A New York Times reporter who was kidnapped by the Taliban, escaped Friday night and made his way to freedom after more than seven months of captivity in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Times report on the escape included the following:
Until now, the kidnapping has been kept quiet by The Times and other media organizations out of concern for the men’s safety.
That understates what transpired. The Times prevailed on the rest of the media to suppress news of the seizure of its reporter in the interest of his safety -- a laudable purpose that justified keeping the matter out of the news.
It would be a nice change if The Times and the other media organizations were to show similar concern and consideration for our troops and the rest of us, and to behaved in a similar way when the safety of our soldiers or that of Americans not affiliated with The Times is at stake.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Ugly Truth Under Pretty Rhetoric
Here is the reality of the Brutal Chicago Style Political Thuggery Beneath the "Hope and Change" slogan and all the high minded speechifying.
Lesson Not Learned
What have we learned in 2,064 years?
The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.
So, evidently nothing.
The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.
. . . Cicero - 55 BC
So, evidently nothing.
Our Failing and Flailing Leader Also Fails as Student of History
Our self absorbed Teleprompter-in-Chief presumptuously claims to be "a student of history" but as a real scholar in that field points out here, that claim is preposterously specious.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Perssonal Notes from Your Blogger
Early in life, Kerr learned, and since then has endeavored to abide by the 11th Commandment: Take Not Thine Ownself Too Damned Seriously.
In addition, your not so humble blogger has had and continues to have a personal motto: Often Wrong But Never In Doubt.
Knowing these things will enable readers to keep the contents posted on this site in perspective.
In addition, your not so humble blogger has had and continues to have a personal motto: Often Wrong But Never In Doubt.
Knowing these things will enable readers to keep the contents posted on this site in perspective.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Interesting E-Mail Exchange
Best viewed chronologically, from bottom to top:
From: Kerr
Date: June 18, 2009 1:20:56 PM PDT
To: XXX
Subject: Re: An NRA-ILA item from krmudgeon@earthlink.net
We're thinking along the same lines.
Kerr
On Jun 18, 2009, at 1:20 PM, XXX wrote:
Well, if I recall correctly, Texas has the right to secede whenever they wish. And, the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
And, if they did, I very well might move there. The future of CA is beyond bleak.
If only firearms could vote...
XXX
On Jun 18, 2009, at 1:15 PM, Kerr wrote:
That's a distinct possibility in light of some of the things that some of the states are doing. Any such action today would be free of the slavery taint with which it was laden 150 years ago.
And while the population is less than a majority, I would venture that the percentage of firearms resident in the subject states is well in excess of a majority.
Interesting questions are whether the military would attack fellow Americans, and what people like us in the blue states would do.
Kerr
On Jun 18, 2009, at 1:08 PM, XXX wrote:
Secession, perhaps?
On Jun 18, 2009, at 1:06 PM, Kerr wrote:
You are correct but it's a start. Question that interests me is what it is a start toward?
Kerr
On Jun 18, 2009, at 12:51 PM,XXX wrote:
Hey, Kerr –
Interesting page. Sadly, the states that signed the letter are largely the small ones, population-wise. Total population is about 38%. See attached for details.
The fight is far from over . . .
On Jun 18, 2009, at 11:44 AM, Kerr wrote:
A friend has sent you an item from the NRA-ILA website. Click here to view the item:
From: Kerr
Date: June 18, 2009 1:20:56 PM PDT
To: XXX
Subject: Re: An NRA-ILA item from krmudgeon@earthlink.net
We're thinking along the same lines.
Kerr
On Jun 18, 2009, at 1:20 PM, XXX wrote:
Well, if I recall correctly, Texas has the right to secede whenever they wish. And, the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
And, if they did, I very well might move there. The future of CA is beyond bleak.
If only firearms could vote...
XXX
On Jun 18, 2009, at 1:15 PM, Kerr wrote:
That's a distinct possibility in light of some of the things that some of the states are doing. Any such action today would be free of the slavery taint with which it was laden 150 years ago.
And while the population is less than a majority, I would venture that the percentage of firearms resident in the subject states is well in excess of a majority.
Interesting questions are whether the military would attack fellow Americans, and what people like us in the blue states would do.
Kerr
On Jun 18, 2009, at 1:08 PM, XXX wrote:
Secession, perhaps?
On Jun 18, 2009, at 1:06 PM, Kerr wrote:
You are correct but it's a start. Question that interests me is what it is a start toward?
Kerr
On Jun 18, 2009, at 12:51 PM,XXX wrote:
Hey, Kerr –
Interesting page. Sadly, the states that signed the letter are largely the small ones, population-wise. Total population is about 38%. See attached for details.
The fight is far from over . . .
On Jun 18, 2009, at 11:44 AM, Kerr wrote:
A friend has sent you an item from the NRA-ILA website. Click here to view the item:
Obama Again Votes "Present"
Just as he often did when faced with a hard choice as a legislator, our teleprompter-in-chief is voting "present" -- staying neutral -- on the situation in Iran rather than supporting either the despotic regime or those there who are seeking a semblance, some smidgen of freedom and democracy.
A Forewarning from the Astute Charles Kauthammer
To my Friends & Associates:
Last Monday was a profound evening, hearing Dr. Charles Krauthammer speak to the Center for the American Experiment. He is brilliant, intellectual, seasoned and articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is neither a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has a Pulitzer prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post. The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have shared this with many of you and several have asked me to summarize his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even two Democrats at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not "drunk the Kool-Aid," feel free.
A summary of his comments:
1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a "cool customer" who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's "behind the mask". Taking down the Clinton dynasty from a political neophyte was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he says; rather, watch what he does!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to "level the playing field" with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA on Great Britain or Canada.
4. His three main goals are to bring energy, public education, and national health care under the control of the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. Cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for free college education is his goal. Most scary is his health care program, because if you make it free and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs will be with massive rationing of services, like in Canada. God forbid.
5. He's surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they're going to try and run the auto, financial, banking, and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama's not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States, but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate and coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America, as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He's now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not "come due" until after he's reelected in 2012. He'd like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Mr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. We're "pining" for another Reagan, but there'll never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she's to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and states' rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We're spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to hyper inflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed. Fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of "change" caused people to act emotionally. Any Democrat would have won this election; it was surprising is was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Democrats will continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it'll be a dogfight. It'll all be about the economy.
I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There's a left-wing revolution going in progress and it's well along, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.
Last Monday was a profound evening, hearing Dr. Charles Krauthammer speak to the Center for the American Experiment. He is brilliant, intellectual, seasoned and articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is neither a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has a Pulitzer prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post. The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have shared this with many of you and several have asked me to summarize his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even two Democrats at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not "drunk the Kool-Aid," feel free.
A summary of his comments:
1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a "cool customer" who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's "behind the mask". Taking down the Clinton dynasty from a political neophyte was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he says; rather, watch what he does!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to "level the playing field" with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA on Great Britain or Canada.
4. His three main goals are to bring energy, public education, and national health care under the control of the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. Cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for free college education is his goal. Most scary is his health care program, because if you make it free and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs will be with massive rationing of services, like in Canada. God forbid.
5. He's surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they're going to try and run the auto, financial, banking, and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama's not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States, but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate and coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America, as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He's now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not "come due" until after he's reelected in 2012. He'd like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Mr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. We're "pining" for another Reagan, but there'll never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she's to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and states' rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We're spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to hyper inflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed. Fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of "change" caused people to act emotionally. Any Democrat would have won this election; it was surprising is was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Democrats will continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it'll be a dogfight. It'll all be about the economy.
I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There's a left-wing revolution going in progress and it's well along, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.
A Gem From Glenn Beck: We're Paying $6 Million for a Turtle Tunnel
GLENN: You know, it's been really, really tough to find flaws in the stimulus package, I mean really, really tough. You know, the shovel ready projects that are designed to save America. I can't believe they aren't working. Have you seen the projects? Don't worry, don't worry. We're supervising, not ABC, CBS, NBC. No, no, no. The Glenn Beck radio program is the only one really looking at the stimulus projects to see what exactly, how are they spending this money that is going to turbo us into the future?
All right. One of the projects in the stimulus is in Florida where the state transportation officials have devoted $3.4 million to tackling roadkill on U.S. Highway 27 near Lake Jackson. This is creating jobs that are going to make us the superpower of the future. $3.4 million for roadkill on U.S. Highway 27. Now, I don't know if you've been to Lake Jackson lately. I hear it's beautiful, especially this time of the year, and the smell of the animal carcasses is just overwhelming, but so why is the $3.4 million needed to tackle roadkill? I mean, that's a lot of roadkill. Well, because the government solution to the problem is to build a 13 foot tunnel under the highway to accommodate the more than 60 species of animals that have met I'm quoting an untimely end on the road, end quote. Turtles are the most frequent victims on this road. Tunnels for turtles. $3.4 million. Who says common sense is dead? Why in the world would you build a tunnel for turtles? I mean, are they going to put up little road signs everywhere, very, very short ones that say, animals, please use the tunnels; cars approaching? Are they how are the turtles going to find the tunnels? I'm not an animal expert here but it just doesn't seem like it's going to work. But when did I say that before? The only reason why they are going to waste our taxpayer money on this turtle tunnel would be if they had tried this before and it worked. Well, I happen to remember this story because I've been in the broadcast business for a very long time and even when I was drinking, bloodshot out of my eyes when they were going to build a frog tunnel in California! Sacramento Bee reported this one and we talked about it in 2007. It was a toad tunnel, toad tunnel. They built one in the mid Nineties. The result? 2007 Sacramento Bee, quote: Toads had pretty much disappeared from the area around the Davis Toad Tunnel, which was dug with great fanfare in 1995 to allow the critters to get safely across a new highway ramp. John McNerny told the Bee he hadn't found any toad tadpoles in a nearby pond for a couple of years, leading him to conclude the tunnel had not been much help and that the toads had faded into oblivion. Quote: No tunnels had helped, ever being used by a toad. Not one toad, not 100, not a thousand, not one toad. Quote: It was well intentioned but not successful.
Just a quick ADD moment here. The toads weren't even toads. They were actually frogs, which underscores a major problem in this country. The evidence the toad tunnel isn't for toads. The Holland tunnel isn't for the Dutch. The Lincoln tunnel isn't for Lincoln. We have no idea how to even name stupid tunnels! The toad tunnel cost $14,000. Even California had more common sense. They only spent $14,000 on a toad tunnel. $3.4 million of your taxpayer dollars going to be used on a turtle tunnel!
Oh, wait. Hang on just a second. I apologize. I didn't finish reading the whole story. The wildlife crossing is only in the design stages. Oh. Hang on. Let me keep reading. $3.4 million for the design, for the design. So we're putting architects to work. For the design of the tunnel. Oh, here it is. It will require $6 million to be completed. So an unworking wildlife tunnel for turtles has cost you already $3.4 million and is going to be $6 million paid for by you.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Obama's Gift: Using Glib and Facile Oratory To Disseminate Historical Distortions and Untruths
Our President put his rhetorical skills to full use in his Cairo speech, making his adherence to the extreme 'Blame America First" left wing crowd appear reasonable and even winning praise for what he said from our media, which is woefully ignorant and devoid of skepticism. Fortunately, Brigitte Gabriel has set the record straight in the following open letter to the President responding to the disingenuous apology he voiced in Egypt for and in the name of our country:
Dear Mr. President,
You face difficult challenges in matters such as achieving peace in the Middle East and protecting America from the threat of radical Islam and terrorism. These are challenges that have vexed past presidents, going as far back as our second president, John Adams. I have no doubt you appreciate both the gravity of these challenges and the enormous obstacles that exist to solving them.
I also have no doubt that you and your staff understood that, no matter what you said in your speech last Thursday in Cairo, there would be those who would take issue with you. That is always the case when attempting to solve problems that are as deep and emotionally-laden as these challenges are.
I am assuming it is your sincere hope that the approach you have chosen to take, as evidenced by what I’m sure was a carefully crafted speech, will ultimately prove successful. However, it pains me to say this sir, but, while you said in your speech that you are a “student of history,” it is abundantly clear that, in these matters, you do not know history and thus, as Santayana noted, you are doomed to repeat it. In doing so your efforts, however well-intentioned they may be, will not produce what you profess to hope they will produce.
A wise man once said that if you start with the wrong assumptions, no matter how logical your reasoning is, you will end up with the wrong conclusion. With all due respect Mr. President, you are starting with certain assumptions that are unsupported by history and an objective study of the ideology of political Islam.
You began in your speech by asserting that “tensions” exist between the United States and Muslims around the world, which, of course, is correct. Unfortunately, you then proceeded, incorrectly, to lay virtually all the blame for these tensions at the feet of America and the West. You blamed western colonialism, the Cold War, and even modernity and globalism.
A student of American history, who is not trying to reconstruct it to fit a modern politically correct narrative, would state that tensions between America and Muslims began with the unprovoked, four-decades long assault by the Muslim Barbary pirates against American shipping in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I find it telling that you mentioned the Treaty of Tripoli in your speech but ignored the circumstances that led to it. That treaty was but one of numerous attempts by the United States to achieve peace with the jihadists of the Barbary Coast who were attacking our shipping and killing and enslaving our citizens and our soldiers and who by their own admission were doing so to fulfill the call to jihad.
These jihadists were not acting to protest American foreign policy, which was decidedly isolationist, and there was no state of Israel to scapegoat. They were doing what countless Islamic jihadists have done throughout history acting upon the hundreds of passages in the Qur’an and the Hadith that call upon faithful Muslims to kill, conquer or subjugate the infidel.
A student of world history would know that, for all the acknowledged evils of Western colonialism, these evils pale in comparison to the nearly 14 centuries of Islamic colonialism that began in Arabia under the leadership of Mohammed. The student of history would know that Islamic forces eradicated all Jewish and Christian presence from Arabia after Mohammed’s death, and then succeeded in conquering all of North Africa, most of the Middle East, much of Asia Minor, and significant portions of Europe and India eventually creating an empire larger than Rome’s was at its peak.
The number of dead and enslaved during these many centuries of Islamic imperial conquest and colonialism have been estimated to total more than 300 million. What’s more, the wealth of many of the conquered nations and cultures was plundered by the Islamic conquerors, and millions of millions of non-Muslims who did survive were forced to pay onerous taxes, such as the “jizya,” a humiliation tax to the Islamic caliphs. Indeed, in some areas Christians and Jews were made to wear a receipt for the jizya around their neck as a mark of their dishonor.
These facts have not been invented by Christian or Jewish historical revisionists, but were chronicled by Muslim eyewitnesses throughout the past 14 centuries and are available to be researched by any person seeking an objective understanding of how Islam spread throughout the world.
You say in your speech that we must squarely face the tensions that exist between America and the Muslim world. That is a laudable notion with which I agree, but by casting Islam as the historical victim and the West (and by implication, America) as the aggressor, you do not face these tensions squarely, but alleviate the Muslim world from coming to grips with the jihadist ideology embedded in its holy books and acted upon for 1,400 years.
Even worse, you empower and embolden militant Islamists who regard your gestures as signs of weakness and capitulation.
The issue is not that all Muslims are terrorists or radicals or extremists. We all know that the majority of Muslims are not. We also know that many peace-loving Muslims are victims of Islamist violence.
The issue is this: what drives hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide to call for the death of Jews?
What drives millions of Muslims to riot, destroy property, and take innocent lives in reaction to the Danish cartoons?
What drives tens of thousands of Muslims to demand the execution of a British teacher whose only “crime” was allowing her students to name their teddy bears “Mohammed”?
What drives countless Muslims worldwide to actively participate in, or fund, or provide nurture to, terrorist organizations?
What drives Muslims in mosques in America to proclaim and distribute materials that call for hatred of and the destruction of infidels?
What drives entire Islamic countries to prohibit the building of a Christian church or synagogue?
To assume, as you apparently do, that what drives these actions is not an ideology embedded in the holy books of Islam, but rather other “root causes,” most of which you lay at the feet of America and the West, is at best naïve and at worst dangerous.
Lastly, I must address your statement that “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.” Unfortunately, the examples you gave are the exception rather than the rule.
Historically speaking, I seriously doubt the Egyptian Copts, the Lebanese Maronites, the Christians in Bethlehem, the Assyrians, the Hindus, the Jews, and many others who have been persecuted by Islamic violence and supremacism, would agree with your assertion.
For instance, Christians and Jews became “Dhimmis,” a second class group under Islam. Dhimmis were forced to wear distinctive clothing; it was Baghdad’s Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, in the ninth century, who designated a yellow badge for Jews under Islam, which Hitler copied and duplicated in Nazi Germany nearly a thousand years later.
I witnessed first-hand the “tolerance” of Islam when Islamists ravaged my country of birth, Lebanon, in the 1970s, leaving widespread death and destruction in their wake. I saw how they re-paid the tolerance that Lebanese Christians extended toward them. My experience is not an isolated one. When you make an unfounded assertion about the “proud tradition” of tolerance in Islam, you do a great disservice to the hundreds of millions of non-Muslims who have been killed, maimed, enslaved, conquered, subjugated or displaced in the cause of Islamic jihad.
Mr. President, those of us like me who are ringing the alarm in America about the threat of radical Islam would like nothing better than to peacefully co-exist with the Muslim world. Most Americans would like nothing better than to peacefully co-exist with the Muslim world. The obstacle to achieving this does not lie with us in America and the West. It lies with the hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide, including many of their spiritual leaders, who take seriously the repeated calls to jihad in the Qur’an and the Hadith. Who regard “infidels” as inferior and worthy of conquering, subjugating and forcibly converting. Who support “cultural jihad” as a means to subvert non-Muslim societies from within. Who take seriously the admonitions throughout the Qur’an and the Hadith to convert the world to Islam by force if necessary and bring it under the rule of Allah.
Unless you are willing to courageously and honestly accept this, your aspirations for worldwide comity and peace in the Middle East are doomed to fail.
Ms. Gabriel is the president and founder of American Congress for Truth, which can be found here.
Dear Mr. President,
You face difficult challenges in matters such as achieving peace in the Middle East and protecting America from the threat of radical Islam and terrorism. These are challenges that have vexed past presidents, going as far back as our second president, John Adams. I have no doubt you appreciate both the gravity of these challenges and the enormous obstacles that exist to solving them.
I also have no doubt that you and your staff understood that, no matter what you said in your speech last Thursday in Cairo, there would be those who would take issue with you. That is always the case when attempting to solve problems that are as deep and emotionally-laden as these challenges are.
I am assuming it is your sincere hope that the approach you have chosen to take, as evidenced by what I’m sure was a carefully crafted speech, will ultimately prove successful. However, it pains me to say this sir, but, while you said in your speech that you are a “student of history,” it is abundantly clear that, in these matters, you do not know history and thus, as Santayana noted, you are doomed to repeat it. In doing so your efforts, however well-intentioned they may be, will not produce what you profess to hope they will produce.
A wise man once said that if you start with the wrong assumptions, no matter how logical your reasoning is, you will end up with the wrong conclusion. With all due respect Mr. President, you are starting with certain assumptions that are unsupported by history and an objective study of the ideology of political Islam.
You began in your speech by asserting that “tensions” exist between the United States and Muslims around the world, which, of course, is correct. Unfortunately, you then proceeded, incorrectly, to lay virtually all the blame for these tensions at the feet of America and the West. You blamed western colonialism, the Cold War, and even modernity and globalism.
A student of American history, who is not trying to reconstruct it to fit a modern politically correct narrative, would state that tensions between America and Muslims began with the unprovoked, four-decades long assault by the Muslim Barbary pirates against American shipping in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I find it telling that you mentioned the Treaty of Tripoli in your speech but ignored the circumstances that led to it. That treaty was but one of numerous attempts by the United States to achieve peace with the jihadists of the Barbary Coast who were attacking our shipping and killing and enslaving our citizens and our soldiers and who by their own admission were doing so to fulfill the call to jihad.
These jihadists were not acting to protest American foreign policy, which was decidedly isolationist, and there was no state of Israel to scapegoat. They were doing what countless Islamic jihadists have done throughout history acting upon the hundreds of passages in the Qur’an and the Hadith that call upon faithful Muslims to kill, conquer or subjugate the infidel.
A student of world history would know that, for all the acknowledged evils of Western colonialism, these evils pale in comparison to the nearly 14 centuries of Islamic colonialism that began in Arabia under the leadership of Mohammed. The student of history would know that Islamic forces eradicated all Jewish and Christian presence from Arabia after Mohammed’s death, and then succeeded in conquering all of North Africa, most of the Middle East, much of Asia Minor, and significant portions of Europe and India eventually creating an empire larger than Rome’s was at its peak.
The number of dead and enslaved during these many centuries of Islamic imperial conquest and colonialism have been estimated to total more than 300 million. What’s more, the wealth of many of the conquered nations and cultures was plundered by the Islamic conquerors, and millions of millions of non-Muslims who did survive were forced to pay onerous taxes, such as the “jizya,” a humiliation tax to the Islamic caliphs. Indeed, in some areas Christians and Jews were made to wear a receipt for the jizya around their neck as a mark of their dishonor.
These facts have not been invented by Christian or Jewish historical revisionists, but were chronicled by Muslim eyewitnesses throughout the past 14 centuries and are available to be researched by any person seeking an objective understanding of how Islam spread throughout the world.
You say in your speech that we must squarely face the tensions that exist between America and the Muslim world. That is a laudable notion with which I agree, but by casting Islam as the historical victim and the West (and by implication, America) as the aggressor, you do not face these tensions squarely, but alleviate the Muslim world from coming to grips with the jihadist ideology embedded in its holy books and acted upon for 1,400 years.
Even worse, you empower and embolden militant Islamists who regard your gestures as signs of weakness and capitulation.
The issue is not that all Muslims are terrorists or radicals or extremists. We all know that the majority of Muslims are not. We also know that many peace-loving Muslims are victims of Islamist violence.
The issue is this: what drives hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide to call for the death of Jews?
What drives millions of Muslims to riot, destroy property, and take innocent lives in reaction to the Danish cartoons?
What drives tens of thousands of Muslims to demand the execution of a British teacher whose only “crime” was allowing her students to name their teddy bears “Mohammed”?
What drives countless Muslims worldwide to actively participate in, or fund, or provide nurture to, terrorist organizations?
What drives Muslims in mosques in America to proclaim and distribute materials that call for hatred of and the destruction of infidels?
What drives entire Islamic countries to prohibit the building of a Christian church or synagogue?
To assume, as you apparently do, that what drives these actions is not an ideology embedded in the holy books of Islam, but rather other “root causes,” most of which you lay at the feet of America and the West, is at best naïve and at worst dangerous.
Lastly, I must address your statement that “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.” Unfortunately, the examples you gave are the exception rather than the rule.
Historically speaking, I seriously doubt the Egyptian Copts, the Lebanese Maronites, the Christians in Bethlehem, the Assyrians, the Hindus, the Jews, and many others who have been persecuted by Islamic violence and supremacism, would agree with your assertion.
For instance, Christians and Jews became “Dhimmis,” a second class group under Islam. Dhimmis were forced to wear distinctive clothing; it was Baghdad’s Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, in the ninth century, who designated a yellow badge for Jews under Islam, which Hitler copied and duplicated in Nazi Germany nearly a thousand years later.
I witnessed first-hand the “tolerance” of Islam when Islamists ravaged my country of birth, Lebanon, in the 1970s, leaving widespread death and destruction in their wake. I saw how they re-paid the tolerance that Lebanese Christians extended toward them. My experience is not an isolated one. When you make an unfounded assertion about the “proud tradition” of tolerance in Islam, you do a great disservice to the hundreds of millions of non-Muslims who have been killed, maimed, enslaved, conquered, subjugated or displaced in the cause of Islamic jihad.
Mr. President, those of us like me who are ringing the alarm in America about the threat of radical Islam would like nothing better than to peacefully co-exist with the Muslim world. Most Americans would like nothing better than to peacefully co-exist with the Muslim world. The obstacle to achieving this does not lie with us in America and the West. It lies with the hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide, including many of their spiritual leaders, who take seriously the repeated calls to jihad in the Qur’an and the Hadith. Who regard “infidels” as inferior and worthy of conquering, subjugating and forcibly converting. Who support “cultural jihad” as a means to subvert non-Muslim societies from within. Who take seriously the admonitions throughout the Qur’an and the Hadith to convert the world to Islam by force if necessary and bring it under the rule of Allah.
Unless you are willing to courageously and honestly accept this, your aspirations for worldwide comity and peace in the Middle East are doomed to fail.
Ms. Gabriel is the president and founder of American Congress for Truth, which can be found here.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Coming Apart?
As longtime friends will recall, years ago, as the Soviet Union was coming apart like an overripe grapefruit, K. R. was recommending to everyone with whom he came into contact that they not be overly smug or sanguine about what was transpiring. The United States, he predicted, could easily find itself splitting apart the same way in the not too distant future. Now the nation's most sophisticated establishment newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, in this report, has noted the same possibility.
However, in light of the actions and corruption of the federal government, separating from it now has the potential for being a positive and freedom enhancing step rather than a destructive move.
However, in light of the actions and corruption of the federal government, separating from it now has the potential for being a positive and freedom enhancing step rather than a destructive move.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Holder's Department: Justice Becomes Just Us
There's more here on how the current administration and the leadership of its Department of Justice is supporting, or at least willing to tolerate voter intimidation and fraud to pursue what increasingly appears to be an overriding political and racist agenda.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
U.S. Department of Injustice
Look here to see how Attorney General Eric Holder is supporting voter intimidation and fraud.
Tidbit of Trivia
At five minutes and six seconds after 4 a.m. on the 8th of July this year, the time and date will be:
This will not happen again until the year 3009 -- 1,000 years later
Why is this important?
It's not. Just thought you should know.
04:05:06 07/08/09
This will not happen again until the year 3009 -- 1,000 years later
Why is this important?
It's not. Just thought you should know.
. . . contributed by Colorado Annie
The Power of Corruption
Note: The linked video is from ABC News, not Fox. Wait through the short commercial at the beginning and then sit back and look at this -- how our tax dollars are frittered away for the greater glory of our betters (those who rule over us).
Friday, June 5, 2009
Really Fun Quiz for Smart People
This is a quiz for people who know lots of things:
1.. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.
2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?
3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?
4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole And ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?
6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ' dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.
7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?
8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any otherform except fresh.
9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'
THIS IS PRETTY COOL. HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Answers To Quiz:
1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends...
2. North American landmark constantly moving backward...
Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)
3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons:
4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside ...
Strawberry.
5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle?
It grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.)
6. Three English words beginning with "dw"?
7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar:
Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.
8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh:
9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with 'S':
Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.
PLEASE DO YOUR PART....
Today is "National Mental Health Day." You can do your part by remembering to send a message to at least one unstable person.
Well, my job's done!
LIFE IS A JOURNEY. ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW AND ENJOY THE BREEZE.
1.. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.
2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?
3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?
4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole And ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?
6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ' dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.
7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?
8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any otherform except fresh.
9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'
THIS IS PRETTY COOL. HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Answers To Quiz:
1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends...
Boxing
2. North American landmark constantly moving backward...
Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)
3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons:
Asparagus and rhubarb
4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside ...
Strawberry.
5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle?
It grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.)
6. Three English words beginning with "dw"?
dwarf, dwell and dwindle.
7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar:
Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.
8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh:
Lettuce
9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with 'S':
Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.
PLEASE DO YOUR PART....
Today is "National Mental Health Day." You can do your part by remembering to send a message to at least one unstable person.
Well, my job's done!
LIFE IS A JOURNEY. ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW AND ENJOY THE BREEZE.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
THIS IS ONE HUGE HOOT ! ! ! !
Under pressure from the Financial Services subcommittee of the House of Reprehensibles, accounting rule recently were changed to free banks and insurance companies from having to recognize and report declines in the market values of their assets.
Intensive lobbying by the big banks and insurance companies led to the the watering down of rules that previously required financial institutions to write their assets down to their market values.
The hoot is that the chairman of the subcommittee says -- presumably with a straight face -- that the more than $700,000 in campaign contributions he received over the past two years from the institutions benefiting from the changes was not a factor in his having pushed hard for them. Other members of the subcommittee and influential reprehensibles -- including the irrepressible Barney Frank -- also have been beneficiaries of the warm hearted largesse of the friendly (Wall Street) neighborhood financiers.
According to this Wall Street Journal report, in the first quarter of the current year the changes resulted in the addition of $4.4 billion to the capital of Wells Fargo, in the addition of $413 million to Citigroup's earnings and $349 million to the earnings of The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. It's another bubble full of nothing but air but it sure looks great on paper!
However, the financial bagmen are not satisfied yet. They are pushing for still more accounting rule changes to make the actual financial state of their institutions even less transparent. See the above-mentioned Wall Street Journal report for additional and more detailed information about the skulduggery in progress. The financial titans clearly are seeking to free themselves to return to the practices that brought about the economic meltdown from which the rest of the people are continuing to suffer even as their tax dollars are used to bail out and richly reward the bubble makers.
P.S. The Wall Street Journal report referred to above appears under this headline:
Intensive lobbying by the big banks and insurance companies led to the the watering down of rules that previously required financial institutions to write their assets down to their market values.
The hoot is that the chairman of the subcommittee says -- presumably with a straight face -- that the more than $700,000 in campaign contributions he received over the past two years from the institutions benefiting from the changes was not a factor in his having pushed hard for them. Other members of the subcommittee and influential reprehensibles -- including the irrepressible Barney Frank -- also have been beneficiaries of the warm hearted largesse of the friendly (Wall Street) neighborhood financiers.
According to this Wall Street Journal report, in the first quarter of the current year the changes resulted in the addition of $4.4 billion to the capital of Wells Fargo, in the addition of $413 million to Citigroup's earnings and $349 million to the earnings of The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. It's another bubble full of nothing but air but it sure looks great on paper!
However, the financial bagmen are not satisfied yet. They are pushing for still more accounting rule changes to make the actual financial state of their institutions even less transparent. See the above-mentioned Wall Street Journal report for additional and more detailed information about the skulduggery in progress. The financial titans clearly are seeking to free themselves to return to the practices that brought about the economic meltdown from which the rest of the people are continuing to suffer even as their tax dollars are used to bail out and richly reward the bubble makers.
P.S. The Wall Street Journal report referred to above appears under this headline:
Congress Helped Banks Defang Key Rule
P.P.S. If you think they're done trying to hide the ball, look here to see how they're trying to stiff arm corrective accounting rules.
Told You So
About a month ago -- on May 5 to be specific -- a warning to view with skepticism reports on the health and earnings of the nation's big banks was posted on this site under the heading Cooking the Books . . . with Government Approval.
Anyone doubting the accuracy of that warning would do well to note this article in today's Wall Street Journal which confirms the astute and informed prescience of this blog.
To view the original blog warning scroll down to and click on the above-cited headline in the blog archive in the right hand column.
Anyone doubting the accuracy of that warning would do well to note this article in today's Wall Street Journal which confirms the astute and informed prescience of this blog.
To view the original blog warning scroll down to and click on the above-cited headline in the blog archive in the right hand column.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Our Money Is Becoming an International Joke
Claims that the current administration is committed to a strong dollar were treated as a hilarious comedy routine in China and almost got our tax dodging secretary of the treasury laughed off the stage there. Here's why.
A Welcome Dose of Sanity
A New (Low) Frontier
Ryanair, an Irish airline, may have reached the final no-frills (and unfriendly skies) frontier by deciding to charge passengers for using the toilet on their flights.
Monday, June 1, 2009
An Ominous Milestone
For an important explanation of what the transformation of General Motors to to Government Motors portends, take a look at this essay.
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