with a turkey being slaughtered in the background, is everywhere now and people are having themselves a real freakfest over it.
ummmm..... did they really think that the meat they buy in their meat department OR the turkeys they serve their families over Thanksgiving, magically just appear in the stores?
People that cannot handle seeing the reality behind how you get the meat on your table, should become vegetarians.
The Daily Telegraph has a great roundup of reactions over this issue.
A couple of my favorite Daily Telegraph updates are below:
UPDATE V. The Fort Mill Times rips at reader hearts over the rescue of the bird Palin pardoned: “As his turkey pals - and maybe some family members - watched, the turkey Palin named Thanksgiving got a second chance at life.” These people are insane.
UPDATE VI. Finally, a sensible comment: “The real problem with this video is that there wasn’t someone on the second machine. C’mon People! Let’s be efficient!”
A big hearty laugh at the update about Ann Althouse:
UPDATE XI. Ann Althouse: “Deal with it, you candy-asses.” Quite so.
A similar example would be an aspiring politician who claims to be anti-abortion, having a news interview in the front of an abortion clinic while an abortion is taking place in the background.
Wrong, Ong. Palin supports turkey farming and is filmed as turkeys are processed. No inconsistency there. Now let’s see Barack Obama (or any pro-abortion politician) hold an interview at that abortion clinic you mentioned …
Yup...agreed!!
Last but not least, the update referring to Mark Steyn:
UPDATE XVII. Mark Steyn: “I didn’t think I could like Sarah Palin more than I do, but the nancy boys at MSNBC bleating all over the screen about the Great Turkey Carnage is hilarious.”
Now I am wondering how many of the people soooooo upset about having to actually witness how their Thanksgiving dinner is slaughtered, are actually going to serve a meatless dinner next Thursday?
Decided to have Ham instead? A quick trip to the pig slaughter YouTube page should cure you of that notion right quick.
How about a nice piece of beef? Ooops, Cow slaughter isn't pleasant either folks!!
Fact of life, animals die to put meat on our tables.... deal with it or quit eating meat and join PETA.
While the lyrics from the Beatles song may be true, it seems that for Eric McKinley, money can buy notoriety. Eric McKinley filed suit in 2005 against an online matchmaking service called eHarmony charging discrimination.
This week eHarmony settled McKinley's lawsuit against them, and it cost more than money. $50,000 to the state for administrative costs and $5,000 to McKinley was what it cost eHarmony to settle a complaint that McKinley registered with the New Jersey civil rights division....
You KNOW I have more to say about this. Go over to NewsBlaze to read the rest: here.
THIS is what we are all about. I found this on Soldiers' Angels Germany - one of my favourite places on the internet. Go here to find lots of great stuff, and mark it as a 'fave'. :)
The rumors have been swirling for weeks, but word has come out that Hillary Clinton is accepting the position of Secretary of State from Barack Obama.
Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday.
Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama’s office told reporters Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but Clinton associates only confirmed Friday afternoon that she has decided.
“She’s ready,” said the confidant. Mrs. Clinton was reassured after talking again with Mr. Obama because their first meeting in Chicago last week “was so general,” the confidant said. The purpose of the follow-up talk, he added, was not to extract particular concessions but “just getting comfortable” with the idea of working together.
Sen. Hillary Clinton has reportedly decided to accept an offer to become the next secretary of state.
The New York Times, citing two Clinton confidants, said that the former First Lady reached the decision after further discussions about her role with President-elect Barack Obama.
Clinton haters commence in 5....4.....3.....2.....1
To Obama supporters- Quit crying, you got what you asked for.
Seems that a frontrunner, according to the rumor mill, "John Brennan remains the favorite to be nominated director of the Central Intelligence Agency" and the far left is not happy and are already threatening to "go to war" with Barack Obama, before he even takes office.
Democratic and national security sources say that former National Counterrorism Center head John Brennan remains the favorite to be nominated director of the Central Intelligence Agency even as his pending appointment raises the hackles of some Obama advisers because of his ties to George Tenet and controversial programs.
Andrew Sullivan talks a big game here on this issue, stating:
It's fine not to uproot the entire agency and to have some continuity. But for Obama to appoint a Bush-Cheney apologist to the CIA? How on earth did this idea get this far?
It may be that Brennan will stop torture under any euphemism. But the trouble with this area of policy is that it is necessarily secret and so trusting the people running the CIA is essential. I don't trust Brennan. On the question of torture, it is absolutely vital that there be a clean break with Bush-Cheney at the top of the agency. Many CIA staffers have been implicated in war crimes, and their cover-up. If you were to de-Cheneyize the entire place after eight years of entrenchment, you'd have few people with real skills left. So the top leadership is vital. It needs to signal that there is no longer any doubt that the US is abiding by Geneva, including Article 3, in all its branches of government.
The least we know is that Brennan is ambivalent about this. Ambivalence on this matter is unacceptable. We haven't fought for decency and reform and a return to American values for so long to be turned back now. We didn't work our butts off to elect Obama only to get Bush another four years at CIA. If Brennan emerges as the pick, those of us against the continuation of war crimes and the prosecution of war criminals will have to oppose him strenuously in the nomination process. We will, in fact, have to go to war with Obama before he even takes office.
And if Obama doubts our seriousness, I have three words for him. Yes we can.
Wow, bet Barack Obama is shaking in his boots right about now, huh?
Quick newsflash for Sullivan... ya'll already got Obama elected dude, too late now for your threats to do anything but make Obama laugh.
In fact, an article I read yesterday, in the LA Times, makes it very clear that Obama knows that some of his choices will not be happy with his choices but that will not deter him.
The activists -- key members of the coalition that propelled Obama to the White House -- fear he is drifting from the antiwar moorings of his once-longshot presidential candidacy. Obama has eased the rigid timetable he had set for withdrawing troops from Iraq, and he appears to be leaning toward the center in his candidates to fill key national security posts.
The president-elect has told some Democrats that he expects to take heat from parts of his political base but will not be deterred by it.
Fact is, Obama told his supporters what they wanted to hear, they bought it all, hook, line and sinker, they elected him.... now, he will do as he pleases because the bottom line here is he doesn't need them anymore.
The so-called "progressives" are starting to notice this and express their anger.
And if Obama really wanted change, if he really wanted to honor progressives who backed him early on and then did the grunt work against McCain, he’d nominate Dennis Kucinich as Secretary of State.
That sure would indicate a welcome departure from empire as usual.
But at this point, progressives are getting absolutely nothing from Obama.
NewsBusters hunted around a little and found others, Obama supporters, not celebrating as happily now that the election is over.
On DailyKos, the Kossacks are beginning to wonder if they've been hornswaggled? Of the latest Obama picks, a recent KosKid carped:
So that's 2 DC lifers, 1 billionaire & 1 more Clinton vet. 50% of hires are Clintonites. Lobbyists abound...What's changing?
Obama's cabinet is at this point filled with DLC people, very centrist, anti populist, and big business among other things. We heard "change and clean up Washington" before from the last President and we got a redux on Nixon's and Reagan's people. Now we are getting a redux of the 90's Clinton people, that doesn't spell change to me...
Looks like some of the more extreme far left liberals are starting to feel they were sold a bill of goods.
Hot Air has provided a video of Eric Holder, who is said to be Barack Obama's Attorney General (AG) pick, from 1999 speaking about "reasonable restrictions, reasonable regulations in how people interact on the Internet".
His comments from 1999 were in reference to the Columbine shooters, but his intent is clear when he states, Via NewsBusters:
The court has really struck down every government effort to try to regulate it. We tried with regard to pornography. It is gonna be a difficult thing, but it seems to me that if we can come up with reasonable restrictions, reasonable regulations in how people interact on the Internet, that is something that the Supreme Court and the courts ought to favorably look at. - May 28, 1999 NPR Morning Edition
Morrissey, from Hot Air, reasonably points to the First Amendment:
Pardon me, but I’m looking at the First Amendment (in my official Robert Byrd Pocket Constitution, natch), and I’m a bit confused. Where in this statement does it say that the government has the authority to impose “reasonable restrictions” on speech?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech. That appears rather clear. It doesn’t authorize “reasonable restrictions”, or “reasonable regulations”, or what Holder really wants, “reasonable federal censorship”.
Let us be very clear here folks. There is a lot wrong with some of the free speech I see on a daily basis, but the basic fact is, it IS free speech and it is up to people to decide whether certain speech should be ignored or listened to, it is not up to the government to decide what can and cannot be said, in fact, as Morrissey points out, it is in the First Amendment that government cannot abridge "the freedom of speech, or of the press".
That is as clear as it gets and it is not something that Obama, nor Holder as AG has the right to change, nor attempt to change in any way, shape or form.
NewsBusters, linked above, makes this point:
As tragic as Columbine was, Holder’s reaction to stifle free speech on the internet is nonetheless disturbing. Combine his zeal for what he may consider “reasonable regulations” along with his advocacy for a federal hate crime law(H/T to National Review), and internet users may find themselves in a world of legal woe after the Obama administration takes over in January.
Once the government starts telling us what we can or cannot write or say, we have lost our Free Speech.
Listen to the video again if you have any doubts about what Holder's comment states outright.
BLOGGERS: Real Clear Politics refuses to allow Reader Articles concerning Barack Obama's citizenship. My latest post reports a scheduled Supreme Court conference on this very issue. My post was removed from RCP today. In fact, every post, by most bloggers, covering Barack Obama's citizenship has been scrubbed from RCP.
Most of us think what the Supreme Court does is news worthy. Not the case at RCP. The question is: why does RCP not deem actions by the U.S. Supreme Court important for readers to know about?
PLEASE, if you have not posted about this already, grab this and cross-post at your blog. Let's get the information out and send some letters to the Supreme Court.
*****
Justice Clarence Thomas has placed a discussion of Barack Obama's citizenship on the December 5th docket for conference, meaning a discussion of the merit of this particular case.
A commenter at America's Right, who has been the leading source of excellent information on the various lawsuits, is requesting that we write directly to the Supreme Court:
The Honorable Associate Justice Clarence Thomas United States Supreme Court One First St. N. E. Washington DC 20543
Put docket # on Envelope 08-A407
Ask him UPHOLD our Constitution with Full Disclosure as the only Constitutionally viable answer.
One commenter said he/she was sending a copy of his letter to each of the nine Justices. Good idea!
The Supreme Court's website listed the date for the case brought by Leo C. Donofrio against Nina Wells, the Secretary of State in New Jersey, over not only Obama's name on the 2008 election ballot but those of two others, Sen. John McCain and Roger Calero.
The case, unsuccessful at the state level, had been submitted to Justice David Souter, who rejected it. The case then was resubmitted to Justice Clarence Thomas. The next line on the court's docket says: "DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 5, 2008."
Jeff Schreiber at America's Right has followed this case closely. His post today reports:
As for New Jersey firebrand and attorney Leo Donofrio, his application for an emergency stay was denied by Justice Souter, Donofrio was able to refile and resubmit it to the Justice of his choosing, and properly did so. Today, the docket for his action shows that after being put before Justice Clarence Thomas, the application will be discussed by the Court in a December 5, 2008 conference.
Normally, during their term, the Supreme Court Justices conference on Wednesday (typically, but not always) and review the various petitions and applications before them, deciding which of the many such proceedings should be heard by the Court. I suspect that we could soon see a similar entry on the docket for Berg's case as well.
Now, this does not mean that the Court has decided to hear either of these matters and, in fact, is fairly typical when it comes to the process. Still, for those hoping to have these cases heard on their merits, for those who feel these issues are more about the United States Constitution than Barack Obama, this is a step in the right direction.
I read a piece on Talk Left about a couple of blog analyzers, so of course, being curious as I am, I had to try them.
The first determines what level of education is required to read your blog and Talk Left shows that their rating was that their blog's reading level was high school and below are the results for Wake up America (http://www.wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com) .
The second analyzer Talk Left point to is called the Gender Analyzer and I am afraid that one proved to be way off.
For Talk Left, the analyzer determined:
We guess http://talkleft.com is written by a man (51%), however it's quite gender neutral.
For Wake up America, it says:
We think http://www.wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/ is written by a man (85%).
My listing of contributors show we have six male contributors and eight females, including myself with the females and males writing about equally excluding myself since generally I write the majority of posts for this blog. There are certain contributors that only post here periodically or when I go on vacation, but all in all, 85% of the pieces are not generated by males.(Excluding the last two weeks since I have written far less)
Just a little fun with online analyzers and back to regularly scheduled programming now.....
Abortion seems to be one of those flies swarming around President Elect Barack Obama. He has championed partial birth abortion and attempted to deny basic health care to children that survive abortions all while in the Illinois Senate. Now he is in the position to sign into law bills that could damage both the pro-life and the pro-choice movements.
Saturday the American Sentinel published a thought provoking article about how abortions affect the black community and if anyone has noticed the conflict of interest within the black community by voting in a man who supports the very action that is killing 5% of the black population. It has been reported that 50 abortions happen per 1000 black women. However the numbers are far more alarming when you consider abortions per live births for black women,543 abortions happen per 1000 births .
The California Supreme Court has agreed to review legal challenges to Proposition 8, which was the recently passed ban on gay-marriage, passing with 52 percent of the vote and they also refused to halt the enforcement of the ban which bans any same-sex marriages from taking place until their final decision.
They will not hear the cases until March 2009 according to LA Times.
Reporting from Los Angeles and San Francisco Jessica Garrison -- The California Supreme Court voted 6 to 1 on Wednesday to review legal challenges to Proposition 8, the voter initiative that restored a ban on same-sex marriage, but refused to permit gay weddings to resume pending a final decision.
The court may hold a hearing on the lawsuits as early as March, a timetable that scholars said was swift considering the complexity and importance of the legal issues.
The court's action, taken during a closed conference, suggested that the court wants to resolve all of the legal issues surrounding Proposition 8, including the fate of existing gay marriages, in a single ruling.
The California Supreme Court News Release is a four page PDF document, two pages with the statements and two pages attached consisting of the signed order itself.
Full statement:
California Supreme Court Takes Action on Proposition 8
High Court Denies Requests to Stay Enforcement of Proposition 8 and Agrees to Decide Issues Arising Out of Proposition 8
San Francisco—The California Supreme Court today denied requests to stay the enforcement or implementation of Proposition 8, and at the same time agreed to decide several issues arising out of the passage of Proposition 8.
The court’s order, issued in the first three cases that had been filed directly in the state’s highest court challenging the validity of Proposition 8, directed the parties to brief and argue three issues:
(1) Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution?
(2) Does Proposition 8 violate the separation-of-powers doctrine under the California Constitution?
(3) If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Proposition 8?
The court issued its order in three cases filed on behalf of a variety of parties, including same-sex couples who seek to enter into marriage despite the passage of Proposition 8, a same-sex couple who married in California prior to the adoption of Proposition 8, and a number of cities and counties whose officials seek to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Petitioners in each of these cases seek an order directing the relevant state officials to refrain from implementing, enforcing, or applying Proposition 8.
In response to the petitions, the Attorney General filed a preliminary opposition, in which he urged the court to assume jurisdiction over these cases to decide the important legal issues presented, but also argued that the court should not stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court’s resolution of the issues. The proponents of Proposition 8 also responded to the petitions, seeking to intervene as formal parties in the action and also urging the court to accept the cases for decision. The court’s order granted the motion to intervene filed by the proponents of Proposition 8.
In its order, the court established an expedited briefing schedule, under which briefing will be completed in January 2009 and oral argument potentially could be held as early as March 2009.
Six justices—Chief Justice Ronald M. George, Justice Marvin R. Baxter, Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar, Justice Ming W. Chin, Justice Carlos R. Moreno, and Justice Carol A. Corrigan—signed the court’s order, although Justice Moreno indicated that he would grant the requests to stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court’s resolution of these matters.
Justice Joyce L. Kennard would deny these petitions without prejudice to the filing in the Supreme Court of an appropriate action to determine Proposition 8’s effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before Proposition 8’s adoption.
Campaign for Children and Families, which is a proponent for Proposition 8, issued a statement at their website:
"It's unfortunate that the judges are giving time to the mushy, subjective arguments of homosexual activists who reject the clear reading of the constitution and the clear reading of Proposition 8. If the court disobeys the constitution by voiding Prop. 8, it will ignite a voter revolt. It will also threaten the validity of all future constitutional amendments.
"The court is playing with fire by threatening to destroy the people's vote on marriage. The California Constitution clearly says that the voters have the right to alter the highest law of the land. It's the beauty of the American system of government. The four Supreme Court justices who unconstitutionally invented homosexual 'marriages' -- Ron George, Joyce Kennard, Kathryn Werdegar and Carlos Moreno -- seem to be ignoring the fact that the people get the last word, not the judges.
"The clear reading of the constitution, as well as California's legal and legislative history, tells us there is a world of difference between a constitutional amendment and a constitutional revision. Proposition 8 is a single-subject, voter-initiated amendment, not a legislature-initiated, multi-issue, whole-scale revision that alters many sections of the state constitution.
"If Prop. 8 gutted the constitution, why is it only one subject in one section of the constitution? If Prop. 8 doesn't stand, then our constitution doesn't mean anything, the people's vote doesn't mean anything, marriage has been utterly disrespected, and judges lied when they swore to uphold the constitution. Prop. 8 must stand, because the constitution is above the judges, not the other way around.
Protect Marriage.com General Counsel Andy Pugno, also a proponent of Proposition 8, also released a statement:
“This is a great day for the rule of law and the voters of California. This order means that voters will get their day in court and ensures that voters will have a vigorous defense of Proposition 8 before the California Supreme Court. We are profoundly gratified with the Court’s order and are confident that Proposition 8 will be upheld.”
According to the original LA Times' article, linked above, Pugno also stated:
"We see today as a grand slam. Everything we asked for was granted."
ACLU of Northern California, opponents of Proposition 8, via staff attorney Elizabeth Gill:
We’re disappointed that the court didn’t issue a stay, but we’re very encouraged that the court is taking the case.
Other reactions:
Shannon Price Minter, a lawyer for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the litigants, expressed gratitude for the "extremely fast" time- table and disappointment that the court did not permit same-sex marriages to resume pending a final ruling.
"We are concerned that there may be some couples who will never be able to marry because of this because of death or illness," Minter said.
In the meantime, the opponents of Proposition 8, many of the gay activists are still indulging in very violent behavior, which we have shown examples of over the last couple of weeks and can be seen in the video below:
The ending bell rang on wall street today to another dip in the Dow. The Dow now at 7997.28 is a result of a 427.47 point drop today amidst fears of a crumpling auto industry.
CEO's of the Big Three auto makers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler), flew in their private jets to Capitol Hill where they came before Congress to beg for tax payer dollars. The company heads were met with support and cynicism from various senators. The Big 3 are seeking an additional $25 Billion. The $25 billion is on top of a previous allotment of $25 billion meant to keep the companies afloat while they develop more fuel efficient and "green" cars.
The GM CEO state there would be 3 million jobs lost in the 1st year of the industry falls. However some senators have expressed discontent with giving money to an industry that already shipped thousands of jobs over seas leaving Ohio and Michigan in particular in deeper recessions than the rest of the nation.
The full transcript and video can be found at The Jawa Report, and the paragraph referred to in the title is below:
And in you and in Colin Powell, Rice and your likes, the words of Malcolm X (may Allah have mercy on him) concerning “House Negroes” are confirmed.You also must appreciate, as you take over the presidency of America during its Crusade against Islam and Muslims, that you are neither facing individuals nor organizations, but are facing a Jihadi awakening and renaissance which is shaking the pillars of the entire Islamic world; and this is the fact which you and your government and country refuse to recognize and pretend not to see.
The posting, an 11 minute and 23 second audio message in Arabic with subtitles in English, appeared on the Web on Wednesday. Its authenticity cannot yet be confirmed.
It shows a graphic with the words "The departure of Bush and the arrival of Obama." That graphic also contains a still image of Malcolm X on a Muslim prayer rug in a mosque; images of Obama, wearing a Jewish skullcap, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and a picture of al-Zawahiri.
There are also archival videos in the message, including clips of speeches from Malcolm X.
"You have reached the position of president, and a heavy legacy of failure and crimes awaits you. A failure in Iraq to which you have admitted, and a failure in Afghanistan to which the commanders of your army have admitted," the message said.
Breaking News: Ted Stevens (R-AK), the longest serving Republican United States Senator, has lost the race for his coveted seat to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D-AK). Mayor Begich won by about 3,000 votes. A recount could ensue.
Stevens was convicted earlier this year on seven felony accounts for neglecting to report contributions from a political "ally." These are listed as Federal Corruption Charges.
Corruption is right, looks like "Uncle Ted" has been given the boot. Apparently some people are weeping that Republicans lost one more seat to a Democrat, but honestly this one was well deserved. He is a convicted felon. Convicted felons are not even allowed to vote in this country, why would one be allowed to run for office?
Now I am not all that thrilled with Ted, but lets be honest, getting a little gift here and there is not anything big. Still being able to be bought is just despicable. Look, this is Senator Steven's 84th Birthday, so I am not going to dig into the guy too much. He served his country, whether or not he took some kickbacks he did do good for Alaska, so in that essence he did well for his constituents.
The Valour-IT bloggers' fundraising campaign is well underway and, as in previous years, an auction is now being added. The following press release was issued today, so it is a good idea to get your bids in now! Remember, this campaign ends on Thanksgiving Day, but the need and value of these laptops for our precious wounded heroes is year-round:
Soldier's Angels
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Best-Selling Authors Provide Autographed Books to Support Project Valour-IT
Seven noted authors have stepped up to support Project Valour-IT by donating autographed books for auction, and more are anticipated to join them. The books are being auctioned on eBay to help raise money to help Soldier's Angels provide adaptive laptops to wounded or disabled service members.
David Weber, David Drake, John Ringo, David J. Williams, Dean Ing, Mark L. Van Name, and Travis "Doc" Taylor have all agreed to provide works for auction as part of the annual fundraiser, which kicked off on Veterans Day and ends Thanksgiving Day. The works are being auctioned on the eBay Giving Works listings (seller spliffslips) with the money raised going directly and fully to the Project Valour-IT fund.
Currently, there are seven items up for bid on eBay:
Works by David Weber, Dave Williams, and Dean Ing will be posted for auction soon. The end time for each auction is different, so please check each listing to determine its end date.
John Ringo is a New York Times best-selling author with more than a million copies of his works in print. A veteran (Airborne!), he is known for his solo "Posleen" and "Ghost" series, as well as his "Empire of Man" series co-authored with David Weber.
Travis S. "Doc" Taylor is a rising light in the science fiction sky. He's earned not only a Ph.D. in optical science and engineering, but Master's degrees in physics, aerospace engineering, and astronomy and a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering as well. The author of several books, he may be best known for the "Looking Glass" series co-authored with John Ringo. The start of a series of video interviews with Taylor can be found here.
David Drake is the New York Times best-selling author of the "Hammer's Slammers" series. Having written on a variety of subjects, his Hammer's Slammers work is based on his service in Vietnam and he is known to describe the series as the 11th Armored Cavalry with ray guns. The start of a series of video interviews with Drake can be found at here.
Mark L. Van Name is an author who also runs a technology assessment company in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. A former Executive Vice President for Ziff Davis Media and national technology columnist, he's published over a thousand computer-related articles in addition to his "Slanted Jack" series and numerous short stories. The start of a series of video interviews with Van Name can be found here.
David Weber is the New York Times best-selling author of the acclaimed "Honor Harrington" series. The author of multiple best-selling books and series, he has seen his works develop a world-wide reach and following. The start of a series of video interviews with him can be found here.
David J. Williams is another rising star in the science fiction universe. Born in Hertfordshire, England, he now resides in Washington, DC. Mirrored Heavens is his first novel.
Dean Ing is the author of multiple science fiction and techno-thriller novels. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he earned a doctorate in communications and worked in aerospace engineering. He served on the Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy.
Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes: Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.
Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions.
Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to TBI and severe PTSD.
The experience of Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops and other technologies can be to a wounded service member's recovery.
Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families. For more information, see www.soldiersangels.org or call 626-529-5114. Tax ID# 20-0583415
Joseph Lieberman, former Democrat turned Independent who votes with the Democratic Caucus about everything except National Security issues, backed John McCain for the presidency.
Barack Obama won the election the far far left liberal Democrats wanted Joe Lieberman "punished" by stripping his position as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, for daring to use his vote the way he thought best and after the Democratic caucus met, it was determined that Joe Lieberman would keep his chairmanship of that committee and lose chairmanship of a subcommittee for the Environment and Public Works Committee.
“He’s part of this caucus,” the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said after the Democratic caucus voted behind closed doors in the old Senate chamber off the Capitol Rotunda. “We are not looking back. We are looking forward.”
Mr. Lieberman, who had angered many Democrats by campaigning for his longtime friend Mr. McCain and sharply criticizing Mr. Obama, emerged from the private session looking pleased. He called the result “fair and forward-looking” and one of “reconciliation and not retribution.”
YouTube clip of Harry Reid making the announcement below, published by TPM.
The far far left liberal Democrats across the web have been actively campaigning for Lieberman's removal from the Democratic caucus as well as his being stripped of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and with today's news about this not happening, a few of them are howling in outrage as evidenced by Jane Hamsher from FireDogLake:
I hope this puts to rest the notion that this is all some master stroke of kumbayah, of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.
This is about telling you that you mean nothing. That democracy is a nice word, but it should never threaten the entitlement of the most exclusive club in the world.
No matter what Joe Lieberman does, the people who are protecting him hate you much more than they hate him.
The same type of temper tantrum can be found over at Americablog:
Maybe we don't need those extra Senate seats in Alaska, Minnesota and Georgia. I mean, I'd love for Begich, Franken and Martin to win, but what's the point? Why bust our asses for these guys, for the party, when people like LIeberman, who actually campaigned AGAINST some of these guys, are rewarded for their betrayal? It's becoming increasingly clear that the current crop of Democrats are genetically incapable of showing, or growing, a spine. The only way to get anything in this party is to publicly betray the party, to beat the living crap out of them, to stick the knife in deep and twist. Lesson duly noted.
Blah blah blah blah blah... no doubt when another election comes up they will suck it up and do what the Democratic politicians know they will do and vote party anyway, but for now, they are having their little hissy fits.
Last example, so it doesn't get repetitive but shows the basic theme of the far far left's howling at the moon in outrage, comes from Daily Kos:
But in all seriousness, I think we've now learned that Joe Lieberman is the smartest politician in DC. He knew Democrats were spineless capitulators who would cave at the merest threat no matter how many times he shit in their face.
He's probably having a great laugh about it just about now.
Given how much he is hated by his constituents, he at least knows that the Senate Democratic caucus are a bunch of spineless asses utterly unwilling and unable to deliver the change the American people requested.
Chris Cillizza from The Washington Post's "The Fix" pretty much sums it up:
Asked what it would mean if Lieberman kept his chairmanship, one Senate Democratic aide said bluntly: "The left has been foiled again. They can rant and rage but they still do not put the fear into folks to actually change their votes. Their influence would be in question."
So, in many ways, the public attacks on "the Left" from congressional Democrats - while motivated from their Reagan-era cultural hatred of Dirty Fucking Hippies - is to be completely expected from a party that has failed to deliver on every major progressive promise it has made, and has nonetheless faced no real retribution. It is par for the course from leaders who quite understandably feel little fear from a still-weak progressive movement.
They believe - with justifiable reason - that come election time we'll all forget their failings, whether failing to end the war or failing to disempower Lieberman. They believe that most "progressive movement" activists will actually do what they did during the last election - berate anyone who floats the idea that movement organizing and carrot-and-stick treatment of the Democratic Party during election time is actually a good thing. They believe, in short, that come 2010, we'll all fall in line and be an ATM machine of partisan campaign contributions and candidate volunteer time because we are still very much organized as a party, not a movement.
And here's the thing: Except for a few fleeting primaries, most of recent history suggests their calculation is right.
So, bottom line is, Lieberman got a little slap on the wrist, but kept what was most important to him. Senate Democrats showed they would not cave to netroots and far left liberals of their party and the netroots are "claiming" they are understand they cannot force their politicians to comply with them, and whining about how they aren't "respected", while throwing tantrums.
They will still fall in line like robotic lapdogs in 2010.
You catch more whining and fits of temper over at memeorandum.
It is all explained over at ZombieTime and please take the time to read the whole thing.
By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won.
If our media, our incoming administration, our outgoing administration and out cowardly politicians won't inform the people, then maybe it is time for you to look at the information for yourself and either dispute it or acknowledge it.
Congratulations to our military and to President Bush, because without their courage in the face of defeat, we never would have obtained VICTORY IN IRAQ.
Check out the banner above. This is from an organization called Survivor Corp. Here’s an excerpt from a recent blog entry on their site:
Homecoming Is A Process, Not A Parade Nov 17, 2008 U.S. Army Captain (Retired) Scott Quilty knows first hand about the challenge of recovering from both the wounds of war. On October 1, 2006, Scott was on patrol in Iraq when he was severely injured by an improvised explosive device.
“I lost my arm and my leg in Iraq, but I gained a sense of self. The toughest part for me was answering some of those existential questions, ‘How am I going to go on from here, and how will I take care of my family?’ Now I am working to rise above my circumstance and give back to others.”
Scott joined Survivor Corps in 2008 as the manager of the U.S. Program. The U.S. Program links veterans and service members to each other for support. “I know from personal experience that some of the best help comes from those who have been there too,” explains Quilty.
Of the more than one and a half million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, an estimated 20% have reported symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or major depression. Roughly 200,000 veterans are homeless, and the suicide rate among service members and veterans is the highest it has been since the Vietnam War. READ MORE
Stop by Survivor Corp when you get a chance and donate if you are able.
Warning, video as well as accounts of what happened may be offensive in language and content.
Video found at YouTube here and shown below. Titled "JHOPSF - Chased out of the Castro District - 11-14-08"
The background from KTVU.com and below that will be an eyewitness account.
In San Francisco's Castro District, people on both sides of the same-sex marriage controversy confronted each other on Friday night, as police tried to keep the peace. Proposition 8 passed in a close vote and eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Members of the gay community said that almost every Friday night, a Christian group meets at the corner of Castro and 18th Streets. They try to convert gays and lesbians into a straight lifestyle.
This Friday night, the message didn't go over well. Some gays and lesbians reacted by trying to chase the group out of the Castro.
"Their rights were respected," said Joe Schmitz, an opponent of Prop 8. "They got a chance to go ahead and pray on the sidewalk and I had the opportunity to express my freedom of speech which is telling them to get out of my neighborhood."
San Francisco Police officers in riot gear formed a line and escorted the religious group into a van to safely get them out of the area.
We wanted to write you and fill you guys in on what happened to our team here in San Francisco last night. This is what happened from Daniel's point of view and gives a pretty good overview of the night.
I went to the Castro (the homosexual district of San Francisco) with JHOPSF (I have been with the Justice House of Prayer San Francisco since April 2008.) like we usually do on Friday nights. Normally, we sit on 18th and Castro, and someone plays the guitar, and we all worship God. Often times people will be drawn to us, even if only for curiosity of what we're doing, so we get to talk to them, and tell them about the Love of Jesus Christ. On rare occasions, when the Holy Spirit clearly guides one of us (Usually a leader, probably Roger), one person will open-air preach for a little bit.
Sometimes a person will yell at us, or maybe a few. Sometimes people will ignore us. Sometimes people will let us pray with them. We get different responses from different people each time, but the Lord always meets us there.
This time was not a normal night. It was the first time we'd been back in the Castro to do our normal outreach since California Proposition 8, which defined marriage as "one man with one woman" was passed. Apparently, previously, someone at a no on 8 rally singled out Promised Land Fellowship (The church that we attend), and specifically the team they send out to the Castro on Friday nights (Us) as being affiliated with the yes on 8 campaign (Which is partially true. All the individuals involved with the Castro Outreach were involved with the yes on 8 campaign, but mostly in prayer. However, the Castro Outreach isn't about Gay marriage, or politics - it's about Jesus Christ.).
We played the guitar and sang together and worshiped the Lord. Nobody preached. Nobody even really talked to anyone except for a little bit near the beginning. After just singing and worshiping God for a while, Roger decided that we should all hold hands in a circle and continue singing. So we did.
Someone (Actually a person who came up and hugged and kissed some of us who he knew from the past and was asking us how we were doing) convinced some people that we were there to protest against the no on 8 campaign. Then some guy who was dressed up like one of the sisters (The sisters of perpetual indulgence is a group of men who dress up in drag like nuns and call themselves the spiritual authority of the Castro.) took a curtain-type thing (Which I think they use to curse people) and wrapped it around us.
Then a crowd started gathering. We began to sing "Amazing Grace", and basically sang that song the whole night. (At some points we also sang "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" and "Oh the Blood of Jesus".)
At first, they just shouted at us, using crude, rude, and foul language and calling us names like "haters" and "bigots". Since it was a long night, I can't even begin to remember all of the things that were shouted and/or chanted at us.
Then, they started throwing hot coffee, some people got it in their faces, soda and alcohol on us and spitting (and maybe even peeing) on us. Then, a group of guys surrounded us with whistles, and blasted them inches away from our ears continually.
Then, they started getting violent and started shoving us. We just gathered in as tight as we could together and worshiped singing Amazing Grace. At one point a man tried to steal one of our Bibles. Chrisdene noticed, so she walked up to him and said "Hey, that's not yours, can you please give it back?". He responded by hitting her on the head with the Bible, shoving her to the ground, and kicking her. I called the cops, and when they got there, they pulled her out of the circle and asked her if she wanted to press charges. She said "No, tell him I forgive him." Afterwards, she didn't rejoin us in the circle, but she made friends with one of the people in the crowd, and really connected heart to heart.
Roger got death threats. As the leader of our group, people looked him in the eyes and said "I am going to kill you.", and they were serious. A cop heard one of them, and confronted him.
(This part is kinda graphic, so you should skip the paragraph if you don't want to be offended.) It wasn't long before the violence turned to perversion. They were touching and grabbing me, and trying to shove things in my butt, and even trying to take off my pants - basically trying to molest me. I used one hand to hold my pants up, while I used the other arm to hold one of the girls. The guys huddled around all the girls, and protected them.
Soon after, the cops came and stood between us and the mob. When it was getting more heated, the cops were like "You guys should leave." because it was getting harder to protect us. and Roger said "We want to stay." Then he said if you want to get out you have to get out now.
Someone tried to steal my backpack, but I tapped a cop on the shoulder, and said "Hey, that's my bag." and he got it from him and gave it to me. Others weren't so lucky. Probably half our team got their jackets stolen.
Eventually, as the crowd was getting more and more uncontrollable, the cops were afraid for our lives, so they escorted us to our van. (The cops were very nice to us from start to finish.) Our van was parked pretty far because it was hard to find parking that day. As the cops escorted us, the mob followed us, until the cops formed a line, and held off the people so we could drive away. We took the long way home, just in case anyone tried to follow us.
When we got home, we prayed and sang more, and then prayed over each-other.The whole experience made me love, and brought me closer to God, and my friends, and the people in the Castro, as well as the church in general, and the lost in general.
Please know my heart. All of what we do is for the Love of Jesus Christ, and the love for those in the Castro. The Bible says to love God, and then love people. We can only love because He loved us first. We can't hate the people because they are just broken and blinded by the spirit of this age. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against Principalities and Powers. It's not a political thing, we just love the people. We don't want to convert gays to straight people. We want them to know the Love of Jesus Christ. Even if someone never becomes attracted to the other sex, they can still love Jesus Christ with all their heart, mind, and soul.
As the mob raged, all I could pray was "God have mercy.". It really is all about God's mercy. He desires mercy over judgment. He desires for all to be saved.
One of the things that I remember them chanting was "Shame on you.". One of our girls later pointed out how, in some weird way, it's a privilege for us, because we know that Jesus bore all our shame, and all our transgressions on the cross, so it's kinda like taking on their shame, so we can cast it onto Jesus.
This is the raw footage of the walk from 18th and Castro Street to our car. It was only the very tail end of the night and says that we were all about prop8... when in reality we had nothing to do with prop 8 this night.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/17986914/detail.html
May the Holy Lord God Almighty, Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is To Come, be glorified, now and forevermore. Amen. -Daniel-
Thank you for praying for us, and more for this people in the Castro. We have found ourselves even more broken over them. We love you!
Missy
Whether one agrees with the sentiment of the Justice House of Prayer San Francisco or not, they do have the right of free speech and to hold their sessions, just as their opponents have the right to protest them.
Physical abuse, on the other hand is not a right of the gay activists that clearly are out of control, to the point where the police, in riot gear, had to step in.
This is just a conservative point of view as many from the left, gay activists themselves are practically pleading for the violent activists to cease and desist.
Some of the fringe elements in the gay community risk undoing the massive, positive wave of peaceful protest this weekend with intolerance and even violence. Cut it out, morons. It's sickening. Christians - even Christianists, who seek to impose their religious convictions into laws that would actively punish gay couples - nonetheless have First Amendment rights that must be respected at all times.
I'm really worried about where this is heading. Somebody is going to get killed and we're all going to lose. I'm pissed, we're all fucking pissed, but this is going to a bad place. And I say that knowing that if I had been in the Castro on Friday night, I probably would have been right there in it. We've got the moral upper hand in this fight and every day more and more people see that. Be we have GOT to keep these things peaceful. Yell, fuck yeah, YELL. But don't touch. Don't hit. Don't throw. Please.
Needless to say, but I am going to say it anyway, is that not all gay activists are taking to the streets in a violent manner, but those who are, are completely out of control and it is escalating.
There was a vote on Proposition 8, 52 percent of Californians voted to pass a ban on gay marriage. It passed.
PERIOD.
Move on.
Gay activists need to work towards guaranteeing the same types of rights afforded to people married under the traditional definition of marriage, fight for those rights, but use the courts to do so, not your fists, threats or intimidation, because those will backfire and already are showing a backlash.
Below I will be showing Radarsite's post from last night, but before I do, let me take a moment to mention a few things.
Roger Gardner is a contributor here at Wake up America and writes for his own blog called Radarsite and he contributes to quite a few other blogs as well.
Over the last year and a half, I have come to understand Roger is a great American man, in his 70's, lives alone and works tirelessly writing and trying to do his part in bringing information he believes is important to readers across the web.
I have watched Roger building his blog, tried to help answer questions when he was learning about blogging, helped to show him how to add videos and small things like that over the last year and a half, and was amazed at how fast he was able to learn how to network, how to advertise, how to add his own touch and feel to each of his pieces.
He has taken to blogging like a fish to water and took off at a dead run and never stopped, sometimes working throughout the whole night many times with more energy than those of us decades younger could possibly find.
Dear loyal Radarsite readers -- This is a strange message for me to be writing. But it must be done. But how? What can I say? I think I'll just say it up front. Two days ago I got diagnosed with acute leukemia. It is considered "lethal". I have been told that it could come to an end in as short a time as 2 weeks. I have been allowed to come home for one night before I go into the hospital tomorrow for chemo. If I survive the first week, things could get better, if I survive four weeks thing could really get better. However, as of now the first prognosis does seem the most likely. I think we all wonder how we might react to news like this. At this point I can tell you that I am in a good mood, and I have accepted it and I have nothing but gratitude that I have been allowed to live this long, and to have found such a fulfilling mission this late in life.
I am so grateful to have made so many good friends and to have found so many worthy patriots who love this great country of ours as much as I do, not despite what we have done but because of what we have done.
This may be my last article and of course I would like it to be my best. I would like to fill it with everything I have learned or felt. I would like to say something really profound and meaningful, but I just can't. I'm getting too tired right now to go much further.
I can only say thank you for all I have learned from you and for your steadfast loyalty. My fondest hope of course would be that I would come back home all cured and find this article to be an embarrassment to me. lol But of course that's not up to me.
Please, all of you, all of you who are my fellow warriors, all of you who have commented here, and all of you who have been quiet readers, keep up the good fight, and I hope that you have enjoyed me as much as I have enjoyed you.
With great respect, Roger W. Gardner Radarsite
His friends, as I and others are honored to call ourselves, are keeping in touch with him and will bring updates on how he is doing, how he is responding to treatment.
One simple word has caused protests that have come near rioting. The emotions, the turmoil, it is heartbreaking really how betrayed so many people feel, gay or straight.
Okay enough with the gush, let's get down to business.
First off allow me to say, I do not care who you love, who you live with, and who you choose to commit to. I may not exactly agree if you marry your car or a dolphin, but that is your choice. I believe in choice, I am an American.
Now with that out of the way lets talk about this marriage thing. Marriage is a union between one man and one woman. That is a traditional definition in the United States where 80% of the country is defined as Christian. That is right, the majority of the society sets that definition, if you do not like that tough.
Most Christians I have spoken with have expressed a very simple view to me, they want the word marriage left alone. They do not care who you love, or what you do in your private life. They may disagree with it, but they are Christians, they believe in choice and free will.
So here is the problem the LGBT community wants the legal definition of the word Marriage to include a union between two people of any sex or orientation. In essence they want to take a word that 80% of the population defines in a traditional manner of one man and one woman and change it. Obviously that is not going to make people happy that they have to change their point of view on a word that describes not only a legality but a religious ceremony.
The passage of Prop 8 kept marriage as a union between one man and one woman. And now the LGBT community is throwing a royal hissy fit and mostly it is over a simple problem with a simple fix. In fact it is a simple fix written into our constitution and expressed by Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptists, Separation of Church and State.
The NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which is run by Al Gore's chief scientific ally, Dr James Hansen, and is one of four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures, has just taken yet another massive credibility hit.
They announced that last month was the hottest October on record.
The problem and the hit to their credibility is they were not using accurate data and twp blogs, Watts Up With That and Climate Audit discovered the error when they were doing a detailed analysis of the GISS data.
This was startling. Across the world there were reports of unseasonal snow and plummeting temperatures last month, from the American Great Plains to China, and from the Alps to New Zealand. China's official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its "worst snowstorm ever". In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered 63 local snowfall records and 115 lowest-ever temperatures for the month, and ranked it as only the 70th-warmest October in 114 years.
So what explained the anomaly? GISS's computerised temperature maps seemed to show readings across a large part of Russia had been up to 10 degrees higher than normal. But when expert readers of the two leading warming-sceptic blogs, Watts Up With That and Climate Audit, began detailed analysis of the GISS data they made an astonishing discovery. The reason for the freak figures was that scores of temperature records from Russia and elsewhere were not based on October readings at all. Figures from the previous month had simply been carried over and repeated two months running.
After the blogs reported the error, GISS immediately started revising their figures and statistics.
This only made the confusion worse because, to compensate for the lowered temperatures in Russia, GISS claimed to have discovered a new "hotspot" in the Arctic - in a month when satellite images were showing Arctic sea-ice recovering so fast from its summer melt that three weeks ago it was 30 per cent more extensive than at the same time last year.
A GISS spokesman lamely explained that the reason for the error in the Russian figures was that they were obtained from another body, and that GISS did not have resources to exercise proper quality control over the data it was supplied with. This is an astonishing admission: the figures published by Dr Hansen's institute are not only one of the four data sets that the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) relies on to promote its case for global warming, but they are the most widely quoted, since they consistently show higher temperatures than the others.
Worse yet, this is not the first time that Hansen’s methodology has been questioned and shown to be wrong after a major announcement.
Yet last week's latest episode is far from the first time Dr Hansen's methodology has been called in question. In 2007 he was forced by Mr Watts and Mr McIntyre to revise his published figures for US surface temperatures, to show that the hottest decade of the 20th century was not the 1990s, as he had claimed, but the 1930s.
When the world is busy trying to make determinations on what to do about global warming, it is difficult for them to make any informed judgment when the information they are receiving cannot be verified. Hot Air's Morrissey puts this perfectly:
NASA must investigate this episode at GISS and insist on reliable production of accurate statistics. If they have scientists who can’t tell September from October and can’t recognize a cooling cycle in the Arctic, then they need new leadership at GISS, starting with Hansen. The admission from GISS that they can’t verify their source data when reaching to conclusions should embarrass scientists throughout the profession, as verification of data is absolutely necessary before reaching any conclusions. Without that, GISS may as well be studying the entrails of goats to make predictions about the future climate.
People can scream about global warming all day long, but Earth was here before we were and it will be around after we are all extinct, and cooking the books, producing flawed data to support one position or another will bring nothing at all to the table.
Hansen, Al Gore and GISS have done nothing but float large announcements, based on discredited information that we now see cannot be verified.
It seems that the LGBT Americans have decided to take their protest against the passage of Prop 8 ( and similar initiatives in 30, yes count them 30 states) to the extreme and have crossed the border of freedom of speech.
Earlier today a group of LGBT prop 8 opponents attacked an elderly woman in support of the passage of Prop 8. Phyliss and a few others decided to brave the anger and carry a cross in the midst of the protest to show their support for a traditional definition of marriage. Not that I disagree with free speech but HELLO! Just go in the middle of a bunch of angry people and instigate, real smart! That being said the attack is ridiculous. She is an elderly woman, she could not have possibly defended herself against that lard ass protester who was stomping on her cross.
Of course it isn't just the bravely stupid who go in the middle of angry mobs who are getting a good toss. It seems if you are an elderly couple with Vote Yes on Prop 8 signs in your yard you are worth 100 points each!
accused of punching an elderly couple because they had Yes On Prop 8 signs in their yard says he’s innocent.
Thursday, Lawrence Pizzicara pleaded not guilty to attacking his neighbors on Monday allegedly during an argument over Prop 8 signs.
The couple suffered numerous injuries.
Pizzicara is being held on $200,000 bail.
But wait, there's more. It seems many in the black and latino communities supported Proposition 8. I guess these LGBT's don't seem to get the gist of this "tolerance" thing. Rod 2.0 relates the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the dropping of the ever horrid N-Word.
Geoffrey, a student at UCLA and regular Rod 2.0 reader, joined the massive protest outside the Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Westwood. Geoffrey was called the n-word at least twice.
It was like being at a klan rally except the klansmen were wearing Abercrombie polos and Birkenstocks. YOU NIGGER, one man shouted at men. If your people want to call me a FAGGOT, I will call you a nigger. Someone else said same thing to me on the next block near the temple...me and my friend were walking, he is also gay but Korean, and a young WeHo clone said after last night the niggers better not come to West Hollywood if they knew what was BEST for them.
Los Angeles resident and Rod 2.0 reader A. Ronald says he and his boyfriend, who are both black, were carrying NO ON PROP 8 signs and still subjected to racial abuse.
Three older men accosted my friend and shouted, "Black people did this, I hope you people are happy!" A young lesbian couple with mohawks and Obama buttons joined the shouting and said there were "very disappointed with black people" and "how could we" after the Obama victory. This was stupid for them to single us out because we were carrying those blue NO ON PROP 8 signs! I pointed that out and the one of the older men said it didn't matter because "most black people hated gays" and he was "wrong" to think we had compassion. That was the most insulting thing I had ever heard. I guess he never thought we were gay.
All I have to say is WOW. And just for y'all to notice, in the youtube video up top the lard ass says "The blacks fought and that is what we have got to do." I am not sure if he has a healthy respect for blacks, but from my understanding the blacks didn't start the fights at the protests when they were championing civil rights. Correct me if I am wrong.
As far as being called a faggot, I have news for that guy who seems to think it is cute to throw around racial slurs. He was being as bad as a nagging contrary old woman. ( guess what the etymology of the word fag is defined as).
Now it is very important to note that the entire LGBT community is not represented by the radicals in their midst. In fact some have even protested in a very democratic way, a simple Black List.
Despite the negativity in this newscast, black lists of this fashion are not harassment. They represent the essence of free speech and capitalism. Free speech means you are free to say anything, but you are not free from the consequences of your actions. So if you supported Prop 8 through word or deed, you freely expressed your opinion that the legal definition of marriage is the traditional one of one man and one woman. If the LGBT community disagrees and does not want you to be able to continue to fund something they don't believe in, guess what they don't have to buy from you or support you in any way. That is their freedom, that is their right. Best deal with it, just like the LGBT's who became violent and racist will have to deal with the consequences of expressing their anger in a negative way.
President-elect Obama likes to tell people that his economic plan is similar to that of the one that President Clinton used to get us out of the economic funk in the early '90s.
The problem with that theory is that we were already in the middle of the Reagan Boom when Clinton became Pres. And even though there was slight downturn in 1991 by the time he was inaugurated the economy was already heading upwards. That's not to say that there was not another expansion at the end of Bubba's term but Obama has no Idea what caused that expansion.
By taking a look at the chart above you can see that there were 4 elements that created the economic boom in the Clinton Presidency:
The Death of Hillary Care
The Republican Take-over of Congress
Feds easing up on the money supply
A Cut in the Capital Gains Tax
CLICK HERE read more about the Myths of Clintonomics:
This latest survey by the Anti Defamation League show that most Americans believe that their religious/moral values are under attack by the Entertainment world. It also shows that Abe Foxman head of the ADL is too out of touch with America and the entire Jewish Community to be leading the organization.
American Attitudes on Religion, Moral Values and Hollywood, a national poll of 1,000 American adults conducted in October 2008 by The Marttila Communications Group, found that 61% of the American people continue to believe that religious values in this country are "under attack." The poll also found that 59% of Americans agree that "the people who run the TV networks and the major movie studios do not share the religious and moral values of most Americans.
This has to be a sign that the end of the world is approaching. During the past few hours of watch Fox News, at least 10 times I have seen a commercial advertising a Barack Obama commemorative coin set, called the Change Collection.
Topps, the company responsible for Baseball Cards is producing President Obama Cards, "Sure I will trade 2 Mickey Mantles for 1 Barack and 1 Michelle" And the Associated Press has even published a Glossary of Obama related words like Obamatopia, that must have Webster spinning around in his grave so fast that his remains could will be able to generate enough electricity to power New York City For a decade. Words like:
OBAMAPHORIA: The postelection rapture that swept over Obama's supporters worldwide.
OBAMANATION: A twist on "abomination," expressed by evangelicals and other conservatives who oppose Obama's stance on abortion, gay marriage and other social issues.
OBAMANOS: A play on "Vamonos," or "Let's go," among Obama fans in Mexico.
OBAMATOPIA: The political paradise that Obama's staunchest supporters hope he'll usher in.OBAMALUJAH: Exultation shouted by his fans.
OBAMATRONS: The policy wonks who will occupy the West Wing of his White House.
OBAMASCOPE: Media scrutiny of the new leader. (Example: "One hundred days after Barack Obama took office, newspaper editors put the president's economic plan under the Obamascope.")
OBAMANATOR: Hollywood-inspired nickname for the new president — even if he's got what California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger contends are "skinny legs" and "scrawny little arms."
OBAMALICIOUS: Complimentary term used by those who like Obama's looks.
OBAMALOHA: Goodbye, Obama-style, with a nod to Hawaii, his birthplace.
OH-BAMA: Joyful exclamation, via headlines in the Kennebec, Maine, Journal, The Register-Guard in Eugene, Ore., and The Namibian, from the southern African country of Namibia.
BAMELOT: Description of his presidency, from a New York Post headline that played on the youth and freshness of John F. Kennedy's administration that came to be known as "Camelot."
BARACKSTAR: Description from those who believe Obama is "the Mick Jagger of politics" (from Slate.com).
I have also been told that a High School in Detroit has named Obama one of the Top three presidents EVER--and the guy didn't even take office yet!!
This adoration even made my 18 year-old daughter who is an "Obamaniac" (where did I go wrong) physically ill.
All of this adoration is a good sign for those of us who believe in a free America. As Obama's team comes together we can see that from the head of his transition team to his Chief of Staff on down, the Obama administration will be resurrecting every one who served under Bill Clinton with the possible exception of Monica Lewinsky. Those Americans who are on the Oba-Messiah watch, are going to be very disappointed when the "Chosen One's" promised change is really a step backward. They might even say that the newly-crowned Messiah is just full of Bara-Krap.
Proposition 8, which was a measure on some ballots in the November elections, passed with 52 percent of the vote in California. Prop 8 was a ban against gay or same-sex marriage.
Recently we have brought news about Michigan Liberals from the Back Bash gay activist group attacking a church during services as well as other backlash against those that fought to get Prop 8 passed.
It has been 11 days since the election and the protests, violence and boycotts, has escalated against people, groups, churches and businesses that supported Proposition 8 and helped it to get passed.
Whether the measure is right or wrong, it was put on the ballot, it was voted on and it was passed by the majority, which is how our system works. People also own their vote and have the legal right to contribute and to help further their "cause," whether that cause is right or wrong.
This proposition will see the courtroom, no doubt about that as gay activists and groups that were opposed to Prop 8 challenge the legality in court.
Again, that is how things work within our system.
According to TIME, Mormons and blacks are being targeted by gay activists:
The Mormon Church is not the only group being singled out for criticism. African-Americans, 70% of whom voted yes on Proposition 8, according to a CNN exit poll, have become a target. According to eyewitness reports published on the Internet, racial epithets have been used against African-Americans at protests in California, directed even at blacks who are fighting to repeal Proposition 8.
(Hundreds of protesters converged on El Coyote on Beverly Boulevard on Wednesday night, and the picketing got so heated that LAPD officers in riot gear had to be called- Photo LA Times.)
"No matter your opinion of Proposition 8, we should all agree that it is wrong to intimidate and harass churches, businesses and individuals for participating in the democratic process," Ron Prentice, of ProtectMarriage.com, said in a statement. Boycotters were "unabashedly trampling on the rights of others," he said.
Activists behind the boycott effort argue they are simply exercising their political rights.
"People are determining who their friends are, and who are not their friends," said Fred Karger, a Los Angeles resident and retired political consultant. "I think people need to be held accountable for their financial support."
The activists have pored though campaign contribution databases and then "outed" Proposition 8 donors on sites like Facebook.com and craigslist.com. "People are going to do what they want, and it's in this society where you have campaign reporting that is all public information," said Karger.
Some gay rights activists also have gone onto the restaurant website yelp.com, giving bad reviews to eateries linked to the Yes on 8 movement.
"This one star is for their stance on Prop. 8," one poster wrote of El Coyote Mexican Cafe. "Enjoy it. . . . You deserve it."
TIME also reports that the campaign manager for Yes on Proposition 8, Frank Schubert, states, "No matter what you think of Proposition 8, we ought to respect people's right to participate in the political process. It strikes me as quite ironic that a group of people who demand tolerance and who claim to be for civil rights are so willing to be intolerant and trample on other people's civil rights."
That truly does seem to be the bottom line here. No matter where you stand on an issue, if it is on a public ballot to be voted on, then each person has the legal right to vote as they choose without fear of intimidation or harm.
Perhaps the activists should take aim at officials or laws that made it legal to put the measure on the ballot to begin with, instead of targeting people that fought for what they believed in.
Gay activists that are acting like children, stomping their feet and having a temper tantrum, vandalizing churches, publishing personal information about people that dared oppose your point of view, is nothing short of intimidation and should not be tolerated at all.
When judgments come down in favor of gay rights, gay activists like to proclaim loudly that it is the Democratic way, the people have spoken and all that jazz, yet when the people vote, by a majority, slim or not, and 52 percent IS a majority, against something those same activists do not agree with, they act like out of control little spoiled brats.
Guess what folks? Life isn't always fair and sometimes the majority of voters do not agree with a minority group, it happens, grow the hell up and deal with it and work harder next time to get your own proposals passed, but stop acting out and showing your own intolerance while proclaiming that others are intolerant of you.
That simply makes you look hypocritical.
(Disclaimer- Readers will notice that I have not voiced an opinion on gay-marriage in and of itself, nor will I. I have no dog in this race. The post is about our Republic which holds Democratic elections and how the people vote and laws, propositions and amendments get voted on, passed or rejected by the people.
Either respect the system or work to change it, but think long and hard about trying to intimidate people, for it can and will come back to bite you in the ass in other areas.)
Way back at the beginning of the US election cycle, I made the mistake of writing to the Obama camp to share my opinion on something. Since that day, I have been getting at LEAST three emails a day asking me for money, and I am REALLY sick of it. I was optimistic that once Obama was officially President-elect (or lost the election), that the begging barrage would stop! Not so far.
For many weeks, I have been getting emails in two of my email accounts, thanking me for my contributions, and assuring me that "it is people like you", etc etc..
Apart from chuckling - at first - that it really MIGHT be people like me that helped elect Obama, as every email from them trumpeted, let me assure any and all that the tone of that initial, fateful, email was anything BUT complimentary. I was actually taking them to task for something. No, don't ask what; that was way too long ago, and way too many Obama transgressions ago, for me to remember....
The New York Civil Liberties Union has demanded that city officials explain why they ordered a private art school to remove a banner displaying an image of Josef Stalin.
In a letter Thursday to the Department of Buildings, NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman expressed concern that the banner was taken down from The Cooper Union after some residents of the local Ukrainian community complained that it "seemed to promote" the Soviet dictator on the 75th anniversary of a famine he imposed. The famine, called the Holodomor, killed millions of Ukrainians.
The banner was part of an art exhibit, "Stalin by Picasso, or Portrait of Woman with Mustache." Lene Berg, the artist who created the banner, said it was intended to provoke discussion about the relationship between art and politics.
The 52-foot-by-36-foot banner features a reproduction of a 1953 Pablo Picasso portrait of Stalin. At the time, the image was viewed as a critique of the Soviet leader.
But the Ukrainian community found it offensive, said Tamara Olexy, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
"It's like hanging a portrait of Hitler in a synagogue or in a Jewish community," she said.
After receiving several complaints, the Department of Buildings investigated the banner's legality and determined it violated construction and zoning regulations, the agency said Friday.
"We determined the sign was too high, too large, lacked a permit and blocked the building's windows," buildings spokeswoman Kate Lindquist wrote in an e-mail. "The department does not regulate sign content."
As SOMEONE WHO ASSISTS VETERANS WITH DISABILITY CLAIMS, I UNDERSTAND THE LONG TEDIOUS MEASURES A VETERAN MUST ENDURE TO PROCESS A CLAIM. OFTEN TIMES THE VA HOPES A VETERAN WILL EITHER GET FRUSTRATED AND QUIT, OR ULTIMATELY JUST DIE (AGE RELATED VETERANS WHO FILE LATER IN LIFE). IT IS DIFFICULT FOR A VETERAN TO FILE A CLAIM INITIALLY-SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE INDOCTRINATED TO BELIEVE THAT COMPLAINING ABOUT INJURIES AND ILLNESSES ARE NOT AN OPTION. THEY "SIGNED UP" AND THEREFORE THEY ARE EXCLUDED FROM ANY TREATMENTS OR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES BY WHICH TO SEEK ASSISTANCE. IT TAKES ADVOCATES FOR VETERANS MONTHS IF NOT YEARS TO CONVINCE THEM OTHERWISE. THEN THE PAPERWORK PROCESS BEGINS, AND THE VETERAN HAS YET ANOTHER FIGHT--ONE WITH THE VERY ENTITY WITH WHOM WITHOUT THE VETERAN, 'JOB SECURITY' WOULD JUST BE TWO FOREIGN WORDS.
Big fan of Michael Steele's here. As soon as I found out he was seeking to be Chairman of the Republican National Committee I was on board. I think Steele articulates the conservative vision better than almost any prominent Republican and is exactly the kind of leader the RNC needs. The RNC, along with GOP congressional leadership, has been dropping the ball a lot the last few years and some big changes are warranted.
Steele hit several good points in a conference call this afternoon. The fact that he even held a conference call for bloggers is a sign that he's ready to take the RNC communications strategy into this part of the 21st century. He described current strategy as (paraphrasing) "Waving the Red, White and Blue and saying send us a check!" My experience with RNC in a nutshell. All these years and they still haven't figured out I'm not wealthy.
Some highlights:
Stop Whining: It's time to "wipe that dour look off our faces" now that the election is over. I couldn't agree more. The election wasn't a lurch toward liberalism, it was about our failure to lead when given the chance. "Ours is a party whose glass is half full. We've spilled a little along the way," but the outlook isn't all gloom and doom.
Identity Politics: When asked if he'd be in a better place to critique Barack Obama because he's an African-American, Steele said, "It's because I'm an American that I can do that." Bad policies don't have color, according to Steele and should be attacked no matter the race or ethnicity of those making the policy. He feels that the party really mishandled this aspect during the campaign.
Democrat Lite: Steele said that if had wanted to be a member of the Democratic party he would have joined it. He's apparently not interested in leading the party to a permanent seat on the fence.
Party Advocacy: RNC will advocate for GOP leadership as long as they are consistent with the conservative principles of the party.
Do we have a winner yet?
Spending: It's imperative that legislators understand the money they are spending isn't their own. Hated the bailout.
Communications Strategy: Steele said this is a "lock and load" moment for Republicans. He wants to build out a communications operation that encompasses every old and new means. He cited the Obama campaign's brilliance in this area, which is hard to deny. Steele wants to use communication to help decentralize the RNC and make people feel more connected.
Steele also said we should "have some fun" with this. Agreed. New constituents aren't attracted to the angry idiot in the scary house at the end of the block. We have to stop being the "Get off my lawn!" party.
He spoke about staying true to the issues but reworking the way we say things, which I think has been a need for a long time now. It's the reason I first noticed Steele. Politics is marketing and our marketing department has been horrible for years.
Time for a new department head. The RNC doesn't need to promote from within the ranks.
Day 10 arrives and opponents of the gay marriage ban that passed in California are still throwing their hissy fits.
Whether one agrees with the ban or not, it was put on the ballot, it was voted for, just as Barack Obama was voted for, and although conservatives aren't happy with the outcome of the presidential election, we understand it is a done deal.
We will continue to bring information out about Obama and his policies, we will continue to question him as we see fit, that is our right, but we accept the election campaign season is over and we are looking forward to the elections of 2010, then 2012.
Opponents of Proposition 8, which was the same-sex marriage ban, that passed with 52 percent of the vote, are not capable of understanding nor accepting that the vote happened and is a done deal, and now they have decided to act out in yet another unacceptable way.
Letters containing a suspicious white powder were sent Thursday to Mormon temples in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City that were the sites of protests against the church's support of California's gay marriage ban.
The temple in the Westwood area of Los Angeles was evacuated before a hazardous materials crew determined the envelope's contents were not toxic, said FBI spokesman Jason Pack.
The temple in downtown Salt Lake City, where the church is based, received a similar envelope containing a white powder that spilled onto a clerk's hand.
The room was decontaminated and the envelope taken by the FBI for testing. The clerk showed no signs of illness, but the scare shut down a building at Temple Square for more than an hour, said Scott Freitag, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City Fire Department.
Delta Bravo Sierra is a daily comic strip from the brain of Mr Hooah! His wife, Mrs Hooah! (Claire) has her own blog which is where you can find DBS (and I write there, too!)
Today's strip is so wonderful, and relates to Valour-IT, so I HAD to share it with you all:
Be sure to check out Knee Deep in the Hooah!here. And if you have your own blog, why not add DBS in your own sidebar. I proudly have it on mine.:)
William Ayers, the excrement who wasn't supposed to be named while The One was turning America into a big, gooey Oprah moment, is suddenly more fashionable than whatever those chicks on The Hills are wearing. Or not wearing.
Take yourself back say, ten days or so and remember that anyone who brought up Ayers' name was racist. When Sarah Palin mentioned him she was accused of negative campaigning. The LA Times refused to release a video showing Ayers and Obama whooping it up with a terrorist thug who repeatedly calls for the destruction of Israel. Not worth mentioning, don't ya know. Bottom line: Ayers wasn't to talked about because he really wasn't close to His Holiness. They just hung out. And served on a board together. But The Smartest Candidate Ever (sorry, Bill Clinton) didn't know anything about the guy.
Now he's the belle of the Domestic Bombers Ball. His apology free book, Fugitive Days, is being reissued. It's always interesting to see that the anti-American scum are never shy about grabbing as much of the capitalist pig mother lode as they can.
Ayers will be pimping the book on Good Morning Idiots Who Watch This Stuff tomorrow. Don't hold your breath waiting for the Obama team to accuse ABC of negative programming.
President-elect Hope and Change's excuse about Ayers was that "he did despicable things when I was eight years old". Message to youth:
It's all right to hang around with violent criminals if they are older than you.
I am sure that we will be reminded that Ayers is now a respected academic (Whoa! Did your oxymoron alarm just start ringing too?), as are most of the remaining avowed communists in the United States. They live in the one world where federal grants and taxes still pay for everything so they're under the false impression that the Nanny Tit is the way to go.
And we give them access to our children. Creepy!
Perhaps it's time to stop calling it "media bias" and coin a new phrase. "Media Indoctrination" seems more fitting.
We've seen how well it works with the Obama faithful. Very few of them know much about Barack Obama beyond what they've had spoon-fed to them by the foot-kissing MSM. Bring up actual facts and you'll hear stories about how moved they are by him or how many tears were shed during his acceptance speech. It's like living in a bad romance novel.
Less than two weeks ago, anyone who mentioned William Ayers was a flame-fanning racist. Now that The One has ascended to power, he's worthy of an interview on national television. With a correspondent who is the son of a prominent Democrat. On the network that employs Charlie "Glasses On The End Of My Nose" Gibson, who conducted what is perhaps the most embarrassingly condescending political interview in broadcast history.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met this week in Baltimore and decided to cut all ties with ACORN. The Roman Catholic Church has cited complaints over voter registration fraud allegations as well as other questionable ACORN dealings.
In June the brother of ACORN founder, Wade Rathke, was alleged to have embezzled nearly $1 million from ACORN. It was then that the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) froze its contributions to the group.
According to CNN, during the past ten years the CCHD has donated more than $7.3 million to ACORN projects. And $40,000 went to the Las Vegas, Nevada ACORN chapter “that was raided before the election in an investigation into fraudulent voter registration forms.”
Roger Morin, auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, said that a church review, which was completed last November, found that ACORN no longer met funding standards. In addition to the embezzlement problem Morin said the registration fraud complaints "raise additional serious concerns."
“We simply had too many questions and concerns to permit further CCHD funding of ACORN groups”. . . .the ban on donations to ACORN won't be lifted "until and unless it is clear that CCHD funds will not go to an organization that has engaged in unlawful activities or voter registration fraud."
ACORN Executive Director Steven Kest issued a statement stating that it was grateful for the church’s funding in the past and that ACORN was looking forward to continuing “discussions with CCHD officials and the bishops in the months ahead . . .”
However, Ralph McCloud, the Human Development campaign's director, said the church has "severed ties" with ACORN and there are no plans for further discussion at this time.
Up to 200 people have been spending the night at the Crazy Horse school, at first without blankets or beds, cooking the school's food, diapering babies with old clothes, and trying to stay warm through power from a generator.
The makeshift shelter is being run by Pastor Gus Craven, who has also been helping residents make runs between their homes and the shelter, and who went to Kadoka Friday night on newly opened roads to get cots and blankets from that community's Red Cross.
He said he isn't sure when Wanblee will get power. On his trip to Kadoka he saw perhaps 20 downed power lines.
Most Wanblee residents don't have the gas or money to make the 56-mile round trip to Kadoka themselves, he said.
And some are afraid to leave, since there have been reports of people looting empty homes, he said. Craven said several families have dropped their elders and children off at the shelter and returned to their cold, dark homes to protect them from thieves.
Some relief came Saturday for the people at the shelter when the Black Hills chapter of the Red Cross sent blankets, water and toiletries. The state emergency management department planned to send food and diapers Saturday, said Russ Korzeniewski with the Red Cross. Craven didn't know Saturday evening if those supplies had arrived. He said the school was not out of food but there was not an excess, either.
Help apparently came after people at the shelter contacted state offices, where workers then contacted the Red Cross.
The South Dakota National Guard also helped with a Blackhawk helicopter on Friday, airlifting four dialysis patients out of the community to get medical attention at the Pine Ridge Hospital.
People living in rural areas on the reservation are without electricity and their food supplies and firewood are running low, Craven said.
Families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation are still without power and in need of supplies.
Organizers are looking for the following items to be donated: canned food, water, blankets, diapers (all sizes), baby formula, wood, propane, lamp oil, candles, flashlights, batteries (all sizes), matches, kerosene, gloves, toilet paper, baby wipes and soap.
If you have something to donate, you can drop items off at the Crazy Horse School in Wanblee. You can also call one of the following phone numbers for more information: 462-6784, 462-6580, 454-1452 or the Office of Economic Development in Pine Ridge at 867-5771 or 867-5600.
The email I received:
A blizzard at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in SD has left the people with no food, heat or help. No one is helping. No FEMA, no Red Cross, state or national response. The only help so far has come from a few groups online who have heard of the catastrphe. Can you help? Below is a list of persons/agencies I have contacted and sent to people I know in hopes they will contact them too. Thank you for anything you can do. Hugh
Here is a list of organizations that you can contact to help these folks:
I do not care what side of the political aisle a person is, this type of behavior is unacceptable, from an adult or from children as was the case of Idaho children, on a school bus, chanting "Assassinate Obama."
Video below is of the KIKD News report, via YouTube.
I have read a couple reports about this and haven't seen anyone that can pinpoint who started the chant, but from the accounts, whoever started it, got the other kids chanting the same sick theme.
Whoolery and his wife couldn't believe it when their second and third graders got off the bus last week and told them what other students were saying.
"They just hadn't heard anything like this before," said Whoolery. "They were chanting on the bus, 'Assassinate Obama. Assassinate Obama.' Then adding in a name sometimes of a classmate on the bus, 'Assassinate Obama and Kate.'"
The Whoolery's explained to their kids what assassinate means then contacted the school about what was happening.
"I think the thing that struck us was just like, 'Where did they get the word and why would they put that word and that person together?'" said Whoolery.
It's not that the Whoolery's are big Obama fans they just don't like people joking about a serious matter concerning any leader of the country.
Whichever kid started it, they heard it somewhere, from someone that obviously did know what the word assassinate means.
The Madison County School District has sent out an email to all teachers, principals, and bus drivers making it clear that children should immediately be told this type of language is unacceptable, but it brings a more chilling issue.
Children not knowing what it means, chanting that, is bad enough, but the thought process of whoever taught those children to say it, makes for dangerous individuals.
Anyone that reads this blog knows I am not a fan of Barack Obama, but no elected official should ever be threatened with assassination.
I can hear people now saying, but they are children, this isn't a threat.
Granted.
The fact remains, the children learned it somewhere and since this was one bus full of children, it should not be too difficult to find out who started the "chant" and work backwards to figure out who that child heard those words from and do a little investigating to make sure that person isn't a threat to Obama, or part of a group that could be considered a threat.
I would say the same thing if McCain had won the election or if this was chanted about Bush.
Democrat dominance in Washington, D.C. guarantees the reinstitution of some type of policy to control the balance of Conservative and Liberal radio talk shows.
Barack Obama announced the appointment of radical, far-left lawyer, Henry Rivera, to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Rivera, a former FCC Commissioner who resigned during Reagan's term is believed to be a strong supporter of a Fairness Doctrine, and a seeker of his version of media justice on the airwaves.
Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, Dennis Kucinich Nancy Pelosi and Louise Slaughter are all on the record as wanting "Fairness" in radio. Slaughter introduced failed legislation for a Fairness Doctrine in the House in 2004 and 2005.
With a Democrat in the White House, the five-member Commission board-balance reduces in June 2009 to two members of the minority Republican party. Through the FCC, The Fairness Doctrine can be reinstated, or can be newly drafted, without laws, without Congress...just a majority vote of a Democrat majority Board, imposing the Doctrine as an FCC regulation.
If you are unfamiliar with The Fairness Doctrine...and perhaps "fairness" sounds like a good thing, here is an example of what such a doctrine, more commonly known today as a "censorship doctrine," would require: if Rush Limbaugh has a 3 hour daily program, that station must allow a 3 hour daily program with an opposing viewpoint - think the failed Air America, Al Franken, Randi Rhodes. If sponsors do not want to advertise on an unpopular show, because no one listens, then what? I don't think we know.
The original Fairness Doctrine is squarely at odds with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing the people's right to free speech and free press, and guaranteeing that Congress will make no laws lessening, diminishing, depriving, cutting off or as the Amendment says, "abridging" such rights.
A background article from The Museum of Broadcast Communications says this on page two, regarding the dissolution of the Fairness Doctrine by the FCC in August 1985:
"The doctrine, nevertheless, disturbed many journalists, who considered it a violation of First Amendment rights of free speech/free press which should allow reporters to make their own decisions about balancing stories. Fairness, in this view, should not be forced by the FCC. In order to avoid the requirement to go out and find contrasting viewpoints on every issue raised in a story, some journalists simply avoided any coverage of some controversial issues. This "chilling effect" was just the opposite of what the FCC intended.
By the 1980s, many things had changed. The "scarcity" argument which dictated the "public trustee" philosophy of the Commission, was disappearing with the abundant number of channels available on cable TV. Without scarcity, or with many other voices in the marketplace of ideas, there were perhaps fewer compelling reasons to keep the fairness doctrine. This was also the era of deregulation when the FCC took on a different attitude about its many rules, seen as an unnecessary burden by most stations. The new Chairman of the FCC, Mark Fowler, appointed by President Reagan, publicly avowed to kill to fairness doctrine.
By 1985, the FCC issued its Fairness Report, asserting that the doctrine was no longer having its intended effect, might actually have a "chilling effect" and might be in violation of the First Amendment. In a 1987 case, Meredith Corp. v. FCC, the courts declared that the doctrine was not mandated by Congress and the FCC did not have to continue to enforce it." To read the entire document by Val E. Limburg and to find a reading list, go here.
Should the FCC fail to resurrect a Fairness Doctrine, Congress can pass laws to mandate it, and are willing to do so.
Stiffle dissent...any and all judgement of The Obama Years, and the Pelosi House and the Reid Senate - that's the goal. The only way to do it is to hush Rush, and Hannity, and Ingraham, and Boortz, and O'Reilly, and Levine, and the list goes on.
Will the FCC, under Rivera, attempt to resurrect a Commission Fairness Doctrine? We don't know the answer, but consider this:
Here's what you may not know about the Fairness Doctrine: In January 2007, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps unveiled a new American Media Contract at a gathering of the National Media Reform Conference in Memphis.
The text of the speech appears to have been removed from the web, although I have found several links to it, one titled Copps Unveils New American Media Contract, which then takes the reader to the 2008 Conference speech. Just a typo? I don't think so. Maggie's Notebook reported on this on January 27, 2007 and is likely not the only webpage documenting the words of Michael Copps.
Here are portions of the American Media Contract 2007:
We expect these: 1. A right to media that strengthens our democracy 2. A right to local stations that are actually local 3. A right to media that looks and sounds like America 4. A right to news that isn’t canned and radio playlists that aren’t for sale 5. A right to programming that isn’t so damned bad so damned often
Who decides what America "looks and sounds"like? Who decides if the news is "canned" or not" Who decides what strengthens our democracy?
Copps said this about the state of television in 2007:
And what do the American people — who own the public airwaves, by the way — get in return? Too little news, too much baloney passed off as news. Too little quality entertainment, too many people eating bugs on reality TV. Too little local and regional music, too much brain-numbing national play-lists. Too little of America, too much of Wall Street and Madison Avenue...."
An immediate red flag: "...too much baloney passed off as news." I think Mr. Copps' baloney is not my baloney.
Other speakers for the event were well-known leftists Jane Fonda, Danny Glover, Geena Davis, Senator Bernie Sanders, Bill Moyers, Helen Thomas and Jessie Jackson.
Henry Rivera is said to see "communications as a civil rights issue," and my research bears that out. As current Chair of the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council, he has proposed to:
1) funnel more "federal advertising" to minority media [39]
2) allow foreign ownership; relax U.S. trade barriers to provide "overseas capital," for minority broadcasters [17]
3) develop "constitutionally permissible yet non-dilute method of defining" the class [race] of licensees, i.e., "an applicant's race would be one of the numerous factors considered when the Commission reviews a license application." [30]
4) change the FCC Commission to a more diverse Commission - it should look like America [38]
In addition, Rivera wants a blue-ribbon panel discussion, now, to bring Communications to the table by creating a White House Cabinet position, and he advocates for "localism" to prevail when issuing broadcasting licenses - a position to be seen in Copps' comments above.
To date I've found nothing in Rivera's own words directly calling for a Fairness Doctrine, however, in a January 2008 news release, Rivera and a law partner, Richard Wiley, discuss the issue of "localism," - requiring TV stations to "cover local news," Mr. Wiley added, "Are we going to return to the broadcast regulations of the past? That's the question."
I believe this may speak directly to a Fairness Doctrine, which is particularly difficult for smaller local stations to implement. Limited cast and crew find it difficult to allow equal time ON EVERY ISSUE. It's costly, often not pertinent, and history shows that that the stations just give up and don't report controversial issues.
It is reported that Obama is not interested in a Fairness Doctrine, but if you take a look at his press secretary, Michael Ortiz', statement, it not reassuring:
He [Obama] considers this debate [Fairness Doctrine] to be a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible.
When it comes to "fairness" in media, we have nothing to feel good about in an Obama administration. Team Obama attorneys:
2) threatened individual TV and radio stations airing NRA ads even "intimidating cease and desist letters...threatening their FCC license if they run the ads" according to the NRA
3) at the direction of a Team Obama email, deluged the Milt Rosenberg's Chicago radio show interview of Dr. Stanley Kurtz, by jamming phones during the live show, sending copious emails, and gathering outside the studio. ALL at the command of the Obama campaign.
...only liberals would think that “fairness” is something that can be implemented by government mandate. but that speaks to how they see the world. This country was founded up on the idea that all men are free, and that all should have equal opportunity to pursue life, liberty and happiness. But rather than equality of opportunity, liberals are only interested in equality of outcome.
For more, here's a video discussion hosted by Fox News' Neil Cavuto, on the Fairness Doctrine:
Chuck Schumer fired the opening salvo in the war against free speech this week by calling Conservative talk radio "Pornography"
What Schumer is not telling you is that Radio is probably one of the most Democratic institutions in the world. If people want to hear what is on they listen, if they don't.... well there are tons of radio stations, listeners can turn the dial to find what they like. If a radio program doesn't generate listeners, it doesn't get advertising, no advertising, no radio program. It's really a simple process.
You see, raising the fairness doctrine back from the dead, is taking away our right to select the programming we want to hear. Its only being brought up because the democrats want people like Rush Limbaugh to have less air time. The fact is the American Public has already made their voice heard. Remember when Air America was launched with great fanfare? It was to be the Liberal Voice of Talk Radio. Guess what happened? NOBODY LISTENED, IT GENERATED POOR RATINGS, MADE NO MONEY AND WENT BANKRUPT. Oh its still around, I believe in its third incarnation, still generating no ratings, still loosing money hand over foot.
Allow me to put it another way, Rush Limbaugh signed a multi-year mega-million dollar contract, because people WANT to listen to him . Al Franken, former Air America host, is waging a campaign for Senate, because on Air America he was talking to a brick wall.
If you think its going to stop there forget it. The Democratic Party Brown Shirts have started to go after blogger
This week the "religion of peace" sent another child on a mission to act as a human bomb. There has to be a special place in hell for people who recruit and celebrate the killing of their own children. But its a frequent occurrence in Islamofacist society:
A Muslim mother of a suicide bomber reported to have said, "The best Mother's day present I got this year was the death as a shahid [martyr] of Abbas" as quoted in the official Palestinian Authority daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, on March 21, 2001 (cited Pipes, 2001).
Zahra Maladan, an educated woman who edits a women's magazine in Lebanon, was quoted in the New York Times giving the following warning to her son, "if you're not going to follow the steps of the Islamic resistance martyrs, then I don't want you." (cited Dershowitz, 2008).
Mabrook Idris, the mother of the first female Palestinian suicide bomber, proudly declared, “I am proud that my daughter died for Palestine, proud that she gave her life for us all. Thank God. Thank God.” (Richardson, 2006; p. 163)
After a 22 year old suicide bomber killed 21 Israelis at a Tel Aviv discotheque, his father announced: "I am very happy and proud of what my son did and, frankly, am a bit jealous... I wish I had done it myself." (Pipes, 2001).
In January, 2006, terrorist group Hamas announced that, for Palestinian parliamentary elections, one of its candidates was Umm Nidal. The only claim to fame of Umm Nidal was that she proudly sent three of her sons to die for Allah in terrorist attacks against Israeli targets.Umm Nidal is reported (cited Spencer, 2005, p. 102) to have said, “Because I love my son, I encouraged him to die a martyr’s death for the sake of Allah …. jihad is a religious obligation incumbent upon us, and we must carry it out.” And elsewhere, “I prayed from the depths of my heart that Allah would cause the success of his operation… I encouraged all my sons to die a martyr's death, and I wish this even for myself”. When the operation was over, the media broadcast the news and Umm Nidal was informed of her son’s death, she began to cry. Tears of joy rolled down from her eyes on her son’s death. (MEMRI, 2002)
Ikrima Sabri, the PA's ranking religious leader, said, "The younger the martyr, the greater and the more I respect him," while praising mothers who "willingly sacrifice their offspring for the sake of freedom." (Pipes, 2001)
In one Islamic school, the words to a children's song go, "Howpleasant is the smell of martyrs, how pleasant is the smell of land, the land enriched by the blood, the blood pouring out of a fresh body." (Pipes, 2001).SourcE
While all homicide bombings are heinous, the US of children is even more inhumane. It is time for the leaders of the free world to speak out against this practice. Why aren't we getting involved, bringing it up at the UN? Forcing the Arab nations to speak out against this, or finally admit that they are as disgusting as the Imams that sent these poor kids to their deaths.
It was with great fanfare, that President-elect Obama's transition team would not hire any lobbyists. All across the mainstream media there was praise for the incoming President. I would imagine Chris Matthews even had that Tinkle down his leg once again. But banning lobbyists does not stop him from hiring the people who got money from the lobbyists, or the people who did major fund raising for the candidate.
Five of the 12 members of Obama's transition advisory board raised at least $50,000 for his presidential campaign, and eight contributed the maximum individual donation of $4,600. Other transition team members include a partner in a lobbying firm and two executives of financial companies whose employees were
On this day in 1874, a child was born in England who would ultimately change the course of world history: Winston Churchill. 
I found this essay, written by the father of a deployed Soldier, on the 
