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Totally Radical Short-Term Sabbatical

March 28, 2008 |

I'm taking a couple weeks off from writing about life in order to live it.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading, commenting, and forwarding my articles to friends. You are awesome and the reason I've kept this up.

Hillary's Whoppers

March 26, 2008 |

I'm not going to write about Hillary's Bosnia lie. After all, she "misspoke," didn't she? This is simply the latest, and it's being treated as though it's the first dishonest thing this woman has ever done (or ever been caught doing). Let's go down the list:

Above: So many lies, so little time.

She said her daughter Chelsea was jogging around the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. She was in bed watching it happen on TV.

She claimed she was named after the man who famously conquered Mt. Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary. However, he didn't climb the mountain until five years after she was born.

She claims that she didn't know her brothers were being paid to get pardons that Clinton granted.

She attests that taking the White House "gifts" was a clerical error.

She didn't know her staff would fire the travel office staff (after she told them to do so). I believe the exact quote was "Fire their asses."

She alleges that she didn't know the 2000 Peter Paul fund-raiser in Hollywood cost $700,000 more than she reported.

She lied about her support for NAFTA.

She claims she was instrumental in the Irish peace process, and also attests that she was the one who urged Bill to intervene in Rwanda.


She claims she played a role in the economic recovery of the 90's...as First Lady. Mmhmm.

She lied about the billing records from the Rose Law Firm being in her possession. She was caught red handed.

Oh, and she thought Bill was innocent when the Lewinski scandal hit the wires. Does that count? Why are you surprised about another whopper (with cheese) from this calculating demagogue?

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The President Who Cried Wolf

March 24, 2008 |

In a radio interview last week, President Bush spoke about the danger presented by the Iranian regime. He attested that Iran has "declared they want a nuclear weapon to destroy people."

Would Iran love to get the bomb? Yes. Would they love to destroy people? Sure. They've already got a few Jews -- ahem, people in mind. But what Bush said isn't true. It just isn't. His terribly (yet typical) imprecise rhetoric undermines the very case he's trying to make.

Above: That's...that's nice.

Even though the country's leaders haven't committed political suicide by openly "declaring" their intent to gain nuclear weapons (as Bush contests), it's obvious that Iran is a serious threat to peace and stability. As worthless as "world opinion" is, we can't turn our back on the reality that our national strength is dissolving, and in order to keep (actual) weapons out of the hands of evil people, we need resolute support from nations on the sidelines.

The fall of Iraq gave Iran a "freebie" by taking out their biggest regional competitor. Last year it was revealed that Israel tried to convince the U.S. that Iran was the bigger terror culprit than Saddam's regime in Iraq, and warned against an invasion in favor of focusing international scrutiny on the Mullahs.

While Bush might have cried wolf in the past, now there actually is a big bad wolf threatening the West. With presidential credibility merely a fond memory, we are now paralyzed by baseless claims made in the name of ideology -- particularly those that preceded what many (including this writer) consider to be the biggest strategic blunder in the history of the United States: The invasion of Iraq.

Now we face another situation, due in part to Bush's lack of credibility and recklessly irresponsible rhetoric, in which most of the non-military solutions which could have been approached to deal with Iran's nuclear impudence have dissolved.

The sanctions have been modestly effective, and they do seem enrage Ahmadinejad, which only costs him support on the world stage, but what about
cutting off trade? How about increasing support for Iranian dissidents? Perhaps we could openly declare that we have no desire to establish military bases or a troop presence in Iran? Our intelligence agencies seem to have our "presence in Iran" covered.

How about doing everything possible to reduce the price of oil?
If the price of oil were half of what it is today, Iran's religious leaders would be loathed by the masses as food and gas prices soared, and there would be growing outrage over the squandering of the nation's petrodollars on Hezbollah and Iran's proxy war against Israel. Iranians care far more about feeding their families and lighting their homes than fulfilling the genocidal dreams of their leaders.

Bush made perhaps the most ironic statement of his presidency when, in the same interview, he said:

"Once a nation hasn't told the truth, it requires a lot of work to convince people that they'll be telling the truth in the future."

No, he wasn't talking about his own administration. It will be too late when (not if) A.Q. Kahn's infamous "Islamic Bomb" comes to Iran. The wolf will devour not sheep, but a nation, and the villagers will ignore the cries of the boy on the [capitol] hill. I think Aesop said it best: The liar will lie once, twice, and then perish when he tells the truth.

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Jeremiah-Gate Finale

March 21, 2008 |

I've got two delicious treats for you on this wonderful Friday full of love. First, the icing on this week's cake comes from WorldNetDaily:

"Sen. Barack Obama's Chicago church reprinted a manifesto by Hamas that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right of Israel to exist and compared the terror group's official charter – which calls for the murder of Jews – to America's Declaration of Independence."

If you read Tuesday, you know how the sane world feels about Hamas' charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel via Islam -- a declaration of genocide, not independence. Sure, lobbing daily rockets across the Atlantic into British towns is tricky, but did we assert that it was our religion doing the dirty work?

According to the article, the Hamas manifesto was published on a page "reserved for Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr." No surprise there. I don't know where to begin with Obama's church, so instead I address the liberal Jews who are currently supporting Obama, working for his campaign, or simply meandering about downtown areas sporting "Change We Can Believe In" shirts:

Wake up. Wake up now. With or without ties to Israel, how can you support a man whose church has tacitly called for the destruction of the Jewish state? Read Tuesday's post if you want the hate from Hamas itself, not republished for a radical church's newsletter. You'd have to go to Chicago for that.


Above: WWJWD?

You'll see in the obtained copies of the newsletter that the article is called "A Fresh View of the Palestinian Struggle," but the original piece was entitled "Hamas' Stand." Obama's church changed the title, because "Hamas" hits your ear about as elegantly as the rockets they fire hit Israeli schools. Not very.

Feel free to read the piece, and then feel free to ask yourself why the church published the words of a murderer. Am I overstating this? I don't think so.

Also from the article:

"[Robert] Malley, an Obama foreign policy adviser, has penned numerous opinion articles, many of them co-written with a former adviser to the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat..."

If you need an explanation as to why this is dangerous, you should probably be in the pews of Trinity United Church. Malley has advocated aid for Hamas and blamed the failed Camp David negotiations on Israel, but it seems that not all voices were resonating with Malley's:

"Malley's contentions have been strongly refuted by key participants at Camp David, including President Clinton..."

Which leads us to treat number two:

Above: William makes small talk with...guess who?

Have a great weekend, America...wherever you are.

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Race Pimpin' Ain't Easy (But It Pays)

March 20, 2008 |

There's an important quote from Booker T. Washington that should be taken into consideration by the Jesse Jacksons, Al Sharptons, Louis Farrakhans, and yes, the Jeremiah Wrights of America:

"There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs, partly because they want sympathy, and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances because they do not want to lose their jobs."
-Booker T. Washington, 1911


The race-baiters must perpetuate the vision of institutionalized American racism (the very demon they claim to be battling) or they would serve no role in our society. Why do you think they flock to otherwise insignificant communities (ahem, Jena) whenever there is a chance to exploit the issue of race in the most opportunistic fashion?

Washington, not Wright, should be called Jeremiah, because his words are as foretelling as anything Jerusalem's broken-hearted prophet ever said.

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An Open Letter to Obama Supporters

March 19, 2008 |

I must say, Obama's speech was quite good. After all, that's what he does. He makes pretty (albeit sometimes hollow) speeches and he's brilliant at it.

However, he didn't address the questions I would have asked him. He skimmed over his tolerance for Wright and his church, how he could have known the man for 20 years and yet only now be exposed to his views, and why, if he stands for racial harmony and comes from a multiracial background, he joined an afro-centric church instead of one with a more diverse congregation. Was he trying to prove his blackness?

If you ask me, his speech was an attempt to re-mezmerize those whose Hope-ium and Dreamamine highs were wearing off, being replaced with the lucidity that only true hate-speech can invoke. He was under pressure and he performed extremely well, but it marked the beginning of his attempts to bury this snag in what was (and essentially still is) a nearly flawless campaign. It wasn't the response I was looking for in regard to the allegations against him and his reputation, having associated himself with such an extremist. And he didn't just associate with him, this man was arguably a father figure. Barack's father left him as a child, and he has described Wright as the "uncle" with whom he didn't always agree.

He compared Jeremiah's comments to his white grandmother's stereotyping of black men, which he says made him cringe. I don't doubt that, as I'm sure he's had to deal with a lot of discomfort growing up and being of mixed-race. But while his grandmother may have had some personal racial hurdles of her own, Wright accuses the government of creating the AIDS virus to systematically murder an entire race of people. There's a huge gap between those two.

You could argue that Bush and other Republicans have accepted and embraced support from the likes of Jerry Falwell (who also blamed 9/11 on America and its own degeneracy), but the difference is that Bush & Friends didn't give money to these churches or sit complacently in them for years.

And, given that the media is completely "in the tank" for your candidate, you might imagine what would happen if a conservative (or any politician other than our new rock star) was found to have repeatedly listened to sermons of an equally radical and hateful nature (Christian or not). If a conservative's pastor released sermons (on DVD, no less) attacking the United States and an entire race, wouldn't the media (and the American people) say that the candidate who attended this church "lacked judgment," and that their financial contributions to the church were nothing more than a subsidy for hateful extremism?

Yes they would, and they would be completely justified.

I don't think Barack Obama hates. I honestly don't, and I don't think any but the most ignorant of Americans would think he shares the whole of Wright's views. But there's something you should know about me, and other Obama-skeptics:

"Jeremiah-Gate" is still near the bottom of the list of reasons why I wouldn't vote for Barack. I don't possess (nor do most Americans) a presidential phobia when it comes to race or cultural perspective, and while I do have expectations in the area of "judgment," I have no expectations from a man's surrogates, because they serve no tangible role in his presidency. This is precisely the reason why Mitt Romney's Mormonism never bothered me.

But if a man keeps my taxes low, secures the border, ends our dependence on Saudi oil (rather, the First Bank of Jihad), enforces our immigration laws, cuts federal spending, obliterates earmarks and the forces of special interests, gets the government out of our lives and our paychecks, reconciles our trade deficits and crumbling economic status abroad, rescues our failing currency, and upholds the values of our constitution, then that man has my vote, regardless of his skin color, and regardless of where he sits on Sunday morning.

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From the Mouth of Hamas

March 18, 2008 |

What have I been saying about (elected) Hamas? The human shields? The culture of death? Just more Palestinian-bashing, right? I do not contest that the Palestinians want peace, and I can't tell you for certain that I wouldn't be lobbing rockets myself if I were in their shoes. But Hamas has got to go.

According to a CNSNews article, a Hamas official openly admitted to "developing a 'death-seeking' culture that uses women, children and the elderly as human shields against Israeli military attacks." There's a surprise. He says:

"[The enemies of Allah] do not know that the Palestinian people have developed [methods] of death and death-seeking."

Trust me, the "enemies" of Allah know it. It's the U.N. that seems to be turning a blind eye.

"For the Palestinian people, death has become an industry, at which women excel, and so do all the people living on this land. The elderly excel at this, and so do the mujahideen and the children."

Yes, the elderly really excel and having rockets fired next to them, they're especially good at getting dismembered or maimed by Israeli attacks, and they are the absolute best at being paraded in front of a camera to create whatever propaganda is on television when rabbits aren't eating Jews. From the Hamas Charter:

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

This would mean the destruction of a nation and her people, but I want you to take note of something, and it's something that would have me furious if I were a Muslim. Notice how the phrase is "Islam will obliterate it." Not the Palestinian people. Not the triumph of righteousness. Islam will do it.

So just how peaceful is Hamas
' Islam?

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The Audacity of Hate

March 17, 2008 |

I shouldn't even have to write an introductory sentence. I believe Obama is generally a very decent man with his heart in the right place. But he's going to have some questions to answer, because the American people are demanding to know who he is. He can't hide behind this smooth image any longer.

If you haven't turned on a television set or a radio in the last week, watch the
film:



Barack Obama has stated that Jeremiah Wright is somewhat of an "Uncle" with whom he doesn't always agree. Well, which of Wright's statements does he agree with?

Does he agree that the government invented the AIDS virus "as a means of genocide against people of color?" Does he believe the Palestinians are a peace-loving people? Does he believe the government intentionally creates black drug addicts as a means of eventually imprisoning them? Does he believe 9/11 was a case of America's "chickens coming home to roost?"

"Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad, they've always made me glad."

Did the words above come from Jeremiah Wright? Guess again. They came from the black nationalist mouth of Malcom X after the assassination of John F. Kennedy -- an event which he declared "payback" for American violence throughout the world.


Jeremiah isn't even a Christian. His views are reminiscent of the black liberation/separatist "theology" that came out of Nicaragua in the 1970s. He's a Marxist, he's just not as suave as Obama.


Why did Barack sit in this man's church for 20 years? This is the man who presided over his marriage to Michelle, as well as the baptism of his children. Obama has referred to Wright as his "spiritual advisor" and credits him for "leading him to Jesus." Obama speaks about "judgment," but his own seemed to be lacking as he made such a weak attempt to distance himself from Jeremiah before running for President.

Obama says that the pastors views "do not reflect [his] views or Michelle's views, or probably the views of many people in the church." The cheering masses in the film above seem to tell a different story. Wright brainwashes them with the kind of virulent hatred of whites and America that can (and does) inevitably lead to violence.


"He ain't white?" Well, half of him is. "He ain't rich?" Please. "He ain't privileged?" Then why did he attend a private high s
chool in Hawaii, one reserved for the rich and the affluent? Who paid for it?

Meanwhile, John Mccain takes advantage of another opportunity to paint himself as a schmuck by virtually apologizing for Obama. I get more and more turned off by this man every day. He says:

"Obviously those words and those statements are statements that none of us would associate ourselves with, and I don't believe that Senator Obama would support any of those."

Instead of seizing the opportunity to distinguish his views from that of Obama's pastor, he apologizes for him. Why would you vote for this man?

Better question: If this congregation applauds "God Damn America," why were the Obamas sitting with them in the pews with for 20 years?

Even better question: Is this Afro-Leninist "reverend" the man you want inaugurating the next President of the United States, should it be Barack Obama?

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New Feature: OpineTree Newsreels

March 15, 2008 |

Introducing the all new, all real, all entertaining OpineTree Newsreels. The present is presented as history using footage from recent events.

These videos will now (hopefully) be an occasional feature, so enjoy them.

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How Do You Say "Client 9" in Farsi?

March 13, 2008 |

Eliot Spitzer is not just corrupt. He's not just arrogant. He's not just a low-life. He's an idiot. Only a New York governor would take a New York prostitute (this is her actual myspace page) to Washington D.C. and pay for everything by wiring money using a fake name.

Above: Does this remind you of anything, Hillary?

The media is drowning in stories about Eliot Spitzer's prostitution ring scandal, as well as his subsequent resignation. But while the American talking heads are saturating their broadcasts with coverage of the governor's indiscretions, on the other side of the world, another local official was reportedly in a bit of hot water himself.

Iranian Reza Zarei, Tehran's police chief for the last four years,
was arrested after being found nude with six prostitutes. Do you think the Iranian media is awash with stories of "scandal?" Do you think Reza would be "urged to resign?" Do you think he and his wife (or wives, as it were) are going to have to saunter in front of an Iranian television camera while he wraps his mandatory apology around a slimy frown and a cheap suit?

Above: The world's oldest confession.

Please. The best part of the story was that Reza's hypocrisy was just as sweet as Spitzer's. According to the article:

"Over the past year Zarei was in charge of enforcing the Islamic dress code on Iranian women with the purpose of "moralizing of the city.'"

Ouch. The truth is both painful and ironic. There is actually one very distinct difference between the cases of Zarei and Spitzer. Five years from now, Spitzer will still have his head.

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The Black Phone is Ringing

March 12, 2008 |

There was a curious op-ed in yesterday's New York Times, and it struck me as the most blatant example of stereotypical racism I've ever seen in the media. Orlando Patrick is alleging that the now-infamous Hillary Clinton "3 A.M." campaign ad "had a racist sub-message."

In case you missed it, here's the video:



What was racist about the ad? There were only white people in it, of course. Patterson blames the attempt at a racial divide on Hillary's low polling numbers in Texas among whites, and compares Clinton's daisy ad to the white supremacist film Birth of a Nation. He states:

"I couldn’t help but think of D. W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation,” the racist movie epic that helped revive the Ku Klux Klan, with its portrayal of black men lurking in the bushes around white society."

You fracture the world and your reality when you see people as group-identities. You are the racist.

The danger implicit in the phone ad — as I see it — is that the person answering the phone might be a black man, someone who could not be trusted to protect us from this threat."

Keywords: "as I see it." This is important, because Orlando sees only what he wants to see. What else would he write about?

The ad could easily have removed its racist sub-message by including images of a black child, mother or father — or by stating that the danger was external terrorism.

Well, we already know how Clinton feels about "outsiders:"



I have no idea what Obama would have to say during an urgent call from a world leader, but I can probably take a bet on Hillary's response being "Bill, it's for you."

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NecessiTV

March 11, 2008 |

Beginning February 17th, 2009, all TV broadcasts will be transmitted solely in digital format. This means that viewers who tune in to analog television broadcasts using antiquated (yet charming) rabbit ears will lose their ability to watch television.

What will they do?
Government to the rescue!

Congress will pay you to make the switch to digital television. That's right, television is Uncle Sam's latest entitlement. Congress has approved a $1.5 billion taxpayer subsidy, through which any family can get a $40 coupon (or two) to convert analog televisions to digital format.

Above: Would you spend billions so these kids
don't have to go outside? Congress would.

The Commerce Department believes there are some 25 million analog TV sets without a digital converter.

Where was the government when turntables took a dive? Where was the taxpayer subsidy to re-purchase the White Album? The government doesn't need to spend billions of dollars paying us to upgrade our computers or kitchen appliances anymore than they need to be concerned with our televisions.

Has the government changed the way people get water? Or transportation? Or electricity? The government can subsidize necessities, one of which is not TV. It is possible, after all, to live without television. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said:

"Digital TV will improve our quality of life.
We want every American to be ready."


We have a war that is costing us billions, trade deficits aplenty, completely insecure borders, a collapsing monetary system...and we're going to spend $1.5 billion so people can keeping watching TV? Are we suicidal?

The average American family has 2.6 television sets, and the typical American adult spends about 4 hours a day watching. Do you wonder why the government would have an interest in keeping your eyes glued to that screen?

It just finishes off whatever dumbing-down didn't happen in the government school you attended.

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Gaza Encore

March 10, 2008 |

[Republished from Saturday's post]

Thursday, an Arab terrorist (not "gunman") entered a Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem and fired over 300 bullets, killing eight religious students. Upon hearing the news of the slaughter of innocents, Palestinians poured into the streets amid the sounds of weapons being fired into the air, car horns blaring, and cries of "God is great."




The Palestinians shown in this video celebrate the shedding of innocent blood (so long as it's Jewish). They are celebrating the fact that the planet has eight fewer Jews on it. A statement released by the office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said:

"The president condemns all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli."

Then why has nothing been done to stop the daily shower of rockets targeting nothing but civilians? The Israeli government has been benefiting from a rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, but can you blame them?

What do they get for spinning the "peace process" dreidel? The elected Hamas (emphasis on "elected") called Thursday's atrocity "heroic" and said that such "operations" (a word the Nazis used as a euphemism for the slaughter of Jews) would continue.


This is not a military "operation." This is murder of the most depraved sort, and one that cannot possibly be justified by political aims.

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Video of the Week

March 8, 2008 |

Thursday, an Arab terrorist (not "gunman") entered a Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem and fired over 300 bullets, killing eight religious students. Upon hearing the news of the slaughter of innocents, Palestinians poured into the streets amid the sounds of weapons being fired into the air, car horns blaring, and cries of "God is great."



The Palestinians shown in this video celebrate the shedding of innocent blood (so long as it's Jewish). They are celebrating the fact that the planet has eight fewer Jews on it. A statement released by the office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said:

"The president condemns all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli."

Then why has nothing been done to stop the daily shower of rockets targeting nothing but civilians? The Israeli government has been benefiting from a rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, but can you blame them?

What do they get for spinning the "peace process" dreidel? The elected Hamas (emphasis on "elected") called Thursday's atrocity "heroic" and said that such "operations" (a word the Nazis used as a euphemism for the slaughter of Jews) would continue.


This is not a military "operation." This is murder of the most depraved sort, and one that cannot possibly be justified by political aims.

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The Deported

March 7, 2008 |

This week, USA Today brought us the story about Karina Acosta. Karina is in Mexico now, but 3 months ago, things were different. Karina was a high school senior in Roswell, New Mexico. She was 18, she was pregnant, and she was an illegal alien. According to the article, as many as 40% of her high school's Hispanic students (which make up an estimated 90% of the total amount students) may be illegal.

Things took a turn when she was pulled over for blocking a fire lane, and found to be driving without a license. The school's policeman asked her for proof of legal U.S. residency. Like most illegal immigrants, that was one thing she didn't have. The officer reportedly gave her several days to prove she was in this country legally, but she could not. She was detained and deported, after agreeing not to fight the deportation in favor of being sent back to Mexico.

Above: If I respect your history,
will you respect my laws?


Believe it or not, under federal law (specifically
this 1982 Supreme Court ruling), children who are in the U.S. illegally are guaranteed the right to a public education. What they aren't guaranteed is the right to stay here and give birth to a U.S. citizen once they are discovered to be here illegally.

Border counties in nearby Arizona are losing millions of dollars a year to the problems and law enforcement challenges caused by illegal immigration, yet some think illegal immigrants have done nothing wrong. Juan Montoya is a Roswell resident with some alarmingly naive words:

"It's not just about Karina. Karina is just one of many...I know people who have been picked up -- didn't break a law, they didn't pass a stop sign, they didn't do anything."

They didn't do anything except enter the country illegally, avoid paying taxes, and send a growing portion of the U.S. economy back to Mexico. Speaking of Mexico, according to a 2002 Zogby poll, 58% of Mexicans think the Southwest United States rightfully belongs to Mexico, and 57% believe that Mexicans should have the right to enter the U.S. without permission. I guess that goes along with the "right" to a free education once they're here.

Dolores Fresquez, one of Karina's former teachers in Roswell, bemoaned her deportation and claimed that public schools must be safe havens for illegal immigrants.

"Schools are supposed to be safe for any student, regardless of what nationality, what age they may be."

When will you people get it through your increasingly dense heads. It's not about "nationality." It's not about age. It is not xenophobic, bigoted, or racist.

Hard-working legal immigrants -- who retain their heritage and the traditions of their homeland while simultaneously learning English, assimilating into American life, and contributing to society -- are a national blessing.

Illegal immigrants -- who criminally "cut in line" to get here, avoid assimilation, make no attempt to learn English, evade taxation, flood Mexico with American dollars, and crowd our jails, hospitals, and schools -- are a national plague.

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Journalistic Jihad

March 6, 2008 |

On its web site, the Society of Professional Journalists has specified reporting guidelines "urging members and fellow journalists to take steps against racial profiling in their coverage of the war on terrorism." The following "guidelines" are part of their commitment to the perpetuation of the media's most valued export: reality-twisting political correctness.

I'll keep the commentary succinct; this story speaks for itself, and if you don't finally realize the level of brainwashing and calculation that goes into every news broadcast, it's probably too late for you.


Seek out people from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds when photographing rescue and other public service workers and military personnel.

It's not good enough to just show reality; to just point the camera and let the world speak for itself. No, I like my news networks to shape my reality for me.

Avoid conveying the impression that all Arab Americans and Muslims wear traditional clothing. Use photos and features to demystify veils, turbans and other cultural articles and customs.

Because the ignorant crackers can't tell the difference between a Hijab and Jihad, and are frightened by the "mysterious" aspects of Arab dress.
Cover the victims of harassment, murder and other hate crimes as thoroughly as you cover the victims of overt terrorist attacks.


I'm speechless.


Make an extra effort to include olive-complexioned and darker men and women, Sikhs, Muslims and devout religious people...Seek out experts on military strategies, public safety, diplomacy, economics and other pertinent topics who run the spectrum of race, class, gender and geography.

So a group of experts contributing intelligent insight just won't cut it if they don’t "run the spectrum."

When writing about terrorism, remember to include white supremacist, radical anti-abortionists and other groups with a history of such activity.

Right now, Islamism/political Islam has declared war on us. Somehow the irrelevance of anti-abortionists and white supremacists doesn't matter, because these groups aren't made up of easily offended minorities. I should not have to explain how ludicrous this is.

Do not imply that kneeling on the floor praying, listening to Arabic music or reciting from the Quran are peculiar activities.

In America, there's nothing wrong (nor should there be) with kneeling to pray multiple times a day, listening to Arabic music, or reciting from an ancient book. If that's what your religion asks of you and it doesn't infringe on my civil liberties or tax dollars, be my guest.

But realize that to the Joe Six-Packs of America, those are peculiar activities, just like a woman without a veiled face and scars on her back is “peculiar” to a Saudi.


Avoid using word combinations such as "Islamic terrorist" or "Muslim extremist" that are misleading because they link whole religions to criminal activity.

No, they link elements of a whole religion to criminal activity, which you'd have to be a fool (or a CNN viewer) not to understand. Oh, and when referring to WWII, don't use the term "German fascism," because that links people of a whole nation to "criminal activity."

Avoid using terms such as "jihad" unless you are certain of their precise meaning and include the context when they are used in quotations. The basic meaning of "jihad" is to exert oneself for the good of Islam and to better oneself.

Here we go again. Jihad couldn't possibly mean a divine battle against infidels for the good of Islam and the Islamic state. No, my "jihad" simply means my "struggle."

I hate to break it to you, but so does Mein Kampf.

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Clinton Machine Up and Running

March 5, 2008 |

She...she did it. I didn't see this coming, and I'm pretty sure Obama didn't either.

Hillary won 3 out of 4 states up for grabs last night.
After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I saw it coming -- a tidal wave of Clinton rhetoric. A chorus of Obama gospel. Back and forth, on and on, with no end in sight. Hillary at the very least prolonged her campaign, and at the very, very most, struck a turnaround blow to Barack that will catalyze jumps in the polls.

On the other side of the spectrum, while his base was watching American Idol, McCain clenched the GOP nomination.

Obama took Vermont early, and with it his 12th victory in a row. This kid has been throwing knockout punches. As the Clinton and Obama campaigns claimed "voting problems" in Ohio, Hillary took the state. Some analysts are saying she could win the next 16 straight contests and still lose to Barack, but she will undoubtedly steal some of his Obamamentum.

Above: The bitch is back.

Hillary got smart and put an end to the Bill's misadventures. She even went on Saturday Night Live and showed America she can at least pretend to have a sense of humor. She almost seemed human.

Clinton also found some chinks in the Obama armor. Her campaign made it no secret that while campaigning in Ohio and Texas, Barack had advocated renegotiating the NAFTA treaty. It later turned out that his chief economist had met with the Canadians and had told them to dismiss these statements as "political posturing."

Additionally, she pointed out Obama's complete lack of foreign policy experience with her frightening "3 AM" advertisement. This, coupled with the timing of Monday's trial of Tony Rezko (and its subsequent media coverage), seems to have proven at least modestly effective for Hillary.

The Clinton campaign knows these victories are bigger, because they were Hillary's "comeback" victories. These were contests in which she fought as the underdog. And now you'll hear that she's won a "diverse" collection of states, and that she was "outspent" massively, yet she's still here.

You'll hear: "If Obama can't beat Hillary, what chance does he have against John McCain?"

I'm so tired of this process. I've decided that I am a complete spectator at this point, and this has nothing to do with voting. That we have sunk to the man-from-nowhere running against the Marxist in the pantsuit tells me that we are witnessing the collapse, the downfall, and the dissolution of what was once America.

So for you Democrat voters who haven't been to the polls yet, are you going to show yourself to be a racist or a sexist?

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I'd Tap That: Patriot Act Hysteria

March 4, 2008 |

"They have taken us much farther down the road toward an intrusive, 'big brother'-style government -- toward the dangers prophesied by George Orwell in his book 1984."
-Al Gore, November 10th, 2003, on the U.S. Patriot Act

After you recover from hearing a Democrat describe 1984 as "dangerous" rather than "desirable," take a moment to recognize the pattern of hysteria coming from the Left. "Big Brother is here!" cries the Liberal.

Someone who can't even pronounce "nuclear" is our new Big Brother? I bet he pulled off 9/11 too? Yep, he's certainly cunning. There is nothing but hysteria from the Left, and it leaves one waiting for substance; waiting for an argument rooted in facts, not emotions. I'm just waiting for them to push someone in front of camera to say "I got tapped. I got searched. I got thrown in jail and they wouldn't tell me why. I was forced to eat non-organic vegetables. It was awful."

But they haven't. Have you been tapped? Can you think of someone who's been tapped? Know anybody who knows anybody who can think of someone who's been tapped? Anyone whose privacy and civil liberties have been violated?

Let's look at some numbers, since the inception of the Patriot Act through 2004:*


People living in the United States: over 300,000,000
Civil rights complaints to the Justice Department: 7,136
Complaints deemed related to the U.S. Patriot Act: 1
Sneak and peek warrants (allowing searches without notifying the subject): 155
Roving wiretaps: 49
Personal records seizures under section 215 of the act: 35
*Published by Los Angeles Times

Just something to think about. So what do we get in return?

Well, the 144,000 cars that pass over the Brooklyn Bridge every day don't have to find alternate routes, because the bridge is still standing. Jihad would have come to the East River had it not been for wiretapping and interrogation thwarting the 2002 plot, which was masterminded by none other than Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the man blamed for planning 9/11.

Above: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
I'd definitely tap that.

The operation was to be headed by Lyman Faris, a 34 year old truck driver. Lyman was a naturalized citizen who had immigrated from Kashmir. He had been to Pakistan and Afghanistan and had met with bin Laden, but fortunately was arrested before he could carry out the operation.

As a naturalized citizen, he was given access to an attorney. While in custody, he was allowed to make phone calls, which were then monitored with a warrant by the FBI. When the words "the bridge in the Godzilla movie" appeared repeatedly in Faris’ conversations, New York City officials understood the Brooklyn Bridge was a potential target.

“The bridge in the Godzilla movie?" I wasn't aware Al Jazeera had a movie channel.

When the FBI intercepted the information that Faris had been assigned to assess the Brooklyn Bridge, his lawyer told investigators he was "convinced this information came from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed," who had just been arrested in Pakistan.

Federal authorities were allowed to interrogate Mohammed without giving him access to an attorney. The plot was revealed, and this year the Brooklyn Bridge will be 125 years old.

The Patriot Act also stopped a dirty bomb plot in Chicago, a plot to destroy the Toronto stock exchange, attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the obliteration of the United States embassy in Paris, an attack on New York City's subway system, and the destruction of Chicago's Sears Tower.

So let's look at another number:


Number of attacks on American soil since 9/11: 0

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January, February, March to War

March 3, 2008 |

March got off to an anxious start if you were paying attention to the Middle East and South America. This isn't what I like to wake up to Monday morning. Israel has apparently gotten tired of daily rocket attacks (and is actually doing something about it), and has been carrying out airstrikes against Hamas targets in Gaza.

117 Palestinians have been killed since last Wednesday, and roughly half were civilians. Maybe that number would be lower if Hamas fighters weren't using them as human shields. There have even been civilian casualties in Gaza caused by Hamas rockets misfiring and killing Palestinians. I can think of no better metaphor for the Palestinian self-destruction caused by relentlessly inciting an unwinnable and unbalanced war.

Above: IDF soldiers operate against Hamas militants in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia has directed its nationals in Lebanon to get out, and the U.S. has deployed 3 warships to the Eastern Mediterranean. I don't think I have to tell you how worrisome this is.

Meanwhile in South America, Hugo Chavez has called Colombia the "Israel of South America." Ecuador and Venezuela have sent troops to the Colombian border. It's hard to see this situation erupting into a total war with Colombia, but as usual, Chavez is spewing some unnerving rhetoric, calling for the liberation of Colombia from U.S. dominance.

The U.S. doesn't need to be sucked into another war, for Israel or any other nation. This doesn't look good.

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The Hollow Gospel of Barack Obama

March 2, 2008 |

With Barack Obama (or for you Rush Limbaugh listeners, Barack Hussein Obama) poised to win the Democratic nomination, it's time to get a glimpse into the gospel of this charismatic and vibrant young leader: issue by issue, word for word.

EDUCATION

"We're going to put more money into education than we have. We have to invest in human capital."

Barack, the problem is not that we spend too little on education, but rather the absolute garbage we get in exchange for our dollar. We are second only to Norway in the amount of money per capita we spend on education.

According to recent survey data published by the New York Times, about a quarter of teenagers given a multiple choice question were unable to correctly identify Hitler as Germany's chancellor in World War II. By the way, this survey was conducted by Common Core, a group whose founding board includes the executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, a 1.5 million-member union.

So even liberals know government education is a failure. Have you noticed how there is never a word about school choice from Obama? Oh sure, you can choose whether or not to have an abortion, but why should you be able to choose the government school where your child (and the tax dollars taken from you) will go? That's a little too much choice.

Obama talks about "standing up to lobbyists" and "special interests." Does that includes teachers' unions, Barack?

TAXES

"What we have had right now is a situation where we've cut taxes for people who don't need them."


Let me guess. The "wealthiest one percent?" The day the current tax cuts expire, 116 million tax payers will watch their taxes go up. But that's just the 116 million "evil rich" in this country, right? I'm pretty sure virtually a third of the population is made up of people who "don't need" tax relief. And Senator Marx, while we're on the subject, would my need to be taxed more be "according to my ability?"

Sadly, Democrat voters have bought the classic line that the sole beneficiaries of the Bush tax cuts are 22 mansion-dwelling families with an income equaling that of Germany's GDP, and whose biggest decision is whether to take the Hummer or the Gulf Stream. The biggest problem I have with the Bush tax cuts is that his name is attached to them.

If the FairTax were implemented, politicians like Obama would no longer be able to play the "wealthiest 1%" game. The government wouldn't need to know how much money you made each year, and political panderers wouldn't be able to use the tax code to fracture America along class lines -- something they accuse Republicans of doing all the time.

THE POLITICS OF FEAR

"We have been operating under a politics of fear...we have to break that fever of fear. Unfortunately what I've been seeing from the Republican debates is that they are going to perpetuate this fearmongering."

"That's what happens when we use 9/11 to scare up votes, instead of bringing together the people around a common purpose."

Make no mistake about it: Barack Obama is telling you that fear and anxiety over the atrocities of radical Islam are the illegitimate result of "fearmongering." You're just being told to be scared. You couldn't possibly have real sentiments brought on by the constant horrific acts of violence from Islamists. You're simply being manipulated by Obama's opponents.

Politics of fear, Barack? How about the fear of a carbon-induced apocalypse? Rising sea levels that will drown Manhattan! Hurricanes the likes of which we've never known! Worldwide food shortages and widespread destitution! Are these just exaggerated dystopian fears used to "scare up" votes? No, Al Gore knows what he's talking about. Just look at all those impressive charts and graphs!

The Left is practically built on the politics of emotion (and yes, that includes fear). Does it ever occur to Democrat voters that fear has been an important rhetorical facet of every political party in the history of our republic? Do those chanting for "real change" not in turn fear political or societal stagnation? Obama is as much a politician as anyone else in Washington, he just chooses to pander to those who fear carbon emissions, not Islamic submission. And as far as a "common purpose" goes, how does preventing another 9/11 sound?

THE IRAQ WAR

"Not only do I want to end the war in Iraq, I want to
end the mindset that got us there."


Of course we want to see the war ended. No one wants wars to continue. And as far as the mindset that got us there (a combination of moldy intelligence and overblown ideology), I think we're all for obliterating that. There's no changing the fact that Bush didn't get what he asked for, which wasn't what the majority of Americans were ready to support.

There's also no changing the fact that we're over there now, the future of an entire country is at stake, and as Obama himself will tell you, we have "bad options and worse options."

That being said, what would Obama will do if, after retreating, there is genocide and murder on a horrific scale? Would he "re-re-deploy?" Ask the United Nations to sort things out? The UN doesn't exactly have a spectacular track record with Iraq. Anyone remember the Oil for Food scandal?

Barack claims to be able to withdraw U.S. forces in 16 months. He will find that he cannot.

We'll have to wait and see. We are dramatically reducing violence in Iraq, the Democrats want us to retreat yesterday, and Iran has her eye on the prize, having infiltrated the country and claimed a role in its future since day one. Like I said...bad options and worse options.

DRUGS

"
If the high didn't solve whatever it was that was getting you down, it could at least help you laugh at the world's ongoing folly and see through all the hypocrisy and bullshit and cheap moralism."
-from Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p. 87


Right on.

PROTECTING AMERICA'S JOBS

"The Maytag worker who is now competing with his own teenager for a $7-an-hour job at Wal-Mart...he needs us to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship our jobs overseas and start putting them in the pockets of working Americans who deserve it."

Except the entire reason corporations "ship jobs overseas" is to avoid enormous corporate taxes and government intrusion. So you're going to make it even harder for a company to be profitable, and that's supposed to motivate them to keep their employees working in the homeland?

Once again, another problem solved with the FairTax. Corporate income taxes would be wiped out, and a torrent of employment would return to the United States. Not only would American jobs come back home, but foreign businesses and investors would flock to the world's new tax haven. Barack's buddy at Maytag would be able to keep his entire paycheck, as well as the government out of his life.


"The change we seek has always required great struggle and sacrifice."

Translation: I'm going to raise your taxes in order to finance the unachievable utopia you're naive enough to demand.

Meanwhile, as Obama was jetting from state to state, spreading the aforementioned gospel, he missed the following senate votes:

  • Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008
  • FISA Amendments Act of 2007
  • Economic Stimulus Package
  • Defense Authorizations Bill
  • Iraq Withdrawal Amendment
  • Border Fence and Customs Appropriations
  • State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
  • Expressing Support for General Petraeus and All Members of the Armed Forces
  • Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants
  • Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act
  • Denying Legal Status for Immigrants Convicted of Certain Crimes
He's not the messiah, he's a politician. Remember that.

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Video of the Week

March 1, 2008 |

This week, a Hillary Clinton campaign advertisement surfaced as unexpectedly as my lunch did after viewing it. Enjoy.

America's Phones Are Ringing


There are no words.

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