Why 'nice guy' muslims do what they do...

Apparently, this is a phenomenom that was a problem long before the jihad doctors of Great Britain had their little bomb-fest last week (and, incidentially, long before we invaded Iraq). From JihadWatch's Robert Spencer, at Frontpage magazine:

Why’s a Nice Guy Like You Doing a Terrorist Act Like This?
By Robert Spencer
FrontPageMagazine.com
April 18, 2007

According to former Detroit Public Schools Superintendent Eddie Green, Kifah Jayyousi is “a great guy, one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.” While Green was superintendent, Jayyousi oversaw the Detroit school district’s capital improvement program, which had a $1.5 billion budget.
Jayyousi is now charged, according to the Detroit Free Press, with “conspiring to kidnap, maim and murder by providing money, recruits and equipment for Islamic struggles in Bosnia, Kosovo and Chechnya from 1993 to 2001.” He could get life in prison.

Christopher Paul, a martial arts instructor at a mosque in Columbus, Ohio, is also a terrific guy. Ahmad Al-Akhras, vice chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter in Columbus, said: “From the things I know, he is a loving husband and he has a wife and parents in town. They are a good family together.”

Yet now Paul, a Muslim, has been charged, according to Associated Press, with “providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to provide support to terrorists and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.” He is accused of training with Al-Qaeda in the early 1990s, training people for violent jihad attacks on targets in Europe and the United States, and more.

But another one of Paul’s friends, Hisham Jenhawi, was skeptical: “I don’t think it’s even close to his personality to act upon something like that. He’s a very kind person. You would meet him on the street and he would want to hug you with the heart that he has.” One of his neighbors, Mike James, added: “He seemed like a nice guy, always waving…”

This kind of thing is nothing new. A friend remembered Gokhan Elaltuntas, a Muslim who carried out a suicide bombing on a synagogue in Istanbul in 2003: “We went partridge hunting together. I still cannot believe how such a quiet person could have been involved in an incident like this.” A friend of Naveed Haq, the jihadist killer who murdered one and wounded five at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle in July 2006, described him as “pretty much just a normal guy….He was the kind of guy when you talked to him he was always laughing.”

According to a Southern California friend of Raed Albanna, who killed 132 people in a suicide attack outside a medical clinic in Iraq in 2005, “He was into partying. We hit some pretty wild clubs in Hollywood.” Frank Lindh, the father of John Walker Lindh, a.k.a. Suleyman Al-Faris, the convert to Islam from Marin County who joined the Taliban and was captured in Afghanistan fighting against American troops, has said: “In simple terms, this is the story of a decent and honorable young man embarked on a spiritual quest.”

Great guys all. Some partied and some embarked on a spiritual search, but they all ended up in the same place, committing acts dedicated to furthering the cause of jihad, or facing charges of having done so.

One clue to this phenomenon may come from jazz musician Tarek Shah, who recently pled guilty to providing martial arts and hand-to-hand combat with weapons training to Al-Qaeda operatives. In 2004 Shah told a man he thought was a fellow jihadist but who turned out to be an undercover agent, “I could be joking and smiling and then cutting their throats in the next second.”

Or they may be genuinely decent fellows. It was the Nazi genocide mastermind Heinrich Himmler who told a group of SS leaders: “Most of you know what it means to see a hundred corpses lying together, five hundred, or a thousand. To have gone through this and yet -- apart from a few exceptions, examples of human weakness -- to have remained decent fellows, this is what has made us hard. This is a glorious page in our history that has never been written and shall never be written…”

Were these SS mass murderers really decent fellows? To their friends and family, they probably were. After all, they weren’t interested in undifferentiated mayhem. They were adherents of a totalitarian, genocidal ideology that convinced them that the murders they were committing were for a good purpose. As far as they were concerned, their goals were rational and good, and the murders were a means to that goal. It was not just a noteworthy achievement, but a necessity, for them to remain “decent fellows,” for they were busy trying to build what they saw as a decent society. That their vision of a decent society included genocide and torture did not trouble them, for it was all for – in their view – a goal that remained good.

Today’s jihad terrorists are likewise the adherents of a totalitarian, genocidal ideology that teaches them that murders committed under certain circumstances are a good thing. And those murders, here again, are not committed for their own sake, but for the sake of a societal vision hardly less draconian and evil than that of Hitler, but one also that portrays itself as the exponent of all that is good – as the Taliban showed us. But the continued reference to such people as “terrorists” pure and simple, and the refusal of the media and most law enforcement officials to examine their ideology at all, only reinforces the idea that these people are raving maniacs, interested solely in chaos for its own sake. The society they want to build, and the means besides guns and bombs that they are using to build it, so far remain below the radar screen of most analysts. These people are just “terrorists,” interested only in “terror.” And so we’re continually surprised when they turn out to be nice guys after all. Decent fellows. Like the SS.

I'm just saying...

Group Responds to Cal Thomas' Muslim Remarks

In an article posted on WTOP radio, CAIR responds to Cal Thomas' "islamphobic" commentary:

Group Responds to Cal Thomas' Muslim Remarks
July 5, 2007 - 5:03am

WASHINGTON -- Recent remarks from WTOP commentator Cal Thomas have sparked controversy in the Muslim-American community. Now, an Islamic advocacy group is responding to Thomas' commentary.

In his weekly commentary on WTOP Radio Monday, Cal Thomas discussed the recent thwarted terror attacks in the United Kingdom.

"How much longer should we allow people from certain lands, with certain beliefs to come to Britain and America and build their mosques, teach hate, and plot to kill us?" Thomas asked. "OK, let's have the required disclaimer: Not all Muslims from the Middle East and southeast Asia want to kill us, but those who do blend in with those who don't. Would anyone tolerate a slow-spreading cancer because it wasn't fast-spreading? Probably not. You'd want it removed."

Thomas' commentary prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations to urge its supporters to contact WTOP and voice their concerns. WTOP received many calls and emails from both sides.

On Wednesday, WTOP invited Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesperson and Cal Thomas, to separately respond to Thomas' previous comments.

In his response, Hooper said Thomas' comments undermined CAIR's effort to promote mutual understanding and social justice.

"For him, I would imagine that his next step is the expulsion of the Muslim-American community," Hooper said. "We condemn extremism. We've condemned terrorism....We've issued dozens of condemnations on dozens of terrorism attacks."

CAIR works to create proactive campaigns to promote awareness about Islam and the Muslim community.

"But guys like [Cal] Thomas come along and want to say every Muslim should be suspect and should be treated in a certain way. That's not just and that's not the American way," Hooper said.

When negative incidents occur, such as the Danish cartoon controversy and the desecration of Korans at Guantanamo Bay, Hooper said CAIR focuses on educational campaigns and "things that really explain who Islam is all about so that they don't have to take their misinformation from Islamaphobes like Cal Thomas."

Hooper said he feels as though the extremists are becoming the unwanted face of Islam.

"We have a real PR problem. We have a real problem with a tiny minority of people who are misusing the faith of Islam to carry out acts of violence," he said.

While the organization tries to reach out to the extremists, Hooper said more often than not, "the people who do these types of things aren't going even to listen to me."

"But we still have a role to play in trying to convince these people that they're betraying the faith of Islam, and we just do as much as we can. We try and think every day of new ways to help in the fight against terrorism."

In response to Hooper's comments, Thomas said there is a history of "disinformation people" in the United States.

"We have always had disinformation people among us... saying that there's no real threat and the real threat are the people who are pointing it out, not the people who are plotting to destroy us. They have a problem. And if they're not listening to voices that claim to be responsible like Mr. Hooper, then they have a double problem," Thomas said.

According to Thomas, the U.S. needs to monitor Muslims more closely.

"As much as it offends our desire to be tolerant and open and free speech and association and the rest, as [New York Times columnist] Tom Friedman put it, we have a cancer among us and we better respond to it before it grows any further," he said.

Thomas also cited several "prominent liberal Democrat" U.S. senators who have expressed concerns with CAIR and its "extreme rhetoric" and "ties to terrorism."

"The truth hurts," Thomas said. "I'm not making this stuff up...we gotta connect the dots. It's a little late after things begin to explode."

(Copyright 2007 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

We need more media people like Mr. Thomas.

Islamaphobe Cal Thomas responds in Breitbart TV interview

In a response to recent intimidation efforts and accusations of spreading islamaphobia by CAIR, DC radio commentator Cal Thomas speaks in this audio interview with Breitbart TV.

Click here to hear the interview.

Must See new music video: 'I'm American'

Wow. This is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic band that mixes metal and rap. And they're patriots.

Comments from the poster on YouTube:

With "I'm American," the second video from the new album "Southern Born Killers," Stuck Mojo once again takes a stand for pride in country, self-respect and self-reliance. These themes have been a constant throughout the band's career. Following in the footsteps of the wildly successful video for "Open Season," Mojo once again takes a politically incorrect position by not being ashamed of the qualities that have made America great.You may download the entire "Southern Born Killers" album, for free, at the band's web site StuckMojo . us."I'm American"

Happy Independence Day & enjoy (H/T to Little Green Footballs):


BONUS: Lyrics from "I'm American"

I'm an American related to all colors of brethren,
Priests and Pastors and Prophets and Reverends,
Divided we fall united we stand together man,
In this cultural melting pot there's nothing better than,
This land of the free and the home of the brave,
Populated by ancestors of immigrants and slaves who met early graves,
So we could see brighter days and we could proudly praise and raise the stars and stripes as Americans

Hate me
Blame me
You can't shame me
Come and stand with me
I'm American

I'm an American born in these states united,
Where racial discrimination keeps us so divided,
Well we've got free speech so I won't be quiet,
We got a lot of problems here man I won't deny it,
But ain't another place that I'd rather be,
Than in this land of great opportunity,
Where we can be anything that we wanna be,
So until the day I D-I-E, I stand tall as an American

Diary of an 'Asian' Physician in Jolly Old England

Hilarious stuff from Iowahawk. So good I had to post it in its entirety. H/T to Little Green Footballs.

Well, That Didn't Work Out So Great
Iowahawk Guest Commentary
By Kahlid Ahmed, MDBoard Certified Gastroenterologist and former Jihad Associate, al Qaeda UK

Ever have "one of those days?" Sure, all of us go through the occasional rough patch, but I swear there are times when I think Allah must really have it in for me. I mean, I know the "Big Guy" is supposed to have a sense of humor, but do I always have to be the punchline?

Take for example this last week. A few mates and I had been planning a big martyrdom weekend for quite a while; it's something we first began discussing a few years ago in medical school back in Amman. We were sitting around the dorm eating pizza, cramming for a big anatomy final, when Ali said "you know, after graduation, we should get together for something really big." We talked about a fishing trip to Canada or something, but most of the guys thought that sounded pretty boring. Abdul suggested a golf weekend in Cancun, but the all-inclusives there can get pretty pricey in-season. Hassan (who's really into motorcycles) suggested renting Harleys and going to Sturgis for the Biker Rally, but we heard that crowd can get pretty rowdy.

Anyhoo, Achmed finally says, "how about packing cars with explosives and killing hundreds of random infidels in a coordinated series of gigantic fireballs?" And we're like, fuckin' A! Not only would we be it an awesome bonding experience (with plenty of Paradise poontang, LOL), we would be doing a valuable community service. Okay, so we high-fived and made a solemn promise that we'd target two years after graduation for the big weekend prank blowout.

I know how it usually goes with these kinds of fraternity things; what with starting up a medical practice, honor killing obligations, and starting a family, it's easy to lose touch with the old school buddies. But this thing -- our thing -- was serious, you know? Thanks to email we were able to keep in touch and keep the plan going. As luck would have it, we all won Achmedinijad scholarships to do our residencies in England for the National Health Service. We got our families together most every weekend for backyard cookouts and self-flagellation and TV football matches. Afterwards me and the other guys would slip out to the garage for cigars, and to pack shrapnel.
So okay, the big weekend arrives, and the guys come over to my place bright and early, everybody's jazzed about rolling up some kufr carnage. All the propane tanks and propellant and nail cannisters are ready to go. I look at Ali and say, "okay mate, back up your car to the garage and I'll start loading it up." He gets this dumbstruck look on his face and says, "my car? I thought Hassan was going to do the martyrdom." And then Hassan does a massive spit-take with his tea, and he's like, "whoa dude, I rigged the cell phones, I didn't agree to blow up. I thought Mohammed was going to do the blowing up." Then Mohammed's like, "don't look at me, pal, I thought I was just providing the spiritual guidance. Plus my car's in the shop for transmission work." From there it just descended into this big shouting match. Holy frickin' prophet, two years of planning this prank and now everybody wants to pussy out on the actual martyrdom.

Long story short, we decided to draw straws. And guess who wins? Yep, yours truly, good old sucker Khalid, the same guy with a pile of charge card receipts for petrol and propane and hardware. The same guy who ended up having to host two thirds of the martyrdom planning parties at HIS house, because his good old college "pals" always have some convenient excuse about "kitchen remodeling" or "MI6 surveillance," and never lift a finger to help clean up the empty bottles or paper plates or the C5 mess. Well, you know what they say: no good deed goes unpunished. Then the other short straw get pulled by Bilal, and I'm like, oh, great. Now I'll be banging some celestial virgin with that wanker looking over my shoulder.

Wow. Hit the nail on the friggin head with this one. Must read - see the entire post here.

Ford Support for Gays UP, Sales Down

From the American Family Association: Ford is actively supporting homosexual agendas (not that there's anything wrong with that), and is being rightly rewarded. Praise from the homosexual community, and a drop in sales.

The boycottFord.com website lists the following:

• Obviously, Ford thinks those who do not support homosexual marriage are not "inclusive and respectful". The campaign's top gift of $500,000 came from Allan Gilmour, former vice chairman of Ford Motor Company and was chairman of the Ford Motor Company Fund when gifts to homosexual organizations were made. Read More
• Ford held the first automotive conference aimed at bringing diversity to the car industry. "Diversity" is a code word for homosexuality. By defining themselves as a minority such as African-Americans, homosexual activists seek to bolster their claims of needing special treatment. Encouraged by Ford, more than 100 multinational companies attended the meeting which, according to 365Gay.com, included a goal of "broadening the number of LGBT workers in the field." Read More
• Ford was given a 100% score on last year's Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. Ford was the only automaker and the largest corporation to get this score. HRC Report
  Ford has been on the DiversityInc "Top 50 Companies for Diversity" list in each of the four years the rankings have been published. Read More
• Ford actively recruited homosexuals for employment by advertising on gay job websites. Read More
  Ford hired a D.C. marketing firm to target the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender market and developed a plan to involve Ford in the day-to-day business of selling vehicles worldwide to gay and lesbian customers.Read More Portfolio
• Ford was an executive sponsor of the 2004 "Out & Equal Workplace Summit Conference." The purpose of the event was to advance the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage, in major corporations.
• Ford donated to the Michigan Gay Pride March a red Mustang Cobra convertible. This was the first time an auto manufacturer has donated a vehicle for the Michigan Gay Pride Parade. Read More
• Ford has been an "Emerald Sponsor" of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG), a national organization promoting the homosexual lifestyle including homosexual marriage.
• Ford has been an annual sponsor of the "Reaching Out MBA Conference" that promotes the education, visibility, and networking capabilities of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender business leaders in the United States and around the globe.

Pro-Family organizations endorsing the boycott of Ford include:

• American Family Association
• Center for Reclaiming America
• Citizens for Community Values
• Vision America
• Free Market Foundation
• WIN Family Services
• Liberty Counsel
• CatholicVote.org
• Point of View Radio
• Coalitions for America
• Mayday for Marriage
• RealMarriage.org
• Judeo-Christian Council
• Constituent Vote
• Faith2Action
• Coalition for Marriage and Family
• ConservativeHQ.com
• Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
• National Association of Marriage Enhancement
• VCY America Radio Network
• Illinois Family Institute
• Renew America
• Christian Coalition International (Canada), Inc.
• Truth Tellers
• National Prayer Network
• West Virginia Family Foundation
• Awake America Ministries
• Abiding Truth Ministries
• The Pro-Family Law Center
• Brian Camenker, Dir. Mass Resistance
• Christian Family Coalition
• United States Justice Foundation
• Catholic Citizens of Illinois (CCI)
• Values USA

(other organizations are expected to endorse the boycott during the next few weeks)

American Family Association, along with 18 other pro-family organizations, has called for a one-year boycott of Ford Motor Company. The boycott was called after Ford reneged on an agreement with American Family Association to stop funding homosexual groups which promote homosexual marriage.

Read more at BoycottFord.com.

I'm Proud to Be An American

Just in case you really want to sing along this Independence Day, here are the lyrics to Lee Greenwood's song.

God Bless the U.S.A.
© MCA Music
By Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there’s pride in every American heart,
and it’s time to stand and say:

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

God Bless The U.S.A. Words and Music by Lee Greenwood
© Copyright 1984 by MUSIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC. & SONGS OF POLYGRAM INTERNATIONAL, INC.
All Rights Controlled and Administered by MUSIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved

DC radio commentary blasted by CAIR for Anti-muslim sentiment

From NewsMax.com:

Cal Thomas Targeted by CAIR for 'Incitement'
This article was written by Susan Jones, senior editor at CNSNews.com

An Islamic advocacy group is urging its supporters to call a Washington, D.C., radio station to "express your concerns about the Islamophobic attitudes" expressed by conservative columnist and author Cal Thomas.

In a commentary on news-talk WTOP radio Monday morning, Thomas discussed the car-bomb terror attacks recently thwarted in the United Kingdom. The eight Muslims arrested in connection with the plot include several physicians.

"How much longer should we allow people from certain lands, with certain beliefs to come to Britain and America and build their mosques, teach hate, and plot to kill us?" Thomas asked.

He also compared Muslims to a "slow spreading cancer" that must be stopped.

In its message to supporters, the Council on American-Islamic Relations described Thomas' remarks as "incitement." The message included the name and work telephone number of WTOP's vice president of programming.

In recent years, CAIR has issued a number of "incitement watches" which CAIR's critics view as efforts to squelch free speech.

On Tuesday, July 17, CAIR plans to host a panel discussion in Washington on "the increasing anti-Muslim rhetoric within the conservative movement in the United States."

The panelists will include David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, and Parvez Ahmed, CAIR chairman.

The discussion will focus "on the negative impact of [anti-Muslim] views on religious tolerance in America and on relations with the Muslim world," CAIR said.

Let's see, what's the treatment for cancer? Radiation! And lots of it!

UPDATE: Cal Thomas kickin' ass of the jihadists on Neil Cavuto (H/T, Atlas Shrugged):

NewsMax: Huckabee Gets 'F' from Conservatives

From NewsMax.com:

Huckabee's Record: Anything But Conservative

Former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee wants to be seen as — in his own words — an "authentic" conservative, but his governing record shows he does not live up to the image.

Despite Huckabee's campaign mantra, "I'm proud of my record as a fiscal conservative," by the end of his second term as Arkansas governor he had raised sales taxes 37 percent, fuel taxes 16 percent, and cigarettes taxes 103 percent.

These actions and others while in the governor's mansion in Little Rock helped ramp up total state tax revenues from $3.9 billion to $6.8 billion.

For doing so, Huckabee earned the failing grade of "F" on the Cato Institute's 2006 governors' fiscal report card. The Washington-based think tank awarded the candidate a "D" for his overall term.

He also received a failing grade from the tax watchdog group Club for Growth.

"Gov. Huckabee says he is a fiscal conservative," Club for Growth President Pat Toomey said at the time of Huckabee's entry into the presidential sweepstakes, "but his 10-year economic-policy record as the governor of Arkansas is mixed, at best. His history includes numerous tax hikes, ballooning government spending, and increased regulation.

"To be sure, Gov. Huckabee's record displays an occasional deference to a pro-growth philosophy, but that is only a small slice of a much bigger picture," Tommey asserts.

Since entering the race, Huckabee appears to have become born-again on tax matters.

After initial hesitation, Huckabee signed the famous Taxpayer Protection Pledge against tax increases perennially sponsored by the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).

"The tax increases Huckabee supported as governor in Arkansas were a mistake and cannot be defended," Grover Norquist, president of ATR, told NewsMax.

"However, as a presidential candidate, he has clearly learned that tax increases are always a mistake and he has signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge against tax increases. He has spoken in favor of a number of significant tax reductions that he would support. Elections are about the future."

Such confidence represents a sea change for Norquist, who once recalled Huckabee saying that he would only raise taxes if his arm were twisted. Norquist then quipped: "He has a history of allowing his arm to be twisted and twisting others' arms."

In the pre-pledge-signing days, Norquist — in an obvious reference to Huckabee's once scale-breaking weight — joked, "We like chubby governors and skinny budgets. Not the other way around."

Club for Growth's Toomey is not so impressed by Huckabee's affirmation to the ATR that he won't increase taxes as president.

"I'm glad to see he signed the pledge, but as a given matter, what politicians have done is a better indicator than what they say they're going to do," Toomey said. "His record clearly does not indicate a strong commitment to limited government."

In its "white paper" review of the candidate, the Club lamented that while governor, Huckabee "consistently supported and initiated measures that increase government's interference in markets, thereby impeding economic growth.

"He told the Washington Times he supports ‘empowering people to make their own decisions,' but many of his key proposals have done just the opposite."

Here are some of those proposals:

• Raised the minimum wage in April 2006 from $5.15 to $6.25 an hour; encouraged Congress to take the same initiative on a national level


• Threatened to investigate price-gouging after 9/11 if gasoline prices went up too high


• Ordered regulatory agencies in Arkansas to investigate price-gouging in the nursing home industry


• Signed a bill into law that would prevent companies from raising their prices a mere 10 percent ahead of a natural disaster (Services like roof repair and tree removal were targeted)

Recently, the National Review tore into Huckabee, charging that he was certainly not the poster child for smaller government.

"During his tenure, the number of state government workers in Arkansas increased over 20 percent. Under Gov. Huckabee's watch, state spending increased a whopping 65.3 percent from 1996 to 2004, three times the rate of inflation, and the state's general obligation debt shot up by almost $1 billion," said the National Review.

Pardoning a Murderer

Meanwhile, the Arkansas Leader newspaper has hounded Huckabee every inch of the campaign trail.

One characteristic editorial chided the candidate for masquerading as a fiscal conservative at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, where Huckabee received a warm reception:

"The delegates may not have known that he helped arrange the largest expansions of government-paid medical care in Arkansas history (largely paid by U.S. taxpayers), compiled a larger general-obligation debt than all previous governors combined, increased the number of government employees by 20 percent in only nine-and-a-half years, and conducted a liberal policy of criminal pardons and commutations."

That latter mention of a liberal policy of criminal pardons has long been an albatross around the neck of the former Baptist minister and president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Case-in-point: Wayne Dumond, a convicted rapist who was released during Huckabee's tenure as governor and who subsequently sexually assaulted and murdered a woman in Missouri following his release.

In October 1996, Huckabee met privately with the parole board to talk about the Dumond case. Some members of the board have since stated that they were pressured to re-examine and vote in favor of Dumond's parole. Huckabee has denied influencing the parole board in any way, but acknowledges some responsibility for signing Dumond's parole.

Dumond's case had gained some celebrity status in the mid 1990s from critics of President Bill Clinton who felt the former Arkansas governor had been too harsh with Dumond because Dumond's initial victim was a distant Clinton relative.

Whatever nettlesome baggage he carries, Huckabee is banking that the electorate will concentrate instead on his message.

Huckabee declined to be interviewed for this story.

Today, not surprisingly a good part of the Huckabee message is about taxes.

"I want to completely eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes. And do I mean all — personal federal, corporate federal, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, self-employment," Huckabee says. "Instead we will have the FairTax, a simple tax based on wealth."

And while on the subject of taxes, Huckabee has shrugged off the criticisms of those who charge him with having been a tax-and-spend executive while in office.

On stumps, he says that during his 10 1/2 years as governor, he cut taxes more than 90 times — saving taxpayers almost $380 million. He also points to how he doubled the child care tax credit and eliminated the marriage penalty from the tax code, while cutting welfare rolls by nearly 50 percent and balancing the state budget.

We must continue to weed these RINOS from the ranks of the GOP.

Tom Tancredo Rips Giuliani, Brownback on Immigration

From NewsMax.com:

Tom Tancredo Rips Rudy Giuliani on Immigration
Monday, July 2, 2007 1:28 p.m. EDT

Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo criticized two of his GOP rivals on their commitment to combat illegal immigration.

The Colorado congressman was in Ames, Iowa to open a campaign office and seek support for the Aug. 11 straw poll in Ames.

Tancredo said he is running for president because no other candidate has as strong a commitment to illegal immigration as he does.

He said Rudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, has tried to make it a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants.

"He's now happy as a clam with the idea of securing our borders and going after immigration - it's great," Tancredo said. "It's wonderful. I don't believe a word of it."

Tancredo said Sam Brownback has blocked immigration reform efforts in 1996.

"He's been an open-border guy for years," Tancredo said. "During a 1996 debate on the issue, he was the primary opponent to most the reform issues. Now he's trying to, quote, modify his approach and say he's always been with us."

A telephone message to Brownback's campaign was not immediately returned.
Jarrod Agen, a Giuliani campaign spokesman, said Giuliani has long worked to get illegal immigrants removed from the country and called Tancredo's comments "inaccurate."
"Mayor Giuliani has made it clear that he is against amnesty and that one of his full commitments is to end illegal immigration in the United States," Agen said.

No surprises here. Tancredo, from illegal-immigrant overrun Colorado, said last year, if we suffer another terrorist attack on US soil at the hands of the islamist jihadists, to BOMB MECCA. That's who I want as president, someone with big, Rocky Mountain Oysters (that's cajones if you're from Juarez).

BROWN: DON'T SAY TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS

H/T to Michelle Malkin's Hot Air, from the Daily Express:

BROWN: DON'T SAY TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS

Tuesday July 3,2007
By Macer Hall, Political Editor

Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word “Muslim” in ­connection with the ­terrorism crisis.

The Prime Minister has also instructed his team – including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith – that the phrase “war on ­terror” is to be dropped.

The shake-up is part of a fresh attempt to improve community relations and avoid offending Muslims, adopting a more “consensual” tone than existed under Tony Blair.

However, the change provoked claims last night that ministers are indulging in yet more political correctness.

The sudden shift in tone emerged in comments by Mr Brown and Ms Smith in the wake of the failed attacks in London and Glasgow.

Mr Brown’s spokesman acknowledged yesterday that ministers had been given specific guidelines to avoid inflammatory language.

“There is clearly a need to strike a consensual tone in relation to all communities across the UK,” the spokesman said. “It is important that the country remains united.”

He confirmed that the phrase “war on terror” – strongly associated with Mr Blair and US President George Bush – has been dropped.

Officials insist that no direct links with Muslim extremists have been publicly confirmed by police investigating the latest attempted terror attacks. Mr Brown himself did not refer to Muslims or Islam once in a BBC TV interview on Sunday.

Ms Smith also avoided any such reference in her statement to MPs yesterday.

No surprise, given the French-style surrender of all of Europe to all things muslim.

From the Patriot Post: Independence Day

This was so good, I had to re-post it in its entirety, from the Patriot Post:

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2007
Our Lives, our Fortunes, our sacred Honor

Our nation began with these stirring words in the Declaration of Independence: “When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” Now, 231 years later, they still ring true.

We may envision the Founders as rash, rowdy rebels. Not so. Already accomplished in fields of endeavor, they were settled in character and reputation. They deemed their decision necessary, and their first thought was of “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind.” They were men of purpose and principle, who well understood the peril of choosing to declare independence from Great Britain. Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote to John Adams, “Do you recollect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the House when we were called up, one after another, to the table of the President of Congress to subscribe to what was believed by many at that time to be our death warrants?”

The Founders reasoned that the colonials were compelled to the separation, outlining a detailed list of particulars describing the King of Great Britain’s “long train of abuses and usurpations” that could end only in an intended “absolute despotism” and “establishment of absolute tyranny over these states.” They appealed that the free citizens they represented therefore had both a right and a duty “to alter their former systems of government” and “to provide new guards for their future security.”

They further explained, “In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” They had been patient, measured and restrained in responding to the incursions on their freedoms but could be so no longer.

The central passage of the Declaration’s opening is the document’s most famous, suggesting the form of government truly fit for a free people: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

The Founders sought liberty, not license—rather than a loosening of restraints, a freedom to pursue right. The objective was citizens’ safety and happiness, later called “the common defense,” “the general welfare,” and the “blessings of liberty.” The mottos of the American Revolution were “No King but King Jesus!” and “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.”

Given their experiences with a leader who had violated the laws supposed to control his own conduct as much as theirs, the Founders sought to avoid the instability of democracy or of oligarchy, in which one or a handful of people can overturn the foundations by a simple vote or decree. Fisher Ames warned, “The known propensity of a democracy is to licentiousness which the ambitious call, and ignorant believe to be liberty.” John Witherspoon referred to pure democracy as “very subject to caprice and the madness of popular rage.” The Founders ultimately chose a constitutional democratic republic—based on the foundation of the reliable rule of law, responsive to the people’s “consent of the governed” through representation of the citizens, predicated on the virtue of the people.

The colonists came to these shores with a learned tradition of liberty, and this new land offered a manner of living that further taught freedom. Our performance in upholding this heritage is mixed. We are divided as a nation, no longer pressing toward unity and allegiance to shared principles. Facile commentary lauds comity as the antidote for what the Founders derided as faction, applauding the elitist establishment fetish for bipartisanship. But they are exactly wrong. Indeed, bipartisanship today is more akin to factionalism than are those adhering to the two major political parties out of principle.

There remains one crucial question: What are we willing to risk to salvage the heritage our Founders handed down to us? Our warriors in the field have demonstrated that they stand in the direct line from our Patriot Founders—prepared to sacrifice all in service. Many activist citizens gave time, effort and resources to turn aside the Senate’s recent attempts to foist a dangerous change in immigration laws on the nation. But the United States as a nation is not as secure as at its tenuous beginnings.

The signers of the Declaration concluded their treatise, “We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States... And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Do we citizens, inheritors of the Republic bequeathed us, still stand ready to hazard even half so much?

Quote of the week
“A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.” —Samuel Adams

I highly recommend subscribing. These fellas are true patriots, true Americans. It's good to know we have some of them remaining.

Catholics Against Rudy to launch on Independence Day

H/T to Pro Ecclesia, saw this site linked on his blog:



Some quotes from the soon-to-be-launched site:

On the Fourth of July, 37-year-old Steve Dillard will launch a national web site called . . . .

Dillard, a convert to Catholicism, was also a vocal critic of John Kerry in the 2004 presidential campaign. That's why he's going after Rudy Giuliani, who has had only limited success among Southern evangelicals because of the thrice-married candidate's support of abortion rights, and his statements in favor of civil unions for gay couples. 'We need to tend to our own house. And we need to hold Republicans to the same standard that we did John Kerry,' Dillard said recently. Many social conservatives are worried that a Giuliani victory in the Republican race for the White House would be followed by a decline in the party's emphasis on core issues that have rallied Christian conservatives to the GOP side since the early 1980s. '[Giuliani]is emblematic of a coming — or already existing — rift in the Republican party,' Dillard said."

The Catholic Report: Steve Dillard Formerly Of The Southern Appeal Blog Now Has His Catholics Against Rudy Website Up And Running

Steve was on MSNBC with Chris Matthews and subsequently sent me and other Catholic bloggers an e-mail discussing his strategy and campaign. As I stated in my book, I can't fathom the former NYC mayor winning the GOP nomination and winning the general election, because the Pro Life Movement would bolt. It is very sad that Rudy has so many ledership gifts but just can't seem to translate them to his views on life or his personal relationships. As I indicated here some months ago, one writer on the National Review website said, "hey if he can be that rude to his wife imagine the fear of God he could put into foreign leaders or bureaucrats." This is hardly the direction we need to go right now or at any time."

I was originally gung ho with the idea of Rudy at the helm, based on the way he handled himself after 9-11. Then I discovered his position on abortion (he supports it), gay unions (he supports them), open borders (he supported them as mayor of NYC). He's definitely a RINO, a dhimmicrat in disguise. No, thanks. Rudy and McCain should switch parties and join their real base.

Columbus Dispatch: 'America overestimates terrorist threat'

I was outraged this morning, reading an article in the Op-Ed page of the Columbus Fishwrap, I mean the Dispatch. It's no secret that America's current fourth estate tends to lean toward the dark side by a wide margin (9-1, in a recent poll), but this column was ridiculous!

The basic assertion of this opinion piece is that Americans are pansies because we haven't suffered a 'real' war here, that Europe is tougher because they endured Nazi bombing in WWII and have endured terrorism since the 1940's. There are also assertions in the article 'the invasion of Iraq really had nothing to do with fighting terrorism,' yet another slam on Dubya, and that potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson, among others, is over-estimating the global war on terror. All democratic party, and islamists, talking points.

What this moron doesn't get, is that we are the United States, the most powerful, most properous country in recorded history, for a reason. We're not afraid of terrorists (except for the democrats). We wouldn't just lie down and take it, like the Europeans, if there was bombing going on here. We would find ways to fight back. Unless, of course, we had the current congress.

I suspect we may just be tested by the islamists in this fashion before it's all over. We underestimated the islamist threat before 9-11, and we are still underestimating it. And this idiot believes we are over-estimating it.

Read it. And respond. Let the management and editors at the Dispatch know how upset you are. Send your comments to letters@dispatch.com, and to the author at 76312.1476@compuserve.com.

Gwynne Dyer: America overestimates terrorist threats while Europe deals with them
Tuesday, July 3, 2007 3:22 AM
By Gwynne Dyer

As terrorists go, last week's attacks featured The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. One of the would-be London bombers drove erratically down Haymarket St. -- presumably affected by the fumes from the gas cylinders and gasoline containers that were the heart of his makeshift car-bomb -- before crashing into a garbage bin, getting out and running away. Another parked his explosives-packed car illegally, so it was towed away. The third attack was at Glasgow airport on the following day, but nobody was hurt except one of the attackers, who set himself on fire.

More-competent terrorists might have killed dozens of people, but it's safe to say that this incident will be taken more seriously in the United States than it is in Britain or anywhere else in Europe. An occasional terrorist attack is one of the costs of doing business in the modern world. You just have to bring a sense of proportion to the problem, as people in Europe do in general.

Most major European countries already had been through some sort of terrorist crisis well before the current fashion for "Islamist" terrorism: the IRA in Britain, the OAS in France, ETA in Spain, the Baader-Meinhof Gang in Germany, the Red Brigades and their neofascist counterparts in Italy. Most European cities also were heavily bombed in a real war within living memory, which definitely puts terrorist attacks into a less-impressive category. So most Europeans do not obsess about terrorist attacks. They know that they are likelier to win the lottery than to be hurt by terrorists.

Russians also are pretty cool about the occasional terrorist attacks linked to the war in Chechnya, and Indians are positively heroic in their refusal (most of the time) to be panicked by terrorist attacks that have taken more lives in India than all the attacks in the West since terrorist techniques first became widespread in the 1960s. In almost all of these countries, despite the efforts of some governments to persuade the population that terrorism is an existential threat of enormous size, the vast majority of the people don't believe it.

Whereas in the United States, most people do believe it. A majority of Americans finally have figured out that the invasion of Iraq really had nothing to do with fighting terrorism, but they certainly have not understood that terrorism itself is only a minor threat. "We have a threat out there like we've never faced before," said actor, former senator and potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson last month. "I don't think the (American people) realize that this has been something that's been going on for a few hundred years, and our enemies have another 100-year plan," Thompson continued. "Whether it's Madrid, whether it's London, whether it's places that most people have never heard of, they're methodically going around trying to undermine our allies and attack people in conventional ways, while they try to develop nonconventional ways, and get their hands on a nuclear capability, and ultimately to see a mushroom cloud over an American city."

There has been only one major terrorist attack in the United States since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, and that one, on 9/11, is almost six years in the past. So how have Americans been persuaded that their duty and their destiny in the 21st century is to lead the world in a titanic, globe-spanning "long war" against terrorism?

Inexperience is one reason: American cities never have been bombed in war, so Americans have no standard of comparison that would shrink terrorism to its true importance in the scale of threats that face any modern society. But the other is relentless official propaganda: the Bush administration has built its whole brand around the "war on terror" since 2001, so the threat must continue to be seen as huge and universal.

Ridiculous as it sounds to outsiders, Americans regularly are told that their survival as a free society depends on beating the "terrorists." They should treat those who say such things as fools or deliberate liars, but they don't. So the manipulators of public opinion in the White House and the more-compliant sectors of the U.S. media will give bigger play to the British bombings-that-weren't than Britain's own government and media have, and they will get away with it.

Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.

I'm not sure what bothers me more: the fact that this defeatist moron is being publishing in the United States at all, or the fact that the Dispatch printed it the day before we celebrate our Independence from tyranny.

Nice work, Dispatch. Is it any wonder the blogosphere and talk radio are prospering, while newspapers and television are faltering?

We don't want to hear this crap any more!

The Gipper on Independence Day

From the Patriot Post:

“Somewhere in our growing up we began to be aware of the meaning of days and with that awareness came the birth of patriotism. July Fourth is the birthday of our nation. I believed as a boy, and believe even more today, that it is the birthday of the greatest nation on earth... In recent years, however, I’ve come to think of that day as more than just the birthday of a nation. It also commemorates the only true philosophical revolution in all history. Oh, there have been revolutions before and since ours. But those revolutions simply exchanged one set of rules for another. Ours was a revolution that changed the very concept of government. Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people. We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should. Happy Fourth of July.” —Ronald Reagan

Well spoken.

Monday Comics

"The Global War on Terror is just a bumper sticker."

H/T to Lincoln Logs. From Investors Business Daily:

Nice work, Breck Girl.

A Million Thanks: Shauna Fleming

We've all been hearing about this remarkable young lady in the news lately. While in high school, she starting "A Million Thanks," an organization to gather one million thank yous from ordinary Americans to send to US Troops.

From her website:

A Million Thanks is a year-round campaign to show our U.S. Military Men and Women, past and present, our appreciation for their sacrifices, dedication, and service to our country through our letters, emails, cards, prayers, and thoughts.

From Shauna's blog:

We are asking individuals, schools, churches, and businesses around the U.S. to participate by having their students, congregations, and customers write
letters, cards, email messages, or prayer messages and click below to locate a dealership to drop off your letter. We will forward your appreciation message to a service man or women either active duty or retired through our many contacts.
Your messages will also be delivered to many USO’s and Veteran’s Hospitals for distribution. Go to A Million Thanks to find your local Buick, Pontiac, or GMC dealerships.

Good Bless her for her work. If you get the chance, drop off your thanks at a local drop point. We need more great Americans like this young lady.

Sunday Comics

From the National Federation of Republic Assemblies:


It would be a crying shame if Roseferatu replaced the affable Bob Barker on The Price is Right.

A Left-Wing Priestess for Allah

From the Christian Post:

A Seattle priest has become a Muslim while also retaining her clergy status in the Episcopal Church. Her local bishop has described the development as “exciting.” "I look through Jesus and I see Allah,” explained the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding to the “Seattle Times”, which reported that Redding puts on her Islamic headscarf on Fridays and her clerical collar on Sundays. She has denounced Christianity as a "world religion of privilege.” But she still sees Jesus as her Savior, even if not divine, and plans to remain both a priest and an Episcopalian.

Bishop Vincent Warner of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia told the Seattle Times that Redding’s embrace of Islam has not been controversial in his diocese. Redding, who has been a priest for over 20 years, announced her new joint religious affiliation in an interview with the Diocese of Olympia’s newspaper.

“I was following Jesus and he led me into Islam, and he didn’t drop me off at the door,” Redding told the “Episcopal Voice,” “He’s there too.” Making no effort to disguise its topic, the article in the diocesan newspaper carried pictures of both a cross and an Islamic crescent, with the headline, “On Being Christian and Muslim.” The story was buried in the middle of the newspaper, on page 9, as though unexceptional.

Until recently, Redding was director of faith formation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, from which she was laid off because of budget cuts. The cathedral dean insists, believably, that Redding’s conversion to Islam was not a problem. She now worships both at the Al Islam Center of Seattle and at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church. This Fall, Redding will begin teaching graduate courses in theology at Seattle University, where she also hopes to start an institute on the “Abrahamic faith traditions.”

“I want to concentrate on the three Abrahamic faiths because I believe our dysfunction has led to killing and intolerance and war,” Redding shared in an interview with the Seattle Times’ blog. “I think we need to begin with one another.”

Redding recounted that friends tell her “you just glow” ever since her conversion to Islam. “Let’s see how big God really is,” she explained of her joint religious affiliation.

Redding rejects the Christian doctrine about Christ’s divinity. But she still believes that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, which Islam rejects. Both Christianity and Islam believe that Jesus was born of a virgin. Arguably, Redding’s faith in the virgin birth and resurrection place her closer to Christian orthodoxy than many of her left-wing Episcopal clergy colleagues!

“Of course, my church has the power to say that I can no longer function as a priest because of my embrace of Islam,” Redding admitted to the Seattle Times blog. “Earlier in my ministry, my identity as a woman caused some authorities to decide that I should not function as a priest. To give up my ordained ministry would cause me great sorrow, but no one can take away my baptism or my relationship to Jesus.”

In fact, Redding well knows that the current leadership of the Episcopal Church, especially in her left-wing diocese, is more likely to salute than condemn her enthusiastic profession of multicultural religious diversity. As she described, “In the Episcopal Church, as in Islam, there is a strong tradition of using one's mind in living a life of faith.”

Redding insisted that she has “reviewed the vows of the baptismal covenant and the vows I took as a priest many times since I entered Islam” and saw nothing contradictory. She pointed out that her rejection of the Trinity and Christ’s divinity has been evident in her sermons and teachings for a long time and is “well within the range of the opinions of faithful Christians over the years.”

After watching an Islamic preacher at her Episcopal cathedral, Redding was profoundly moved by his intense prayer and visible surrender to Allah. "It wasn't about intellect," she told the Seattle Times. "All I know is the calling of my heart to Islam was very much something about my identity and who I am supposed to be.” Another Muslim leader subsequently taught an interfaith class at the cathedral and chanted an Islamic prayer that Redding began to repeat herself. In March 2006 she professed for the first time the Islamic creed that God is one and Mohammed is his prophet. Redding reports that she remains close to Jesus and his suffering, but she is striving to become closer to Mohammad. “I'm still getting to know him," she said.

One of Redding’s Episcopal colleagues has hailed her as a “bridge person” between two great faiths. But Redding’s bridge does not join two religions. It is an escape route out of the collapsing gothic castle that is left-wing Episcopalianism, where priests can deny the tenets of their historic faith and still be acclaimed by their bishop and clerical colleagues.

Unsurprisingly, Redding was more moved by the chants of Muslim preachers in her Episcopal cathedral than by the vacuous social justice sermons and diversity seminars that undoubtedly emanated from its pulpit Sunday after Sunday. Her conversion to Islam is no special compliment to Mohammad but rather a sad reflection of left-wing Christianity’s spiritual implosion.

What a nutjob. Why don't we send her over to Saudi Arabia to see how they welcome her?

A bill in Congress could make it a crime for pastors and churches to speak against homosexuality

From the American Family Association:

Message to pastors and other Christians: Just keep your mouth shut

If pastors and other Christians don’t aggressively oppose a bill now in Congress, in the near future they could be subject to huge fines and prison terms if they say anything negative about homosexuality. The proposed law could make it a crime to preach on Romans Chapter 1 or I Corinthians Chapter 6. Or even to discuss them in a Sunday School class. If churches and individuals want to keep the government from telling them what they can and cannot preach and teach about homosexuality, they better get involved now!

Senate bill S. 1105 could make negative statements concerning homosexuality, such as calling the practice of homosexuality a sin from the pulpit, a “hate crime” punishable by law. This dangerous legislation could take away your freedom of speech and your freedom of religion. Consider what has already happened: A California lawsuit which is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court would make the use of the words “natural family,” “marriage” and “union of a man and a woman” a “hate speech” crime in government workplaces. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already ruled in favor of the plaintiffs!

CNN and The Washington Post both reported that General Peter Pace, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired because he publicly expressed moral opposition to homosexual behavior.

For the Alliance Defense Fund’s summary of this bill, click here.

Take Action

We are looking for one million Americans willing to take a stand and not allow a small group of homosexual activists to take away our freedoms. Can we count on you? Click on the link below to sign our Petition to Congress in Defense of Religious Freedom. Please forward this to others, especially your pastor, and ask them to get involved in protecting our freedoms of speech and religion. This threat to our religious freedoms is real!

Sign the Petition to Congress Today

Find out more here: http://www.afa.net/hatecrime2.asp

"I Am An American"

H/T to White Trash Republican. This was apparently posted on John McCain's website and posted to the New Republic. I checked McCain's website (you should, too, it's a joke. Boy, has he got somebody fooled), but I didn't see it. His blog entries only go back a couple weeks.

Whether or not it's some anonymous junk email or not, it says how many of us feel.

I Am An American

There have only been two days in my life when I felt sick in the pit of my stomach for America: September 11, 2001 and today, May 17, 2007.

Today I learned that I have been betrayed by my President, my Senate, and my Political party.

Today I learned that the citizenship I have treasured so much has been reduced in value to nothing by some. Today I learned that to some, I have no voice.

Today I learned a hard truth. To some, the American dream is only the dream of the immigrant and not the right of the home grown citizen. Today I learned that my country is not solid as stone but rather it is transient like a ripple on a lake.

Today I learned that my home is no longer my home. My people are no longer my people. My leaders are no longer my leaders. Today I learned that my president has a price. My senate has a price. My political party has a price.

Today I learned something else too; I learned that they can’t break me. Because I am an American.

I can not be bought. I can not be sold. There is no price on my citizenship. There is no price on my love of country. There is no price on my loyalty to America and her ideas.

While others whom I should be able to trust conspire against me, I sit and contemplate. I sit and remember. I sit and cry.

And I make a firm resolution. I am going outside to raise my flag and shine a light. Tonight I am going to rest, and break bread with my family. I will watch a silly movie to restore my soul. I will take a bubble bath and burn a candle.And then I will sleep.

And when I wake up, I will face a new day. I will make the phones in Washington buzz. I will fill their fax machines. I will overburden their emails. I will write letters. I will call talk shows. I will plan rallies. I will call friends.

And I will not stand down.

Because I am an American.

I am a mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend. I am a patriot, truth seeker, light shiner, an activist. I am a peaceful but fierce protector of my homeland. I am an American.

And just when those that conspire relax, when they are sure that they have exhausted our resources, our energy, our enthusiasm and our spirit, I will bounce back. I will learn relentlessly. I will speak extensively. I will rally exhaustively, I will protest, I will scream, I will stomp my feet. And then I will vote.

Because I am an American.

That can not be given by anyone. It is not theirs to give. It can not be taken by anyone. It is not theirs to take. It can not be awarded. It can not be denied.

I will not stand down. I will not sit quiet. I will not surrender.

I am an American.

Good stuff.

Bush, Congress: get a clue. We're taking back the country. It doesn't belong to you, or to the North American Union, or to the God-less atheists, or La Raza, or CAIR.

Better watch your back.

Lefties, Get a Clue: It's not about poverty or US Policy

Two of the suspects in the London car bomb attempts are doctors. From the Daily Mail, H/T to Little Green Footballs:

Two doctors held over bomb attacks
While police swoop on motorway to arrest woman in a veil

By STEPHEN WRIGHT and DAVID WILLIAMS
Two doctors were among five people being held as terror suspects last night after the bomb plots in London and Glasgow. One was one of two men who tried to drive a blazing Jeep packed with petrol, gas canisters and nails into Glasgow Airport on Saturday. Police are still investigating the precise links between that attack and the two Mercedes car bombs left in the West End of London early on Friday.

Both doctors were working at UK hospitals and were apparently here legally.

The revelation raises the horrifying prospect that Al Qaeda propaganda is reaching beyond disaffected young Muslims.

"These are highly-educated, articulate and intelligent people," one security source said. "They are men trained to heal but they were planning unbelievable atrocities."

Two of the five people arrested were a woman of 27 and her 26-year-old husband, boxed in by unmarked police cars as they drove on the M6 in Cheshire. Other motorists said the woman was wearing a Muslim veil. The fifth suspect, a man, was arrested at Liverpool's Lime Street station shortly after the city's John Lennon Airport was closed following the discovery of a suspicious vehicle.

One of the doctors, the man arrested on the M6, was said to be a Jordanian-born doctor at the North Staffordshire Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent. He lived with his wife and baby in a rented house in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, where forensic officers were carrying out a detailed search last night.

Gee, I thought all this trouble with the Islamists is caused by US policy in the Middle East, and/or big oil taking advantage of the poor people there? Why would educated, intelligent, monied people attack the very society that educated them, where they currently live?

Oh, I don't know, could it be... Satan? Yes, and his name is Muhammed.

London bombs probably a greeting to new prime minister from Al Quaeda

H/T to Jihad Watch. From Sky News:

Shane Brighton, a counter-terrorism expert, told Sky the device may be linked to Al Qaeda in the wake of Gordon Brown becoming Prime Minister. He said: "This is highly unlikely to be an Irish device, given the current state of politics there. Al Qaeda tend to go for symbolic timing."

There's a shock, eh?

Jihad Watch: Bush & MSM are off base, again, about Islam being the 'Religion of Peace'

From Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch, yet another clear indication of how Herr Bush and the mainstream media are totally missing the boat on the 'Religion of Peace' not being represented by the muslim jihadists.

Majid Khadduri and George W. Bush
When he spoke this week at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Islamic Center of Washington, President Bush said: "In the Middle East, we have seen instead the rise of a group of extremists who seek to use religion as a path to power and a means of domination. This self-appointed vanguard presumes to speak for Muslims. They do not."

There we are again. The Administration and the mainstream media (both Left and Right) take it as axiomatic that the jihad we see all over the world today represents a perversion of Islam, repudiated by the vast majority of Muslims. The American Muslim advocacy industry, chiefly the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has recently been named an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case, has quite successfully portrayed any exploration of the elements of Islam that give rise to and justify jihad violence and Islamic supremacism as a manifestation of "hatred," "bigotry," "Islamophobia." Those who do not accept the iron dogma that Islam contains nothing within it that can reasonably be used to justify terrorism are vilified and marginalized.

However, consider for a moment that if the iron dogma is false, the dogmatists are doing a grave disservice to the United States and even to peaceful Muslims. For if there is nothing in Islam that needs reforming, we cannot possibly offer assistance to Islamic reformers. And if Islam is a fundamentally peaceful belief-system, then we need not reevaluate our immigration policies vis-a-vis Muslims entering the U.S. from a national security standpoint, and we need not call American mosques to account for what they are teaching. If we're just dealing with a few crazies, we need not call upon Muslims in the U.S. and elsewhere to perform a searching and honest reevaluation of their beliefs, and decide whether they want to live in a state of conflict with the rest of the international community on an indefinite basis. I suspect that if the question were posed to Muslims worldwide, many would opt for otherwise universally accepted notions of human rights: the freedom of conscience, equality of dignity of women and men, equality of dignity of non-Muslims with Muslims. But we will never know, because Western leaders wouldn't dare pose the question on those terms. After all, they don't want to be seen as "hatemongers."

Read the entire article here.

Bring on the 'Fairness Doctrine' -- It's a two-way street

As has been reported in the popular media, the liberal congress is trying to resurrect the 'Fairness Doctrine,' the old 'equal time' law for media. What the liberals are trying to do is kill conservative talk radio. So networks that carry the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys would then be forced to include kooks like Al Franken.

Why don't we turn this around to our advantage? If they manage to implement it again, why don't we request equal time on CNN, MSNBC, and other mainstream media outlets? We could upset the liberal bias of the mass media by requesting equal time for EVERY SINGLE STORY these outlets run. It's not that difficult to show the pattern of their bias in the stories they choose to, or choose not to, run.

I think Pelosi and Feinstein should be careful what they wish for. It might come back and bite them in the arse.

News Flash: Bozo the Clown Drafted by the Chicago Bulls

I had the same impression as Debbie Schlussel about this bizarre moment in Thursday night's NBA draft.

Bozo the Clown Drafted by NBA
By Debbie Schlussel
In the most bizarre photo from yesterday's NBA draft, Joakim Noah-- dressed and looking like Bozo the Clown--was chosen by the Chicago Bills as the Number 9 pick overall.Noah is the son of former tennis great Yannick Noah, a Frenchman from the Cameroon, of whom I was a fan (though when my Dad took me to see him play Jimmy Connors in an exhibition match in the '80s, I rooted for both, as Connors is one of my favorite athletes of all time).

Just to be fair, I didn't like 'Bozo' when he played for Florida, of course, because they put the beat-down on our beloved Buckeyes. (At least we had two players go in the draft above him)

Join Tom Tancredo, sign a "Save America" Petition

When I think of the shamnesty bill, I'm reminded of a corny old joke:

What's the opposite of PROgress? CONgress.

We can breathe a bit easier, for a little while at least, that the shamnesty Bush/McCain/Kennedy bill was shot down. But we can't rest on our laurels. Start by signing a petition on conservative Republican Tom Tancredo's website, letting congress know how you feel.

See the petition here, on Tancredo's website.

'Fairness Doctrine' is Everything But...

Leave it to the whiney democrats/liberals/lefties to try to legislate the airwaves and force their point of view on the broadcast public again, rather then let the free market decide what gets broadcast.

From Fred Thompson's Blog:

We've been hearing threats to use the obsolete Fairness Doctrine to go after talk radio ever since the left-leaning talk radio network, Air America, failed. Ironically, I think Air America might have had a shot if its target audience hadn’t already been served so well by many in the mainstream media. But regardless, giving the government veto power over radio stations' programming decisions is wrong. I don't think forcing the one sector of the media where conservatives have a clear voice to provide equal time to liberals is the American way. At the very least, it has a chilling effect on station owners.

At least Al Franken can comfort himself that it wasn't his fault Air Amerikka failed. He knows he's good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, people like him. Or maybe they don't. (he wasn't that funny on SNL, what made him think people will listen to him on the airwaves?)

Read the complete entry here.

You Think Our TV Violence is Bad for Children, What About Hamas?

Kudos to the Religion of Peace™ in Palestine, for cancelling a violent television show for children. Unfortunately, it's filled with propaganda, showing an Israeli official killing Farfour, a Mickey Mouse lookalike. From the Jerusalem Post:

Farfour Mouse dies in last episode

Hamas TV on Friday broadcast what it said was the last episode of a weekly children's show featuring "Farfour," a Mickey Mouse look-alike who had made worldwide headlines for preaching Islamic domination and armed struggle to youngsters.

In the final skit, Farfour was beaten to death by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. At one point, Farfour called the Israeli a "terrorist."

"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter. He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.

Nice.

Read the entire article here.

Good News About CAIR

From Fred Thompon's blog: CAIR's support among dues-paying Muslims in America has plummeted since 9-11. The bad news: they still report millions of dollars in income, probably from extremist Saudis (that's an oxymoron). From Fred's blog, read it at http://abcradionetworks.com/article.asp?id=427045&SPID=15663

Good News about CAIR

I've talked before about the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- most recently because it filed that lawsuit against Americans who reported suspicious behavior by Muslims on a U.S. Airways flight. Better known just as CAIR, the lobbying group has come under a lot of scrutiny lately for its connections to terror-supporting groups. This time, though, The Washington Times has uncovered some very good news about the group.

For years, CAIR has claimed to represent millions of American Muslims. In fact, they claim to represent more Muslim in American than ... there are in America. This has alarmed Americans in general as the group often seems to be more aligned with our enemies than us -- which isn't surprising as it spun off from a group funded by Hamas. As you know, Hamas has been waging a terrorist war against Israel and calls for its total destruction. It also promises to see America destroyed. Nowadays, Hamas is busy murdering its Palestinian political rivals.

Even with this history, and CAIR's conspicuous failure to condemn Hamas by name, it has been treated as if represents Muslim Americans by our own government. The good news is that the financial support CAIR claims to have among American Muslims is a myth. We know this because The Washington Times got hold of the group's IRS tax records.

CAIR's dues-paying membership has shrunk 90 percent since 9/11 -- from 29,000 in 2000 to only 1,700 last year. CAIR's annual income from dues plunged from $733,000 to $59,000. Clearly, America's Muslims are not supporting this group -- and I'm happy to hear about it.

Of course, every silver lining seems to have a cloud; and this cloud is that CAIR's spending is running about $3 million a year. They’ve opened 25 new chapters in major cities across the country even as their dues shrank to a pittance. The question is; who’s funding CAIR?

CAIR's not saying. The New York Times earlier this year reported that the backing is from "wealthy Persian Gulf governments" including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Obviously, we have a bigger problem here than the one with CAIR.

Keep an eye out for Thompson. He's supposed to make an announcement soon on whether he will run for president. He definitely has my vote.

Another Poll: Make Your Thoughts Known on the Immigration Amnesty Bill

Liberal media pollsters are showing widely popular support for the senate immigration bill. They must be asking only liberals and hispanics.

Take a poll on the subject at FrontPageMagazine.com

I'll post results when I see them.

Remember the poll about Muslims in America? Take a poll yourself...

H/T to Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch. This poll from the American Family Association asks some important questions about how you view the mainstream media's coverage of Islam. Take the poll here.

Here are the responses, shown after my taking the poll:

Are the mainstream media doing enough to report on the threat of radical Islam in the U.S.?
Yes 1,296
No 65,633

Do you think the mainstream media have a more favorable view of Islam than Christianity?
Yes 58,966
No 7,574

Do you think the mainstream media are intentionally refusing to report on the rise of radical Islam?
Yes 63,219
No 3,361

Do you think radical Muslims will practice suicide bombings in the U.S. in the near future?
Yes 63,682
No 2,700

Do you think our government should do more to appease the demands of radical Muslims?
Yes 4,496
No 62,311

God help us.

Silence of the Lame: Further Proof the 4th Estate is Anti-American

In a news release several weeks ago, US Military released details of an Al Queda torture manual, which barely scratched the surface of the mainstream media. Why? Because it didn't depict American soliders as the torturers

Osama's House of Horrors
By Patrick Poole
FrontPageMagazine.com June 1, 2007

The same media hacks that brought us countless images of Spc. Lynndie England doing her best John Dillinger imitation with an Iraqi prisoner while covering the Abu Ghraib scandal have suddenly gone mute on the release last week by US military officials of a graphic al-Qaeda torture manual that provides illustrations and instructions on how to use hammers, blow torches and meat cleavers to extract information from their victims in Iraq. This deliberate silence has been occurring as US forces are scouring Iraq looking for two US soldiers who presumably are being subject to the very tortures described in that manual and the body of one of their colleagues was discovered exhibiting signs of that same torture.

Read the entire story here.

First Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison a Danger to National Security

Because of his continued ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which he denied during the 2006 campaign. H/T to Little Green Footballs, from Front Page Magazine:

Keith Ellison’s Dangerous Liaisons
By Joe Kaufman FrontPageMagazine.com • June 1, 2007

Anti-Semitism and Keith Ellison seem to gravitate toward one another. It was the case throughout the 90’s, when he was heavily active in the Nation of Islam (NOI), and it was the case just last weekend, when he gave the keynote address at the 4th Annual Convention of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota. It’s a disturbing pattern from someone that purports to be a man of peace and, more importantly, someone sitting in the position of United States Congressman.

In May of 2006, then-candidate for House of Representatives, Keith Ellison, faxed a letter to the Executive Director of the Minnesota Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Stephen Silberfarb, stating, “There has been much speculation about my past connections to the Nation of Islam… I have long since distanced myself from and rejected the Nation of Islam due to its propagation of bigoted and anti-Semitic ideas and statements, as well as other issues. I have a deep and personal aversion to anti-Semitism regardless of its source and I reject and condemn the anti-Semitic statements and actions of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, and Khalid Muhammed.”

Indeed, although he has since denied it, Ellison was involved with NOI for ten long years. In that time, he participated in NOI rallies, including the Million Man March hate fest; he defended NOI hate speech; and he used such NOI aliases as Keith Hakim, Keith X Ellison, and Keith Ellison-Muhammad.

Read the entire article here.

I can't believe I voted for him. Twice.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Although, considering the alternatives (Gore or Kerry), it was the lesser of two evils.

Bush is now calling the anti-immigration crowd racists, and it has Lou Dobbs pissed off. H/T to Michelle Malkin's Hot Air:






I've been resistant to joining in the Bush bashing, one, because I voted for him, and two, because I don't want to be associated with the Rosie-type lefties... But thank God he's gone in another year and a half. Let's hope he doesn't do too much more damage before he's gone.

As Lou Dobbs says, Bush's comments were made in a condescending, inarticulate tone. Which has always been his manner of speaking.

Religion of Peace: American Muslims are just like the rest of us...

In the mainstream media today comes a story reporting about a recent survey of American muslims. The article reports the survey found that 'moderate' muslims living in America are trying to assimilate into our culture, and they're "just like us."

No so fast, my friend. Read the actual results from the survey, and you'll get a different impression, as I did. The headline in the local fishwrap, The Dispatch, is "Young Muslims differ on suicide attacks" and leads with this sentence:

One in four younger U.S. Muslims say suicide bombings to defend their religion
are acceptable in some circumstances, a poll says.
However, most Muslim Americans overwhelmingly reject the tactic and are critical of Islamic extremism and al-Qaida, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.

The problem, as Debbie Schlussel reports, is that the younger the muslim, the more extreme their views, much like the rioting 'youths' in France the past three years.

The fact that ANY muslim in America has so much hate for our society and culture is very scary. Plus, the fact the we continue to allow these people into our country with open arms, to grow and breed their hate here, is frightening as well. I'm not so much afraid for our current generation, I fear for my daughter's generation. With the likes of Pelosi, Kennedy, Reid and Clinton (either one) in power in Washington, by the time she is an adult, we'll no doubt have 'hate laws' preventing us from protecting ourselves from these religious extremists. And it'll probably be illegal to be a Christian by then. It's already politically incorrect.

Fred Thompson for President?

It worked for us once, it'll work again: a conservative actor in the White House. From Red States USA:

Why Fred Thompson’s Day Has Arrived
By: Christopher G. Adamo

It is altogether unfortunate that even now, in early 2007, so much focus and attention is being directed at the 2008 presidential election. America’s policy making apparatus would be better served, were the Democrats who constitute the Congressional “ruling class” more concerned with the well-being of the nation, and not so fixated on their noxious pursuit of political power.

Nevertheless, much of the nation’s direction in coming years will be determined by next year’s elections. But a convergence of forces from both sides of the political aisle bodes particularly ill for Republican prospects. While outwardly “bipartisan “ in nature, it is reflective of a pervasive liberal mindset.

Something needs to decidedly change, or else the currently disastrous political tack of the Democrats may be solidified as a harbinger of America’s future, for however long the nation can endure under such gross misdirection.

Throughout 2006, Republican compromise and capitulation to the big-spending, morally bankrupt agenda of the Democrats left the public largely disillusioned and demoralized. And that public sentiment was clearly reflected in the upheaval of the midterm elections, which shifted the country decidedly into the dominion of the Democrats.

Read all of it at Red States USA.

JIHAD Watch: Muslim women at Love Field "acting suspiciously"

From Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch:

Camouflage pants under traditional Muslim garb.

"Women at Love Field 'acting suspiciously': Dallas: Police have no evidence

Muslims have ties to terrorists," by Jason Trahan for the Dallas Morning News, with thanks to Doc Washburn:

Dallas police and federal terrorism officials are investigating two women, both dressed in camouflage pants under their traditional Muslim robes and scarves, who were seen conducting what appeared to be surveillance and acting suspiciously at Dallas Love Field.

One of the women, Kimberly "Asma" Al-Homsi, 42, of Arlington, who is on probation for a 2005 Garland road rage incident involving a fake grenade, is said to have long-range assault rifle and explosives training, according to a Dallas police intelligence bulletin issued March 5.

"I'm a trained sniper and proud of it," Ms. Al-Homsi said in an interview Thursday after first refusing to comment on whether she has any terrorism ties. She then said no.

"We were watching the airplanes," Ms. Al-Homsi said. "That's not a crime, unless you're Muslim."

Sure. It's all about discrimination, racism, and Islamophobia. Just like 9/11.

Read the whole story.

UPDATE: From Debbie Schlussel:

**** UPDATE, 04/08/07: One of these women, Al-Homsi, confirms to Dallas/Fort Worth's WFAA-TV News, that she was friends with Wadih El-Hage, Osama Bin Laden's personal secretary (who lived in Texas), who is in prison, convicted of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa. But law enforcement--federal and local--say she has "not ties to terrorism." Uh-huh. ****

Great. Nothing to see here folks. Just move along.

BTW, I didn't think we allowed dual citizenship? I thought, to become a US citizen, you had to give up any other citizenships?

Nancy Pelosi is a WHORE and a TRAITOR

President Bush should arrest when she returned to the United States-- for treason and appeasing the enemy. Imagine if Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House during WWII, travelled to Nazi Germany or Austria to appease Der Fuhrer? The resulting outrage would have been so prolonged, so loud, so severe, the Speaker would have been tarred and feathered. That's what we should do to this hypocritical whore from California.

Dhimmicrats continue to blame President Bush for the so-called 'failures' in the Iraqi war, when the blame lies with them. In WWII, we had total bipartisan support for the war, and guess what? We WON! The whore dhimmicrats don't understand the concept of team-- it's every man or woman for himself. Forget about the long-term good for the country, forget about the troops who have sacrificed their lives so these socialist morons can futher their leftist/socialist political agenda. Priority One for them is self, self, self. And personally, I'm damned tired of it.

Those among you who voted for Dhimmicrats in the last election to pay back the GOP for their misfeasance during the past several years, you get what you deserve. These c*ck-suckers are giving our country away, trading it to the Mexican immigrants for their votes. and to middle eastern terrorists for their 'approval' and appearances of being the 'peacemakers.' Damn shame.

Better learn to speak Arabic or Spanish. Or both, especially if we get Hilary in the presidency in '08.