A Mother's Love - December 31, 2006

Have a safe New Year's Eve and let's have a great New Year together! Mindful of and vigilant for freedom and liberty! Today, I was in a church service, the Ordination of two new Deacons - one woman and one man. The lady had visitors there. Two of the visitors were a mother and a father of two sons. The father was a retired Colonel so the military is in their blood. One son had served in Iraq as a medic and he had lost his life helping his fellow soldiers. The other son is serving in the Navy assigned in the Gulf region. I spoke with the mother who had lost her son. She is a beautiful woman with grace and elegance. She thanked me for my comments of gratitude and she said for me not to feel sad because her son - the young medic - had died doing what he believed in. Would that we could all have such grace... God bless this mother's sons and her family and God bless all of our men and women risking life and limb for our nation, for us.

Ethiopia - A Superpower?

What makes a nation a superpower? Is it the number of guns, nuclear submarines, fighter jets, the size of the military? Is it the nation's financial wealth? Or is there more to being a superpower than the size of a nation's military-industrial complex? Recently, Ethiopia demonstrated superpower status. Ethiopia did what a government is supposed to do. Her leaders protected her borders; joined with the legitimate government of Somalia and together with their respective ground forces and a few MIGs the Russians had sold Ethiopia a few years or decades back took on the Islamic terrorists/militants who have been intent on taking control of Somalia and then marching into Ethiopia. I'll be back with links later in the day but, for my money - all the tax dollars we have sent to Ethiopia - I have to say, they know how to protect their borders and how to identify the enemy and how to fight the enemy. The Islamist - so-called radicals - are on the run. The war lords seem to be regaining some power and the Somalian government, aligned with Ethiopia, is fighting back. So, for good or ill, for the mistakes of the past, at least Ethiopia is fighting for its sovereignty, for the safety of its people. Ethiopia is protecting its borders. This is just a guess here, but I'll bet Ethiopia wouldn't sit by and allow 12,000 of its citizens to be killed and many more raped and robbed by illegal aliens swarming over its borders by the thousands, not to mention by the tens of millions. Of course, no sovereign nation would allow its citizens to fall prey to such an invasion in a civilized world. No superpower would allow its towns and cities to be over-run by illegals taking jobs from citizens, depleting the medical resources those citizens have paid for through insurance and taxes, endangering citizens on the highways. No superpower would allow its Marines and soldiers returning from war to be gunned down by illegals; no superpower would tolerate a daughter's mother killed right next to the daughter by an illegal alien drunk driver. No superpower would allow its nation to become balkanized. No superpower would allow terrorists networks to operate within its borders under front groups with tax-exempt status under the guise of "civil rights", to allow terrorist camps across the nation, to allow hatred and calls for violence to be shouted from the podiums of "churches, synagogues, mosques". No leaders of a superpower who had taken oaths to protect and defend their nation's people would leave its citizens vulnerable with no recourse to defense. Would they? No superpower would allow itself to be chained and ham-strung by the ruberic of "politically incorrect" speech, erasing it's most important freedom - that of Freedom of Speech. No superpower would even entertain the notion of passing "hate speech" laws designed to end any debate about an invading political ideology dressed in religious garb whose goal was the overthrow of said superpower. Would it? No superpower nation would endanger its citizens by putting the "rights" of terrorists over the Constitutionally enshrined rights of the nation's legal citizens. Would it? So, warts and all, let's give a cheer for Ethiopia! Of course, I don't want to move to Ethiopia but it's always nice to read that some nation is protecting its borders.

New Year's Eve is a'comin'

New Year's Eve is fast approaching. Just two more days, then a few days downtime and I'll be back to "all politics all the time." Right now, I ask you the have a safe New Year's Eve - just think it will be on-going for 24 hours or so around the globe. Then come back with your comments for a great 2007. The year 2007 will mark the 400th Celebration of Jamestown Settlement. I heard Thomas Jefferson speak today in Colonial Williamsburg. He had faith in the American people to govern themselves; to become enlightened through education; and if they did not know something, to go out and learn, learn, learn. He also said today that anyone living at Monticello - slave and freeman alike was allowed to borrow books from his personal library. He deplored slavery and spoke of the times in which he lived and the need to educate the slaves so that they would not go out into the "world" unprepared with a skill, a livelihood, the ability to read. So, as we move into the year 2007, read, read, read; learn, learn, learn. And if you have a student who graduates from a public high school and that student cannot read his or her diploma, get a group together and sue the Federal Government for failing to educate our future - your children. The families of the 12,000 or so Americans who have been killed since 9/11 by illegal aliens on our soil, get together and sue the Federal Government for failing to protect American citizens. As Thomas Jefferson stated, this is our government. We control it; it does not control us and it is responsible to us, to all of us. God bless you and your loved ones. [Earlier today I posted an entry entitled, "Freedom is not free." As luck would have it, Mr. Jefferson spoke today on that very issue - Freedom is not free. We must demand an educated citizenry with one language so that we have mobility, so that we can fulfill the American Declaration of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. None of these are "given to us by a benevolent government". Maintaining Life, Liberty, and the opportunity to personally and individually pursue happiness are personal responsibilities that fall upon us - our freedoms depend upon us.]

The Wren Cross debate - a different view

The following is a statement submitted in response to one of my previous posts in November regarding the removal of the Wren Cross from the Wren Chapel - locked in the sacristy. The following are good, well-reasoned comments from a historian and a resident of Williamsburg. Having heard Thomas Jefferson speak today in Colonial Williamsburg regarding the separation between church and state, not the removal of God from public discourse, I know that Thomas Jefferson attended church every Sunday and, when he traveled, he took a stool with him so that his presence would not inconvenience a local family from their pews in their church. I am publishing Mr. Pryor's comments here because I do not want them to get lost in the array of comments, as comments are wont to do. Mr. Pryor's reflections and perspective of history are worthy of review and thoughtful discourse. I believe he is incorrect in his view that the Christians wish to "exclude" others. With no discourse, Mr. Nichol's made his pronouncement. Perhaps with reasoned discourse, his actions would not be so bitterly opposed. As Thomas Jefferson declared during his life time and during his presentation today, our greatest freedom is the freedom of speech, the freedom to converse in open discourse, and to have and share in a "diversity" of viewpoint. It is upon that diversity that our strength resides - not the superficial "diversities" of skin color or ethnic origin, nor of religion. Mr. Jefferson also pointed out that he was against the founding of a state-religion such as the Church of England just as he would be vehemently opposed to the establishment of Islam as a national-religion. The idea of France, Russia, Spain, or America becoming Islamic republics would be abhorant to Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson expounded today upon the principle of the freedom for religion, the separation between religion - the moral governance of the spirit and Soul - and the role of government which has as its only purpose to protect the people from invasion and from doing harm to each other. I do not agree with all of Mr. Pryor's statements. I wish to offer him a forum here so that his comments based upon his own study can be read and his comments can be heard. As a master's graduate of The College, I thank him for his thoughtful reply. ___________________ The following are his reasoned comments: I first came to Williamsburg in 1974 as an incoming freshman at the College of William and Mary, and though I spent a year away after graduation, I returned to Williamsburg and have lived here ever since. I have been in the history field for 26 years, working for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. I spent ten years of that time mostly at the Wren Building, presenting the colonial history of the college. I feel obliged to point out certain things in regard to the present controversy over the altar cross in the college chapel. The college was established by royal charter in 1693 as an organ of the Protestant Episcopal Church of England, and was maintained as such until 1776. Nearly all the faculty were clergymen, and the avowed purpose of the college was to train Christian ministers. In the colonial era, the Church of England was decidedly more Protestant than it has been more recently. The Rev. James Blair was the founder and for fifty years (1693-1743) served as the first president of the college. All the college buildings built before the 20th century were built during his administration, including the chapel wing of the “Wren” building. The Rev. Mr. Blair would never have permitted a cross to be displayed on the chapel altar. Mr. Blair would have regarded such an ornament as an idolatrous relic of Roman Catholic superstition. Neither was an altar cross employed in any other church in Virginia during the 17th or 18th centuries. In 1777, the Rev. James Madison became president of the college. He would soon become the first Episcopal Bishop of Virginia. He served as president for 35 years, well into the term of his cousin James Madison as President of the United States. The Rev. Mr. Madison worked hand-in-hand with William and Mary alumnus Governor Thomas Jefferson to reinvent the college in 1779. The school of divinity was dropped in favor of a law school and a medical school (the med school didn’t make it), and for the first time non-Episcopalians were admitted to the college. Thus the college became a private, essentially secular institution. Bishop Madison was a firm believer in moving with the times. Tyranny and autocracy was out; liberty was in. Bishop Madison was said to sometimes speak of the Republic of Heaven in his sermons rather than the Kingdom of Heaven. In 1786, Virginia adopted Thomas Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom that requires Virginia to be entirely neutral on religious questions, and give no persons privilege or advantage, penalty or disadvantage in regard to their religious beliefs. Virginia became a beacon of religious liberty at that moment. The strict separation of church and state had been fought for in Virginia, long and hard, by Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Quakers, Mennonites, Jews, and the new denomination of Methodists. Private institutions are under no obligation to be neutral, of course, but public institutions are. A century ago the trustees of the college appealed to the state for support, and in 1906 the college became a public institution, and all college property was transferred to the state. This did not mean that the college was now welcoming to all Virginians. African Americans (and other non-white persons) and women were still forbidden to attend. In 1919 the first woman was admitted to the college, but the first black undergraduate was not admitted until the 1960s. Each time one of these new groups was allowed to enter the college, there were alumni and students who protested against the violation of the traditions of the college, and bemoaned the demographic change in the student body. In 1907 the local Episcopal Church, Bruton Parish, acquired by gift a rather plain brass cross for it altar; the first altar cross in the church’s history. In 1938, they acquired a better one, and donated the old one to the college. This was put on display in the Wren chapel in 1940. The chapel had stood for 200 years and been through several remodelings and rebuildings without anyone thinking to add a cross to the altar. In 2006 college president Gene Nichol decided to return the college chapel to its pre-1940 appearance by storing the cross when not actually in use for a program in the chapel sacristy, a small room originally provided for the storing of clerical vestments and possibly communion vessels. Nichol’s intention was to make the college chapel more religiously neutral and equally welcoming to all college students, and not merely to 75% who avow themselves Christians. Much to his astonishment, this has raised a storm of protest among some students and alumni, and even more so among many who have no direct connection to the college. Those campaigning to “Save the Wren Cross” have fallen into several errors. The cross has not actually been removed; it has been moved five yards or so to the sacristy where is available for anyone who would like to have it displayed for their use. Moving the cross is not breaking an ancient tradition. People easily fall into the fallacy of thinking that if something has been around for “as long as anyone can remember” then it has always been around. There was no cross in the Wren chapel for over 200 years. As the chapel was restored in 1931 to its colonial-era appearance, the presence of the cross is an anachronism, and historically improper. Moving the cross is not an insult to the college’s Christian origins. In fact, placing the cross on the altar is an insult to the college’s Protestant origins. Neither the founder of the college, Rev. Mr. Blair, nor the reinventor of the college, Bishop Madison, would have tolerated a cross on the altar. (Bishop Madison and his cousin the president were both great supporters of the Statute for Religious Freedom, and were opposed to religious favoritism in state institutions.) At no point in the college history has anyone thought a cross necessary there until now. There would never have been a cross in the chapel if Bruton Church had not thought this one no longer good enough for the church, and replaced it with a better one. The college received this one almost by accident as a hand-me-down. Moving the cross does not make the chapel less of a Christian space, unless religion is to be regarded chiefly as a matter of brass ornaments. If the essence of Christianity is the displaying of altar crosses in houses of worship, then colonial America was anti-Christian, for the laws of that era were strongly against the Roman Catholic church, the only sect in colonial America that approved of displaying crosses on altars, or using them as an object of veneration. Moving the cross does not put Christians at a disadvantage at the college. There are several large churches adjoining campus; there are a dozen more within easy reach. There is also a small synagogue, but there is no mosque, no Buddhist or Hindu shrine, and no other place on campus suitable for religious observances or meditations. Christians constitute a clear (but not overwhelming) majority of the student body. Moving the cross was not bowing to pressure from the “politically correct”or the perpetually offended. It was an act of simple hospitality, conveying the message that the college chapel is equally a place for all the college students and community, not merely for most. The chapel and the cross are both as much available for Christian purposes as they ever were. The chapel of the college should be a space that all can share on an equal basis. Kept to its ancient and traditional form, it is a space to which people can bring their own spiritual furniture, internal or external. The perpetual display of the altar cross thus has only one purpose: to assert Christian ownership of the chapel, and thus of the college. The message of the “Save the Wren Cross” organization to the larger college community is simple: “This place belongs to us, not to you. We will graciously allow you to use our space, and we will even allow you to temporarily remove our cross when you are too sensitive to tolerate its presence, thus demonstrating our generosity and moral superiority. You must always remember, however, that you are a guest in our institution, not an equal member or partner.” To reinstate the cross now to permanent display would be to abandon hospitality, equality, and tradition in favor of consciously conferring privileged status on some because they have yelled loud and long enough to compell it. To reinstate the cross now would be, in fact, to abandon principle to placate the perpetually offended. It is true, the college was once a Christian institution; it was in fact a white, male, Protestant Christian institution. It is no longer. It is high time the policies of the college reflect reality. This debate is not about tradition, or history, or spirituality, or religion. It is about whether the chapel and the college exist equally for the benefit for all members of the college community, or only for some. As a William and Mary alumnus, a 30-year member of the Williamsburg community, and a historian, I applaud the action President Nichol has taken to restore the chapel to its 17th century appearance and simutaneously open its doors wider than ever before to let in the 21st century. --- B. J. Pryor Williamsburg, Virginia ________________________ Mr. Pryor errs in one point I'd like to mention here. The citizens of Save the Wren Cross simply are asking for a return to the policy that existed before Mr. Nichol arbitrarily or unilaterally removed the cross and placed it under lock and key - that policy was that the cross would be removed upon request. Later, I will post here comments made to me through e-mails that explain why many non-Christian students, Muslims to be exact, would not use the Wren Chapel for religous purposes. In a nutshell, cross or no cross, the chapel does not face Mecca. No one is suggesting the "relocation" of the chapel. I am not certain that Mr. Pryor knows what Mr. Nichol's purpose was but I will predict that, if the policy is not reversed, the Wren Chapel will, over time, become a place seldom used and itself will become merely a place for guided tours. The perpetually "offended" are not and have not been Christians. Personally, I would like to see every Christian family in the United States decorate their lawns with a nativity scene during the Christmas Season - every lawn to become a private place of worship, everyone to display a cross. We would then have a chance to see how far afield we have rowed our boat of tolerance and love. We would then see the intolerance and hatred directed toward Christians in our nation today. You think I am wrong? I was brought up in the Baptist Church and, therefore, I can appreciate the idea of "idolatry". That is one reason there is no likeness of Jesus the Christ nailed upon the cross in a Baptist Church. The cross - without the body of the crucified Lord - represents resurrection and life. In the United States of America - as of yet, political correctness aside [note political correctness not spiritual or moral correctness] - we have freedom of expression; we have the right to disagree and still know that we have love for our nation and for the freedoms graciously bestowed upon us by our Creator; freedoms which our Founding Fathers set upon parchment. See the Declaration of Independence for further uplifting ideals that place this nation as a land of freedom and liberty for all.

Freedom is not free - 910 Group Volunteers enter the fight for Freedom and Liberty

We have heard this phrase, "Freedom isn't free..." for many of us almost from birth. Freedom is no more free today than it was when the United States of America embarked upon its Revolutionary War. Freedom and Liberty come at a cost - whether it is in life or in time or in coin or in subjugation. Citizens must be ever vigilant, yet today, vigilance is not enough. In the United States, we have an all-volunteer military. Much can be said to the credit of our brave men and women. Citizens employed in our agencies who work undercover are volunteers. And many of us volunteer to associate ourselves with other non-governmental organizations or citizen-groups who fight for liberty everyday. If you are looking for a group that offers a wide range of areas where you can help, where you can make a difference, in fighting and winning this war on terrorism, then please take the time to click on the Phoenix here in my sidebar. Then come back and click on the other listings under the 910 Group. Sign-up; join today. Start the New Year of 2007 with a purpose and a plan. We are in a war. It has been brought to us and it has been waged against us for decades. September 11, 2001 was only the action that woke some of us up to what we face as a culture, as a civilization, and as a people. Terrorism which can only truthfully be described as a war waged against Western Civilization by Islamists who believe that their time has come, who adhere to the violence against and subjugation of all non-Muslims which is directed by verses in the Qur'an is the "proxy" word being used today. The use of this word, terrorism, instead of what we are really facing, the march of Islamic Imperialism for world domination lulls us into viewing "success" as not having an attack on US soil. Or, whew, it's over now; the Bobbies stopped the plan to blow up 10 airliners leaving Heathrow for American airports. The 910 Group is international. It has a place for you. The 910 Group is growing and now has affiliations with other like-minded organizations. The place for you may be in international organization, in raising local awareness within your realm of influence. The place may be one of keeping yourself apprised of legislation before Congress or the legislative body within your nation; the place may be letter-writing; sending an e-mail to a news network that did a good job on a given issue such as the Fox News Channel presenting exerpts from Obsession. The place for you may be in internet research; in blogging based upon information you find within the 910 Group. The arms of jihadists reach far and wide. Read the book Infiltration by Paul Sperry to learn of the Wahabbi Corridor right within the Commonwealth of Virginia; learn of the guarded Islamic camp in Central Virginia; learn of the conversions to Islam within our prison systems. The threat to your way of life and to the future of your children and grandchildren is at stake. Do not think your contribution would be small. One snail-mail letter to your representative and to your senators carries the weight of thousands of citizens who think as you do but do not write because they do not think "it would make a difference." They are wrong - the snail mail, the phone calls help. Our forefathers and mothers fought for this nation - one nation under God, this nation of, by, and for the people. It is only we the people who can secure this nation for generations to come - not the government - only we the people. Take a look at the 910 Group. Your participation there may turn out to be the most precious gift you can give yourself for the New Year. For your friends who do not have internet access - share the letter-writing with them. Share the information and, if they ask, help them learn. You can help them setup a Yahoo account right there in your local library. Your state taxes pay for the computers there. The 910 Group does NOT support violence; the 910 Group does not believe that all Americans who practice Islam want to "kill" their non-Muslim neighbors but much of the activity that is going on today within our nation to Islamify America and bring it under Sharia Law is beyond their control. Islamist groups such as CAIR - still find hidden meaning behind that name - posing as "civil rights" groups are working to undermine our laws through incremental steps to insert "special" preferences for Islam within our schools, all throughout our society. Read Animal Farm where some animals are better than other animals - then see how damaging the changes will be over time. Have a save New Year's Eve. I'll see you in the 910 Group.

Discrimination and violence against Christianity

Today, I stopped by the little church that was my church home for decades. I went to visit a few friends who were making repairs to one of the buildings. Before leaving, one friend asked, "Have you seen the destruction of the structure in the front of the church where we list information about the services?" "No," I said. "What happened?" He replied, "Take a look before your leave. I spent three hours with the police the other day going over what happened or what we could piece together of what could have happened." I walked around to the front of the little church and saw that someone had taken something and destroyed one side of the "billboard". Smashed. The week of Christmas. This in a small community; in America. Crosses are being torn from statues in cemeteries in France. Jewish cemeteries are being desegrated in France. And yes, we had several churches - both black and white congregations - burned to the ground in Georgia as I recall. To save the cross on Mount Soledad in California, the citizens of San Diego have been battling the ACLU for years to keep the enormous cross that is visible for miles - a landmark as a tribute to World War II veterans and other veterans. To save the cross, the city had to get the Federal Government to take over the war memorial, to protect the cross. In America, Christianity and any symbolism of Christianity is under relentless attack by Americans whose goal is to destroy our culture and our heritage. Our culture and heritage are based upon individual rights and responsibilities. These Americans seeking to destroy our culture and the symbols of our culture and heritage are working to replace that belief in individual rights "granted to us by our Creator" - those values that make us strong - with the "government" as our NANNY, the caretaker of us all "from cradle to grave." No thank you. One atheist who does not believe in God has held the Mount Soledad cross hostage and has shouted that he is insulted by the sight of the cross. So, in America, anyone can have freedom of religion except for Christians represented through numerous sects or denominations, not a state-ordered religion. I ask you to pay attention of the attacks against your culture and your heritage. Christians face discrimination in America today because of their beliefs. Senators in our U.S. Senate were harsh on Chief Justice John Roberts as well as Associate Justice Alito - not to mention insulting Judge Alito's wife through visious attacks on her husband's honor and integrity - because they are both Christians. The most virulent attacks were from self-defined, or as some would say, "back-sliding" Catholics. How low they will bow to the Islamists. How quickly they are begging to submit. Watch and see... Protect your freedoms; protect them or they will be taken from you, pulled apart one thread at a time. Be alert; you could awake one morning and find them gone. A day existed in America when people simply would not desecrate a church; a day existed when we lived by honor, by integrity, by gentility. Do we have any manners, any gentility left? I know we do; we must to survive.

The Wren Chapel - Will Board of Visitors allow the disgrace to stand?

Today, December 27, 2006, I spent part of the day in Colonial Williamsburg with my family. I asked that they go with me to the Wren Building at The College of William and Mary in Virginia. I had seen the removal of the Wren Cross from the altar of the Chapel where it had resided for 70 years. I had seen the young woman who had been given the "job" of removing the "most feared" cross from the altar. She did her job for posterity to protect one and all from the horrors that would be visited upon them if they entered a Christian Chapel and - mercy - were accosted by the sight of a - gasp - cross. But today, I asked my family to humor me and to go to the Wren Chapel with me. I earned a Master's Degree from The College. I am a Virginian. I am proud of The College, of our heritage, of the place of Christianity in our founding. Why is that? Because I am convinced that in no other nation could true freedom of religion exist but for the foundation of this nation in the tenets of Christianity - honor thy neighbor as thyself. An altar cloth is on the altar in the Wren Chapel. Two brass-toned candle holders stand a lonely vigil - separated from their Wren Cross. To see the removal of the Wren Cross through stills or through the YouTube pictures is one thing. To read of the gaining of the land in 1619, to read of the consecration of the Wren Chapel, to read of the founding of The College, and then to walk inside and to see the altar barren, sterile, defiled is another matter. The "interim" president of The College of William and Mary has defiled the heritage of this nation. He has defiled the heritage of The College and he had spit in the face of all who have entered there and all who have given their lives for the freedoms of this nation. As you may know, I enter posts in the Save the Wren Cross Blog and I will return here to enter additional information provided by a graduate who does not want the be identified. There is fear in attacking dhimmitude - submission to secularism. People fear for jobs, for the potential of jobs. Today, I sat in the Wren Chapel; I felt the emptiness. The Wren Chapel has been defiled. God has turned His face from the arrogance of the "interim" president. The act was vile and ugly. The act of the "interim" president was a shameful act of cowardice. I say "interim" to point to the fact that we are all "interim" and it is our job and our duty to perserve our heritage. No religion has been imposed upon students. It is a state college now but it was not founded as such. The Wren Chapel is a Christian Chapel. Removing the Wren Cross does not change that. But it is a Christian Chapel; it is not a denominational chapel with a religion foisted upon all who enter The College of William and Mary. Today, diversity is the "buzz word de jour" but diversity does not mean the exchange of ideas, the free and open discussion of ideas. Diversity is only skin deep. Diversity depends upon "conforming" ideas; diversity depends upon anatomy; diversity does not depend upon qualifications, merit, principle - it builds upon dividing people; it depends upon differences. The removal of the Wren Cross typifies intolerance and the arrogance of man; the arrogance that can enable one man to tramble upon the heritage and culture of The College and, by extension, the heritage of our nation. When you go to a temple in Japan you expect to see the symbols of the religion practiced there. When you go to Thailand, you expect to see the jade Buddha. When you enter a Christian Chapel - what do you expect to see? Today, in the United States of America, it is Christianity that is being discriminated against. I have calmed down a bit since sitting in the Wren Chapel today. But several years ago, my home was burglarized. Drawers were emptied; personal items were rifled through. That type of experience is a violation of self. The removal of the Wren Cross, the policy of making a grieving student have to request to have the Wren Cross placed upon the altar of a Christian Chapel is a sacrilege; the Wren Chapel has been violated and so are all who enter there. The Wren Chapel now is a cold and empty place; its soul has been ripped from its heart. The Wren Cross will regain its place upon the altar of the Wren Chapel but it will take a president and a Board of Visitors with character, with the spirit of The College, with respect for our heritage and with respect for us, for all of us. Remember the story of the Jewish people in Europe - when the Nazis came for one Jewish community, I did not stand up. When they came for me, there was no one left to stand for me... Who will stand for your chapel, for your church, when "they" come for your cross?

Happy New Year - 2007

Forgive me as I have not been able to watch the news or read much of it lately. Have been enjoying time with family and they have been enjoying the good food and the relaxation. Have a very safe New Year's Eve. Looking forward to blogging and blog-visiting now into our New Year - 2007! Thank you for all of your comments throughout the first 6 months of my blogging "career"!

A Christmas Greeting to America and my friends across the internet

To my friends in the United States of America and across the nations of the world, Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year - 2007. And this includes but is not limited to my friend, James Highman at Nourishing Obscurity, for goodness sake....Merry Christmas to the so very spoiled men in my life who make me laugh and bring me joy across the ethers. Christmas Day - December 25, 2006 - is drawing near, soon to usher in the New Year - 2007. The United States of America is a nation founded in Liberty and Freedom. The rock upon which this nation breathed its first breath was the rock of Judeo-Christian principles and values: Loving God, having no other God before Him; Loving thy neighbor as thyself; Honoring thy Mother and thy Father; wives and husbands honoring each other; parents loving and caring for their children... A song that I was taught as a child keeps playing in my mind - "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world: red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in his site. Jesus loves the little children of the world." Our Christmas Season is predicated upon Christianity, the birth of the Christ child, Jesus, the Star in the East, the manger, Mary, Joseph, the Wisemen, the shepherds, the humble animals keeping watch. And this is the season of Hanukkah, the Jewsih holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after its defilement by Antiochus of Syria - with the menorah, a candelabrum that is used in Jewish worship. Merry Chritsmas and Happy Hanukkah to you - you have made my first six months of blogging exhilarating; you have welcomed me into your lives across the ethers of the internet. You have enriched my life. Thank you. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Blessed New Year - 2007. Enjoy the season of Christ's birth and when the peacefulness is done, when you have become rejuvenated by the love of family, friends, and our great nations - roll up your sleeves; get to work; educate yourself to the dangers within our gates that threaten us and our freedoms; and hold your elected representatives to count: e-mail them, call their offices, write them through snail-mail. Let them know that they work for you!!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to our troops; may God keep them close to His grace... And blessings to the families of our men and women in uniform and undercover - you are in the prayers of a grateful citizenry...

America - the proud, the brave, the strong

America is a nation of proud, brave, strong citizens. No nation can defeat us unless we defeat ourselves from within first. Some would say we are on the road to that defeat paved by a "new" congress determined to bring our military to its knees in defeat, determined to stifle our freedom of speech; by the ACLU that has worked tirelessly [with the help of our tax dollars] to be the Scrooge that "stole Christmas" and divested Christians of freedom of speech; the ACLU that has worked to destroy and erase the symbols that represent the very reasons for our Christmas Season. The symbols of the nativity scene as well as the menorah are banned... What have we become? Have we foresaken our Founding Fathers? Judeo-Christian beliefs cannot be erased from their honored place in the founding of this great nation. It is only due to our freedoms that others are free to practice their religions in this great nation. Few nations on earth allow such luxury. I have faith in the people of this great nation. Throughout this great nation in middle America, in the South, in the mid-West, in Puerto Rico, in Maine - this nation's moms and dads are producing children that have been taught American history, heritage, and pride within the home. And these children - these boys and girls - have grown into strong, disciplined men and women who are risking their lives, making sacrifices, and fighting our wars, manning our fire departments, manning our EMT squads, manning our police departments, manning our classrooms (God bless them) and teaching many of our children character, American history and heritage inspite of the NEA, inspite of the drugs foisted upon our young boys, inspite of the tenets of "diversity" over competence, inspite of "multiculturalism" and moral equivalency over our nation's heritage of assimilating immigrants and creating One from many - E pluribus unum!, One out of many which is emblazened upon the Great Seal of the United States of America. The vaunted "diversity" so praised as the new model for the United States is defined as "to make different or various in form or quality, unlike, composed of distinct forms or qualities." We are all diverse; why? We are all individuals. The goal to undermine our nation is to divide us into group identities which groups by their nature remove the ideal of individual freedoms, of individual equality before the law, of individual responsibilities. I cannot speak to the feminizing, victimizing or wimpifying of many of our citizens. I cannot speak to the "marriage" of same-sex couples - the Bible speaks to that; the fall of Rome, the fall of ancient Greece speak to the weakening of a nation's character; of nations that lost their backbone, lost their courage, lost their way. I cannot speak today of the 12,000 United States citizens who have been murdered since September 11, 2001 by criminals and drunk drivers who are here illegally; I cannot speak to political parties abandoning legal citizens for the votes of the illegals. Today, I speak to the American people who work everyday, who love their children, who instill the American ideal of individual freedoms and individual responsibility into their children. I can speak to the 85% of Americans who identify themselves as Christians and I say to them - fight the ACLU; send a check no matter how small to the Minutemen to build that fence; pay attention to what your representatives do in Congress; fight the islamification of your nation by defeating the passage of HR 288; fight political correctness; fight for E Pluribus Unum! Your nation's future and destiny is in your hands and the hands of your children. The United States of America may today be without a soverign border; it may be without a government willing to protect us from invasion. Forget all that... our nation has us. As we move into this new year, with your vigilance, your watchful eye, the United States of America will remain one nation under God. That God has the final say; that God relies upon us to take action to keep America "one nation under God", to keep us "one nation out of many". We have been given a valuable gift. Will we keep it? Will we remain that "shining beacon upon the hill"? The choice is yours...

Islamic Dominance of the West vs Founders' Quote 12/19/1776

The Patriot Post Founders' Quote Daily "It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf." -- Thomas Paine (The American Crisis, No. 1, 19 December 1776) Reference: Thomas Paine: Collected Writings , Foner ed., Library of America (97) _____________________ Should we in our present circumstances appreciate the folly of "friendship with those who desire our death and the death of our civilization, our freedoms, our way of life? This Christmas, allow me to recommend a book by Paul Sperry - Infiltration, How Muslim Spies and Subversives have penetrated Washington. In Chapter 3, From the White House to the Big House, Sperry reviews and has quotations from leading "crypto-Islamists" regarding their "secret agenda of Islamizing America while making it harder for authorities to investigate the bad guys." (pg.19) From Sami Al-Arian (tenured Florida university professor now behind bars, we have the following quotation from Inflitraton, "And in a speech to another Muslim audience, he (al-Arian) described a mortal struggle between Islam and the West. "We are in a battle of life and death, in a battle of fate and future against the Western hegemony and tryanny wanting to control the capabilities of the [Muslim] nations in order to enslave, steal, and control them," he said. "What is needed is the dismantling of the cultural system of the West."(pg.25) When you read of HR 288, designed to place Islam and any discussion of Islam beyond the range of Freedom of Speech through "hate speech law"/in this case read "Shaira Law", remember these words by Omar M. Ahmad, the founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations: "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith but to become dominant. The Quran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." (pg.24) HR 288 has been proposed for one reason only, to provide Islam with protected status so that anything said or written about Islam, Islamic history, and all else will be considered "hate speech". Seeminly innocous, this legistlation is designed to eliminate our free speech and to couch any discussion of the "religion" and all of its political ideologies as bigotry and religious intolerance. Americans are not treating the Qur'an badly. Some of us are reading it and reading that its words would have the practitioners of the "faith" treat us very badly indeed. HR288 is designed to make sure we cannot discuss the treatment the Quran orders its adherents to inflict upon us - dhimmitude being one issue. The dominance of Islam over all other religions another. H.R 288 Text Summary Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives condemning bigotry and religious intolerance, and recognizing that holy books of every religion should be treated with dignity and respect. Whereas believers of all religions, including the Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, should be treated with respect and dignity; Whereas the word Islam comes from the Arabic root word meaning “peace” and “submission”; Whereas there are an estimated 7,000,000 Muslims in America, from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, forming an integral part of the social fabric of America; Whereas the Quran is the holy book for Muslims who recite passages from it in prayer and learn valuable lessons about peace, humanity and spirituality; Whereas it should never be official policy of the United States Government to disparage the Quran, Islam, or any religion in any way, shape, or form; Whereas mistreatment of prisoners and disrespect toward the holy book of any religion is unacceptable and against civilized humanity; Whereas the infringement of an individual’s right to freedom of religion violates the Constitution and laws of the United States: Now, therefore, be it 1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives– (1) condemns bigotry, acts of violence, and intolerance against any religious group, including our friends, neighbors, and citizens of the Islamic faith; (2) declares that the civil rights and civil liberties of all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith, should be protected; (3) recognizes that the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as any other holy book of any religion, should be treated with dignity and respect; and (4) calls upon local, State, and Federal authorities to work to prevent bias-motivated crimes and acts against all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith. ____________________________ The entire bill is a straw-man in that no one in America is infringing upon an individual's right to freedom of religion. When that "religion" has as its goal, the overthrow of our laws and of our civilization, are we to continue to view it as a "religion" or have the leaders quoted above been quite plain in their intent? If the answer is yes, then which "religion" is intolerant? Merry Christmas - tis the reason for the "holiday" season...

Holy War - keeping Jihad in Iraq

Well, everyone is chattering about a "civil war" breaking out in Iraq. Too late and wrong. Sunnis supported by Saudi are duking it out with Iranian-backed Shi'ites. It is a "religious/sectarian" war, a "holy war" with Muslims against Muslims. As Diana West suggests and others have as well, let's let them fight it out. Iran is following the playbook they have been using with success in Lebanon with the help of their military arm, Hezbollah. I recommend we find a few generals such as General Schoomaker as quoted today in the Washington Times cartoon by Garner, with flag on his shoulder and his hand thrust forward, the cartoon has the general saying, "I believe in cut and run... Cut the bull *&%$# and run over the enemy!.." We know the enemy of Western nations. Lord knows they shout it out loud enough. [As an aside, I really am sad to see France go but it looks like France is gone and will soon become the Islamic Republic of France. I'm sad about that for several reasons: one, France supported the US in our revolution; two, I'll be sad to see the Louvre and much of the incomparable art representing much of the history and heritage of Western Civilization destroyed; and third, I'll be sad to see Notre Dame become a mosque.] Now, my suggestion - let's have a bit of humor in a somewhat complicated situation - is that we gear up our military troops; move them to the forward operating bases; stock them with all the weapons they need and plenty of good food and cold beer. Bring in a supply of lawn chairs and umbrellas so our troops can watch as the Sunnis and the Shi'ites duke it out then we go in and mop up what's left. I know this means civilian deaths but that is occurring now and Sunnis and Shi'ites are killing each other - so much for Islam being a unified "religion". Maybe a reformation is going on. I am no expert on the Middle East but I do know we cannot allow Islamic extremists into the United States and Western Nations; and we need to deport all extremists that are here now. We cannot allow one slight change in our laws that would infringe upon our freedoms and that includes HR 288, designed to give special status to Islam and to end freedom of speech. Nor can we allow accommodations to Islam in our schools - no prayer rooms, no teaching of Islam in our public schools or through our textbooks bought with public tax payer dollars and adopted by public school employees. If we adhere to the separation of church and state - as has been shouted at Christians for decades now - it hardly seems appropriate to have folks who practice Islam being given special treatment when we can't even have a nativity scene at a firehouse for "fear" of offending someone some place. But back to Iraq... My father was a very wise man. He was a young man during World War II. He was really ticked that Berlin had been partitioned. He told me when I was actually studying American History in the public schools that we should have let the Russians wipe out the Nazis and then we should have gone in and mopped up. In retrospect and from the distance of time, my father was a very bright and knowing man. What would he say on Iraq? Well, we're there so get the job done. If / when Saddam is executed (not holding my breath on that one), then see what happens. We made many mistakes in Iraq but going in was not one of them. Probably holding on the George Tenet in the CIA far longer than we should have was one mistake. Keeping the partisans in Foggy Bottom was probably another - I think some early retirement buy-out packages would have helped our foreign policy and by extension, our efforts in Iraq. Stay in Iraq. Our troops are volunteers and many have pulled three tours in Iraq. They must see a reason to be there. At the very least, we owe them our loyalty and our dedication. Let's keep the jihad in Iraq. Let's stop the spread of Islamic Imperialism. Let's call it what it is - a war declared by Islamic leaders against the rest of the world. Right now they are fighting each other. We should not be arrogant enough to think we could stop hatreds that are centuries old and don't have anything to do with Europe, America, or Israel for that matter. Frankly, we need to step aside... Stay in theatre but step aside...

Diana West for Secretary of Foreign Policy - ASAP

Here's the plan. It makes common sense and therefore is suspect because it would not need thousands of dollars spent on "over-the-hill-gang" Blue-haired, er; Blue-bloodied, er; "Blue Ribbon Commissions". Ms. West's column reminds me of my recent post, Iraq-tossed our like the carcass of a carved-up Christmas turkey?. [Thank you to the Baron at the Gates of Vienna for teaching me how to enter links. Now if I could get someone to teach me how to do the "read further..." code text for my template - I'd be swimmin....] And one more post along the same lines, Iraq Study Group - Winner of Best Naming Award which includes a "must read" op-ed piece by Frank Gaffney, Jr, Poisoned Fruits. Before Diana's op-ed, let me also recommend Felix at Taking Sides and Win the War "over there" by deporting radical islamists from "here". Let's get right to salient statements in Ms. West's op-ed piece Let the Muslims fight it out: Let the Muslims fight it out By Diana West December 15, 2006

Funny thing about the recent op-ed by Nawaf Obaid in The Washington Post outlining likely Saudi actions if the United States withdraws from Iraq: namely, that Saudis would both support Sunnis in Iraq (versus Shi'ites supported by Iran) and manipulate the oil market to "strangle" the Iranian economy. I think it sounds peachy, this let-them-devour-each-other strategy — which I'm guessing many Americans mutter to one another in frankness, if not also in confidence. After the column appeared, not only did the Saudi government disavow it, but Mr. Obaid was fired from his job advising the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal. Hmmm, thought Saudi-ologists. Before anyone could say, "shifting desert sands," Mr. Turki resigned his post in Washington, hightailing it back to the so-called kingdom.... Hmmm again. But now it seems the Obaid column "reflected the view of the Saudi government," after all... "private" Saudi money is already supporting Sunni forces in Iraq. ... "if Iraq's sectarian violence worsened, the Saudis would line up with Sunni tribal leaders" — al Qaeda or no al Qaeda. Meanwhile, we already know Iran is backing, if not guiding, Iraqi Shi'ites. So what should we do? I propose two options, neither of which has occurred to Iraq Study Groupies calling for peace parleys with Hezbollah boosters and Holocaust deniers, or to hawkish proponents of "winning" Iraq (or at least Baghdad) with more troops. But maybe that's because neither group dares to reckon with the two greatest obstacles to our efforts in the region: namely, Islam (culturally unsuited to Westernity) and our own politically correct ROE, or rules of engagement (strategically unsuited to victory). The first option is military,...the fact is, the United States has an arsenal that could obliterate any jihad threat in the region once and for all, whether that threat is bands of IED-exploding "insurgents" in Ramadi, the deadly so-called Mahdi Army in Sadr City, or genocidal maniacs in Tehran. In other words, it's a disgrace for military brass to talk about the 21st-century struggle with Islam as necessarily being a 50- to 100-year war. Ridiculous. It could be over in two weeks if we cared enough to blast our way off the list of endangered civilizations. As a culture, however, the West is paralyzed by the specter of civilian casualties,... So, the military solution — which isn't the same as boosting ROE-cuffed troop levels in Baghdad — is out, unless or until our desperation level rises to some unsupportably manic level. The great paradox of the "war on terror," of course, is that as our capacity and desire to protect civilians in warfare grows, our enemy's capacity and desire to kill civilians as a means of warfare grows also. Our fathers saved us from having to say, "Sieg Heil," but what's next — "Allahu akbar"? Not necessarily. There's another Middle Eastern strategy to deter expansionist Islam: Get out of the way. Get out of the way of Sunnis and Shi'ites killing each other. As a sectarian conflict more than 1,000 years old, this is not only one fight we didn't start, but it's one we can't end. And why should we? If Iran, the jihad-supporting leader of the Shi'ite world, is being "strangled" by Saudi Arabia, the jihad-supporting leader of the Sunni world, isn't that good for the Sunni-and-Shiite-terrorized West? With the two main sects of Islam preoccupied with an internecine battle of epic proportions, the non-Muslim world gets some breathing room. And we sure could use it — to plan for the next round.

This lady is my kind of writer and strategist. Get cracking, President George W. Get this woman involved and give her some authority. For my part, I suggest moving our troops to out-lying FOBs, shore these up, and wait for the dust to settle on the sectarian war waging within Iraq. Well, not all of Iraq - the Kurds seem to be doing fine. Make sure Maliki gets Saddam executed, then step back and be there to help the Saudis put Iraq back together again. Key though is getting Saddam OUT of the picture, as in "can't come back into power ever." Ms. West's plan is too clear, too honest, and too simple. I would add to it a few alterations in implementation. I would keep our troops in Iraq and strengthen our bases there but for all intents and purposes refrain from engaging in the sectarian violence. Let the two warring factions of Islam duke it out. We need to have troops and bases there, in the region, so that we can work with the group that wins. If it is the Sunnis supported by Saudi Arabia now more openly, we already rather laughably count the Saudis as "friends";

• we are certainly allowing thousands of their citizens to come to America for extraordinarily fine education;
• we are allowing the Saudis to build anti-American, hate-filled Wahabbi Schools across the United States;
• we are stupidly allowing imams to recruit "terrorists" right in our prisons; and
• we are allowing Saudis to fund the building of mosques as well as the establishment of pseudo-legislation-driven tax-free organizations set on changing our laws, turning us over to Sharia Law [maybe a reciprocity agreement here would be fruitful - for every mosque in US, we build one Christian Church or Jewish synagogue in Saudi];
• we are allowing the Saudis to gain controlling influence in our MSM or old media outlets; and
• in that way among others, we are allowing Saudi Arabia to influence our elections; and finally,
• we are allowing Saudi money to influence and control what is put in our children's text books.

Our government either from design or from simple-mindedness is turning the United States over to the Islamists in their goal for an Islamic Caliphate. Scoff if you will, but I'm correct in this. My proposal is thus: 1) Diana West for Secretary of Foreign Policy with authority to act and implement her plans without interference, and 2) Conservative Beach Girl for her Deputy Secretary of Foreign Policy so that not one more Muslim will be allowed into the United States unless and until Islam goes through a "reformation" which we find compatible with our principles of democratic republicanism in accordance with our Constitution. All student-visas held by Middle Eastern students would be revoked and all hatred-for-American teaching imams would get one-way tickets to Saudi. They could get back to their place of origin from there. And, so sorry, no more immigration legal or illegal of Muslims into the United States of America until all this stuff about killing the "infidel" gets sorted out and deleted from the Qur'an. The United States of America is a land of freedom and liberties. Our constitution is not a suicide pack and it is suicide to allow any folks into one's nation who through their "holy book" seek the destruction of our nation, of our way of life, and of our Western Civilization. I would remind the purveyors of "hate speech" laws that there is a vast difference between "hate speech" and exercising of our freedom of speech in defense of one's nation from being overthrown - from within or without. That last brings me to a statement I heard Mel Gibson say in his interview with Sean Hannity. Mr. Gibson said something close to this: "No great nation has ever been destroyed from without until it has destroyed itself from within."

Iraq's future and America's withdrawal

It seems a very famous blogger visited this blog and left the following comments. I did not want his comments or my reply to "get lost" as comments in posts often do. He begins: As futile as it may be lately to try to just leave a point to consider, which disagrees sharply with the post written above, I must try: In the end, the Iraqis must be willing to shoulder the responsibility for "nation building". We're past the point where shooting people matters. If the Iraqis choose nation over tribe, society over sect, then Iraq will be a success. If they do not, then it will be a failure. It is their choice, and not our own. The most interesting part of the ISG (to me) was the way they pointed at the "spin" on the statistics and polls regarding casualties and attacks, as well as popular opinion. I'm afraid it's too late to unring the bell. Three strategies: i) cut our losses to a bare minimum and begin a phased pullout ii) continue the current "plan" iii) increase troops and increase pressure... The problem with the last two is -- "When will we ever know we've done all we can?" At what point do we say, "Look, we've been here longer than we were in WW2, and it's time for us to go, it's your country and you'll either fight for it or lose it"? You must admit the possibility that we can't MAKE them win this thing. And so if that's a possibility, when does it cross over to a probability? To an inevitability? There will always be persons like yourself who will say, "If only we'd stayed a little longer, put in a few more troops..." But it won't matter. It's already lost. A reply: Yes, the Iraqis do have to make the decision. I'm not certain we need concern ourselves that "we've done all we could". It is their choice. My disgust is with the ISG and the political motivation behind it to harm President George W. Bush further. [The beef goes back a long way and it is between Mr. Baker and the former President Bush and VP Cheney. See article referenced by Frank Gaffey, Jr.] We are still in Germany - at their request. No, we cannot MAKE the Iraqis win this thing. It is ultimately their nation to save or to reject as a democracy. They have already lost on the "democratic republic notion" in that they have voted for Sharia Law to be their guiding base. Brigitte Gabriel likens the Middle East to tribes with flags. We do not seem to understand or appreciate that their internal, sectarian "hatreds" go back over a thousand of year. Frankly, if the world didn't need the oil in the region, I'd say, "let them all go to heck and keep them out of our universities and out of our nation" ONLY because of the inherent incompatibility of Sharia Law and any form of representative democratic republicanism. On Iraq, you've got me wrong when you say, that there will always be folks like me who will say, "If only we'd stayed a little longer, put in a few more troops..." That's like the socialist elites in our newly elected Congress who say, "our socialism will work." [where every place else it has failed miserably doing great damage to the citizenry. The socialist themes found within Islamic regimes are similar in my view.] But your position is "But it won't matter. It's already lost." It may or may not be lost for the Iraqis. I just have two points here regarding your view. One - Many of our elected officials have such hatred for President George W. Bush that they have vowed by word and deed to cripple anything he has tried to do in 99% of his efforts - Iraq being only one. Now they will work to undo good things he has done. They have (along with the help of many Americans) effectively ended his presidency perhaps and some would argue with the inevitable passage of the amnesty bill for ALL illegals that they will change the direction of America unalterably. They, these elected officials, not President Bush, have damaged American credibility and honor. I have been reading the English-speakers approved edition of the Qur'an. When the Democrats pass the hate-speech legislation authored by John Conyers, HR 288, our freedom to discuss Islam and anything related to Islamic Imperialism and the movement for world dominance - to discuss this in any manner - will be stopped. Our freedom of speech will be effectively over in America. When we move into the realm of legislating what one "can't" do, we move toward Sharia Law. Should this come to pass, it will be at that point that I will have a "Qur'anic Quotation of the Day" with words taken directly form the Qur'an allowing that book to speak for Islam itself and for the subservient and distainful views of Unbelievers put forth in that book as well as the view of women as second class or worse. Second - I see nothing in the Qur'an that is compatible with the concepts and principles associated with our Bill of Rights and with a democratic republic. We can leave Iraq whenever we choose - the ramifications are far more expansive than "what happens in Iraq". On my blog, I draw the line with folks who are verbally abusive to me personally - you know the usual liberal name-calling tripe designed to stop any important and reasonable discussion cold. Iraq may be lost; the situation there may not be reversable. That does not make our going in there wrong. My argument is with the ISG, the elected "leaders", the mainstream media, and others who haven't even given the effort a chance simply because of their hatred of President George W. Bush. My greater concern is for the greater Middle East and, frankly for Europe and stopping the march of global Islamic Imperialism which is actively bringing nations or parts of nations under Sharia Law one nation at a time violently and one law suit at a time in our case.

Tancredo - no "freedom of speech" for Congressman

Inside Politics by Greg Pierce includes a brief article entitled Miami blues regarding the "shutting down" of a speech Congressman Tom Tancredo was scheduled to give for the Miami Rotary Club at a Miami restaurant. "Charles Hurt of The Washington Times reports..." that the speech was titled: "Renewing America: The Need for Assimilation." Congressman Tancredo is quoted as saying, "I knew speaking your mind could be dangerous in Havana. I guess it's equally dangerous to do so in Miami. Apparently, there isn't much of a difference between the two any more." The dinner and speech were canceled based upon threats to both the Rotary Club and the restaurant. Such is the condition of "freedom of speech" in America today; such is the state of the union in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Open and honest discussions and dialogue are closed through intimidation and threats of violence. Is this the nation our parents, our grandparents, and our children are now fighing for? A nation in which speech from conservatives is stifled, shut down. Is this what you want your nation to become? A fascist state ruled by mobs, by threats, by intimidation. Remember, if there is no freedom of speech for a United States Congressman invited to speak at a Rotary Club dinner, how long do you think you will have freedom of speech? How long will it take before you are shut down?

Voltaire says - America's future is in our hands

Allow me to introduce you to a new blogger, Contrapunctus XIV whose voice - though new - calls out to us as if from our Founding Fathers cautioning us to take our pens in hand and write the continuing music of this America, this nation built upon an ideal of freedom, of liberty, of equality before the law, and finally of equality of opportunity. Not the stifling and denegrating "equality of outcome" so dear to the hearts of the Socialists and the Marxists some of whom find themselves in elected office today, but the equality of opportunity. And so, I introduce Contrapunctus XIV known as Voltaire and a December post, Contrapunctus XIV. Enjoy! You'll be glad you did.

Iraq - tossed out like the carcass of a carved-up Christmas turkey?

Does the Iraq Study Group (ISG) Report really set the stage for Iraq to be carved up like a Christmas turkey by December 2007 or sooner and thrown out onto history's trash pile of "woulda been, shoulda been, coulda been" fledgling republics? And why exactly do the Afghanis seem to be doing better at this new government thing? A few incidents are occurring on the diplomatic front regarding the Middle East: read here at Tigerhawk's blog and also Stepping into Iraq, Saudi Arabia will protect Sunnis if the U.S. leaves. This last is from the Washington Post, Saudi Arabia will protect Sunnis if the U.S. leaves. If you have difficulty with the link, you can find the article linked at the referenced Tigerhawk post. As you know by now, Prince Turki al-Faisal has just resigned his post as Saudi's ambassador to the United States. So, what's the shake-up? Prince Turki resigning, leading to what.... The impact that the now infamous and motive-questionable Iraq Study Group (ISG) Report has had in the Middle East is akin to the ill-conceived McCain, et al, Immigration Bill of 2006 which resonated throughout the world, "come a runnin'; US immigration laws shredded; amnesty, medical care, SSI for all. Can't walk here? No worries. Just get one family member here and the rest can just fly in." That abomination rewarding law-breakers, certain to be passed, has sent everyone who can get here streaming into our nation - defecating, littering, and trashing our national parks, rivers and streams along the way. The ISG Report - a sheer masterpiece of cowardice - has sent the Middle Eastern nations into a similar mode of disarray. If we allow what could potentially happen based upon the implementation of any of the recommendations in that worthless report, I hope the perpetrators of that heinous fraud including the congressional leadership who instituted the group go mad - as in stark, raving - as did Lady MacBeth trying to wash the blood of innocent Iraqis from their thin-skinned hands. In my view, Middle Eastern nations that border Iraq, except perhaps for Jordan and Kuwait, are sharpening their carving knives. One woman's opinion here. Saudi Arabia says it will go into Iraq and defend the Sunnis. Iran certainly will give its lap-poodle Syria a few square miles of northwestern Iraq. Maybe the Kurds can hold their own but maybe not. Saudi Arabia is to the southwest and Iran shares a very long eastern border with Iraq. So, on the west we have the Wahabbi Saudi government going in to protect the Sunnis; and on the east, Iran certainly going in to protect the Shiites (sp). As a result, chaos may break out in the Middle East as two powerful nations controlled by opposing sects of Islam prepare to duke it out for dominance. Turkey may get into the fray to take on the Kurds. And the disgusting refrain parroted from the ISG report as the excuse bellowed by all will be "the Israelis made us do it." Not a pretty picture. Thank you, Jimmy, Lee, and the rest of the gang. They were bi-partisan? Maybe bi-polar would be a more apt description. [My apologies to the folks who are bi-polar.] And if we leave Iraq to its fate as proposed by the ISG, what of America's honor? What a fine kettle of fish ya've boiled up for us, Jim, Lee and the men in gray suits. 'Tis a fine kettle of fish. Hopefully, President George W. Bush is made of sterner stuff and will thank you for your work and simply deep-six the report. Changing the topic a bit here but following the same thread on "What's happening in the Middle East..... The concept that Islam needs a "reformation" has been bandied about as a solution to the active march of Islamic Imperialism toward world dominance and that notion appears to be true. If one looks back at history - and I may get a few "facts" wrong here by a century or a millennia or so - one could posit that the Qur'an and the resulting "religion" of Islam as well as the resulting geo-political conquests is a composite - although strident and harsh with no mercy given to the infidels - of the 600+ laws set down in Leviticus for the Jews to follow for every act of everyday living and somewhat modeled on the Catholic Church of the 1200 - 1500s or so when the Roman Catholic Church had its warriors and bankers, the Knights Templar; its religious arm - the priests, the bishops, et al; and its political arm under the kings of the Holy Roman Empire not to mention the antics of the Borgia Pope marrying off his daughter and annulling the marriages when the politics shifted. No offense meant here to the Jewish folks, the Catholic folks, or the not-true-believers-of-Islam folks who don't want to kill we infidels - just the parallels of ages past seem relevant today falling under the category of "nothing new under the sun." The Reformation - warts and all - at least cut through the theft by the church leadership of the money twisted from the hands of the poor to pay for the "indulgences" to get a loved one out of purgatory, etc. You know the rest. In the United States today, the Saudis are funding the building of Wahabbi schools and mosques all over the place. The Islamic beachheads are being established. Other sects of Islam are grasping and slaughtering for power and dominance in Sudan, Thailand, Indonesia, and other territories. And we know our government (for over 40 years), wittingly or unwittingly, has allowed, by various means - an open border comes to mind - Hamas, Hezbollah, and al Qaeda as well as a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood into the nation. Feeling warm and fuzzy yet? Nations built on the principles of democrat republicanism with freedom and liberty as the model are targetted and then reports pop out into the world such as the ISG to help the Islamists along. With friends like the ISG, neither the United States nor Iraq need enemies. With friends or at least apologists of the Islamists within in the MSM, within the Democrat Party, within the Middle Eastern nations with their carving knives sharpened, what the heck would we do with avowed enemies? Oh, I know - we'd sit down and chat with them and offer them deals to be nice! The deals are known in the Islamic world as dhimmitude - considered just payment from the infidels for the cost of being allowed to live a few days longer. And the deals are seen for what they are: weakness. Rather like the various (fill in the blanks here for yourself) extortionist groups' view of a bribe...

Iraq Study Group - Winner of Best Naming Award

Many writers have panned the Iraq Study Group Report for being what it is - worthless. However, I would recommend reading Poisoned Fruits by Frank Gaffney, Jr. to see the sour grapes that may be behind the report. The best line I've read, and I've read many, regarding the report is the first sentence in Overlooked Options by Bruce Fein. In his column, Fein says, "The Iraq Study Group Report issued last week after nine months of labor is not worth the price of admission." Usually at the end of nine months - we can greet a tiny newborn with our hearts full of love, joy, and hope for the future. As your know, abortion is not high on my list of things one should have but in this case, the Iraq Study Group should have been aborted-on-demand. Where is Babs Boxer when we need her? But when all is said and done, the report may be nothing more than the pique of an old warrior who worked for President Bush's daddy and didn't like being "put out to pasture." As a tax payer, I want a refund.

Darfur and the religion of peace

Today, 12-12-06, an open letter advertisement by the Save Darfur Coalition stresses the need for a strong (cough) UN-led (cough, cough) peacekeeping force to protect the innocent men, women, and children who are being starved and slaughtered in Darfur. The situation there is deplorable. The letter also honorably requests "an explicit mandate to protect civilians; rules of engagement permitting the use of force to save lives; and command and control..." This request is directed to President George Bush. Please read Islam and Dhimmitude by Bat Ye'or and understand that what is happening in Sudan is the systematic annihilation of black Christians and animists at the hands of the practitioners of the "religion of peace". What is happening in Darfur is part and parcel of the global jihad to establish or bring Islam and the Islamic Caliphate into being for world domination. Approximately 57 nations in the UN are Islamic Republics. The slaughter occurring in Darfur will not be stopped unless these republics want the slaughter stopped. If you are serious in stopping the genocide in Darfur, then turn your efforts toward stopping the spread of the Islamic Caliphate - stop Islamic Imperialism - stop the slaughter of defenseless Christians in Indonesia. See the genocide in Darfur for what it is - the spread of Islam by the sword. The genocide in Darfur is being conducted in the name of Allah. Address that critical factor first before telling President Bush what he should do. The UN membership is stacked against "freedom and liberty" - 57 nations are Islamic Republics; the Un-aligned 118 nations are members of the UN and those 57 are part of that group. The UN is useless and a travesty. We can only be glad that Kofi is leaving. Like every good American knows, Islam is a religion of peace - so say our leaders. Read the Qur'an approved for English-speaking folks - then perhaps you'll see that your open letter to President Bush may better serve those in Darfur if the letter were addressed to Iran, the world center for spreading the Islamic Caliphate.

Iraq - A test of Americans and of our Honor

One sure Guide in Iraq by Paul Greenberg, along with other commentators and editorial writers, echoes remarks I made in a post, Election 2006 - A Matter of Honor. I wish to comment a bit more. Mr. Greenberg suggests that policy makers should consult Winston Churchill whose words ring out for all to hear, whose words Greenberg quotes, "There is, however, one helpful guide, namely, for a nation to keep its word....This guide is called honor." Greenberg argues that the course of dishonor rests with the General John Murthas and "the growing number of Americans ready to throw in the bloody towel and let the Iraqis stew in their own juices." A horribly chilling notion - even perhaps for the most caring of liberal leftists - and a cowardly notion not worthy of our great nation. One more crucial quotation from Greenberg may bring the point closer to home, "Leave Iraq in disgrace and an old lesson will be taught much of the world once again: It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but it is fatal to be its friend." God have mercy on us if we fail helpless Iraqis due to power-hungry politicians. Mr. Greenberg was writing of John McCain and McCain's call for more troops in Iraq to stabilize the nation; Greenberg ended with McCain's course for honor - saying that among the many guides open to us and our policy makers, "honor is the surest" course of all. In my post, I wrote that the Elections of 2006 were a matter of honor. I find terrible consequences may arise from the choices we Americans made by returning the Democrats to "power". Of course, time will determine if the Democratic leadership are people of honor or if they are the same people of dishonor whom we have suffered under before. That choice is theirs but they command little of my attention in writing this post to you today. It is you, the American people, who have been betrayed by your leadership in so many ways - the North American Union for one; the invasion and the resultant segregationist groups such as La Raza and others for another. Of course, it would be futile to remind most Mexicans (non-Spaniards) that they, the Mexicans, are half European and half Indian. Back to, back to... Honor American people have allowed the degeneration of our nation - there is hardly any gentility left; the nation, not our military, has become one that displays little or no honor. A case in point, black youth walk the boardwalk where I live treating the young black women as tramps and whores, calling and howlering "nigger" at each other, dressed as prison-escapees. I have been told that it's okay for black youth to howler out calling each other "nigger" and worse. That it is a "black" thing and I wouldn't understand. Note to black youth - the word is ugly and disgraceful no matter who uses it and you are not helping yourselves by directing the word at each other. And for the good of our nation, we'd better start looking at "it's an American thing" in terms of attitude. And pretty damn fast too. The pop-culture icons like Britney Spears are photographed "flashing" and the media creates a whirlwind of PR swirling around such icons when the icons should be arrested for "flashing", for indecent exposure. Try it yourself and you would be in handcuffs before you could say, "But officer..." And then we arrive at the infamous, now fully laughable and repugnant, example of the "castrated men" - the Iraq Study Group - calling on America to negotiate with Iran and Syria. Once stablized, that is for Iraq to do, not us. And Baker and the boys + one girl stating once again, "it's all Israel's fault." Shame, shame, shame on these once honorable but now dottering, blue-haired men. I, for one, thank God that these Neville Chamberlains had no hand in writing our US Constitution. The honor of the American people is headed for a serious blow. My American brothers and sisters, call out ENOUGH! We must stand by our word. Set your differences aside, stand on Honor, stand on our word as Americans - stand with the Iraqi men, women, and children who have put their faith in us. Help the fledgling democracy in Iraq until they vote for us to leave. We have been in Germany for 60 years - with military bases and all. We even tried recently to leave and they cried, "No." Abandoning Iraqi men, women, and children is to give them over to Iran and to give them over to slaughter. Do you want their blood on your hands? Or is it true? Does it all come down to Americans - speaking to my black American brothers and sisters here and to my elitist leaders. Certainly not talking to our men and women in the military - but to the other Americans - is it true that we have become a weak nation of un-educated, self-serving racists with no courage or honor left? Is that what we are preparing to show the world? I can't believe that is who we have become. I refuse to believe that is who we have become. We are a free and mighty land, a free and mighty people. In the face of relentless carping and criticism, our brave President Bush stands for us as Americans; our president stands for our Honor. Even as we fail him; in this, he will not fail us; he will not allow honor to be stripped from this noble land. Stand with our President Bush. Pass this test; stand by our word; stand by our Honor!

Americans - a call to your roots from down under

A call has been sent out to all Americans to remember our roots, to remember the Founders of our nation, and to remember what we, as a nation, as an ideal, mean to much of the world. Gird your loins, step up to the plate, and do not shirk from what can be the next step along the line of "our finest" hour. The post, So let it be written..., comes to us from Australia written by a fellow called, Sonnabend. He has passion for us and he joins us in common cause. The blog name is Voice of the Pacific and we owe it to ourselves to hear him out. Please read: So let it be written.... Stay safe and stay true to our honor as Americans. We have been given much; we have earned much through extreme sacrifice; yet the world calls upon us for more. We must set aside differences and, as Winston Churchill would have us do, rise to the call of history, rise to the birthright of our nation still so young in this world, still so courageous, still so brave...

Americans DO NOT cut and run

The following has come to me from a soldier with boots-on-the-ground. I am publishing his response to one of my posts in its entirety because he can speak to this issue far better than I. American citizens, let this man and his men and women down at your peril. We have greatness amongst us and this American man is one among many of our greatest, our dearest treasures: "The Democratic Party seems to be wondering why we are not winning the war. I can only speculate that “we” means US soldiers because they would never admit that they are part of any “we” that loses. With that in mind, I would like to know what they define as "winning the war" and show how to do it. We are in the initial phases of SASO (Stability and Security Operations). This is what is still currently being done in Bosnia and in Kosovo. It takes time and patience. If the democrats are so hot on their success in war, why can't they explain (according to their own interpretation of winning) why we aren't winning the war in the Balkans? According to former President Clinton, Bosnia wasn't supposed to last longer than a year yet here we are entering almost nine years later. Kosovo was supposed to last six months with NO GROUND TROOPS COMMITED. They are entering their fifth year with US troops on the ground. Somalia was another "victory". Some of you may say that those situations are all in the past, WRONG! They are just as active today as they were when it all started. They just don’t get all the advertisement. The pattern here is that politicians seeking future office seats want instant gratuity in these situations and it doesn't work that way. Have you ever noticed that no major political player (outside Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld) ever mentions the positive things that have been accomplished here? Not really because that would make their agenda loose steam. Yes, we’ve had our asses handed to us on several skirmishes, but it has been overshadowed by all of the successes we’ve achieved here. You really need to look at the big picture and gather ALL of the information, not just what is piped through biased media. It all boils down to politicians trying to get reelected in order to stay employed. These guys wouldn’t last ten minutes here because of their “I quit because it’s hard” attitude. As soldiers on the ground getting shot at on an everyday basis, I can tell you that no one wants to go home more than we do. The environment is brutal, the insurgents are merciless, and I don't want to see any more of my soldiers injured or killed. Bottom line, it sucks. But, unlike politicians, we stay the course because we see what happens here and what potential the country has in the future. You don’t just quit something like this because it bogs down and bad things happen. If you truly believe in doing what is right, you stick it out and provide something to these people that they’ve never had before, a future. If we follow the current mindset of these politicians, does that mean that we can quit helping the Hurricane Katrina victims because it gets hot in the south? Do we stop training to defend the country because it hurts to go another mile? Do we give up on identifying the remains of the victims in the World Trade Center because we aren’t “winning the war against DNA identification”? America was founded by people who wouldn’t quit. Have we have fallen away from those times and qualities? We are at a pivotal point in US and Middle East relations. The Middle East is comprised of more than just Iraq. The other surrounding countries around us will judge us and decide if they will deal with us in the future based on how we behave today in the Middle East."

Safari help

For the last two or three days now I have not been able to access The Washington Times at http://www.washingtontimes.com through my Safari browser or Firefox either. I have been using Safari successfully and can access all other bookmarks. This just happened. I usually erase the cookies and always have. Where do I find the place where you can add links that you don't want erased with all other cookies in Safari? I need help here; I use a Mac. And Apple has not been responding to my requests for help. Maybe I need to call them. Any suggestions. Thanks.

Babs Boxer on the loose

Babs Boxer is on the loose; hide your SUVs. Hide the cattle, they give out methane gasses. Run for the hills. Global warming is at the top of Senator Barbara Boxer's agenda, Boxer vows environmental push. God help us! Interesting arrogance indeed to mess with Mother Nature. Having the good Senator Boxer in charge of anything is enough to send sane people running to shake out their prayer rugs, get their Holy Book of choice, and pray! Given Senator Boxer's loyalty to the "abort any baby in the womb you can find before it gets out" crowd makes me wonder why she cares about global warming, pseudo-science or not. She's doing her best one-woman show to de-populate the United States of folks of European ancestry, including those from Hispanic Spain, why should "global warming" matter to her? There won't be anybody left with her abortion on demand and that heinous partial-birth-abortion act of infanticide she champions. Just as a matter of curiosity, did she help China develop their now perilous course of one child per family which is leaving many Chinese men without Chinese ladies to marry? Now she's in charge of "global warming"? My, oh, my...

al Qaeda to take over Palestinian Authority?

Is al Qaeda getting ready to kick Hamas to the curb so to speak as al Qaeda moves into more prominent role in the Palestinian Authority? A recent op-ed by Louis Rene Beres and Clare M. Lopez, Palestinian - al Qaeda Plans is worth your time to read. A major tactic of al Qaeda is to find weak points in a country or region, slip in, and move to subvert the original protagonists such as Hamas in the Palestinian Authority. The tactic has been used effectively to try to take over Somalia and Sudan. Now they are moving into the Palestinian Authority and Hezbollah is busily being re-armed and re-supplied in Lebanon. According to Beres and Lopez, for the United States:

"Significantly, this same crosscut of Islamist terrorist groups presently exists in the United States - although here they function "only" as fund-raising, propaganda, recruitment, and sleeper-cell operatives.... Joint Palestinian-al Qaeda teams are planning coordinated mega-terror strikes against Israel and America. Simultaneously, a fight is taking shape among the major ideological factions of radical Islam."

Then the writers give the most important point of their excellent commentary:

"It follows that both Israel and the United States should immediately cease any and all assistance to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority. Above all, it is time for Washington to stop sending American tax dollars to support archenemies of the United States."

Candidly, you and I could shout this from the roof tops and we would be whistling in the wind. Beres and Lopez, however, have credentials worthy of their opinions being heard. Lopez served for 20 years as a CIA operations officer; Beres served under former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Maybe someone will listen to these two people who have earned our respect and appreciation. And the Baker Commission on Iraq says we should "talk" with Iran and Syria to resolve issues in Iraq. Are those illustrious, well-intentioned over-the-hill group of citizens serious? Have they become the Neville Chamberlains of our time? Iraq and company are fueling the fires in Iraq and we're supposed to "talk" with them? We need brave, clear-thinking and direct speaking statesmen with the guts and manly orbs to step up to the plate. We don't seem serious and we'd darn well better be or you need to go out and start studying your new "holy" book. These are serious times. I believe on this one the President won't back down and Congress better not threaten to cut back on funding for our troops.

The Washington Times Links?

Just a note - am having trouble opening links to the Washington Times. Trouble just started yesterday. Don't know if they are having trouble with their server. I just put a call in to their IT group via their Customer Service Department. So, if links don't work, I don't know what to say. To me, The Washington Times is the most reliable newspaper out there in the United States today. I would prefer to link editorials and articles to them but if that is not possible any longer, I'll have to find the info elsewhere. Let's give them time to see if they have the problem at their end and can fix it. Thanks for your patience. I have tried to reach them through Safari and through Firefox. I can't imagine that they block IPs so it must be their server. Let's see what happens.

Iraq - Send in more troops

Reading in the Washinton Times, Send in more troops, a good editorial has been written to state the case for strengthening our troop levels in Iraq. Fortunately, our troops on the ground don't see things the same way our Iraq Study Group - all noble citizens no doubt but none of war-fighting military age - sees them. In Troops unmoved by policy debate, Rowan Scarborough writes from a general on the ground that "The troops know exactly what they're doing and they know basically that in 14 out of 18 provinces, that they are winning the war on the ground." [Sorry, can't get to www.washingtontimes.com - don't know if they are having trouble or not] We need more troops in Iraq to take names and kick ass. I'm sick to death of seeing our military sent on battle missions and not being able to do what they do best - break things and kill the bad guys. I remind you that the bad guys are the thugs who mutilate contractors, soldiers, and hang their burned bodies from bridges then dance around the bodies like the primitives that they are. Mop up Iraq for Maliki and get the Iraqi troops involved or (when the Dhimmicrats confine our fine military once more to defeat as those raving cowards did during Vietnam), stand-by to have blood on the hands of our "new" congressional leaders who will be effectively running the nation or so it seems right now. And as for those bloody commissions such as the Iraq Study Group - please have someone under 65 years of age who has had boots on the ground in Iraq out of the green zone on the commission, at least 3 to 4 ace military members, not as staff but as part of the commission proper. I love President Bush, my departure with him on amnesty notwithstanding; I believe he is a strong man of The Book; but I remind him and our State Department to tread carefully - as it is written in the Qur'an - Sura 4.144, O ye who believe! take not for friends Unbelievers... and Sura 4. 141, And never will God grant to the Unbelievers a way (to triumph) over the Believers.... watch for an opportunity to turn any event to its own advantage. We - non-Muslims - are considered Hypocrites, the Unbelievers. How can we, unbelievers so-called trust one word from the mouth of a Muslim cleric? How when the Qur'an tells them to lie and to deceive the Unbelievers. Fortunately, our troops are far wiser than the "great wise men" of the Iraq Study Group. I'll listen to our military troops any day over the meanderings of this study group, no matter the respect due them for long years of service, there are few if any statesmen among them. I say, "Americans, listen to our troops."

Shelia Jackson-Lee, An Encounter to lift the Soul

I have to tell you, I love this woman, Shelia Jackson-Lee. She is so impassioned and so wrong, but fun to watch. In Inside the Beltway - under Liberty and Security at Liberty and Security by John McCaslin, December 6, 2006, an incident is recounted that will lift your soul. Representative Jackson-Lee (that last name always makes me smile in honor of two of America's greatest military generals) got caught up in a little TSA non-violent incident. Yip, yip, hooray! It always makes me feel good when the "elites" among us get caught in the mess all flyers in America encounter as a matter of course.

Tom Tancredo for President

Just a note - let's draft Tom Tancredo for president in 2008. By then, of course, the Dhimmicrats will have opened the flood gates even more, if that is possible, and we will be well on the way to becoming the land of the illegals and the home of the terrorists, but hey, that's just me. Congressman Tancredo is the man for the job. He does have several strikes against him though and these need to be acknowledged right from the get-go: he is an American patriot; he is articulate; he has manners; and he is not self-serving. Plus he is intelligent. Not admirable traits these days in the time of the most "honest" Congress in the history of the world and the time of the most reputable "deliberative body in the whole entire universe" in the Senate, but you do the best you can and work with what you're given. Here is the link but I have copied the Letter to the Editor because it is good. Link Thanks, Rep. Tancredo Thanks, Rep. Tancredo It's obvious that the anti-American opposition is made up of ill-mannered advocates who need a course from Miss Manners. As always, Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, speaks the plain and obvious truth regarding illegal aliens — and nothing offends the anti-American opposition more than the unvarnished truth ("Speaker driven off by hecklers," Nation, Saturday). The fiasco at Michigan State University didn't faze Mr. Tancredo; he has been there before and will be there again. He refused to back down after an orchestrated protest and presented the facts to everyone, free of the emotional and demagogic harangue to which the anti-American pro-illegal-alien advocates typically resort. I wonder if President Bush is aware of what happened in Colorado on Nov. 28: Jose Francisco Franco Rodriquez, a Mexican national, faces charges of smuggling 14 illegal aliens into the country. Four of them were killed on Interstate 70 when their van overturned. He obviously was doing a "job Americans won't do" — illegal human trafficking. Every American citizen should be concerned and outraged by the use of our interstates to smuggle illegal aliens. Americans are lucky to have Mr. Tancredo's voice in Congress. JAN HERRON Evergreen, Colo.

Minneapolis Imams' Ploy Debunked

In the Washington Times today thanks to the good reporting by Audrey Hudson we have, Probes dismiss imams' racism claim. Well, Thank God! Someone seems to have located their brains and their balls, simultaneously. What a relief! And congratulations to the flight crew, the passengers, and all for showing the imams the door. Too bad you couldn't show them the handcuffs for breaking some obscure FAA rule or something about "yelling fire" in a crowded theater. Of course, CAIR - that friendly (cough) civil rights for oppressed Muslims group that has modeled itself upon the former methodology of the NAACP - is in the fray protecting the "rights" of the imams who intentionally provoked an "incident" so that they could scream racism. Please see Steve's Hodgepodge Imams Incident - A Terrorist dry run or Ploy for Lawsuit? for an eye-witness account of most of the imam provoked incident. Candidly, if a group of Shamen (whom I respect totally and infinitely with good reason) should set up a spectacle of smoking sage and praying to the Great Grandfather, changed their seats on the plane to copy the seating pattern of the 9/11 murderers, and thrown down prayer rugs in the boarding concourse to intimidate and, covertly by their actions, threaten passenger safety, we'd all have called the coppers. Message to CAIR - we are wise to the self-provoking incident-creating screaming racism arrogant ploy. It's like screaming "fire" in a crowded theater and it ain't working any more, no more at all, at all. Ask Mohammed, peace be upon him, and he'll tell you to knock it off. Of course, for all of us non-believers, you just may be giving God a good chuckle at this type of arrogant display. You sure aren't helping Muslims...