Dalliance

I'm so tired of politics right now. I keep on thinking of that line from the poem, "The world is too much with us..."

So I'm going to post a bit about other stuff. The snow is still here, and it's below freezing. I had cabin fever for not being able to go out for a walk because of the ice every where, but a girlfriend came and picked me up and we went back to her family's home out of town. There they had heavier snow, and much of it was still on the ground, so it wasn't icy, just snow packed, which was great.

The snow covered trees were breathtaking. I was so upset that I hadn't brought my camera, but then lo and behold, later that night, my other friend's daughter who is a freshman in college emailed me photos she took of the "winter wonderland" that is Western Washington right now. Thank you, Amy!



The weather forecast predicts possibly more snow tomorrow night, which may turn to rain later. I hope the temperature stays up so this ice will melt. Our side streets and parking lots are sheets of ice! This is certainly down coat season. Usually I can get away with a lined raincoat during the entire winter season, but now I had to dig out the heavy coat, scarves and gloves, and shoes.

Over at Mike's America we see the "Accuweather" forecast predicting dire hurricane warnings for 2006 because Pres. Bush didn't sign the Kyoto Protocol (/sarcasm) was blown out of the water. Gayle's My Republican Blog and Seth's Hard Astarboard shows data that the Antarctic ice sheet is actually growing, not shrinking as the ecochondriacs would have us believe.




Damn. These trees are just so majestic!

The brisk walk out in the pine filled air on crunching snow made us all sing Christmas carols! And it's not even December!

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful...

Global Warming! The Polar Ice Caps are Melting! Earth's temperature is Rising! The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!!!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!! Ooops. 86 that!

Well, it's snowing here in the Puget Sound area right now, which is odd since it's not even December. We rarely get snow here, and if we do, it lasts for a few hours or a day and melts away because of the proximity of the water. However, I can hear my neighbor's kids outside screaming and playing in the snow with delight. Children in this area always bemoan the lack of snow in the winter for two very good reasons: fun to play in, and school is usually cancelled.

I remember a particularly heavy snowfall several years ago, where we actually got almost eight inches of snow. When I awoke that morning I was elated to find that work was cancelled and the neighborhood was beautiful. Early afternoon my doorbell rang, and it was my best friend and neighbor's 8 year old daughter, with her school chum in tow. "Can we play in your yard? We used up all of our snow already."

After the girls had "used up" my snow, I made them hot chocolate and sent them home. Later they brought me cookies they had baked.

Here is a photo of the view from my living room window. Normally I have a nice water view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Cascade Mountains, but the heavy cloud coverage obscured it all.

Hopefully we'll get some snow for Christmas!

Addendum: The cloud coverage lifted slightly a few hours ago and revealed the water view, but the mountains are still hidden.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

“Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplication to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.”

-Given under my hand, at the city of New York,The 3rd day of October, AD 1789

George Washington

Royal Pain in the Arse

From the U.K. Telegraph Online, we see that Segolene Royal, the French Socialist Candidate for President has made a clarion call to Britain to break her ties with the United States and join a French-led European integration:

Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate for the French presidency, wants Britain to choose between being a "vassal" of the United States, and embracing a French-led drive for European integration, her adviser on Europe has revealed.

Throughout Miss Royal's spectacularly successful campaign to sew up the Socialist nomination, she kept the details of her EU policy under wraps for fear of reopening deep splits within her party.
However, in the hours after her victory on Thursday, Gilles Savary, a French MEP and her spokesman and foreign affairs adviser, spoke exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, revealing her EU policies in detail.

He set out a vision of an ambitious new EU treaty, replacing the EU constitution which has been in limbo since French and Dutch voters voted against it last summer.

Britain would be asked to sign up to the new treaty, but if it rejected calls for increased protectionism, an EU foreign minister, convergence on tax rates and moves to create a European army, then France and her allies would agree a treaty among themselves, he said.

A European army, you say! Let me guess, which country's forces will be the "core" of said army? Thinking about the um, track record of the French military in the past hundred years compared to the UK's, I'm willing to bet that it's the British who will be the primary ones who shed blood and treasure in any Euro military venture should they decide to join. It'd be another case of lions led by donkeys, for sure.

Tony Blair's successor as prime minister, whether Gordon Brown or David Cameron, now faces an inevitable crisis over Europe after France chooses its next leader in April.

Miss Royal, who has no foreign policy experience and has only ever held junior ministerial posts, will seek the immediate support of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, for her plans, and believes Spain and Italy can also be signed up.

From what statements I've read by the German Chancellor, I'm inclined to see her as no fool. However, considering the fact that the Germans have no army to speak of, it's to Germany's advantage to have Britain's military at their disposal.

Although Miss Royal "does not want a two-speed Europe," Mr Savary said, he admitted her plans could lead to a "quartet" of nations leading the way, with others scrambling to catch up. He complained that Britain currently led an "ultra-Atlanticist" bloc within the EU.

"Great Britain is absolutely indispensable to the European Union. It is great nation, a global power. But the question the English have to answer is – do the English consider the English Channel to be wider than the Atlantic? We on the continent have the right to deplore the fact that Great Britain appears to consider the Channel is wider," he said.

Funny, how they interchange "British" with "English". I guess the French Socialist Party is unaware of Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland. That'll make the disenfranchised Britons mighty inclined to join with them.

Miss Royal was confident that "Europe can be relaunched with Germany, Italy and Spain. It is perfectly possible to have treaties within the treaty, among four nations," he said. "If other nations want to sign up, that's good. But we cannot have a Europe where one part goes to war in Iraq, another part does not, and we all end up paying the bill."

Unlike the "bill" that the British pay to subsidize crappy French farmers? Hear that giant sucking sound? And it ain't a French bidet.

Deja Vu

A few days ago a woman I know told me about a relation of hers named George Horton. George Horton was the US Consul to Smyrna during WWI who wrote a book which describes eyewitness accounts of the Turkish massacre of the Armenian Christians in Smyrna. This book, The Blight of Asia, is no longer in print in the U.S., but is available online courtesy of a retired Greek Admiral.

After I found the book online, I began to read, and discovered some strange “coincidences.” First, if one reads the Introduction, one will find a reference to the date which the Turks set fire to Smryna:

I was in Smyrna in May of 1917, when Turkey severed relations with the United States, and I received the oral and written statements of native-born American eye-witnesses of the vast and incredibly horrible Armenian massacres of 1915-16— some of which will be here given for the first time; I personally observed and otherwise confirmed the outrageous treatment of the Christian population of the Smyrna vilayet, both during the Great War, and before its outbreak. I returned to Smyrna later and was there up until the evening of September 11, 1922, on which date the city was set on fire by the army of Mustapha Khemal, and a large part of its population done to death, and I witnessed the development of that Dantesque tragedy, which possesses few, if any parallels in the history of the world.

Hmmm, perhaps no coincidence that they set fire to Smryna on September 11. After all September 11 is the day which Jan Sobieski defeated the Turks in the Battle of Vienna. Mustapha Khemal chose that date for that reason, I’m sure, as did the terrorists on our 9/11.

However, in Chapter 33, I found this:

There is less hope today of pan-Christianity than of pan-Islamism. Says Kurtz, already referred to: “To-day Mohammedanism is the one rival of Christianity to become a world religion,” and a writer in the “Moslem World” for January, 1925: “The Christian Church, after thirteen centuries of hard struggle finds Islam still a most baffling problem. It is true historically that Islam has been born after Christianity and has displaced it almost wherever it has spread. The history of the whole of North Africa, Palestine and Syria, and present Asia Minor shows this plainly.

The Reverend George Bush in his “Life of Mohammed”, published by the Harpers in 1830, makes the following reflection:

“Indeed in this, as in every other instance where the fortunes of an individual are entirely disproportionate to the means employed, and surpass all reasonable calculation, we are forced to resolve the problem into the special Providence of God. Nothing short of this could have achieved such mighty results”

If there is no other explanation of Mohammedan success, it is evident that the Divine intention has not varied in the last ninety years. This is the view-point of the deeply religious man, who believes in God’s personal management of all the affairs of this world, attributing to reasons of Divine wisdom matters too deep for human penetration. The student of history will understand the spread of Mohammedanism at the expense of Christianity, and the chief reasons have appeared or will become plain in the course of this narrative.

The Reverend George Bush? Now I don’t think the name George Bush would be all that uncommon. But it did give me pause to think that this name would be associated with Islam in a book written over 80 years ago concerning an event which occurred on September 11. Uncanny.

The Consul also writes of the bias of the American media towards the Turks and against the Christian Armenians:

I was sitting in the wardroom of one of our destroyers moored in the harbor of Smyrna. At moment when the massacre had begun to assume alarming proportions, a newspaper correspondent, a passenger on the same naval unit, entered the room, opened his typewriter and began to write. When he had finished about half a page, he read it carefully, took it out of the machine, and said:

“I can’t send this stuff. It’ll queer me at Constantinople. I must get busy on Greek atrocities.” I have often wondered what he meant. I was sitting quite close to him and heard him very distinctly.

That journalist must have worked for the New York Times.

In that same chapter he summarizes:

Let us briefly review the situation which enabled the Turks in the year of our Lord, 1922, to complete the extinction of Christianity in the Near East: The Germans were, as long as they lasted, the active allies of the Turks, and during this period nearly a million Armenians and many thousands of Greeks perished; after the Armistice and during the period which led up to the destruction of Smyrna and the accompanying massacre, the French and Italians were allies of the Turk, and furnished him moral and material support; the British gave no aid to the Greeks, but contented themselves with publishing an account of the dreadful events that had been taking place in the Ottoman Empire; the Americans gained the reputation of being pro-Turk, true friends, who would ultimately, on account of this friendship, be given the permission to put through great schemes, which would result in the development of the Ottoman Empire and, incidentally, fill certain American pocketbooks. The Turks confidently believed that commercial avarice would prevent us from interfering with their savagery, or even strongly condemning it.

Never in the world had the Turk so good an opportunity to glut his lust for Christian blood without fear of interference or criticism.

Some things never change, do they?

Mr. Horton prophesies:

If, as the Reverend Bush remarks, the wonderful spread of Mohammedanism can only be explained as some special Providence of God, He may be inspiring the Sennussi to spiritualize their religion and develop the better features of it. If the Christian faith has had so feeble effect upon the conduct of Christian nations and has so little harmony that it lacks the force to convert Mohammedans, then the only alternative open to wisdom, finite or infinite, would be to make the best of some other creed. When our missionaries have finished putting the Turkish administrations “on a sound basis,” they might come home and teach us to be better Christians. Unless Christianity is saved in those countries where it still has a nominal existence, it is doomed, and their civilization will go with it. The Bolsheviks understand this, as witness the war they are waging against religion.

Chilling.

Are Conservatives Better Educated?

Hehe, got this quiz from Grizzly Mama's and we share the same score! Thanks Monica!

You paid attention during 97% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

"Hell On Earth"

Super video I snatched from Doug's Political Pistachio.

How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Live with Aplomb

The world situation is worrisome. And sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I think of everything that’s going on and going wrong. Over at Seth’s Hard Astarboard we learn that the North American Union agenda is rearing its ugly frightful head:

“As I said last time out, we are indeed in grave trouble, because our very sovereignty is about to be sacrificed on the altar of corporate expediency.
While our future Congresses and POTUSes will govern our country, they will be
like state legislatures, while extranational congresses determine the details of
our economy (a collective with Mexico and Canada), eventually becoming part of a
global collective consisting of the EU, the NAU, the SAU, the AU, etc....

We are in big trouble here, a world government awaits just around the corner, and
most unfortunately, the politicians who might be able to prevent it are being
kept outside the loop.”

And of course there’s the question of what we will do about the Iraq War, which, in the immortal words of Nancy Pelosi, is a “situation to solve”. Tell that to the men and women who died there, Nancy, the “San Francisco Treat” (H/T Clarity and Resolve.)

We’ve elected our first Muslim Congressman, Iran is building nukes and threatening Israel, other Muslim states want to build nukes, Europe is withering away, Muslims are killing everyone everywhere, and more.
I wonder about our survival as a nation and I worry. And I decided to read what Peggy Noonan had to say recently and found comfort in her wisdom:

We have divided government. Good, and for many reasons. One: It confuses our enemies. "Who do we hate now?" they ask in their caves, "the evil woman from San Francisco or the old infidel from Texas? Which do we hate more? And if we hate them both does that...unite them?"

We are in a 30-year war. It is no good for it to be led by, identified with, one party. It is no good for half the nation to feel estranged from its government's decisions. It's no good for us to be broken up more than a nation normally would be. And straight down the middle is a bad break, the kind that snaps…

This is the age we live in: One day in the future either New York or Washington or both will be hit again, hard. It will be more deadly than 9/11. And on that day, those who experience it, who see the flash or hear the alarms, will try to help each other. They'll be good to each other. An elderly conservative congresswoman will be unable to make it down those big old Capitol steps, and a young liberal congressman will come by and pick her up in his arms and carry her. (I witnessed a moment somewhat like this during a Capitol alarm two years ago, when we were told to run for our lives.) I would say: Keep that picture in mind. Cut to the chase, be good to each other now.

She has some words for Congress:

What can you do in two years? The common wisdom says not much. But here's a governing attitude: First things first.
Do all you can to keep America as safe as possible as long as possible. Make sure she's able to take a bad blow, a bad series of them. Much flows from this first thing, many subsets. Here is only one: Strengthen and modernize our electrical grid. When the bad thing comes we will need to be able to make contact with each other to survive together. Congress has ignored this for years.

From this I say to each individual American: Prepare yourself. It’s not a matter of “if” we will be hit again, it’s a matter of “when”. When a dirty bomb goes off in a major American city the surrounding areas will be hit as well with major population shifts. Think Hurricane Katrina. Food and water shortages, anarchy, possible disease. Be ready. And be ready to help your neighbors and friends. Have contingency plans. Part of what makes America great is the initiative of the average citizen. Be one of those.

Fun With Guns

I finally managed to go to the local gun club and shoot my new Ruger. I shot almost 150 rounds with that baby and I really enjoyed it. One thing I realized is that, being a righty, my left hand is quite weak. I tried to shoot the pistol with only my left hand and I couldn't squeeze the trigger hard enough (double action). Need to practice on that!

I used .38 cartridges, though some day I'll try the .357s to see how they do. I recall that Monica said that she has the same pistol, except with a four inch barrel. Mine is only 2.25 inches or so, the smallest of the SP101s. Monica, if you're still thinking about purchasing this version go right ahead. I had no problem with the recoil at all. The heft and nice rubber grip of this piece absorbed the shock well so my hand wasn't bothering me at all. It's a nice, solid machine. My shooting partner tried it and he really liked it. He's a semi-automatic sort of guy. He brought his Beretta 9mm and a new 9mm Glock. I tried the Glock and I can see the usefulness of something that can successively shoot so many rounds, but I really can't get past all those bloody empty shells flying about. What a mess.

I also went to Sportsman's Warehouse and bought a holster. I really dislike holsters for myself. They're ugly and boring. Plus I don't like to wear a belt all the time and most holsters are designed to be worn with a belt. I ended up buying a light fabric holster with a clip for the waistband of one's pants or skirt. It's not that great but if I want to participate in shooting competitions I guess I have to have one. I wish they would make more designed for women to wear... hmmm... how about designer holsters? A new market!

One of these days I will get one of the little Smith and Wesson Airweights. Internal hammer, so it won't snag when you pull it out of your purse. It's not good for target shooting, but it'll do the job if you encounter a bad guy. I heard a Smith and Wesson rep say of it: "It's meant to be used, not shot". Agreed.

Europa, Europa

I’ve been having a hard time blogging the past two days. It seems as if all of my energies in writing have been spent on comments at a new blog where I’ve engaged in a debate with British Conservatives who worry themselves over why America isn’t trying harder to make herself more likeable to Britain and to Europe.

Why should we give a rat’s ass? I say. Not with those crude words. But in essence, yes.

I’m an Anglophile. I’m partially of British descent. I love British theatre, film, literature, and history. Yet I’ve noticed a change within myself. I’ve been to the UK several years ago and never have I seen such Euro anti Americanism in person until my eyes were opened by it there, particularly among the younger Britons. They hate us. They have nothing but disdain and scorn for us. I’ve been lectured by university students there that the EU is the answer to American “hegemony” and “global dominance” which is the cause of most of the world’s woes. I remained silent, but something in my heart grew hard and angry when I saw and listened to these students sit coolly and discuss the “evil empire” that is America. This is not the same Britain that I once knew and loved.

So much for the continuation of the “special relationship”. Churchill must be rolling in his grave. And Roosevelt too for that matter. What would they think now? Is Adolph Hitler having the last laugh?

And what of Europe? Sneering, posturing, haughty Europe. Always blaming America. Always faulting American policy as the creator of the world’s problems. Always holding America responsible for “fixing” those problems, then later condemning it for “meddling”.

So should we give a rat’s ass? Should we be concerned about making ourselves more “palatable” to delicate European sensibilities? Not on your life, I say. As a matter of fact, not on Europe’s life, because Europe has no life. “Dead man walking!” the man shouted as the convicted felon shuffled to the electric chair. “Dead man walking!” That is Europe. Grown old, a history of crimes against humanity, no children to give new hope to erase the ugly past, no future to behold. Forget about the glorious music of Beethoven and Mozart. Forget about the soaring cathedrals at Notre Dame and Chartres. Forget about the words of Dante and Shakespeare. Forget about the Mona Lisa and the Pieta. Forget about the ideals of the Greeks and the government of the Romans. Forget about your Mother Church who gave you reason and universities and hospitals. Forget it all, Europe, because you cannot love yourself anymore, so you have chosen to hate. You have chosen to hate yourselves and your culture. And in turn you hate us. You hate America. And that is sick. Why is it sick?

Because we are your children, Europe. Yes, face it, we are. We came to these shores from your lands and we carried your languages, your customs, your food, your clothing, your dreams here and built a new nation. Even some of our cities and towns bear the names of your own: (New) York, Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt, Milan…

We conquered this continent, hostile and dangerous and full of wilderness. We overcame the land and walked across it, on horse and on foot, with wagons and with carts. We built log cabins and sod houses. We hunted the game and tore into the soil to give us food to live. We endured freezing winters and sweltering summers; we doctored our own wounds and pulled our own teeth. We fought the fierce natives and subdued them to our will. We died of smallpox and tuberculosis and pneumonia. And yet we lived. We survived. We made this land ours. We live our dreams here, purchased by the blood of those who fought for it then and by those who fight for it now. And we told stories of our past homelands, we passed on to our children the songs of our grandparents who stayed behind…

And you hate us now. How strange. What pathology is this, that a parent would hate his own child? Would scorn his success? Would hope for his downfall and death?

Do you curse upon your children with your last dying breath, Europe? Like mad Ahab, spitting and snarling at his imagined enemy, who drowned in his obsession to destroy, who, in the wreckage, left only one survivor. One called Ishmael.

No Dhimmitude From This Congresswoman

Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), wrote a response to Ahmed Bedier, head of the Tampa Chapter of Council of American-Islamic Relations regarding their pressure to have her condemn Hernando County Commissioner Tom Hogan’s wife, Mary Ann for her remarks in a letter to their local newspaper that Islam is a “hateful, frightening religion”. The Hogans have experienced a political fallout replete with criticisms from CAIR as well as from Gov. Jeb Bush.

Here is the complete text of her letter:

Dear Mr. Bedier:

Your faxed letter of November 3, 2006 was received and I am most happy to respond.

I carry a copy of the United Stated Constitution with me wherever I go. I have taken an oath to protect it and dedicate my life to its preservation. Although our Constitution was written more than 200 years ago, it guarantees every citizen certain inalienable rights that the founders of our country believed to be the cornerstone of our society. Two of those rights are directly addressed in your letter; they are the right to freedom of religion and the right to freedom of speech.

Mr. and Mrs. Hogan have shown tremendous fortitude by resisting the pressures of your group to retract their statements. I am sorry that Jeb Bush and Carol Jean Jordan from the Republican Party were so quick to also forget that we have freedom of speech and that the Hogans were made to feel that they are the ones who were in the wrong. The Hogans have a right to their opinion just as you have a right to yours. Mrs. Hogan expressed in her statements the views of many of my constituents, and while they do not encourage harmony in their community, they should demonstrate to you how many United States citizens perceive your faith. Your area of concern should not be focused on the statements of the Hogans, but rather upon the actions of many in your community who created these beliefs.

Americans should find it very interesting that you want me to criticize Mrs. Hogan’s letter to the editor expressing her views about Muslim terrorists and her views on why county employees should not have been used to deliver and pick up the games celebrating the end of Ramadan. There were several other church events occurring that same week and I did not notice the county employees helping at those events. The basic issue here is Mrs. Hogan’s first amendment right of freedom of speech.

It is clear to me, as it should be to you, that the views of the Hogan family, as well as most other Americans, have been shaped by the radical militants of Islam. On a daily basis we are reminded by the media that there are those of your faith who openly seek to destroy everything we believe in. These militants express a complete intolerance to other religions and our way of life. Most of my constituents have expressed to me their concern that Muslims living in our community have not disavowed these violent beliefs nor condemned the terrorist acts committed against our country. Your organization has had more than five years since the September 11 attack, and even longer since the attacks on American Embassies in Yemen, Tanzania, or even the first attack on the World Trade Center, to publicly disavow and condemn these attacks.

After the September 11 terrorist attack on our country, I reached out to the Muslim community because many of my citizens were of the belief that all Muslims were to be blamed. I worked with local Muslims to bring the community together to overcome the fears on both sides. While I met many fine Muslims who sincerely do care about the United States, I also met some local Muslims who expressed vehement anti-Semitic views and some who even attempted to justify the extremist wing ideology.

You may recall our meeting on May 29, 2004, when I met with you and other members of your organization where I shared this very sentiment. You should also remember that I was invited over to the home of a prominent doctor in Hernando County to allegedly “have some tea and see how his children were doing.” Imagine how surprised I was upon entering the home to find a group of eight or more men sitting in a semicircle preparing to have a discussion with me. It certainly was not the casual social event I was invited to, but not being the type to shy away from a healthy discussion, I joined in and listened.

It was suggested to me that the group needed a Member of Congress who would be sympathetic to the CAIR-Muslim view. I then told the group that I would not be the person for them due to the fact that neither I, nor my constituents, felt that the American Muslims or CAIR had adequately disavowed past terrorist acts. Whereupon you said that CAIR had taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times and several other large major newspapers. I responded with something like “Well, I am not sure the majority of my constituents subscribe to those papers.”

From there on the conversation went downhill. When it became apparent to you that I was not willing to champion your cause in Washington, you Mr. Bedier, made the following statement, which was so outrageous I remember it almost verbatim. You told me that you had done research on me and found that I was Catholic and then went on to say, “Catholic priests pose more of a terrorism threat by having sex with young altar boys than those who flew planes into the World Trade Center.” I found the statement so bizarre that I asked you to repeat it and without hesitation, you did. It was at this point that I stood up and told you that the meeting was over. I also pointed out the fact that the Catholic priests did not kill 3,000 innocent people, and that we knew where the guilty priests were located and they were not hiding in caves. I then left.

Under our Constitution you have the right to say what you believe. You will not be arrested, beaten, or made to fear for your beliefs; but you also don’t have the right to tell others what they must believe. I did not agree with you and spoke my piece before I left the doctor’s home. Again, I remind you, free speech is a right guaranteed under the Constitution. I did not demand in the media that you retract your statement. Several moderate Muslims have since heard about our verbal exchange and apologized for your very inappropriate attack on my religion.

Additionally, you should know that the Hogans and I over the years have not always agreed on many issues. We have, however, always respected each other’s right to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution.

By the way, my office is not responsible for the appointment of anyone to a seat on the County Commission. Your statement that my office appointed Mr. Hogan is inaccurate inasmuch as this area of our government is the responsibility of the Governor of Florida. I suggest you not only review the U.S. Constitution but also the Florida constitution and statutes.

Mr. Bedier, in closing, I know many fine Muslims who would be well served by your resignation from the local CAIR office. Your militancy and manipulation of facts does not serve them well.

Sincerely,

Ginny Brown-Waite
Member of Congress

Bravo, Congresswoman! Would that we had more like you in the House, the Senate and the White House!

(H/T to Dhimmi Watch.)

Speculations

What a week so far. I’m not too surprised that the Democrats won the House and most likely the Senate, but Rumsfeld’s quickly tendered resignation threw me for a loop.

Or was it “quick”? The fact that the President already has a new man for the position tells me that this resignation was in the works for a while. Its timing, however, is worth a ponder.

For a long time Donald Rumsfeld has been a focal point of attack from the anti-war groups and the Democrats. His resignation has been called for again and again. His handling of the War in Iraq has been criticized roundly from all sides. However the President has stood firmly by his Secretary of Defense, and even last week has said that Rumsfeld would remain in his position till the end of this Administration’s term.

Now all that has changed. With the new leaders in Congress we see that President Bush’s position is weakened. Both he and the new House Majority Leader have already made the customary statements about “working together”. Having Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld resign is throwing a bone to the Democrats. Here is some “change” which you have been screaming for, so now you can’t complain. Let’s work this out now.

So what is the plan for direction with the President and the war? Let’s take a look at his newly selected candidate for the vacant position.


Robert Gates has extensive experience with Middle East matters. He was a former Director of the CIA and is the President of Texas A&M University. More importantly, he was a member of the ISG, the Iraq Study Group led by James Baker, former advisor to President George H.W. Bush, which also consisted of politically inactive Democrats and Republicans. Before this recent election, President Bush’s attitude towards the commission’s report was noncommittal - he would be open to listening to their findings and recommendations - though not necessarily adopt them. But now he faces demands for change which he cannot ignore. The Democrats have no answers for the War. They clamor for change yet cannot think of any new ideas - other than the previous unfortunate model of Vietnam: cut and run.

The President knows he cannot accept a Cut and Run Policy. He understands the enormous consequences of such a policy: lessening of world status, defeat, emboldening terrorism all over the world, increased terrorist recruitment (America CAN be defeated), and most worrisome of all - a power vacuum in the Middle East into which Iran will merrily step.

So what is the significance of appointing Robert Gates? The opportunity to use the ISG Commission Report as a platform for change in the War in the Middle East. Maybe even that might tempt the Democrats to work with the Administration since they have no new ideas of their own. Plus, if the Democrats are smart, they will claim credit for this new approach. It might work.

What changes are possible? Here are some scenarios:

*Maintain the current strategy. It’s stagnant. The coalition government itself cannot keep the peace and we’re taking the bullets (literally and figuratively) for it. James Baker has already hinted that this system is not working.

*Cut and Run. We already know that this option is the worst one, and the President will not budge on it. We cannot allow Iran to become the dominant power in the Middle East.

*Redeploy our forces away from danger and maintain a presence in order to keep Iran out of Iraq. Create a new mission focus which centers around suppressing Iran’s influence in the region. This would address the growing problem with Iran and maintain our miltary presence.

None of these options are very attractive, but then the world situation ain’t pretty at all. What’s worse is that the President is faced with hindrances in the form of a biased media, a hostile Democratic Senate and House, and fewer allies. My bet is the third option… and if the Democrats can see past their noses then hopefully they will work with the President in protecting our nation.

That’s what their job is in the first place. They better remember that. Power and control does not last forever. And the Republicans have just learned that oh so painfully.

How To Win an Election Without Even Trying

This sums it all up:





Thanks to Little Miss Chatterbox for the cartoon.

Post Mortem on John Kerry

Victor Davis Hanson calls John Kerry the "saddest" liability of the Democratic Party in this incisive analysis:

1) How could John Kerry, born into privilege, and then marrying and divorcing and marrying out of and back into greater inherited wealth, lecture anyone at a city college about the ingredients for success in America? If he were to give personal advice about making it, it would have to be to marry rich women. Nothing he has accomplished as a senator or candidate reveals either much natural intelligence or singular education. Today, Democrats must be wondering why they have embraced an overrated empty suit, and ostracized a real talent like Joe Lieberman.

(2) How could Kerry possibly claim that he was thinking of the uneducated in the context of George Bush, who, after all, went to Harvard and Yale?

(3) Some of the brightest and most educated Americans are not only in the military, but veterans of Iraq. Two of the best educated minds I have met — Col. Bill Hix and Lt. Col. Chris Gibson, both Hoover Security Fellows — were both Iraqi veterans. What is striking about visiting Iraq is the wealth of talent there, from privates to generals. Without being gratuitously cruel, the problem of mediocrity is not in the ranks of the military, but on our university campuses, where half-educated professors and non-serious students killing time are ubiquitous. Personally, I'd wager the intelligence of a Marine Corps private any day over the average D.C. journalist. Every naval officer I met at the USNA, without exception, seemed brighter than John Kerry, whose "brilliance", after all, has managed to offend millions of voters on the eve of a pivotal election. If the Democrats lose, it will be almost painful to watch the recriminations against Kerry fly.

(4) This is not the first, but third, time he has denigrated soldiers in the middle of a war-and there is a systematic theme: John Kerry's assumed superior morality allows him to pass judgment from on high about supposedly lesser folk who become tools of a suspect military: thus we go from limb-loppers and Genghis' hordes to terrorists to dead-beats. The only constant is that the haughtiness is always delivered in the same sanctimonious, self-righteous, and patronizing tone.

(5) The mea culpa that Democrats are blaming the war and not the warriors is laughable after Sens. Durbin, Kennedy, and Kerry have collectively compared American soldiers to Nazis, Pol Pot's killers, Stalinists, terrorists, and Baathists.

(6) The problem is that Kerry is not just a senator, but the most recent presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, and thus in some sense, especially given the diminution of Howard Dean, the megaphone of the entire party.

(7) His pathetic clarification, as he blamed everyone from Tony Snow to Rush Limbaugh, displayed the same Al Gore derangement syndrome, and thus raises a larger question: what is it about George Bush that seems to reduce once sober and experienced liberal pros to infantile ranting?

(8) And why is the supposedly lame Bush so careful in speech, and the self-acclaimed geniuses like a Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, or Howard Dean serially spouting ever more stupidities? For all the Democrats' criticism of George Bush, I can't think of a modern President who has so infrequently put his foot in his public mouth, and, by the same token, can't think of any opposition that on the eve of elections seems to have an almost pathological death wish.

The Democrats should use this occasion to have an autopsy of Kerryism, or this strange new tony liberalism, that has turned noblesse oblige on its head. It used to be that millionaire FDRs and JFKs felt sympathy for those of the lower classes and wished to ensure that the hoi polloi had some shot at the American dream. But today's elite liberals-a Howard Dean, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, George Soros, Ted Turner — love the high life and playact at being leftists simply because they are already insulated from the effects of their own nostrums that always come at someone poorer's expense while providing them some sort of psychological relief from guilt. Poor Harry Truman must be turning over in his grave — from bourbon, cigars, and poker to wind-surfing and L.L. Bean costume-of-the-day says it all.

Right on target, Dr. Hanson. That last paragraph sums up nicely the essence of the Elite Left of the Democratic Party: Rich, hypocritical, pseudo-educated fatcats who assuage their guilt by pretending to "care" for their lessers. Ironically, that phony compassion which they try to drum up is always soiled by their natural contempt for those lessers.

(H/T to Wordsmith for the cartoon.)

Diversions

Since Sunday is the day of rest I won’t post about politics but I will talk about some of my favorite things.

Right now some of my leisure time is consumed with Nancy Drew computer games. It’s not just for kids! I love mysteries, in reading and in gaming, so couple that with a childhood hero and I can’t resist. The one I’m playing now is #15: The Creature of Kapu Cave, where Nancy and the Hardy Boys go on separate assignments on the Big Island of Hawaii. The graphics are beautiful, especially of the underwater sequences where Frank goes snorkeling.

First off: Parents, Nancy Drew from HerInteractive is wholesome, perfect for children from ten years and up. The storylines are squeaky clean, ethically unimpeachable and brushed with an "Eisenhower era" civility which we all would welcome back. But there are some tense moments where Nancy has to think quickly to save the day (or her own life), though you always can press the “Second Chance” button, ;)

Some of the best games are based on Carolyn Keene’s books like “The Secret of Shadow Ranch”, one of my favorites. You get to barrel race, use a lariat, gather eggs and produce, and solve some more difficult puzzles involving mazes, unusual locks, formulas, patterns, sequences, etc… Be prepared to take notes occasionally though Nancy does have a cellphone and sometimes uses a PDA. There are two levels: the Junior Level gives extra clues and has easier puzzles while the Senior Level poses more difficulty.

For movie watching I was recommended HBO’s miniseries “Rome”, of which the first season was released on DVD recently. I devoured all 12 episodes. “Rome” has all the splendor and savagery of a Pre-Christian Western World. Pagan Rome at the time of the Republic’s fall was wracked with strange occultist Eastern practices, a government resembling more an oligarchy peopled by the aristocrats of the Senate rather than a democracy, a growing influence over and occupation of acquired foreign lands, and the rivalry between two powerful men: Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompey Magnus.

Besides the big picture, there are subplots, all of them absorbing and adding wonderful touches of human interest. The two 13th Legion soldiers, Centurion Lucius Vorenus and Legionary Titus Pullo make an unlikely pair who forge a bond of brotherhood found only in battle. Two women, Atia of the Julii, mother of Octavian who would later become Caesar Augustus, and Servilia, the mother of Marcus Junius Brutus, compete for top social status in their own backstabbing ways make for entertainment. Polly Walker’s amazing performance as Atia is well worth watching. Hillary Clinton take note.


This Rome is full of sex, violence, superstition, politics, religion, and war. I found some of the sex scenes too graphic: I’m not interested in Polly Walker’s nether regions, but then I’m sure there are men out there who are. I don’t recommend this for anyone under 18 (though I suppose there are those who would disagree with me). I can rationalize the sex and violence because, hey, this WAS the pagan world. It was the best pagan world of its time, yet the barbarism is breathtaking and it wouldn’t hurt people to see it and realize how radically our world has changed as a result of Christianity. It’s an eye-opening alien culture, with glimpses of some connection to ours. Loyalty and courage are admired, however compassion and humility are not.

Before viewing this my main concern was the portrayal of Caesar. A complex, modern man, I wondered how they would depict him. I was not disappointed. Ciaran Hinds is magnificent, bearing “dignitas and auctoritas” as all patricians would. Julius Caesar is one of my favorite historical figures. Soldier, statesman, author, historian, lawgiver, orator, and yes, dictator. Possibly the most benign dictator ever, his contemporaries and later historians marveled at his policy of clemency towards his opponents. A colossus of the Ancient World, Caesar possessed a keen quick mind, amazing political acumen, military genius, and personal charm. His largesse towards his fellow Romans, his vision of transplanting Roman law and custom to the known world, his plans to improve Roman infrastructure, and his desire to expand Roman citizenship to all Italians endeared him to the plebs, but earned him enduring hatred from The Boni - a good ole boys network of the Senate which resented Caesar’s popularity and remarkable abilities.

Flawless acting, intelligent script and spot on sensibilities do justice to one of the most fascinating eras in human history. The set of Rome itself reflects that sprawling, colorful metropolis which breathes and belches with its painted statues, graffiti-covered walls and worn pavement stones. One of my favorites is the town crier, who shouts out the news in the middle of the Forum, always ending with a shameless plug from its sponsor: “This has been brought to you by the Miller’s Guild, who uses only the finest wheat. True Roman bread, for true Romans”.

Since “I Claudius“, bread and circuses on the screen has never been better.

More Muslim States Plan to Go Nuclear

From The TimesUK Online:

Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, UAE and Saudi Arabia seek atom technology


THE SPECTRE of a nuclear race in the Middle East was raised yesterday when six Arab states announced that they were embarking on programmes to master atomic technology.



The move, which follows the failure by the West to curb Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, could see a rapid spread of nuclear reactors in one of the world’s most unstable regions, stretching from the Gulf to the Levant and into North Africa.

The countries involved were named by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Tunisia and the UAE have also shown interest.

All want to build civilian nuclear energy programmes, as they are permitted to under international law. But the sudden rush to nuclear power has raised suspicions that the real intention is to acquire nuclear technology which could be used for the first Arab atomic bomb.

Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on nuclear proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that it was clear that the sudden drive for nuclear expertise was to provide the Arabs with a “security hedge”.

“If Iran was not on the path to a nuclear weapons capability you would probably not see this sudden rush [in the Arab world],” he said.

The announcement by the six nations is a stunning reversal of policy in the Arab world, which had until recently been pressing for a nuclear free Middle East, where only Israel has nuclear weapons.

(H/T Jihad Watch.)

This is all we need now. The whole bloody Muslim world going nuclear. As if they guys aren't dangerous enough with dirty bombs and aircraft, now they want nukes.

Pulling out of Iraq now would portend disaster. We need to keep a presence there. Israel needs support in going in and bombing the hell out of Iran's nuclear facilities. Our navy must maintain a strong presence in the Gulf of Arabia and the Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile at home, we need to prepare for skyrocketing fuel prices. And we need to start kicking Muslims out of our universities and schools. We should not be giving them any Western education or technology which they can use against us.

Think hard on this. Do we want the Democrats to take over Congress with the emergence of a nuclear Middle East approaching? Do you want your children and grandchildren to grow up in the spectre of a mushroom cloud sent courtesy of Islamofascists? There is not ONE Democratic leader who has the guts to really look at this situation and see it for what it is and do what must be done. Not one.

We keep on seeing the words "Vote as if your life depended on it" during this election. It ain't a lie. It's the awful truth.

Project Valour-IT

I learned about Project Valour-IT over at Blackfive, who is hosting the Army Team. Here is the history:

Project Valour-IT began when Captain Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss was wounded by an IED while serving as commander of a tank company in Iraq in June 2005.

During his deployment he kept a blog (an online personal diary, opinion forum, or news analysis site-called a milblog or military weblog when written by a servicemember or about military subjects). Captivating writing, insightful stories of his experiences, and his self-deprecating humor won him many loyal readers. After he was wounded, his wife continued his blog, keeping his readers informed of his condition.

As he began to recover, CPT Ziegenfuss wanted to return to writing his blog, but serious hand injuries hampered his typing. When a loyal and generous reader gave him a copy of the Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred software, other readers began to realize how important such software could be to CPT Ziegenfuss' fellow wounded soldiers and started cast about for a way to get it to them.

A fellow blogger (blog author) who writes under the pseudonym FbL contacted Captain Ziegenfuss and the two realized they shared a vision of creating libraries of laptops with voice-controlled software that could be brought to the bedsides of wounded soldiers whose injuries prevented them from operating a standard computer. FbL contacted Soldiers' Angels, who offered to help develop the project, and Project Valour-IT was born.

In sharing their thoughts, CPT Ziegenfuss and FbL found that memories of their respective fathers were a motivating factor in their work with the project. Both continue their association with this project in memory of the great men in their lives whose fine examples taught them lasting lessons of courage and generosity.

Personally I can only imagine what it would be like to have lost my hands or arms and be unable to use a computer to keep up with email, the web, blogging, etc... Our soldiers deserve our support to give them the tools to stay connected.

There is a friendly competition among the branches of the military, and I've chosen to help with the Army, as that is where my own family members have served. Please consider donating to help our wounded soldiers - every little bit helps! Our goal is $45,000.00 and the amount we've garnered so far is updated on the upper left sidebar on this page. You can click on the "Make a Donation" button to contribute.

Go Army!

Lutheran Vicar Self Immolates

From The Brussels Journal:

On Tuesday a Lutheran vicar set himself alight in the German town of Erfurt. The 73 year old Roland Weisselberg poured gasoline over himself and set fire to himself in the Erfurt monastery, where Martin Luther took his monastic vows in 1505. Bystanders rushed to extinguish the flames. The man later died of his injuries.

In a farewell letter to his wife the vicar wrote that he was setting himself on fire to warn against the danger of the Islamization of Europe. During the past four years the vicar had frequently expressed his concern about the expansion of Islam, urging the Lutheran Church to take this issue seriously. As the fire started the vicar cried: “Jesus and Oskar!” Oskar Brüsewitz was a 47-year old German vicar who died after setting himself on fire 30 years ago, on 18 August 1976, in the market square of the German town of Zeitz in protest against the Communist regime in East Germany. Both Erfurt and Zeitz are situated in the former East German province of Saxony.

Axel Noack, the Lutheran Bishop of Saxony, said he is shocked by the tragic event in Erfurt. Bishop Noack emphasized that the motive for the suicide complicates matters. He said he hopes that the affair and the question of how Christians should relate to Muslims will not lead to unrest. The Bishop emphasized that Christians reject a culture war. “Fear of other cultures is the result of our own insecurity,” he said, adding that since there are not many Muslims in what was once East Germany, there is not much of a debate about Islam there.

Last Saturday Mama Galledou, a 26-year old Senegalese medical student, suffered severe burns in an arson attack by Muslim thugs, a.k.a. “youths,” on a public transport bus in the French city of Marseille. Muslim thugs have torched eight buses in France during the past days. They hijack the vehicles and empty jerrycans of gasoline into them. Sometimes they allow the passengers to get off first, sometimes they do not.

I'm stunned. In contrast, the bland words of his politically correct bishop make this horrible act even more bizarre and disturbing.

We see two sides of Europe in the face of Islamic encroachment: the blind apathy of those who don't care, and the despair of the ones who do.

UPDATE: I found a deeper insight into this disturbing event at Wolf Pangloss' blog here:

Before he struck the fatal match, the last words he spoke were "Jesus and Oskar."

There is no mystery in why a 73-year-old retired priest would call to Jesus before committing suicide. But why did he call to Oskar? Who was Oskar?

Oskar Bruesewitz was a priest who on August 18 1976 set himself on fire "in the busy market square of the town of Zeitz in Saxony, East Germany"[link] in order to protest increasingly severe restrictions placed on Christianity by the hardline Communist East German government.[link] His suicide proved to be a turning point for East German Socialism, for it empowered the Evangelical Protestant church as an advocate for freedom.

So this man, Roland Weisselberg, had hoped that his self immolation might spark an awakening as did the act of Oskar Bruesewitz in the 1970's. Remember the Buddhist monks who also self immolated during the Vietnam War which shocked America?

We probably won't be seeing any photos of Reverend Weisselberg's demise, nor will we hear about it in the news. Already I hear that the German papers are hushing this story. It's too embarassing for the Bishop of Saxony and the politically correct churches there.

Like Wolf said, let's remember to say a prayer for this man.

Nancy Pelosi's America by A European

Paul Belien from The Brussels Journal wrote an article warning what America will become if the Democrats take over in "A Recipe for Defeat: Europe is Pelosi's America":

I am in Los Angeles at the moment, and do not have the opportunity to write about events in Europe as much as I would like to. I will not be back in Brussels until 12 November. Over here in the U.S. all attention is focused on the upcoming elections. There is a possibility that the Democrats will become the majority in the House of Representatives and that Nancy Pelosi, the California Liberal, will become the next Speaker of the House. I was in West Hollywood on Halloween. A friend described this area as one third retiree, one third Russian and one third gay. Sounds a bit like Europe to me.

The gays take every opportunity to dress up. Consequently Halloween has become a gay festival in LA. The first people I met when leaving the hotel were a group of men dressed up as ballerinas. This is Pelosi Land.

Americans can already see what their country’s future will be if they vote for Pelosi and her band. They only need to watch Europe. That is what America will be like 20 years from now if the Liberals succeed in turning the U.S. into a European-style welfare state. The latter is the cause of all Europe’s problems. It has led to secularization, because people who are catered for from the cradle to the grave no longer need God. It has led to the immigration debacle, because Europe has attracted welfare immigrants who only come for the benefits and not to contribute to the host country’s wealth creation. It has led to the loss of the citizens’ ability to care for themselves, because they expect everything from the state.

However, the current American elections are relevant for Europe, too. If they lead to the American withdrawal from Iraq, Europe will face a widespread intifada. The withdrawal will be perceived as a defeat of the West and the Muslim “youths” in Europe’s cities will become even more arrogant. They utterly despise the Europeans, whom they perceive (not entirely without reason) to be men dressed up as ballerinas, and they hate America because it fights back. In a world ruled by men who only understand the language of power it is better to be hated than despised. If America withdraws the Islamist fanatics will despise America for it. They will take this as a sign that the West has been defeated and that the world is theirs.

In this scenario Europe has more to lose than America. That makes it all the more surprising that Europe’s politicians refuse to support America. They seem to be hoping that the Muslims, although they despise the Europeans, will leave them alone so they can carry on paying the taxes that the immigrants live off. I fear it will not turn out this way. Moreover, the funds are running dry because the welfare state hampers wealth creation.

I have ambivalent feelings about the war in Iraq, but once a country has decided to go to war it has got to make sure it wins. Europe no longer knows this, which also goes to explain why it does not want to help America win the war and why, on a micro level, the situation in France is deteriorating day by day. Last year the French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy decided to reestablish law and order in the French immigrant suburbs which have become territorial pockets ruled by thugs and Islamists. Instead of fighting this battle with all available means the French authorities are waging a half-hearted war which has led to the current debacle in France’s no-go areas. Last year “youths” developed a habit of setting parked (and empty) cars on fire, but this year policemen and firefighters are being attacked in paramilitary raids and crowded buses are being hijacked and arsoned. Still the French Republic refuses to crack down on the Islamic hooligans

Read more here.

Kerry's Foot In Mouth Disease

Well, we've been having quite a time watching and commenting on John Kerry's latest faux pas:

"you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.

"And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq,"

Or, if you get D's like the Senator did in his freshman year at Yale, you'll end up with Foot in Mouth Disease. Despite calls to apologize from both parties, Kerry refuses. I guess having a butler means never having to say you're sorry.

Our troops, however, show their good humor and sarcasm to the Senator's remarks:



H/T to Mike's America for the great photo.

UPDATE: Looks like the Massachusetts Senator has issued an apology:

"As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop," Kerry said in a statement published on his Web site.

Kerry said he regrets that his words "were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended."

(H/T Fox News)

"Misinterpreted"? It's hard to "misinterpret" the meaning of his statement. Why can't the buffoon just admit he mangled his words and made an ass out of himself while insulting our troops? That elitist Liberal mentality... do we want that in the Senate and House of Representatives?