Gay group says it will crash Florida's Governor Crist wedding next month

From Towleroad:

The Suncoast News reports: "The group Impact-Florida has called on its members to gather in pink T-shirts outside First United Methodist Church of St. Petersburg on Dec.12 to "congratulate" Crist and Rome while their wedding takes place inside. The demonstration will continue outside the wedding reception at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in downtown St. Petersburg. 'After the positive congratulatory observance, there will be a candlelight vigil close to the [Vinoy] in downtown St. Pete to mourn the loss of gays right to get married,'

Mocking Christians and disrupting people's personal events will not gain you any proponents, I can promise you that.

Conservative Tweeters! Listen Up!

Want to know who to follow on Twitter?

Here are the top conservative tweeters. (I think I am around 138, it changes with the number of twitters following you).

Of course you should be following ME!

I really only recently starting getting into twitter and it's very addictive. I love it now. It's a great way to be on top of news breaking and to message with conservative friends.

It's such a strange world. Your e-mail lets you know when someone is following you, so one day I see that G. Gordon Liddy is following me and click on his profile thinking that it was just someone using that name..and it was really him! Crazy. Yesterday I noticed that Tag Romney (one of Mitt's sons) was following me.

This is why you gotta love twitter.

If you don't know what twitter is, here is a great newbie guide.

And you thought Obama and the unicorn thing was a joke.

Dan Lacey, is the artist of “The Barack Obama Victory Unicorn." He sold these to the crowd outside the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul Minnesota at the convention apparently. I suppose if one is riding a unicorn, being naked is imperative.

via boing boing

*WELCOME HOTAIR READERS! BOOKMARK ME AND FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!!! *

The Republican Party Abolished Slavery

On this day in 1865, the 13th Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution.

From Michael Zak (Grand Old Partisan blog), who is all about teaching the real history of our country:

Despite protests from the Democrats, the Republican Party made banning slavery part of its national platform in 1864. Senator Lyman Trumbull (R-IL) wrote the final version of the text, combining the proposed wordings of several other Republican congressmen.

All Republicans in Congress voted for the 13th Amendment, while nearly all Democrats voted against it. So strongly did President Abraham Lincoln (R-IL) support the 13th Amendment, he insisted on signing the document, though presidential approval is not part of the amendment process.

Outlawing slavery was a Republican achievement.

It's quite ironic, isn't it? All Republicans voted for the 13th Amendment and nearly all Democrats voted against it. And here we are 144 years later and the first black President ever to be elected is a member of the same party that voted to keep blacks, like him, slaves.

Maybe there should a new "Roots" movie that shows the true history of Republicans fighting for the rights of the African American and Democrats fighting against those rights right up to the civil rights movement.

In the 26 major civil rights votes after 1933, a majority of Democrats opposed civil rights legislation in over 80 percent of the votes. By contrast, the Republican majority favored civil rights in over 96 percent of the votes.

There is another interesting little historical tidbit you might not be aware of that I found a Michael Zak's blog as well:

....................

For decades after the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist wing of the Democratic Party. Klansmen murdered hundreds of Republican activists and office-holders, including U.S. Representative James Hinds (R-Arkansas).

..

On this day in 1871, the Republican-controlled 42nd Congress passed and the Republican President, Ulysses Grant, signed into law the Ku Klux Klan Act. The law banned the KKK and other Democrat terrorist organizations. President Grant then deployed federal troops to crush a Klan uprising in South Carolina.

..

Eleven years later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned most provisions of the Act. Though legalized, this original version of the Ku Klux Klan faded. Why? Because as Democrats regained control over southern state governments, they could oppress African-Americans openly, without need of white sheets.

...............

In my opinion the Democrats still oppress blacks, but in a covert way. They do it by promising that the government will take care of them in one way or another. Being taken care of is a powerful incentive and it works.

..

Republicans have done a sorry job in reaching out to the black community. We need to step up to the plate and teach them the history of the Republican party as it relates to them. We need to spread our message of less government and how to empower their communities with hard work, values, and prosperity.

..

We are the party of Lincoln. Let's get back to it.

OJ gets 15 yrs

HotAir has the videos. Fred Coleman and his daughter's clip is very satisfying to watch. I can't imagine what they have been through watching the man that murdered his son and her brother play golf, do interviews, have girlfriends, and be totally arrogant about the killing for 14 years. OJ even tried to make money off his "confession." The Goldmans kept their dignity. They didn't let their grief and anger keep them from living life. I really admire them for that.

Today is really their day. God bless them

Always look a bit closer.

The left will hail this news item: Reuters: Abortion not seen linked with depression

I'ts interesting that just last night I was watching "Celebrity Rehab" with Dr. Drew and the supermodel being treated for a 16 yr drug addition tells of how after her abortion she became insanely promiscious. Dr. Drew then says "That is extremely common in women who have had abortions." I was shocked that they let such a truth leak out! Anyone who has worked with post abortive women knows what hell they go through.

Anyway, The Family Research Center looked into the background of these studies, and as usual, Planned Parenthood with their pro-abortion agenda and money making abortion clinics, were behind the studies:

In a new study sure to capture the Left's attention, a research team at Johns Hopkins is attempting to persuade policymakers that abortion does not cause emotional distress, despite strong evidence to the contrary. As many acquainted with this Johns Hopkins research team can attest, there is much more to "Abortion and long-term mental health outcomes: a systematic review of the evidence" than meets the eye. The university department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, where three of the four study authors hail from, is funded by Planned Parenthood of Maryland. Raising more suspicions about the validity of the study is the presence of co-author Robert Blum, who heads up one of the most heavily funded population control programs in the world -- worth roughly $1 billion. Blum has been a long-time supporter of unrestricted abortion, including his service on the Guttmacher Institute's Board of Directors from 1989 to present and as Chair from 1999-2002. He has testified in several statutory challenges against any parental involvement in a minor child's abortion decision. Not surprisingly, the Hopkins study is severely tainted by the team's pro-abortion bias. As our experts have been quick to point out, Blum's review of 21 surveys conveniently omitted the stacks of research published in peer-reviewed journals that showed an association between abortion and negative mental health effects. He and the other authors claim that any studies showing a link between abortion and depression are politically motivated, but considering the Department's ties to Planned Parenthood, theirs is living proof! As more evidence pours in contradicting Blum and company, this is just poor science. Just this week, two new articles add to the body of research demonstrating that abortion is associated with increased risk of adverse mental health effects. The two peer-reviewed papers were published in the British Journal of Psychiatry and the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Both had strong methodology and controls for confounding or alternate variables. Additional Resources

I really wish that non-biased research could be done on this and the incidence of breast cancer in women who have had abortions. Not just to provide fodder for either side, but because it is important that we know and understand any link there may be.

Send Some Holiday Love To Our Troops!

Soldier's Angels' needs shipping donations for it's last round of packages overseas to our soldiers!!!

Give a gift too! Only $25

Anyone heard of this???

Died a suicide bomber, buried here

Wow.

From Andy McCarthy at NRO:

Shirwa Ahmed was a Somali jihadist: a suicide terrorist who killed 29 people in a bombing in Northern Somalia last October. He was also a naturalized American citizen, part (I guess "parts" would be more accurate) of the 100,000-strong Somali enclave in Minnesota. Now reporting from the local Fox affiliate indicates our FBI came to the aid of the jihadist's family: retrieving the the bits to which Shirwa blew himself and transporting them — apparently on your dime — so that he could be buried here at "home." You'll need a strong stomach for this:

One of Five Suspected Somali Suicide Bomber [sic] Laid to Rest

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9)—One of the five men suspected to be a suicide bomber who killed himself and 29 others last October in Somalia, was buried Wednesday at a Burnsville Cemetery.

Video: Funeral for Suspected Suicide Bomber

FOX 9 has learned DNA tests have confirmed Shirwa Ahmed was one of five suicide bombers who killed himself and 29 others last October in northern
Somalia.

He is also a Minnesotan and a naturalized U.S. citizen.

The FBI helped return Ahmed's remains to his family.

At a Twin Cities cemetery in Burnsville Wednesday afternoon, the
suspected suicide bomber was laid to rest.

Shirwa Ahmed, 27, was given a traditional Muslim burial.

Family and friends did not wish to talk about the circumstances of his
death.

Community activist [ACM: Is that like a community organizer?]
Omar Jamal is one of the few who will. “Honestly I look at him seriously
as a victim and not as a criminal, I think of him as a young victim," says
Jamal.

U.S. intelligence is investigating whether Ahmed and the other missing
Minnesota Somali’s [sic] attended terrorist training camps. There, lessons
are given on explosives and automatic weapons and some of the terrorists seem to speak, with American accents.

FOX 9 learned as many as a 20 young Somali men have vanished from the
Twin Cities in the last year. Some of those suspicions have focused on the
Abuubakar As-Sadiq Islamic Center. It's [sic] religious leader,
Sheikh Abdirahman was prevented from traveling to Mecca last Saturday. He tells FOX 9, he believes he was placed on the no-fly list because of the on-going investigation.

During the funeral Wednesday, Shirwa Ahmed was neither celebrated as a
martyr, nor condemned as a killer. He was buried simply as a Muslim man, who died so close, yet so far, from home.

So add this story to the other tales from our northernmost shariah state where, in just the last couple of years, we've seen Muslim taxi drivers refusing to ferry Minneapolis airport passengers they suspected were carrying alcohol or gay, as well as a seizure-prone student dropped from a graduate education program that required field work in a local high school: he needed a dog for medical reasons and offended Muslim students, who consider canines unclean, abused the graduate student and threatened to kill the animal. And that's to say nothing of the "Flying Imams" who were escorted off a plane after aping the 9/11 attack and scaring the daylights out of other passengers — and who, natch, are now suing the airline.

"Leave the brats at home!"

From the WaPo:

Organizers of President-elect Barack Obama's Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony are being as kid-friendly as a snooty, high-priced restaurant.

Officials are banning all strollers and backpacks and make a point of saying on their Web site that "there are no childcare facilities provided to attendees."

The Obama people snooty??? No!

via Gawker

A New Job

What does one do when you've been the Governor of New York, but shamed out of the job by throwing down some serious $$$ for a hooker half your wife's age?

I mean, you would have to find a profession where ethics and morality don't matter at all.

Spitzer has found that.

Last White Girl Standing

Or dancing anyway.

This is some sort of dance contest my daughter got into at college. She has the moves, I'm telling you. This particular dance is called "The Stanky leg."

I'm sure Gene Kelly would have loved it.

The Democrat's wars

We will be staying in Iraq under Obama and Gitmo will not be closed anytime soon. Interrogation proceduures will stay in place and I'm betting wiretapping won't be eliminated either.

Andy McCarthy at NRO summed up the perspective on the wars we are involved with PERFECTLY:

Democrats were never going to get serious about the war until they owned it. Be prepared for all sorts of things that were "constitution-shredding" for the last seven years to transform before our very eyes into "smart, effective counterterrorism."

Having no life is a compliment! Really.

Ed Rendell was caught with a hot mike saying this yesterday about Janet Napolitano being Secretary of homeland security.

“Janet’s perfect for that job,” Rendell says. “Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19, 20 hours a day to it.”

Are we sure this wasn't Biden? Heh.

RightPundits said this:

Governor Janet Napolitano is a childless, single woman.
His press secretary Chuck Ardo is cleaning up the mess by saying that “Rendell meant no disrespect to Napolitano and would have made the same comment if the candidate was a man.”

So either this was a gaffetastic, or in Governor Ed Rendell’s mind, not having a life really is a great compliment. How ever you choose to look at it, sexism in the Democratic Party is certainly alive, well and rampant.

Prop 8, The Musical

TV and movie stars put on a musical to mock religion and promote gay marriage.

Mocking always helps to put people on your side. Sure.

Dang it! I love Scrubs and now I can't watch it anymore.

Doing the job Americans won't do...

No, it's not about illegal immigrants.

The $621 million Politically Correct Visitor Center

Not only did Congress go a tiny bit over budget from $265 million, but the Vistor Center at the Capitol rewrites our politically history by ignoring the faith of our forefathers and the impact it had on our country's development. Kim at Up North Mommy has all the good quotes about it. Matthew Spalding from the Heritage Foundation had this to say about it:

"Designed to provide “an enhanced educational experience,” the Visitor Center allows guests to make on-line reservations before spending time at two gift shops, enjoying a 530-seat restaurant, visiting any of 26 restrooms or watching an orientation film in one of two theaters, all in air-conditioned comfort.

The “educational” part is the Exhibition Hall, the theme of which is “E Pluribus Unum — Out of Many, One.” The etching in marble initially referred to that phrase as the nation’s motto. Now, however, that etching is covered by a bad plaster job, because … well, “E Pluribus Unum” is not the nation’s motto. Our actual motto, “In God We Trust,” is notably absent, along with other references to faith.

Take how the exhibit treats the Northwest Ordinance, the 1787 document that signaled the beginning of America’s westward expansion. It’s selectively quoted to encourage education — carefully shorn of its opening clause: “Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind …”

But what bothered me the most when I toured the Visitor Center at the request of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — who raised a warning flag on this politically correct outrage — is what it does to the Constitution."

Isn't it ironic that they would edit the Northwest Ordinance to censor the part about Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government? It seems our government has abandoned all three, which is why it is no longer good.

How Obama got elected

You might think that the Zogby poll we have been hearing so much about reflected the ignorance of Obama voters, but it really reflects an uniformed voter. Consider their news sources and you understand. This is from the Powerline forum, but I got it from Protein Wisdom. The full report is here. But I broke it down to show you what I mean:

35 % of McCain voters got 10 or more of 13 questions correct. But only
18% of Obama voters got 10 or more of 13 questions correct.

McCain voters knew which party controls congress by a 63-27 margin.
Obama voters got the “congressional control” question wrong by 43-41.

McCain voters knew who controlled congress and Obama voters pretty much didn't.

Those “exposed” to Fox News got “congressional control” correct 64-25 (+39)

Those “exposed” to CNN got “congressional control” correct 48-38 (+10)

Those “exposed” to Network news got “congressional control” correct 48-39 (+9)

So Fox News viewers were overwhelming more informed. No surprise there. Which brings us to how they voted:

Those “exposed” to Fox News voted 70-29 for McCain.
Those “exposed” to CNN voted 63-37 for Obama.
Those “exposed” to MSNBC voted 73-26 for Obama.
Those “exposed” to network newscasts voted 62-37 for Obama.

So, those exposed to the other networks that were not Fox News, voted overwhelmingly for Obama. They were also overwhelmingly misinformed. No surprise there.

The poll goes on to explain how Obama voters pretty much didn't know anything about Ayers or how Obama got elected to the Senate in Chicago or his views on many issues, but they ALL know about Palin's teenage daughter. Which news network you watch matters. Be informed and watch Fox News.

Good grief.

Thank you George Bush...

Part II.

Excellent.

The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have lost their minds

Seriously. What is wrong with these people?

Muslim prayer rooms should be opened in every Roman Catholic school, church leaders have said.

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales also want facilities in schools for Islamic pre-prayer washing rituals.

The demands go way beyond legal requirements on catering for religious minorities.

what are the Islamic pre-prayer washing rituals you ask?

Wudhu involves washing the face, hands, arms and feet three times each, gargling the mouth three times and washing the neck and inside the nose and ears. Some Muslims also wash their private parts.

Islam teaches that Muslims are unfit for prayer if they have not performed Wudhu after breaking wind or using the toilet.

As it points out in the article, if a Muslim parent chooses to send their child to a Catholic school he can reasonably expect that Muslim traditions won't be adhered to. I suggest starting a Muslim school if they can't find one.

But beyond that, I think the Catholic Bishops across the pond have forgotten the purpose of Catholic schools. It is not only to provide academic instruction, but to teach our faith. Giving in to a belief that goes against what we believe in diminishes our message. As Catholics we are called to reach out to those, and show them the face of Christ. One of love, compassion, and forgiveness. A faith that teaches holiness and (what we believe) is the most honest and true path to God. How is that possible when we allow a religion to be practiced in our schools that goes against that? In allowing such a thing we give our stamp of approval to a religion that is the antithesis to what we believe.

It's beyond ridiculous. Muslims, or people of any religion, are free to practice their religion. But if you want your child to participate in your particular religion, send them to a religious school that practices that religion.

Let me text you....

...on how to amputate that arm.

Amazing.

Change That Doesn't Happen

Obama has abandoned the "windfall profits tax"on oil and gas companies, thank God. It also looks like Obama is putting off raising taxes on anyone in this economy. Again, thank God.

Obama has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay. A Bush appointee and a Republican. Huh. I bet the Koskids are howling at that one. Gates is also a proponent of missile defense. Should be interesting to see how that goes.

Hillary voted for the war in Iraq and has been very hawkish in the Senate and she is his pick for Secretary of State.

Obama has picked a former Marine commandant , Gen. Jim Jones, as his national-security adviser. This General is close with John McCain. Obama's National Security team is probably composed of people McCain might have picked.

Obama promised he would get us out of Iraq in 16 months, but is now saying he will listen to his commanders. It will probably take a bit longer and he has benefited from the success of the surge he opposed. Ironic, isn't it? He opposed permanent bases in Iraq, but I'm betting that policy will change as well.

Obama has said he will increase troop levels in Afghanistan, something John McCain would have done as well. When the war there becomes more heated, what will the left say then? Recently he has said we should be tougher on Pakistan. This is hardly a pacifist talking.

This all may make the lefties angry, but the truth is that Bush's foreign policy was never the "wrong" path the left and the media made it out to be. As Obama is about to take the seat of the Presidency, he realizes that.

As NRO points out:

Bush wants U.S. troops to “return on success” in Iraq — so does Obama. Bush supports a buildup in Afghanistan — so does Obama. Bush wants a larger military — so does Obama. Bush has launched raids against al-Qaeda into the tribal areas of Pakistan — Obama wants to do the same. Bush wants to close Guantánamo Bay, but has been bedeviled by the difficult choices inherent in its shuttering — Obama will be, too. Bush has put out diplomatic feelers to Iran, while warning of the unacceptability of its nuclear program — Obama has done the same, although with more of an accent on diplomacy.

What are we to think of this? As conservatives, it is certainly nice to see that Obama may be more intelligent than he is radical, but it may just come down to common sense.

I remember thinking that Clinton governed like a Republican on many things. Which is why the economy did well under him. I thought at the time he just wanted to be liked (and loved apparently) because he would sign things like the Welfare Reform Act (which Republicans had been fighting for years for) because he wanted to play both sides and be a "moderate." But what I think now is that it was being pragmatic. He saw what needed to be done from a Presidential standpoint and not a liberal one. Did Clinton drop the ball on terrorism? Yes. He thought he could ignore the first World Trade Center bombing, the U.S.S. Cole and the embassie bombings. But after 9-11, Obama knows these things cannot be ignored.

So it's not that Obama is trying to moderate or anything like that. He is simply seeing the world as it is, and he is doing the same things Bush did because they were right. It's as simple as that.

It should be interesting to see how the press and the left handle "The One" following in the footsteps of Bush. Will they smear and disrespect Obama too?

Don't count on it.

Now, if he doesn't sign the Freedom of Choice Act or remove the executive pro-life orders that Pres. Bush put into place, I may have to write a few nice things about him. But I'm not counting on it. As moderate as Clinton may have been on a few things, he was completely loyal to the pro-abortion side of the Democratic party. It was the only group on the left that he never let down. I'll be shocked if Obama is any different.

The woman who changed my mind on gun control

Suzanna Hupp, a former Texas State Representative and gun rights advocate. She lost her parents at the massacre at Luby's in Killeen Texas in 1991.

She says it all perfectly to our Congressmen. Especially the very last line.


via CharliePATpk on Twitter

The Terrorists tortured the Jews

The terrorists in Mumbai India tortured the Israeli Jews so badly before executing them that the mortician was traumatised by the sight of them.

This is the evil we fight.

It's come to this...

In order to allow all displays of holiday and religious intent, Seattle's KiroTV reports that "An atheistic sign is included in the state Capitol's holiday display that includes a holiday tree and a Christian nativity scene."

The only problem is the display is nothing more than an insult to faith filled people. It reads:

"Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Isn't that inclusive? I suppose a Christian should display a sign that says, "Jews need to accept Christ." Or maybe Jews could display a sign that says,"Christians, get over it, Jesus hasn't come yet." Or even better, Muslims could display a sign that says, "Infidel's must be eliminated (I'm looking at you Christians, Jews, and atheists").

It's the holiday spirit!

Seriously. Who there would allow such a thing? It boggles the mind.

Thank God I live in Texas.

via Ace

The Fox Is Guarding The Henhouse

Confirming you are a legal resident before obtaining a driver's license? What a silly idea!

Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano, Obama's pick for homeland security secretary, thought so. She declared that her state would not cooperate with this major domestic security initiative recommended by the 9-11 commission. It's called the Real ID drivers’ license program.

Oh, did I mention that as homeland security secretary she will run the program?

So, I think we can all expect top notch security in this area..........not.

Good grief.

A Ring For Christmas

Obama is buying Michelle a $30,000 ring for Christmas and to say 'thank you' for the help in the campaign. Which is fine. More power to them. But imagine if Pres. Bush had done the same thing with Laura. The press would have howled about rich Republicans. We would still be hearing about it.

Such is the double standard of a biased press.

Update: Obama's people are denying this. I saw it at the Huffington Post, but I notice the post is no longer there. You can see on the google search here the title of their post "Obama buying Wife Michelle Rare Gold Ring..." But when you click on it, it now has a post saying that he is not. Not surprised they got it wrong, they get everything else wrong.

The Clintons are like a bad rash

They just will not go away.

Even "The One" couldn't bring that kind of change. Not only will we have to put up with Hillary as Secretary of State, but now there is a rumor that David Paterson, New York's Democratic governor may appoint Bill Clinton to Hillary's seat in the Senate.

This is going to be a long 4 years.

Thank you George Bush

The media and the left's narrative on President Bush was always wrong.

Bush was right.

First and foremost, Saddam Hussein-a state sponsor of terrorism, a producer of weapons of mass destruction, a warmonger, and a genocidal maniac-is gone. The threat he posed was a nagging concern to Bill Clinton, but Clinton, lacking the political will or perhaps a good excuse, was content to consider Saddam trapped in a box. George W. Bush didn't have that luxury. After the September 11 attacks the stakes were raised and Bush understood the world could not tolerate the presence of someone like Saddam, who defied all international challenges and was actively subverting the restraints upon him.

For the last five years, Saddam has been viewed, in retrospect, as having been harmless, but that is only because he was deposed and captured by forces acting on George Bush's orders, then tried and hanged by the Iraqi people. The Baathist regime is no more.
.................................

In the 1990s, anyone who told you Iraq would be a functioning, U.S.-allied democracy within a few short years would have been laughed out of the room. It has come at tremendous cost in both American and Iraqi lives. It is reasonable to assume, however, given the massive ethnic blood toll Saddam inflicted to maintain his regime, that establishing a Western-leaning Iraqi democracy has been accomplished with only a fraction of the violence that would have taken place absent U.S. intervention. Iran, while it meddles and wields deadly influence, has been kept at arm's length in the process, when Iran and Syria might both have been expected to descend on a post-Saddam Iraq. This highly dangerous region is stable-and has hope of remaining so.

The very concept of democracy in the region received a major boost when Arabs saw millions of Iraqis voting while under threat of death. This evolution is playing out in fits and starts in Lebanon and even the Palestinian territories, where voters have learned that the democratic process only begins with a vote. When Hamas chose to reward its backers with a bloodbath and international isolation, George Bush used that opportunity to draw an unprecedented gathering for former adversaries together to talk peace. Meanwhile, the very delicate Pakistan has advanced, with U.S. support, from military rule to elected civilian rule and remains an ally, if a problematic one, in America's war on Islamic extremism.
..................................................

George W. Bush did not solve all the problems of the world's most troubled and dangerous region. But, for all his shortcomings, he has moved them forward and established the United States as the dominant agent for change in the Middle East. Consider the mess Obama would be inheriting in the region if the Bush administration had just sat on its thumbs-Ahmadinejad's Iran with an even further advanced nuclear arms program, an aging Saddam installing one of his psychopathic sons in power or Iraq being torn apart in a genocidal nightmare. Imagine all the regimes of the region, unchastened and unimpressed by the U.S. exercise of power, looking for any weakness or advantage to exploit and quite possibly finding it in al Qaeda and its affiliates.

In an interview published in a London newspaper five years before 9-11, Osama talked about how disgraceful Somalia was for us. He said we moved in tens of thousands of soldiers and then he said this:

"However when...(many) of your soldiers were killed in minor battles and one American pilot was dragged in the streets of Mogadish, you left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat, and your dead with you. Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge, but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You have been disgraced by Allah and you withdrew; the extent of you impotence and weaknessses became very clear"

We will not leave Iraq "carrying disappointment, humiliation, or defeat." We will leave Iraq in victory and helping turn a page in history. Osama and those that follow him no longer see us as impotent and weak. That is why we stayed safe. We confronted the bully instead of ignoring him.

Thank you George Bush.

Fighting the Good Fight

Gert Wilders. If you don't know who he is, you should. He is a dutch politician who is lucky to still be alive. He brings us a message of warning.

From the WSJ:

In March, Mr. Wilders released a short film called "Fitna," a harsh treatment of Islam that begins by interspersing inflammatory Quran passages with newspaper and TV clips depicting threats and acts of violent jihad. The second half of the film, titled "The Netherlands Under the Spell of Islam," warns that Holland's growing Muslim population -- which more than doubled between 1990 and 2004, to 944,000.

Wilders makes the distinction between those Muslims that live their lives peaceably and those who commit terrorism, but he insists that we must face and fight the radical ideology of Islam. Why are we tolerant of those who commit genital mutilation and honor killings? The treatment of women alone should have us all howling, but few Americans have seen "Fitna" because the only one brave enough to air it was LiveLeak and they pulled it over death threats, but later must have realized how this went against free speech in this country, and put it back up.

Being tolerant of a different religion does not mean that we are tolerant of the evil that happens under it's influence. They torture and hang gay people in Iran. They perform genital mutilation on young women throughout the Middle East. Where are the gay and feminist activists? Where are the liberal activists in general? Why do radical Muslims get a free ride from them?

In November 2004, Theo van Gogh was assassinated on an Amsterdam street in retaliation for directing a film called "Submission" about Islam's treatment of women. Wilder realizes he lives in danger every day. But the bottom line for him is that we acknowledge that all cultures are not equal. We are better because of our freedom. We are better because we don't allow hanging or mutilation or honor killings on women. There are many things we could do better. We are not a perfect society by a long shot.

But we are better. And we better start fighting for our culture. We think that we ignore what goes on in Europe. We think it won't affect us. But we are wrong if we believe that. A dark cloud grows in Europe and sooner or later we will feel it's presence here.

h/t BigDog

"Can I Live?"

Based on a true story.

A New Blacklist

We are all familiar with the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950's. Wikipedia defines it like this:

The Hollywood blacklist—more precisely the entertainment industry blacklist, into which it expanded—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or associations, real or suspected. Artists were barred from work on the basis of their alleged membership in or sympathy toward the American Communist Party, involvement in liberal or humanitarian political causes that enforcers of the blacklist associated with communism, and/or refusal to assist federal investigations into Communist Party activities.

Liberals especially have always talked about the blacklist in disgust. Examining people's beliefs and barring them from work or an ability to make money because of those beliefs was just wrong, right?

Well, not anymore.

The blacklist is back and this time the liberals are using it for their own benefit. They don't even see the irony and sadness in using the term "blacklist." They use it proudly. The LA Times has a search engine so you can find out who gave money to support the passage of Prop 8 in California.

It's so much like the thought police that it's scary. The first link is a Texas Blog that lists Texas donors who gave to support the passage of Prop 8. He wishes for you to boycott them. I say this can go both ways. I'm listing several so that you and I will SUPPORT their businesses. Whether we agree with them or not, they have a right to give money to causes they believe in or support legislation and votes as they see fit. Their businesses should not suffer because of their personal beliefs. So during this Holiday season consider taking your business to the following:

Alan Stock of Plano, CEO of Cinemark Theaters. Go to these theatres this season.

Aaron Graham, builder Highland Homes. Let him build your next home.

Alex Dahl of Flower Mound. Need document imaging? Use PrimeOCR.

Brent Romney of Dallas. If you need a Chiropracter, he's your man.

Carroll McDaniel of Fort Worth with Carlson Engineering.

Chad Packard of Plano, CEO of Apple Orthodontix. Get your braces from him.

Charles Schwab of Roanoke, VP of HR for Textron.

Collins Jones of Richardson, the GM for Sunburst Shutters of Texas.

Curtis Harshaw of Grand Prairie, asset management company and RV Park owner.

David Fluckiger of Allen, Physicist for Raytheon.

Don Lester of Allen, The Director of HR for Frito Lay.

Gary Baughman of Southlake, CEO of Petmate Corp.

Gary Riding of Highland Village, CEO of Voluntas Capital.

Gordon Wright of Allen,

Gregory McMurdie of Garland, Shea & McMurdie Financial.

J. Alden Porter of Irving. KDW Inc owner. Does Drywall among other things.

James Foulger of Plano, Foulger-Pratt Company deals in real estate.

Jeff Morgan od Arlington, a Doctor at Omega OB/GYN.

Jonathan Cannon of Flower Mound, Senior VP of Fedex Office/Kinkos.

Meredith Packard of McKinney, runs Packard Family Orthodontics.

Michael Fisher of Allen, Sales director for Pitney Bowes.

Michael Murdock of Highland Village, for Radiologix Inc.

Mike Wilding of Murphy, VP Accounting for Rentacenter.

Milton Thomas of Allen, A rehab doctor at Baylor.

Phil Blackstone of Plano. Signature Garment Care.

Richard Bowman of Plano, Thoracic surgeon.

Richard Pickering of Arlington, Radiologist.


Rob Larimer of Allen, VP at Countrywide.

Robert Kimball of Dallas, Vinson & Elkins law firm.

Eddie Deen, catering.

Wayne Coon of Richardson, CEO of Town Center Bank.

William Benac of Dallas, Senior Operations for Cerberus Capital.

If you don't live in Texas you can use the LA Time search engine to find those in your area and support them and free thought.

MoveOn.orgbots

Did you ever wonder what these people were like in real life? Here is a peek. And keep in mind that this is how they act...when they've won.

via Libertarian Republican

Btw, even the liberals are asking where the change is with all these Clinton cronies in the Obama administration.