The Arrogance Of The U. S. Congress

[The following post is by a reader who had an opinion and wrote about it. His gripe with Congress.]

by Marlin Thompson

I submitted this to the Roanoke Times and it was published on 12/30/07.

The arrogance of the members of the United States Congress is amazing. This month, by a wide margin (314-100), the House passed an energy bill (HR 6). The centerpiece of the bill requires the automakers to increase their industry corporate fuel standard (CAFÉ) average by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, including passenger cars, SUVs and small trucks. It won’t happen, because the government can’t force this on the automobile manufacturers and the American public unless we all start driving Yugos or Mini-Coopers.

Another major requirement of the bill is to improve efficiency standards for lighting, appliances, and commercial and government buildings. Light bulb efficiency will have to increase 70 percent by 2020, and the Energy Department has been ordered to quickly implement the bill elements. What are the penalties if the manufacturers can’t comply with this mandatory conservation?

The bill does nothing to help make the United States energy independent.

There are no provisions to increase energy from nuclear plants or to promote new domestic production of oil or other fossil fuels.

Since Congress has crafted a bill that is impossible to achieve, what’s next? Maybe they could pass a bill to repeal the law of gravity.

[Well said Marlin! I like that last one. They may as well pass that one too.

We want to encourage all our readers to express your opinions. Don't let them smoulder inside you. Get it out where it can do some good! ---Ed]

Tagged: CAFE, Congress, Congressional Fiasco, energy bill (HR 6), energy independent, law of gravity, nuclear plants, Oil.

Support Our Troops This And Every Year

[This is an Unabashed appeal. If after reading this you don't get teary eyed or at least a lump in your throat, you need to see a heart specialist. Go with your feelings and open your pocket book or wallet for one of the most important gifts you can give. --- Ed]

Dear Proud American,

It has been my distinct honor to spend the last three weeks visiting with America’s brave defenders of freedom – our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Guardsmen and Marines – who have left their families and are risking their lives in the War on Terror.

Every soldier I listened to in Iraq told me they are winning. These troops ought to know – many of them are there on their third, year-long tour of duty in Iraq.

They are fighting to keep America safe, strong and free so we may enjoy this Holiday Season.

As the New Year approaches, my wish for you and your family is that 2008 will be a healthy, happy, peaceful and prosperous year and I come to you with a humble request.

Please open your heart to our Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program, which shows our troops how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice for our freedom.

Today and every day the Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program is providing tangible support for our brave defenders of freedom, including

• Our combat-wounded troops recuperating at military hospitals across the country.

During 2007, Freedom Alliance hosted 30 “Troop Appreciation Events” and provided more than 500 Thanksgiving Dinners to our sailors in the San Diego area. This year Freedom Alliance has also provided grants to more than 300 wounded servicemen and women to help ease their financial burdens.

• Our active duty troops on the battlefield who are far from home and missing their families. This year we have sent 500 gift packages overseas filled with pre-paid international phone cards, candy, toiletries, hand-held games, magazines, and books, as well as cards and letters of support and appreciation from patriotic Americans.

Just recently Freedom Alliance received this email from Baghdad:

“On behalf of everyone in my unit, I would like to thank you for everything that you have sent. We have received 7 boxes over the last 2 days. What you sent was more than generous. We would like to thank all who sent letters, especially the children who wrote to us. To the children, we want to say we are more than happy to serve and protect you.”
-Army SPC Keith and everyone in the First Cavalry Division, C-RAM

The Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program also honors and supports:

• Our military families whose Mom or Dad; Husband or Wife are deployed overseas fighting to keep us free and safe here at home.

We are counting on your generosity to the Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program to provide funding now and throughout 2008 to provide support to seriously wounded troops to help ease their burdens as they recover from their injuries.

One grateful service member, Staff Sergeant Tara, who received a grant from Freedom Alliance, wrote to us:

“I received your check and I wanted to write you a note to let you know where I am now. I was injured by an IED on Valentines Day of 2006. I lost my leg and came very close to dying. I was a military police officer in the Army, and am the only female amputee here in San Antonio. The check I received from your organization was substantial and my husband and I used it to pay many expenses that had piled up. I wanted to tell you that it helped us more than you could ever know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Your generous tax-deductible contribution TODAY (GO HERE) will allow us to help more military heroes throughout 2008.

During this Holiday Season, the Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program hosted troop appreciation events for military personnel throughout the United States and provided care packages for our troops on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as our wounded warriors here at home.

The goal of the Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program is to ensure that our military heroes are NEVER forgotten and are honored for their service.

So I come to you, my friend, with an urgent appeal to open your heart with your most generous year-end, tax-deductible contribution for Freedom Alliance’s Support Our Troops program.

Our courageous soldiers, sailors, airmen, Guardsmen and Marines need our continuing prayers and support. . . now, and throughout the New Year!

Will you please join with me and Freedom Alliance again to pay tribute to our front-line warriors and their families?

May we count on you, as together we honor them and thank them for the sacrifices they have made for our great and dear country?

Would you please GO HERE to make your most generous 2007 tax-deductible contribution to the Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program today?

The support and assistance you make possible – now and throughout the New Year – will show our brave heroes how proud and grateful we are that they fought for our freedom.

Please make your most generous tax-deductible, year-end GIFT NOW to the Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program.

Please keep our Brave Defenders of Freedom (and their families) in your thoughts and prayers. God bless you and your family and thank you for your generous support.

Semper Fidelis,

LtCol Oliver L. North, USMC (Ret.)
Founder and Honorary Chairman

P.S. – Army First Lieutenant Young, a nurse in Iraq at the 31st Combat Support Hospital, thanked me for the care packages the hospital had just received from Freedom Alliance, by saying: “There is no way that I could thank you enough for bringing our morale up, especially around the holiday season, so thank you, thank you, thank you.“

We are proud to let you know that Freedom Alliance has been awarded the coveted 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator.

Freedom Alliance has also achieved the top charity rating as “Best in America” from Independent Charities of America.

Hat Tip to GOPUSA

Tagged: airmen, America, Charity Navigator, Freedom, Freedom Alliance, Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops, Guardsmen, Hospital, Independent Charities of America, LtCol Oliver L. North – USMC (Ret.), Marines, Military, military families, morale, sailors, Semper Fidelis, Soldiers, War on Terror.

Jihadi Passport Photo Center

Jihadi Passport Photos Taken
Smile And Wait For Flash

Maybe a solution!?
Or we could combat this War of Radical Islamic Ideology with the concepts of the Moderate Islamics!

Or better yet, with Both.

Okay US Gov’t, Let’s get started. It’s better late than never.

Even the Saudi Gov’t has belated started re-education of suicide bombers. At least for the ones that survived.

“. . . Ahmed Al-Shayea is the product of a concerted Saudi government effort to counter the ideology that nurtured the 9/11 hijackers and that has lured Saudis in droves to the Iraq insurgency. The deprogramming, similar to efforts carried out in Egypt and Yemen, is built on reason, enticements and lengthy talks with psychiatrists, Muslim clerics and sociologists. The kingdom still has a way to go in cracking the jihadist mind-set.”

Read more > There Is No Jihad. We Are Just Instruments Of Death

Another well thought out article states:

“. . . the United States of America is not engaged in the war of ideas in any way, shape or form anywhere in the world including on our own soil. In contrast, the enemy is fully engaged and succeeding in their mission.”

Read more > Fighting Islamofascism: The Missing Element

— Ed

Read more here > The Patriot Post

See more Humor here > Patriot Humor

Tagged: deprogramming, Islamists Ideology, Jihadi, Muslim Terrorists, War of Ideas.

Giving Moderate Islam A Voice

The following op-ed by Kathryn Jean Lopez, Editor of National Review Online, appears online today at Townhall.com. It can be found online at this link > Townhall.com

---

Giving Moderate Islam a Voice

• By Kathryn Jean Lopez

“I wish there were more Islamic moderates,” Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Muslim and author of the emotionally gripping and horrifying book “Infidel,” wrote in a New York Times piece in early December.

Answering that call is one Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, who is doing his best to make the world safe for Islamic moderates — or at least encourage the ones in the United States to speak out.

Jasser, a former lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy and a full-time physician, founded a Phoenix, Ariz.-based group of professionals who are Muslim, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. . .

. . . He lives in a country he loves and practices a religion he loves, even as practitioners of his religion want to do harm to his beloved United States. But in a time of war, Jasser is doing his part. The rest of us need to listen and encourage the Jassers of our country. We owe it to ourselves as much as to him.

Read the rest of her story here > Giving Moderate Islam a Voice

Thanks to M. Zuhdi Jasser for permission to reprint.

Read More from AIFD —

Tagged: AIFD, Anti-Jihadist, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, Islamic moderates, Kathryn Jean Lopez, Muslim.

Latest AMNESTY Ratings For Presidential Candidates

NumbersUSA’s Roy Beck
Assesses Presidential Candidates On Immigration Issues

Latest AMNESTY Ratings For Presidential Candidates

• Excellent

DUNCAN HUNTER
FRED THOMPSON
They are EXCELLENT in pledging through website and speech to oppose amnesties of all kinds for illegal aliens … advocating Attrition Through Enforcement to cause present 12-20 million illegals to go home over time

• Good

RON PAUL
Does a good job of opposing amnesties of all kinds for illegal aliens

• Fair

MITT ROMNEY
Does a fair job in pledging through website & speech to oppose amnesty … public statements create uncertainty about total opposition and about what eventually happens to the illegal aliens now here

• Poor

MIKE HUCKABEE
Does a poor job of pledging clear opposition to amnesty for illegal aliens … public statements sound like at least a portion will eventually get legalization

• Bad

RUDY GIULIANI
JOHN McCAIN
While saying that enforcement measures must come first, they would allow most or large numbers of illegal aliens now here to remain and legalize their status

• Abysmal

HILARY CLINTON
BARACK OBAMA
JOHN EDWARDS
BILL RICHARDSON
JOE BIDEN
CHRIS DODD
DENNIS KUCINICH
They assertively advocate for the legalization of most or all illegal aliens now here … do not even require that tough enforcement measures against future illegal immigration be in place first

---

Latest Ratings on Promises to STOP FUTURE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

These ratings are a composite of ratings on 8 specific illegal categories on The Grid, plus the rating on birthright citizenship

• Excellent

DUNCAN HUNTER
Excellent promises to stop future illegal immigration

• Good

FRED THOMPSON
MIKE HUCKABEE
MITT ROMNEY
RON PAUL
Slightly mixed promises on 9 categories amount to an overall GOOD promise to stop future illegal immigration

• Fair

JOHN McCAIN
CHRIS DODD
RUDY GIULIANI
Only fair on promises to stop future illegal immigration

• Poor

HILARY CLINTON
BARACK OBAMA
JOHN EDWARDS
BILL RICHARDSON
JOE BIDEN
Poor on promises to stop future illegal immigration

• Bad

DENNIS KUCINICH
Bad on promises to stop future illegal immigration

---

Actions FOR YOU:

Congress has left town but the fax machines are still on, and skeleton staffs continue to see what voters have to say. Please consider sending all faxes that are on your Action Buffet corkboard.

• [The Faxes are FREE! All it takes is a few minutes! So, what are you waiting for?]

Tagged: Amnesty, illegal aliens, Immigration

Attack Of The Ronulans…

Well, I got a whole lot of traffic (over at 7.62 Justice) from the Ron Paul crowd yesterday. It seems someone decided that Ron Paul was a disease and that a 7.62mm round was the cure, and said as much on some AOL Poll. (You know, something that really matters… [sarcasm])

Well this sent the loyal Ronulans into a panic. Someone was “threatening” the head village idiot with a 7.62 round! *gasp*

Since I have 7.62 in my URL, and I don’t think that Ron Paul is the second coming of Jesus Christ, I must be the traitor who said it.

It’s not a secret that I don’t like Ron Paul, but I don’t view him as a big enough threat to the nation to worry enough to *threaten* him. He’s a very small pin prick in a sea of much bigger pin pricks.

I am not worried about Ron Paul getting the Republican nomination. I am not worried about Ron Paul pulling more than 30% of the popular vote (and none of the important Electoral Votes) in a general election. In the end, Ron Paul is going to have about the same amount of effect as Ross Perot did back in the 90’s.

Paul may cause more former Republican’s to waste their votes for him than former Democrats, which could cause a Democrat to win the White House. However, that’s about the most effect I could see Ron Paul having.

So honestly, giving Ron Paul a threat like that only gives him a level of importance and seriousness he doesn’t deserve.

The very idea that America’s foreign policy (and there by America) is to blame for 9/11 and for the recent death of Former Prime Minster Bhutto is insane. The idea that we can somehow take a “non-interventionist” policy when it comes to other countries is just down right silly.

Life is not “Star Trek”, the idea that the US can somehow abide by some silly “Prime Directive” (which was constantly being violated in the show) when it comes to other countries on our own planet is mind-boggling simple-minded and stupid in the extreme.

Luckily, Ron Paul is his own worst enemy. Every time he opens his mouth more stupidity shines through proving what an idiot he is.

For example:

On Huckabee’s harmless Christmas Ad:

‘when fascism comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross.’

On 9/11:

“Have you ever read about the reasons they attacked us? They attack us because we’ve been over there. We’ve been bombing Iraq for 10 years,”

Frankly, Ron Paul should go back to whatever planet he is from, because the realities and nuances of planet Earth appear to escape him.

The only thing a 7.62 round aimed at Ron Paul would be, is a waste of gun powder, lead, time, and effort.

 

Technorati Tags: Ron Paul, Villiage Idiot

Congress Accomplishments For 2007 – Cartoon

Patriot Humor

That’s about right!

What a piss-poor Congress we voted in.
The ballot paper could have been made into something useful, like Toilet Paper!

See more Humor here > Patriot Humor

Read more here > The Patriot Post

Tagged: Congress, Incompetent Politicians, Political Failure, President Bush.

Top Story Of 2007: The Surge, The Military, And The Media

Michelle Malkin

There should be no question what the top story of the year was: America’s counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq, the Democrats’ hapless efforts to sabotage it, and the Western mainstream media’s stubborn refusal to own up to military progress.

What happened in January defined the rest of the year. We rang in 2007 with vehement liberal opposition to the “surge” of 21,000 added U.S. troops and tactical changes to secure Baghdad. In the ensuing 12 months, Democrats tried and failed repeatedly to undermine this military strategy and starve the war of funding. Their poisonously partisan allies at MoveOn.org attempted to smear surge architect and patriot General David Petraeus as a traitor. The New York Times and Associated Press fought tooth and nail to obscure the successes of the surge with their relentless “grim milestone” drumbeat. But by year’s end, with Shiites and Sunnis marching and praying together for peace, even anti-war Democrats and adversarial media outlets alike were forced to acknowledge that undeniable military progress and security improvements had been made.

Is there still a long way to go? Hell, yes. Were there other ancillary factors that contributed to the decrease in violence and the “awakenings” in Anbar province and Baghdad? Yes again. But go back to January. Refresh your memories of the anti-surge rhetoric and the spectacularly misguided conventional wisdom.

When the Senate Foreign Relation Committee’s resolution opposing the surge passed 12-9 on January 24^th, Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., the panel’s chairman, disingenuously claimed it was “not an attempt to embarrass the president.” Bull. That’s what the Democrats have been trying to do all year. Biden argued: The measure “is designed to let the president know that there are many in both parties, Democrats and Republicans, that believe a change in our mission to go into Baghdad — in the midst of a civil war – as well as a surge in ground troops . . . is the wrong way to go, and I believe it will have the opposite – I repeat –opposite effect the president intends.”

Seven months later, staunch anti-war Democrat Representative Brian Baird of Washington returned from Baghdad and recognized reality:

“As a Democrat who voted against the war from the outset and who has been frankly critical of the administration and the post-invasion strategy, I am convinced by the evidence that the situation has at long last begun to change substantially for the better . . . the people, strategies and facts on the ground have changed for the better and those changes justify changing our position on what should be done.”

Wrong-way Biden insisted the anti-surge resolution wasn’t meant to embarrass the president. Opponents of the Baghdad mission insisted they didn’t want America to fail. But let’s not forget where the Democrats came from in January – and where the party leadership remains. A Fox News poll in mid-January revealed that a disturbing 49% of Democrats either wanted us to lose in Iraq or “didn’t know” if they wanted us to succeed. All but two Democrats voted in the House to oppose the surge. As our troops succeeded, these surge critics went from arguing against the strategy to arguing whether violence dropped in Baghdad to arguing about why that decrease occurred. Through it all, General Petraeus and the troops serving under him have remained stalwart, candid and courageous. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 23^rd: “The way ahead will be neither quick nor easy.”

That’s also what I heard repeatedly from officers I interviewed while embedded in Baghdad in January – just as the first wave of surge forces was being mobilized. It’s a message the instant gratification Beltway media didn’t want to deliver.

There’s a reason the magazine and newspaper editors are naming everything but the surge as their top story of the year. (Putin? The Virginia Tech massacre? Come on.) Good news in the war on terror is bad news for those rooting for failure. Far easier to play up casualties and sectarian strife, sensationalize accusations of atrocities, and demonize the men and women in uniform to indulge Bush Derangement Syndrome, as Washington Post staffer and NBC military analyst William Arkin did on January 30^th when he lambasted troops for enjoying “obscene amenities” and serving as a “mercenary” force.

One of the troops Arkin considers a “mercenary” was Army 2nd Lt. Mark J. Daily. On January 19^th, a reader e-mailed me that the 23-year-old standout soldier had been killed in an IED attack in Mosul along with three other comrades. To MoveOn and Democrat leaders and the anti-surge press, he’s just another number. Another “victim.” Another pawn. But on his MySpace site and across the Internet, his immortal words resonate:

“Some have allowed their resentment of the President to stir silent applause for setbacks in Iraq. Others have ironically decried the war because it has tied up our forces and prevented them from confronting criminal regimes in Sudan, Uganda, and elsewhere. I simply decided that the time for candid discussions of the oppressed was over, and I joined.”

He declared simply: “I genuinely believe the United States Army is a force of good in this world.“

It’s the legacy 2Lt. Daily left on this world – and the legacy that defined 2007 against all political and media odds.

# #

Michelle Malkin is author of “Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild.” Her e-mail address is malkinblog@gmail.com.

Copyright 2007 Creators Syndicate, Inc

read full author bio here

Thanks to Carol A. Taber President of FamilySecurityMatters.org for permission to reprint.

Tagged: Army 2nd Lt Mark J Daily, Baghdad, Democrats, Joseph Biden, Media, Michelle Malkin, Military, Surge.

Bad Day In Pakistan: Bhutto Killed

It’s a bad day in Pakistan… and a bad day for the US.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Dec. 27 — Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday at a political rally, two months after she returned from eight years of exile to attempt a political comeback, officials said.

Bhutto, 54, was shot at close range as she was leaving the rally in this garrison city south of Islamabad, aides said. Immediately after the shooting, a suicide bomber detonated explosives near Bhutto’s car, killing at least 15 other people.

…

Bhutto’s death is a devastating development, coming 12 days before Pakistanis are set to vote in national parliamentary elections already marked by enormous political turmoil. President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in November — a move which he said was to combat terrorism, but which was widely perceived as an effort to stave off legal challenges to his authority. U.S. military officials said last week that the terrorist group al-Qaeda increasingly is focusing its efforts in Pakistan.

It’s no secret that I am not exactly a cheerleader for Musharraf. I think he has been ineffective against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in his own country. Let us not forget that the Taliban originally formed in Pakistan in the border regions along side Afghanistan. Let us also not forget that Pakistan is a nuclear nation.

This is a blow to the cause of freedom in Pakistan.

Other’s Posting:

• Michelle Malkin
• Blackfive

 

Technorati Tags: Bhutto, Musharraf, Al Qaeda, Pakistan

Year’s End

Mr. Shuldig and his dog Doobie, saying goodbye to 2007. In case you haven’t heard how the Olmert government will have an answer to the Qassams in 2010 (maybe) click here

Your thoughts please?

Tagged: Appeasement, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Missiles, New Year, Olmert, Palestinians, Peace, Qassam, Sderot, Terrorism, U.S.A.

Good Will To All Mankind – Unless You’re Israeli

December 26, 2007

Christian based charities such as Christian Aid and War on Want, have a mandate to fight poverty, hunger and disease.

But their noble aims are being seriously undermined by obsessive condemnations of Israel, especially at Christmas time.

Only when the same standards are applied to all countries, in accordance with true universal human rights values, will such NGOs be considered credible agents for social change.

more »

• By Dan Kosky of NGO Monitor

Hat Tip to Gamla

Tagged: Bethlehem, Christian charities, Christmas, disease, Human Rights, hunger, Israel, NGOs, Palestinian Christian, Persecution, poverty, replacement theology.

Bethlehem At Christmas (1996)

I used to have friends who lived in Bethlehem… a town just a 20 minute drive from where I then lived (in Jerusalem’s “Greek Colony” neighborhood). Before we gave their city to the PLO I would hang out with them a couple of times a week.

Today’s Golden Oldie is from Christmas 1996. My friends were trapped behind the lines.

It is now Christmas 2007, eleven years have passed. Their families are mostly dispersed, and those who remain in Bethlehem must smile for the TV cameras and take care not to offend their oppressors at this holy season. There is a name for what the remnants of their community live under.

The name is Islamic Occupation.

Tagged: Arafat, Bethlehem, Christians, Christmas, Israel, Occupation, Oppression, Palestinians, PLO.

Benjamin Franklin’s Comment About Christmas

“How many observe Christ’s birth-day!
How few, his precepts!
O! ’tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.”

– Benjamin Franklin (Poor Richards Almanack, 1743)

Reference: Poor Richard: The Almanacks, for the Years, 1733-1758,
Intro by Van Wyck Brooks (111)

———————————-

Founders’ Quote Daily is a service of The Patriot Post, the most widely
read conservative journal on the Internet. If you would like to receive
Founders Quote Daily, and this highly acclaimed Digest of news, policy and opinion delivered FREE by e-mail to your inbox, link to:
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All of the Founders’ quotes distributed by FQD have been thoroughly researched and authenticated by the Heritage Foundation. For a complete database of Founders’ quotes on various topics, link to the Internet’s most comprehensive resource page on our Founding documents http://PatriotPost.US/histdocs/
and select Founders Quote Database.

Tagged: Benjamin Franklin, Christ’s birth-day, Commandments, Holidays, Poor Richard, The Patriot Post.

Jackie And Dunlap’s Christmas Message: What Matters Most

The Red State Boys, Jackie And Dunlap’s Christmas Vid

Posted By Pat Dollard.

Read & See more of Pat Dollard reports.

Tagged: Bible, Christ, Christian, Christmas, Messiah.

The Perfect Christmas

December 22 – 24, 2007

Posted By Pat Dollard.

10:52 A.M.

The Perfect Christmas

Due to a complicated set of circumstances, I will not be able to see, or even speak to, my daughter this Christmas.

I had no plans, other than to work on editing the documentary.

A couple of days ago, I received an email from the widow of a Marine I was with in Iraq, one of whose children had never seen his father. Neither this woman, Julie Shumney, or any of her children, had seen any video footage of their father, and his incredibly brave, dangerous, and patriotic work in Fallujah, back during the bad old days of the battle through it. I had given her an access code to download some of the footage but it wasn’t working. Plus it was not much of the footage of her husband. Circumstances had prevented me from getting it all to her and his family earlier.

Upon receipt of her email, I realized I could spend the necessary time this weekend culling together all the tapes of her husband, Lt. Dustin Shumney, and then fly to Texas on Christmas Day, and deliver it to Julie.

Between the airline flight attendants, the desk clerks at Avis, and the Shumneys, I will spend this Christmas entirely with strangers, but since I will be able to see my daughter another time, this will be the perfect Christmas.

4:56 P.M.

Because my laptop shit the bed, and I’m traveling, I’ve been updating the site today from a variety of different Apple Stores. I’m at my 3rd different location. Thanks, Apple.

10:33 P.M.

It is becoming clear that the remnants of Al Qaeda in Diyala are starting a massive offensive against the smaller, outlying ( read: weak and relatively undefended ) villages in Diyala Province (the mixed-religious province they were left with as their only viable “home” in Iraq after they lost Al Anbar). This is a potentially troubling development, and must be tracked to determine if the appropriate response is forthcoming on the part of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and U.S. military.

11:03 P.M.

Because of the YA edit schedule this week, I missed all of that New Orleans shit. I hope Bashman posted about it. If he didn’t, somebody bitch at him for me.

Sunday December 23,

9:12 A.M.

I just woke up. Writing anything further requires thought.

9:13 A.M.

Just heard that fat guy with a beard who sells everything screaming about a light switch we should all buy. It somehow segued into a shot of Obama saying “Everybody requires room at the inn”.

9:15 A.M.

How hot is Reena Ninan? If you’re gonna get your war, you really should get it through her.

10:20 A.M.

It gets cold in winter. Smokers know.

10:23 A.M.

Yesterday, the NY Times, the LA Times, the Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, and the AP – yes, ALL of them – ran stories that our new Sunni allies’ militias, QUITE POSSIBLY, would start running out of control and reignite war and mayhem in Iraq, ANY DAY NOW.

12:35 P.M.

I know I still owe everyone the whole crazy lowdown on our L.A./Adam Sandler X-Mas Party adventure, but in the meantime, here is a picture of RightHandGirl and me at the end of the weekend.

Read & See more of Pat Dollard reports.

Tagged: Adam Sandler, Christmas, Diyala Province, Fallujah, Heroes, Lt. Dustin Shumney, Reena Ninan, RightHandGirl, Sunni, Texas.

Christmas 2007

[The following is an IMPORTANT ISSUE!
Much more important than the petty drivel about whether a store clerk says Merry Christmas or not!! On a scale of 1 to 100 that ranks around -5 (Minus 5)! However the PERSECUTION of Christians in Bethlehem ranks about 100 and receives little or NO Coverage! WHY??? So, Christians and other people of Good-will STOP "chasing your Tail" and deal with this WORTHWHILE Issue! ---Ed]

It’s a sad Christmas in Bethlehem under Islamic Rule, but you probably don’t know that.You probably haven’t seen the story in your local newspaper, or on your TV screens. So here it is:

Muslims persecuting Bethlehem’s Christians Store owner in West Bank city says ‘We are harassed, but you wouldn’t know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims’
-more

[Please click on the above link and read the eye-opening article. ---Ed]

Tagged: Bethlehem, Christians, Christmas, Media, Palestinians, Persecution.

Worm Bread?! Red Sea?!

Posting a cartoon every weekday leaves no room for me to simply share news, ideas, and other stuff with you. So welcome to ‘Sunday Mail: Letters from Dry Bones’, the new, once-a-week Dry Bones feature.

Worm Bread?!

The LSF (Long Suffering Wife) and I were having a couple of cups of coffee at our local cafe the other morning when the dolt who acts as waiter proudly offered us a menu in English. As regulars who ordered the same thing every day, we’d never been offered menus before. Clearly they were proud to show off their new handiwork to a couple of local English-speakers. At the top of the menu was printed the notice that all their breakfasts were served with worm bread. I mentioned this delightful tidbit at Friday night dinner with friends, leading our Hebrew-speaking hostess to remark that she’d seen worm soup featured on the English menu of another restaurant in town. Because she’s a Hebrew-speaker I assumed that she knew why the Red Sea is called the Red Sea in English. She didn’t.

[I'm not surprised that she didn't know. ---Ed]

Because of the reeds and bull rushes growing at its shores its Hebrew name is Yam Soof (Sea of Reeds). But the King James translators made a spelling error and the way warm bread became worm bread, the Reed Sea became the Red Sea. And like the proprietors of Cafe Norma in the little village of Kfar Shmariyahu, they’re not about to correct their mistake any time soon.

[Now I'm IMPRESSED! Most people, even Devout Christians, are not aware of this fact. This Translation error. This is one of many, but rest assured, all these errors are minor, and don't change the message of the Bible. But they can leave you scratching your head.

Re: "correct their mistake any time soon" Sadly, that's true. (1) No one wants to admit they made an error. (2) No One has the Backbone to correct errors. To my dismay, the only thing approaching correction is a footnote in most acceptable translations.

A good Bible that corrects the errors, and the bias, of most English translations is the "Complete Jewish Bible" by David H. Stern. He's a Jewish Christian (Messianic Jew).

---Ed]

Red Sea?!

So if you’d like to know what the Bible actually says …check out Word By Word Bible Study Tools. They make Bible/Hebrew study CDs. Each and every word of the Jewish Bible is translated from Hebrew to English, transliterated into English, and properly pronounced for you. Hey! You don’t want to keep relying on the “worm bread” version now do you?

— Read More Dry Bones by Yaakov Kirschen

• Tagged: Bible, English, Hebrew, Sunday Mail, Translation errors.

JibJab: The World In Review 2007

Click on the image to see video.

A group of angels recap all the ridiculous, note-worthy and ridiculously note-worthy events and people of 2007. Britney Spears, Alberto Gonzalez, the iPhone and so much more.

This is worthwhile viewing. It will bring a smile to your face.

See more JibJab Holiday Videos

Tagged: 2007, Alberto Gonzalez, Britney Spears, Global Warming, iPhone, JibJab.

Jingle Bombs

Achmed Sings Christmas Songs

– Watch more free videos

Jingle Bombs with Achmed the Dead Terrorist and Jeff Dunham.

Hat Tip: Fire Base America

Technorati Tags: Achmed The Dead Terrorist, Jeff Dunham

What are they teaching our children?

Yesterday I was watching the news in the morning as I often do and when my teenage daughter heard the announcement that President Bush was going to hold an end of year press conference she commented “President Bush is an idiot” so I asked why she thought this and was stunned by her answer. I’ll summarize as it was a typical teen all over the place response but the points she made were:

·         Some guys attacked one state and Bush attacked a whole innocent country

·         Bush killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people in response to only few hundred killed in the US

·         Bush loves war and wanted to keep fighting other countries to gain more power

·         Canadians (which we are) shouldn’t be dying in Afghanistan for Bush and America since we weren’t attacked and the UN hasn’t authorized the war

·         Muslims won’t hurt us if we stop stealing their oil, taking their land, killing their people and putting them down by calling them evil and terrorists

As I said I was stunned but decided to ask where she’d learned about these things and was told social studies. I was sure she couldn’t have been so misguided or mislead by a school or a teacher so I first began by walking through some of her information and correcting some of the falsehoods with facts.

·         Al Qaeda directed terrorists hijacked four planes and attacked targets in three states vice one

·         During the war in Afghanistan less than 75,000 Taliban have been killed, but if you combine all deaths it’s probably close to 125,000 and the number of people killed or wounded during the various attacks on American targets over the past two decades comes close to 5000 dead with 20,000 or so wounded

·         America has never fought a war to expand its country and often after liberating countries at great personal cost turns them over to their own people, she was a bit surprised to find out that Bill Clinton while President ordered the invasion of Haiti with UN sanction and Serbia (Kosovo province) without UN sanction thus equaling President Bush’s two invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan

·         Some 28 Canadians died on 9-11 and that as part of NORAD and NATO Canada was not only honor bound but legally bound to come to America’s aid and that we are in Afghanistan under a UN mandate without any caveats on conducting combat operations and that the democratically elected government of Afghanistan has not only invited us to help them but are now begging us to stay in Kandahar.

·         We pay for oil based on world markets, we occupy no land outside of our own countries and we make great efforts to say repeatedly that vast majority of Muslims worldwide are honorable, peaceful people who simply worship differently but equally and that only a small number of Muslims misuse their religious writings to justify  terrorism against both Muslims and Infidels and that is evil

I then went on to ask if she knew why America responded to Al Qaeda’s attack on 9-11 by invading Afghanistan and she replied:

·         Osama bin Laden ordered the attack and he’s not from Afghanistan so that just proves that Bush is just out for war and that innocent Afghan’s are paying the price for his (Bush’s) aggression

·         Iraq and Afghanistan were quiet countries before Bush invaded them and made them worse

Again I decided the best way to educate my daughter was not to criticize her or her teachers but instead to provide her with facts, she’s a smart kid and usually open to hearing all the facts:

·         Shortly after the Taliban came to power, they allowed Al Qaeda to run training camps and operate safely within Afghanistan in exchange for money, weapons, equipment and training

·         On 10 Sep 01 Al Qaeda assassinated the only General who the Taliban never defeated as a gift to Mullah Omar and in exchange he refused all UN and US requests to detain and turn over Osama bin Laden over a one month period of negotiations

·         I explained what the Taliban stood for and focused heavily on what girls her age couldn’t do and that even today teachers are still heavily targeted by Taliban extremists

·         Afghanistan was peaceful but under horrific conditions as was Iraq and that with freedom comes turmoil and uncertainty and that all free nations went through years or decades of violence and change but in the long run people are more prosperous and happy with freedom than they are when they are under a dictatorship

I also decided to check into her school’s curriculum regarding these areas and discovered that the written text doesn’t support this very left wing approach to the subject, which leaves the teacher. As it is the Christmas break there’s little opportunity to discuss this with her but the New Year will certainly bring that opportunity.   

While I’ve long sensed that the vast majority of schools and teachers are left leaning I was surprised at the ignorance my daughter was showing over the attack on 9-11 and on the subject of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in general not to mention the GWOT.  It’s truly amazing that our children can be misdirected and mislead regarding such import matters and it reminded me of the importance of being involved in how your children are educated otherwise we’ll see a repeat of the naïve late 60’s and early 70’s.

As the conversation shifted to the drive to school I was willing to agree with her young desire for peace on earth but also tried to let her know that hugging Osama bin Laden wouldn’t help keep her from being bound in a burqa, restricted to traveling with only male relatives, kept out of school and not being allowed to get her driver’s license. Now since teenagers are very self-centered creatures that one hit home and she decided that ousting the Taliban and capturing Osama bin Laden was a good plan as nobody is going to stop her from getting her license and driving her Mom’s Mustang next summer.

I told her if that was her goal she could start calling me Osama anytime.