Monday, December 24, 2007

Will Smith Speaks

If you ever needed an excuse to miss the movie "I am Legend" starring Will Smith, Smith himself might provide you with adequate reason.

Actors are people naturally gifted with panache and self-esteem (sometimes unnecessarily.) Rich actors are able to add to that arsenal a platform in which to use the first two gifts. Unfortunately, actors are no more gifted than the salesman, the farmer, the engineer, the housewife, the auto worker, the doctor, the retiree, the architect, the teacher, the clerk, the butcher, the baker or the friggen candlestick maker when it comes to things such as intelligence, analytical ability, or common sense. Actors simply have the gall to say whatever flies into one ear and a tall soapbox from which to project that minuscule thought onto the rest of us.

So, when Will Smith tells you that Hitler was basically a good person, you can be quite certain that Mr. Smith, though a good actor, heaped in self esteem, loaded with flair and blessed with riches, is little more than an arrogant and distressingly loud idiot.

h/t to LX in the Right Michigan comments

A Christmas Wish from Omar Bakri

Omar Bakri has every reason to hate the west. After being booted from Saudi Arabia many years ago, he set up shop in London where he and his large family lived with their noses in the public trough for some 19 years. So, of course, hating the West and all things Western is more than understandable.

Now Bakri, as reported in The Daily Mail, has a few items on his Christmas wish list:

  1. A mass boycott of Christmas
  2. Make Christmas forbidden
  3. A terrorist attack on Britain in Observance of Christmas
'Tis the season in the Religion of Peace.

h/t Dhimmi Watch

A Wonderful Story For the Christmas Season

Via PowerLine, please read this AP story about a young soldier in Iraq:

MAUSTON, Wis. - Capt. Scott Southworth knew he'd face violence, political strife and blistering heat when he was deployed to one of Baghdad's most dangerous areas. But he didn't expect Ala'a Eddeen.

Ala'a was 9 years old, strong of will but weak of body — he suffered from cerebral palsy and weighed just 55 pounds. He lived among about 20 kids with physical or mental disabilities at the Mother Teresa orphanage, under the care of nuns who preserved this small oasis in a dangerous place.

Friday, December 21, 2007

"Allah" Is a Muslim Only God

Several months ago, Tiny Muskens, the retiring Roman Catholic Bishop of the Netherlands, decided it would be best to dispense with all the different names for God and embrace the name Allah.

"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."
Well, apparently it is more than just our problem as the Malaysian government has decided that Allah is only the name of the Muslim God.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A Catholic weekly newspaper in Malaysia has been told to drop the use of the word "Allah" in its Malay language section if it wants to renew its publishing permit, a senior government official said Friday.

The Herald, the organ of Malaysia's Catholic Church, has translated the word God as "Allah" but it is erroneous because Allah refers to the Muslim God, said Che Din Yusoff, a senior official at the Internal Security Ministry's publications control unit.

"Christians cannot use the word Allah. It is only applicable to Muslims. Allah is only for the Muslim god. This is a design to confuse the Muslim people," Che Din told The Associated Press.
It is pretty sad Bishop Muskens, when you cannot even appease properly. Why don't you just start praying toward Mecca and get it over with?

h/t Dan at Protein Wisdom

The Episcopal Church

Two interesting posts by Christopher Johnson at the Midwestern Conservative Journal. The first, Stepping In It, refers to the Archbishop of Canterbury's feeling that much of the Christmas story is little more than a "legend." Johnson is quite familiar with Rowan Williams, the Archbishop, and he is not at all surprised.

One could argue that chipping away at this or that aspect of the story undermines the reliability of the Gospel accounts. And if one is permitted to "reinterpret" minor aspects of the story, major ones may soon come under suspicion. Including the most important part of all.

Once again, all this is standard-issue leftist western Anglican thinking and is the reason that people are beating down the doors of Church of England, Anglican Church of Canada and Episcopal churches these days[/sarcasm]. Dr. Williams may have been his usual clumsy, tone-deaf self but I don't see anything here that warrants such a firestorm.
The second article is titled Ichabod and it discusses the Rev. Anne Fowler's personal testimony on why abortion was just peachy for her and why it might be just as peachy for everyone else. As Johnson writes:
The Rev. Anne Fowler demonstrates once again that the Episcopal "Church" is no longer Christian in any meaningful sense[...]
Indeed.

Feel the Peace of Islam in Pakistan

That Religion of Peace is at it again, this time in Pakistan where the death toll could reach as high as 50, where a suicide bomber attacked a place of worship.

At least 38 people have been killed in a suicide attack on a mosque in north-western Pakistan, police say.

The explosion tore through the mosque, near the city of Peshawar, as about 1,000 people offered prayers for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

Among the worshippers was Aftab Sherpao, interior minister in the outgoing government. He survived the attack but said his son was injured.

The violence comes as Pakistan prepares for a general election next month.
More from the BBC.

Meanwhile in Germany, scores of thousands nod their head in agreement.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Fight Global Warming: Hug a Nerd

It is only the latest battle front on the war against global warming.

Women must stop admiring men who drive sports cars if they want to join the fight against global warming, the Government's chief scientist has urged.
Might I suggest a '95 Buick with little rust and a kick-ass stereo? The seats don't recline all that well, but I have removed all the crap from the back seat, you know, just in case.

h/t Protein Wisdom

Do not Judge! (UNICEF photo of the year)

Just because this hairy old pedophile is over 40 and his bride-to-be is only 11 is not a reason for you western infidels to pass judgment.

After all, the Profit himself took a bride at age 6 and patiently waited to consummate the marriage until she had reached a ripe old nine.

More commentary at dhimmi watch.

All cultures and religions are equal! Nothing to see here. Move along.

Universal Health Care Coverage in Michigan

One really has to wonder what it is about governments in general and the State of Michigan in particular that makes bureaucrats believe that our benevolent leaders in Lansing have the ability to do much of anything other than collect a pay check.

Our state is awash in red ink and is falling farther and farther behind states such as Indiana, Texas, North Carolina and even, gasp, Alabama in its quest for job creation. Our public schools are far from the top, our roads and bridges brittle, and our prisons overcrowded and poorly staffed. Unemployment? Well, it is high. Our tax base? Shrinking. The only measurable statistic by which Michigan is at the top or near the top is in out-of-state bound rental moving trucks.

So, what could an elected offical, buoyed by our state's stunning success in all other areas of governance, be expected to do other than to try and get the state to assume even more responsibility over our lives? Well, today's hero for the masses is Lt. Gov. John Cherry who, among others, is planning on launching a petition to put on Michigan's ballot a proposal to provide universal state wide health care coverage. Now, who could ever envision anything going wrong with that?

From today's Detroit Free Press:

A campaign that claims support from key Michigan labor and religious groups, the AARP and Lt. Gov. John Cherry who plans to launch a petition drive next month to ask Michigan voters to approve statewide, universal health care.

The coalition would amend the state constitution to require the Legislature to enact "affordable and comprehensive health care coverage" in the same way the constitution mandates state support of free public education.

Health Care for Michigan, headed by former state Rep. John Freeman, an Oakland County Democrat, is to appear today before a state elections panel to ask for approval of its petition forms. But the campaign is already well under way, spokesman Gary Benjamin said Tuesday. The group's polling shows broad popular support for the idea, he said.

The amendment would "create a duty to provide health care coverage for everyone," Benjamin said. "But it's not a plan; it's a constitutional amendment."
This ought to make Michigan more competitive in the job's marketplace--a burdensome tax placed on the backs of employers who only have to move across the state boundary to avoid the red tape and financial burden. All this while being able to relocate their staff (and in case no one noticed, their taxpaying staff) to a locale where vastly superior private health care providers are in charge of the medical field.

Let me get this straight--after all the difficulties this state has experienced over the past few years, the best thing these socialists have to offer Michigan job creators is an added incentive to pull up roots and move elsewhere? Wow, that is a real accomplishment. Maybe we aren't being blown away but we are certainly being swept away.

Alas, this looks like a program that could see massive support among Democrats. What's not to like? We can always worry about paying the bill later.

Another Spears

From the shocking biological sciences department:

Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old "Zoey 101" star and sister of Britney, told OK! magazine that she's pregnant and that the father is her boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.

"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected," she said. "I was in complete and total shock and so was he."
Let me guess...you flunked all your science classes, applied biology, child development and the most basic sex education course.

How unexpected could pregnancy be after unprotected sex, unless you are a blazingly illiterate dipstick? Don't answer that, you have a budding career to worry about.

And this child has what chance?

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A DVD Sing-Along for Muslim Children in the UK

That wonderful Religion of Peace is actively recruiting the next generation of suicide bombers through a sing along DVD. The DVD, on sale in the UK, uses song and cartoon characters to promote murder.

A children's sing-along DVD for would-be suicide bombers is being investigated by police after being found on sale in one of Britain's terrorist hotbeds.

The disturbing disc of music videos - part of an Egyptian-made series - shows a young girl singing about following in the footsteps of her suicide bomber mother.
Among other wonderful themes.

h/t to The Religion of Peace.

Monday, December 17, 2007

A Casual Observer Advises the ACLU on Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of the Founding Fathers: Volume 2

“Let the pulpit resound with the doctrine and sentiments of religious liberty. Let us hear of the dignity of man’s nature, and the noble rank he holds among the works of God.” —John Adams

I think you should play the "America is an agnostic nation" angle here. Adams was an unapologetic evangelical ruffian and not really worthy of historical comment.

Does the estate have any money?

Thanks to the Patiot Post.

From Congressman Bart Stupak

From the right flap of the good Congressman's PDF file delivered to me in my e-mail:

Congressman Bart Stupak
Wants to Hear From You!


1. The war in Iraq is not working and I'm fighting in
Congress to change the course. I want to hear what
you think. Do you believe we should:

___Stay the course

___Continue to fund the war, but set a timetable

___Redeploy our troops

___Immediately withdraw

___Other: ___________________________
Mr. Stupak, it is less than honest to submit a form to me that requires my agreement with your assessment that "the war in Iraq is not working" when it is my intent to give you an honest answer while also disagreeing with your opinion.

Things in Iraq are working. Please stay the course.

Palestinians Hit The Jackpot

That big slot machine of international aid came up 7-7-7 for the wannabe state of Palestine when the dhimmi league of free Earth pledged more than $7 billion in aid today. Major donors include the EU, US, UK, Japan, Germany, France and Korea.

Notably absent from the list of known money pledging countries were any oil rich Arab or Muslim states.

Other thoughts are at Dhimmi Watch.

Dan Fogelberg

Sad news out of Maine today. Dan Fogelberg has died of prostate cancer.

One of the most memorable concerts I ever attended was at Reunion Arena in Dallas back in 1983 with Dan Fogelberg performing. I had two front row seats for a solo acoustic performance and I was lucky enough to be able to attend with the beautiful Jyme Borges. It was an evening I will never forget.

Rest in peace.

Friday, December 14, 2007

The "I'm Gone for the weekend" Post

I'm gone for the weekend.

Descriptive post headings are what set this blog apart from all others. Well, that and the whining. And hating.

Andy McKee Once Again

It has been several weeks since I've plugged Andy McKee at Candyrat records.

Here is Heather's Song.



Incidentally, I've tried to play guitar for the past 20 years. Watching Andy makes me feel at once blessed yet wondering why I haven't turned the old Fender into a plant stand. Or kindling.

Anarchists and Christians UNITE!

An article today in FrontPageMag highlights that oddest of marriages between St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Baltimore, with Red Emma's, an activist group of anarchists. A portion of the story:

Red Emma's, an anarchist bookstore and café in Baltimore, has come to the rescue of struggling St. Paul's United Methodist Church, whose originally female pastor now claims to be a man.

The Baltimore Sun published an entertaining piece on November 27 about the new anarcho-Methodist partnership, though it omitted the transsexual angle. "Anarchists and Methodists may seem like unlikely business partners," the Sun reported understatedly. But this "quirky venture" has brought "new energy" to the small congregation, whose doors might otherwise shut without the infusion of anarchist funds.

"It's a crazy little project," anarchist Kate Khatib of Red Emma's explained to the Sun. "There are not many churches that would reach out to a bunch of crazy anarchists, and there are not many anarchists that would reach out to a bunch of crazy Methodists."
I suppose though that partnerships among crazies are a bit more common than partnerships formed between crazies and people of more lucid texture.

After reading the whole article I couldn't help but wonder which namesake would be least pleased with such a partnership--St. Paul or Red Emma?

Thursday, December 13, 2007

My Take on the Democrat Debate

I was unfortunately exposed to some of the Democrat debate earlier today.

It becomes clearer to me every time I am so exposed that I have very little in common with the modern Democrat Party. I am also convinced that the founding fathers had even less in common with this generation's collection of socialist utopians and nannystate activists.

There is not an existing problem in this country or on the face of this Earth for that matter, that the blathering leftists on the panel of rhetoricians do not have a solution for--and each of these solutions involves taking money from citizens and redistributing that income to the laboratory of social experimentation. And, even when they do absently recognize that families and individuals have some responsibility for our society's outcomes, they ricochet off that notion headlong into even more eloquent platitudes that describe why people cannot survive without the government's benevolent hand.

According to that esteemed group health care is a civil right, schools are failing because they are underfunded, all of our foreign policy problems are the cause of cowboy diplomacy and our disrespect of other cultures, corporations are evil and we must take our democracy back. We need to tax more, fund more, regulate more, legislate more, mandate more, steer more and talk more. Oh, and Iowa is a really cool place.

At one point toward the end John Edwards even had the audacity to proclaim that the founding fathers did not intend for things to turn out this way--as if they would embrace the socialist policies of Edwards and remove from citizens the responsibilities of self preservation and sustenance and place these sacred charges on the doorstep of government--like some abandoned baby, which is probably where pre-Kindergarten comes in, now that I think of it.

My personal opinion is that if any of the founding fathers ever met John Edwards in an alley he would get his ass beaten for uttering such a blatant misrepresentation. And for the hair.

A Nativity Scene Direct From Palestine

'Tis the season, at least for many...

This year the evil Jews refuse to even allow the wise men to get close to the stable, at least in this Nativity scene pushed by the Amos Trust.

A nativity set with a difference - this year the wise men won't get to the stable.

The Campaigners Christmas gift:- poignant, ironic and made in Bethlehem.

Available in two sizes

£12.00- smaller version (featured)- 15 cm (long)x 9 cm(wide) x 9 cm(high). (There is an additional charge of £2.50 for postage and packing)

£50.00 - larger version - perfect for a church - complete with a detachable separation barrier that can be replaced by a more traditional stable. (There is an additional charge of £7.00 for postage and packing)

Currently sold out of both sizes - we are waiting for further supplies to come in from Bethlehem.
What is not indicated by the craftsmen or Amos Trust is whether suicide vests are being worn under the clothing of the three men of middle eastern descent. No bigger than that fence is though I think an explosives laden vehicle could blow up those Jews in no time.

From Hugh Fitzgerald at Dhimmi Watch:
Those behind this, whether they are in the Amos Trust or simply talked those in the Amos Trust into this act of vulgar antisemitism, are either sly and sinister, or possibly merely completely ignorant. They demonstrate either willful denial or complete ignorance of the history of the Arab Muslim war on non-Muslims, a permanent war if not always open warfare, and that is not limited to that focus of the world's media, the siege of Israel.
Much more...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

One Suggestion for Limiting Green House Gases: A Baby Tax

A glimpse into our environmentalist embracing socialist future:

A WEST Australian medical expert wants families to pay a $5000-plus "baby levy" at birth and an annual carbon tax of up to $800 a child.

Writing in today's Medical Journal of Australia, Associate Professor Barry Walters said every couple with more than two children should be taxed to pay for enough trees to offset the carbon emissions generated over each child's lifetime.

Professor Walters, clinical associate professor of obstetric medicine at the University of Western Australia and the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth, called for condoms and "greenhouse-friendly" services such as sterilisation procedures to earn carbon credits.

And he implied the Federal Government should ditch the $4133 baby bonus and consider population controls like those in China and India.

Professor Walters said the average annual carbon dioxide emission by an Australian individual was about 17 metric tons, including energy use.

"Every newborn baby in Australia represents a potent source of greenhouse gas emissions for an average of 80 years, not simply by breathing but by the profligate consumption of resources typical of our society," he wrote.
And who will be put in charge of these mandated carbon offsets?

My wild guess is the socialists.

h/t LGF

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Ban Ki-moon Speaks on Algiers Bombing

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had this to say about the two bombings that took place in Algiers today:

"This was an abjectly cowardly strike against civilian officials serving humanity's highest ideals," he said.
Those ideals presumably include the appeasement of Muslim states at the expense of democracies across the globe.

How is that working out for you?

Algerians Today Can Enjoy Islam's Peace

Another two bombings in Algiers with an exact body count not possible until all of the rubble is searched for buried victims.

The religion of peace is suspected, though it might be those Islamophobic Christians at the heart of the violence--world imperialism and all that.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Independent Kosovo

Exactly what the world needs: another Muslim only voting nation in the UN.

Because the Jews and other non-terrorist states aren't already outnumbered.

Blathering in Bali

There is hypocrisy and then there is, what I like to call, plausible inhypocrisy. They are, of course, exactly the same thing in function, it is just that in the second version the perpetrators have created an intricate network of excuses to fend off the charges of hypocrisy they know that will be coming.

Enter then UN and their conference on global climate change that is taking place in Bali, Indonesia.

Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Government officials and activists flying to Bali, Indonesia, for the United Nations meeting on climate change will cause as much pollution as 20,000 cars in a year.

The delegates each will produce an average 4.07 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or CO2, to reach the resort island 950 kilometers (600 miles) from Jakarta, according to estimates e- mailed to Bloomberg by the UN agency holding the conference.

Some of the 187 nations participating in the two-week forum promised to offset their so-called carbon footprint by planting trees or buying emission credits. The symbolic actions won't help stop global warming, some scientists say.
Here is a novel idea. Plant some trees, stay home, do a teleconference.
``It's very hard for the public to understand that you come together with so many people to a very distant place and cause a lot of emissions, and at the same time talk about emission reductions,'' Artur Runge-Metzger, head of climate strategy for the European Commission, said yesterday in an interview in Bali, adding that he had offset his own emissions.
Dude, I understand that you've done it and I also understand that you want to see an exotic island beach a few times in your life. Just don't tell me that I'm too dumb to understand that what you are doing will positively impact our world and that the emissions you have created in this debacle are somehow excusable while my car's 28 mpg are somehow inappropriate--at least I'm driving to work to make a living.
Indonesia will plant 79 million trees to offset the entire conference's emissions, Emil Salim, head of the host country's delegation, told reporters yesterday in Bali. The Asian nation is investigating how to develop its tree-planting activity to ensure a lasting offset, said Amanda Katili, special assistant to Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar.

``We have to know where the trees will be planted and make sure that they grow and not be cut down until they make enough carbon stock,'' Katili said in an interview.
Wow, that is pretty impressive. The problem being, of course, that it is not a permanent solution. Trees are essentially carbon storage devices. When the trees die and decay begins the decaying process, in addition to the carbon that is no longer stored by the living plants, yield a net (though small) increase in overall carbon. The science here is decidedly incomplete and at best the global warming community is acting on insufficient data. Nice try though.
The U.K.'s 40-person team will have their emissions neutralized through a central government fund, a spokeswoman for the country's environment department said.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas and three of his staff are buying so-called carbon credits, each representing a reduction of a ton of carbon dioxide, on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, commission spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich said in a telephone interview.
Essentially these people are producing carbon and hoping someone else will not produce offsetting carbon in the future (either through carbon producing abstinence or through technology advances produced by the offset investment.) Well, if the financial offset is that effective, why not stay home (a gain in carbon reduction) and also pay someone else not to produce any? At least in this scenario there would be a measurable gain in the war against emissions and not just a hopeful "offset" portion of the equation providing only theoretical benefits.

Meanwhile 10,000 conference delegates are talking away on an exotic tropical island trying to set up some rules that will apply to the rest of us that don't have the money to pay for someone else to go carbonless. And they are not hypocrites, they really aren't. Just ask them. They have the answers all worked out.

h/t Midwest Conservative Journal

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Just For the Fame

Another maladjusted narcissist takes the lives of others in a big bang designed to do nothing else than to create fame for the shooter.

And the media are more than willing to provide.

As I said after the last shooting of this type, we need to deny these murderous bastards any personal attention. Sure, report the event. Report the dead. Report the tragedy in its fullest but for one item...do not provide the shooter one ounce of fame. Deny him. No picture. No name. No headstone. Nothingness.

News of the Omaha shooting has gone world wide, as it should. Tragedies of this type will be reported. But the picture and name of the perpetrator should be squelched by a self-censoring media.

As evidence of the worldwide spread of this story, the BBC has an article on their website (that I will not link to because it provides him the fame he so desired) that refers to the cretin's want of glory mentioned in his suicide note:

The note went on to say he wanted to be famous, she said.
This underneath his now world-known face and name.

Today the next shooter is cleaning his weapon and practicing on targets. Just for the fame.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Annapolis

A lot has been said about the conference in Annapolis that was ramrodded into being by the likes of Condi Rice and George Bush. Organized to get the mid-east peace process back on track again, this particular conference had more to say about the US and President Bush than it had potential for any substantive solutions. Olmert is gravely unpopular in Israel while Abbas doesn't even represent Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza. According to some, the most positive development of the conference took place before it even began as Saudi Arabia agreed to participate.

It gave a lot of people the warm fuzzies to think that everyone on all sides would be sitting together at the same table breaking bread, discussing issues and moving forward together in peace.

Or not.

Powerline has a short post on the conference that points out the depths the US is willing to delve in order to appear to the world that it is a peacemaker.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Mayor Commissions Study on Moroccan Perpetrated Hate Crimes Against Homosexuals

Perplexed by the number of hate crimes in the Netherlands being perpetrated by men of Moroccan origin, the Mayor of Amsterdam has commissioned a study to see if they can discover the root causes.

Some possible reasons according to researchers are that the Moroccans might feel stigmatized because of their own social standing or they might be suffering low self esteem.

Robert Spencer at Dhimmi Watch thinks the Dutch should study Islam a little harder.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Michigan has a New Chief Operating Officer

Nick at Right Michigan has a good post today on the gentleman hired by our beloved Governor to be Michigan's first state COO. The position was created to help the state streamline its bureaucracy while attempting to issue in an atmosphere of economic expansion and job creation--two things this state desperately needs.

The promise of the new position had many people within the private sector encouraged until, that is, Daniel Krichbaum proved to be the selection. Nick has a checklist:

[...]so lets see how the new Governor... errr.... COO measures up.

Methodist minister... yep, check.

Former taxpayer funded employee of the city of Detroit... uh huh, check.

Leader of a non-profit who's goal is to further regulate businesses... got it, yes, check.

Experienced business leader... hmm... don't see that on his resume.

Respected for his ability to cut costs and get through red tape... no, looks like his roles have been much more aligned with creating red tape then cutting it.

Matches the criteria of the group of female executives we've heard were so influential in the process... no, not really.

This guy's kind of a curious choice, isn't he? Maybe I'm all wet. Let's see what the experts are saying about the Governor's new COO, Daniel Krichbaum.
Well, he is a curious choice when you consider his current position as president and CEO of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.

Read Nick's whole article and then write down a date when you think the first department head in state government will be asked to attend a diversity training session to be offered by the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion. Because that, my friends, will help to catapult this state to the top of the heap!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

For Sale...

I don't think Allah is going to like this item for sale on ebay...

For sale due to a change in the school curriculum.
Mo is a delightful little bear who all children would love, but not some adults.
Condition: As new, but by time of delivery may have 40 scratch marks on back.
Any proceeds to Prisoners Abroad http://www.prisonersabroad.org.uk/

A Christmas Holiday Festival in Mt. Pleasant

If Scrooge were a modern day character the Ghost of Christmas Present could march the contemporary version of the classic old fart right into the school board offices of the Mt. Pleasant School District where bitter tea could be enjoyed over crumpets and mutual grumblings of the tortuous Christmas season.

According to a news report this morning delivered by Scott Michael Trager at 9/10 News, the Mt. Pleasant Dickens Christmas Festival has had a name change to the Mt. Pleasant Dickens Holiday Festival. Why? Because local school officials refused to allow dissemination of information about the festival to school children without the name change.

What remains unclear is if the policy was applied to festival materials because certain people feared an establishment clause issue—where a student might become a state-forced victim of Christian brainwashing by touching the offending paper, or if someone is only running interference so no offense need be suffered by cranky atheists from the mere recognition of Christ's name at a festival ostensibly organized around a holiday that celebrates Jesus' birth.

The blame may not rest upon the shoulders of any school employee as this might be an issue forced upon them by a third party. Regardless, it is testament to a sad trend in American life and a reason to get children out of public education.

No word yet on whether school district librarians have been forced to pull copies of A Christmas Carol off the shelves.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

What's In A Name?

I'm so glad I don't live in the Sudan where having a dog called Mohammad might land me in some serious hot water.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Spare the Rod or Go To Jail

I guess because the nannystate has been so successful in every other endeavor it has attempted, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' legislature will begin debate on a bill that would outlaw the corporal punishment of children by their parents.

As everyone in Massachusetts knows, nothing says "well behaved child" like youthful years of gratuitous indulgence and blatant disrespect with no fear of any consequence.

I suppose it might work for all the little angels they raise today in the Bay State but here in Michigan, if junior lips off to me in public there just might be a swift swat. Call the sheriff if you like. That time-out shit ain't gonna cut it.

h/t Protein Wisdom

Apologize! Apologize!

The scene is a classic one from A Fish Called Wanda. Jamie Lee Curtis (Wanda) wants to get a safety deposit box key from John Cleese (Archie) that he doesn't know he even possesses. She must schmooze him for it and the seduction is working.

Unbeknown to either Wanda or Archie, Wanda's jealous boyfriend Otto (Kevin Kline) has broken into the flat to keep his eye on Wanda whom he suspects is not trustworthy. From his hidden outpost in the corner of the room Otto angrily is subjected to first the heavy petting between Archie and Wanda but loses his temper entirely when Wanda candidly confides in Archie how stupid she believes Otto truly is.

At this Otto jumps from his hiding spot, pushes Wanda out of the flat and demands an apology from Archie to which Archie asks incredulously "Me to you?" The apology is eventually made but only after Otto hangs Archie out of an upper story window by his heels and threatens to drop him on his head. The most polite apology in history is delivered as the world watches from the ground below, completely unaware of what caused the commotion to begin with.



A criminal gets angry over what he eavesdrops during the commission of a crime and demands an apology. What could be sillier than that?

How about a boatload of groveling Christian appeasers begging for forgiveness for crimes of retribution they did not commit, to people against whom the crimes of retribution were not committed. There is no honesty in claiming responsibility when there is none. There is also no benefit in giving ground, whether it is physical or philosophical territory, to people that see appeasement as proof positive of their own righteousness.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Many Words Are Necessary For the BBC To Adequately Not Describe French Rioters

French youths, teenagers, teenagers, local youths, teenagers, rioters, youths named only as Moushin, 15, and Larami, 16, teenagers, teenagers, teenagers, dying teenagers, teenagers, young people.

By my count the BBC had 13 opportunities in this article to accurately describe either the youths that were killed in the accident or the rioters. Perhaps there is some sort of connection between those deceased and the marauding thugs. Serious readers would like to know if any connection exists and, it would seem, that serious journalists would want to deliver this news--not just the nuance.

Could it be that the BBC is afraid of being labeled with that most dreaded of curses, Islamophobia?

Or could it be that roving bands of Congregationalists are causing all the trouble?

Pajamas Media has more while the Brussels Journal wonders if France will mourn the loss of Anne-Lorraine who was murdered but hours after the suspiciously non-religious youths crashed into a police car.

Closing in on Annapolis

The time is getting close for the great meeting in Annapolis, this the latest of initiatives to bring peace to Israel and the Middle East. Of course any and all concessions to be given up to buy that lasting peace is for Israel to give--there is nothing new about that.

The more moderate Palestinians (those 45% that don't believe in suicide bombing) are demanding at minimum a two state solution while some other regional Muslims like the Ba'aths in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the mullahs in Iran (and some Mennonites) lobby publicly for a one state solution--with Israel eliminated entirely.

Every time I hear the two-state solution trumpeted by the most sane of those involved I am reminded of this article in Front Page Magazine from several years ago that speaks to the true history of this dispute and doesn't resemble the monolithic narrative we hear from the MSM.

The only thing about the Middle East that goes without argument and even without saying is that the Palestinian Arabs are a stateless, homeless people.

You can`t pick a fight on that anywhere in the world, including Tel Aviv. The fact that four wars have been fought for the ostensible purpose of resolving the plight of the Palestinians has solidified this consensus. Everyone believes it.

The Oslo peace process lies in ruin, and the road map plan is off to a shaky start, due to the inability of the parties involved to agree on a formulation of principles concerning the right, or lack thereof, of the Palestinians to determine their own future on the West Bank of the river Jordan -- the area universally regarded as the historic, political, geographic, and demographic landmass of Palestine.

But even as the arguments rage over whether or how this should or can be accomplished - a state, a homeland, an entity? - a lot of well-intentioned people will tell you that there is not now and never has been a Palestinian nation.

The problem with this notion is that it is not true. There is and has been a Palestinian nation since May 14, 1946 - only two years to the day before there was an Israeli nation.
Good article.

US to Train Terrorists (seriously)

Why must the enemy of our enemy have to be treated as a friend when they have been our bitter enemy for decades--a pack of remorseless murderers, weaned on hatred, and dedicated to the goal of regional and ultimately world domination--a domination that includes the elimination of our true friends? Why must we fawn after thugs only because of recent political dynamics?

I guess because we are idiots.

According to WorldNetDaily, The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, that foremost practitioner of the suicide bomb over the past 30 years, is now our training partner. There has been no idealogical shift in Aqsa's philosophy toward Israel, merely the rise to power of a rival band of fanatical killers in Hamas.

Anyone feeling warm and fuzzy over Al Aqsa today has forgotten the Intifada. How short exactly is the memory of the Bush Administration?

h/t Dhimmi Watch

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Shia Militias Target Shias In Bombing

Given the latest bombing in Baghdad that killed 13 people, it is difficult to think that main stream Shia will find a path to the end of their darkness that does not include the US military or the Iraqi government.

We knew al Qaeda had the moral emptiness to target innocent civilians in their quest for political chaos in Iraq. We also knew that Shia militias in Iraq were capable of killing Sunnis indiscriminately for retribution against the Sunnis who controlled political life in Iraq during the Saddam years.

However, I'm not certain that the average Shia believed that his own militias would intentionally target him and his children while pretending to be al Queda, just to mislead the public into thinking that the value of the Shia militias had not ceased.

It appears as if it is now time to believe.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

A Casual Observer Advises The ACLU on Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of the Founding Fathers: Volume 1

You guys should sue George Washington's lily white butt over this outrage!

"Tomorrow being the day set apart by the Honorable Congress for public Thanksgiving and Praise; and duty calling us devoutly to express our grateful acknowledgements to God for the manifold blessings he has granted us, the General... earnestly exhorts, all officers and soldiers, whose absence is not indispensably necessary, to attend with reverence the solemnities of the day."
---George Washington, December 17, 1777
Found via today's Patriot Post.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

"Get Osama" Too Controversial
for New York DMV

Good grief, even Nancy Pelosi wants this guy dead (providing, of course, that no terrorist was forced to endure the torture of waterboarding while being softened up by Dick Cheney's CIA killbots before spilling the beans on his location) but that doesn't mean that the tender touch-me-nots at New York's Department of Motor Vehicles are as calloused as San Fran Nan'.

In fact, according to the DMV, the vanity plate "Get Osama" is patently offensive.

From wcbsty.com via DhimmiWatch:

He's the most wanted man in the world, or as President Bush once put it: "He's wanted dead or alive."

Just like the president, Arno Herwerth of Hauppauge on Long Island wants to get "Osama" also, and he's making it known.

Herwerth sports a "Kill Bin Laden" T-shirt, and one look at his boldly adorned vehicle will tell you his campaign against the 9/11 mastermind is at the forefront of his patriotic-led life.

"I feel the man's a mass murderer. He should be killed. He should be dead," Herwerth told CBS 2 HD.

So when Arno, a retired NYPD sergeant, ordered personalized "Get Osama" license plates from the DMV, he said he thought he was being patriotic.

"It's the only way to deal with him. He's killed thousands of people. The man is akin to Adolph Hitler," said Herwerth.

But now he told CBS 2 HD, the DMV has put the brakes on his plates, claiming they are offensive.

In a letter addressed to Herwerth, the DMV said they "prohibit the issuance of any license plate combination that is, 'in the discretion of the commissioner, obscene, lewd, lascivious, derogatory to a particular ethnic group or patently offensive.'"
Masterminding the deaths of 3,000 Americans isn't worthy of a Get Osama plate because it offends someone? The world has gone mad.

Monday, November 19, 2007

AP Misleads on Iraq (Again)

The AP's headline reads "General says N. Iraq most violent region".

What else can I do but dive into Pauline Jelinek's article for the dirt...

WASHINGTON - Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region's top U.S. commander said Monday. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said al-Qaida cells still operate in all the key cities in the north.

"What you're seeing is the enemy shifting," Hertling told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from outside Tikrit in northern Iraq.

Hertling said militants have been pushed east to his area from Anbar by the so-called Awakening movement, in which local tribes have allied with the coalition against al-Qaida. Others have been pushed north to his area from the Baghdad region, where this year's U.S. troops escalation has made more operations possible.
Nuts! All the news was too good to be true out of Iraq. We slow the terrorists down in one part of the country just to see them escalate in others. But please read on...
"The attacks are still much higher than I would like here in the north, but they are continuing to decrease in numbers and scale of attacks," he said.

Hertling said 1,830 roadside bombs were placed in his region in June, compared with 900 last month.

The U.S. military says overall attacks in Iraq have fallen 55 percent since nearly 30,000 additional American troops arrived in Iraq by June, and some areas are experiencing their lowest levels of violence since the summer of 2005.
Wait a second. I thought it was just implied that northern Iraq had gotten more violent but I suppose you have to read to paragraph four to get the truth of the matter (if you bother to read that far) after the first three paragraphs persuade you to believe otherwise.

If roadside bombs are any measurement of overall violence, northern Iraq has seen a reduction of 51%. This is not as robust as the 55% decline in overall attacks in Iraq as is reported in the article, but nothing to sneeze at either.

The AP and Pauline Jelinek are misleading the readership either intentionally or through poor writing. It would be nice to believe she is simply a poor journalist but it is hard to provide her or the AP with the benefit of any doubt when their finished product, as misleading as it is, falls precisely within the leftist narrative.

You don't suppose Harry Reid is ghost writing at the AP, do you?

If Bad News Is Reduced Either Keep Silent Or Report Worry Over Bad News Returning

It isn't that the mass media is biased, it is simply being careful to, you know, make certain that any short term positive signs in Iraq are weighed carefully against longer term trends to determine if a new trend can be established, and in what direction that trend might be aimed.

While good journalists should not report a downturn in violence because of incomplete evidence, they would be negligent for not reporting that some leaders are worried that the alleged downturn in violence might not last, well, if it even exists at all.

I'm not understating the situation in Iraq because I certainly recognize its fragile state, but I'm also not overstating when I say that journalists and the media at large are more concerned with framing the news out of Iraq than they are in reporting it objectively and without bias.

Big shock there.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Dolly Cloning Professor Abandons Embryonic Stem Cell Research

I strongly disagree with the government financing of embryonic stem cells. This does not mean that I'm against stem cell research as many on the left would say, clearly ignorant of my support for adult stem cell research, ignorant of the woeful success record of using embryonic cells, or too beholden to the abortion industry to take a stance that might cross the directorship of Planned Parenthood.

Now, we have another begrudging convert to alternative stem cells, and this is no waif in the stem cell industry but the very guy who cloned Dolly the sheep and, in case no one has noticed, has been cloning humans for the sole purpose of stem cell harvest for years. Now, this guy is no hero in my book. I find him, like most intellectuals, morally barren because he takes all his directives only from himself.

From the BBC:

The scientist who led the team that controversially created Dolly the sheep is abandoning the cloning of human embryos in stem cell research.

Professor Ian Wilmut, of Edinburgh University, believes a rival method developed in Japan holds the key to curing serious medical conditions.

The new method creates stem cells from fragments of skin and could remove the need to use human embryos.

Pro-life groups opposed to the use of embryonic cells have welcomed the move.

But Prof Wilmut said: "We've not made this decision because it's ethically better.

"To me it's always been ethically acceptable to think that if you could use cells from a human embryo to develop a treatment for a disease like motor neurone disease, for which there is no treatment at present, then that is an acceptable thing to do."
He is basically admitting what opponents of embryonic stem cells have been saying for years, that adult stem cells hold much more promise than embryonic stem cells--the primary reason why private funding for embryonic stem cell research has all but dried up over the past few years.

Professor Wilmut doesn't see anything wrong with embryonic stem cells--he just thinks there is a better way.

One can only hope the American left will figure it out too.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Endangering A Child for Political Purposes

If you were a garden variety dreg you might spend your Friday night at a protest designed to block military shipments to our brave men and women fighting overseas in the military.

If you were the lowest form of scummy dreg, however, you might well raise the ante by taking your children to the protest with you and placing them in front of the trucks you are trying to stop--daring the driver to put his foot on the accelerator. All the while, of course, willing to take the chance that an accident will not occur, but if it does, gladly cashing in those children's lives for the movement.

Lock this monumental moron up for child endangerment and get those kids out of her malfunctioning, disaster-waiting-to-happen home.

From Michelle Malkin.

Words cannot express the contempt I have for this useless lump of flesh.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

The French Strike!

Socialists hate the free market system because of its basis in greed--all those suits scurrying around chasing the almighty dollar. Capitalists are in it, so they say, for personal gain with little thought of the "common good." There is little argument for reform by socialists, however, when top-heavy governments begin their destined and predictable spiral into decay and chaos which, if you think about it very long, isn't a real boon to your average cheese buyer either.

Evidence: France (from the BBC.)

In Paris on Wednesday, more than 50,000 people took to the streets to protest against Mr Sarkozy's reforms. Other demonstrations were held across France.

Nationwide fewer than a quarter of trains and only 90 of the 700 high-speed TGVs ran normally, while just one in five subway trains on the Paris metro and only 15% of bus services were operating.

Across France, commuters were forced to find other ways to get to work - car sharing, cycling or roller blading along traffic-choked roads.
Ostensibly all done out of kindness and concern for the wellbeing of others.
In Wednesday's other developments:

* French electricity grid power output was down by 8,000 megawatts amid walkouts by EDF electricity and GDF gas workers
This electric cut-off in a country where over 10,000 people died during a heat wave only a few years ago. You would think a third world country like France could use all the electricity it could muster for, you know, little things like heaters, defibrillators and oxygen machines.
* Shows at the Paris opera and Comedie Francaise were cancelled as performers joined the strikes

* Thirty-five of France's 85 campuses were disrupted by blockades as students protested against a law letting universities accept private donations and charge tuition.
The next generation of socialist sympathizers refusing to be weaned off the government teat--not for themselves but for the common good!

This is the inevitable course of socialism--slow descent into fiscal and moral collapse.

Vote Hillary!

MySpace Scheme Leads To Child's Death

Nothing in this world makes me as angry as seeing meanness in people. A new apex of meanness has arrived when parents seek to to hurt the emotional wellbeing of a child. I'm not talking about the passionate mistakes that are made on no notice which are bad enough, but the cold and calculated moves made by adults to deliberately harm a child--a child they knew to have self esteem issues and bouts of depression.

Two young teenagers living on the same street develop an on-again, off-again friendship. This is not unusual especially among teenage girls.

Enter one of the girls' busybody parents who is unable to discern that children need positive influences in their lives and not private investigators and gardeners of discontent. The parent and her daughter concoct a scheme in which they create a fake Myspace.com account for the sole purpose of luring the other girl into their confidence. The confidence could then be used to dig up information on what what the girl might be saying about the failed friendship. The contrived account was that of an attractive boy who could use his manufactured charm to get a grip on the girl's emotions. Then, at a later date once the fake friendship and emotional bond had been established, the charm was changed to meanness and savagery.

From the police report:

"(She) stated in the months leading up Meier's daughter's suicide, she instigated and monitored a 'my space' account which was created for the sole purpose of communicating with Meier's daughter.

"(She) said she, with the help of temporary employee named ------ constructed a profile of 'good looking' male on 'my space' in order to 'find out what Megan (Meier's daughter) was saying on-line' about her daughter. (She) explained the communication between the fake male profile and Megan was aimed at gaining Megan's confidence and finding out what Megan felt about her daughter and other people.

"(She) stated she, her daughter and (the temporary employee) all typed, read and monitored the communication between the fake male profile and Megan …..

"According to (her) 'somehow' other 'my space' users were able to access the fake male profile and Megan found out she had been duped. (She) stated she knew 'arguments' had broken out between Megan and others on 'my space.' (She) felt this incident contributed to Megan's suicide, but she did not feel 'as guilty' because at the funeral she found out 'Megan had tried to commit suicide before.'"
This story is ugly beyond belief.

And this time a child is dead for it. They may not have put the belt around the young girl's neck but they are responsible for it.

The identity of the parent perpetrating this monstrous deed is being withheld to protect the identity of her own complicit child. The evil parent should have her identity plastered across billboards nationwide and not protected.

She feels little guilt because the victim had already suffered from emotional problems. Wow, that must be a huge relief. Knowing this should make her feel additionally guilty, not safe from it.

In an ironic twist, it is the parent's of the dead child that are being sued by the Myspace site creator because the bereaved parents after finding out about the scheme and in a fit of rage, destroyed a foosball table and dumped the remains on the lawn of the perpetrator. Damages sought--$1,000. The police report information above stemmed from those charges.

I. Am. Angry.

h/t Conservative Grapevine

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Veto Pen Flurries

Perhaps the lambasting that President Bush received from conservatives over his losing of the Presidential Veto Pen has finally started to bear fruit because the vetoes are flying now.

Last week he vetoed the bacon riddled Water Bill and just today he has vetoed the Human Services-Education Appropriations Bill, a measure replete with over 2,000 earmarks.

Why? Pork!

The President has proven to be no conservative when it comes to lavish spending schemes designed to persuade improvement out of systems that are essentially designed to fail such as the Medicare Program and the public education system. So I find great comfort in knowing that there are some wasteful measures even he won't support in its entirety.

Despite it being FOR THE CHILDREN!

Naseem Should Grow Up

What hypothetical situation could have Naseem so worked up?

....to be looking at and possibly droolling [sic] over his pregenant [sic] wife's abdomen and possibly her private parts....I mean he will have failed in his faith...and his muslima understands completely what he is going through....she will risk her life to ensure he does not shirk from his faith...

all I can say is that thank Allah SWT that there is a good supply of Imams in that part of the world to resolve important life and death situations, without loss of faith.
As it turns out this is no hypothetical, and the horrid situation being described here by Naseem took place when a male anesthetist tried to ease a wife's pain of emergency c-section surgery over the protestations of a husband's Islamically induced irrationality.

Naseem is a commenter at Dhimmi Watch and he is in full support of the blathering husband.

This didn't occur in some third world country where we routinely expect to see women treated as pets of convenience, but in Belgium, that shining monument to multiculturalism and non-judgmentalism. And never has there been a clearer example of what can occur when a society refuses to recognize the evil of other cultures for what it is--the evil encroaches ever farther into the host society while the citizenry becomes either too cowed or indifferent to balk.

Why should a Muslim man feel he can infiltrate a western culture and insist it must respond to the demands of his backwardness? Why, because too few people have stood up and said that he cannot.

Belgium, that pearl of Europe, is a lot closer to America than many think.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Host Countries Responsible for Immigrant Crime and Xenophobia

Western countries are responsible for causing immigrants to turn to crime and for xenophobia according to an award winning Priest in Italy.

Many of Italy's immigrants were turning to crime because they were given a poor reception and too little support, according to a priest honored for his scholarly work.

Father Enzo Bianchi, who founded the Monastic Community of Bose outside the northern Italian town of Turin, was one of two authors awarded the Premio Grinzane prize at a special ceremony in Puglia at the weekend.

Bianchi (photo) said Italy was facing a "critical situation" because waves of immigrants were coming from poor countries. He said the government and individuals needed to do more to make immigrants welcome.

"There is no will to really do something for them, we push them into crime," Bianchi said. "We should ask ourselves what is the meaning of reception if we can't give them a house or food."

"There is no will to really do something for them, we push them into crime and this causes xenophobia."
In other words give them food and a house before they feel the need to steal it from you.

From Adnkronos International.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Denmark Collecting the UK's Terrorist Trash

I really rag on my kids when they refuse to at least consider the experiences of others when they make their decisions. So far this seems to have worked, at least as far as such methods can be measured on teenagers.

So, when a national government accomodates people that have already been evicted out of another country for what amounts to a desire to overthrow the government, I have shake my head in wonder over the abject stupidity.

But, here you have it, Denmark throwing its arms wide open to Al-Muhajiroun, a group banned in the UK for throwing its support behind terror groups such as al-Qaeda and supporting the institution of an Islamic state in Britain.

Some people just have to learn for themselves, and quite often at great cost.

h/t Dhimmi Watch

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Measuring Gender Fairness

Our society and the world is obsessed with the concept of fairness probably because jealousy is one of humanity's more primal emotions. Though the good book commands that we should not covet it seems that the downtrodden, sociologists and politicians are pretty interested in at least measuring what it is that we should not be coveting in the first place.

Enter The World Economic Forum's colorful study titled "The Global Gender Gap Report 2007."

To be clear, this study does not necessarily measure the quality of life, but simply some of the major disparities between men and women in categories such as education, work force penetration, and salary. In such measurements the professional measurers of fairness must lump everything together and then determine who is getting screwed. According to this latest study, Cuba (rated 22) is kicking the United State's (rated 31) butt in gender issues.

No word yet as to whether American feminists have organized a flotilla to leave Miami to head to Havana. Because, as we all know, the ability for women to live equally in a tin shack with dirt floor is more desirable than living in relative wealth and comfort whilst being governed by fewer women.

h/t Protein Wisdom

Law and Order: Indonesia

Forty one evangelical Christians have been sentenced to five years in prison for the vicious crime of praying that Muslims might come to know Jesus.

Meanwhile, Abu Bakar Bashir is free to enjoy long walks on the beach and an occasional sunset.

Praying for another--five years. Masterminding the bombing and mass murder of 202 innocent people--26 months.

Surely, that religion of peace is a marvel of modern jurisprudence.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Pork Barrel Congress

I hope we remember the next time that we face a national disaster (think Hurricane Katrina) where our Congress wants to find a few billion bucks really quick, that this is the type of crap we have already wasted our borrowed money on.

Throw the bums out!

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

No Child Left Inside

You just have to love the Detroit Free Press.

There's at least one proposal in the pending No Child Left Behind bill that Congress should have no quarrel with.
Why is that? Is it a proposal that doesn't cost any money, doesn't add to the bureaucracy, and doesn't heap more responsibilities onto the local school districts while it does provide something of value to our children? Because that is something that I really could support.
An aptly titled plan, No Child Left Inside would finally raise the profile of environmental education in the nation's classrooms. The bill would grant states $100 million for five years to help schools train teachers, design environmentally themed curricula, and increase opportunities for students to "directly experience nature."
Gosh. I guess that would mean no, no, no and no.

Has anyone proposing this crap spent any time in the past few years reading a science or history book? Anyone that does will find out pretty quickly that environmental education is already a very high priority amongst educators and textbook writers. To suggest otherwise is either disingenuous or ignorant.

The $100 million will go to help schools train teachers. Right. By the time the $100 million trickles down to teachers it is going to amount to some audio visual aids and a half-day inservice program--all to provide guidance to teaching professionals that either do or should have this sort of thing figured out by now.

$100,000,000?

I think not.

Terrorists Running Out of Iraqi Targets

Some people have claimed that the recent drop in violent deaths in Iraq has much to do with "The Surge." Others have opined that the drop is likely the result of that internal Sunni movement against al Qaeda called "The Awakening." Still more have speculated that Moqtada al Sadr's militia has taken some time off to regroup and this is at least partly responsible for reduced sectarian violence inside Baghdad.

An entirely different theory entered the debate Monday, at least one that I hadn't heard before. From TheHill.com:

If violence is decreasing in Iraq, it may be because insurgents “are running out of people to kill,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) said Monday.

“There are fewer targets of opportunity,” Obey said in a speech to the National Press Club.

Obey was responding to a question about reports touted by Republicans that security is improving in Iraq and that President Bush’s “surge” strategy is working. He stressed that military success has not led to political reconciliation.
Apparently most of the civilians in Iraq are already dead.

I hope the Republicans are able to identify this guy's seat as a target of opportunity in the next election. Presenting this sort of crap as an argument is beyond dumb.

h/t Protein Wisdom

Allah Inspires in Afghanistan

From Reuters:

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide attack on a parliamentary delegation killed at least 50 people in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a provincial official said, in the worst such blast in the country's history.

Five members of the Afghan parliament were among the dead and the toll was expected to rise among the delegates and schoolchildren who were among the victims.

"We have recorded 50 people dead so far, but there are still bodies on the streets we have not counted and some of the dead have already been taken away by their relatives," Baghlan provincial security chief Abdurrahman Sayedkhail told Reuters.
Any sane person would have to wonder what sort of God would command a follower to commit such a crime against humanity, and what sort of sick follower would follow such a command in the first place.

Perhaps the Methodists are responsible.

Monday, November 05, 2007

The Netherlands Give
as Malaysia Takes Away

From Dhimmi Watch.

On one side of the planet a Muslim country is actively engaged in a campaign to destroy Hindu temples while on the other side of the planet a secular democratic government is busy lending money to Muslims to help them build a place of worship.

The Dutch might want to make a long distance call to some traditional Hindus in Malaysia. You know, to see how this whole Muslim thing is working out.

Friday, November 02, 2007

The Bad Dog Triathelon

My dog has been in training for this and things have been progressing nicely.

Yesterday she was able to complete the BDT (getting into the cat litter box, crapping on the floor and running loose in the street) all in less than 30 minutes. This is a personal record for her, though other dogs in the kennel-rescue wiener dog division might very well nip her in a competitive situation at higher altitude.

Despite her suggestions otherwise, however, I've determined that she should not even think of training for the decathlon. Ever.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Andy McKee -- Ebon Coast

Some days are just too involved for politics. It probably sucks to be a politician on days like that, eh?

Rise above it with some Andy McKee.



Buy the CD at Candyrat records.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

British Think Tank: "Downgrade Christmas
to Give Other Religions Equal Footing

Imagine if you would what the response might be from devout Muslims if it was suggested that they tone down with all that Ramadan stuff simply as a measure of good will to improve relations.

I do not see anyone even daring to make the suggestion public as the response would lead to an immediate condemnation from Muslim organizations at the very least. The utterer would be denounced as "ignorant" and possibly "islamophobic" and in many parts of Europe such comments could lead to legal charges.

So, what do you make of this situation? From the Daily Mail:

Christmas should be downgraded in favour of festivals from other religions to improve race relations, says an explosive report.

Labour's favourite think-tank says that because it would be hard to 'expunge' Christmas from the national calendar, 'even-handedness' means public organisations must start giving other religions equal footing.
Oh, it might be hard to expunge it immediately, but given a few decades of self-loathing appeasement and Christmas could easily become a thing of the past.

Islam does not allow Christianity to exist on an equal footing in Muslim lands for an obvious reason--Islam does not exist to coexist. Islam exists to dominate. Many in the UK, it seems, want to give up without a fight.

h/t to Dhimmi Watch

21 Defendants Share 309 Years of
Sentence for Madrid Bombing

Though sentencing officially amounted to many thousands of years for the murder of 191 people in Madrid, the actual punishment will only be 309 years, or approximately one year and seven months per death victim to be spread among the 21 defendants that were actually found guilty of at least some involvement in the plot.

It seems those refined Spaniards (whom we greatly respect for their intellectual superiority and social panache) have determined that no crime will ever be worth more than 40 years in prison.

And the victim's families? They weren't very happy about the sentences to begin with, even before the most severe sentences were reduced to 40 years. Most of these people are young enough, even those serving the maximum sentence, that they will be able to leave prison as free men having paid their full debt to society according to Spain.

If it were me, and please understand I have not seen any of the evidence, if guilt was sufficiently proven there would have been at least 21 death sentences, preferably by waterboard.

Justice was not done.

Republicans Can Bring Home the Bacon Too

Lest anyone suggest I play only Republican ball in politics for linking to posts slamming pork pusher John Murtha (D) from Pennsylvania, let me offer up another abomination of pork--Sen. Ted Stevens (R) of Alaska.

This is the same Ted Stevens that threatened he would leave the Senate floor on a stretcher if amendments were passed to a transportation bill that would have rerouted some $223 million earmarked for his pet bridge to one needing repair/rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

Now it seems that Ted's son might be getting some financial benefits from his pork dipped Dad.

I'm with John Hawkins who tells Senator Ted: "Retire Sooner Please"

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Islamic Suck-Up

How does one condone the systematic abuse of women in Saudi Arabia?

By donning an abaya, Mrs. Bush symbolically accepted the legitimacy of the system of subjugating women that the garment embodies, (or disembodies).


Read the whole article by Caroline Glick at the Jerusalem Post. This whole "Islam is a religion of peace" crap being pushed by the Bushes is starting to tick me off.

h/t Dhimmi Watch

BBC Alerts Terrorists of Potential Target

It is tough to say what exactly the BBC is thinking when they report for worldwide attention something that, according to the BBC's own Jim Muir:

has gone on largely behind the scenes so as not to cause public panic or attract the interest of insurgents.
What we cannot divine by this is whether the BBC offers this news bit as just one more thread in the tapestry of Iraqi failures it is spinning in order to promote a coalition retreat in the area, or if it is simply pointing out to al Qaeda that there is an additional soft target available that perhaps they have been overlooking.
The largest dam in Iraq is at risk of an imminent collapse that could unleash a 20m (65ft) wave of water on Mosul, a city of 1.7m people, the US has warned.

In May, the US told Iraqi authorities to make Mosul Dam a national priority, as a catastrophic failure would result in a "significant loss of life"
Thank you BBC.

Bringin' Home the Bacon

Check out Michelle Malkin where she has collected some information on the town that Jack Murtha built using pork barrel earmarks--over $600 million in the past four years alone. If you are from Murtha's district in Pennsylvania you probably love the iconic windbag. If you are from anywhere else, such as, say, rural northern Michigan, he represents the worst of what can go wrong when politicians are granted the authority to spend other people's money.

Congratulations Johnstown. Enjoy the rewards of my toil.

Real Life Torture Experiments

What is the best way to determine if something is torture?

Apparently for a couple of dimwit brothers over at the Democratic Underground, it is to repeatedly expose yourself to it so as to be able to make an accurate assessment.

Now, these brave dudes weren't pulling out finger nails one by one or using cattle prods on each other's genitalia--which, I have to be honest, would have stopped my own torture experimentation dead in its infancy. Nope, the torture in question is waterboarding. And, after several harrowing runs, the results are official:

My brother tried it a few more times than I did. He beat me on average times, but his highest was 18 seconds.

I would say that if somebody was repeatedly waterboarded it would not take a whole helluva lot to break them. Immediately a person feels panicked, and that's without the additional fear of thinking that their captors are actually trying to murder them. It's a pretty harrowing ordeal for the time that you are being subjected to it.

It's definitely torture. And if anybody doesn't believe it, then they should try it themselves. According to an ABC news report CIA officers who subject themselves to it only last an average of 14 seconds. And those are people who are trained to withstand different types of torture.
I'm waiting to see if these two door knobs will be getting back to us soon to report on whether or not smashing a hand with a hammer is torture. To volunteer again and again and again for that long, lonely walk into the torture chamber means either they struggle with sentience or their definition of torture is inaccurate. Perhaps both.

n/t to wizbang

Political "Solutions"

The government has a solution for everything. The voting masses, always wont to listen to lawyers and bureaucrats promise pain free solutions to even the most vexing of problems, continue to elect over paid cradle to the grave government nannies to soothe our pains and guarantee a better day.

Thomas Sowell in Townhall today points out the all too obvious:

It is remarkable how many political "solutions" today are dealing with problems created by previous political "solutions." Three examples that come to mind immediately are the housing market crisis, the wildfires in southern California, and the water shortages in the west.
The whole article is so packed with common sense that it will go completely unnoticed by government busybodies. After all, why would a bureaucrat ever listen to an economist on the workings of the world when they are perfectly good politicians willing to guarantee (for only the price of a vote) that none of the laws of economics will have jurisdiction beyond the next election cycle?

Monday, October 29, 2007

UN and EU Condemn Israel Again

Israel has started to cut as much as 15 per cent of electricity supplies to the Gaza strip in response to rocket attacks launched from Gaza. Of course, the UN, EU and the Gazans themselves are up in arms over the unfairness of it all.

Israeli energy sanctions against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip punish an entire population and are unacceptable, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said.

The EU also voiced concern after Israel began reducing petrol and diesel supplies in response to militant rocket attacks on its territory.
Yada, yada, yada.

It has been proven time and again that the ability to control terrorism lies within the neighborhoods of the terrorists themselves.

There was no bloodier province in Iraq than Al Anbar. It used to be a province filled with terrorists and terrorist sympathizers. It was a province that contained less than 10 per cent of Iraqi citizens yet was the province in which nearly half of all insurgent violence took place. It was an area largely thought of as being beyond hope by even many in the US military.

Then came the "Awakening" where the Iraqis themselves decided they were tired of being blown up and terrorized. They decided there had to be a better way than simply standing by and allowing others to trash whatever opportunity they had to better their own lives. They began to take back their markets and their towns, and soon the entire province began to turn around.

In Gaza things would be the same if there was a similar Awakening.

Until the Gazans and their hapless leadership decide that being the victim is no fun, their victimhood will continue--if not by Israel, at the very least by the punks that make up the militant forces.

The cutting of electricity in response to terrorist attacks seems reasonable. The words and tears of EU and UN aren't going to convince pedestrian Gazans to do anything about terrorism. Perhaps the Israelis, using more stern incentives, can.

Left-Leaning Lantos Doesn't
Mince Words With Eurocrats

In case you missed this over the weekend, Tom Lantos, that left falling Congressman from California who so despicably attacked General Petraeus before Congress just a few weeks ago, apparently isn't afraid to speak his mind with European leaders either.

WASHINGTON - Dutch lawmakers who recently visited the Guantanamo Bay military prison said they were offended by a testy exchange in Washington with a senior congressional Democrat.

The lawmakers said that Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told them that "Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo Bay."

Lantos, a Holocaust survivor, was responding to arguments that the United States should shut down the prison, located on a U.S. naval base in Cuba, the lawmakers said. Mariko Peters, a member of the Dutch Green Party, who began the exchange with Lantos, said she took notes of the remarks.

A Lantos aide said the lawmaker realizes the Guantanamo facility does harm to the reputation of the United States and has praised judges who ruled in favor of extending legal rights to prisoners. Lantos has not suggested that the prison be closed.

Before the Guantanamo exchange, the lawmakers had discussed a debate in the Netherlands about whether the country should maintain its 1,600 troops serving in NATO's Afghanistan operations.

"You have to help us, because if it was not for us you would now be a province of Nazi Germany," Lantos said, according to the Dutch lawmakers.

"The comments killed the debate," said Harry van Bommel, a member of the Socialist Party. "It was insulting and counterproductive."
Tough.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

IAEA's ElBaradei Rails Against Israel

Buoyed by his stunning success in stopping the Iranian nuclear program dead in its tracks, Mohamed ElBaradei, chief if the IAEA, has condemned Israel for blowing up a suspected nuclear site in Syria.

Huh?

What is it that would make him think the west should have an ounce of confidence in this guy's international blatherings? Years of talk and finger pointing and posturing at the wisened behest of ElBaradei have done nothing except lead us ever closer to the day when we can do nothing about a nuclear Iran. I'd rather grant Robert Mugabe another country to turn around economically than give ElBaradei another chance to soft woo a fascist dictatorship into giving up its nuclear weapons programs.

Thank you Israel.

h/t LGF

Thursday, October 25, 2007

A Pretentious Blogger Gets
Some Unexpected Attention

I'm not the most confrontational person but I have to admit I enjoy watching a good slap down when the person being abused deserves every last bit of it.

A case in point...blogger Bobby Calvan, ever the tough journalist, gets rude with a US soldier at a Green Zone checkpoint and with puffed arrogance, makes the mistake of proudly blogging about it.

Oh, and the slap down, it just might leave a mark.

h/t Michelle Malkin

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Foster Parents in Britain Disqualified
For Not Promoting Homosexual Lifestyles

When you live in a nanny state, you better mind your nanny!

From the Daily Mail.

They are devoted foster parents with an unblemished record of caring for almost 30 vulnerable children.

But Vincent and Pauline Matherick will this week have their latest foster son taken away because they have refused to sign new sexual equality regulations.

To do so, they claim, would force them to promote homosexuality and go against their Christian faith.
Those darn Christians, always pushing their own agenda even when it hurts needy youths by depriving them from the ever important gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans gendered lifestyle education. Sure, food and clothing are nice to have and so are clean sheets and a protected place to lay one's head at night, but, when an 11 year old gets horny, what good is a ham sandwich?
The 11-year-old boy, who has been in their care for two years, will be placed in a council hostel this week and the Mathericks will no longer be given children to look after.
One can only hope that the state can get a proper education started quickly for the boy so that his 11 year old sexual identity can begin to blossom. Oh, and he shouldn't hate either--like those loathsome Mathericks.
The devastated couple, who have three grown up children of their own, became foster parents in 2001 and have since cared for 28 children at their home in Chard, Somerset.

Earlier this year, Somerset County Council's social services department asked them to sign a contract to implement Labour's new Sexual Orientation Regulations, part of the Equality Act 2006, which make discrimination on the grounds of sexuality illegal.

Officials told the couple that under the regulations they would be required to discuss same-sex relationships with children as young as 11 and tell them that gay partnerships were just as acceptable as heterosexual marriages.
And, as we all know, not counseling an 11 year old on the wonders of gay relationships is nearly the same thing as screaming "stone the faggot," like they do in Iran. (Stoning that is, I'm not sure what the appropriate slur is for homosexual in Farsi.)
They could also be required to take teenagers to gay association meetings.

When the Mathericks objected, they were told they would be taken off the register of foster parents.

The Mathericks have decided to resign rather than face the humiliation of being expelled.

Mr Matherick, a 65-year-old retired travel agent and a primary school governor, said: "I simply could not agree to do it because it is against my central beliefs.

"We have never discriminated against anybody but I cannot preach the benefits of homosexuality when I believe it is against the word of God."
Hah! Got you, hater! Not promoting is the same thing as discriminating.
Mrs Matherick, 61, said they had asked if they could continue looking after their foster son until he is found a permanent home, but officials refused and he will be placed in a council hostel on Friday.

She said: "He was very upset to begin with. We are all very close, but he's a mature young man and he's dealing with it."
How does this help a child in need of a home? It seems to me that the people in charge have decided that this child's need to either explore his potential homosexuality or society's need for him not to hate homosexuals (though there is no evidence to support he was being taught to think of homsexuals one way or the other) transcends his need for a stable home at the age of 11.

Who benefits from this decision? It sure ain't the child.

h/t Brussels Journal

A Hero's Father Speaks

"While I'm crying inside and my heart's breaking, my chest is puffed out and I'm saying, my son, this is what he did and I hope the country appreciates it and realizes it."

---Dan Murphy, father of Medal of Honor recipient
Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy KIA in Afghanistan

via today's Patriot Post

Laura Bush Among Friends

This picture is from Debbie Schlussel.


The pictures was taken during the First Lady's recent swing through the middle east to promote breast cancer awareness.

I'm sorry, but these women, while certainly having to worry about the dangers of breast cancer, also have to worry about being relegated to near inhuman status and therefore all the different abuses that come from being thought of in such a way. I wish Mrs. Bush would do some promotion of a different kind on the behalf of these women--assuming those are women underneath those hoods.

I am encouraged to see that at least she did not feel it necessary to don one of those silly scarves that Nancy Pelosi was so willing to parade around Syria. At least we have that.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Fantasy Football

I wonder how long it took Newton to really discover the constants of gravity and motion. I suppose it took some applied study in addition to years of casual if not dedicated research to understand their diligence and applications.

I have likewise observed the nuances of Fantasy Football through many seasons. It was this past week, however, that I had my moment of epiphany, and I present my observations now, to both the scientific and sporting worlds.

Rougman's First Law of Fantasy Football states that a player's ability to score points is directly disproportional to the number of weeks you actually wasted on the dirty bastadge, starting him game after excruciating game, waiting for the jackass to actually put up some friggen points! The longer he starts, the worse he gets.

Conversely, Rougman's Second Law of Fantasy Football states that a player's ability to score points is directly disproportional to the length of time he has been scoring points as a non-starter. In other words, if the player has been scoring points up the wazoo while either sitting on your bench or unclaimed on the waiver wire, when you finally start him or, even worse, spend money on him to sign him so you can start him, the sumbitch won't be worth a steaming squat of crappola. The longer he sits, the more impressive the numbers.

As evidence for these axioms of truth, I present to you the scoring charts of two current dipsticks that happen to hold down spots on my roster. On the left you see Chad Pennington whose game was spiraling around the sides of the toilet bowl on its way to the septic tank as I started him for several weeks in desperation after injuries to both Jake Delhomme and Matt Leinart. When I finally benched him he put up 23.


On the right you see David Garrard who posted consistent if not spectacular numbers after spending all season on the free agent wire. I picked him up, inserted him in the starting lineup, and exposed myself to Rougman's Second Law.

Rougman's Third Law of Fantasy Football goes something like this (though the text is not set in stone): I suck.

When is Self-Defense Not Acceptable?

Apparently when you are an infidel woman protecting yourself from a Muslim male trying to stab you to death.

Another Eurabian city is tense as packs of indignant Muslim "youths" take to the streets burning cars, breaking windows and damaging businesses. Reminiscent of the Paris riots nearly two years ago and more recent riots in Brussels, this time rioting in Amsterdam broke out after a policewoman shot and killed ethnic Moroccan Bilal Bajaka who was in the process of stabbing her.

Jumping quickly to point out that the rioters have a true concern is the Moroccan born Mayor of Amsterdam's Slotervaart district who complained that the Dutch were negligent for having skimped on the mental health care of Bajaka. From the Brussels Journal:

Since the incident, Slotervaart has seen rioting almost every night. The Amsterdam Moroccans are “shocked” because one of them has been killed by an infidel woman. According to his family, Bilal Bajaka was mentally deranged and had a suicide obsession. Ahmed Marcouch, the Moroccan-born Socialist mayor of Slotervaart, criticized the Dutch authorities for failing to provide adequate health care for Bajaka’s mental problems.
As far as I'm concerned the Dutch mental health department has a bigger problem to deal with than just poor little Bilal Bajaka. Each and every person incapable of understanding that a women has the right to defend herself against a knife wielding assailant has gone daft. That the cowering Dutch allow this crap to go on night after night is shameful.