Ponderings on 2008.

One thing I am looking forward to is the catfight between Hillary and John Kerry over the Democratic nomination. Theresa's offerings on the subject of Hillary alone will be worth it all to watch. Hillary will get the nomination, no doubt. She hasn't come this far to let some moderate wussie beat her out of the chance to become the first woman president. She wants this so bad she can taste it.

On the Republican side. Newt Gingrich is getting all primed to go. He is wasting his time. Any Republican like me vetos Newt and here are a few more vetos:

Rudy Giuliani
Bill Frist
Rick Santorum

Either they are wrong on the issues or they can't win. Anyone who beats Hillary has to have star power. And there is only one guy and one girl who can do it. McCain or Rice. A McCain/Rice ticket might just be unbeatable.

Now, I know that tons of Republicans HATE McCain for being a tad too compromising and his finance reform stuff just drives them insane, BUT sometime we just have to steel ourselves and put the person out there who can actually beat Hillary. And he is the only one I can see doing it. I can see Condi beating Hillary as well, but let's have 8 yrs of McCain/Rice and then settle in for another eight with Rice. Imagine!! 24 straight years of Republican bliss! Why, we might could actually get some things done! And having the first woman President and the first black President in our history being Republican is just too SWEET.

Just Ponder it.

A Tragic Figure.

Cindy Sheehan has now become a minor celebrity. The news is all over it and the blogs are buzzing. The right seems disgusted with the lack of respect she is showing for her son's sacrifice and the left is disgusted by the right being disgusted by it.

I don't blame the press for spreading the story. Mrs. Sheehan is a tragic figure. I don't even blame Mrs. Sheehan for her protest and her vicious jabs at President Bush. As I have said before, I am more than willing to give latitude to any mother who is grieving over a lost child, but must everyone take advantage of it???

The Michael Moore crowd saw an opportunity to take a sympathetic character and have her be their poster child. The press saw an opportunity to blow a story out of proportion. And the right just got ticked off by them all.

Why? Because we feel so strongly about our soldiers. We know what our guys go through (thanks to the milblogs!) and we know that it isn't an easy decision to go into the military, and I would think an ever harder on to re-enlist during a war. But Cindy's son made those choices on his own. He obviously believed in the fight. No one made him enlist. If he felt he had made a mistake, he certainly wouldn't have re-enlisted.

Cindy Sheehan has every right to be angry. My heart goes out to her. But in her grief she is insulting everyone who serves in Iraq. She is implying that they are there for nothing. She has a right to think that, but she has to understand how upsetting that is to so many people. She can't expect everyone to ignore what she is saying if it hurts them as well.

She keeps asking for what purpose her son died.

The answer is here. (if you haven't read this post yet, you must)

It's time for the press to let go of this story. It is hurting everyone. The mother, her son's memory, and all of us who get caught up in throwing barbs at each other.

Sorry this is so small, I tried to get it bigger. If you want to see it better go to Chris's site.

Divine Evolution

Divine Evolution
By Frederick Turner

Go read an excellent ariticle on evolution. It seems his basic argument had been mine. That one can certainly believe in evolution and see the handiwork of God in it.

"I am the true vine," said Jesus, "and you are the branches." The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that grows and branches into a tree; it's like a sower whose seeds have differential rates of reproduction; it's like the yeast that leavens the whole lump. These images are entirely consistent with the theory of evolution."

There has never been a part of evolution that has made me doubt God. Not one time. It may be different for some, but for me, it helps explain his grand plan. It helps explain his great wonders.

We are only scratching at the surface though. God has much more for us to discover and reveal.

So much more.

Horrifying TV.

Michael Fumento , a former paratrooper who was embedded with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq, has his opinion of the new FX series "Over There." at Tech Central.

I have watched "Over There" and I didn't like the way they portrayed soldiers, but I didn't have the experience to know what other things they were getting wrong. Fumento does. Boots On The Ground gives his take on it as well.

Several years ago I stopped going to R rated movies. It just seemed I was always offended by them and had images in my brain I didn't want there afterward. Some things I just felt were wrong to watch. Since watching "Over There" I have caught a few more of the FX channel's series. I watched "Nip and Tuck" and "Starving."

"Nip and Tuck" follows 2 plastic surgeons around. One had obviously had a relationship with a porn star and at the end of the show they show her "performing." I thought it was extremely graphic. Yeah. These are the images I was trying to avoid getting into my brain from not watching R rated movies. "Starving." which follows around a bunch of bulmics whose problems go far beyond them being bulimic. It also had a graphic sex scene that totally dehumanized the woman. It also shows these people throwing up every 10 minutes. Totally disgusting. Who watches this crap? It horrifies me that my kids could happen to flip to this channel. We have the V chip on all our TV's and we have the channels we might not want them watching not programmed in. But since these shows are on basic cable, they could see them in anyone else's home. Has there been any controversy over these shows? Just the episodes I watched made me sick.

I'm starting to think they should call it the FXXX channel. "Over There" may be bad, but the other FX shows are even worse.

Able Danger and the 9-11 Commission.

My girl Michelle Malkin brings all the dirt we have so far on Able Danger. She has all the good links and you need to read them ALL.
via Ace

Iraq wasn't a threat at all. Nah. No connection to Bin laden either. Just move along.

The Captain rocks it once again with excellent reporting!! Is anyone paying this guy??? They should be!

"With all of these references to Germany and Hamburg, the 9/11 Commission oddly failed to include a published report from March 2001 in a Parisian Arabic newspaper, Al-Watan Al-Arabi, about the arrest of two suspected Iraqi spies -- based on a tip from the CIA (boldface mine):

Iraqi Spies Reportedly Arrested in Germany 16 March 2001
Al-Watan al-Arabi (Paris) reports that two Iraqis were arrested in Germany, charged with spying for Baghdad. The arrests came in the wake of reports that Iraq was reorganizing the external branches of its intelligence service and that it had drawn up a plan to strike at US interests around the world through a network of alliances with extremist fundamentalist parties.

The most serious report contained information that Iraq and Osama bin Ladin were working together. German authorities were surprised by the arrest of the two Iraqi agents and the discovery of Iraqi intelligence activities in several German cities. German authorities, acting on CIA recommendations, had been focused on monitoring the activities of Islamic groups linked to bin Ladin. They discovered the two Iraqi agents by chance and uncovered what they considered to be serious indications of cooperation between Iraq and bin Ladin. The matter was considered so important that a special team of CIA and FBI agents was sent to Germany to interrogate the two Iraqi spies."

Unfreakinbelievable. via Ace.

Pundit Review Radio will be having Michael Yon , the EXCELLENT blogger out of Iraq, on his program again.

Michael will be on live from Mosul, Iraq this Sunday evening at 9pm EST. You can stream the show live at WRKO and you can call toll-free with questions at 877-469-4322.

Don't miss it!

Posting will be slow this next week. 3 of my kids will be starting school. And I am getting my oldest ready to leave for college on Wednesday. Color me stressed.

I keep thinking about my baby not being in the house and being so far from me. I keep thinking about the things I probably forgot to tell him that he needs to know.

I keep thinking that the dynamics of the family will be different. I keep thinking that my job with him is over. Another chapter closed. All those sleepness nights, all those little boy escapades, all those sporting events, all those milestones, Baptism, first Holy Communion, Confirmation, High School graduation. All over.

I keep thinking I will miss him, but I have to let go. I keep thinking...... I just keep thinking.

The Shuttle takeoff and our own lean mean fighting guardian angel. Check out Mudville for more pictures. They are awesome.

The lust for dirt from the left.

Looks like NARAL ad is getting the criticism it deserves from all sides. First the adoption investigation of the NY Times fails, and now this. It's not looking good for the left.

I'm thinking NARAL should have used those millions to "help women" (yeah, right) instead of on misleading commercials.

A partial story gains momentum.

Another story about the mother protesting at President Bush's ranch and no mention of the earlier interview she had with him where she praises him. Here they even mention the first meeting, but no mention of what she first said about it.

It seems Drudge is the only one quoting her. If you missed it in my previous post, here is one of her quotes from her first meeting with President Bush.

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

Now, one can say she changed her mind if they wish, but to just ignore that part of the story and not report both sides is why news organizations like Fox News are so popular. One also has to wonder why she is getting so much attention. This double standard of the MSM is demonstrated here in Brent Bozell's recent article:

"On Monday morning, the Sheehan publicity continued, but still no one reported how radical she is. CNN’s graphic throughout their story on "American Morning" read "Peace Mom." In a "Good Morning America" devoted almost entirely to mourning the death of Peter Jennings, ABC made room for the "angry and determined mother" on her "peace vigil." NBC’s "Today" began their show by promoting "a mother’s vigil" in the first seconds of the program.
Can you imagine the networks ruining the Clinton vacation on Martha’s Vineyard by making a big story out of a conservative protester there? I can’t, because they didn’t. In 1998, a few weeks after Clinton admitted sex with Monica Lewinsky, he went to his first partisan pep rally in Worcester, Massachusetts. ABC and CBS did full stories, and the streets outside the hall were filled with protesters demanding Clinton resign, but ABC and CBS failed to interview them. Only Fox News brought up how a local Democratic city council member, Konstantina Lukes, refused to attend."

We don't want "censored" news that doesn't give us the whole picture. Give us the whole picture and let us decide for ourselves.

Update: This story filed only an hour and 1/2 ago STILL fails to mention Mrs. Sheehan's first meeting with President Bush.

She has also backed out of agreeing to be on The Bill O'Reilly show this evening. He says she claims that he has lied about her. O"Reilly pointed out yesterday that Sheehan had blogged on Michael Moore's site. Is that not true? Or is she afraid of someone actually asking her about her positive comments regarding the first meeting with Bush?

I think it is time for Protest Warriors to get out to Crawford and get some publicity as well. I e-mailed them about that today and haven't heard back.

Chris Muir is asking every reader to hit this link as often as you can for the next 10 days.

Why? To raise the Yahoo rating of a small clinic that's keeping his sister Cathy alive and well-- but that could use some PR. A high listing is vital to the clinic's visibility with a timed ad on a local CNN cancer special August 14th and 20th. It's a tiny ad, but what helps them, helps Chris's sister.

There were terrorists among us and we knew.

The AP brings us the following:

WASHINGTON - The Sept. 11 commission will investigate a claim that U.S. defense intelligence officials identified ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers as a likely part of an al-Qaida cell more than a year before the hijackings but didn’t forward the information to law enforcement.

Although this is a interesting development and illustrates why the Patriot Act is so important, I hope that we don't jump on the bandwagon of "It was Clinton's fault because he was President at that time." It might seem like an easy swipe to take, but I believe that there was simply no way for us to know the evil the Al Qaida cell was planning.

It is only important to use this information to move forward and keep our country safe NOW.

Distortion on Abortion.

You have probably heard by now that CNN has agreed to run the bloody abortion ad by NARAL. The ad suggests that John Roberts supported those involved in abortion clinic bombings. John Roberts filed a friend of the court brief in 1993 for some protestors in Operation Rescue. The bombing shown in the ad happened in 1998.

I posted on my experience with Operation Rescue here. To connect these people in any way to anything violent is laughable.

I keep thinking what an impeccable record John Roberts must have for NARAL to take such untrue measures to vilify him.

Steven Vincent RIP or maybe not.

Steven Vincent was a wonderful journalist who died recently in Iraq. If you don't know who he is, here is a good discription at Mudville.

But leave it to the left to try to smear him because he wrote in support of our soldiers. Here is what Juan Cole had to say about Steve Vincent's death:

"He was romantically involved with his Iraqi interpreter, who was shot 4 times. If her clan thought she was shaming them by appearing to be having an affair outside wedlock with an American male, they might well have decided to end it. In Mediterranean culture, a man’s honor tends to be wrought up with his ability to protect his womenfolk from seduction by strange men…. Vincent did not know anything serious about Middle Eastern culture and was aggressive about criticizing what he could see of it on the surface, and if he was behaving in the way the Telegraph article describes, he was acting in an extremely dangerous manner."

As Jeff Jarvis of Buzz Machine puts it:

"Well, how about his murderers didn’t know anything serious about civilized culture and they were behaving in a way that should bring your condemnation?"

Why is when someone like this dies in Iraq it is never the fault of the insanity of the terrorist in these people's mind???

A mother's sorrow exploited.

You probably have all heard of the grieving mother ,who lost her son in Iraq, protesting at President Bush's Crawford Ranch. It seems her story has changed quite a bit since the first time she met with Bush.

I didn't really want to comment on it because anyone who has to sustain the horror of losing a child should be given all the lattitude they need to get through it. But Jeff at Protein Wisdom manages to understand that and still make the point that many of us wanted to make without being too hard on the mother:


"Thank Patton grieving parents and spouses of WWII soldiers killed in battle weren’t subjected to the kind of crass exploitation by anti-war opportunists Cindy Sheehan is being exposed to; the thought of some seersucker-suited aide wheeling Roosevelt door-to-door across America, hat in hand, so that he could answer to the wives and parents of 400,000 dead soldiers—the majority of whom were drafted ...well, that’s just too ridiculous and depressing even to contemplate.
Listen → I feel for this woman, I honestly do. But somebody close to her needs to take her aside and convince her that it’s time to grieve in private and to honor her son’s memory. Instead, this poor grieving woman is taking solace—solace I believe she’ll later come to regret—from the worst type of hyperpartisan frauds, professional Bush-bashers and wannabe-Vietnam-era protestors whose hatred for the President and his foreign policy runs so deep that they’re willing to adopt Ms. Sheehan like some sort of morbid mascot of convenience and exploit her pain—and her son’s death—in the most cynical and public way imaginable.
The whole business makes me sick. "

BigDog has a good post and links about the myth of Islam.

There will be a test on this later.

Ok, I just can't shutup about this evolution/ID debate!! Someone stop me!!

Here is a scientist who says that intelligent design, as a theory of origins, is no more religious, and no less scientific, than evolutionism.

And here is an author of several popular science books and writes for National Geographic, Science, Newsweek, Popular Science, and Discover, where he is a contributing editor who writes how Darwinism is tested.

h/t BigDog and Monty

Reason #2976 to not get drunk, especially with idiot friends.

via Lone Star Times

Just Repeat the Lie.

As you might have seen on Drudge, CNS News brings us ridiculous rants from the left and this from Nancy Pelosi once again perpetuating a myth about black voter suppression during the elections of 2000/2004 during Saturday's civil rights march in Atlanta:

"Some changes have to be made so we don't have a repeat of 2000 and 2004 where there was intimidation and discrepancies at the polls," Pelosi told Cybercast News Service during the voting rights march."

Back in October I did some extensive research on this because it was important to me that if it were true, we should do something about it. What I learned is that it simply wasn't true. Here is my post from Oct. 19th.


Is Black Voting Being Suppressed?

John Kerry in a recent speech for the NAACP said, "that a million disenfranchised African-Americans and the most tainted election in American history is the best we can do?" How did Kerry come up with one million? The number came from a natural extrapolation of the 57,000 Floridians who according to the August 2001 report of the Commission on Civil Rights (which used some statistical extrapolation, hypothetical scenarios, and so on)--were denied the right to vote. The commission didn't repeat that number in their final April 2003 report, instead conceding that "it is impossible to determine the extent of the disenfranchisement." In fact out of the six-month investigation by the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights and also an investigation by the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Dept. They found there was absolutely no truth to any of those allegations, not one person who was intimidated or had their vote stolen. There was no disenfranchisement, no truth to any of those allegations. You didn't know that??? Well that's exactly what the democrats wanted. Better for them to spread dishonest rumors than to be happy that no suppression was found. (Source: Peter Kirsanow, an attorney and black Republican who sits on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.)

I went searching for examples of this "disenfranchisement" because after growing up in the middle of the civil rights movement, if I thought for one second that black voters were really being disenfranchised, I would be the first one protesting and demanding fairness. Here are the examples I found:

From The Guardian: A former employee of a company hired by the Republican party to register voters in Nevada said that he was told to throw Democrats' registration forms away.

If true, absolutely wrong. But it did say "democrat" registration, not "black." So now blacks are automatically considered democrat? Sorry, some are actually Republican. But if you don't think organizations like MoveOn.org, Rock the Vote, and Vote or Die and many other left leaning voter registration drives don't toss the forms that denote Republican, your living in a fantasy world.

Florida Gov.Jeb Bush introduced a rule that registration forms should be rejected if a citizenship check box is not complete. Ohio's Republican Sec. of State attempted to enforce a rule by which only registration cards printed on heavy, 80lb paper stock would be accepted. (Claiming that lighter cards might be shredded by postal equipment) The CEO of Diebold, which makes many of the voting machines, said he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes" to Bush.

How do the first 2 examples suppress black voting? I have no idea. Unless one thinks blacks are completely stupid. (I'll get back to who might think that in a minute). Since when is it suppression of any kind to require that forms are filled out correctly? And what the heck does the paper weight have to do with anything? And finally, Just because you are a CEO of a company that makes voting machines you can't come out for a candidate? And since when is being for Bush automatically means suppressing black votes?? I would think it would be about getting MORE black votes for Bush so that he can win the state. Can you believe this so far?? Stick with me.

John Pappageorge, Michigan's Republican state legislator, told a Republican meeting: "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we are going to have a tough time in this election cycle."

I read this quote over and over in my search. Detroit is 83% black, so the the word Detroit=Black, right? Anyone stop to think that Detroit=Democrat???? Yeah. Now should he have said "suppress?" for a any voting bloc? No. But again, if you don't think democrats talk about suppressing the evangelical vote ( as in "mention Cheney's lesbian daughter") then once again, your living in a fantasy world.

According to the Washington Post, in 2000, 42% of ballots rejected by Duval county in Florida came from mainly black areas.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but there is NO WAY to tell on a ballot if someone is black or not, am I right? The ballots were not filled out properly. Which happens all the time all over the country by all kinds of people. What is an election board suppose to do? Ballots MUST be filled out correctly. To insinuate that black people can't seem to do that is such an insult to them. But more about that later. The next two are the doozies--

In Ohio the election board was set to rule that anyone who turned up at the wrong polling station would not be able to cast a provisional ballot (to be verified later). The democrats sued successfully saying that the ruling would disadvantage minority and poor voters who move more often.

So the democrats think that black people are so stupid they can't figure out which polling place to go to when they move. It seems obvious to me that this is a consistent theme of the democrats and very insulting to blacks.

The Washington Post reports that depriving prisoners and those on parole the right to vote has become a key issue.". An estimated 5 million Americans are affected by felony voting restrictions. Black males account for about 8% of the U.S. population and 40% of the prison population."

I have touched on this before. So we are "suppressing" the black vote by not allowing those who commit crimes such as rape and murder to vote?? When someone commits a felony they lose certain rights. Anyone who argues this is just sad. These are horrible crimes against society and NO they should not be allowed to vote- Black, White, Asian, or Hispanic. My God, how many times will they insult the black community and feed the fire of racism by implying that in order for black men to vote we have to open it up to the prison population?????? Do they not realize how this sounds?? What message it sends?? Bush has put blacks in his most trusted positions in his administration. Laura Bush's best friend is a black woman. Does Kerry have some personal connections to the black community other than spreading these lies in the black churches by standing at the pulpit and preaching at those who he hopes will vote for him? I don't see any.

Finally, this is what black people went through in the 60's in order to vote. To throw out silly allegations with no merit diminishes the memory of those who truly had something to protest against and what they did in order to be able to vote. Shame on the democrats for this and shame on Republicans for not reaching out to the black community with the truth.

I have a question. Is O.J's date here just an idiot? I know when I am looking around for a date I choose someone who KILLED A WOMAN WHO LOOKS JUST LIKE ME!!!

Recruiting Terrorists, a reporter's inside look.

TimesOnline/UK had a reporter infiltrating a Muslim hate group three weeks before the 7/7 bombings. The paper’s summary:

An undercover investigation has caught leaders of a radical Islamic group inciting young British Muslims to become terrorists and praising the Tube bombers as “the fantastic four”.

A Sunday Times reporter spent two months as a recruit inside the Saviour Sect to reveal for the first time how the extremist group promotes hatred of “non-believers” and encourages its followers to commit acts of violence including suicide bombings.

The reporter witnessed one of the sect’s leading figures, Sheikh Omar Brooks, telling a young audience, including children, that it was the duty of Muslims to be terrorists and boasting, just days before the July 7 attacks, that he wanted to die as a suicide bomber.

After the attacks that claimed 52 lives, another key figure, Zachariah, justified them by saying that the victims were not “innocent” people because they did not abide by strict Islamic laws. In the immediate aftermath the sect’s leader, Omar Bakri Mohammed, said: “For the past 48 hours I’m very happy.” Two weeks later he referred to the bombers as the “fantastic four”….

The Saviour Sect was established 10 months ago when its predecessor group Al-Muhajiroun was disbanded after coming under close scrutiny by the authorities. Its members meet in secret in halls, followers’ homes and parks. They are so opposed to the British state that they see it as their duty to make no economic contribution to the nation. One member warned our undercover reporter against getting a job because it would be contributing to the kuffar (non-Muslim) system.

Instead, the young follower, Nasser, who receives £44 job seekers’ allowance a week, said it was permissible to “live off benefits”, just as the prophet Mohammed had lived off the state while attacking it at the same time. Even paying car insurance was seen as supporting the system. “All the (Saviour Sect) brothers drive without insurance,” he said.

via BuzzMachine

At one point the reporter is asked if he would be willing to wear a "strap" which is slang for suicide bomb belt. He laughs it off nervously.

Could this be any creepier?

Who are these sick disgusting people???? Where do they come from?? I'll tell you what God hates. God hates you intruding on someone's grief and making a mockery of Christianity.
via Patriot Voices and A Sailor In The Desert.

Same sex marriage or gay marriage?

And the first thing that flys out of the Pandora's box is this. Not the first thing I expected from Canada's new same-sex marriage legislation, but I am never surprised when it comes to sexual politics.

It seems two guys want to marry. Only they aren't gay. They just want the tax benefits.

Heh.

via Outside The Beltway.

Must. Be. Shallow.

I am so sick of arguing with people this week I am actually going to do one of those silly surveys that people are always sending me. I found this one over at Lovex5, a conservative chick blog I just found through the comments and I think I love her!

A - Age you lost your virginity? - 21 (and married)

B - Band listening to right now? - Big and Rich

C - Dream Car? - Lincoln Navigator

D - Dads name? - Bill

E - Easiest person to make you laugh? - Teresita, my best friend who can make me laugh even when I am in a bad mood.

F - Food you miss most? - Why would I miss any food???

G - Any encounters with ghosts?- No and no aliens either.

I - Interesting unknown fact about yourself? - I only want to be filthy rich so I will never have to cook again.

J- The first letter of the last person who broke your heart? -S

K - Kissing with eyes opened or closed? - Closed. Who opens them?? All you would see is skin pores!

L - Last time you did LSD? - Uhhh.. never even seen it.

M - Most memorable moment you can think of in a minute?- Other than the birth of my children, it would have to be standing near St. Peter's bones beneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

N - Nicknames? - Sugarpill (that is what my dad called me)

O - What’s your most valued possession?- Materially? I suppose it would be my home. I decorated it the way I always wanted a home to be. I love it.

P - Poison of choice?- A very very expensive red wine. Once you have had a good one, cheap wines will not do. There is simply no going back.

Q - The last quote you heard: "Never disbelieve what you don't understand."

R - What are you allergic to?- Rude people

S - Song you sang last? - "All My Loving" by the Beatles. I sing it all the time at night to get my youngest asleep.

T - Time you woke up?- 7:30am when I have to.

U - Fav. pair of underwear? - whichever fit.

V - Vegetable you hate most? -Okra

W - What are you the most afraid of? - My children dying before I do.

X - X-rated love life?- Shouldn't everyone's be?

Y - Year you were born? - 1962

Z - Zodiac sign? - I have no idea and don't care.