Power Line Gets Hit With DOS Attacks After Showing IFD Videos

Interesting piece at Power Line about suffering Denial-of-Service attacks after they put up a series of videos from the Israeli Defense Forces.

Talk about disproportionate response. Just an hour or so after Power Line posted a series of videos from the Israeli Defense Forces--videos that, as Scott discovered, YouTube had pulled--we experienced a Denial-of-Service attack from a cabal of a half-dozen servers in the U.S. The attack sought to make Power Line and the videos we are hosting inaccessible by overloading our server. Our data center promptly registered the attack, and then defeated it by placing Power Line behind an advanced computer called a Cisco Guard. This device recognize malicious Internet traffic and defeats it.

They have a nifty graph showing the attacks as well.

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Vicki Iseman Sues new York Times

Many will remember the name Vicki Iseman from when the New York Times wrote a piece about John McCain implying he had an inappropriate relationship with a lobbyist, Iseman, then proceeded to write a story which showed no inappropriate relationship whatever.

Caused a stir with the right and many on the left criticizing the NYT for their lack of journalistic integrity and their yellow journalism practices.

Now news reports are out that Iseman is suing the NYT for $27 million over that piece.

The suit, filed in the Federal District Court in Richmond, Va., said that a front-page article on Feb. 21 “falsely communicated” that the lobbyist, Vicki L. Iseman, and Mr. McCain “had an illicit ‘romantic’ and unethical relationship in breach of the public trust in 1999.” At that time, Ms. Iseman was representing clients before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, then headed by Mr. McCain.

“Ms. Iseman did not engage in any behavior toward him that was anything other than professional and appropriate,” said the suit, which seeks damages of $27 million.

The defendants named are Bill Keller, the paper’s executive editor; Dean Baquet, its Washington bureau chief; Jim Rutenberg, Stephen Labaton and David D. Kirkpatrick, all Times reporters; and Marilyn W. Thompson, then a reporter for the paper.

You can read the 44 page complaint, filed December 30, 2008, here.

As Hot Air points out, the complaint alleges "malice" reckless disregard of the truth and falsity of material.

Strong allegations and hopefully the Times will be held accountable for their actions.

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Barack Obama Disagrees With Blagojevich Senate Appointment

Rod Blagojevich appointed Attorney General Roland Burris to the Illinois senate seat and Barack Obama issued a statement disagreeing, not with Blagojevich's choice, but with the fact that he made the appointment itself.

Obama issued the following statement in which he disagreed with the appointment:

"Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it. I believe the best resolution would be for the Governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place. While Governor Blagojevich is entitled to his day in court, the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government and major decisions free of taint and controversy."

Read the rest here.

Blagojevich should have known that no matter how decent a man or politician Burris is, the appointment is tainted...bad move on Blgo's part.

The Senate leadership has also called Blago's appointment, unacceptable.

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Israeli Consulate Citizens’ “Press” Conference on Twitter Today

David Saranga, Consul of Media and Public Affairs in New York, will answer questions from the public about the situation in Israel and Gaza on Twitter today, Dec 30 at 1-3PM EST.

According to IsraelPolitick.org, David Saranga, Consul of Media and Public Affairs in New York, will answer your questions about the situation in Israel and Gaza in a “Citizens’ Press Conference.”

You can submit your question by directing it to their Twitter account.

Responses longer than 140 characters will be directed with a link to an answer posted in their blog.

 

Technorati Tags: Twitter,GazaIsraeli,Consulate,press conference,David Saranga,Consul of Media and Public Affairs

OBAMA SHOULD KEEP GITMO OPEN

Via an email from Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward, (the largest pro-troops organization) she sent over a press release with a little note, the note will not be copied here but the press release will.

Melanie and others went to Gitmo (Guantanamo Bay Naval Base) to take a look at conditions there.

Here is the press release:

OBAMA SHOULD KEEP GITMO OPEN

MAF Leaders Call on President-Elect to Visit Personally to Get Facts

SACRAMENTO – Move America Forward (MAF), the nation’s largest pro-troop, grassroots organization, urged President-Elect Barack Obama to personally travel to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and learn why Gitmo should be kept open to house the world’s worst terrorists.

Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward, led a delegation to the naval base last week to bring gifts, Christmas and Hanukkah cards and expressions of support to American troops there. The entourage was granted a tour of the detention facilities while at the base.

Morgan, said, “We strongly urge President-elect Obama to meet with our military men and women at Guantanamo Bay and see for himself the high level of professionalism of America’s soldiers. He can then be assured that these terrorists are treated far better in the detention center than they are in their own countries. They have better food, better health care, better security, better movie selections and better and cleaner clothes than they have ever had in their lives.

“There is a reason why the average terrorist detainee has gained 15 pounds while staying here. It isn’t because he is being mistreated, instead he is being treated with kid gloves,” Morgan concluded.

Morgan was accompanied on the trip by Kylie Williams, the official ambassador for veterans’ advocacy for the State of Florida, who facilitated the trip. Traveling on the tour in addition to Morgan and Williams were MAF staff members Catherine Moy, Danny Gonzalez and Ryan Gill. Also accompanying the group was Gold Star Mom and MAF spokesperson Debbie Lee, whose son Marc Alan Lee was the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq.

Morgan added, “It disturbed me to see how well the terrorists are being treated, and then have to put up with liberal politicians attacking our troops. As one of the soldiers said to me, ‘It makes us sick when people tell lies about what we do. We are proud to represent America and we do NOTHING to shame our Commander-in-Chief or the American people.’

Obama appeared on 60 Minutes last month and proclaimed again, “I intent to close Guantanamo and I will follow through on that.” He has said that he wants to move the terrorists to Leavenworth, Kansas, and other civilian and military prisons in the United States.

"Do we really want to invite terrorist attacks to our neighborhoods, schools and communities where federal prisons are potentially slated to house these monsters?" asks Morgan

The group is urging Obama to reverse his campaign pledge to close Gitmo and bring the terrorists to the United States for criminal trials.

Debbie Lee responded, “My son gave his life to kill the terrorists in their country, not to bring them to our country. Our military men and women are sacrificing every day to keep us safe. The wrong thing for the President to do is to close this base in the face of false charges against our military. He should get the facts himself and not listen to those who follow the anti-military line without knowing the truth.”

The worst comment from an American politician came from Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin:

"If I ... didn't tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners [At Guantanamo] in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime, Pol Pot, or others that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners." (PBS' "The Newshour," 6/17/05)

Durbin subsequently offered a half-hearted apology for his outrageous accusations against our military.

In reality, the terrorists have better accommodations than our troops. They live in air conditioned state-of-the art new buildings; they have more recreation time than American school children; they get prayer rugs and Qurans, which non-Muslim U.S. soldiers cannot even touch. They get six different menus to choose from; among their offerings are Baked Tandouri Chicken Breast, Mustard-Dill Baked Fish, Lyonnaise Rice, and Fish Amandine.

Morgan said, “I don't remember seeing that on the menu at Nazi concentration camps or in Soviet gulags. I doubt Pol Pot offered them in the killing fields of Cambodia.”

According to the Congressional Record , Vermont U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy had this to say:

"Now that may sound like an experience from some oppressive and authoritarian regime, something that may have happened under the Taliban, something that Saddam Hussein might have ordered or in the fiction of Kafka." (Congressional Record, 9/28/06, p. S10356)

“It is just disgusting what some American politicians are willing to say to appeal to the far left anti-military crowd in the United States. When terrorists decided to smash their TV and destroy their TV room at Gitmo because a Palmolive soap commercial came on that revealed a woman's arm, what do you think our response was? Yes, we got them a new flat screen TV - although this time it is encased in hard Plexiglas so they couldn't destroy it again,” Morgan said.

Recent news stories suggest that Obama may be having second thoughts about bringing terrorist onto American shores. Negotiations are apparently underway with some of our allies to hold some of the terrorists on their shores to keep Obama from having to take the political heat of bringing terrorists to America.

“The real solution is easy,” Morgan said, “if Obama can free himself from the left-wing anti-military ideologues that supported his campaign. . . Keep Gitmo Open!”

MY Heroes of the year

(The pictures of the visits with the wounded here just happen to be from The Daily Mail)



















Yes, President Bush is one of MY Heroes of the Year! No, I am not talking about his politics, or his policies. President Bush is one of MY Heroes of this Year, and any other, for a couple of major reasons.

The big reason I name President Bush a hero of mine is because of his unstinting - tireless - role as "Comforter in Chief." Oh I know his IS the Commander in Chief of the United States military, and goodness knows the msm has taunted him mercilessly about his decisions regarding his deployment of our men and women in the Global War on Terror. For what it's worth, I believe that history will vindicate the President in his decisions. However, whilst the media has continuously badmouthed, been downright insulting, and ignorant, in their treatment of the President, they have missed what I feel is a side of him that more than a few of our military heroes, and their families, have seen. Whilst the media has attacked the President at every turn, like a pack of rabid dogs, he has been quietly visiting our wounded at Walter Reed and BAMC and in many other places.,,,

I DO have more - much more - and other Heroes of the Year that *may* surprise you,

Go over to Assoluta Tranquillita and read the rest here. Warning: it IS long!

From CJ!

Because I couldn't come up with any other creative header!

CJ Free Songs For Troops
December 29th, 2008 by CJ

Billboard.com and the Army have teamed up to provide free music downloads to the troops. To get two free downloads of your choosing, simple visit the "Send A Song" Billboard site and register using a .mil email account. A code will be sent to that email that you can use to download any two songs from their site. I've already tested it and gotten my two songs (All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell & Hinder - Without You). Now go get yours. But hurry, this offer ends December 31st!!

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And then there is THIS (NB: prepare to be royally ****** off!)

Terrorist Attack Kills 14 Children On Last Day Of School

December 29, 2008 By CJ
Posted in Uncategorized, Why We Serve

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” - Isaiah 6:8

Why would I start with a Biblical quote? First of all, to annoy hippies. Second, because we need to send all of us into Afghanistan, peform a “hands across the desert”, and purge Afghanistan of every Taliban and AQ terrorist we can find. I’m not talking purging in the detention facility or Gitmo sense. I’m talking shoot on sight. Just kill them all. This has got to stop:

A single-file line of school children walked past a military checkpoint Sunday as a bomb-loaded truck veered toward them and exploded, ending the lives of 14 young Afghans in a heartbreaking flash captured by a U.S. military security camera. The video shows an SUV slowly weaving through sandbag barriers at a military checkpoint just as a line of school children, most wearing white caps, comes into view.

This sickens me to the core. These people are barbarians and yet the extreme left in this country want us to bend over backwards to protect their “rights”. These people don’t deserve rights. These people don’t deserve life. These are the kinds of circumstances for which torture should not be authorized, but actively and publicly encouraged. Perhaps watching their fellow AQ and Taliban prisoners getting their fingernails pulled off one by one or hot pokers stuck through their eyeballs will convince the rest of them to keep their destructive tendencies aimed at people who can defend themselves. But, I know that it wouldn’t be terrorism if they did that.

There’s more:

To read the rest of this one (and yes, there is video) go here.

Thank you, CJ!

Soldiers' Angels Needs YOU!

Sure you might not be here on the front line, covered in filth, smelling like hell, your heart going a mile a minute, not knowing what's coming next: if your next step is on that TRP, or if your going to be the latest recruiting tool for some insurgent's new video while they take pot shots at you. But, what you all do with those cards, care packages, cookies is just as important...

When I get a box (or anyone else gets a box) its hard to describe. You find a nice quiet corner and everyone knows not to bother you. You sit there and look over the box as if you had never seen anything like it before. You read who it's from, and a smile crosses your face--you recognize the name. You might already know what's inside, but it does not matter. Some tear it open as fast as they can, others take their time and enjoy every second of it. Once inside, you go through it, every little item once, twice, sometimes three times. It's a very delicate process. You breathe it in and you think of the person who sent it to you. You think of home, family, cars, summer--everything all at once. And for a very short time, you are there away from this SH*T hole. You are grateful. Then you look around and there's always a buddy who is down or having a bad day. You share your box--sometimes just with the one guy, sometimes with everyone--and it's electric. Everyone catches that feeling, and we start talking about home, about things we miss, things we are going to do when we get back, and the heaviness of the day lifts and it's not so bad.

...It's not the "things" that are sent that matter to us, it's the thought. That's the power ALL of you have who take the time to send things. You can change the worst day into the best day, in a split second. - MP in Iraq

Soldiers' Angels

The length of each adoption depends on the branch of service your soldier is in and a number of other factors, but generally averages between six (6) months to twelve (12) months. On occasion, they can be extended, but this is the average. When you adopt you are committing to sending a card or letter each week, and a minimum of 1 or 2 care packages a month. This is one of the most important things that can be done to help bring home a healthy hero; it is so very important for each of them to know they are loved and supported, and your letters and care packages prove just that.

Care packages do not have to be expensive: you can put together your own (we have a detailed list of the most-requested items for you--snacks, hygiene products, and games or magazines).

Soldiers' Angels

There are Many Ways to Support our Service Members:

Donate to Soldiers' Angels - If you would like to assist Soldiers' Angels in its troop support activities, please consider a financial donation. Donations of every size help provide aid and comfort to the troops through our many projects and activities. You can also donate stock, old electronics, air miles, care package items and much more. For details go to Soldiers' Angels


Join a Soldiers' Angels Team - If you want to dig deep into the Soldiers' Angels mission, we invite you to join one of our many teams. The 30+ teams of Soldiers' Angels specialize in filling specific servicemember and family needs. You can get involved in sending handmade blankets to the wounded, supporting our military chaplains, helping soldiers distribute toys and clothing to children in Iraq and Afghanistan, and much, much more! To find a team that fits your interests, please see the complete list in the center of our homepage at Soldiers' Angels

Barack The Magic Negro Parody Causes A Stir-Video

Chip Saltsman, a Tennessee candidate for the Republican party chairman, sent out a CD to colleagues, one of the songs in that CD was a parody first played on Rush Limbaugh, last year, and I see many are weighing in on the parody and the fact that it was one of those listed on the CD Saltman sent out.

The parody is called "Barack The Magic Negro" and it is set to the tune of "Puff The Magic Dragon". It is done by an Al Sharpton impersonator named Paul Shanklin.


The "Barack The Magic Negro" Video itself is below:

Barack The Magic Negro - The most popular videos are a click away

Lyrics:

Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s not authentic like me.
Yeah, the guy from the L.A. paper
Said he makes guilty whites feel good
They’ll vote for him, and not for me
‘Cause he’s not from the hood.

See, real black men, like Snoop Dog,
Or me, or Farrakhan
Have talked the talk, and walked the walk.
Not come in late and won!

Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s black, but not authentically.
Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s black, but not authentically.

Some say Barack’s “articulate”
And bright and new and “clean.”
The media sure loves this guy,
A white interloper’s dream!
But, when you vote for president,
Watch out, and don’t be fooled!
Don’t vote the Magic Negro in –
‘Cause —

’Cause I won’t have nothing after all these years of sacrifice
And I won’t get justice. This is about justice. This isn’t about me, it’s about justice.
It’s about buffet. I don’t have no buffet and there won’t be any church contributions,
And there’ll be no cash in the collection plate.
There ain’t gonna be no cash money, no walkin’ around money, no phoning money.
Now, Barack going to come in here and ........

YouTube URL for news cast video, discussing the parody below, found here.



As you can imagine, reactions to this parody are mixed, with some being completely offended and others thinking it is bad taste while still others think a parody is just that, a humorous thing to do.

Weigh in.

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Israel/Hamas- What Obama Would Do

The New York Times reminds readers that while Barack Obama is deferring to President Bush on the Israeli/Hamas conflict at the moment, Obama's stance once he takes office, might not be very different than Bush's is right now.

The NYT points out to previous public statements made by Obama, which encouraged them to defend themselves, one of which was while he was visiting Sderot, a town that has been under constant rocket fire from Hamas in Gaza, where he said "If somebody was sending rockets into my house, where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.”

Another hint regarding how Obama would deal with the situation comes from David Axelrod, on Sunday when speaking to CBS’s “Face the Nation”, where he said Obama will stand by his remarks about Israel, and he noted the special relationship between Israel and the United States.

Despite Arab protests, the fact is any country that is being attacked, on a weekly basis with rockets raining down on their civilian citizens, has the right, and the obligation to defend themselves and do what is needed to stop those attacks.

CNN reports that it is day three in those strikes against Gaza.

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Bloggers vs 'Real Journalists'

I find the discussion I see going on about a Wall Street Journal opinion piece to be enlightening, and being an opinionated blogger myself, I of course, have to add my two cents here.

Let us catch everyone up before imparting my own pearls of wisdom.

Evidently, Glenn Reynolds, of Instapundit fame, "heralds an era in which "[m]illions of Americans who were in awe of the punditocracy now realize that anyone can do this stuff."

That seems to have riled a Mr. Paul Mulshine, in a WSJ editorial piece, who laments:

No, they can't. Millions of American can't even pronounce "pundit," or spell it for that matter. On the Internet and on the other form of "alternative media," talk radio, a disliked pundit has roughly a 50-50 chance of being derided as a "pundint," if my eyes and ears are any indication.

He goes to point out that it is "real journalists" that attend meetings, read through documents and "analyze" things so they can inform the public of the news.

Well here is the deal as I see it... Reynolds is right, if enough independent, lowly bloggers, with a good vocabulary, were strewn our across America and willing to attend local meetings and go through documents which now are usually all published online, then yes, old media can and will be replaced.

Sure, many times, we bloggers find the news, paste important paragraphs and give our opinions which if we were real "journalists" writers would calling "analysis" instead of opinion, and bring the news to people who come to our sites.

Other times bloggers have been known to get their hands on PDF documents, produce them, go through them and show the blog reading public the portions of the reports that the major media "journalists" deliberately do not mention in their all important "analysis".

The reason I started blogging was simple and addresses this whole debate in my mind.

Bloggers do give their opinions or analysis of any given situation, agreed, but bloggers do something that the professional journalists do not....we provide links to the original sources to which we use to determine our opinions and analysis.

We give our readers a chance to read the original reports, data, PDF's, court papers, whatever the case may be, then those readers can decide for themselves if they agree with our "analysis" or if they come to a different conclusion.

We don't hide relevant facts to make the pieces match our preconceived ideas....we provide sources, we link.

Before I started blogging, I heard the news, read some online news articles, but found what I was getting was the writers opinion and when I looked for the original source to be able to form my own opinion, you know where I found the links to the original sources?

Bloggers. Blogs. Before I even knew exactly what a blog was.

So, to Mr. Mulshine, a quick note..... if journalists want to stay relevant, they need to stop thinking their opinion is the only opinion, they need to start providing links to the original sources and stop expecting people to take their word as the word of God.

Otherwise, those army of Davids, are definitely going to start reporting original pieces and they will be trusted more because they will provide something the old media, the mainstream media, refuse to..... the facts to go along with a "journalist's" opinion.

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Telegraph: 2008 Global Warming Disproved

The Telegraph has an interesting piece out showing the articles and reports that came out in 2008, which disproves that myth about "man-made global warming."

First, all over the world, temperatures have been dropping in a way wholly unpredicted by all those computer models which have been used as the main drivers of the scare. Last winter, as temperatures plummeted, many parts of the world had snowfalls on a scale not seen for decades. This winter, with the whole of Canada and half the US under snow, looks likely to be even worse. After several years flatlining, global temperatures have dropped sharply enough to cancel out much of their net rise in the 20th century.

Ever shriller and more frantic has become the insistence of the warmists, cheered on by their army of media groupies such as the BBC, that the last 10 years have been the "hottest in history" and that the North Pole would soon be ice-free – as the poles remain defiantly icebound and those polar bears fail to drown. All those hysterical predictions that we are seeing more droughts and hurricanes than ever before have infuriatingly failed to materialise.

Even the more cautious scientific acolytes of the official orthodoxy now admit that, thanks to "natural factors" such as ocean currents, temperatures have failed to rise as predicted (although they plaintively assure us that this cooling effect is merely "masking the underlying warming trend", and that the temperature rise will resume worse than ever by the middle of the next decade).

Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a "scientific consensus" in favour of man-made global warming collapsed. At long last, as in the Manhattan Declaration last March, hundreds of proper scientists, including many of the world's most eminent climate experts, have been rallying to pour scorn on that "consensus" which was only a politically engineered artefact, based on ever more blatantly manipulated data and computer models programmed to produce no more than convenient fictions.

Thirdly, as banks collapsed and the global economy plunged into its worst recession for decades, harsh reality at last began to break in on those self-deluding dreams which have for so long possessed almost every politician in the western world. As we saw in this month's Poznan conference, when 10,000 politicians, officials and "environmentalists" gathered to plan next year's "son of Kyoto" treaty in Copenhagen, panicking politicians are waking up to the fact that the world can no longer afford all those quixotic schemes for "combating climate change" with which they were so happy to indulge themselves in more comfortable times.

Suddenly it has become rather less appealing that we should divert trillions of dollars, pounds and euros into the fantasy that we could reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 80 per cent. All those grandiose projects for "emissions trading", "carbon capture", building tens of thousands more useless wind turbines, switching vast areas of farmland from producing food to "biofuels", are being exposed as no more than enormously damaging and futile gestures, costing astronomic sums we no longer possess.

All this isn't to say that scientists did not speak up earlier than 2008, but from recent news reports, many covered here as well, 2008 was, indeed, the year which the whole "man-made" global warming theme started unraveling at massive speeds.

kudos to The Telegraph for daring to state the obvious, something our newspapers here in the U.S. wouldn't dare to do.

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Israel strikes back against Hamas

Hamas has fired over 100 rockets into Israel over the past days and Israel struck back against Hamas targets throughout Gaza in retaliation for the recent heavy rocket fire from the area, hitting mostly security headquarters, training compounds and weapons storage facilities.

Waves of Israeli aircraft swooped over the Gaza Strip on Saturday, firing missiles at Hamas’s security headquarters and killing more than 200 people, bringing the highest death toll in Gaza in years in a crushing response to rocket fire by Hamas against Israeli towns.

More from Haaretz and CNN.

Christmas In Baghdad

Iraqi families that have been in exile, having escaped the worst of the violence are returning, many of which returned for Christmas, saying they feel more secure and safer now.

Hundreds of Christians gathered to celebrate Christmas in Baghdad, most acknowledging that improved security conditions have allowed them to move more freely throughout the city after returning from years-long exiles in Syria, Egypt, Jordan or Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.

In the Christian neighborhood of Karada on Thursday, a Santa Claus handed out religious CDs and pamphlets, including "25 Stories From the Bible" and "The Greatest Gift." In recent years, such an act could have resulted in death.

Our military has done a wonderful job turning things around in Iraq... kudos to them for all their hard work and sacrifice.

Speaking of our military, Barack Obama also made an appearance to a Marine Corps base in Hawaii Kaneche Bay, where they were eating their Christmas dinner of salad, candied sweet potato with marshmallow topping, cream of mushroom soup, mashed potatoes, beef, ham, turkey, broccoli and corn.

“Just wanted to say hi, hey guys,” Obama said as he walked into the Anderson dining hall which was decked out in Christmas decorations.

The diners represented seven military units -- Marine and Navy -- some of whom were joined by their families for Christmas dinner.

As Obama entered the room, it was absent of the regular fanfare of cheering and clapping. The diners were polite, staying seated at their respective tables and waited for the president-elect to come to them to stand up.

Obama, dressed casually in a blue polo shirt and dark khaki trousers, worked his way around the room -- table by table -- and took pictures with the service members. He slapped them on the back at times, shook hands, and signed some autographs.

“Hey guys, Merry Christmas,” The president-elect said as he walked from table to table.

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How To Make Friends In Afghanistan: Give Them A Hard On

Short and sweet folks but couldn't resist bringing this little tidbit to my readers.

Viagra is the way to the Afghanistan man's ...um.... heart?

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.

"Take one of these. You'll love it," the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes -- followed by a request for more pills.

Funniest. Thing. Ever!!!!!

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Retailers Suffer From 'Worst Holiday Sales Season' On Record

It was expected, so it isn't a surprise but the Wall Street Journal reports that retailers have suffered the "worst holiday sales season on record" this year.

Price-slashing failed to rescue a bleak holiday season for beleaguered retailers, as sales plunged across most categories on shrinking consumer spending, according to new data released Thursday.

Despite a flurry of last-minute shoppers lured by the deep discounts, total retail sales, excluding automobiles, fell over the year-earlier period by 5.5% in November and 8% in December through Christmas Eve, according to MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit.

When gasoline sales are excluded, the fall in overall retail sales is more modest: a 2.5% drop in November and a 4% decline in December. A 40% drop in gasoline prices over the year-earlier period contributed to the sharp decline in total sales.

But considering individual sectors, "This will go down as the one of the worst holiday sales seasons on record," said Mary Delk, a director in the retail practice at consulting firm Deloitte LLP. "Retailers went from 'Ho-ho' to 'Uh-oh' to 'Oh-no.'"

The holiday retail-sales decline was much worse than the already-dire picture painted by industry forecasts, which had predicted sales ranging from a 1% drop to a more optimistic increase of 2.2%.

It is a long piece, so read the whole thing.

When you can go to a Home Depot, using this as just an example, and across the street there is a Lowes, or you find six different shoe stores in one strip mall, it figures that with the economy suffering as it is, something is going to have to give.

There comes a point where it moves from "competitive" and gets to downright ridiculous, and we hit that point long ago.

Now stores are slashing prices and offering after Christmas sales, but I fully expect to see some of these larger stores shutting down come the new year.

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Texas Report On Abuse At FLDS Compound

The Department of Family and Protective Services issued their report from their investigation into the abuses against the underage children at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, which is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound that heavily in the news last April.

Nearly two-thirds of the families living at a polygamist group's ranch — targeted in a high-profile raid last spring — had children who were abused or neglected, Texas child welfare officials said in a report released Tuesday.

The Department of Family and Protective Services concluded there was evidence that 12 girls, ages 12 to 15, were "spiritually" married to adult men in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which runs the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Seven of them had one or more children, the report says.

Another 262 children were listed as neglected because the agency said their parents knew there was sexual abuse in the household but did not move to protect their children from possible abuse.

The report, which summarizes the investigations done on all 439 children at the West Texas ranch, was issued at the request of the Health and Human Services executive commissioner, a gubernatorial appointee who oversees the protective services agency.

Read the rest.

All previous pieces on this issues can be found here.

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Not Everyone On The Left Is Whining About Rick Warren

After the news came out about Pastor Rick Warren being chosen by Barack Obama to give the inaugural invocation, I showed a few over-the-top reactions from the left and days later, I see the left and specifically the gay community are still howling at the moon over the choice.

They claim Warren is "intolerant" while they are being even more "intolerant" in their criticisms and whining.

Today alone, on memeorandum, I see people canceling their inauguration parties, complaining about things on Warren's website and generally having themselves a temper tantrum over the choice.

But not all of the gay community players are showing this level of intolerance. Some are actually showing they are not hypocritical in nature by speaking of tolerance while they are being extremely intolerant, and one such example is Melissa Etheridge, over at Huffington Post.

Well, I have to tell you my friends, the universe has a sense of humor and indeed works in mysterious ways. As I was winding down the promotion for my Christmas album I had one more stop last night. I'd agreed to play a song I'd written with my friend Salman Ahmed, a Sufi Muslim from Pakistan. The song is called "Ring The Bells," and it's a call for peace and unity in our world. We were going to perform our song for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a group of Muslim Americans that tries to raise awareness in this country, and the world, about the majority of good, loving, Muslims. I was honored, considering some in the Muslim religion consider singing to be against God, while other Muslim countries have harsh penalties, even death for homosexuals. I felt it was a very brave gesture for them to make. I received a call the day before to inform me of the keynote speaker that night... Pastor Rick Warren. I was stunned. My fight or flight instinct took over, should I cancel? Then a calm voice inside me said, "Are you really about peace or not?"

I told my manager to reach out to Pastor Warren and say "In the spirit of unity I would like to talk to him." They gave him my phone number. On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick, and before I could say anything, he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn't sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher. He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn't want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays. He invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids. He told me of his wife's struggle with breast cancer just a year before mine.

When we met later that night, he entered the room with open arms and an open heart. We agreed to build bridges to the future.

As readers here understand, I did not vote for Obama, do not think he will make a good president, but with that said, I am happy to see that he is reaching out, as he promised to, and attempting to build bridges where he can.

He has lost some support from more of the extreme left base but he has gained the eye and attention of others that are more in the middle.

To me, that is a great trade for Obama and kudos to him for not backing down in the face of the hard left's empty threats.

If they don't like his choices for his cabinet, or his choices for his inauguration, they have no one but themselves to blame, they voted for him, so now they need to sit down, shut up and let the man make the choices that are his to make since he was the one elected and they were not.

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Children of Iraq

And THIS is why we are in Iraq..H/T to Yankeemom. Enjoy!!!



And then there is this. "Our bad ass military showing their softer side." THAT'S the title of these videos on My Pet Jawa, which is where Yankeemom got them. No commentary from me needed.

In the Arms of Our Angels



God bless all our troops!

*and if you go over to Assoluta Tranquillita, you'll find a bonus video. Just sayin'*

Nine Decapitated Bodies Found Near Acapulco

A CNN video (above) describes how Mexican drug cartels are now attempting to infiltrate the U.S. Border Patrol.

Mexican police found nine tortured and decapitated bodies just north of Acapulco Sunday. They were identified as Mexican soldiers who died in the escalating drug war that is terrorizing the Mexican government and bleeding across the U.S. border.

According to Reuters, the bodies were found stuffed in a bag on the side of a highway near a shopping center an hour north of the tourist resort of Acapulco.

Tens of thousands of troops and police deployed by Mexico’s President Calderon have failed to curb the growing drug cartel violence which now threatens U.S./Mexican border towns.

Drug killings throughout Mexico have more than doubled to over 5,300 this year, scaring off investment and tourists. The United States has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to help its southern neighbor fight the cartels. . .

A note left with the severed heads warned of more decapitations, the state police said.

U.S.A. Today reports that the body count is rising faster than Baghdad’s in Juarez, Mexico, a city across the border from El Paso, Texas. Schools are under attack and the “Juarez Cartel, the rival Gulf Cartel and the Mexican government are fighting a three-way war for control of the city.”

Beheadings, hangings and mass executions have become a nightly occurrence in this city known for its feminicidios— the unsolved murders of more than 300 women since 1993.

In November parents and teachers “started getting telephone calls demanding protection money or the students would be kidnapped.” Schools have closed for days, playgrounds are empty, and teachers are hiring security guards. Homework assignments have been given to parents who are keeping their children home.

The El Paso Times has written that Juarez is a city that is almost dead and that “families and individuals on both sides of the border live in a perpetual state of sadness.”

The once lively downtown nightclub and tourist district “is now hauntingly silent.” Few Americans dare to cross the border for any reason.

In 12 months, the Juárez we've known for decades has collapsed, its historic bond with us poisoned by so much brutality.

Now, we tell Juárez relatives we won't celebrate the holidays with them this year unless they come over to this side. Our spouses refuse to let us cross the children into Mexico, refuse to put them at risk in the Juárez killing fields.

Technorati Tags: decapitations,beheadings,Drug wars,Mexico,Mexican,drug cartels,Acapulco,Juarez,El Paso,United States,border,cities,town,schools,fence,illegal immigration,immigration.

 

The Case of Lt. Col. West and the Feminization of American Culture

9/11 and the Great Debate
An alternative paradigm

After the shock of 9/11 and three bitter and contentious presidential elections, we still find ourselves a nation divided, hopelessly divided between red states and blue states, conservatives vs. liberals, and patriots vs. multiculturalists. Fundamentally, the dispute centers on two vital questions: What was the national significance of 9/11, and what should be the nature of our response? At stake in these debates is nothing less than the future of our democratic society.

I contend that we have framed the debate in inappropriate terms. There can be no overarching liberal or conservative response to violent aggression. The only appropriate response must be one that is purposely tailored to the specific nature of the attack. In the hope of casting new light on this discussion, I propose an alternative paradigm: reframing the issues in masculine or feminine terms – that is, the masculinization or femininization of society.

History appears to support the view that during prolonged periods of peace (the absence of actual enemy attacks on native soil), societies tend to become more feminine.* This does not mean to suggest that societies in peacetime necessarily become soft or effeminate, rather, that they become more inward directed, more concerned with what might for the sake of argument be characterized as feminine issues—that is, social and domestic issues, principally concerned with personal rights and civil liberties, as opposed to more aggressive nationalistic pursuits such as military ventures or foreign affairs. As peace settles in those traditional masculine virtues—strength, courage, duty, loyalty, bravery, honor—which served the society so well in time of war, and may in fact have saved the very life of that society—are gradually shunted aside and devalued, eventually replaced by the gentler feminine virtues of patience, understanding, nurturing, tolerance, and love.

Over the years, I submit, the character of America has changed. Somehow we, the valiant, universally respected victors of World War II, have come to be perceived—at least by our enemies—as a weak, feminine, Godless nation, selfish, self-centered, worshipful of youth and pleasure, obsessed with all the classic vanities—wealth, health, weight, style, status, and safety. An unapologetically self-indulgent society, who eagerly spends $42 billion a year on cosmetic plastic surgery and anti-aging products.* A cowardly society, loathe to risk the slightest injury to its soft, well-pampered skin. Of course, this is a grossly distorted, overly-simplistic view which, at least as it applies to our courageous military is, thank God, just plain wrong. Indeed, it is arguable that this is merely the sour self-righteous Islamisist view of a successful Western capitalist democracy. However, there may be more than one element of truth in this unflattering portrait. We have indeed changed. And nowhere has this change been more perfectly exemplified than in our deeply conflicted reactions to the events of September 11, 2001.

Immediately following the attacks on New York City, the Peace Protestors were out in force, filing into Manhattan’s parks and squares with their obligatory candles and guitars.


Under this maudlin display of love and good will, it quickly became apparent that there were those among us whose sense of national pride had been so thoroughly compromised by insidious doubts and—mostly inaccurate—leftist propaganda that they actually began to wonder aloud if perhaps we didn’t deserve it.


How do we explain the startling contrast between these ambivalent reactions to the horrors of 9/11 and the almost immediate display of visceral anger in response to the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941; even though it could be argued that, though admittedly dishonorable and treacherous, the Japanese attacks were in fact a military attack against a military target, that actually resulted in less fatalities (2,403 compared to 2,986) than were incurred on 9/11—while virtually all of the 2,749 victims in New York City were innocent civilians. Where, one might ask, is our righteous anger? What has happened to that steely resolve which we so courageously sustained throughout those terrible war years? How did we lose our way? And how, after our final victory, did we fall from those bright heights of post-war optimism down into this dark abyss of doubt and disillusionment?

From The Secret of Sansom's Hair: Hollywood and the Demasculinization of America by Roger W. Gardner
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The Case of Lt. Col. West

Lt. Col. Allen B. West in undated family photo (Courtesy Angela West)

OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM
Lt. Col. West fined $5,000
Avoids court martial for using shock tactics to save lives
By Art Moore
World Net Daily

An officer in Iraq who used shock interrogation tactics to thwart an impending attack on American soldiers was punished with forfeiture of two month's pay, according to his lawyer.
Previously faced with the possibility of a court martial, Lt. Col. Allen B. West accepted Article 15 non-judicial punishment from the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division at a hearing today in Tikrit, Iraq, said Neal A. Puckett, a retired Marine officer.

Puckett said the loss of pay amounts to $5,000.

"I'm pleased that it's over with," West told WorldNetDaily by telephone from San Antonio, Texas. "But I thought that taking $5,000 away from a guy who is about to retire was a little bit unnecessary.

"I didn't think that needed to be part of a sentence in order to send whatever message the commanding general thought he needed to send," he continued.

"Simply a letter of reprimand should have done it," Puckett insisted.

West will return to Ft. Hood, Texas, as soon as transportation can be arranged and will be assigned to the Rear Detachment of the 4th Infantry Division as he awaits the processing of his retirement request.

The punishment does not affect his eligibility for retirement and pension, Puckett said.

West's commanding officer, Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, had authority to accept or reject the recommendation of administrative punishment from the officer who presided over West's preliminary hearing in Tikrit last month, Lt. Col. Jimmy Davis.

At his preliminary hearing, West acknowledged he allowed two soldiers to beat an Iraqi policeman who refused to reveal details of an ambush plot and fired his pistol near the man's head, threatening to kill him.

As WorldNetDaily reported, under threat of an attack, West took charge of the interrogation of an Iraqi policeman, Yahya Jhodri Hamoody, determined to flush out details as he warned subordinates "it could get ugly." Threatening to kill the Iraqi if he didn't talk, West fired a pistol near the policeman's head.

The scared policeman then immediately disclosed the information, leading to the arrest of two Iraqis last August and cessation of attacks on West's 4th Infantry Division battalion.

At the hearing last month, West was asked by his defense attorney if he would do it again.

"If it's about the lives of my men and their safety, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can," he said.

"But that's what's going on out there in the streets here, and that's how I feel about my boys," he told the hearing, held in one of Saddam Hussein's lavish palaces. "There is not a person in this room I would not sacrifice my life for."

But Army prosecutors believe his actions in the town of Saba al Boor, near Tikrit, violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He was charged with aggravated assault and faced a wide range of possible outcomes from no disciplinary action to a sentence of up to eight years in prison.

The prosecutors gave West a choice – face charges or resign within days of his 20 years of service, losing retirement benefits. West chose to face the charges and place his fate in the hands of Maj. Gen. Odierno.

Puckett said West can be contacted by e-mail and his wife has her own e-mail address.

Angela West has set up a legal fund for her husband with the following address: Allen West Defense Fund c/o Angela West, 6823 Coleman Drive, Ft. Hood, TX 76544.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
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Lt.Col. West and the Feminization of American Culture
By KG at Crusader Rabbit

"The 'West Affair' has implications for the survival of American civilization. It is just that important. Great empires of the past have similarly dissolved, disintegrated, and disappeared as a result of the same malady that holds America in its grasp -- the feminization of their culture. Why few in America realize this truth in its stark reality and its dark implications for the future -- most concern themselves with the minute details of the media's entertaining but trivial political 'issue of the day' -- tells us more about America than it does about the primary actors in the 'West Affair.' "
The whole thing makes fascinating--if depressing--reading. How are we going to turn this trend around? Is it too late?

Do YOU remember?

The plane was headed for New York

1988: Jumbo jet crashes onto Lockerbie

A Pan Am jumbo jet with 258 passengers on board has crashed on to the town of Lockerbie near the Scottish borders.

Initial reports indicate it crashed into a petrol station in the centre of the town, between Carlisle and Dumfries, and burst into a 300-foot fireball.

Hundreds are feared dead as airline officials said flight 103 was about two-thirds full with 255 adults and three children on board.

Rescue teams have confirmed there are many casualties at the scene including townspeople who were on the ground.

The Boeing 747 left London Heathrow at 1800 GMT bound for New York's JFK airport...

In Context

In total 259 people aboard the flight and 11 on the ground died in the crash which took place 38 minutes after take-off.

The debris from the aircraft was scattered across 845 square miles and the impact reached 1.6 on the Richter scale.

The subsequent police investigation was the biggest ever mounted in Scotland and became a murder inquiry when evidence of a bomb was found.

Two men accused of being Libyan intelligence agents were eventually charged with planting the bomb.

Abdelbaset ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was jailed for life in January 2001 following an 84-day trial under Scottish law, at Camp Zeist in Holland.

His alleged accomplice, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was found not guilty.

In 2002 Al Megrahi's appeal against conviction was rejected. [both pieces from BBC here]

A number of ceremonies are planned
in Lockerbie throughout the day

Special "places to remember" are being opened in Lockerbie, with a wreath-laying ceremony taking place at the Dryfesdale Ceremony.

In the evening there will be services at both the Tundergarth and Dryfesdale Church.

A little after 1900 GMT the exact anniversary of the atrocity will be remembered.

For many who lived through it, the memories remain fresh despite the time which has passed.

We were sitting in our houses at Christmas we didn't have any trees, cards and decorations - we took them down Maxwell Kerr Eyewitness

George Stobbs, Lockerbie's police inspector at the time, recalls the events of 20 years ago with great clarity.

"Nobody actually knew what had happened, we realised an aircraft had come down but I thought it was a military aircraft," he said.

"Once I got into Sherwood Crescent I could see flames along the roadside, the footpaths were burst and there were gas pipes fractured - there were dancing flames coming up from them.

"Hedges were on fire, drop pipes on the side of houses were on fire and they were in turn climbing up and setting fire to the roofs."

It was only later in the evening that the scale of the death toll at Lockerbie began to emerge.[here]

It is said that those who forget history, are doomed to repeat it. Will YOU forget?

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*

Canadian is new Governor of Kandahar

Tooryalai Wesa, 58, fled Afghanistan in 1991 and settled in Coquitlam, B.C, Canada. Today, he takes up a new post as Governor of Kandahar.

"Some of the Afghans are trying to come back because we want to help the country and because of the lack of the professional people" in the country, Wesa told CTV Newsnet Thursday in a telephone interview from Kabul, Afghanistan.

Born and raised in Kandahar, Wesa has extensive work experience in the province and feels that he can be an effective link between the local population and the international force of soldiers, diplomats and aid workers currently posted there.

Go read the rest at Assoluta Tranquillita here.

SANTA TO MAKE PRE-CHRISTMAS EVE INSPECTION

SANTA TO MAKE PRE-CHRISTMAS EVE INSPECTION OF SANTA TRACKER HEADQUARTERS AT NORAD
Flight by World-Famous Macy's Santa to Help Children of our Fallen Military Heroes
Santa Offers Holiday Tips for Those Coping with Grief During the Holiday Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 19, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Just before his epic flight on Christmas Eve, the world-famous Macy's Santa will make a special trip on December 23rd to NORAD's Santa Tracker headquarters. Santa's special flight next week will provide support for children of our nation's fallen military heroes who are involved with TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.

As Santa's Traveling Workshop, Santa's flight on a Halcyon Jet will take him to NORAD's Santa Tracker headquarters, where Santa will ensure that all is in order for Christmas Eve. He'll also visit a household chosen by the winner of an online eBay auction and visit a children's home or military base to talk with boys and girls. Proceeds from the auction will help children of our fallen military heroes.

Located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), has been in the business of tracking Santa on Christmas Eve for the past 50 years. The command will track Santa as he flies from New York City on December 23rd to the community selected by the winning auction bidder, welcome Santa to tour NORAD, and then track Santa back to the North Pole on December 23.

TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, will distribute toys provided by Santa and the workshop to children who have lost a parent. "Santa's flight and toys will bring a lot of holiday cheer to children who have suffered a great loss and while also raising awareness for the ongoing programs that help children cope with their grief," said Bonnie Carroll, founder and chairman of TAPS.

Because the holidays can be a difficult time for families who are grieving, said Carroll, Santa also will offer some tips during his December 23rd flight to help those who are supporting a bereaved child this holiday season. "Among children involved with TAPS, the one gift they most want is one that Santa can't bring – the return of the parent or relative who died," said Carroll. "We know that Santa is working hard to bring joy and holiday cheer to children who've suffered the death of someone they love, and his December 23rd flight shows he cares about them and will provide resources to help the children of our fallen military heroes."

A few of the tips Santa offers are:

Make holiday plans that help your child feel nurtured, emotionally safe, and comfortable. Review your plans for the holidays with your child. Spend the holidays where you and your child feel supported, nurtured, and comfortable.

Allow your child to remember the person who died through a tribute. Light a candle together at dinner time to remember the person who died. Make a wreath with pictures and items that represent the things the lost loved one cared about and place it at the gravesite for the loved one. Hang an ornament on the tree that reminds the child of the loved one. Help your child offer a blessing at a holiday meal that honors the person who died. Create a picture or collage with your child, display a favorite photograph in your home, or let your child help you set a place at the dinner table to represent the loved one who died.

Laughter, play and joy are good for your child. Children do not grieve continuously and they need to take breaks from grieving. Encourage your child to play, run, and do recreational activities he or she would normally do. Clowning around and laughing (which releases endorphins into the brain) are good for children.

More tips on dealing with grief during the holidays for children and adults are available at www.taps.org<http://www.taps.org>.

Santa's Traveling Workshop has brought toys and cheer to hundreds of thousands of children and families in need, beginning in December of 2005 after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It also delivered 100,000 toys to children from all walks of life on the National Mall in Washington, DC in 2006.

TAPS provides ongoing emotional help, hope, and healing to all who are grieving the death of a loved one in military service to America, regardless of relationship to the deceased, geography, or circumstance of the death. TAPS meets its mission by providing peer-based support, crisis care, casualty casework assistance, and grief and trauma resources. Services are provided free of charge. For more information go to www.taps.org<http://www.taps.org> or call the toll-free crisis line at 800.959.TAPS.

Media Contacts
Santa's Traveling Workshop Media Contact: Travis Thomas, 858.759.2000

TAPS Media Contact: Ami Neiberger-Miller, 202.588.TAPS, ami@taps.orgami@taps.org>

Campaign for New York Senator Update-Dealing With Media Bias

With great fanfare, earlier this week I threw my hat in the ring for the open NY Senate Seat. Since then the Mainstream Media has shown its true bias. They were all over the story of Ms Kennedy, not ONE mention of Yidwithlid. They even covered and praised Caroline's Lunch with Al Sharpton. AL SHARPTON ???? For Pete's Sake !! She wants to be senator and she is having lunch with AL Sharpton--- a professional BIGOT. OH MY GOD !

Governor Paterson I understand the severe pressure you face. When President-elect Obama didn't give Ms Kennedy the job she wanted (UN Ambassador) you were stuck with "paying off" Caroline and her Uncle Ted with the NY Senate seat.

Just to show you what a wonderful problem solver I can be as Senator, here is a solution for you to get out from under the pressure AND to solve another Democratic party problem. If you suggest this you will look like a party superstar. Tell Obama to give Ms Kennedy the Illinois Senate Seat. That's right, Illinois. Its a great solution.

With all the scandal Illinois is facing they an Icon appointed to that Senate Seat to remove the pretense of "monkey business". There is no bigger Democratic Party Icon than the Kennedy family. Now that is somthing Ms Kennedy IS qualified for---being a professional icon. Even better is the fact that there is precedent for a move like this, Hillary Clinton. She is grew up in Illinois, lived in Arkansas and only moved to NY to become Senator. We had her shoved down our throats as a carpet bagger. Lets send Illinois a carpet bagger of their own.

Governor, with Ms Kennedy out of the way, you would be free the most unqualified person left to by the NY Senator--ME choose me, It is plain to see (oops sorry, I didn't mean anything by that). It is clear that with Caroline out of the way, I am the number one, most unqualified candidate for the NY Senate Seat.

While Ms Kennedy went upstate to meet with leaders, I traveled around Nassau County to meet key party people. While none of them would meet with me, I did see the building where the County Executive works. Because he has already incited two pogroms against Jews, I did not want to have lunch with "Reverend" Al Sharpton, but did have a really good slice of Pizza and the guy behind the counter, Mario says I am perfect for the Senate Seat.

Sadly, there was no Media Coverage of my trip. The left wing media is as in love Obama's choice for Senator, Ms Kennedy, almost as much as they are with the President-elect/messiah himself. The NY City media spoke glowingly of her trip upstate yesterday, no one mentioned her lack of qualifications, they just repeated her "stump speech," like this from the NY Daily News:

"I have had a life-long commitment to public service. I've written books on the Constitution and the importance of individual participation," she said. The 51-year-old Kennedy also touted her mom skills as well as her "commitment to education in New York City, training principals, working for kids." "I think I really could help bring change to Washington," she said.

WELL EXCUSE ME, Ms "My Uncle is a Senator, " you are not the only one involved with public service. I go to Minyan at my shul every day, and those services are very public. You might be a MOM but I am a DAD. I have taught my kids all of the basic skills, from laying off a curve ball when the count is in your favor to channel flipping and "pull my finger".

I will not only bring change to Washington, but I will bring paper money. Hard earned paper-money-- made by people who have had to worry about covering expenses from taxes that are too high, or people have to worry about losing their jobs. My qualifications were learned in the School of Hard Knox, your only qualification is that you can see New York from your summer house on the cape. I will scrap and fight for NY, YOU DON'T EVEN VOTE.

There is one more thing you all should know, there is another blogger who has thrown her hat in the ring, but she is too qualified. It is obvious that the Governor does not want to consider qualified people. Her name is Pamela Geller and she runs the site Atlas Shrugs. I am telling you this because she is not a good candidate. You see she brighter and more qualified than me, thus she should not be considered.

Sammy Benoit, Yidwithlid, is the editor of the Blog, Yid With Lid, and a candidate for the office of Senator of the Great State of New York.

Manmade Global Warming- BOGUS

BOGUS

CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers had never bought into the notion that man can alter the climate and the Vegas snowstorm didn’t impact his opinion. Myers, an American Meteorological Society certified meteorologist, explained on CNN’s Dec. 18 “Lou Dobbs Tonight” that the whole idea is arrogant and mankind was in danger of dying from other natural events more so than global warming.

“You know, to think that we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant,” Myers said. “Mother Nature is so big, the world is so big, the oceans are so big – I think we’re going to die from a lack of fresh water or we’re going to die from ocean acidification before we die from global warming, for sure.”

I have always said, it is arrogant of man to think that what we do will harm Earth.

Face it, Earth was here before us and it will be here long after we are extinct and to assume that we have any control of the weather itself is arrogant idiocy on our part.

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Bush To The Rescue: $17.4 billion to automakers

After the House voted to bail out automakers with $14 Billion and the Senate failed to get the votes to pass said bailout, talk was that bush would step in and rescue them instead of letting them file for bankruptcy, using part of the Wall Street bailout monies.

Today I see news from ABC and others stating that Bush and the Feds are going to give the automakers a $17.4 billion, low interest loan. despite the fact that the majority of Americans do not want taxpayer money given to privately owned companies to pull their asses out of the fire.

"In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action," President Bush said today. "It could send our suffering economy into a deeper and longer recession. And it would leave the next president to confront the demise of a major American industry in his first days of office."

The money for the loans will come from the Troubled Asset Relief Program fund, signed into law this fall to bail out the financial industry.

The Treasury Department will provide $13.4 billion in short-term financing in December and January and plans to make another $4 billion available in February, provided Congress allows the White House to reach into the second half of the $700 billion TARP fund.

Not only is this a massive mistake on Bush's part, but it seems the incoming Obama administration is behind the plan as well.

The White House has been talking to the Obama team about its strategy, and the incoming Democratic administration has expressed no objections to the plan, sources told ABC News.

Bush's full statement below:

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. For years, America's automakers have faced serious challenges -- burdensome costs, a shrinking share of the market, and declining profits. In recent months, the global financial crisis has made these challenges even more severe. Now some U.S. auto executives say that their companies are nearing collapse -- and that the only way they can buy time to restructure is with help from the federal government.

This is a difficult situation that involves fundamental questions about the proper role of government. On the one hand, government has a responsibility not to undermine the private enterprise system. On the other hand, government has a responsibility to safeguard the broader health and stability of our economy.

Addressing the challenges in the auto industry requires us to balance these two responsibilities. If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers. Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say this is the price that failed companies must pay -- and I would not favor intervening to prevent the automakers from going out of business.

But these are not ordinary circumstances. In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action. The question is how we can best give it a chance to succeed. Some argue the wisest path is to allow the auto companies to reorganize through Chapter 11 provisions of our bankruptcy laws -- and provide federal loans to keep them operating while they try to restructure under the supervision of a bankruptcy court. But given the current state of the auto industry and the economy, Chapter 11 is unlikely to work for American automakers at this time.

American consumers understand why: If you hear that a car company is suddenly going into bankruptcy, you worry that parts and servicing will not be available, and you question the value of your warranty. And with consumers hesitant to buy new cars from struggling automakers, it would be more difficult for auto companies to recover.

Additionally, the financial crisis brought the auto companies to the brink of bankruptcy much faster than they could have anticipated -- and they have not made the legal and financial preparations necessary to carry out an orderly bankruptcy proceeding that could lead to a successful restructuring.

The convergence of these factors means there's too great a risk that bankruptcy now would lead to a disorderly liquidation of American auto companies. My economic advisors believe that such a collapse would deal an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans far beyond the auto industry. It would worsen a weak job market and exacerbate the financial crisis. It could send our suffering economy into a deeper and longer recession. And it would leave the next President to confront the demise of a major American industry in his first days of office.

A more responsible option is to give the auto companies an incentive to restructure outside of bankruptcy -- and a brief window in which to do it. And that is why my administration worked with Congress on a bill to provide automakers with loans to stave off bankruptcy while they develop plans for viability. This legislation earned bipartisan support from majorities in both houses of Congress.

Unfortunately, despite extensive debate and agreement that we should prevent disorderly bankruptcies in the American auto industry, Congress was unable to get a bill to my desk before adjourning this year.

This means the only way to avoid a collapse of the U.S. auto industry is for the executive branch to step in. The American people want the auto companies to succeed, and so do I. So today, I'm announcing that the federal government will grant loans to auto companies under conditions similar to those Congress considered last week.

These loans will provide help in two ways. First, they will give automakers three months to put in place plans to restructure into viable companies -- which we believe they are capable of doing. Second, if restructuring cannot be accomplished outside of bankruptcy, the loans will provide time for companies to make the legal and financial preparations necessary for an orderly Chapter 11 process that offers a better prospect of long-term success -- and gives consumers confidence that they can continue to buy American cars.

Because Congress failed to make funds available for these loans, the plan I'm announcing today will be drawn from the financial rescue package Congress approved earlier this fall. The terms of the loans will require auto companies to demonstrate how they would become viable. They must pay back all their loans to the government, and show that their firms can earn a profit and achieve a positive net worth. This restructuring will require meaningful concessions from all involved in the auto industry -- management, labor unions, creditors, bondholders, dealers, and suppliers.

In particular, automakers must meet conditions that experts agree are necessary for long-term viability -- including putting their retirement plans on a sustainable footing, persuading bondholders to convert their debt into capital the companies need to address immediate financial shortfalls, and making their compensation competitive with foreign automakers who have major operations in the United States. If a company fails to come up with a viable plan by March 31st, it will be required to repay its federal loans.

The automakers and unions must understand what is at stake, and make hard decisions necessary to reform, These conditions send a clear message to everyone involved in the future of American automakers: The time to make the hard decisions to become viable is now -- or the only option will be bankruptcy.

The actions I'm announcing today represent a step that we wish were not necessary. But given the situation, it is the most effective and responsible way to address this challenge facing our nation. By giving the auto companies a chance to restructure, we will shield the American people from a harsh economic blow at a vulnerable time. And we will give American workers an opportunity to show the world once again they can meet challenges with ingenuity and determination, and bounce back from tough times, and emerge stronger than before.

Thank you.

END 9:08 A.M. EST

Malkin brings a couple points out. First, John Boehner's statement and then the illegality of the "loan" (bailout).

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Gay Activists Angry At Obama

Barack Obama has chosen evangelical pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the presidential inauguration which has sparked anger among gay activists because of Warren's support for Proposition 8, the California constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

“Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans,” the president of Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solomonese, wrote Obama Wednesday. “[W]e feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination.”

The rapid, angry reaction from a range of gay activists comes as the gay rights movement looks for an opportunity to flex its political muscle. Last summer gay groups complained, but were rebuffed by Obama, when an “ex-gay” singer led Obama’s rallies in South Carolina. And many were shocked last month when voters approved the California ban.

According to the official press release, the choices for participants on that date were "based on requests from the President-elect and the Vice President-elect."

Obama himself opposed California's amendment to ban same-sex marriages but he also opposes same-sex marriage in and of itself, which makes Warren a good choice for him personally despite Warren's support of Prop 8.

Like Solomonese, other gay leaders are speaking out against Obaa's choice of Warren.

The reaction Wednesday in gay rights circles was universally negative.

“It’s a huge mistake,” said California gay rights activist Rick Jacobs, who chairs the state’s Courage Campaign. “He’s really the wrong person to lead the president into office.

“Can you imagine if he had a man of God doing the invocation who had deliberately said that Jews are not going to be saved and therefore should be excluded from what’s going on in America? People would be up in arms,” he said.

The editor of the Washington Blade, Kevin Naff, called the choice “Obama’s first big mistake.”

“His presence on the inauguration stand is a slap in the faces of the millions of GLBT voters who so enthusiastically supported him,” Naff wrote, referring to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. “This tone-deafness to our concerns must not be tolerated. We have just endured eight years of endless assaults on our dignity and equality from a president beholden to bigoted conservative Christians. The election was supposed to have ended that era. It appears otherwise.”

Other liberal groups are making those same points across the board.

Andrew Sullivan from The Daily Dish states "Shrewd politics, but if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now."

Maha from the Mahablog complains "Warren isn’t just a walking insult to LGBT Americans; he’s a walking insult to our species, especially women. What Warren represents makes my skin crawl. His presence in the inaugural program is particularly galling to religious liberals, who have been vilified and marginalized for years by the so-called “Christian” Right. And then to have religion represented by this creep at the inauguration … . well, yes, people are angry. This is certainly understandable."

John Aravosis on AmericaBlog, says Obama's choice of Warren "is abominable."

He has a real whine fest going on over there at his blog about this.

Greg Sargent from TPM's reaction fits in with the other angry liberals by saying "As you regulars know, this blog has argued that it's premature for liberals to get too agitated about Obama's cabinet picks and that we should wait to let his policies do the talking. But I'm not sure how you can defend this one, even if the two men are friends and the choice doesn't necessarily have actual policy implications."

Eschaton blog simply names Obama as "Wanker of the day".

You can see all the whining, pissing and moaning and basic bitchfest going on about this decision over at memeorandum.

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Governor Patterson PICK ME, Not Caroline Kennedy

Cross-Posted From Yidwithlid

Dear Governor Patterson:

The rumor is that you are going to submit to the will of the national democratic party and appoint Caroline Kennedy as NY State Senator. My recommendation sir, is that you reject the party's pressure and embrace the Politics of Change DO NOT APPOINT CAROLINE KENNEDY AS the Senator from NY, Pick ME, Yidwithlid.

I'm very serious. My qualifications are just as strong as Ms. Kennedy, If not Stronger, In fact some would say that I am just as unqualified to be Senator as Caroline Kennedy:

Judging Obama's Plan for Capital Improvements? Ms Kennedy comes from a long line of politicians she will bring the same Old Perspective to the seat. I come from a long line of house-painters I know all about capital improvements and where we would need one Coat or Two.

I can save the State Money- Guaranteed ! Ms Kennedy was born with the silver Kennedy Spoon in her mouth. I am out of work and get NY State Unemployment. If I'm appointed I will no longer need that Unemployment Check--I promise.

Background? Both Caroline and I are devout in our faiths. I am Jewish, Kennedy is married to a Jew and thus, Jewish by insemination.

Job Training Ms Kennedy is a Lawyer by trade, I have 30 years in marketing. There are already too many lawyers in Congress, I already twist facts for a living.

Caroline Kennedy will bring the same old Kennedy perspective to Washington, I will bring diversity of Opinion, to the Senate. The same sick warped opinions I bring to this blog.
A Kennedy appointment will reek of nepotism. If Caroline Kennedy is appointed to the New York Senate seat — once held by her uncle, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy — she would be joined in Congress not only by another uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, but also by her cousin (his son) Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy .

At the moment, the Senate includes six sons or daughters of congressmen. In the 111th Congress next year, there will be 21 House members with a parent who also served in Congress – plus five wives who currently hold their late husbands’ seats. NO ONE In my family has ever served in Congress. In the interests of full disclosure, ONE of my relatives did wallpaper the bathrooms on the first floor of NYC's City Hall--see I have political experience also.
Charitable Causes? Ms Kennedy give a lot of Money and Time to Charity. So Do I, in fact I gave more money to charity over the past nine years the the Vice-President elect. There is no reason to believe that Caroline will stop giving money to charity if she is not selected. Since appointing me Senator will be granting me game-full employment I could actually INCREASE my charitable contributions.

Rep. Peter King – who said that he might run for the Senate in 2010 – asked why New Yorkers would feel more comfortable with Kennedy “than with people who have worked in the trenches and worked their way up.” But then, "Americans always say they don’t like royalty and hereditary connections,” he said. “On the other hand, they really like families like the Kennedys.”

One more thing, Mr. Patterson, I am one of those Crazy Right Wing Bloggers you Democrats complain about, If appointed Senator, I will no longer have the time, to dig around and expose the liberals for what they are...that's got to be worth something.

Mr Governor you see (no pun intended) except for maybe the Religion Issue which is a tie, I beat Ms Kennedy at every Issue. If you are going to pick someone without the slightest bit of qualifications to be Senator Pick Me Not Caroline Kennedy

Ottis Toole Officially named As Adam Walsh's Killer

After 27 years, the brutal murder of 6 year old Adam Walsh, whom was decapitated, has been officially closed and the police named Ottis Toole, the man that John Walsh, father of Adam, had long contended was the murderer, as the perpetrator of the crime.

A serial killer who died more than a decade ago is the person who decapitated the 6-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh in 1981, police in Florida said Tuesday. The announcement brought to a close a case that has vexed the Walsh family for more than two decades, launched the television show about the nation's most notorious criminals and inspired changes in how authorities search for missing children.

"Who could take a 6-year-old and murder and decapitate him? Who?" an emotional John Walsh said at Tuesday's news conference. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know. The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey's over."

Walsh's wife, Reve, at one point placed a small photo of their son on the podium.

Police named Ottis Toole, saying he was long the prime suspect in the case and that they had conclusively linked him to the killing. They declined to be specific about their evidence and did not note any DNA proof of the crime, but said an extensive review of the case file pointed only to Toole, as John Walsh long contended.

Read the full story at the link above.

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Public Against Auto Bailout

A Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that the majority of the American Public, 55 percent, oppose any bailout for the auto industry.

Overall, 55 percent of those polled oppose the latest plan that Chrysler, Ford and General Motors executives pitched to Congress last week, on par with public opposition to earlier, pricier efforts. But with 42 percent support, the new request for up to $14 billion in emergency loans has more backers than previous proposals to secure up to $34 billion in loan guarantees.

But as with the earlier bids, those who strongly oppose the measure greatly outnumber those who are strongly supportive.

As I have pointed out previously, the best option is for the auto companies to do what any other private business has to and file for bankruptcy, which is the topic of the latest Wall Street Journal article.

Bottom line here is that it is not our, the taxpayers, responsibility to bailout private companies that fail.

Yes it IS that simple.

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Submit Your Nomination For the Second Annual Self-Hating Jew Awards

I thought I was a self-hating Jew, but it turns out I'm just a plain old anti-Semite.'' --Krusty the Clown


Last year I was given a challenge by a friend--why didn't anyone ever blog about these "self-hating" Jews?" Doing one better and with some help from friends we set up the Self Hating Jew Awards a chance to all the great posts that people have written about those Members of the Tribe who may have their heads up their arses. ( My friend Bruce created one "trophy" like this for each category)

Last year's competition generated much good debate and discussion, and 2008's is bound to be even better.

Nominations are accepted for the following categories:

• Most Self-Hating Jew (2007 Winner-Ehud Olmert)
• Not Self-Hating Just Stupid (2007 Winner- Alan Colmes)
• Most Self-Hating EX-Jew (2007 Winner-Daniel Sharon)
• Most Self Hating Media (2007 Winner-NY Times)

Any nomination must be accompanied an article/post to that substantiates the nominee. To Nominate Your Favorite(s) access the Carnival Submission form by clicking here

Or send an email to yidwithlid at aol dot com

If you would like to review last years nominations CLICK HERE

The Meaning of the Shoes

From AOL News
BAGHDAD (Dec. 15) - Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets Monday to demand the release of a reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, as Arabs across many parts of the Middle East hailed the journalist as a hero and praised his insult as a proper send-off to the unpopular U.S. president. [...]

Journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, who was kidnapped by militants last year, was being held by Iraqi security Monday and interrogated about whether anybody paid him to throw his shoes at Bush during a press conference the previous day in Baghdad, said an Iraqi official. [...]

Showing the sole of your shoe to someone in the Arab world is a sign of extreme disrespect, and throwing your shoes is even worse.

Newspapers across the Arab world on Monday printed front-page photos of Bush ducking the flying shoes, and satellite TV stations repeatedly aired the incident, which provided fodder for jokes and was hailed by the president's many critics in the region.
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A note from Radarsite: We all understand now the significance of this particular insult in the Arab world -- right? But do we really? Somehow I tend to doubt it. The true significance of this attack on President Bush and symbolically on the United States, and its enthusiastic reception in both the Arab world and in our own liberal media has not really been addressed. One part of this story is of course the breathless eagerness with which our own biased leftist MSM quickly grasps onto any story that will support their long-held conviction that the Iraq war was a foolish criminal endeavor, perpetrated on the American people by a clueless ignorant cowboy -- "the unpopular U.S. president".

But I contend that this incident provides us with an even more important lesson. One which we should have learned by now but have not. It is simply this: Why should this act of hatred and resentment come as a surprise to us? Haven't we accepted the fact yet that 'blood is thicker than water'; or in this case, that the Arab world's adherence to Islam and to Sharia law supersedes any temporary arrangements of convenience made with infidel governments. Treaties made with Arab (or any Muslim) states are in reality no more than cynical measures of expediency. Realpolitik.

Here is the cold hard truth: Islam is, was, and always will be the sworn enemy of Western civilization in general, and of the United States of America in particular. Any thoughts that we can peacefully coexist without risking subsequent betrayal are foolhardy and delusional. Every time we think we have made inroads into the Muslim world we should be automatically circumspect and on guard. For when push comes to shove, all of those minor political or regional differences between Arab/Muslim states will be quickly set aside when confronted with the common enemy of the infidel West. Until the very roots of Islam are torn out of this culture we will never succeed in establishing any meaningful and lasting peace in this region.

The Arab world has lionized the shoe-tosser not just because he confronted and insulted an "unpopular American president", but because he heroically challenged the power and the hegemony of the Infidel West. To not understand the depth of this animosity is to not understand the profound meaning of this monumental global confrontation we are experiencing.

Does this mean that we should just give up on our efforts to reform and democratize the Middle East? Of course not. But we cannot be naive or overly optimistic. We must constantly bear in mind the immutability of the message of the Koran. During the Cold War we developed the concept of 'Trust but verify'. This attitude is even more relevant today when confronted with militant Islam.

Read more:
http://radarsite.blogspot.com/2008/11/our-most-dangerous-enemy-post-mumbai.html

http://radarsite.blogspot.com/2008/11/golden-key-those-illusive-moderate.html

32 Really STUPID Uses of YOUR TAX MONEY in 2008

Voicemail for the homeless, an inflatable alligator, classes on how to make salsa, an historic trail that is completely underwater, these are only a few of the really stupid things your tax money has been used for during 2008. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) created a report that show some of the worst examples of federal spending in the last 12 months. Below for your appraisal are my 32 most favorite along with some snide remarks:

1) Voicemail For the Homeless-I wonder if they will put wires through the subway grate directly into into the Cardboard Boxes. While the homeless in Summit County struggle to find food, shelter and clothing, this Ohio community made sure they were not lacking in one essential service: voice mail. A $1 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) will carve out $15,000 for the free voice mail service. Interestingly, the community spent only $10,000 of the same CDBG grant on transitional housing for "homeless single parents."

2) Training Classes for Casino Workers – Kansas ($784,000) Good casino workers are hard to find in the Kansas City area, according to the Departments of Labor and Education. Both federal departments teamed up this year and gave $784,000 in grants to the Kansas City Kansas Community College for a new training program geared to assist workers that may seek employment in a nearby planned casino. "Every casino operator has talked to us about this," said Lori Trumbo, dean of business and continuing education at the community college. "They are going to need these employees, and they’re going to need them to be well‐trained. Can't they just watch CSI?

3) Inflatable Alligator and Under‐the‐Sea Waterslide – Texas ($367,000) Can Someone buy me one for my my pool? A preliminary report by the Texas Education Agency, released this past April, found that $367,000 in federal funds were misspent by the Cleburne school district. Audit officials became suspicious when, "The district did not provide lesson plans or other documentation to show how rental of an inflatable alligator and an under‐the‐sea water slide supported reading instruction."

4)Tennis Courts and Artificial Baseball Field Turf – Howard Beach, New York ($1 million)- Fool Me Once Shame on you, Fool Me Twice It Must Be the Government. In 2000, the Frank M. Charles Memorial Park received a federal grant of $1 million to upgrade its deteriorating facilities, but according to Dorothy McCloskey, president of the park’s oversight committee, "the money was wasted." The problem, she insisted, was the park management’s "notorious inability" to perform routine maintenance, leaving the tennis courts and baseball fields in a state of disrepair. Taxpayers chipped in an additional $1 million grant this year to repair the tennis courts and to provide artificial turf for a baseball field.There is hope that this time will be different, "I’m not willing to see another million dollars wasted," McCloskey said.

5) The Heart of Rock and Roll gets $9,400/Student to teach Salsa Making – Cleveland Ohio ($517,000) Fifty‐five teenagers are learning to plant vegetables and do landscaping through the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s "Green Corps," a work‐study program that teaches teens to make salsa. A grant of $517,000 – or more than $9,400 per student – was directed to the Green Corps out of juvenile justice programs at the Department of Justice. Students are instructed how to use the vegetables they grow to bottle and sell "Ripe from Downtown® salsa and vinaigrette."Geri Unger, director of the program, noted the impact it is having on teens, "For many, this is the first time they've eaten vegetables they actually see growing."

For the rest of the list CLICK HERE:

Rahm Emanuel's Talks With Blagojevich Staff

Reports are coming out that Barack Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, had conversations with Rod Blagojevich's staff regarding Obama's replacement in the Senate, to which Blagojevich is being accused of trying to "sell" off.

The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat?

Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill.

Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and was "confident that no representatives" of his had engaged in any dealmaking over the seat with the governor or his team. He also pledged Thursday that in the "next few days" he would explain what contacts his staff may have had with the governor's office about the Senate vacancy.

According to Times Online, there may even be tapes of those conversations, which puts Obama's new Chief of Staff pick smack dab in the middle of the scandal Blagojevich is now immersed in.

Fox News Chicago reported that Mr Emanuel, a Chicago politician who won the Illinois Governor’s former congressional seat, may have been captured on FBI wire-taps discussing the fate of Mr Obama’s vacated US Senate seat with Rod Blagojevich.

The TV station said Mr Emanuel had “multiple conversations” with the Governor, who is accused of trying to “sell” the open Senate seat for a Cabinet post or lucrative top foundation job. The report said the Governor was given a list of Senate candidates acceptable to Mr Obama. Because the FBI was secretly taping Mr Blagojevich in recent weeks, Mr Emanuel’s conversations may have been recorded, Fox News Chicago said.

More from the first link shows:

One source confirmed that communications between Emanuel and the Blagojevich administration were captured on court-approved wiretaps.

Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor’s administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win.

Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be “acceptable” to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.

Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.”

This all goes directly against what Obama has previously said, when he maintained that he nor his representatives had contact with Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy.

Asked about any contacts his staff had with Blagojevich or his office, Obama said he had no contact with the governor or his office.

"That I know for certain," he said.

Obama also said he is "absolutely certain" that no one on his staff was involved in "deal-making" in regard to the Senate seat, pointing out that in the FBI affidavit, Blagojevich was taped complaining that Obama wouldn't play ball.

"That would be a violation of everything this campaign has been about. That's not how we do business," he said.

Now, if you read through the 78 page PDF complaint, you will find some interesting statements from Blagojevich, which Strata-Sphere points out, specifically statement #6, which says:

[statement 6] ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it up” for two years and do nothing and give this “motherfucker [the President-elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.”

More points made by Strata-Sphere found here with more specific statements highlighted, all showing that Obama has deliberately lied during this whole thing, to the American people.

This is snowballing and it is unclear how many people were actually involved, but as of now, one the highest, most publicized appointments that Obama has made, namely Emanuel, is very close to this whole scandal and being he is Obama's representative, that puts Obama right there in the middle of this whole thing.

More at Commentary and Politico.

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US National Guard 372nd Birthday

National Guard 372nd Birthday Tribute - watch more videos

(source)

Known originally as the militia, the National Guard turns 372 years young Dec. 13.

It all started in 1636 when the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which functioned as the colony’s legislature, ordered existing militia companies from the towns surrounding Boston to form into three regiments: North, South and East.

While other English colonies like Virginia and Spanish colonies like Florida and Puerto Rico had individual towns with militia companies before 1636, Massachusetts was the first place in the New World where the population was large enough to justify organizing companies into regiments for command and control. These regiments became a kind of military “family” for members. Although their names have been changed and individual companies have come and gone, the three regiments still exist in the Massachusetts National Guard.

In retrospect, a string of 20-year career enlistments divides the Guard’s life span into more than 18 “generations.” The differences between generation one and the current 19th generation are countless. Yet, even as the National Guard has transformed many times, it remains true to the Founder’s intent of a citizens’ Army; and, for the last three generations, a citizens’ Air Force.

The American colonies adopted the English militia system, which obligated all males to possess arms and participate in the defense of the community. This early militia enforced local laws and battled Britain’s enemies in America. Now, a force of more than 450,000 men and women serve voluntarily and can be deployed anywhere in the world.

From its very beginnings, the United States has been a militia –Guard nation. The existence of and need for the colonial militia was ratified by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. Congress specifically defined those missions the militia would be used for: “to Execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections, and repel Invasions.”

Since then, Congress has enacted several militia and defense acts to strengthen the National Guard. The first of these laws, passed in 1792, governed the militia for 111 years of the country’s existence.

The Militia Act of 1903 created the modern National Guard and affirmed the National Guard as the nation’s primary organized combat reserve force. The National Defense Act of 1947 established the Air National Guard as a separate reserve component at the same time it established a separate Air Force.

In 371 years and more than eighteen 20-year enlistments, the weapons and technology have changed drastically, but the Guard’s contribution to the nation’s defense has remained paramount.

Generation seven rallied to battle the British at Lexington and Concord. Generation 12 faced off, brother against brother, in the Civil War. Generation 14 “Remembered the Maine” during the Spanish-American War. Generation 16 was already on duty when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Generation 19 will never forget and is still responding to 9/11.

In 1636, the militia’s primary firearm was the crude matchlock musket which could take 56 steps to load and fire. Nearly one-third of militia Soldiers carried only a long pole, or pike, into combat. Today, the Guard’s small-arms arsenal includes M-16 and M-4 rifles, and the Squad Automatic Weapon which fires of 750 rounds per minute.

Our colonial forefathers could not have imagined much of what their descendants can use in combat today – jet fighters, tanks, satellite radios, laser-guided munitions, global positioning systems, rocket artillery, and countless other high-tech devices.

Now, after 372 years, what does the future hold for this always ready and reliable force?

Future National Guard generations will continue to employ all of the modern technology at its disposal at home and abroad. At the core, however, today’s National Guard members and yesterday’s Minutemen remain the same person: citizens with the conviction that their military service is required to make their nation and communities a safer and better place. (here)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL NATIONAL GUARDS!!!!!!!!!

Pooh Bear more authentic than Obama!

I have resisted thus far getting into the case of the Obama fake birth certificate, and the implications of that whole mess. So many other sites have been following the twists and turns, I saw no need to add my 2 cents. However, today I found this and it was just too good to NOT share with you all. I also would trust Winnie the Pooh over Obama any day. From Canada Free Press comes this:

Legitimate birth certificates

Winnie the Pooh’s birth certificate more authentic than Obama’s

By Judi McLeod Thursday, June 26, 2008

It was Richard Danzig, Navy Secretary under President Bill Clinton, now touted as National Security Adviser in an Obama White House, who told the Centre for New American Security: “Winnie the Pooh seems to me to be a fundamental text on national security.”

Now Winnie the Pooh seems to have something that Barack Obama doesn’t: a legitimate birth certificate. Winnie’s birth certificate was signed by its creator A.A. Milne. See Winnie’s birth certificate here.

According to Israelinsider, “It is now a certainty that the “birth certificate” claimed by the Barack Obama campaign as authentic is a photoshopped fake.”

“The image, purporting to come from the Hawaii Department of Health, has been the subject of intense skepticism in the blogosphere in the past few weeks. But now the senior spokesman of that Department has confirmed to Israel Insider what are the required features of a certified birth document—features that Obama’s purported “birth certificate” clearly lack.

“That strongly suggests that Daily Kos obtained the image from Photobucket, not the State of Hawaii, the Obama family, or the Obama campaign. Photobucket is not generally known as a credible supplier of official vital records for any of the fifty states, and the liberties that other Photoshoppers took with the certificates confirms this.

“Some of these oddities surfaced in Israel Insider’s previous article on the subject, but new comparative documentary evidence presented below, and official verification obtained by Israel Insider from a senior Hawaiian official, provides the strongest confirmation yet.

“An authentic Hawaiian birth certificate for another Hawaiian individual has since surfaced which, using the same official form as the presumptive Obama certificate, includes an embossed official seal and an authoritative signature, coming through from the back. Obama’s alleged certificate lacks those features, and the certificate number referencing the birth year has been blacked out, making it untraceable.

”Janice Okubo, Director of Communications of the State of Hawaii Department of Health, told Israel Insider: “At this time there are no circumstances in which the State of Hawaii Department of Health would issue a birth certification or certification of live birth only electronically.” And, she added, “In the State of Hawaii all certified copies of certificates of live birth have the embossed seal and registrar signature on the back of the document.”

“Compare the top image presented by his campaign as evidence of Obama’s 1961 birth and the other certifying the birth of one Patricia Decosta....

And there is more compelling evidence, over at Canada Free Press here.

Seems to me it is long past time when Obama needs to take himself off to Pooh's Thotful Spot!

Just Sayin'.

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*

Illinois Politicians Seen As More Corrupt Than Corporate CEO'S

Rasmussen has found that by a 2 to 1 margin, Illinois politicians are seen as more corrupt than corporate CEO'S.

A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Illinois voters found that 48% say the politicians are more corrupt while just 22% hold the opposite view. Thirty percent (30%) are not sure.

There is a huge partisan divide on this question. Republicans by a 68% to eight percent (8%) margin say politicians are more corrupt. Voters not affiliated with either major party share that view four-to-one. However, Democrats are evenly divided: 34% say CEO’s are more corrupt, 31% say it’s the politicians, and 36% are not sure.

No huge surprise here considering the trouble being seen now with Rod Blagojevich and remember, people do not refer to "Chicago politics" that way for no reason.

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Nationwide Tour to Collect Care Packages for Troops Serving Overseas this Holiday Season

Move America Forward is at it again folks, preparing a cross-country caravan that is holding events around the country to send cookies, coffee and jelly beans to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan during the holiday season.

You can help online to send the troops overseas some goodies at The Campaign Store here and the press release with the routes for this caravan will be listed below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop grassroots organization, is conducting a nationwide tour to support sending care packages to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“With Americans focused on the economic problems facing our country, we have to ensure that our troops in harm’s way are not forgotten during the Christmas and Hanukkah holiday season,” said Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward.

Traveling on the tour will be Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee, - whose son Marc Alan Lee was the first Navy S.E.A.L. killed in Iraq. Lee said, “I remember his feelings of pride for serving our country, but also the loneliness troops endure during the holiday season. Instead of celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah with their families, many military men and women will be spending the holidays this year protecting our freedom in far off lands.”

To show the nation’s gratitude and support, Move America Forward’s Debbie Lee and singer/songwriter Diana Nagy (who will perform her hit song “Where Freedom Flies” at each stop) will be on the road encouraging people to send care packages from December 13 – December 19.

Last year, MAF toured the country during the holiday season to collect holiday cards for the troops with the goal of sending 100,000 holiday cards. They collected more than double that amount and hope Americans will show the same support this year by purchasing care packages in which sponsors can write individual notes to show their support. Packages include gourmet Artisan Coffee and Cornerstone Coffee, Oreo Cookies and Jelly Belly jelly beans made famous by President Ronald Reagan.

For those who are not on the tour route, care packages can be purchased online and individual notes can still be included. Orders can be placed by going to the website: www.MoveAmericaForward.com and clicking on the “Coffee and Cookies for our Troops” icon.



TOUR ROUTE

Sacramento, CA on 12/13

Las Vegas, NV on 12/14

Phoenix, AZ on 12/14

El Paso, TX on 12/15

San Antonio, TX on 12/16

Austin, TX on 12/16

Houston, TX on 12/17

Baton Rouge, LA on 12/18

Mobile, AL on 12/18

Tallahassee, FL on 12/19

Jacksonville, FL on 12/19

Above is a picture of Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee giving a television interview during last year’s tour. Debbie, a remarkable, patriotic woman who lost her son, Marc Alan Lee, in the defense of our country will be back on the bus this year.

“During this emotional and busy time of year, we can’t forget about our troops who are still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even though the economic news has focused Americans on the home front, we cannot forget that hundreds of thousands of the finest Americans are in combat zones while we’re around the tree with friends and loved ones,” concludes MAF Chairman, Melanie Morgan.

Again, if you cannot make it to their scheduled stops, you can help online at the Campaign Store.

Auto Bailout Killed In Senate

The Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act that passed the U.S. House of Representatives on December 10, 2008, with a vote of 237 ayes, 170 noes, 1 voting present and 26 not voting, has hit a few snags in the Senate and is being pronounced dead. (Final roll call from the House vote here)

Via Wall Street Journal:

WASHINGTON -- A frantic, last-ditch attempt to forge a relief package for the auto industry collapsed in the U.S. Senate, dealing a giant blow to the immediate hopes of the Big Three.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada suggested the $14 billion wouldn't be revisited until January. "It's over with," he said.

The talks, which appeared close to a deal several times, broke off due to a sharp partisan dispute over the wages paid to workers at the manufacturing giants.

AP:

WASHINGTON – A bailout-weary Congress killed a $14 billion package to aid struggling U.S. automakers Thursday night after a partisan dispute over union wage cuts derailed a last-ditch effort to revive the emergency aid before year's end.

Republicans, breaking sharply with President George W. Bush as his term draws to a close, refused to back federal aid for Detroit's beleaguered Big Three without a guarantee that the United Auto Workers would agree by the end of next year to wage cuts to bring their pay into line with U.S. plants of Japanese carmakers. The UAW refused to do so before its current contract with the automakers expires in 2011.

The breakdown left the fate of the auto industry — and the 3 million jobs it touches — in limbo at a time of growing economic turmoil. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have said they could be weeks from collapse. Ford Motor Co. says it does not need federal help now, but its survival is far from certain.

Friday morning the world stock markets "plunged" with the news.

The Senate vote for cloture on the Motion to Proceed failed with a vote of 52 to 35 with 12 not voting, effectively killing the bill for the time being.

In the meantime, Bush may ok using part of the Wall Street Bailout to help the auto industry.

Ten hours after the Senate rejected a separate lifeline for the automakers, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in a statement it would be "irresponsible" to let the companies crash. So she said Bush will "consider other options," including the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program that Congress created for the Treasury Department in October.

"Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms," Perino said in a statement. "However, given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary – including use of the TARP program — to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers. A precipitous collapse of this industry would have a severe impact on our economy, and it would be irresponsible to further weaken and destabilize our economy at this time."

Big mistake, private firms shoud not be bailed out using taxpayer's money. let the file for bankruptcy, restructure and have the Government guarantee the warranties for buyers.

The whole point of capitalism is to fly or die on your own, not to have privately owned companies fall back and be handed money from the taxes Americans pay.

.

Why Would Obama Lie About Meeting Governor Rod Blagojevich

Why lie? Why downplay the meetings? Why get Axelrod to retract his statement saying Obama and Governor Rod Blagojevich met to discuss the Senate seat which would be left open after Obama stepped down?

Hot Air points us to definite proof, via photos directly from the Illinois Governor's website, in a PDF that makes it very Obama and Blagojevich had contact, spoke... nothing unethical about it, in fact it would be natural for them to do so.

Pdf titled "GOVERNOR BLAGOJEVICH CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT-ELECT
OBAMA AND STARTS SELECTION PROCESS FOR REPLACEMENT".

(Governor Blagojevich confers with now President‐Elect Barack Obama)

That newsletter was dated November 12, 2008.

Clear enough?

Yesterday we showed that David Axelrod had said, via TV, that Obama had met with Blagojevich to discuss the Senate seat.

But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.

While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a "kingmaker," Axelrod said, "I know he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."

After Blagojevich was charged on a variety of crimes, one of which included criminal behavior regarding that Senate seat, Axelrod retracted his earlier statement, saying "I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discuss the subject."

The Obama compounds this mistake with yet another denial:

"I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening."

Truthfully, it would have been irresponsible to not have discussed, even in passing, the replacement, so why the attempt, pitiful attempt with everything being so readily available, to deny having "any contact?"

.

Hawaii Man Arrested For Threatening Obama

"Allegedly" Mark Miyashiro, from Hawaii told a doctor who was treating him for a schizophrenic disorder, on December 3, 2008, that he was going to attack and kill Barack Obama when he visits Hawaii, later this month, on vacation.

Miyashiro then allegedly made more threats when Secret Services agents interviewed and arrested him at his home in Kaneohe the next day after the doctor notified authorities. They also confiscated a Russian SKS assault rifle.

Miyashiro is charged with one count of threatening the life of the president or the president-elect, which is punishable by up to five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years probation. He was being held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu.

He is being held without bail at this time.

.

Postage Needed for Packages for our Troops

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Bob Williams
OurTroopsOnline

Bloggers, please feel free to cross-post

Bob Williams in Wesley Chapel, Florida sends 215 packages weekly to the military in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan - EVERY WEEK OF THE YEAR - 215 packages stuffed with necessities and comfort items for our men an women in uniform, fighting the War on Terror.

According to Stars and Stripes, Mr. Williams served in the Navy in the 1960's. His sons now handle the family businesses, while he works for the troops, preparing the boxes destined for approximately 200 combat-zone bases.

The short story is that donations are needed to cover the postage. Mr. Williams and OurTroopsOnline.com spends approximately $8,000.00 a week in postage, from $20.00 to $45.00 per package, depending on the contents. He always has packages ready to mail, but often lacks the necessary postage.


Much of what Williams sends are donations: baseball bats and gloves, games of all kinds, grips to put on the soles of boot, unending supplies of popcorn, and items for children in hospitals and orphanages - which the troops use to help gain the trust of the locals. All the usual foods and toiletries are either donated or purchased

He receives thousands of email requests from troops and their families and friends, and much of those requests are paid for from his own pocket. Items like Q-tips, batteries, shampoo, feminine and personal hygiene items, and deodorant are constant requests. Williams will not say how much he personally spends but the website says it is significant.

Camouflage scarves are inscribed with messages to the troops by Florida school children and church groups. "The scarves are good for keeping dust and sand out of your nose and mouth," says Williams.

There are no expenses for this volunteer group. No one gets paid, there's no rent for a warehouse, no office space rent, and while I made two telephone calls to OurTroopsOnline to verify this information (a human actually answered both times - no option for a choice of language preference, and no need to leave a message), no one gets paid to answer the telephone - everyone is a volunteer.

OurTroopsOnline accepts cash or checks for postage. Make your check payable as follows:

Postmaster
P.O. Box 7560
Wesley Chapel, FL 33545

If you live in the area and want to donate items for the boxes, call 813-991-9400 for a delivery address or contact Mr. Williams by email at sift@aol.com. If you are a business and have items the troops need or will enjoy, and can contribute once or on an ongoing basis, please contact Mr. Williams.


This is a year-round operation - it doesn't end in December. Put these people on your donation list throughout the year and know you are doing your part to make life a little more comfortable for our military in these combat zones.

Team Obama Scrambles For Cover- Re: Blagojevich

(Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama)
Yesterday Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich was arrested by the Feds on a variety of charges and today there are conflicting reports about Barack Obama meeting personally with Blagojevich to discuss the Senate seat that Obama held which Blagojevich would be naming a replacement for.

Political Punch:

But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.

While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a "kingmaker," Axelrod said, "I know he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."

Simple enough and actually since Obama held that Senate seat, it would have made sense for him to meet with Blagojevich about the seat, but according to Political Punch, team Obama is now denying Axelrod's statement on Movember 23, 2008.

(UPDATE #2: Axelrod this evening issued a statement saying. "I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discuss the subject.")

So, instead of simply leaving things be about a meeting that would have been natural given the circumstances, team Obama is denying that Obama and Blagojevich discussed the Senate seat at all?

Problem for team Obama is that the meeting as well as the topic of conversation for that meeting had previously been reported on, back on November 5, 2008.

Now that Barack Obama will be moving to the White House, his seat in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois will have to be filled.

That's one of Obama's first priorities today.

He's meeting with Governor Rod Blagojevich this afternoon in Chicago to discuss it.

The reason the discussion regarding the Senate seat is so important is because some of the charges leveled against Blagojevich, are directly related to the "sale of the Senate seat."

Regarding the Senate seat, the charges allege that Blagojevich, Harris and others have engaged and are engaging in efforts to obtain personal gain, including financial gain, to benefit Blagojevich and his family through corruptly using Blagojevich's sole authority to appoint a successor to the unexpired term of the President-elect's former Senate seat, which he resigned effective November 16. The affidavit details numerous conversations about the Senate seat between November 3 and December 5. In these conversations, Blagojevich repeatedly discussed the attributes of potential candidates, including their abilities to benefit the people of Illinois, and the financial and political benefits he and his wife could receive if he appointed various of the possible candidates.

(Source)

Instead of leaving well enough alone, admitting that Obama did speak to Blagojevich about the Senate seat, since it has already been documented that he had, why on earth would team Obama find it necessary to try to deny it?

.

Today it is me, Tomorrow it is you. ll

A note from Radarsite: Today, December 9, 2008, I have just received my third phone call from Lionheart since the onset of my illness. As is typical of this kind and great-hearted man, he is more interested in my health and welfare than his own. He called me once again from his secret hiding place outside of Britain. Why is he in hiding? And who is he hiding from? Simply put, he is in hiding for having the courage to speak the truth. And he is hiding from bloodthirsty Muslim assassins and the oppressive multicultural Thought Police of the British Government. He has promised to send me an update of his situation within the next couple of days. Till then, however, I can tell you that he is due to return to Britain to face charges on January 12, 2009. If convicted, he faces imprisonment in a British Prison -- which, given the preponderance of Muslim prisoners, amounts to a death sentence.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lionheart's incredible story, or may have forgotten, I am reposting one of Radarsite's first articles about the plight of this heroic crusader.
I wish RCP was up and running now so that this could get maximum coverage, but what can you do? I will cross post it to my contributor's sites and hope that you will all help to spread the word. He needs our help, both moral and financial. Please do what you can. I have. Thanks - rg
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cross posted from Radarsite
Published by Wake Up America - January 4, 2008
http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2008/01/today-it-is-me-but-tomorrow-it-is-you.html
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This is not an article. I'm not looking for votes on Real Clear Politics. I'm not looking to impress anyone with my knowledge or my considered opinions. This will not be heavily edited or clearly thought out. I'm too damned angry for that.

This is a cry of outrage, a shout of FIRE in the crowded theater. This is a four letter obscenity aimed directly at those of you amongst us who are allowing this travesty of justice to take place, who are actually promoting it.

Whatever research has been done by me in order to write this was done long before I decided to do it. If I don't write this piece, and write it right now, then I'm not worth the effort it takes to read my stuff.

Today, posted by Deb Hamilton of Right Truth in Real Clear Politics is an article about the British blogger Lionheart. Lionheart is facing arrest if he returns to Britain. He is facing arrest for doing something and for doing it well. He has written about the invasion of his native land by Muslims. And he has called a spade a spade. And today WE DO NOT CALL A SPADE A SPADE. It is ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN TO CALL A SPADE A SPADE. Or to call the ISLAMIC MENACE an ISLAMIC MENACE.

God help us!

The Multicultural Thought Police ARE REAL, folks. THEY ARE HERE NOW. This is no longer some clever literary device, this is reality. HE IS FACING ARREST. For writing TRUTHFULLY about Islam.

Today it is Britain, but tomorrow it is us --"

Lionheart has committed the unpardonable cultural offense of writing the truth about Islam. He has actually gone so far as to criticize Islam. THIS is his crime. He has committed a Hate Crime. And for this dreadful Hate Crime he is actually facing the horrifying prospects of prison. For trying to protect his own country!

My God! How have we let it come to this? When the hell are we going to stop this before it's just too late to stop it? How in hell can you write about a hateful and murderous cult without calling it hateful and murderous? How in hell can you demonize the devil? Just to describe it is to commit the crime.

If these same Hate Laws are enacted and enforced here in the United States -- and we are coming very, very close to this fateful precipice -- every conservative blogger or columnist here who writes -- truthfully -- about this Islamic Menace IS VULNERABLE. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US. And from what I have read of Lionheart's work, I must say that what I have written critically about Islam is ten times more scathing. Ten times more indictable. And I've got plenty of company.

Regardless of the outcome of this particular preposterous and outrageous British case, the mere fact that we in the Western world have allowed it to progress this far is an indictment against our collective intellectual laziness and our lack of courage. We have allowed two terrible monsters to grow to maturity within our midst: the Imperialistic Islamic Menace, and the PC Multicultural liberals who are nourishing this deadly beast to their own bosom.

THIS CANNOT STAND. We must not just read these articles about this latest horror and move on to something else. It's gotten too serious. The threat's too grave. It's gone much too far. We're in some kind of crazy International Stockholm Syndrome. We identify more closely with the criminals than with those who are trying to save us.

Please, before it's too late. NOW IS THE TIME. TOMORROW WILL BE TOO LATE.

Here's his website address. Please write him and give him your support. Write whomever you may think can be helpful. I'm going to.

http://lionheartuk.blogspot.com/

Here's Deb Hamilton's article:

http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2008/01/fellow-blogger.html

Here's someplace to write and voice your indignation.

http://www.britainusa.com/functions/feedback/enquiry.asp

Here's Deb's original article:

Fellow Blogger Lionheart to be arrested for speaking the truth
Fellow blogger Lionheart sent me an email this morning to let me know a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Why? Because he blogs about Islamic terrorism. He says:

I am currently out of the Country and on my return home to England I am going to be arrested by British detectives on suspicion of Stirring up Racial Hatred by displaying written material" contrary to sections 18(1) and 27(3) of the Public Order Act 1986.

This charge if found guilty carries a lengthy prison sentence, more than what most paedophiles and rapists receive, and all for writing words of truth about the barbarity that is living in the midst of our children, which threatens the very future of our Country.

The cultural weapon in the hands of the modern Jihad within Great Britain, silencing the opposition using our own laws against us - The Dumb Filthy Kaffir's as the Moslem would say to his children behind closed doors.

What has become of my homeland, the land my forefathers fought and died for on the battlefields of the world when one of their children is forced into the position of facing years in prison for standing up for what is right and just within British society.

At least my words of truth have obviously now reached people's eyes and ears, with the powers that be now intent on silencing me - Third World Tyranny in a supposed 21st Century democracy!

I wonder if the Moslem peer Lord Ahmed was one of the people behind trying to silence me, I did wonder about why he crashed his car and nearly killed himself over Christmas, let that be a lesson to you - 1 Chronicles 16:22 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.”

How dare any Moslem try and silence the truth from being told by an Englishman about the Islamic enemy in our midst within the British homeland.

Who have I killed, who have I threatened to kill? No one, all I have done is written about my reality on a computer screen, and now I face going to prison in my own country for standing up for myself and others.

What has happened to those who threatened my life or who have killed my friends - NOTHING - This is British justice in the 21st Century - Shove your British Labour justice because it is worthless to the Englishman whose country this is, whose country you have destroyed.

Who blew up trains and buses on 7/7, who tried blowing up cars in London and Glasgow, who is seeking to detonate a dirty bomb upon the streets of Great Britain and who believes that non-Islamic territory is to be viewed as 'the house of war and must be converted at all costs', I dont think you will find it is me, but I have no problem with educating others to the threat, the threat that this 'Loony Labour Government' is pretending is not real - The former Home Secretary knew what he was talking about. [snip]

I do not want to go to prison for many years for standing up for my children and other childrens futures, it is an injustice within what is supposed to be a civilized democratic society and people need to know what is happening, that my government is now seeking to silence me from speaking the truth about the war that has been declared against us all.

Today it is me and my blog and tomorrow it is you and your blog.

Please help me get this message out there by raising the awareness of this injustice, then my State Sanctioned arrest will not be in vain.

Please keep coming back because this is all I will now be posting on - My life and my freedom now hangs in the balance after all.

In service of the King - Jesus - The Lion of the tribe of Judah

Lionheart... (continue reading)

If you are a regular reader here at Right Truth, you know that I have quoted Lionheart on several occasions. Go visit his site, leave him some words of encouragement, pray for him and his family, and pray to God that you are not next. Spread the word, others are:

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Arrested By Feds

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris, were taken into Federal custody Tuesday morning on a variety of charges.

The details show Blagojevich was involved in Pay to Play schemes, accused of trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder as well as being accused of misuse of state funding to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial writers.

Pay-to-Play Schemes:

The charges include historical allegations that Blagojevich and Harris schemed with others – including previously convicted defendants Antoin Rezko, Stuart Levine, Ali Ata and others – since becoming governor in 2002 to obtain and attempt to obtain financial benefits for himself, his family and third parties, including his campaign committee, Friends of Blagojevich, in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state employment, state contracts and access to state funds. A portion of the affidavit recounts the testimony of various witnesses at Rezko's trial earlier this year.

The charges focus, however, on events since October when the Government obtained information that Blagojevich and Fundraiser A, who is chairman of Friends of Blagojevich, were accelerating Blagojevich's allegedly corrupt fund-raising activities to accumulate as much money as possible this year before a new state ethics law would severely curtail Blagojevich's ability to raise money from individuals and entities that have existing contracts worth more than $50,000 with the State of Illinois. Agents learned that Blagojevich was seeking approximately $2.5 million in campaign contributions by the end of the year, principally from or through individuals or entities – many of which have received state contacts or appointments – identified on a list maintained by Friends of Blagojevich, which the FBI has obtained.

The affidavit details multiple incidents involving efforts by Blagojevich to obtain campaign contributions in connection with his official actions as governor, including these three in early October:

* After an October 6 meeting with Harris and Individuals A and B, during which Individual B sought state help with a business venture, Blagojevich told Individual A to approach Individual B about raising $100,000 for Friends of Blagojevich this year. Individual A said he later learned that Blagojevich reached out directly to Individual B to ask about holding a fund-raiser;

* Also on October 6, Blagojevich told Individual A that he expected Highway Contractor 1 to raise $500,000 in contributions and that he was willing to commit additional state money to a Tollway project – beyond $1.8 billion that Blagojevich announced on October15 – but was waiting to see how much money the contractor raised for Friends of Blagojevich; and

* On October 8, Blagojevich told Individual A that he wanted to obtain a $50,000 contribution from Hospital Executive 1, the chief executive officer of Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which had recently received a commitment of $8 million in state funds. When the contribution was not forthcoming, Blagojevich discussed with Deputy Governor A the feasibility of rescinding the funding.

On October 21, the Government obtained a court order authorizing the interception of conversations in both a personal office and a conference room used by Blagojevich at the offices of Friends of Blagojevich. The FBI began intercepting conversations in those rooms on the morning of October 22. A second court order was obtained last month allowing those interceptions to continue. On October 29, a court order was signed authorizing the interception of conversations on a hardline telephone used by Blagojevich at his home. That wiretap was extended for 30 days on November 26, according to the affidavit.

Another alleged example of a pay-to-play scheme was captured in separate telephone conversations that Blagojevich had with Fundraiser A on November 13 and Lobbyist 1 on December 3. Lobbyist 1 was reporting to Blagojevich about his efforts to collect a contribution from Contributor 1 and related that he "got in his face" to make it clear to Contributor 1 that a commitment to make a campaign contribution had to be done now, before there could be some skittishness over the timing of the contribution and Blagojevich signing a bill that would benefit Contributor 1. Blagojevich commented to Lobbyist 1 "good" and "good job." The bill in question, which is awaiting Blagojevich 's signature, is believed to be legislation that directs a percentage of casino revenue to the horse racing industry.

Sale of U.S. Senate Appointment:

Regarding the Senate seat, the charges allege that Blagojevich, Harris and others have engaged and are engaging in efforts to obtain personal gain, including financial gain, to benefit Blagojevich and his family through corruptly using Blagojevich's sole authority to appoint a successor to the unexpired term of the President-elect's former Senate seat, which he resigned effective November 16. The affidavit details numerous conversations about the Senate seat between November 3 and December 5. In these conversations, Blagojevich repeatedly discussed the attributes of potential candidates, including their abilities to benefit the people of Illinois, and the financial and political benefits he and his wife could receive if he appointed various of the possible candidates.

Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.

In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the open seat, then he will take it for himself: "if . . . they're not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it." Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain." He added later that the seat "is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."

Over the next couple of days – Election Day and the day after – Blagojevich was captured discussing with Deputy Governor A whether he could obtain a cabinet position, such as Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Department of Energy or various ambassadorships. In a conversation with Harris on November 4, Blagojevich analogized his situation to that of a sports agent shopping a potential free agent to the highest bidder. The day after the election, Harris allegedly suggested to Blagojevich that the President-elect could make him the head of a private foundation.

Later on November 5, Blagojevich said to Advisor A, "I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I'm not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there," the affidavit states.

Two days later, in a three-way call with Harris and Advisor B, a consultant in Washington, Blagojevich and the others allegedly discussed the prospect of a three-way deal for the Senate appointment involving an organization called "Change to Win," which is affiliated with various unions including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

On November 10, Blagojevich, his wife, Harris, Governor General Counsel, Advisor B and other Washington-based advisors participated at different times in a two-hour phone call in which they allegedly discussed, among other things, a deal involving the SEIU. Harris said they could work out a deal with the union and the President-elect where SEIU could help the President-elect with Blagojevich's appointment of Senate Candidate 1, while Blagojevich would obtain a position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign and SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the future. Also during that call, Blagojevich agreed it was unlikely that the President-elect would name him Secretary of Health and Human Services or give him an ambassadorship because of all of the negative publicity surrounding him.

In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them." Earlier in that conversation, Blagojevich suggested starting a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, which he could head and engage in political activity and lobbying. In that conversation with Harris and other discussions with him and others over the next couple of days, Blagojevich suggested by name several well-known, wealthy individuals who could be prevailed upon to seed such an organization with $10-$15 million, and suggesting that he could take the organization's reins when he is no longer governor, according to the affidavit.

On November 12, Blagojevich spoke with SEIU Official who was in Washington. This conversation occurred about a week after Blagojevich had met with SEIU Official to discuss the Senate seat, with the understanding that the union official was an emissary to discuss Senate Candidate 1's interest in the Senate seat. During the November 12 conversation, Blagojevich allegedly explained the non-profit organization idea to SEIU Official and said that it could help Senate Candidate 1. The union official agreed to "put that flag up and see where it goes," although the official also had said he wasn't certain if Senate Candidate 1 wanted the official to keep pushing her candidacy. Senate Candidate 1 eventually removed herself from consideration for the open seat.

Also on November 12, in a conversation with Harris, the complaint affidavit states that Blagojevich said his decision about the open Senate seat will be based on three criteria in the following order of importance: "our legal situation, our personal situation, my political situation. This decision, like every other one, needs to be based upon that. Legal. Personal. Political." Harris said: "legal is the hardest one to satisfy." Blagojevich said that his legal problems could be solved by naming himself to the Senate seat.

As recently as December 4, in separate conversations with Advisor B and Fundraiser A, Blagojevich said that he was "elevating" Senate Candidate 5 on the list of candidates because, among other reasons, if Blagojevich ran for re-election, Senate Candidate 5 would "raise[] money" for him. Blagojevich said that he might be able to cut a deal with Senate Candidate 5 that provided Blagojevich with something "tangible up front." Noting that he was going to meet with Senate Candidate 5 in the next few days, Blagojevich told Fundraiser A to reach out to an intermediary (Individual D), from whom Blagojevich is attempting to obtain campaign contributions and who Blagojevich believes is close to Senate Candidate 5. Blagojevich told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that Senate Candidate 5 was a very realistic candidate but Blagojevich was getting a lot of pressure not to appoint Senate Candidate 5, according to the affidavit.

Blagojevich allegedly told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that if Senate Candidate 5 is going to be chosen, "some of this stuff's gotta start happening now . . . right now . . . and we gotta see it." Blagojevich continued, "You gotta be careful how you express that and assume everybody's listening, the whole world is listening. You hear me?" Blagojevich further directed Fundraiser A to talk to Individual D in person, not by phone, and to communicate the "urgency" of the situation.

Blagojevich spoke to Fundraiser A again the next day, December 5, and discussed that day's Chicago Tribune front page article stating that Blagojevich had recently been surreptitiously recorded as part of the ongoing criminal investigation. Blagojevich instructed Fundraiser A to "undo your [Individual D] thing," and Fundraiser A confirmed it would be undone, the complaint alleges.

Also on December 5, Blagojevich and three others allegedly discussed whether to move money out of the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund to avoid having the money frozen by federal authorities and also considered the possibility of prepaying the money to Blagojevich's criminal defense attorney with an understanding that the attorney would donate the money back at a later time if it was not needed. They also discussed opening a new fund raising account named Citizens for Blagojevich with new contributions.

Misuse of State Funding To Induce Firing of Chicago Tribune Editorial Writers:

According to the affidavit, intercepted phone calls revealed that the Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs, has explored the possibility of obtaining assistance from the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) relating to the Tribune Company's efforts to sell the Cubs and the financing or sale of Wrigley Field. In a November 6 phone call, Harris explained to Blagojevich that the deal the Tribune Company was trying to get through the IFA was basically a tax mitigation scheme in which the IFA would own title to Wrigley Field and the Tribune would not have to pay capital gains tax, which Harris estimated would save the company approximately $100 million.

Intercepted calls allegedly show that Blagojevich directed Harris to inform Tribune Owner and an associate, identified as Tribune Financial Advisor, that state financial assistance would be withheld unless members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board were fired, primarily because Blagojevich viewed them as driving discussion of his possible impeachment. In a November 4 phone call, Blagojevich allegedly told Harris that he should say to Tribune Financial Advisor, Cubs Chairman and Tribune Owner, "our recommendation is fire all those [expletive] people, get 'em the [expletive] out of there and get us some editorial support."

On November 6, the day of a Tribune editorial critical of Blagojevich , Harris told Blagojevich that he told Tribune Financial Advisor the previous day that things "look like they could move ahead fine but, you know, there is a risk that all of this is going to get derailed by your own editorial page." Harris also told Blagojevich that he was meeting with Tribune Financial Advisor on November 10.

In a November 11 intercepted call, Harris allegedly told Blagojevich that Tribune Financial Advisor talked to Tribune Owner and Tribune Owner "got the message and is very sensitive to the issue." Harris told Blagojevich that according to Tribune Financial Advisor, there would be "certain corporate reorganizations and budget cuts coming and, reading between the lines, he's going after that section." Blagojevich allegedly responded. "Oh. That's fantastic." After further discussion, Blagojevich said, "Wow. Okay, keep our fingers crossed. You're the man. Good job, John."

In a further conversation on November 21, Harris told Blagojevich that he had singled out to Tribune Financial Advisor the Tribune's deputy editorial page editor, John McCormick, "as somebody who was the most biased and unfair." After hearing that Tribune Financial Advisor had assured Harris that the Tribune would be making changes affecting the editorial board, Blagojevich allegedly had a series of conversations with Chicago Cubs representatives regarding efforts to provide state financing for Wrigley Field. On November 30, Blagojevich spoke with the president of a Chicago-area sports consulting firm, who indicated that he was working with the Cubs on matters involving Wrigley Field. Blagojevich and Sports Consultant discussed the importance of getting the IFA transaction approved at the agency's December or January meeting because Blagojevich was contemplating leaving office in early January and his IFA appointees would still be in place to approve the deal, the charges allege.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI, will hold at a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday December 9, to discuss these charges. cbs2chicago.com will carry that news conference live on the website. (Source)

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Supreme Court Declines To Hear Obama Citizenship Case

Headline says it all.

Via The Trail:

The Supreme Court this morning unceremoniously declined to hear an emergency appeal from a man who claimed President-elect Barack Obama is not qualified for the presidency because he is not a "natural-born" citizen.

The court without comment declined to hear "Donofrio v. Wells," a suit that had attempted to keep Obama off the New Jersey ballot. Leo Donofrio of East Brunswick had claimed Obama had dual nationality at birth, because of his Kansas-born mother and his Kenyan-born father, who was a British subject at the time.

Read the rest and then AP has the story as well.

I seriously doubt the challenges will end here, but this one has hit a dead end. There only needed to be four of the justices that were willing to hear the case and the numbers were not there.

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Louisiana Voters Dump William Jefferson

(Anh "Joseph" Quang Cao, 41)
Democratic Representative William Jefferson lost his re-election bid in Louisiana to Republican Anh "Joseph" Cao.

Jefferson has been indicted on 16 criminal counts of racketeering, bribery, money laundering and obstruction of justice, to which he has denied and pleaded not guilty.

Those charges stem from a raid upon his homes in 2005 by the FBI where they found $90,000 in cash in his freezer. The indictment itself was handed down in 2007.

Officials say the money was part of a payment in marked bills from an FBI informant in a transaction captured on videotape. Jefferson also is accused of soliciting and receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for himself and his family in exchange for promoting their products and services to countries in Africa.

Cao is the first Vietnamese-American to be elected to Congress.

According to CNN, Republican John Fleming also beat out Democrat Paul Carmouche in Louisiana's 4th District.

From NYT:

Representative William J. Jefferson was defeated by a little-known Republican lawyer here Saturday in a late-running Congressional election, underscoring the sharp demographic shifts in this city since Hurricane Katrina and handing Republicans an unexpected victory in a district that had been solidly Democratic.

The upset victory by the lawyer, Anh Cao, was thought by analysts to be the result of a strong turnout by white voters angered over federal corruption charges against Mr. Jefferson, a black Democrat who was counting on a loyal base to return him to Congress for a 10th term.

Jefferson should have been booted by the Democrats three years ago and since they did not clean up their own house, the voters did it for them.

Cao is a moderate Republican, pro-life but also has a worrisome stance on immigration, but the Democratic district Jefferson represented seems to prefer a moderate Republican to a crooked Democrat.

Good for the voters.

More about Cao here.

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"Day of Infamy"

Attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941

The surprise was complete. The attacking planes came in two waves; the first hit its target at 7:53 AM, the second at 8:55. By 9:55 it was all over. By 1:00 PM the carriers that launched the planes from 274 miles off the coast of Oahu were heading back to Japan.

Behind them they left chaos, 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet that included 8 damaged or destroyed battleships. In one stroke the Japanese action silenced the debate that had divided Americans ever since the German defeat of France left England alone in the fight against the Nazi terror.

Approximately three hours later, Japanese planes began a day-long attack on American facilities in the Philippines. ...

Marine Corporal E.C. Nightingale was aboard the Arizona that fateful Sunday morning:

"At approximately eight o'clock on the morning of December 7, 1941, I was leaving the breakfast table when the ship's siren for air defense sounded. Having no anti-aircraft battle station, I paid little attention to it. Suddenly I heard an explosion. I ran to the port door leading to the quarterdeck and saw a bomb strike a barge of some sort alongside the NEVADA, or in that vicinity. The marine color guard came in at this point saying we were being attacked. I could distinctly hear machine gun fire. I believe at this point our anti-aircraft battery opened up.

"We stood around awaiting orders of some kind. General Quarters sounded and I started for my battle station in secondary aft. As I passed through casement nine I noted the gun was manned and being trained out. The men seemed extremely calm and collected. I reached the boat deck and our anti-aircraft guns were in full action, firing very rapidly. I was about three quarters of the way to the first platform on the mast when it seemed as though a bomb struck our quarterdeck. I could hear shrapnel or fragments whistling past me. As

A captured Japanese photo shows Battleship Row under attack. Hickam Field burns in the distance

soon as I reached the first platform, I saw Second Lieutenant Simonson lying on his back with blood on his shirt front. I bent over him and taking him by the shoulders asked if there was anything I could do. He was dead, or so nearly so that speech was impossible. Seeing there was nothing I could do for the Lieutenant, I continued to my battle station.

"When I arrived in secondary aft I reported to Major Shapley that Mr. Simonson had been hit and there was nothing to be done for him. There was a lot of talking going on and I shouted for silence which came immediately. I had only been there a short time when a terrible explosion caused the ship to shake violently. I looked at the boat deck and everything seemed aflame forward of the mainmast. I reported to the Major that the ship was aflame, which was rather needless, and after looking about, the Major ordered us to leave.

"I was the last man to leave secondary aft because I looked around and there was no one left. I followed the Major down the port side of the tripod mast. The railings, as we ascended, were very hot and as we reached the boat deck I noted that it was torn up and burned. The bodies of the dead were thick, and badly burned men were heading for the quarterdeck, only to fall apparently dead or badly wounded. The Major and I went between No. 3 and No. 4 turret to the starboard side and found Lieutenant Commander Fuqua ordering the men over the side and assisting the wounded. He seemed exceptionally calm and the Major stopped and they talked for a moment. Charred bodies were everywhere.

"I made my way to the quay and started to remove my shoes when I suddenly found myself in the water. I think the concussion of a bomb threw me in. I started swimming for the pipe line which was about one hundred and fifty feet away. I was about half way when my strength gave out entirely. My clothes and shocked

The USS Shaw explodes

condition sapped my strength, and I was about to go under when Major Shapley started to swim by, and seeing my distress, grasped my shirt and told me to hang to his shoulders while he swam in.

"We were perhaps twenty-five feet from the pipe line when the Major's strength gave out and I saw he was floundering, so I loosened my grip on him and told him to make it alone. He stopped and grabbed me by the shirt and refused to let go. I would have drowned but for the Major. We finally reached the beach where a marine directed us to a bomb shelter, where I was given dry clothes and a place to rest." (source)

Did You Know? The bond between USS Arizona shipmates went beyond being comrades; there were 37 sets of brothers assigned to the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941.

37 Sets of Brothers Assigned to USS Arizona
December 7, 1941

Go - read their names: National Park Service

The names on the memorial wall tell a poignant tale of the price paid by their families....there were 37 sets of brothers assigned to the USS Arizona on the day it went down, including Delbert and John Anderson, one set of twins. The ship's crew included three sets of three brothers: Becker, Doherty and Murdock. One brother survived in each set. Twenty-three sets of brothers were lost that day.

There were a total of 77 brothers serving on the USS Arizona; 62 died as a result of the attack.

Thomas Augusta Free, from Texas, and his son William Thomas Free were the only father and son serving on the USS Arizona; they were killed in action as well. Kenneth and Russell Warriner were the only set of USS Arizona brothers who survived...

The plaque at the memorial is dedicated to the 1,177 men from the USS Arizona who gave their lives that day, most of whom are permanently entombed beneath the ocean waves.

"Dedicated to the eternal memory of our gallant shipmates in the USS Arizona, who gave their lives in action 7 December 1941. 'From today on the USS Arizona will again fly our country's flag just as proudly as she did on the morning of 7 December 1941. I am sure the Arizona's crew will know and appreciate what we are doing.' Admiral A.W. Radford, USN, 7 March 1950. May God make His face to shine upon them and grant them peace."

Salvaged from the floor of Pearl Harbor, the anchor of the battleship USS Arizona is displayed at the entrance of the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center operated by the National Park Service. The anchor was cast in Chester, Pennsylvania, and weighs 19,585 pounds. Photographer: Bill Dasher. Courtesy Impact.

The wake of a tour boat as it pulls away with visitors from the USS Arizona Memorial. Constructed in 1961, it was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1962. In 1980 it became a unit of the National Park Service. Photographer: David Thoresen. Courtesy Impact. (source for both here)

The ship's bell from the USS Arizona hangs in the tower of the University of Arizona Student Union building. The bell is tolled at the memorial services, held each year on the Sunday closest to December 7. This is one of two recovered. The other is at the memorial at Pearl Harbor. (source)

A history from the Navy here.

Rest in Peace

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*

Message From Move America Forward To Help Our Troops

Via email from Melanie Morgan:

Hello, it's Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward (the nation's largest pro-troop organization) and I have a favor to ask of you.

Our group is trying to make sure every single U.S. military servicemember serving in Iraq or Afghanistan receives a care package this holiday season. We want all of our troops to know how much we love and appreciate them.

I've looked over our orders for the past week, and we need many more Americans to sponsor care packages if we're going to meet this goal. I don't believe in failure, especially when it comes to our troops, so I am pleading with you for your help.

Would you please sponsor care packages in your name via the links below, so that we can send a giant shipment of love and support to our troops this Christmas and Hanukkah holiday season?

• Order a Coffee/Cookies Pack for 1 Troop - HERE
• Order a Large Variety Pack for 5 U.S. Troops - HERE
• Order a Platoon Care Package for 10+ U.S. Troops - HERE
• Order a Battalion Care Package for 20+ U.S. Troops - HERE
• Order a Company Care Package for 50 U.S. Troops - HERE

And you can learn more about our care package operations and what this is all about by watching this short video on Move America Forward's care packages for the troops program:

WATCH VIDEO: CARE PACKAGES FOR TROOPS - HERE

Nuff said?

Let's show our troops our love.

SD

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Jeb Bush Considers Getting Back Into Politics

Forbes has a piece out about Jeb Bush possibly running for the Senate to replace Florida Senator Mel Martinez, who will be retiring in 2010.

From Forbes:

In January 2007, when Jeb Bush stepped down after two terms as governor of Florida, he had cut taxes, enacted the most extensive public school reform in any state, restructured health care and, after dealing with some three dozen hurricanes and tropical storms, earned high marks for crisis management. In a state in which Democrats outnumber Republicans, Bush held an approval rating of an astonishing 63%.

Warm, self-deprecating, well-read and articulate, Bush stood in a commanding position to capture the 2008 Republican nomination for president--or would have but for his last name. Conscious that the nation was in no mood to award the White House to a third member of his family, Bush traded the governor's mansion in Tallahassee for a home in Coral Gables, disappearing, aside from the occasional after-dinner speech, into private life. One of the most compelling figures in the GOP--gone.

Until now.

On Tuesday, Florida Sen. Mel Martinez announced that he would retire in 2010, not run for reelection. The Internet instantly began to hum with speculation that Bush would seek to succeed him. That evening, the former governor confirmed in an e-mail to Politico that he was indeed "considering it." "Considering" is hardly "campaigning," but Republicans rejoiced all the same.

Jeb Bush in the Senate. Just imagine it.

The first day he walked into the chamber, Bush would already possess a more impressive record of accomplishment--not talk, accomplishment--than all but a few of his new colleagues. For that matter, his record would compare favorably with those of Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and nearly everyone else in Washington, including President Barack Obama.

Bush would have standing. He would be able to speak with authority. At a time when the Republican Party would almost certainly still find itself on the defensive, he would prove utterly unapologetic.

Read the whole thing.

Follow up with thoughts from Fred Barnes over at the Weekly Standard.

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The Euro States of America

Cross-posted from America Needs Me.

Ugh.

First off, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd should both have to wear ball gags during these proceedings (Yes, Barney, you can keep yours). How the Democrats can leave these two in leadership positions to help steer us out of what they more than helped steer us into is beyond me.

Watching the buffoon trio of auto CEOs go back and forth with Congressional leaders who couldn't organize a sock drawer, let alone a multi-billion dollar company, doesn't exactly bring the word "solution" to mind.

Barack Obama won't even bring all the awesome power of the make-believe "Office of the President-elect" to the debate.

All those attached to GM are still sticking with "Give us money or we go under" as a sound way to proceed.

I don't know how they're going to make it," Sen. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., said of the automakers. "If they called this a plan to get money, the bankers all over the world would laugh.

Exactly.

Taking a cue from the labor unions that dominate them, lawmakers from auto states are trying a strong-arm tactic that could backfire in a favorable way for the rest of us.

Auto state lawmakers are threatening to block the administration from accessing the second half of the financial rescue fund unless it comes to the aid of the Big Three.

That sounds like a plan.

By not considering bankruptcy, the Big Three (which I believe is also the total number of brain cells left among them) are inviting the federal government to get involved in private industry. That's like asking someone from the hospital kitchen to perform your triple bypass operation.

If anyone out there believes that having an incompetent bureaucracy in charge of three incompetent corporations is going to end well, may I recommend a nearby 12 Step program?

This whole thing is getting uglier than waking up with Hillary Clinton. The federal government can't run itself efficiently, what makes people think it can help run a private company?

My head hurts. And no, I don't want the government to "fix" it.

"This wasn't just stuff..."

The "stuff" Linda Ferrara is talking about is precious donations that she and friends had spent months collecting. The collection of of hundreds of socks, sweat shirts, pajama pants, boxers, blankets and other items, was about to be shipped to Landstuhl military hospital. All those items were stolen over the weekend from the RV that Linda had them packed and ready to go.

Linda is no ordinary woman. Apart from working tirelessly with Soldiers' Angels, she is a Gold Star Mother. Her son, Matthew, paid the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan on November 9, 2007.

In the year since Matthew - a West Point grad - died, leaving behind an extended family in both America and New Zealand, this Californian mother, Linda, has worked tirelessly collecting clothes and very special blankets for the wounded troops who continue Matthew's mission. A consignment of those special blankets were ready to go to Germany. It seems some lowlifes had other ideas. The blankets (among all the other items now gone) are handmade - with love and prayers, and from all I hear, are treasured by the soldiers who receive them. The soldiers FEEL the love that goes into every stitch....

Read the rest at NewsBlaze here.

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*

O.J. Simpson Sentenced 15 Years

Via AP.

A broken O.J. Simpson has been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for a Las Vegas hotel armed robbery by a judge who rejected his apology and said, "It was much more than stupidity."

Simpson stood stone-faced Friday when Judge Jackie Glass quickly rattled off his punishment after he pleaded with her that he didn't mean to steal from anybody when he tried to retrieve memorabilia.

He appeared ready to break down in tears as he told that he was "sorry and confused" before going into a rambling and emotional 5-minute declaration.

"I didn't want to steal anything from anyone ... I'm sorry, sorry," he said.

CNN:

Simpson could become eligible for parole in about nine years. Grimacing, his head cast down, Simpson was escorted from the courtroom in shackles.

Judge Jackie Glass gave Simpson a tongue-lashing before passing sentence.

"Earlier in this case, at a bail hearing, I said to Mr. Simpson I didn't know if he was arrogant, ignorant or both," Glass said. "During the trial and through this proceeding I got the answer, and it was both."

She stressed that the sentence was not "payback for anything else," apparently referring to Simpson's acquittal 13 years ago in the slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.

Do the crime, pay the time.

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About Barack Obama's Birth Certificate

While today the Supreme Court considers whether to take up one of the cases filed to determine Barack Obama's eligibility for presidency, I see many refuse to discuss the topic, others are convinced he is not eligible and some simply want to see his vault copy of his birth certificate.

Then there are people like me, who really never thought he wasn't eligible but thinks that something smells fishy when Obama simply refuses to provide the documents that would make this whole issue go away.

This issue has been followed closely by Maggie Thornton, from Maggie's Notebook and one of Wake up America's contributors as well as a couple of writers here and elsewhere. Not only has she followed the issue but she has brought any and all news related to the issue here to WUA and it is appreciated greatly because whether or not he is or is not eligible, the suits, the court's decisions and the amount of lawsuits around the country over this issue IS NEWS.

Period.

Fact: People are suing for the documents.
Fact: The court's are having to decide on the merits of each case filed.
Fact: Some people, Americans, have questions they want answered.
Fact: Major newspapers are reporting on the court's decisions.
Fact: Barack Obama has not offered the simple documents that would put this issue to rest once and for all.

Do any of the facts above mean Obama is not eligible to be the president? NO

What the facts above do show is that this issue, whether you agree, have questions, do not agree or think it is silly, is news and is something that could have and should have been dealt with way before now by Barack Obama by simply producing the vault copy of his birth certificate.



Previous pieces on the birth certificate issue.

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Yid With Lid Posts

B*N*S*N 1 - 4

Good News Friday (B*N*S*N!) is a weekly series that was started last year by a few bloggers who felt that the GOOD news out of the various theatres of war were not being covered by the msm. My contribution was renamed *B*N*S*N by one of my regular readers on Tanker Bros which is where this blogging 'stuff' all began for me..;)

Since then, more than a few of us choose stories that don't fall under the msm credo of "if it bleeds, it leads."

I ALWAYS have trouble restricting myself to one story, and usually have to restrict myself to 4.

This week's stories are about schools opening, clean running water etc etc. ALL great news about what our troops are doing. You won't find these in the msm, but you can find them at Assoluta Tranquillita (and most other places I post) here.

Read on!!!

TAPS: For the Children

Recently, this site posted tips from TAPS designed to help grieving loved ones deal with new realities which are especially challenging over major holidays. As Christmas approaches, TAPS has now issued another press release, with tips on how to help the fallen hero's children cope. Christmas is typically a fun-filled, joyous time that children anticipate with great glee. This time of year, however, can be really hard on the precious little ones, without their own special hero. TAPS does amazing work year-round for the families of our fallen. If you are unfamiliar with their work, please visit their site at: www.taps.org. Meantime, please take the time to read TAPS latest press release - for the children:

SUPPORTING CHILDREN DEALING WITH GRIEF DURING THE HOLIDAYS: TIPS TO HELP
National Organization Comforting Families of the Fallen Offers Advice to Help All Who Are Grieving

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 2, 2008

WASHINGTON The holidays can be a magical time of year, but for children who have recently lost a parent, sibling, or another significant person in their lives, the holiday season can be an emotional minefield. It can also pose challenges for their still grieving surviving parents and other family members.

The holiday season can be particularly difficult for families with bereaved children because children carry their own expectations about the holidays, as well as their own grief over the loss, said Bonnie Carroll, the founder and chairman of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, TAPS. The holiday season can be a painful time for a bereaved child, but it can also be an opportunity to honor and remember the person who died and the legacy that special person left for that child.

For more than a decade, TAPS has helped surviving families of those who have died in military service, including Good Grief Camps attended by thousands of children and teens. TAPS and Carroll offer the following tips to help families supporting a bereaved child over the holidays:

Talk with your child about the holiday season. Anticipating the holiday, especially if it's the first holiday without a family member, can be worse than the actual holiday. Talk with your child about their feelings and expectations for the holiday season. Discuss the activities your child would like to participate in or attend.

Even if your child does not talk about the loss often with you, do not expect for your child to be 'over it.' Children grieve on their own timeline and differently from adults. Significant milestones, such as the first holiday after the loss, may cause the child's feelings about the loss to re-surface, even if the child has not talked about the loss for a long time.

Make holiday plans that help your child feel nurtured, emotionally safe, and comfortable. Review your plans for the holidays with your child. Spend the holidays where you and your child feel supported, nurtured, and comfortable.

Encourage your child to attend holiday functions. Consider attending holiday parties and activities, especially if you and your child will be able to spend time with supportive family members and friends. Make an escape plan in case the event is more than you or your child can handle, and trust your hosts to understand if you need to slip out.

Laughter, play and joy are good for your child. Children do not grieve continuously and they need to take breaks from grieving. Encourage your child to play, run, and do recreational activities he or she would normally do. Clowning around and laughing (which releases endorphins into the brain) are good for children.

Be observant about your child's emotions. Realize that familiar traditions, sights, smells, and even tastes, may be comforting to your child, or may jolt emotions for a bereaved child. Watch how your child responds to events and be ready to be supportive and to comfort your child.

Comfort items that remind the child of the loved one may help. Allowing your child to sleep in a favorite shirt that belonged to the person who died may offer comfort. Letting your child carry a special item that reminds him or her of the person who died may help the child feel connected with the person who died. Placing a special photograph of the child with the person who died or a holiday celebration in years past, may help the child.

Pay attention to your child's health. It's often difficult for adults and children alike who have experienced a recent loss to sleep. Make sure your child gets regular rest, eats well, and drink lots of water. Holiday treats are ok, but in moderation. Bedwetting, acting out, and nightmares may be symptoms of a child that is struggling. Talk with your medical care provider if you become concerned about your child's health.

Don't pretend your family has not experienced a loss. Let your child know that you also miss the person who died. Tell your child that you don't like that things can't be exactly like they were before the person died, and that you love your child. Children may need to hear this in order to feel it is permissible to discuss their own feelings.

Find sustenance for the soul. Your church, synagogue, mosque, or another faith community may offer services, resources and support networks to help you and your child through the holiday season.

Talk with your child about holiday traditions and how they will be observed this year. Some children insist that holiday customs remain exactly the same. Discuss with your child why he or she wants to hold onto a particular tradition or custom. Do not feel that you must do something because you have always done it that way, but consider your child's feelings when making a change. Talk with your child about any changes before they occur.

Stick to daily routines when possible. The holidays tend to cause a lot of upheaval in schedules and routines. The friends your child plays with may go out of town. Daily schedules your child is accustomed to change when schools close for the holidays. Try to keep your child on a regular bedtime routine and talk with your child about any schedule changes.

Allow your child to remember a lost loved one through a tribute. Light a candle together at dinner time to remember the person who died. Make a wreath with pictures and items that represent the things the lost loved one cared about and place it at the gravesite for the loved one. Hang an ornament on the tree that reminds the child of the loved one. Help your child offer a blessing at a holiday meal that honors the person who died. Create a picture or collage with your child, display a favorite photograph in your home, or let your child help you set a place at the dinner table to represent the loved one who died.

Help your child write a letter to the person who died that honors the legacy that person gave the child. Help your child write a letter to the person they love who died thanking him or her for the gifts the person gave to the child, the special things they would do together, and expressing how the child feels about the person. Some children may want to mail their letter to the person, take the letter to the cemetery, or 'send it to heaven' on a helium-filled balloon.

Honor the lost loved one through a gift. Encourage your child to draw pictures or create gifts for others that are inspired by the memories of the person who died. Help your child make a donation to a charity or cause the loved one cared about. Consider volunteering as a family at the charity.

Use family connections to help your child. Connections with other family members can help your child feel comforted, loved, and safe. These family connections can also help you as a parent cope with the holidays. Encourage your child to build ties with other family members, but you may need to remain nearby to reassure your child with your presence.

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.

Radio Station Pranks Reason Given For Republican Congresswoman To Hang Up Twice On Obama

We have all heard and written about some of the pranks that radio stations tend to play on our politicians, which have over the years caused a bit of embarrassment.

Word is that Barack Obama called Republican Congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and believing it was no more than a prank from some station, she hung up on him... then proceeded to hang up on his newly chosen Chief of Staff pick, Rahm Emanuel.

It wasn't until another politician, once I suppose she was familiar with, Democratic Representative Howard Berman, called and told her she had indeed hung up on the real Obama, that she actually took his next call.

So, Obama tried again and this time he was successful. (Phew!)

"It is very funny that you have twice hung up on me," Obama said. Ros Lehtinen responded by telling Obama that radio stations in South Florida always make these sorts of jokes. Obama said similar pranksters reside in Chi-town.

"You are either very gracious to reach out in such a bipartisan manner or had run out of folks to call if you are truly calling me and Saturday Night Live could use a good Obama impersonator like you," Ros-Lehtinen joked with the president-elect.

At least they both seem to have a sense of humor about the whole thing.

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Hawaiian Patriots Contact Hospitals: Obama & Mom Never There?

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Sun setting on Hawaii and maybe on the Obama Presidency
Who will do the right thing?

Earth Frisk Blog claims that Honolulu hospitals have no record of Ann Dunham (Obama) giving birth to Barack Obama.

According to admin at Earth Frisk, all of the following hospitals were:

...called or visited from November 20-December 2nd, 2008. Hospital employees bribed, some gave info for free. All to be released on video shortly

Hospitals you can check yourself

• The Queen’s Medical Center - Honolulu, Hawaii Obama claims as his birth hospital
  
• Kapi’ olani Medical Center Obama’s sister claims Barack Obama born here
• Honolulu Shriners Hospital Never a patient Mom or Obama
• Straub Clinic & Hospital Never a patient Mom or Obama