Blood, toil, tears and sweat

2008-11-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

This is why I no longer call myself a Republican

The Republican party has no core values, no core principals and therefore has LOST all meaning, as well as the most recent elections!

The Republican party allows people like Arnold, who believe in gay marriage, abortion, global warming and a whole host of other liberal issues to be in our party...so what makes "us" any different than the Democrats???

This is why we lost in 2006 and it is why we lost again last week!

Until we actually start holding each and EVERY member of the party to the core values that the party was founded upon...NOT just "fiscal conservative" policies...we are going to continue to lose...and for good reason!

This is pathetic...that a leading member of the party is calling on the courts to overturn the will of the people...disgusting!

I won't be giving a dime...or an ounce of my time, to the Republican party until they actually show me that they are serious about returning to and supporting our Founding Fathers vision for this nation!

Oh and you bet...my email and phone call to Arnold's office has already been made!!!

Schwarzenegger tells backers of gay marriage: Don't give up
The governor expresses hope that Proposition 8 would be overturned as protesters continue to march outside churches across California.

By Michael Rothfeld and Victoria Kim
2:26 PM PST, November 9, 2008

Reporting from Sacramento and Pasadena -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today expressed hope that the California Supreme Court would overturn Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage. He also predicted that the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who have already married would not be affected by the initiative.

"It's unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the end," Schwarzenegger said in an interview on CNN this morning. "I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area."

With his favorable comments toward gay marriage, the governor's thinking appears to have evolved on the issue.

In past statements, he has said he personally believes marriage should be between a man and a woman and has rejected legislation authorizing same-sex marriage. Yet he has also said he would not care if same-sex marriage were legal, saying he believed that such an important societal issue should be determined by the voters or the courts.

Following that position, he publicly opposed Proposition 8, which amends the state Constitution to declare that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

Today, Schwarzenegger urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that were too heavy for him at first. "I learned that you should never ever give up. . . . They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done."

Read further here

2008-11-06T08:31:00.000-08:00

They have the SAME "RIGHTS" as EVERYONE else!!

I am so sick of this nonsense! The homosexual movement here in California has take things way too far! If this ends up in the courts again and is overturned as the ACLU and the homosexuals expect...then I think the rest of us living in CA should take to the streets prepared to riot! We voted, for the THIRD time, that marriage should be protected...its TIME for the homosexual activitists to let this be!

I have been saying for a while, this is not about "fair" or "equal" treatment...as here in CA we accepted and recognized civil unions, giving each "couple" access to medical benefits, tax right offs, hospital visitation rights and on and on. But that is NOT what these radicals within the gay movement want...they want to DESTROY marriage as we know it! ENOUGH!

They are discriminated against at all...they have the EXACT same "RIGHT" to marry as everyone else. If a man, they can marry one woman....if a woman...they can marry one man, period!

What they want is a "special" state of marriage...a "new" state of marriage and ya know, the simple fact is that marriage was recognized because of one reason only...in the traditional state of marriage PROCREATION can occur, effecting society.

Sorry, but currently two women or two men, can't within their relationship ONLY, produce a child.

Again, these radical activists aren't looking for what's "fair"...they are looking to make THEIR way of life the accepted NORM! They are trying to force their lifestyle choices upon the rest of us, period. If you want to be gay...that's your business....I don't care who you want to sleep with...but when you start trying to ram it down my throat and the throats of my children (public schools have already have had their text books and curiculm changed to teach the gay lifestyle!) their by changing and creating laws to protect your choices...I am going to speak out and I will fight you!

So much for the gay mantra of "compassion and tolerance" for everyone huh? They have NONE if you don't agree with them!!! And they do not respect the voices of the people of this state...who voted against gay marriage...despite the wording of the proposition being changted several times to fit the gay agenda! Read the article!

Gay Marriage Ban Protesters, Police Clash in California Streets

Thousands took to the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco to protest California's passage of Proposition 8, a ban on gay marriage.

Demonstrators marched Wednesday night through West Hollywood, Hollywood and Santa Monica. Several stopped at busy intersections and blocked traffic, prompting police intervention.
An additional group of about 500 protesters gathered near CNN's Los Angeles bureau, where they were seen banging on the doors and walls.

Click here for photos.

The demonstrations caused the Los Angeles Police Department to declare a tactical alert — one requiring all available officers, including some from other precincts, to respond.

Television cameras showed one protester jumping on top of a police car at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland avenues. He was quickly wrestled to the ground by police and handcuffed.

Several others were arrested when a group of people broke away from the larger demonstration that began in West Hollywood earlier in the evening.

Read further here

2008-11-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

I hate to say "I told you so," but...

I have been saying for the past 8 months that there was no way that McCain could win this election. That McCain, NEVER should have been allowed to even be a candidate...he's simply too old and his choice of Sarah Palin for VP just demonstrated his lack of judgement.

The question now is...how do the Republicans put up enough strength to STOP Obama? My only hope is that the Republicans in the House and Senate will finally grow some and will actually DO something to block the liberals from furthering their agenda.

Where as, if McCain had won...Republicans would have "worked" with him (and the DEMOCRATS) to move us to the left anyway!

We'll watch the media and see how quickly they change their reporting on the economy...if they start focusing on the war on terror again (I saw the "body count" from Afghanistan scroll across CNN Monday night) and if they will actually start criticizing Obama's every move, as they have done for the past 8 years with President Bush.

Let's review any "bright spots" from the outcome of this election though:

Tom McClintock is FINALLY going to be a force on the national scene as he was just elected to the House of Representatives

Proposition 8 passed here in CA, which means our state's constitution will be amended, prohibiting gay marriage (although, I am sure that the homosexual agenda will be doing whatever they can to bring this issue back into the courts, as quickly as they can)

Proposition 102 in Arizona, which also protects marriage passed - the Arizona constitution will be amended by adding the following wording to the existing section on marriage:
"Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state"

Proposition 2 in Florida, which again, protects and defines marriage as being between one man and one woman, also passed

Proposition 11 here in CA passed, which will changes authority for establishing Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization district boundaries from elected representatives to 14 member commission

However, in CA Proposition 4 failed...this proposition was created to provide parental notification prior to a minor receiving an abortion...it was put in place to protect our children. However the people of CA voted against it...instead opting to protect our animals from experiencing discomfort prior to being slaughtered as food! (Proposition 2 - prohibits the confinement of certain farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs)

Can you imagine....we are worried that the animals we slaughter for food can't "stretch" their legs properly prior to the slaughter....yet its perfectly acceptable to parents to allow their 12-17 year olds to be given an abortion without their being made aware of it....what sad and pathetically confused people we are!

So the above highlighted "wins" are the only GOOD things that I can that came out of this election...Republicans lost further seats in both the Senate and the House...proving that people are just pretty much fed up with representatives who try to play "middle of the road"...we want leaders to actually LEAD, stand on principal and fight for our values and beliefs....not wishy-washy "moderates" who can't aritculate anything other than "I'll work across the isle!"

2008-11-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

This is a sad day...

Sadly, its election day and I think that tomorrow morning we are going to wake up with Obama our new president elect!

McCain just missed the mark in my opinion...his choice of VP, Palin, did nothing to help his campaign. In the end, he just wasn't able to articulate his message and of course, not sticking to core values and principals...trying to play "middle of the road guy" NEVER works!

People want a leader who is desisive, direct and affirmative in their beliefs. Its just like in any company. When a CEO lays out clear objectives, is direct and certain about his vision for the company, the employees will fall in line and produce. They will be motivated and will feel confident in their leadership.

However, if the CEO is wishy-washy...can't articulate his position, is unsure of certain aspects of his vision and policies for the company, employees will be demotivated, frustrated and will not want to put in the effort required for the entire company to succeed.

LEADERS...that's what we want, not politicians who pander to this group and that...who change their messaging to fit each group they are speaking to, etc.

We want someone who looks professional, confident and secure...not someone (God love him) who looks tired, weak and uncertain.

The only hope now is that the American people will finally learn over the next four years that Socialism is NOT good for our nation...that DEMOCRATS are NOT good for our country!

2008-10-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

Its begun already...

Investigating a private citizen because what he says hurts the Obama campaign...I can only imagine what is going to happen when he is actually in charge!

Ya'll thought Big Brother was bad before...HA! Not only will you have no privacy with a fully Democratic controlled Congress and White House...you will have NO MONEY! As the social programs instituted by these evil people will strip you of what you have, to give to another...so life will be "fair" for all! Never mind that those of us NOT on welfare actually work real jobs for a living...sigh...

Maybe I'll quit too and join the ranks of the government's entitlees...after all, why should I work when I can sit at home, in a house provided for me by the government...eating food provided for me through the government (think WIC)? I can see it now...the unemployment rates will skyrocket...and in a few years, I can demand the government pay me for my retirement from unemployment too! Course, that is, if I don't find myself euthanized first!

What the hell has happened to my beloved America???

Checks on 'Joe' more extensive than first acknowledged
Tax, welfare info also sought on McCain ally
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 8:05 PM
By Randy Ludlow

A state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for potential information on "Joe the Plumber" were more extensive than it first acknowledged.

Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, disclosed today that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system.

The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote.

Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who demanded answers on why state officials checked out Wurzelbacher.

Harris called the multiple records checks "questionable" and said he awaits more answers. "It's kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket," he said.

If state employees run checks on every person listed in newspaper stories as buying a business, "it must take a lot of people a lot of time to run these checks," he said. "Where do you draw the line?"

The checks were run after the news media reported that Wurzelbacher was considering buying a plumbing business with more than $250,000 in annual income, Jones-Kelley wrote.

Read further here

2008-10-06T23:03:00.001-07:00

Republicans deserve to lose...

Want to know why we are in this "financial crisis"? You won't hear it from the mainstream media....you certainly won't hear it from the Democrats or Liberals and most importantly, you won't hear it from the Republicans, especially not Senator John McCain...sigh...

Republicans and Conservatives had a golden opportunity in this election to kick some tail and actually put into office some solid leaders...but of course, we failed. Anyone who's been following politics for the past few years could have fairly easily predicted that the economy was going to be the "major" issue of this election, yet Republicans kept insisting that it would have more to do with the war in Iraq than anything else. A war which is basically won...a war which hasn't been an issue since the surge was instituted last January!

Here we had one of the best CEO's in the nation as a possible candidate, Mitt Romney...a man who co-founded and led one of the nations largest investment firms, but who also took over the Salt Lake Olympics when it was about $379 million short and managed to turn it around to earning a $100 million profit! And to top all that off...as if it isn't enough, check this out...Upon entering the governorship of MA in January of 2003, Romney faced a projected $3 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and removal of corporate tax loopholes, by 2006 the state had a $700 million surplus and was able to cut taxes even further!

Oh...but, no...let's not look to this man to be the next leader to get us out of any sort of economic trouble...no...let's instead look for Senator John McCain to lead us...you know the man who's been in Congress for over 20 years, has little to no business experience and who's "pre-Congress" career was serving in the US Navy...great for a "war" president, not so great for an "economic" one...sigh....

It gets better though, everyone will applaud and cheer loudly when McCain picks a "conservative" running mate like Sarah Palin...course, never mind that she too has no business experience, afterall, she did manage to provide ONE tax break to the residents of Alaska...you know the state that has less population then the city I live in!!! And well, she did "fight" those big and evil oil corporations! What you may ask is her pre-political experience? Sportscaster...that should help out when it comes time to putting together a comprehensive economic plan, yes??

Well, her experience or lack there of, really doesn't matter anyway, since as a VP, she will have little to no Constitutional duties. She can try to "advise" McCain, but since he's a "maverick", its likely he won't listen anyway!

Does all this mean I will vote Obama...HELL NO!

Just means I am totally disgusted with both parties! Not that I ever believed in the one (Demoncrats). Just means that I have finally come to the conclusion that the only difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Republicans will institute socialism at a slightly slower rate than the Democrats.

One look at the recent bailout bill and all the CRAP that was included in it, not refused by Republicans, but actually happily agreed upon...demonstrates what I am talking about!

Worst of all...not ONE Republican is actually YELLING about this outrageous bill...and NOT ONE has actually spoken out publicly to expose who's actually at fault for causing this "crisis"...in fact, we heard from Palin last Thursday that this whole "mess" is due to greedy "Wall Street"...that totally turned my stomach to hear! Now we (Republicans) even regurgitate liberal talking points!!!

How about ONE Republican actually having the cashews to go on TV and tell the real truth? You know, being a real "maverick" and speaking out against, not only this pathetic bill, but also exposing the facts that led us to this "crisis"???

Do Facts Matter?
By Thomas Sowell

Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time."

Unfortunately, the future of this country, as well as the fate of the Western world, depends on how many people can be fooled on election day, just a few weeks from now.

Right now, the polls indicate that a whole lot of the people are being fooled a whole lot of the time.

The current financial bailout crisis has propelled Barack Obama back into a substantial lead over John McCain— which is astonishing in view of which man and which party has had the most to do with bringing on this crisis.

It raises the question: Do facts matter? Or is Obama's rhetoric and the media's spin enough to make facts irrelevant?

Fact Number One: It was liberal Democrats, led by Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, who for years— including the present year— denied that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taking big risks that could lead to a financial crisis.

It was Senator Dodd, Congressman Frank and other liberal Democrats who for years refused requests from the Bush administration to set up an agency to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It was liberal Democrats, again led by Dodd and Frank, who for years pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to go even further in promoting subprime mortgage loans, which are at the heart of today's financial crisis.

Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President. So did Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, five years ago.

Yet, today, what are we hearing? That it was the Bush administration "right-wing ideology" of "de-regulation" that set the stage for the financial crisis. Do facts matter?

We also hear that it is the free market that is to blame. But the facts show that it was the government that pressured financial institutions in general to lend to subprime borrowers, with such things as the Community Reinvestment Act and, later, threats of legal action by then Attorney General Janet Reno if the feds did not like the statistics on who was getting loans and who wasn't.

Is that the free market? Or do facts not matter?

Then there is the question of being against the "greed" of CEOs and for "the people." Franklin Raines made $90 million while he was head of Fannie Mae and mismanaging that institution into crisis.

Read further here

2008-10-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

I will not vote McCain...

I have been watching the debate tonight...and its taken both Palin and Biden all of 10 minutes to help me come to the conclusion that I won't be voting for EITHER Obama or McCain!

Honestly, I can't tell the difference between either of these two "bipartisan" politicians.

Palin had a perfect opportunity to explain exactly WHO is responsible for the current economic condition and she failed miserably...not even mentioning the outrageous "tweak" to the fair housing act that occured under Billy boy!

And then she dared to blame "greedy lenders and Wall Street"...sounds just like a liberal!

News flash for both of them...the middle class does well, when the wealthy...the owners of corporations and businesses of all sorts (you know...those who EMPLOY the middle class!) do well!

We have two parties now..."Liberals" and "Liberal Lite"...disgraceful!

There is no Republican party...let alone Conservative party left in this nation!

2008-09-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Then we have this...

The 50 richest members of Congress

Sure, we are keeping those in Congress wealthy, as well as employed!

2008-09-22T13:25:00.001-07:00

We're becoming Socialist, like it or not!

"Government to the rescue!!!" Sadly, the reason that we are having economic issues is because the government got involved. Dictating that we had to institute "fair housing"...sigh...mortgage companies were told to provide loans, ANY WAY THEY COULD, to ensure that minorities had a "fair" chance at owning a home...and look where it has gotten us? And NOW the government calls it "predatory lending"...as if the mortgage companies really wanted to lose their businesses by offering loans to high risk clients!

Well, all I see is that we are being set up for a major tax hike, no matter WHO wins in November! McCain's just might not be as big as Obama's, but either way...our taxes are going to increase and MORE government involvement in our lives will be the norm!

The whole mentality of "government save me"...disgusts me, but sadly, Republican's and Democrats are all the same now - looking to increase government to retain their jobs. Telling us stupid lowly little people how much we "need" them, because we are too dang dumb to run our own lives and know when, what and how much we can spend!

Sadly, we don't have ONE true patriot in office who is actually willing to fight any of this...we just continue to give in on every principal, allowing more and more social programs, holding our hands out for "free" healthcare, housing, education, etc. Maybe those in office are right...we are too stupid to know that without US, the working class, the government HAS NO MONEY to provide all those "free" things to all those with their hands out!

Dow Plummets 373 as Markets Rethink Rescue
Matt Egan and Ken Sweet
FOXBusiness

The euphoria that swept Wall Street late last week evaporated Monday as the Dow plummeted 370 points, crude oil prices spiked $25, an all-time record, and the greenback suffered its worst day ever against the euro.

Today's Market
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 372.75 points, or 3.27%, to 11015.69. The broader S&P 500 Index closed down 47.96 points, to 3.82%, to 1207.12 while the Nasdaq Composite Index ended down 94.92 points, or 4.17%, to 2178.98. The consumer-friendly Fox 50 Index fell 28.21 points, or 3.13% to 873.24.

Turbulence continues to reign on Wall Street as the Dow closed with a triple-digit move for the sixth consecutive trading session. Monday's losses halve what was the largest two-day percentage jump for the S&P 500 since October 1987.

“Uncertainty breeds volatility. Until there is more clarity on the status of the U.S. financial system, there is going to continue to be volatility in both directions," said Michael James, senior equity trader at Wedbush Morgan Securities.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 40.80, -6.25, -13.28%), General Motors (GM: 11.58, -1.50, -11.46%) and Bank of America (BAC: 34.15, -3.33, -8.88%) were the biggest drags on the Dow. Microsoft (MSFT: 25.40, +0.24, +0.95%), which announced a $40 billion stock buyback plan, was the lone blue-chip stock closing in the green.

Crude, Dollar Set Records
Monday saw unprecedented moves in the currency and energy markets, weighing heavily on the markets.

Much of the action was related to the government's $700 billion rescue plan to buy toxic assets from financial companies. The plan, in addition to other measures taken by the government, helped raise hopes last week the credit crisis could be ending soon.

On Monday Wall Street was rethinking the implications of the plan, concerns that helped send the dollar to its worst one-day performance against the euro since the currency's debut in 1999, according to Bloomberg News.

"This just tells you there are major unintended consequences in what the government is trying to do," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. The currency action is "an indictment of what Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson are trying to pull off.”

Read further here

2008-09-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Any other citizen would be facing jail time...

But of course, he's not "any" citizen...he's the "esteemed" Charlie Rangel!! The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee...you know, the committee that actually writes the tax laws...sigh...

Course, if he had an R next to his name, black or white wouldn't be the issue...the only thing we would hear about is how corrupt Republican's are...he would have lost not only his chairmen's position, but would have been forced out of the House altogether and of course, the media would be crying "SCANDAL" all over the place!

But alas...he's a black democrat who will get an absolute pass, who will remain in office and in about 6 months will be hailed as a hero once again as he cries that the whole investigation was due to the fact that he's black...I can just hear him now playing the RACE card..."I was only investigated because I am black!!!"

I love the many excuses that Rangel has been stating since all of this began...especially the one in which he blames his wife as she's the "financier" in the family! LOL! So much for "female brain power!"

More Errors For Rep. Rangel; Hires New Account

Though Many Think Harlem Congressman's High-Powered Job Is Safe, House Speaker Pelosi Has Final Say

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Congressman Charles Rangel is under fire once again over questions about his personal finances.

On Monday, the chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee was scheduled to meet privately with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, trying to deal with the ethics questions that just won't go away.

Rangel emerged from a private meeting with fellow lawmakers Monday night having survived another day as chairman of the tax writing committee despite lingering questions about his personal finances and unpaid taxes on a beach house.

"I am unable to say anything," the Democrat said, before rattling off his name, rank and serial number from his days as a soldier in the Korean War. "Do to me what you want, I'm not talking."

Asked if he was still the chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, Rangel smiled and said nothing.

"You're damn right he's the chairman," replied fellow lawmaker Sander Levin, D-Mich.

Rangel's meeting with fellow Democrats on the committee lasted nearly an hour. During that time, many lawmakers in the room voiced support for Rangel continuing in his high position while the House ethics committee probes his finances, according to people who were there and spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.

Although he is one of the most powerful men in Washington, here in his own district -- to avoid yet another round of embarrassing questions from reporters -- Rangel had to be brought in through a back door on Monday, surrounded by children, no less. He did acknowledge that he was going to be asked about Speaker Pelosi, but said he did not want to take away from what was supposed to be the children's day.

"The feeling was it had to do with Speaker Pelosi, but I don't want to detract from this at all," Rangel said.

Read further here

2008-09-11T16:48:00.001-07:00

2008-09-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

Democrats used to be the only party of hypocrits in my mind but now...

Umm...the only hypocrits I see lately are of the Republican kind! As a devout Conservative and Catholic, I am disgusted at the way Palin's gender has been exploited for the sake of the "win".

Some of the "gear" that's being sold, t-shirts, thongs, dolls dressed as dominatrix and really disgusting slogans are being sold by so called CONSERVATIVES supporting Palin!

And since when did Conservatives throw out family values? I thought the reason we were so proud of soccer/hockey mom's...was because they actually were STAY AT HOME MOM's who chose the best job in the world...being a MOM rather than putting their career first?

Oh yea...she's a SUPER woman and can do it all! Fox News proudly showed a video two nights in a row this week of Sarah Palin, the good mother at home fixing, what looked like a burnt and at least day old hamburger for Piper, while casually chatting with the cameraman and interviewer.

When the interviewer decides to ask her 7 year old, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"...her response..."A BABYSITTER!"

Yea, she chooses to be a babysitter probably because she sees MORE of her babysitter than ANYONE else, including mother AND father!

It takes a LOT more to be a mother than just giving birth! Palin clearly put her career first...joining the PTA when her oldest son was only THREE!!!!

Sorry, but the whole celebrity circus of BOTH parties has completely turned me off of all politics!
I am sadly disappointed in the likes of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Reagan....those who I dearly loved prior to their showing of true colors..."ANYTHING TO WIN!"

Remember...it was that same crappy attitude that put ARNOLD in office here in CA, rather than actually supporting, promoting and electing a TRUE CONSERVATIVE (Tom McClintock) and where did it get us? 40% MORE debt, more liberal laws then ever on the books and more businesses leaving CA then ever!

Yea...thanks for the "win"...sigh....so much for Conservative values...we have just thrown them all aside so we too, could have a "celebrity candidate", makes me sick.

2008-09-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin...she delivers a good speech, she's lovely to look at...she's not afraid to be direct and bold.

She will put the nail in the coffin of traditional family values, by becoming the new face of feminism.

Her "choice" to keep her Downs Syndrome baby is celebrated everywhere...Conservative pundits are hailing her as the new "Ronald Reagan" and the "savior" of the conservative base and the McCain campaign.

I hope she's prepared for the enormous expectations being lauded upon her.

As for my own personal thoughts...while I think picking her as the VP nominee was a brilliant political strategy and just may garner the "win" come November...I am sad to say, I believe Republicans have once again given in, we have allowed liberals to dictate our direction and we demonstrated we are willing to do ANYTHING simply to get the "win!"

Some have said to me..."well, as long as we get the win"...but I remember all too well many saying that during the recall election when Arnold was being pushed as the only candidate who could "win". What did that get us? A state that has 40% more debt then when we actually recalled Gray Davis! A state that has adopted more liberal policies and one that is losing businesses at a ridiculous rate! Are we better off since we got the "win"?

And how much can a McCain/Palin administration do when we continue to have the most liberal and ineffective Congress ever? If President Bush is currently unable to push any Conservative, yet alone Republican, legislation through this Congress what makes us think that we will be able to do so with a President who is currently a part of the problem?

Oh I know...McCain will "reach across the isle" to work with the Democrats...yea, the ones that I want to see completely defeated, not compromised with! We will see compromise on the Right...we will give in on all issues, heck, McCain has demonstrated his ability to "work" with the liberals...think Global Warming, Campaign Refinance Reform and Immigration. So why do Conservatives believe that this woman, alone, is going to make much of an impact? How will she be able to do what President Bush was unable to do even when he had a majority "Republican" Congress for his first four years?

Sorry, but I am just not ready to jump on the "celebrate Sarah the savior" bus yet. Does it mean I am willing to see Obama and his looney liberal clan win? HELL NO! But I am not going to pretend that I am suddenly overjoyed that my voice was totally ignored and that my party continues to go in its own direction, slowly conforming, to liberal ideas, policies and agenda.

2008-09-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin? What can I say? Republicans have now publicly and wholeheartedly embraced feminism. Sarah Palin can and has, had it all. I was going to reluctantly vote for moderate McCain. After Palin, I was not gunna vote at all. Now, considering how people are so happy to vote for McCain because he chose someone with a pussy as a running mate, I have decided to vote for Obama. Republicans have sold us out for moderates when we have a far left Congress. It is only a matter of time before they sell us out on the other issues as well. This nation is not worth it as it stands today. Let it fall. Let Obama have at it.

I, Leftistdestroyer, hereby renounce my involvement in the Republican Party and declare Conservatism, as I had belived it to be, dead. I have no plans to join any other party, nor declare myself an independant. I really do not care who runs the country anymore,(the similarities in the two party's are too close) just stay the fuck out of my way. No matter who is in charge, this once great nation steadily moves to the left and towards socialism, and in my opinion, is no longer worth defending. The history of our founding is just that, history.

2008-09-01T17:19:00.001-07:00

So much for "Liberal tolerance and compassion"

So these protestors showed up to cry about the war in Iraq...to whine about the "violence" of war...to call our President a war monger...to declare their "upset" with the innocent victims of the war, to share their "outrage" over the loss of life of the brave military men and women who volunteered to make the ultimate sacrifice, etc., etc.

But isn't funny...they "hate" and "violence" so much except of course when they are the ones committing the very "crimes" they dare to say they are protesting against!!

Once again, demonstrating the hypocrisy of those on the left..."war is not the answer" unless you are going to "war" with 80 year old Republicans and Conservatives!!!!

Anti-War Protest at GOP Convention Turns Violent

by Stephen Clark
Monday, September 1, 2008

ST. PAUL –A protest near the site of the Republican National Convention gave way to violence Monday as demonstrators attacked members of the Connecticut delegation, smashed windows, slashed car tires and threw bottles during an anti-war march, St. Paul police said.

More than 80 people were arrested by police using pepper spray in some confrontations. Police were determining on a case-by-case basis how to process them.

Five people were accused of setting fire to a trash bin and pushing it into a police car, St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said.

The violent demonstrators were mostly dressed in black and described themselves as anarchists. Most of the violence occurred in pockets of a neighborhood near downtown, several blocks from the Xcel Energy Center, where the convention was taking place.

At the request of police, 150 Minnesota National Guard soldiers helped control splinter groups near downtown long after anti-war marchers had dispersed.

Protesters attacked members of the Connecticut delegation when they got off their buses near Xcel Center, delegates told FOX News.com and a local TV station.

A group of protesters came toward the delegation and tried to rip the credentials off their necks and sprayed them with a toxic substance that burned their eyes and stained their clothes, delegate Rob Simmons told KMSP-TV.

One 80-year-old member of the delegation had to be treated for injuries, and several other delegates had to rinse their eyes and clothing, the station reported.

Read further here

2008-08-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

Check out this video: Black & White on the Grey Matters 2 (War)

2008-08-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Nugent's take on the five traitors...

I am so glad to see that I am not the ONLY Conservative pissed off beyond belief at the five traitors who do nothing in Congress, other than "secure" their positions with the Dem's! Its LONG past the time to VOTE THEM ALL OUT!!!

Gang of Sellouts
08/13/2008

Joining five Democrats to make up the Gang of Ten, five Republican senators tossed Sen. John McCain under his Straight Talk Express Energy bus.

The five Republican senators (Graham, Thune, Chambliss, Corker, and Isakson) should be renamed the Gang of Sellouts.

The Gang of Ten is a bipartisan group of senators who recently offered an energy policy -- intentionally or stupidly otherwise -- that can only benefit Senator Obama, whose energy policy up until this point was to tell us to keep our tires just as liberals prefer Fedzilla: properly inflated.

McCain had Obama on the energy ropes and was scoring some big-time political points, but the Gang of Sellouts has let Obama off the ropes. Just when McCain was making headway, the Gang of Sellouts let the air out of his energy fight.

According to Kimberly Strassel’s August 8th article in The Wall Street Journal, the Gang of Ten’s energy policy is to allow four states to determine whether or not to allow drilling for oil on offshore federal land and deny drilling within 50 miles of our coasts and any drilling in ANWR. Oil companies would be allowed to explore for oil off Florida’s coasts. You know, like those stalwarts of environmentalism China, Cuba and India are planning to do in the next couple of years.

Additionally, the Gang of Ten would provide over $80 billion in tax credits for alternative fuels by eliminating $30 billion in tax breaks for oil companies, which of course ultimately comes out of American consumer's pockets. That’s right: raise taxes on the very companies that would invest in finding more real energy to help make America energy independent, while propping up more Fedzilla hoaxes like ethanol. The Emperor not only has no clothes, he's fat, wart-riddled and ugly.

Increasing taxes is never the right approach if the goal is to provide incentives to expand business, lower prices, and provide jobs. Only Democrats do not understand that raising taxes destroys incentives. One would think, even pray and dream, that Republicans -- even the Gang of Sellouts -- would know this.

The first rule of Republican economic politics must always be to never cut deals with the Tax Devil. The second economic maxim is that America can not tax and spend its way to prosperity. These two fundamental rules should be burned into the doors of all Republican senators and congressmen's offices. Even tattooed onto their foreheads.

Unable to drill within 50 miles of our coasts, we will not be able to tap into the rich energy reserves that lay just off of our coasts.

As George Will pointed out in his June 5th op-ed The Gas Prices We Deserve, the US Minerals Management Service restricted offshore areas may contain 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which is ten times the oil and 20 times the natural gas Americans use annually. Read that again. Whose side are these numbskulls on?

The Gang of Ten’s proposal would restrict us from this energy -- energy that would help make America more energy independent. Thanks for nothing, Gang of Sellouts.

Read further here

2008-08-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

When a picture is worth a 1000 words:

2008-08-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

Republicans CAVE once again!

So finally, John McCain had an issue that was hitting home with, not only his supporters, but also the Conservative base and most importantly, every common sense thinking individual in the nation - we want DRILLING!

But...leave it to our weak spined, career protecting, Republican (and worse yet, supposed "Conservative") senators currently in Congress to BLOW IT!

Lindsay Graham of South Carolina - (202) 224-5972

John Thune of South Dakota - (202) 224-2321

Saxby Chambliss of Georgia - (202) 224-3521

Bob Corker of Tennessee - (202) 224-3344

Johnny Isakson of Georgia - (202) 224-3643

The proposed bill by this "gang of 10" will limit drilling to FOUR states only and will continue to protect ANWR...in addition it will deny drilling offshore in the areas where we KNOW the oil can be found!

Per Saxby Chambliss, the hope is to force the Democrats to "allow" drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but we all know that the Dems, unlike the cowards of the Republican party, are NOT going to give in and accept drilling in Mexico...once again, this bill is nothing MORE than stupid LIP SERVICE! This

I, for one, am totally sick of these career politicians and environmentalists holding us hostage...I believe we need a complete CLEANING of the HOUSE - I am ready to remake Congress, getting rid of absolute cowards like the five mentioned above! I am going to be calling, emailing and faxing, each of those pathetic senators mentioned above to communicate my outrage over this "compromise"...how about you?

Republican Energy Fumble
August 8, 2008

Politics has its puzzling moments. John McCain and most of the GOP experienced one late last week. That was when five of their own set about dismantling the best issue Republicans have in the upcoming election.

It's taken time, but Sen. McCain and his party have finally found -- in energy -- an issue that's working for them. Riding voter discontent over high gas prices, the GOP has made antidrilling Democrats this summer's headlines.

Their enthusiasm has given conservative candidates a boost in tough races. And Mr. McCain has pressured Barack Obama into an energy debate, where the Democrat has struggled to explain shifting and confused policy proposals.

Still, it was probably too much to assume every Republican would work out that their side was winning this issue. And so, last Friday, in stumbled Sens. Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Saxby Chambliss, Bob Corker and Johnny Isakson -- alongside five Senate Democrats. This "Gang of 10" announced a "sweeping" and "bipartisan" energy plan to break Washington's energy "stalemate." What they did was throw every vulnerable Democrat, and Mr. Obama, a life preserver.

That's because the plan is a Democratic giveaway. New production on offshore federal lands is left to state legislatures, and then in only four coastal states. The regulatory hurdles are huge. And the bill bars drilling within 50 miles of the coast -- putting off limits some of the most productive areas. Alaska's oil-rich Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is still a no-go.

The highlight is instead $84 billion in tax credits, subsidies and federal handouts for alternative fuels and renewables. The Gang of 10 intends to pay for all this in part by raising taxes on . . . oil companies! The Sierra Club couldn't have penned it better. And so the Republican Five has potentially given antidrilling Democrats the political cover they need to neutralize energy through November.

Sen. Obama was thrilled. He quickly praised the Gang's bipartisan spirit, and warmed up to a possible compromise. Of course, he means removing even the token drilling provisions now in the bill. But he's only too happy for the focus to remain on the Gang's efforts, and in particular on the five Republicans providing his party its fig leaf.

Equally gleeful was Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, the Senate's most vulnerable Democrat. She had been sweating the energy debate, especially after her vote against more oil-shale production -- a position her Republican opponent, John Kennedy, had used against her to great effect. Yet there she was, chummily standing with the Gang of 10 and boasting that she is working with "five Republicans" to "lower prices at the pump by increasing offshore drilling here at home."

Mr. McCain, who had been commanding the energy debate, was left to explain why he, of all people, wasn't more enthusiastic about a "bipartisan" effort on energy, especially one that includes "drilling." His camp was forced to take refuge in taxes, explaining that their boss couldn't sign up for a bill that included more. If this is what Mr. McCain's good friend Lindsey Graham considers "helping," somebody might want to ask him to stop.

And pity poor Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been working overtime to stanch GOP losses this fall and head off a filibuster-proof Democratic Senate. His dogged efforts to highlight Democratic opposition to drilling has kept energy in the news and laid the groundwork for GOP candidates to use the issue to their advantage.

Read further here

2008-08-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Gotta LOVE Walmart!

Kudos to Walmart...I'll be sure to spend my hard earned dollars there before going anywhere else because they have the courage to SPEAK UP!

They know that if the Democrats take over the White House, as well as controlling Congress, businesses are going to be hurt severely and certainly, the consumer will PAY for it! Unionizing would be the worst thing to happen to Walmart, its employees and most of all, YOU and ME, consumer!

Wal-Mart warns managers about labor bill

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it has warned U.S. store managers in recent weeks about the possible consequences of a labor-friendly bill backed by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama that would make it easier for workers to form unions.
But the retailer, which has kept its U.S. stores free of unions, stressed it was not telling employees how to vote.

The Wall Street Journal reported that about a dozen employees who attended meetings in seven states said executives had told them that unionization could force Wal-Mart to cut jobs as labor costs rise, and that employees would have to pay hefty union dues and get nothing in return.

The Journal said Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings do not specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's presidential election, but they make it clear that voting for Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in.

"If anyone representing Wal-Mart gave the impression we were telling associates how to vote, they were wrong and acting without approval," Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said.

Wal-Mart opposes proposed legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act that would make it easier for workers to unionize, by signing a card rather than holding a vote.

Obama, a co-sponsor of the original bill, has called for passage of the act. Last June, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain voted against it.

Read further here

2008-07-31T10:41:00.001-07:00

Do you have air in your head...err...tires?

Obama has air in his HEAD! Here we go again, the "savior" telling us exactly what we should be doing because we, the lowly little people, are just too damn stupid to figure it out on our own...sigh...

Obama says:

There are things you can do individually, though, to save energy. Making sure your tires are properly inflated — simple thing. But we could save all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling — if everybody was just inflating their tires? And getting regular tune-ups? You’d actually save just as much!

What CRAP! How the hell do people fall for this nonsense? Apparently, some ARE, in fact that damn STUPID!

Yep...its a good thing "B. Hussein Obama, Savior of us all" is smart enough to tell us the above...screw drilling for oil and increasing supply...oh no, we just need more "AIR!" (Course, that air has to be free of carbon dioxide or Global Warming will get us...so although you may ensure the four tires on your SUV are filled to the appropriate capacity, you still can't drive it...as the carbon "footprint" left in its wake will cause the next earthquake, flood, tornado, hurricane and whatever else the looney left can think of!)

2008-07-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

America, you are in danger. Do not forget history.

A lie told often enough becomes truth.

Man made Global Warming, Newsweeks 1975 report on Global Cooling, Dead oceans in 10 years(10 years ago), Bird Flu.

Democracy is indispensable to socialism

Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid: $1.23 trillion 2008 Every year. Second Amendment bans. Food Bans. Smoking Bans. Etc.

Fascism is capitalism in decay
Second Amendment bans. Food Bans. Smoking Bans. Etc.

Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted (Give us the child for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever)

Department of Education, Public Schools.

If Socialism can only be realized when the intellectual development of all the people permits it, then we shall not see Socialism for at least five hundred years

Department of Education, Public Schools.

It is true that liberty is precious - so precious that it must be rationed

Taxes, Second Amendment bans. Food Bans. Smoking Bans. Etc.

One man with a gun can control 100 without one.

Second Amendment bans.

Our program necessarily includes the propaganda of atheism

Liberalism, Darwinism, Public Schools, Banning religious monumnets on public ground, Ten Commandments Case, Judge Roy Moore.

The goal of socialism is communism

Kelo, Taxes, Second Amendment bans. Food Bans. Smoking Bans. Etc.

The press should be not only a collective propagandist and a collective agitator, but also a collective organizer of the masses

CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, Media Matters, Huffington Post, Air America, CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.

The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation

Chicago, IL 10.2% sales tax. Highest in the Nation. 1/3 of pay check goes to taxes. Federal, State, and Local tax, Sales tax, Estate tax, Inheritance Tax, etc.

When there is state there can be no freedom, but when there is freedom there will be no state

Kelo, Taxes, Second Amendment bans. Food Bans. Smoking Bans. Etc.

All of the above, in bold, are quotes from Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. They do apply to the US.

2008-07-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

KOMMUNIST KALIFORNIA at it again!!

Isn't it this rich..."Ahhnold", steroid boy, telling us what we can and can't eat! And worse yet...some stupid legistrative woman trying to push a bill that would limit the number of fast food restaurants in Los Angeles??? This state is turning to a completely government run, babysitting, enforcing of THEIR will upon the people, STATE! Its outrageous, disgusting and I for one am MAD!

I am so sick of politicians telling us, the people of the US, that we are too damn stupid to think for ourselves and do what we need to do to take care of our own families! This just demonstrates more of the "you need us" mentality that has warped our state AND federal governments within BOTH parties! When are people going to finally get fed up???

Schwarzenegger Terminates Trans Fat in Calif.
California Becomes the First State to Ban Trans Fats
By MOLLY HUNTER
July 25, 2008 —

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made it official: California will be the first trans-fat free state in the nation.

All-natural palm, rice and soybean oils will soon be king, and life in the Golden State will be forever altered.

The California legislature pushed the bill through last week, and Schwarzenegger signed it into law Friday, July 25.

The ban will require food providers to begin phasing out trans fat oils by July 1, 2009. Thereafter, noncompliance with the ban will result in fines of up to $1,000.

Trans unsaturated fatty acids are the partially hydrogenated oils that result from a chemical process producing solid fats with a longer shelf life.

These so-called "trans fats" were once thought to be healthier than butter, but research in the last decade has shown that they are much more harmful to health than had been believed. According to the American Heart Association, trans unsaturated fatty acids are medically proven to increase the risk of coronary heart disease by raising bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and reducing good cholesterol levels (HDL).

With more than half a million Americans dying each year from heart disease, the switch may be coming not a moment too soon.

(And Lord knows, we the people are just too damn stupid and ignorant to know what's not good for us or what we should be doing to lower our OWN risk for heart disease, right?? )

This ban comes on the heels of the New York City's prohibition on trans fats in restaurants, which took full effect on July 1. But the wheels began turning in California before the Big Apple's eateries sought substitutes for their deep fryers.

Tiburon, a northern California town of about 8,700 people, has boasted trans fat-free restaurants since 2004. All 18 restaurants turned away, rather effortlessly and voluntarily, from partially hydrogenated oils at the urging of a lawyer, Steven Joseph, and his task force at bantransfats.com.

"The change has been very well received by our customers," said Carl Peschlow, owner of Sweden House Bakery in Tiburon. "Those so-called bad fats do, however, give our croissants a little oomph."

Peschlow said that while his bakery made the change relatively early, they still use a "tiny bit" of trans fat in their croissant recipe. Otherwise, Peschlow said, "the croissants just look like fat pancakes."

When New York City turned its attention to trans fats, they looked to Joseph's Project Tiburon for guidance. Joseph, a California transplant from Washington D.C., also led the fight against Kraft in 2003, asking the food giant to "cease and desist marketing and selling Oreo cookies to children in the State of California" until the popular chocolate sandwich cookie contained zero trans fats.

Kraft caved and has since become a leader in the industry, reducing or eliminating trans fats in 650 of its products. "Clearly that's what people wanted and that's what they care about," said Susan Davison, Kraft's director of corporate affairs.

Joseph and his team also prompted McDonalds to re-think its use of trans fats, and today Wendy's has gone completely trans fat-free. (California staple In-N-Out Burger has never used trans fats since opening in 1948.)

The California Restaurant Association along with other organizations has led the charge against the ban, claiming that many restaurants are making the shift without the government's help.

Chains including Taco Bell, Denny's, Burger King, Olive Garden, El Pollo Loco and Red Lobster have voluntarily pledged to fully or partially eliminate trans fats in their kitchens.

Read more of this disgusting story here

Beware...cause very soon they, our saviors in government, will be going after the grocery stores next and all the processed foods carried in them!!! All you Costco "heat and eat" mom's better be careful...soon will be arrested for giving your kids microwaved chicken nuggets!!!!

2008-07-24T22:48:00.000-07:00

Going to visit Iraq wasn't "unfair," BUT...

Going to show your gratitude, respect and honor to those who have been wounded defending your "RIGHT" to campaign...is...sigh...and never mind the simple fact that B. Hussein Obama is STILL a US Senator and should be ALWAYS be ready, willing and able to show his respect to the troops!!!

Obama scraps visit to wounded troops

Jul 24 04:09 PM US/Eastern

BERLIN (AP) - Sen. Barack Obama scrapped plans to visit wounded members of the armed forces in Germany as part of his overseas trip, a decision his spokesman said was made because the Democratic presidential candidate thought it would be inappropriate on a campaign-funded journey.

The spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Thursday that Obama made his decision out of respect for the servicemen and women, but Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign immediately criticized the move.

"Barack Obama is wrong. It is never inappropriate to visit our men and women in the military," said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the Republican contender.

Read further here

2008-07-23T13:25:00.001-07:00

Well YEA! All it took was President Bush lifting the executive order...

Just think how much MORE the prices would drop if the lame duck Congress actually did the same thing???

Didn't we learn all this back in 1982 when President Reagan lifted the price controls and regulations on petroleum? If we demonstrate that we are going to increase our domestic supply...the price indeed will drop, even if it takes us 10 or more years to actually GET the oil out! Sigh...so sick of Dem's and that fourth branch of government, the enviroMENTAL wacos!

By the way, did you know that the state of California uses up MORE gasoline than ANY ONE NATION in the world?

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Republican John McCain on Wednesday credited the recent $10-a-barrel drop in the price of oil to President Bush's lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling, an action he has been advocating in his presidential campaign. The cost of oil and gasoline is "on everybody's mind in this room," McCain told a town-hall meeting.

He criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for opposing drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Bush recently lifted the executive order banning offshore drilling that his father put in place in 1990. He also asked Congress to lift its own moratorium on oil exploration on the outer continental shelf which includes coastal waters as close as three miles from shore.

"The price of oil dropped $10 a barrel," said McCain, who argued that the psychology of lifting the ban has affected world markets.

The White House didn't go that far. Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said the price drop also could reflect diminished demand.

"I don't know if we fully deserve the credit," Perino said.

"We don't predict what happens in the market," she said. "We can't really tell. Certainly, taking that action would send a signal that at least the executive branch is serious about moving forward and increasing the supply we have in America."

There are 42 gallons in each barrel.

A barrel of light, sweet crude fell $1.86 to $126.56 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's down from more than $140 a barrel earlier in the summer.

McCain also said Obama's Iraq policies amount to "unconditional withdrawal." His criticism of his Democratic rival has heated up as Obama has drawn the lion's share of attention over the past few days for his visit to Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and other destinations.

McCain said Obama's plan to withdraw U.S. troops over a 16-month period "could lead to a resurgence in our enemies, and we would have to come back."

Under a McCain presidency, the Arizona senator said, "we will never have to go back. We will have won this conflict."

Read further here

2008-07-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

No... There's No Such Thing as Media BIAS...

Especially not in that well respected and honorable news source, (hold your nose) The New York Times!

McCain Campaign Says New York Times Blocked Op-Ed Response to Obama
by FOXNews.com
Monday, July 21, 2008

The New York Times on Friday blocked an opinion piece submitted by John McCain to the newspaper shortly after it printed a piece by his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, McCain campaign officials confirmed to FOX News on Monday.

Obama’s piece detailed his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan. While McCain’s proposed piece also discussed Iraq, The Times told McCain’s advisers that it would not accept the op-ed in its current form because it did not offer new information. Obama’s speech previewed a series of speeches leading up to a highly publicized trip to war zones in the Middle East.

“I’d be very eager to publish the senator on the op-ed page. However, I’m not going to be able to accept this piece as currently written. I’d be pleased, though, to look at another draft. Let me suggest an approach,” Times op-ed editor David Shipley wrote the campaign via an e-mail later distributed by McCain’s team.

“It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama’s piece. To that end, the article would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq. It would also have to lay out a clear plan for achieving victory — with troops levels, timetables and measures for compelling the Iraqis to cooperate. And it would need to describe the Senator’s Afghanistan strategy, spelling out how it meshes with his Iraq plan,” Shipley wrote.

McCain campaign Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker said the two candidates “have very different world views” about Iraq and the campaign wanted an opportunity to state its candidate’s view.

“We have elections in this country, not coronations and it’s unfortunate that The New York Times wouldn’t allow their readers to hear from John McCain and make their own judgment,” Hazelbaker told FOX News.

Read Further Here

2008-07-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

Proposed George W. Bush Sewage Plant makes ballot

SAN FRANCISCO - A measure seeking to commemorate President Bush's years in office by slapping his name on a San Francisco sewage plant has qualified for the November ballot.

The measure certified Thursday would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.

Local Republicans say the plan stinks and they will oppose it.

The Rest Here

Here is what I say to this bit of class:

2008-07-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

What a bunch of
S.F. fires up two-pronged attack on smoking

Notice it is only the communist politicans and activist groups who are pushing this agenda. The average people are too busy trying to buy $4.50 a gallon gasoline because the same communists refuse to let us get more oil. WE told you all that when it comes to the Communists in America, if you give them an inch, they will take 10 miles. Time to sweep them OUT of this nation once and for all and I swear, I will one day blow smoke through the hollowed out skulls of these people.
(07-15) 20:23 PDT -- Smokers would find it harder to buy their cigarettes and light up in public under two proposals under consideration by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Mayor Gavin Newsom has proposed prohibiting tobacco sales in pharmacies, including Walgreens and Rite Aid. The city's public health chief said the proposal is modeled after rules in eight provinces in Canada but has not been tried anywhere in the United States.

Supervisor Chris Daly has proposed legislation that would vastly limit areas where people can smoke.

Gone would be smoking in all businesses and bars, which now make an exception for owner-operated ones.

Gone too would be lighting up in taxicabs and rental cars, city-owned vehicles, farmers' markets, common areas of apartment buildings, tourist hotels, tobacco shops, charity bingo games, unenclosed dining areas, waiting areas such as lines at an ATM or movie theater, and anywhere within 20 feet of entrances to private, nonresidential buildings.

Mitch Katz, director of the Department of Public Health, said he strongly supports both measures - even if they are angering business owners who say it's one more example of San Francisco City Hall overstepping its bounds.

"Tobacco remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the U.S. - period," he said. "It's government's responsibility to protect people from obvious risks."

Surprisingly, San Francisco is far behind some Bay Area cities in the fight against tobacco. The American Lung Association assigned letter grades this year to 108 Bay Area cities depending on whether they were successfully curbing secondhand smoke exposure in housing, recreation areas, outdoor dining, entryways and outdoor service areas.

Only Belmont, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, unincorporated parts of Contra Costa County and Ross earned A grades. San Francisco scored a D.

S.F. 'way out of date'
Karen Licavoli, vice president of programs for the anti-tobacco nonprofit Breathe California and member of San Francisco's Tobacco Free Coalition, said Daly's proposals would place San Francisco among the top few cities in the state when it comes to limiting secondhand smoke.

"San Francisco's way out of date," she said. "That's why it's critical we get this law passed without amendments that water it down."

The proposed ban on pharmacies selling tobacco was approved by the Health Commission on Tuesday, and it would take effect Oct. 1 if it's approved by the supervisors. Violators would face fines of $100 to $1,000. It would apply only to pharmacies and not to grocery stores or big-box stores like Costco that also sell tobacco products and have pharmacies inside them.

Katz said the entire population patronizes grocery stores and big-box stores, but the sick are more likely to use pharmacies and are likely to be suffering from diseases exacerbated by tobacco products.

Calls Tuesday to the headquarters of Walgreens and Rite Aid were not returned.

Michael Sharpe, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local No. 648, represents workers at stores such as Walgreens and said it's not fair to have some rules for their businesses and other rules for grocery stores and big-box stores.

"I'm a nonsmoker. I hate smoking," he said. "But if you're really looking to change behavior, you're not going to be able to do it by changing the venue people buy (cigarettes) in."

Daly refused to talk to The Chronicle about his measure. His legislative aide, Lena Gomes, said business owners would have to post signs about the law and make sure their customers follow it.

Firm's owner would call cops
Gomes said the owner wouldn't have to physically remove the smoker if he or she doesn't comply, but would be responsible for calling the police. The fine would be against the smoker, not the business, and could be $500, she said.

"We don't want to put anyone out of business," she said. "We're just saying there's enough scientific evidence that there is no safe place for secondhand smoke."

Carol Piasente, spokeswoman for the Chamber of Commerce, said it's not fair to make business owners police patrons. She added that many city blocks have stores so tightly packed together, a smoker would not be able to find anywhere that's more than 20 feet away from a business entrance.

"It seems to be a solution that hasn't been thought out in terms of its consequences and how it would actually work," she said.

Smokers gathered outside the city's Main Library on Tuesday weren't happy with the idea, either.

"They've banned enough places for people to smoke," said Joey Juchemich, 33. "Pretty soon it's going to be illegal to smoke anywhere but your own home."

To get involved
Both pieces of anti-tobacco legislation will be heard by the Board of Supervisors' city operations and neighborhood services committee at 1 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, Room 263.
The Rest Here

2008-07-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

NOT IN SARANDON'S BACK YARD

What a rich, elitist hypocrite. And these are Obamas people! Typical though of the social anarchists in America. They should be swept out of the nation ASAP.

TIM Robbins' and Susan Sarandon's mission to protect the poor and needy doesn't apply to their Greenwich Village neighborhood. The Oscar-winning liberals recently attended a Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing to oppose St. Vincent's plea to build a new, larger hospital on West 12th Street, three blocks from their home. This despite their support of causes like UNICEF and Champions for Children. "The hospital provides $40 million in care to the indigent every year," one proponent told us. "Robbins dismissed more than 100 people rallying in support of the hospital - low-income, union workers and veterans of the AIDS crisis - as 'those people out there.' "

The Rest Here

2008-07-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

Obama Says "Worry about your child learning Spanish!"

I wonder...do you think Obama is gonna push for a government program that mandates that every American MUST now learn Spanish?!

So much for uniting the US with English and establishing the "American" culture...sigh...

Then again, Obama, at the time, was speaking to the LULAC, the League of Latin American Citizens, so perhaps he was doing what he does best, PANDERING to the crowd! I am sure, once again (as we have seen so many times already), in the next couple of days, we will hear his campaign backtracking and "clarifying" what he meant when he made this STUPID and OUTRAGEOUS comment!

2008-07-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

I guess the MSM has nothing to do with this huh?

Most people don't even know what the actual definition of a recession is, so I will share it:

Recession: A period of general economic decline; specifically, a decline in GDP for two or more consecutive quarters.

Of course, we have not yet experienced a decline in ever ONE quarter, let alone two...but the lovely MSM keeps pushing the thoughts of "recession" in their coverage and their constant "doom and gloom" outlook. Course, unemployment is still very low, consumer buying is still going strong and despite the fact that real estate has dropped in many locations, people are still buying! In fact, the lower prices has just encouraged those who couldn't afford to buy a year or more ago, to do so now! (You know...the market is actually taking care of itself!)

Despite all of that though...the MSM continues their sad predictions for the end of life as we know it!!!!

July 7th, 2008
3/4 of Americans see recession

Posted: 12:25 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Most Americans still think the economy is in a recession, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday.

In a telephone poll of over 1,000 adult Americans, 75 percent said they believe the nation is now in a recession. That figure was 79 percent in April and 74 percent in March. The sampling error for each poll was plus or minus 3 percentage points, meaning the results are statistically unchanged.

Read the rest of the blurb here

2008-07-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday America!!

"My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!"
~Thomas Jefferson

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
~Abraham Lincoln

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
~ Ronald Reagan

"(W)e here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
~Abe Lincoln

"Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former to the world. Our great title is AMERICANS!"
~ Thomas Paine

"Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."
~Colin Powell

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
~ Thomas Paine

"Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood -- the virtues that made America."
~ Teddy Roosevelt

"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children (America), the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done."
~ Ronald Reagan

"I shall know but one country. The ends I aim at shall be my country’s, my God’s and Truth’s. I was born an American; I live an American; I shall die an American."
~ Daniel Webster

"Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I'm not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be."
~ John Wayne

2008-06-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

Tax means fewer travellers at main Dutch airport: report

Some 50,000 fewer passengers are expected to use Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of Europe's busiest, this summer on account of a Dutch environmental tax on flights, it was reported Saturday.
"We're expected zero growth in 2008, and in fact a decrease (in passenger numbers) in July and August," an airport spokesman was quoted as saying by the domestic ANP news agency.

The Netherlands is the only country that levies an environmental tax on flights departing the country -- 11.25 euros per passenger (17.75 dollars) for European destinations and 45 euros for intercontential points.

Our Future Is Here

2008-06-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

Animal rights group turns its fire on celebrity meat-eaters

After helping to make fur coats taboo, campaigners at Peta are using hardline tactics on A-list carnivores

By Rachel Shields
Sunday, 29 June 2008

Animal rights protesters have launched a series of angry campaigns against A-list carnivores. They are shifting their focus from celebrities who wear fur to others who encourage the "exploitation" of animals by eating them. In its latest campaign, Peta – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which became infamous for dousing fur-wearers in red paint – has launched an attack on the singer Jessica Simpson.

Ms Simpson was singled out for ridicule after she was spotted wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan "Real Girls Eat Meat", believed to be a light-hearted dig at her boyfriend Tony Romo's vegetarian ex-girlfriend, Carrie Underwood.

Alistair Currie, a spokesman for Peta, said: "Jessica Simpson might have a right to wear what she wants, but she doesn't have a right to eat what she wants – eating meat is about suffering and death. Some people feel like they are standing up against a tide of political correctness when they make a statement like this – what she is really doing is standing up for the status quo."

The animal rights group doctored a photo of Ms Simpson to read "Only Stupid Girls Eat Meat", and listed "five reasons only stupid girls eat meat".

In May the group condemned the British actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers for admitting that he had tried dog meat while in China.

The Peta attacks are seen as a sign of the radicalisation of some vegetarian groups. They claim eating meat causes environmental destruction, damages human health and contributes to global hunger, as well as inflicting suffering on billions of animals.

Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (Viva!) claims that there are currently between five and six million vegetarians in the UK but estimates that as many as a third of population have significantly reduced their meat intake.

"Vegetarians are still in a minority – most people eat meat. You're sticking your neck out as a vegetarian, and so most are passionate about it," said Annette Pinner, the chief executive of the Vegetarian Society.

A recent pronouncement from the head of the UN climate change agency that the best thing people can do to halt global warming is to turn vegetarian has taken the debate a step further.

Paul McCartney, a veteran vegetarian campaigner, recently launched "Meat Free Mondays" to encourage meat-eaters to eat vegetarian food once a week, citing the UN's statement as a good reason to forgo meat.

The Rest of This Bullshit Here

2008-06-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes

Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:27pm EDT
By Martin Roberts

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for non-humans.

Parliament's environmental committee approved resolutions urging Spain to comply with the Great Apes Project, devised by scientists and philosophers who say our closest genetic relatives deserve rights hitherto limited to humans.

"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project.

Spain may be better known abroad for bull-fighting than animal rights but the new measures are the latest move turning once-conservative Spain into a liberal trailblazer.

Spain did not legalize divorce until the 1980s, but Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government has legalized gay marriage, reduced the influence of the Catholic Church in education and set up an Equality Ministry.

The new resolutions have cross-party or majority support and are expected to become law and the government is now committed to update the statute book within a year to outlaw harmful experiments on apes in Spain.

"We have no knowledge of great apes being used in experiments in Spain, but there is currently no law preventing that from happening," Pozas said.

Keeping apes for circuses, television commercials or filming will also be forbidden and breaking the new laws will become an offence under Spain's penal code.

Keeping an estimated 315 apes in Spanish zoos will not be illegal, but supporters of the bill say conditions will need to improve drastically in 70 percent of establishments to comply with the new law.

The Rest Here, LOL

As I've always known, the next logical step after allowing gay marriage, is allowing Taylor to marry Zira.

2008-06-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

Democracy Hijacked
JBWilliams

In the good ole days, when liberals were actually “liberal,” focused upon individual liberty above all else, and Democrats were actually “democratic” instead of dictatorial elitists focused more on not counting votes than on letting every voice be heard, the words “democratic change” had a very different meaning.

The concept of democracy has since been hijacked. In the 2008 race for the White House, the Democrat candidate with the most popular support is Hillary Clinton. But somehow, the DNC nominee is Barack Hussein Obama. Not so long ago, this could not have been defined as democracy in action. It would have been rightfully referred to as the “hijacking” of a party nomination.

Democracy used to suggest a limited government representing the common interests of the people, who were otherwise free to pursue individual interests without government interference.

Today, democracy has been perverted to meet with definitions by Thomas Jefferson, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” – and Karl Marx, “Democracy is the road to Socialism.”

In the 2000 election, it was Democrats who worked around the clock to make certain that the overseas military vote was NOT counted, using any technicality available in election law to disenfranchise as many military votes as possible. That’s because military votes always lean 8-1 Republican.

The endless recounts in Florida were the result of voter confusion over a butterfly styled ballot, which was designed by Florida FEC democrats, and had been used by democrats in many districts for years, with the sole intent of confusing voters. This time, it backfired and cost Democrats the White House. It confused Democrat voters instead of Republican voters this time.

Democrat ballot boxes have been stuffed with duplicate voters, illegal alien and felon voters and even dead voters for years now. But it is Democrats who scream election fraud anytime they lose an election, often asserting fraud before an election is even held, just to set the stage for legal challenges in case they happen to lose.

Meanwhile, it is Democrats who refused to count Florida or Michigan Democrat votes that would have given Hillary Clinton the party nomination in 2008. Barack Obama is the chosen one, not the elected one. Dirty Democrat tricks, used against Republican opponents for years, have now been turned on Democrat voters and many of those voters know it.

There Is Nothing Democratic about Today’s Democrats or Their Version of Democracy

Instead, the New Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America are in a fight to the finish for future control of the DNC. Old JFK Democrats are left out in the cold, represented by neither faction, and many of them will be voting for Republican John McCain this fall as a result.

The New Democrats are represented by Hillary Clinton and they portray themselves as the pro-American centrist faction of today’s Democrat Party. To half of Americans, they can only be defined as “centrists” on the basis of their desire for “central socialist power.” But they are a kinder-gentler, more patient version of Democratic Socialism.

The Democratic Socialists of America are represented by Barack Hussein Obama and they are the grassroots “Movement for Democratic Change,” the new buzz word title used to disguise the modern international march towards “socialism” via democratic processes, which is currently waging political warfare against societies from America to South Africa and Europe. These folks have a take-no-prisoners approach to advancing the socialist agenda.

Left Out of the Equation Entirely Are Old Jefferson/JFK Democrats

Old Democrats, who still believe in American sovereignty and security as JFK did, who still believe in individual liberty instead of ultimate central power in Washington DC, as Thomas Jefferson did, who still believe in real individual equal opportunity as Martin Luther King did, not the new racism present in the constant grab for free stuff that the MLK movement has since been perverted into, find themselves politically homeless today.

Of course, as timing would have it, old Republicans who still believe in all of the foundational American principles and values, find themselves in a similar position today. 70% voted against John McCain in the RNC primaries and still, McCain is their less than desirable nominee for the general election.

Bottom line, old Americans, both Republican and Democrat, find themselves outcasts in their own parties today and none of them are quite sure what to do about it.

As one of two men will be the next president of the United States, the likelihood falls in favor of the one who is at least qualified to be president, John McCain. Old Americans will likely default to the least dangerous option come November, regardless of past party loyalties.

But make no mistake, real Americans on both sides of the aisle are fed up with having undesirable candidates forced down their throats by party dictators and having to choose the lesser evil in every election. Something must change, and soon.

An Election about Communism, Socialism & Socialism Light

America has been moving towards a state of socialism for more than sixty years now. Some would say almost a hundred years.

Conservatives are bright enough to recognize the reality that McCain represents only a Republican form of socialism light. But how many Clinton supporters recognize that they are supporting outright socialism under the Clinton banner, and how many Obama supporters understand that they are cheering on a man who has been a life long believer in absolute communist principles?

The 2008 election is a choice between socialism light with McCain and outright communism with a racist flare, with Obama. In that field, Hillary Clinton really is the “centrist” to the degree that she is indeed well left of McCain, but well right of Obama. It’s the only way she can be called a “centrist.”

The “NObama Ever” Movement

The Rest Here

2008-06-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

How do ya like these headlines??

Economy on brink of recession, Greenspan says

OH BUT WAIT...NEXT WE HAVE THIS ONE:

Millionaires club gets bigger, members richer...

The United States still reigns supreme when it comes to fat wallets, though: One in every three millionaires in the world lives in America. Combined, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America account for just one in 10.

So umm...which is it? Is our economy completely collapsing, are we on the brink of doom and gloom, as the main stream media would like us to believe...OR are we growing in wealth and becoming a more prosperous nation???

2008-06-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Shame on Republicans...AGAIN...

This is why we can't continue to have "moderates" in our party! This is an outrage bill...so now government is going to be responsible for providing you a job, an education and a HOME! Sigh...if you are a individual who can't figure out your own budget and whether or not you can afford your home, you have NO RIGHT to actually purchase one!

This just irritates me to no end...so many people who find themselves in trouble with their home mortgage can blame it on the fact that they thought the equity accrued could be used as a savings account!! So many chose to refinance, taking their equity out only to spend it on "upgrading" their lifestyles...purchasing new SUV's...upgrading their "home entertainment" rooms...upgrading or remodeling their kitchens, bathrooms, backyards, etc. I have seen it time and time again in my neighborhood.

Here's the thing...my home too, has fallen in worth...but my mortgage hasn't changed and neither has my job...although, I now owe more on my home than it is valued at, I still have to make the payments. The payments on the balance that I AGREED TO when I initially purchased my home! Why isn't this expected of everyone else?

Oh yea...I forgot, government (with both parties being guilty) is all about telling us that "we the people" are just too dang STUPID to figure life out for ourselves...so they must "save" us...from our own doom...sigh...

Course never mind that the Community Reinvestment Act encouraged, almost pushed, lenders to provide loans to those in the community who clearly couldn't afford them...never mind that just to bail out CountryWide it will cost tax payers over $25 billion dollars...oh no...Republicans BOUGHT into this FURTHER expansion of government! They don't fight for our core principles...they don't stand for what we believe...they just give in time and time again...sigh...

Hopefully, President Bush will have the cajones to VETO this ridiculous bill, as he has stated he will!

Housing aid bill clears key Senate hurdle
Jun 24, 3:19 PM (ET)By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

WASHINGTON (AP) - A massive foreclosure rescue bill overwhelmingly cleared a key Senate test Tuesday, drawing broad support from Democrats and Republicans alike.

The Senate voted 83-9 to speed up work on the $300 billion mortgage aid plan, putting it on track for a final vote as early as the end of the day.

The resounding vote reflected a keen interest in both parties in claiming election-year credit for helping homeowners amid tough economic times.
Still, the measure faces a veto threat from President Bush and disputes among Democrats about key details. Those challenges will probably delay any final deal until mid-July.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman, said the legislation "would allow us to begin to put a tourniquet on the hemorrhaging of foreclosures in this country."

"What better gift on independence could we give the American people than a sense that this, their Congress of the United States, can come together, despite political differences, and craft legislation to make a difference for our country," Dodd said.

Senate passage would set the stage for high-stakes negotiations to resolve Democrats' differences. Conservative Democrats known as "Blue Dogs" are concerned about how to pay for the measure, while members of the Congressional Black Caucus - most of them liberal - call it "unacceptable," arguing it doesn't do enough to address the needs of African Americans.

Leaders also are divided on how high to place loan limits that apply to government mortgage insurance and financing.

The centerpiece of the package is a foreclosure rescue program in which the Federal Housing Administration would provide $300 billion in new, cheaper mortgages for distressed homeowners who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.

Borrowers would be eligible for the housing rescue if their mortgage holders were willing to take a substantial loss and allow them to refinance, and would ultimately have to share with the government a portion of any profits they made from selling or refinancing their properties.

The measure was advancing as a widely watched housing index said U.S. home prices fell in April at their steepest rate since the index began in 2000. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 cities fell by 15.3 percent in April versus a year ago, according to Tuesdays report.

Read further here

2008-06-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Confidence in Congress at record low

David Paul Kuhn
Fri Jun 20, 12:49 PM ET

Only 12 percent of Americans now have confidence in Congress, the lowest percentage in the 35 years that the Gallup Poll has tracked the number.

Americans now view Congress less favorably any of the 14 other American institutions tracked by Gallup, including big business, newspapers and health maintenance organizations.

Even as President Bush’s approval rating languishes at a record low, more than twice as many Americans have confidence in the presidency — 26 percent — than have confidence in Congress.

The Democrats have controlled both houses of the Congress since January 2007. It remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party brand will find itself chained to the poor public view of the legislative branch. A recent analysis of ABC News-Washington Post polls found that in April the Democrats held a 24-point lead over President Bush as "the stronger leadership force in Washington." Today, it's a tie.

While Americans have long viewed their local representative more favorably than Congress as a whole, the public's current view of Congress is exceptionally poor. Today's 19 percent approval rating (a different measure than “confidence”) ties the record low of August 2007 and March 1992.

Friday's survey showed an across-the-board disapproval of Washington, with only 32 percent of Americans expressing confidence in the Supreme Court.

Confidence in Congress at record low

LOL Do I smell a revolution coming? (fingers crossed)
What is up with 32% confidence in the SCOTUS? I wonder if it was the recent Gitmo ruling? I KNOW IT HAS ME PISSED OFF!

2008-06-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

EU to lift sanctions on Cuba

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday agreed to lift its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, but imposed tough conditions on the communist island to maintain sanction-free relations, officials said.
The U.S., which has maintained a decades-long trade embargo against Cuba, criticized the move, saying there were no significant signs the communist island was easing a dictatorship.

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the bloc felt it had to encourage changes in Cuba after Raul Castro took over as the head of the country's government from his ailing brother Fidel.

"There will be very clear language also on what the Cubans still have to do ... releasing prisoners, really working on human rights questions," she told reporters at an EU summit. "There will be a sort of review to see whether indeed something will have happened."

The largely symbolic decision takes effect Monday. The diplomatic sanctions, which banned high-level visits to EU nations by Cuban officials, have not been in force since 2005. They were imposed in 2003 following the arrests of dozens of dissidents but suspended two years later.

As part of its action, the EU approved a set of conditions on Cuba in return for sanction-free relations. They include the release of all political prisoners; access for Cubans to the Internet; and a double-track approach for all EU delegations arriving in Cuba, allowing them to meet both opposition figures and members of the Cuban government.

Officials said the bloc will evaluate Cuba's progress in a year's time and could take new measures if human rights do not improve.

The U.S. expressed its opposition before the EU's final decision.

State Department Deputy spokesman Tom Casey said the United States would "like to see a real transition occur in Cuba, one that would allow for the release of political prisoners, for democratic opening, and ultimately for free and fair elections in which the Cuban people could choose their own leadership."

Casey said the U.S. has recently seen "some very minor cosmetic changes" in Cuba. "We certainly don't see any kind of fundamental break with the Castro dictatorship that would give us reason to believe that now would be the time to lift sanctions or otherwise fundamentally alter our policies," he said.

The Rest Here

Those damn Europeans! You have Cuba make changes, and THEN you open your doors to them! What is to stop Raul from doing what he pleases, only now he will have a European market?!? Give us an election and give your people internet, and THEN we will open our market to you. That is how it is supposed to work. We do not reward scumbag dictators!

2008-06-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Pastors Challenge Law, Endorse Candidates From Pulpit

Ministers Pit 'Freedom of Expression' vs. 'Separation of Church and State'
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
June 20, 2008—

Few Americans would invite an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, but that's exactly what Minnesota pastor Gus Booth wanted when he stood behind his pulpit and told his congregation God wanted them to vote Republican.

In an election where candidates openly discuss their faith and are regularly seen in churches, and a time when pastors' sermons lead the politics sections of newspapers, one might be excused for not knowing that it is illegal for a church to endorse or oppose a candidate for president.

But when Booth addressed the members of his Warroad Community Church one Sunday in May and told them, "If you are a Christian, you cannot support a candidate like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for president," he very much knew he was violating the law. He even wrote a letter to the IRS explaining what he had said and challenging the tax collection agency to do something about it.

Churches and other non-profit groups like charities and universities do not have to pay taxes. That exemption, however, comes with a price. Churches, and by extension the pastors who serve them in an official capacity, are not allowed to endorse or oppose political candidates.

Booth, 34, is one of several religious leaders who this year hope to challenge federal law by flouting the regulations about endorsing candidates from the pulpit a move that could potentially cost them their tax-exempt status, creating financial ruin for many congregations.

The separation of church and state may be one of our democracy's most vaunted values, but its enforcement falls to one of our government's most derided institutions the IRS.

First Amendment Protection?
Booth and other religious leaders who want to challenge the government believe their rights to freedom of speech and religion, enshrined in the First Amendment, permit them to say whatever they want, wherever they want. Those rights, they say, should trump a 54-year-old tax code.

"The government is trying to censor me and other religious leaders," Booth told ABC News. "I may be taking on the IRS, but the IRS has taken on the Constitution unchallenged since 1954. I feel like the only law that should dictate what I am allowed to say is the First Amendment."

"The gist of my speech was you can't support Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama because they support abortion and homosexual marriage, and the scripture vehemently opposes both. I didn't say vote for McCain, but I'm planning to," he said.

In addition to being a pastor, Booth is also a delegate to the Republican National Convention. But it was his Lord and Savior, he says, not his party bosses, who told him to literally make a federal case out of preaching a sermon.

"A month before I made the sermon I talked to the church leadership. I told them, 'If we do this we could lose our tax exempt status. Are you prepared for that?' We spent a week in prayer, and I felt God was telling me to make that speech."

Booth said despite alerting the IRS to his sermon, he has yet to hear from the agency. The IRS would not comment to ABC News on any specific investigation.

Watchdog Group Weighs In
Last week, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a watchdog group sent a letter to the IRS also asking them to investigate Booth.

Both the IRS and Americans United say the agency in recent years has increased the number of investigations it conducts on organization suspected of abusing their tax-exempt status and the speed with which it recommends action.

The Rest Here

Good for them! It is about time the Churches stood up for what is right instead of money! Keep it up guys! As a matter of fact, do more! Way to go! To hell with Barry Lynn

2008-06-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Pro-Choice is Pro-Murder

Pro-choicers make a distinction between supporting abortion and supporting life. They actually take the issues out of the controversy. Many, in fact most, of them say: "I am against abortion and I would never have one, but I would never get in the way of someone who wants one." So essentially we have a third party; we have the pro-lifers, pro-abortionists, (pro-murderers) and the pro-choicers. As mentioned above, the pro-choicers generally support life 50% and 50% support murder, if a woman so chooses. In other words, they believe in and support a woman's "right" to kill her offspring if she so chooses. Being "pro-choice" is politically correct and sounds much better than saying "pro-abortion"...but its totally misleading and absolutely false!

Note, pro-choicers also make this entire issue only about the woman. They are so concerned with a woman's "right" to live as they please, they don't believe in women having to face or deal with any consequences for their own actions. Their position is that the quality of life is much more important then life itself. The whole premise that they support "choice" for women is absurd...because in fact, they actually support the murder of the innocent, but they hide behind the "choice" in order to be perceived as "compassionate" to women. Essentially, most of them are simply pro-abortion supporters who happen to have no real courage to admit their true thoughts and position on the matter.

Why is that? Because they know that if they actually came out and said that they believe that killing the most vulnerable among us is absolutely acceptable, they would be viewed as heartless, cruel and evil. So again, they hide behind the "choice" argument.Now let's assume for a minute, that their position is truthful. Basically they are picking both sides of the controversy; trying to play in the middle of the road without getting run over!

We have heard them say things such as: "I hate abortion; I would never have one...if I could make it so the baby was not killed, I would do so. But I will not interfere with a woman who wants to have an abortion." So they openly admit that abortion is killing, yet they support it as long as it is not them. Well, isn't that supporting abortion then? And isn't it much like saying, "I hate rapists and I would never rape anyone, but I won't interfere with someone who wants to rape another"?They attempt to justify their position by stating such things as: "We can't legislate morality!"

What they really mean is that we cannot ban or restrict the killing of a live fetus; That we cannot force men and women to accept personal responsibility and accountability. But we can legislate morality through the institution of laws against rape, murder, incest, drug use, affirmative action, social welfare, and wealth redistribution, "living wage" laws, hate crime laws, political correctness, and the treatment of enemy combatants. When ever the topic of legislating morality comes up, the above never gets mentioned. This is because, for the most part, they agree with those laws and support preventing others from "breaking" them. They consider that having laws against issues, such as those mentioned above, is the "right" thing to do.

However, when it comes to abortion, it is convenient for them to say things like we are trying to "legislate morality". Ultimately their position is intellectually hypocritical, absolutely false and should be fought against adamantly, consistently and aggressively!

2008-06-14T23:58:00.000-07:00

The Pro Life Movement is Dead

I was born 35 years ago today. Roe v. Wade and I are the same age. Fortunately, the year abortion became legal; my mother chose to give birth to me, though it was her "right" to have me ripped to pieces. I thank her for not doing so. Since the year of my birth, 40 million lives have been extinguished. When I was one year old, 700,000 babies were destroyed. By the time I was eating whole foods, over 2 million lives were ended. Now as I am writing this, legalized abortion has taken the same number of lives as the number civilians that were killed in World War II.

35 years have passed and the politicians, who "supported" us, and the pro-life movement, have gained an inch in ten miles. In 35 years, we have the Partial Birth Abortion Ban of 2003. What a massive accomplishment. At this rate, perhaps by Roe's 100th anniversary, we may be able to ban the atrocity of abortion completely!

The Freedom of Choice Act is a bill that will codify Roe. The purpose of this bill is to ban ANY state legislature from passing a law banning abortion. The bill currently is locked in committee awaiting Barack Obama's election as President.

If Obama is elected and signs this bill, it would mean that the Pro Life movement is officially rendered obsolete, from a legal perspective.

However, as far as we are concerned, the Pro Life movement is dead already. Congress need not sign any more bills. The PLM is weak, lazy, complacent, and incompetent. Our belief that we are superior in our tactics, compared to those on the left, the pro choice crowd, is our downfall. We feel that expressing our anger in public, is beneath us as an organization. We have not adequately conveyed the true horrors of abortion to the public.

While the liberal left is telling young women about the acceptance of the "choice" to commit murder of their own, we sit back afraid to "offend" the youth with the truth. We have wasted time preaching to the choir and then patting ourselves on the back because we spent 2 hours on a Saturday standing outside of a Planned Parenthood QUIETLY showing our disapproval.

We get flipped off, yelled at, cursed at, spit on, and harassed, and we take it with a smile, believing that we can beat them with kindness. Well, we are wrong. The PLM has failed miserably. We have allowed over 40 million babies to be murdered...babies who had the potential to become anything! We may have allowed the execution of the baby who would have grown up to find the cure for cancer...or perhaps the baby who would have grown to become a great peace maker.

We lost the war in Vietnam because of expressed infuriation, defiant protests, and draft card burning. Radical Feminism was achieved because of burning bras, militant protests, and constant rage towards men. Gay marriage is just around the corner because of relentless demands and outrage in the name of "discrimination" and abortion was legalized because of militant feminism, selfishness, and expressed fury.

We are on borrowed time now. Obama has stated that he will immediately sign the Freedom of Choice Act. This is not an anti Obama post or a threat, this is a fact. This means that we have less than seven months left to act with anything meaningful. But are we willing to become more outraged? Are we willing to show our true disgust and fury over this practice? We have been hearing daily since the start of war in Iraq how many soldiers have sacrificed their lives, over 4000 at this point, yet...we sit back and allow the daily slaughter of over 4000 babies A DAY!

It's time to take some action, make some changes in our approach and truly demonstrate our disgust with this evil. "Changing hearts and minds" is no longer enough...we need to take to the streets with fury and anger, just as they did during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's! We are not calling for violence...we are simply calling for more intense protests, more anger, more outrage and more consistency. We need to make this our daily mission; not just something we march against every year one day in January. We need to demonstrate that we mean business, that this practice is no longer acceptable and that we indeed want this horror finally banned in All THE STATES for good!

~Leftistdestroyer, Neat62

2008-06-14T20:53:00.001-07:00

Just another from Ann, too good not to share!

Ann, in her typical fashion (humor, sarcasm and TRUTH) hits the nail on the head with this one!

BUSH'S AMERICA: 100 PERCENT AL-QAIDA FREE SINCE 2001

June 11, 2008

In a conversation recently, I mentioned as an aside what a great president George Bush has been and my friend was surprised. I was surprised that he was surprised.

I generally don't write columns about the manifestly obvious, but, yes, the man responsible for keeping Americans safe from another terrorist attack on American soil for nearly seven years now will go down in history as one of America's greatest presidents.

Produce one person who believed, on Sept. 12, 2001, that there would not be another attack for seven years, and I'll consider downgrading Bush from "Great" to "Really Good."

Merely taking out Saddam Hussein and his winsome sons Uday and Qusay (Hussein family slogan: "We're the Rape Room People!") constitutes a greater humanitarian accomplishment than anything Bill Clinton ever did -- and I'm including remembering Monica's name on the sixth sexual encounter.

But unlike liberals, who are so anxious to send American troops to Rwanda or Darfur, Republicans oppose deploying U.S. troops for purely humanitarian purposes. We invaded Iraq to protect America.

It is unquestionable that Bush has made this country safe by keeping Islamic lunatics pinned down fighting our troops in Iraq. In the past few years, our brave troops have killed more than 20,000 al-Qaida and other Islamic militants in Iraq alone. That's 20,000 terrorists who will never board a plane headed for JFK -- or a landmark building, for that matter.

We are, in fact, fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them at, say, the corner of 72nd and Columbus in Manhattan -- the mere mention of which never fails to enrage liberals, which is why you should say it as often as possible.

The Iraq war has been a stunning success. The Iraqi army is "standing up" (as they say), fat Muqtada al-Sadr --the Dr. Phil of Islamofascist radicalism -- has waddled off in retreat to Iran, and Sadr City and Basra are no longer war zones. Our servicemen must be baffled by the constant nay-saying coming from their own country.

The Iraqis have a democracy -- a miracle on the order of flush toilets in that godforsaken region of the world. Despite its newness, Iraq's democracy appears to be no more dysfunctional than one that would condemn a man who has kept the nation safe for seven years while deifying a man who has accomplished absolutely nothing in his entire life except to give speeches about "change."

(Guess what Bill Clinton's campaign theme was in 1992? You are wrong if you guessed: "bringing dignity back to the White House." It was "change." In January 1992, James Carville told Steve Daley of The Chicago Tribune that it had gotten to the point that the press was complaining about Clinton's "constant talk of change.")

Monthly casualties in Iraq now come in slightly lower than a weekend with Anna Nicole Smith. According to a CNN report last week, for the entire month of May, there were only 19 troop deaths in Iraq. (Last year, five people on average were shot every day in Chicago.) With Iraqi deaths at an all-time low, Iraq is safer than Detroit -- although the Middle Eastern food is still better in Detroit.

Al-Qaida is virtually destroyed, surprising even the CIA. Two weeks ago, The Washington Post reported: "Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaida, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border."

It's almost as if there's been some sort of "surge" going on, as strange as that sounds. Just this week, The New York Times reported that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups in Southeast Asia have all but disappeared, starved of money and support. The U.S. and Australia have been working closely with the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, sending them counterterrorism equipment and personnel.

Read further here

2008-06-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Long May She Wave - Happy Flag Day!

AMERICA, WHY I LOVE HER
Narrated by John Wayne

You ask me Why I Love Her? Well, give me time and I'll explain. Have you seen a Kansas sunset Or an Arizona rain? Have you drifted on a bayou Down Louisiana way? Have you watched a cold fog drifting Over San Francisco Bay? Have you heard a bobwhite calling In the Carolina pines,

Or heard the bellow of a diesel At the Appalachia mines? Does the call of Niagara thrill you When you hear her waters roar? Do you look with awe and wonder At her Massachusetts shore, Where men who braved a hard new world First stepped on Plymouth's rock? And do you think of them when you stroll Along a New York City dock? Have you seen a snowflake drifting In the Rockies, way up high?

Have you seen the sun come blazing down From a bright Nevada sky? Do you hail to the Columbia As she rushes to the sea, Or bow your head at Gettysburg At our struggle to be free?Have you seen the mighty Tetons? Have you watched an eagle soar? Have you seen the Mississippi Roll along Missouri's shore?

Have you felt a chill at Michigan When on a winter's dayHer waters rage along the shore In thunderous display? Does the word "Aloha" make you warm? Do you stare in disbelief When you see the surf Come roaring in at Waimea Reef? From Alaska's cold to the Everglades,

From the Rio Grande to Maine, My heart cries out, my pulse runs fast At the might of her domain.You ask me Why I Love Her? I've a million reasons why:My Beautiful America, Beneath God's wide, wide sky.

~ John Mitchum ~

2008-06-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Obama's Abortion Bombshell: Unrestricted Abortion Over Wishes of Individual States a Priority for Presidency

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Barack Obama, the presumptive pro-abortion nominee of the Democratic Party, has plans to reward the allies that helped him topple Hillary Clinton from her throne by making total unrestricted abortion in the United States his number one priority as president.

In light of Obama's recently achieved status as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Focus on the Family's CitizenLink has decided to remind its supporters that almost one year has passed since Obama made his vows to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund that abortion would be the first priority of his administration.

"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," Obama said in his July speech to abortion advocates worried about the increase of pro-life legislation at the state level.

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is legislation Obama has co-sponsored along with 18 other senators that would annihilate every single state law limiting or regulating abortion, including the federal ban on partial birth abortion.

The 2007 version of FOCA proposed: "It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman."

Obama made his remarks in a question-and-answer session after delivering a speech crystallizing for abortion advocates his deep-seated abortion philosophy and his belief that federal legislation will break pro-life resistance and end the national debate on abortion. (see transcript: http://lauraetch.googlepages.com/barackobamabeforeplannedparenthoodaction)

The Rest Here

Freedom of Choice Act

(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the
19 United States that every woman has the fundamental
20 right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy
21 prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after
22 fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health
23 of the woman.
24 (b) PROHIBITION OF INTERFERENCE.—A govern
ment may not—
(1) deny or interfere with a woman’s right to
2 choose—
3 (A) to bear a child;
4 (B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to via5
bility; or
6 (C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability
7 where termination is necessary to protect the
8 life or health of the woman; or
SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT.
24 This Act applies to every Federal, State, and local
25 statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or
2 implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment
3 of this Act.
Æ
VerDate

This bill would make Roe, a permanent Law of the land in the US. ALL of the US, Federal, State, and Localities. The Pro Life side, will have lost any and all legal battles and accomplishments that we have made to date. Roe would be a permanent fixture in America with no recourse what so ever. Essentially, this would end all Pro Life movements from a legal perspective. It must not be allowed. If it is, then it is time to lock and load.

2008-06-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

Greens Thwart Gasoline Production

Thursday , June 12, 2008

By Steven Milloy
Four-plus-dollar gasoline is forcing Americans to realize that we need increased domestic oil production to meet our ever-growing demand for affordable fuel. But even if the greens lose the political battle over drilling offshore and in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, they nevertheless are way ahead of the game as they implement a back-up plan to make sure that not a drop of that oil ever eases our gasoline crunch.

The Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, successfully pressured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to block ConocoPhillips’ expansion of its Roxana, Ill., gasoline refinery, which processes heavy crude oil from Canada, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The project would have expanded the volume of Canadian crude processed from 60,000 barrels per day to more than 500,000 barrels a day by 2015. After the Illinois EPA had approved the expansion, the green groups petitioned the federal EPA to block it, alleging ConocoPhillips wasn’t using the best available technology for reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

Apparently, the plant’s planned 95 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions and 25 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides wasn’t green enough. NRDC’s opposition is quite ironic since ConocoPhillips and the activist group actually are teammates in the global warming game. Both belong to the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of eco-activist groups and large companies that is lobbying for global warming regulation.

So even though ConocoPhillips is aiding and abetting the NRDC to achieve the green dream of absolute government control over the U.S. energy supply, the enviros still are in take-no-prisoners mode, refusing to allow the expansion of a single refinery.

Imagine what the rest of us can expect from the greens.

Meanwhile, in California, green groups are working through the state attorney general’s office to block the upgrade of the Chevron refinery in the city of Richmond. The $800 million upgrade essentially would expand the useable oil supply by permitting the refinery to process lower-quality, less-expensive crude oil.

California Attorney General, ex-Gov. and climate crusader Jerry Brown claims the upgrade will produce an additional 900,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. But Chevron says the upgrade actually will reduce the emissions by 220,000 tons.

Whose figure is closer to the truth?

It’s hard to know for sure at this point, but it’s worth noting that material false statements made by Chevron are prosecutable under the federal securities laws and California state law, while Brown and the activists pretty much can say whatever they want without legal accountability.

The Rest Here

These environNazi bastards! Locate them, and shoot them. Why are the politicians so afraid of these assholes? Are you tired of this shit yet? What will it take for you to get the balls enough to march up the Capitol and scare the ever loving shit out of Congress?!?! This nation is full of weak pansy assed pussies! I am ashamed to be an American lately. Bunch of gutless wimps.

2008-06-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Obama's promise to Planned Parenthood...

In July of 2007, Obama spoke before Planned Parenthood, admitting that he is completely pro-choice, with NO LIMITS on when an abortion can be performed AT ALL! During his speech to Planned Parenthood, he promised:

"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," Obama said in his July speech to abortion advocates worried about the increase of pro-life legislation at the state level.

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would invalidate ALL LIMITS on abortion, completely nullifying the national ban on partial birth abortion and would prohibit any state from passing any law that would limit or regulate abortion in any way.

Planned Parenthood...the big "donor" to the Democratic party and one group that has helped Obama beat Hillary in the primaries. If you believe abortion is acceptable and moral, check out the link to the left: The Liberal Grail

Of course, Obama dares to state that if a woman is not allowed to choose to MURDER her own child...that she is somehow denied the "same" rights as men...sigh...you know...women have the same rights to say NO to the act that may cause the consequence of pregnancy...the SAME AS MEN!

But of course, we are supposed to believe that women are just too damn stupid to say no...that we instead, are nothing more than animals totally in capable of controlling our emotions and desires...that we ACT without thinking and that is absolutely acceptable...sigh...

You want to empower women...let them know that they have the power to say NO!

Barack Obama before Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007

Transcribed by Laura Echevarria, http://www.lauraechevarria.com/, (view the video of this speech at http://www.imoneinamillion.com/)

Barack Obama: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, well, Ariana, thanks for stealing the show. [Laughter] That’s how, that’s how we teach young people at Trinity United Church of Christ. They’re not shy. It’s so wonderful to see and thank you for the wonderful introduction and the great work that you are doing. You’re representing the church and the city of Chicago very, very well. All right—give her a round of applause [Applause].
I heard, Ariana, I heard your folks are here, where are they—Oh, I see, the one with the camera [Laughter] video taping everything. All right, I should have figured that out. Well, you should be proud, she’s extraordinary.

Thanks to all of you at Planned Parenthood for all the work that you are doing for women all across the country and for families all across the country—and for men, who have enough sense to realize you are helping them, all across the country. I want to thank Cecile Richards for her extraordinary leadership. I’m happy to see so many good friends here today, including Steve Trombley and Pam Sutherland from my home state of Illinois. We had a number of battles down in Springfield for many many years and it is wonderful to see that they are here today.

You know it’s been a little over five months since I announced my candidacy for President of the United States of America and everywhere we’ve been, we’ve been inspired by these enormous crowds. We had twenty thousand people in Atlanta, twenty thousand people in Austin, Texas, fifteen thousand people in Oakland, California and I would love to take all the credit for these crowds myself, to say to myself that it’s just because I’m just so fabulous, but [Laughter] my wife says otherwise. Michele, I think, confirms that these crowds are not about me. It’s about the hunger all across America for something different. It’s about the sense that we can do better—that we’ve come to a crossroads, that we’re not pointed in the right direction.

And as I look out over these crowds—and they are a wonderful cross-section of the country, male, female, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, disabled, gay, straight, old, young—what I’m heartened to see is particularly the young people who are getting their first chance to be part of a larger movement of Americans. I see young women who are Ariana’s age and younger, and I think about my own two daughters, Sasha and Malia, and sometimes it makes me stop and makes me wonder: what kind of America will our daughters grow up in?

What kind of America will our daughters grow up in?

Will our daughters grow up with the same opportunities as our sons? Will our daughters have the same rights, the same dreams, the same freedoms to pursue their own version of happiness? I wonder because there’s a lot at stake in this country today. And there’s a lot at stake in this election, especially for our daughters. To appreciate that all you have to do is review the recent decisions handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States. For the first time in Gonzales versus Carhart, the Supreme Court held—upheld a federal ban on abortions with criminal penalties for doctors. For the first time, the Court’s endorsed an abortion restriction without an exception for women’s health. The decision presumed that the health of women is best protected by the Court—not by doctors and not by the woman herself. That presumption is wrong.

Some people argue that the federal ban on abortion was just an isolated effort aimed at one medical procedure—that it’s not part of a concerted effort to roll back the hard-won rights of American women. That presumption is also wrong.

Within hours of the decision, an Alabama lawmaker introduced a measure to ban all abortions. With one more vacancy on the Court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a woman’s fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe versus Wade and that is what is at stake in this election. The only thing more disturbing than the decision was the rationale of the majority. Without any hard evidence, Justice Kennedy proclaimed, “It is self-evident that a woman would regret her choice.” He cited medical uncertainty about the need to protect the health of pregnant women. Even though the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found no such uncertainty. Justice Kennedy knows many things, my understanding is he does not know how to be a doctor.

[Laughter and Applause]

He dismissed as mere preferences the reasoned judgments of the nation’s doctors. We’ve seen time after time these last few years when the president says otherwise, when the science is inconvenient, when the facts don’t match up with the ideology, they are cast aside. Well, it’s time for us to change that. It is time for a different attitude in the White House. It is time for a different attitude in the Supreme Court. It is time to turn the page and write a new chapter in American history.

[Applause]

We know that five men don’t know better than women and their doctors what’s best for a woman’s health. We know that it’s about whether or not women have equal rights under the law. We know that a woman’s right to make a decision about how many children she wants to have and when—without government interference—is one of the most fundamental freedoms we have in this country. We also know that there was another voice that came from the bench—a voice clear in reasoning and passionate in dissent. The voice rejected what she called, quote “Ancient notions of women’s place in the family and under the Constitution. Ideas that have long been discredited.” Unquote. One commentator called the decision in Gonzales, “An attack on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s entire life’s work.” And it was. But we heard Justice Ginsburg and we know what she was saying. She was saying, “We’ve been there before and we are not going back. [Applause] We refuse to go back. [Applause]”

We know, we know it’s not just one decision. It’s the blow dealt to equal pay in the Ledbetter [v. Goodyear] case, it’s the blow dealt to integration in the school desegregation case, it’s an approach to the law that favors the powerful over the powerless—that holds up a flawed ideology over the rights of the individual. We don’t see America in these decisions—that’s not who we are as a people. We’re a country founded on the principle of equality and freedom. We’re the country that’s fought generation after generation to extend that equality to the many not restrict it to the few. We’ve been there before and we’re not going back.

I have worked on these issues for decades now. I put Roe at the center of my lesson plan on reproductive freedom when I taught Constitutional Law. Not simply as a case about privacy but as part of the broader struggle for women’s equality. Steve and Pam will tell you that we fought together in the Illinois State Senate against restrictive choice legislation—laws just like the federal abortion laws, the federal abortion bans that are cropping up. I’ve stood up for the freedom of choice in the United States Senate and I stand by my votes against the confirmation of Judge Roberts and Samuel Alito [Applause]

So, you know where I stand. But this more is than just about standing our ground. It must be about more than protecting the gains of the past. We’re at a crossroads right now in America—and we have to move this country forward. This election is not just about playing defense, it’s also about playing offense. It’s not just about defending what is, it’s about creating what might be in this country. And that’s what we’ve got to work together on.

There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t find common ground. Because we know that what’s at stake is more than whether or not a woman can choose an abortion.

Read the full transcript of his speech here

2008-06-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

So now "gay marriage" isn't enough...they want "gay divorce" too!

One of the arguments we constantly hear in support of gay marriage is that those who enter homosexual relationships usually do so for the "long-term"...umm...so what is this all about? By the way...one of the couples that brought forth the CA Supreme Court case that was just decided is also, no longer "together"...hmm....so much for that whole "long-term" thing I guess huh?

This is an interesting observation, providing evidence that one of the main objectives of this whole "movement" is to make a MOCKERY of Marriage and further disrupt society by enforcing acceptance of their way of life upon all of us!

“A lot of people wanted to make a statement, and others got married for no other reason other than suddenly they could,” says Jo Ann Citron, a divorce lawyer in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage was legalized in 2004.
“It's very easy to get caught up in the moment, in an exciting historical time, and this newfound freedom and opportunity of the revolutionary moment often overrides the personal issues that marriage usually involves,” Ms. Citron says.

Judge Raises Constitutional Issue in R.I. Gay Divorce

Thursday, June 12, 2008 11:00 AM

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Superior Court judge has refused to hear the divorce case of a lesbian couple, but questioned whether the law that barred the women from ending their marriage unconstitutionally denied them a right enjoyed by heterosexual Rhode Islanders.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court last year ruled that the state's family court could not grant a divorce to Margaret Chambers and Cassandra Ormiston, who wed in 2004 in Massachusetts soon after sex-sex marriage became legal in that state.

The justices said the state statute that created the family court recognized marriage as between only a man and a woman and the court, therefore, could not divorce a same-sex couple.

Chambers then sought a divorce in Superior Court. Judge Patricia Hurst denied the request on Wednesday, saying her court does not have jurisdiction to handle divorce.

But she also questioned the constitutionality of the statute relied on last year by the Supreme Court.

"It seems to me that this is a matter needing immediate attention and one that very plainly belongs in the hands of the legislature and the executive branch," Hurst said.

She said the law could be challenged in family court and ultimately ruled on by the Supreme Court.

The couple, both from Rhode Island, filed for divorce in Rhode Island in 2006, citing irreconcilable differences. Ormiston has been renting a room in Massachusetts, where she must live for a year for the couple to get divorced there.

Read further here

2008-06-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

For THIS reason alone...we need to vote McCain!!

Once again, the liberal justices on the Supreme Court prove to us they could care less about the US Constitution and the rule of law...sigh... read the full text of the decision here

They are willing to give TERRORISTS, who would like to do nothing MORE than behead each and everyone of them, as well as YOU and ME, "rights"! Rights to access our civil courts to "sue" our own government for detaining them as captives...this is OUTRAGEOUS!

In the next four years...at least two of these liberal justices will have to retire, or may likely pass on (due to age, illinesses, etc)...we will need a President who will nominate justices who will at the very least, follow the letter of the law and remain strict Constitutionalists!

We will not only lose the war on terrorism...we will lose all of America unless we start getting ANGRY enough to TAKE IT BACK from these looney liberals who hate America! Anger accompanied with reason, moves one to action...and now more than ever we need some ACTION!

High Court sides with Guantanamo detainees again

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts.

In its third rebuke of the Bush administration's treatment of prisoners, the court ruled 5-4 that the government is violating the rights of prisoners being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The court's liberal justices were in the majority.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said, "The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times."

Kennedy said federal judges could ultimately order some detainees to be released, but that such orders would depend on security concerns and other circumstances.

The White House had no immediate comment on the ruling. White House press secretary Dana Perino, traveling with President Bush in Rome, said the administration was reviewing the opinion.

It was not immediately clear whether this ruling, unlike the first two, would lead to prompt hearings for the detainees, some of whom have been held more than 6 years. Roughly 270 men remain at the island prison, classified as enemy combatants and held on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The ruling could resurrect many detainee lawsuits that federal judges put on hold pending the outcome of the high court case. The decision sent judges, law clerks and court administrators scrambling to read Kennedy's 70-page opinion and figure out how to proceed. Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth said he would call a special meeting of federal judges to address how to handle the cases.

The administration opened the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to hold enemy combatants, people suspected of ties to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

The Guantanamo prison has been harshly criticized at home and abroad for the detentions themselves and the aggressive interrogations that were conducted there.

The court said not only that the detainees have rights under the Constitution, but that the system the administration has put in place to classify them as enemy combatants and review those decisions is inadequate.

The administration had argued first that the detainees have no rights. But it also contended that the classification and review process was a sufficient substitute for the civilian court hearings that the detainees seek.

In dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts criticized his colleagues for striking down what he called "the most generous set of procedural protections ever afforded aliens detained by this country as enemy combatants."

Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas also dissented.

Scalia said the nation is "at war with radical Islamists" and that the court's decision "will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed."

Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens joined Kennedy to form the majority.

Read further here

2008-06-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

School drops Pledge of Allegiance during ceremony

By Bob Heye and KATU Web Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. - The exclusion of the Pledge of Allegiance from a southwest Portland elementary school's ceremony has proved upsetting for a local mom.

Departing fifth-graders at Capitol Hill Elementary usually open their promotion ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance - but not this year.

"I was sad," said parent Briana Reese. "The flag was sitting up there, you know. Two of the kids went up and they said 'Everybody rise,' and we rose, and I thought for just a second 'Oh yeah, we're going to put our hands on our hearts and we're going to salute the flag' - but no."

Reese had heard that the principal planned to take the pledge out of the ceremony.

"I think that's what they should be doing - telling kids you should be pledging your allegiance to this country," Reese said. "This is a great country. You're here for a reason."

The pledge was instead replaced with a singing version of the preamble to the Constitution.

KATU tried repeatedly to talk with Principal Pam Wilson but got no results. However, in an e-mail response to Reese's questions, she explained the pledge was removed "out of respect for the diversity of religious faiths."

The Rest Here

More PC Bullshit! I'm sick of it! The Commie BS that never ends: 13. Do away with all loyalty oaths THis pinko bitch principal removed the Pledge because of Muslims?!?! What? They don't believe in God too? This bitch principal is a Liberal fascist, plain and simple. And what is with this "Promotion Ceremony" for 5th graders anyway?!?! What is that crap?! Toughen up! THIS is what you have to do! You are required to move up in grade levels! I am sick of this pansy ass Liberal PCBS!

Send this bitch principal an e mail to let her commie ass know that this is NOT acceptable!

Phone: 503-916-6303
Fax: 503-916-2616
E-mail: llittler@pps.k12.or.us Grade levels: K-5
Principal: Pam Wilson

2008-06-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

Woman pretended to be mom of girl who got abortion

By CHANDLER BROWN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/11/08
A Hall County woman is serving a year in jail for pretending to be a girl's mother when she signed off on the girl's abortion.

In reality, Cindi Cook was the mother of the girl's boyfriend, who also was 16 when she became pregnant in early 2007.

Displeased that the baby would ruin her son's chance of going to college, Cook, 44, pressured the 16-year-old girl to have the abortion in the spring of 2007, found a clinic that would do it without her present, and paid for the procedure, DeKalb Solicitor General Robert James said Wednesday.

Last week, a judge sentenced Cook to a year in jail — the maximum for a misdemeanor — for interfering with custody and violating a parental notification law.

"This conduct is reprehensible," James said. "There's not a parent anywhere who'd be OK with what she did."

James said his office is now investigating whether the facility — Northside Women's Clinic in Chamblee— broke a state law that required parental notification when a girl under the age of 18 has an abortion.

According to its Web site, Northside Women's Clinic offers abortions through the 15th week of pregnancy, usually in about 10 minutes.

A woman who answered the phone Thursday morning said the clinic had no comment and did not have an attorney. She would not give her name or title.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not identifying the girl because she is a minor.

More than a year after the abortion, "she's still struggling with the loss of the baby," said Fenn Little, her family's attorney. "She's getting better, but there's going to be a lot of counseling and issues that have to be addressed."

The Rest Here

Here, is what this woman did.

Replay video | Share video | Watch more videos

She should not be in jail, she should be hanged. If you are against infanticde, then YOU MUST speak up! We are on our own here, the politicians are not interested in helping to end this. Abortion is their meal ticket on BOTH sides. It is up to us, to end infanticide. DO NOT be afraid to speak up on this issue anymore. Say it loud, hell, scream it, but for God's sake, do not be silent, or you may as well support infanticide yourself.

2008-06-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Sun Goes Longer Than Normal Without Producing Sunspots

Global Warming? WRONG! Try Sunspots, and save $45 trillion

ScienceDaily (Jun. 9, 2008) — The sun has been lying low for the past couple of years, producing no sunspots and giving a break to satellites.

That's good news for people who scramble when space weather interferes with their technology, but it became a point of discussion for the scientists who attended an international solar conference at Montana State University. Approximately 100 scientists from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and North America gathered June 1-6 to talk about "Solar Variability, Earth's Climate and the Space Environment."

The scientists said periods of inactivity are normal for the sun, but this period has gone on longer than usual.

"It continues to be dead," said Saku Tsuneta with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, program manager for the Hinode solar mission. "That's a small concern, a very small concern."

The Hinode satellite is a Japanese mission with the United States and United Kingdom as partners. The satellite carries three telescopes that together show how changes on the sun's surface spread through the solar atmosphere. MSU researchers are among those operating the X-ray telescope. The satellite orbits 431 miles above ground, crossing both poles and making one lap every 95 minutes, giving Hinode an uninterrupted view of the sun for several months out of the year.

Dana Longcope, a solar physicist at MSU, said the sun usually operates on an 11-year cycle with maximum activity occurring in the middle of the cycle. Minimum activity generally occurs as the cycles change. Solar activity refers to phenomena like sunspots, solar flares and solar eruptions. Together, they create the weather than can disrupt satellites in space and technology on earth.

The last cycle reached its peak in 2001 and is believed to be just ending now, Longcope said. The next cycle is just beginning and is expected to reach its peak sometime around 2012. Today's sun, however, is as inactive as it was two years ago, and scientists aren't sure why.

"It's a dead face," Tsuneta said of the sun's appearance.

Tsuneta said solar physicists aren't like weather forecasters; They can't predict the future. They do have the ability to observe, however, and they have observed a longer-than-normal period of solar inactivity.

In the past, they observed that the sun once went 50 years without producing sunspots. That period, from approximately 1650 to 1700, occurred during the middle of a little ice age on Earth that lasted from as early as the mid-15th century to as late as the mid-19th century.

The Rest Here

2008-06-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Moving on...

On Saturday, Hillary finally decided it was time to move on. She let go of her aspirations to become the Democratic Presidential nominee (at least for now) and threw her support behind her fellow candidate, Obama.

Letting go and moving on can be a good thing...it allows us to see clearly the path we should be taking, the path that will lead us where we truly want to be. I learned that myself this past weekend. Like Hillary, I have let go and decided to move on. To my surprise I was awarded with a wonderful gift and had one of the best weekends I have had in a very long time. I have learned that we can't always see what God has planned for us...and that's okay, as long as we Trust in Him.

Hillary, I am sure is going to struggle the next several months as she tries to envision her future...a future that doesn't include her living in and pillaging from the While House once again. Sadly, I don't believe she has the Trust in God, which I mentioned above, that she will need to carry her through this rough time...but thankfully; we will be able to at least MOVE ON with the campaign and perhaps finally hear and have the truth about Obama exposed in the coming months.

Clinton exits, endorses Obama
Senator strongly urges support for former rival
By Paul West Sun reporter
June 8, 2008

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton ended her campaign yesterday with a full-throated endorsement of Barack Obama and a stirring summation of her bid to become the first woman president.

Clinton used a nationally televised speech in downtown Washington to praise the party's likely 2008 nominee and urge her backers to work as hard for his election as they had for hers.

In abandoning a campaign she launched more than 17 months ago, Clinton congratulated Obama "on the victory he has won. ... I endorse him and throw my full support behind him."

There were scattered boos at mentions of Obama's name but mainly cheers as Clinton pleaded with the Democratic "family" to "come together" after a "tough fight."

Her remarks appeared to meet, if not exceed, the expectations of Obama's campaign, which is eager to close rifts within the party and attract many of the voters, including women, Hispanics and working-class whites, who tilted strongly to Clinton in the primaries.

Obama, in a statement released by his campaign, said he was "thrilled and honored" to gain Clinton's support and praised her "valiant and historic campaign." He added that he is "a better candidate" for having had to compete against her.

Portions of Clinton's 28-minute speech, delivered in an air-conditioned hall on a sweltering afternoon, were drawn directly from her campaign stump speech. But she departed in one significant respect by addressing feminism, a topic she largely avoided in the campaign.

2008-06-06T23:06:00.001-07:00

Obama - Give back the Liberal Interest Money...

At least until he realizes that the party is about $15 million short in paying for their own convention!!

The party is having all sorts of difficulties in raising the required $40.6 million and has, in fact, missed two deadlines already!

Mind you, this is the party that wants to tax YOU MORE and believes that it knows how to SPEND YOUR money better than YOU DO!!

Democratic Party returns lobbyist, PAC money

Jun 6 07:11 PM US/Eastern

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democratic National Committee, now operating under Barack Obama's fundraising rules, on Friday returned about $100,000 in money from lobbyists and political action committees.

The donations were already "in the pipeline" when Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, instituted the standards for the committee, a party official said.
Obama imposed the rules to avoid a conflict with his own ban on money from federal lobbyists and PACs. On Thursday he sent one of his top strategists to the DNC to help with its general election operation.

Republican John McCain does accept money from lobbyists and PACs as does the Republican National Committee and other party committees. Obama's ban does not apply to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Obama does accept money from lobbyists who do not do business with the federal government and he also accepts money from spouses and family members of lobbyists. And the DNC ban is also not retroactive, which means the DNC will keep lobbyist and PAC contributions it received earlier in the election cycle.

According to its latest report with the Federal Election Commission, the DNC had raised $2 million from PACs in the past 16 months. And according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the DNC raised a mere $53,360 from executives or associates in lobbying firms so far this election cycle. That total, however, includes employees of lobbying firms who are not registered lobbyists.

The DNC has lagged behind the RNC in fundraising. On Thursday, the McCain campaign announced it had raised $21.5 million in May and the RNC said it had collected nearly $24 million. The DNC raised almost $5 million during the month. The Obama camp, which has been raising at a clip of $1 million a day or better, has not announced its May totals.

Read further here

2008-06-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

Miracles do happen!!

So because this woman thought she would be unable to withstand possibly losing another baby...she decided to murder it....huh?? Seems to me that would be ensuring the loss...sigh...but thankfully, God had other plans and this beautiful baby survived against the odds, proving LIFE is not in our hands, but rather in the hands of the Heavenly Father!

Baby Miraculously Survives Abortion, Expected to Live 'Normal' Life

Thursday, June 05, 2008

A mother who decided to abort her son because he may have inherited a life-threatening kidney condition is overjoyed that he survived the procedure.

Jodie Percival of Nottinghamshire, England, said she and her fiancee made the decision to abort baby Finley when she was eight weeks pregnant.

Percival's first son Thane died of multicystic dysplastic kidneys — which causes cysts to grow on the kidneys of an unborn baby — and her second child Lewis was born with serious kidney damage and currently has just one kidney, the Daily Mail reported.

Click here for a photo of baby Finley.

"I was on the (birth control pill) when I became pregnant," Percival, 25, said. "Deciding to terminate at eight weeks was just utterly horrible but I couldn't cope with the anguish of losing another baby."

A short time after the abortion, Percival felt a fluttering in her stomach. She went to the doctor for a scan and discovered she was 19 weeks pregnant.

Read further here

2008-06-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

Good news on the teenage front!

In a new study released by the CDC yesterday, it appears that more teenagers are choosing to abstain today then in the 1990's. Of course, the MSM will never say that abstinence teaching in schools have any effect on behavior...they will just continue to tell us that it's more important for "safe sex" to be taught...sigh...

CDC Study: Teen Sex, Drug Use Down Compared to 1990's

Thursday, June 05, 2008
Foxnews

Teen sex, as well as drug and alcohol use has declined compared to the 1990's, but Hispanics are not sharing in the progress, according to a new federal survey.

Hispanic high school students use drugs and attempt suicide at higher rates than their black and white classmates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey found.

The CDC questioned 14,041 students in grades nine through 12 in 39 states in the spring of 2007 on a range of risky behaviors.

In 1991, 54 percent of the high school students said they had ever had sexual intercourse, compared to 48 percent in 2007. In 1991, 19 percent said they had at least four sexual partners, compared to 15 percent last year, the survey showed.

For the students overall, just under half have had sex, 75 percent have tried alcohol and 20 percent smoke.

The study is given to high school students every two years. The new report noted that black and white students are reporting less sexual activity than in years past, but there was no decline among Hispanics.

However, whites reported the highest rates of smoking and heavy drinking, while blacks reported the highest rates of obesity and violence.

Read further here

2008-06-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Obama - just a bad judge of character??

Yesterday, Obama issued this statement: “I’m saddened by today’s verdict. This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew, but now he has been convicted by a jury on multiple charges that once again shine a spotlight on the need for reform. I encourage the General Assembly to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent these kinds of abuses in the future.”

So...although, he's had a relationship with Tony Rezko for over 20 years (sound familiar?) he had NO IDEA, this man would do something so "criminal"...cause all Obama ever saw was a man of upstanding character and integrity...uh...YEA!!!

Funny thing is Obama also has known rev Wright for 20 years...Fr. Pfleger for 20 years...and of course, who could forget his best buddies the "underground weatherman", Bernardine Dorn and Bill Ayers? Then there is Rob Malley who has ties to Hamas...sigh...and we are supposed to just believe that Obama didn't really "know" these individuals? Obama somehow has just made a "few" mistakes in judgment of character of these people? Sorry...but if he can't properly choose his own "friends and advisors"...why would I want to put him in charge of the entire free world???

Of course, we have been told that "we" are not to question his relations with these individuals...that in fact, they do not matter...and that Obama won't be "dangerous" for America...oh no...he's the new "savior" of us all...sigh....pathetic!

Ya'll remember though when Jack Abramoff plead guilty to 3 counts of corruption every Republican that ever had any sort of connection, even if it was a brieft encounter, with Abramoff was dragged through the mud and thoroughly investigated...the MSM ran this story as their headlining story for weeks and weeks.

Typically though...this little revelation about Rezko and his GUILT on 16 counts has been conveniently buried by the MSM and of course, Obama's 20 year relationship is not significantly noted...sigh...

Barack Obama ally Tony Rezko convicted of fraud, attempted bribery and money laundering
By Tom Leonard in New York
Last Updated: 1:39AM BST 05/06/2008
Barack Obama faces new political embarrassment after an old friend and former fundraiser was found guilty yesterday of corruption.
The conviction in Chicago of Antoin "Tony" Rezko on fraud, attempted bribery and money laundering charges prompted Republicans to raise concerns about Mr Obama's fitness for office.

Rezko, 52, a Chicago property developer and former fundraiser for several politicians including Mr Obama, was found guilty on 16 of 24 counts.

He had been accused of extorting millions of dollars in bribes and campaign donations in exchange for influencing the award of state contracts. He is due to be sentenced in early September, two months before the presidential election, but his lawyers said yesterday they were likely to appeal.
Although Mr Obama has severed his connections with Rezko and the trial barely touched on their relationship, the case has dogged the senator's political campaign.
The Republican party's national committee said in a statement: "This is further proof that Obama's high-flying rhetoric is just that.... today's verdict and Obama's friendship with Rezko raise serious questions about whether he has the judgment to serve as president."
The Syrian-born developer and restaurant entrepreneur had a close friendship with Mr Obama and the trial heard how the latter received campaign donations generated by Rezko for his US senate bid in 2004.
Read further here

2008-06-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

Fr. Pfleger...he didn't think he was being "filmed"

Apparently, the outrageous things he said such as: while supposedly imitating Hillary Clinton, saying, "I really believe that she just always thought, 'This is mine. I'm Bill's wife. I'm white, and this is mine. I just gotta get up and step into the plate.' Then out of nowhere came, 'Hey, I'm Barack Obama,' and she said, 'Oh, damn! Where did you come from? I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show!'" Would have been okay if as long as he wasn't filmed...you know...no film, no foul! Tsk, tsk, tsk...he also admits that he, as a Catholic priest, is not allowed to offer support publicly to one candidate over another...yet...that didn't stop him from doing so and not just at Trinity Church, but at his own St. Sabina's as well. A week prior to his comments at Trinity, he stated during a homily at St. Sabina's: "Hillary and McCain would wish they had a preacher with the integrity of Jeremiah Wright. … They got some old weak preacher…some old Joel Osteen cotton candy preacher."

Pfleger: 'This is a dangerous time in America . . . you have to whisper your thoughts'

EXCLUSIVE Contrite Father Mike regrets Hillary 'dramatization,' pain he's inflicted on his church
June 3, 2008

BY CATHLEEN FALSANI Religion Columnist

On Sunday morning, I was enjoying a brisk walk along the Hudson River in lower Manhattan and some quiet contemplation when my cell phone rang. It was my editor.
"Mike just called, and he wants to talk, but he'll only talk to you," he said.

Mike, as in the Rev. Michael Pfleger, the perpetually embattled pastor of St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church in Chicago, who most recently has been under siege from comments he made about Hillary Clinton a week ago from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ -- a k a Barack Obama's former (as of Saturday) church.

"Oh, really? Well I don't want to talk to him," I said. "I'm pissed at him. How could he do this? He probably thinks I'm a sympathetic ear, but I'm not. I pretty much want to slap him."

"Just think about it," my editor said with a whiff of smugness, "and call me back in five minutes when you've changed your mind."

I hate it when he's right.

I've been writing about Pfleger for almost as long as I've been writing about anything in Chicago. He's a perennial source for theologically intriguing, often controversial, sometimes plainly outlandish stories on the religion beat. Pfleger, 59 years old and a priest for 33 of those years -- nearly all of them served at St. Sabina in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood -- has never met a cardinal-archbishop of Chicago he didn't aggravate. During his tenure, the activist priest has had throwdowns with all three of the "men in the red dresses," as we call them, who have run the Catholic Church in this town.

Pfleger is always in trouble over something, with someone.

This time, the tone is a little different, as Pfleger's waves have made a loud, acrimonious splash on the national and international scene. In video clips broadcast on YouTube, he stood in the same pulpit the Rev. Jeremiah Wright vacated not too long ago, mocking Clinton's tearfulness earlier this spring on the campaign trail and accused her of expecting white entitlement in the face of her black opponent's wildly successful campaign.

In the wake of the Clinton flap, Cardinal Francis George officially silenced Pfleger, whom he had pressured to resign a month ago from the Catholics for Obama committee.

"He and I have had conversations, and I won't go into the conversations; I'll only say that he has asked me to remove myself from Barack's public campaign -- from the group Catholics for Obama -- and that was before all of this," Pfleger told me as we sat alone in a conference room Monday in Sabina's rectory. "He said that, as a Catholic priest, I'm not allowed to publicly support a candidate. I said my understanding was that, as an individual, I can support anyone I want, but that I would never tell parishioners who to vote for. First of all, from my point of view, that insults the congregation. They make their own choice.

"While I disagreed with him, I told him that I did not want to create another distraction for him or for Barack," Pfleger said. "So I wrote a letter to Barack, telling him just that: that I did not want to create a distraction for him, that the cardinal has said no priest is allowed to have his name on a [campaign committee] and that this is a bishop's rule throughout the country. Now, I don't know because I haven't done all the research, but he told me there is no other priest in anybody's campaign listing of support around the country."

As for his performance from the Trinity pulpit at a Sunday night service May 25, Pfleger has apologized for "the words that I chose" and for "my dramatization." Pfleger told me he called the Clinton campaign to apologize directly but had not heard back from Clinton or her representatives.

All that is well and good, but how, as a friend and passionate supporter of Obama's campaign for president, could he do what he did, with cameras rolling?

Pfleger's short answer? He didn't think the service and his "conversation" -- a more casual address than a classic sermon, he explained -- were being broadcast live online, as Trinity often does.

Read further here

2008-06-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

Tony Rezko - GUILTY!

So do you think Hillary will bring any attention to this over the next couple days? You know the superdelegates and delegates are not obligated or bound to vote for any one candidate...in other words, they are not committed to voting for those who they have stated they support thus far.

I am betting that, along with this...and the recent Trinity United nonsense, Hillary is not going to go silently this week. I think we are going to see some nasty hard hitting tomorrow and Friday and I am almost willing to bet that she will carry this all the way to the Democratic convention and frankly, I wouldn't blame her if she did...just based on Obama's lack of experience, there is no way that he should even be considered a viable candidate!!

Jury Finds Tony Rezko Guilty On 16 Of 24 Charges

Political Fundraiser Has Surrendered, To Begin Serving Time Immediately(CBS) A prominent fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted Wednesday of fraud and money laundering after a high-profile federal trial provided an unusually detailed glimpse of the pay-to-play politics that has made Illinois infamous.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko, 52, showed no emotion as the jury delivered a mixed verdict that found him guilty of scheming with the government's star witness to get kickbacks out of money management firms wanting state business, but acquitted him of charges that included attempted extortion.

Rezko attorney Joseph Duffy said the defense is "obviously very disappointed" in the jury's guilty verdicts. He said Wednesday afternoon they will pursue and appeal.

Duffy says it was Rezko's decision to surrender and begin serving his sentence. Sentencing is set for September 3rd at 10 a.m. The maximum sentence he could face is 20 years in prison.

The jury's mixed verdict acquitted Rezko of some of the most serious charges, including attempted extortion.

Rezko was found guilty of 16 of 24 counts. He was found guilty on the two more serious counts, on money laundering and aiding and abetting money laundering, counts 23 and 24.

Read further here

2008-06-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Its about time!

For years now, Catholics, such as myself, have been calling for the removal of Fr. Pfleger. He does not represent the Catholic faith...he has his own personal agenda and it became all to evident in the past week with his outrageous remarks at Trinity United Church.

What I am still waiting for is for someone in the MSM to investigate WHY...St. Sabina was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in PORK!! Again, as with the rev Wright...Obama has had over a 20 year relationship with this hatefilled man...but pretends he has NO IDEA that Fr. Pfleger had the thoughts he does on America or slavery, etc., etc., etc....same old story!

Chicago cardinal asks Rev. Pfleger to step down

CHICAGO - Cardinal Francis George asked a Chicago priest on Tuesday to temporarily step down from his post to "reflect on his recent statements" regarding Sen. Hillary Clinton and her bid for the White House.

Last week, the Rev. Michael Pfleger mocked Clinton at Sen. Barack Obama's former church, saying the New York senator felt "entitled" to the Democratic nomination for president.

George asked Pfleger to take leave from pastoral duties at St. Sabina Church in order to "reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the church's regulations for all Catholic priests," according to a statement Tuesday from the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The leave was effective Tuesday and was scheduled to last "a couple of weeks."

Pfleger, who has apologized for the comments and promised George he would no longer mention any presidential candidates by name, did not believe "this to be the right step at this time," according to the statement.

"While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect ..." George said in the statement. "I hope that this period will also be a time away from the public spotlight and for rest and attention to family concerns."

Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday for Pfleger and the Archdiocese of Chicago.
The Archdiocese said Pfleger's temporary replacement would be the Rev. William Vanecko, pastor of Chicago's St. Kilian Catholic Church.

Read further here

2008-06-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

McCain vs. Obama...its on now!

So its all but a done deal now, Hillary is going to have no choice but to conceed to Obama and bow out of the Presidential campaign.

What I wonder though, is will McCain finally start "attacking" Obama's lack of experience, lack of ideas and lack of plans for his so called "change" or will McCain continue to pussy foot around and tread softly, playing "nice" while Obama's liberal media continues to sing his praises and hail him as the modern day "savior" of all?

EXCLUSIVE: MCCAIN SPEECH TONIGHT: THE GENERAL ELECTION BEGINS
Tue Jun 03 2008 17:04:27 ET
John McCain will launch his general election campaign against Barack Obama tonight at 9:00 in New Orleans, Louisiana. In a speech that will praise Senator Clinton for her "tenacity and courage," McCain will recognize Obama as the Democratic party's presumptive nominee.

EXCERPT:

You will hear from my opponent’s campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I’m running for President Bush’s third term.

You will hear every policy of the President described as the Bush-McCain policy. Why does Senator Obama believe it’s so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it’s very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false. So he tries to drum it into your minds by constantly repeating it rather than debate honestly the very different directions he and I would take the country. But the American people didn’t get to know me yesterday, as they are just getting to know Senator Obama. They know I have a long record of bipartisan problem solving. They’ve seen me put our country before any President -- before any party -- before any special interest -- before my own interest. They might think me an imperfect servant of our country, which I surely am. But I am her servant first, last and always. ….

I disagreed strongly with the Bush administration’s mismanagement of the war in Iraq. I called for the change in strategy that is now, at last, succeeding where the previous strategy had failed miserably. I was criticized for doing so by Republicans. I was criticized by Democrats. I was criticized by the press. But I don’t answer to them. I answer to you. And I would be ashamed to admit I knew what had to be done in Iraq to spare us from a defeat that would endanger us for years, but I kept quiet because it was too politically hard for me to do. No ambition is more important to me than the security of the country I have defended all my adult life.

Senator Obama opposed the new strategy, and, after promising not to, voted to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job of carrying it out. Yet in the last year we have seen the success of that plan as violence has fallen to a four year low; Sunni insurgents have joined us in the fight against al Qaeda; the Iraqi Army has taken the lead in places once lost to Sunni and Shia extremists; and the Iraqi Government has begun to make progress toward political reconciliation.

Read further here

2008-05-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

Is Obama really outraged or...

did he finally quit his Trinity United Church because he knows his campaign is threatened? Personally, I think his joining this church was simply to attract the "black" vote. He needed to establish himself and gain acceptance in the black community before he was his Illinois state senate seat. I can't even begin to imagine sitting week after week, for over 20 years, in a place in which such vitriol was spewed...even Oprah new enough not to attend this "church"!

Pathetically, the only reason Obama has finally resigned (and at that with "some sadness" he says) is because he knows it is not good for his campaign. He knows that, as he becomes the Democratic candidate, he can't actually have ties to this place or anyone who "preaches" there.

Obviously, the liberal media and the Obama crew have tried to make McCain's connection to Rev. John Hagee seem as "bad" as Obama's connection to Rev. Wright, but reality is, it can't be made. All John McCain had to do was denounce Rev. Hagee...there is no long time relationship between the two men and of course, McCain doesn't belong to Hagee's church...for that matter, he doesn't even live in the same state that the church is located in! So the attempt to make it appear that "all" the candidates have questionable ties to religious figures, failed miserably, forcing Obama into finally resigning from Trinity United.

Obama quits Chicago church after long controversy

May 31 07:07 PM US/Eastern

By TOM RAUM
Associated Press Writer

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) - Barak Obama has resigned his 20 year membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago in the aftermath of inflammatory remarks by his longtime pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and more recent fiery remarks at the church by another minister.

Obama campaign communications director Robert Gibbs said Obama had resigned from the church "over the last few days."

Campaign aides said they weren't immediately certain how the resignation took place, whether by letter or in some other fashion, and were trying to find out.

Messages left for a church spokeswoman in Chicago were not immediately returned Saturday afternoon.

The development came as Obama campaigned in South Dakota.

Obama said he disagreed with Wright but initially portrayed him as a family member he couldn't disown. The preacher had officiated at Obama's wedding and been his spiritual mentor for some 20 years.

But six weeks after Obama's well-received speech on race, Wright claimed at an appearance in Washington that the U.S. government was capable of planting AIDS in the black community, praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and suggested that Obama was acting like a politician by putting his pastor at arm's length while privately agreeing with him.

Obama denounced those Wright comments as "divisive and destructive."

Comments by Wright inflamed racial tensions and posed an unwanted problem for Obama, front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, as he seeks to wrap up the nomination.
More recently, racially charged remarks from the same pulpit by another pastor, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, kept the controversy alive and proved the latest thorn in the side of Obama.

Pfleger mocked Obama rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as a guest speaker at Obama's church.
Although Obama condemned comments by both Wright and Pfleger, the controversy has persisted.

For months, Obama has been hamstrung by the rhetoric of Wright, whose sermons blaming U.S. policies for the Sept. 11 attacks and calls of "God damn America" for its racism became fixtures on the Internet and cable news networks.

Read further here

2008-05-29T19:42:00.001-07:00

What is Personal Responsibility and Accountability?

And does it even matter or exist today at all? From what I have witnessed recently, I think its even harder to find then I ever imagined. According to Chuck Gallozzi of http://www.personal-development.com/: Personal Responsibility is not a burden, it's a blessing

Today's subject is responsibility. Not social responsibility, which is a separate issue, but personal responsibility. When we take responsibility, we admit we are the ones responsible for the choices we make.

We, not other people or events, are responsible for the way we think and feel. It is our life, and we are in charge of it. We are free to enjoy it or disdain it. No, we are not responsible for all that happens to us, but we are responsible for how we think, feel, and act when they happen.

Why did God make us so fleet-footed? Some would argue it is to allow us to dodge, duck, and run from responsibility! Why would anyone want to do that? Well, many people associate responsibility with duty and obligations, which, in turn, are thought of as burdens. But personal responsibility is not a burden, it is a blessing.

This becomes clear when we understand that PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IS NOTHING OTHER THAN THE FREEDOM TO CREATE OUR OWN LIVES.
Yes, responsibility is equated with freedom and power. Once we awaken to this fact, we become liberated and empowered. Once we become aware of this truth, we shed our victim mentality and gain the power to transform ourselves.

And likewise Personal Accountability:

“Life is so much better when we shed the victim thinking and simply choose the path of personal accountability.”- John G. Miller, The Question Behind the Question

Personal Accountability allows you to move away from a mindset where things happen "to you" in your life without your consent or influence, and embrace your role in the way your life is shaped by moving to a place of true power and freedom.

Of course, this begs the question...WHY? Why do so many people NOT want to take responsibility and accountability for their own actions? How can so many want to play the "victim" in society, blaming others for their choices and life decisions? I know that some have a difficult time letting go of the past, but generally not letting go of the past means you will allow it to mess up your future. So many of us make mistakes in life, the point is to learn from them...not to continue to blame past mistakes for future or current ones.

Heck, in my own life, I have made some doozers...but if I allowed those past mistakes to dictate who I am and what I want today, I probably wouldn't even wake up in the mornings! I have had to learn to let go and move on...become stronger with each life "hit"...just as Rocky demonstrates below...in my absolute favorite modern day quote from a movie:

"You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

I'm afraid that with so few people willing to actually take responsibility today, even those one would swear always would...we have little to no hope for changing the political climate or bettering society anytime soon...how sad for our future generations. The "all about me" mentality is more dangerous and prevelant in society then I ever thought and will in fact be the thing that completely destroys, not only America, but also the world.

I just will not ever understand why some just can't see this and frankly, it breaks my heart to know that those who believe themselves to be so strong in mind, are really so weak in soul!

2008-05-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

How could this be? It destroys the doom and gloom predictions of the left!!!

We've been hearing for months and months now that we are in a "recession"...yet we have yet to actually experience the lack of economic growth that is required to be considered a recession: at least two back to back quarters, or more, of negative growth - we have had low growth, but have not yet experienced a negative quarter at all! Again, a myth perpetuated by the looney liberal left MSM - proving they actually hope and want for disaster for the US!

US logs better but still weak growth
Thursday May 29, 6:10 pm ET By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer

US logs better but still weak growth; far from being out of the woods

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy logged slightly better -- but weak -- growth in the first quarter, spurred by improved sales of U.S. products overseas. While that's heartening, the country's economy is still far from being out of the woods.

In fact, a closer look behind the 0.9 percent increase in the gross domestic product during the January-to-March period revealed much caution on the part of consumers who have been clobbered by the housing, credit and financial debacles.

"What emerges is a picture of an economy that's gasping for air," said Bernard Baumohl, managing director of the Economic Outlook Group.

Consumers -- major shapers of overall activity and thus the economy's lifeblood -- boosted their spending at the slowest pace since the last recession, in 2001. And, their decreased appetite for shopping sprees reduced sales of foreign-made imports here, which helped to narrow the trade deficit.

The new GDP reading, released Thursday by the Commerce Department, was an improvement from the government's initial first-quarter estimate as well as the economy's performance in the final quarter of last year. Both periods were pegged at a 0.6 percent growth rate.

Read further here

2008-05-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't liked Rev. Michael Pfleger for quite sometime now...

And certainly don't believe him to be a devout Catholic in ANY way...he's more of a joke than anything else. Looking for some media attention and of course, pandering to the liberals on the left for one thing, the almighty $$!

He's made some of the most outrageous comments in the past including calling for the "snuffing out" of any gun shop owners in the Chicago area: “We’re going to snuff out John Riggio,” Pfleger told the estimated 200 people at the rally. “We’re going to snuff out legislators that are voting against our gun laws.”

Why he is still considered a Roman Catholic priest is beyond me....as obviously he does not hold faithfully the doctrinal teachings of the Church.

He's also invited those who openly support abortion to speak at his church. I wonder, how does he get away with speaking openly about politics and other social issues, when every other Catholic Church in America won't even dare? Why isn't his tax exempt status threatened like the rest with the Catholic community?

And ever notice how he changes his voice...really hysterical how he suddenly sounds like a black man when its convenient for him.

Just so ya'll know...this man does not represent the Catholic Church, nor does he represent most Catholics...he's filled with hate and anger and his vitriol is only surpassed by the good "rev" Jeremiah! In fact...let's debate who's worst shall we?

At Obama’s Church, Chicago Minister Says Clinton Felt ‘White’ Entitlement
by FOXNews.com
Thursday, May 29, 2008

Another Chicago minister is causing headaches for Barack Obama after he gave a sermon Sunday at Obama’s church in which he said Hillary Clinton felt entitled to the presidency because she’s white.

Catholic pastor Michael Pfleger, who is white, issued a formal apology for his sermon Thursday after Obama put out a statement saying he was “deeply disappointed” by Pfleger’s remarks at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

“I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama’s life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them,” Pfleger said.

That was after a video of his sermon was posted on YouTube.
In it, Pfleger mocked Clinton for getting choked up on camera before the New Hampshire primary in January.

“When Hillary was crying … I really don’t believe it was put on. I really believe that she just always thought ‘This is mine. I’m Bill’s wife. I’m white. And this is mine’,” he said, shouting at times. “Then out of nowhere came, ‘Hey I’m Barack Obama’. And she said, ‘Oh damn! Where did you come from? I’m white! I’m entitled! There’s a black man stealing my show’!”

Read further here

2008-05-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Scott McClellan - sounds like a disgruntled employee if there ever was one!!

Personally, I couldn't stand listening to him, I thought he was the worst press secretary in recent memory...especially while trying to fill Ari Fleischer's shoes! I was totally relieved when he was let go and replaced with Tony Snow.

This guy cracks me up...in this book he supposedly accuses the Bush administration of deceiving and misleading the American People...umm...really? Then why didn't he speak up and say something sooner?? I mean, he was a willing "player" in the game if that was the case wasn't he? Its so convenient for him to make all sorts of accusations, who's going to question him right? After all, he was there...yea, right...he was not included in top level meetings, or private discussions...he was a press secretary, who was told what to say and when and even at that, he failed most of the time. It was like he never had a real thought in his head...certainly never added anything intelligent to the questioning.

The biggest problem the administration had with this guy...was not letting him go earlier!! In fact, he probably never should have been put in that position at all! But let's not pretend this isn't about one thing only...COLD HARD CASH! He knew he would make a killing writing an "expose"...especially with the liberal media pushing it as absolute truth! Pathetic turn coat is all he is and his book will just be one more that I cover up whenever I am in Barnes n Noble or Costco browsing!

I wonder if McClellan remembers when he said this:

"Well, why, all of a sudden, if he had all these grave concerns, did he not raise these sooner?" McClellan wondered. "I think you have to look at some of the facts. One, he is bringing this up in the heat of a presidential campaign. He has written a book and he certainly wants to go out there and promote that book."

- when commenting on the release of Paul O'Neil's book, "Against All Enemies," in March of 2004...ironic no?? Perhaps little Scottie learned something about marketing at that time hum???

White House calls McClellan's book sour grapes

May 28, 9:23 PM (ET)By JENNIFER LOVEN

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a shocking turnabout, the press secretary most known for defending President Bush on Iraq, Katrina and a host of other controversial issues produced a memoir damning of his old boss on nearly every level - from too much secrecy to a less-than-honest selling of the war to a lack of personal candor and an unwillingness to admit mistakes.
In the first major insider account of the Bush White House, one-time spokesman Scott McClellan calls the operation "insular, secretive and combative" and says it veered irretrievably off course as a result.

The White House responded angrily Wednesday to McClellan's confessional memoir, calling it self-serving sour grapes.

"Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House," said current White House press secretary Dana Perino, a former deputy to McClellan. "We are puzzled. It is sad. This is not the Scott we knew."

McClellan was the White House press secretary from May 2003 to April 2006, the second of four so far in Bush's presidency.

He reveals that he was pushed to leave earlier than he had planned, and he displays some bitterness about that as well as about being sometimes kept out of the loop on key decision-making sessions.

He excludes himself from major involvement in some of what he calls the administration's biggest blunders, for instance the decision to go to war and the initial campaign to sell that decision to the American people. But he doesn't spare himself entirely, saying, "I fell far short of living up to the kind of public servant I wanted to be.
Read further here

2008-05-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

In honor of both Memorial Day and in celebration of what would have been 52 years of marriage as of tomorrow, May 26th for my parents!

May my father rest in peace - I miss you so!

What it means to be American

"Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardwork-- the virtues that made America." -- Teddy Roosevelt

I could probably go on and on about what I believe the characteristics of being “an American” truly are, but Teddy summed it up pretty darn well with that quote above. So instead, I am going to share with you, simply, why I am proud to call myself American.

As most of us, I learned my values, ideals, beliefs and thoughts from those who raised me…my parents. My parents were both born and raised in the Bronx, NY…yes, I said “THE” Bronx, as anyone hailing from New York will understand. My father grew up an only child, while my mother grew up as the third child in a family of four. Both came from what some would call, “less” than middle class homes. However, both were taught the value of working hard to better one self…they were taught simply, to “dream.”

Back in the day…local and community events basically revolved around the “churches and temples” in the area. As such, my parents actually met at a Jewish temple. Mom was going to try out for the all girls community basketball team and my father, happened to be one of the assistant coaches. Both had attended the same Catholic grade school and had “known” of each other but had not ever met. Anyway, they began courting, and continued to do so for the remainder of their high school days.

Shortly after enlisting in the US Navy, pop asked Mom to marry…she did of course and their days of sharing a lifetime of dreams and goals began. They dreamt of owning their own home one day; they would be the first in both families to do so. They dreamt of having many children fill their home; they had six of us. They dreamt of one day leaving New York, traveling to the West Coast and making a new home in California; they arrived here in 1962. They dreamt of providing more opportunities for their children, they dreamt of giving their children all that they could; they did so, never complaining or whining about the many sacrifices they would have to make in the process.

The sacrifices came in many ways, but probably the biggest came from Pop’s 30 years of service in the US Navy. Pop was a veteran of both the Korean War and the Vietnam War and during the years between 1962 through 1974 Pop went on seven, seven-month cruises to the Gulf of Tonkin. Of course, that meant he had to leave Mom and us kids behind, missing out on many of the moments that most families seem to take for granted these days. Such as the birth of a child, their first steps, first day at school, first homerun, etc, etc. Mom, however, was a trooper, never complained, never worried and never fretted, all the while, explaining thoroughly where Pop was and why he was serving his country. When Pop was home though…the joy and memories my parents gave to us will never be forgotten. A few memories are listed below, but there are so many more.

Pop taking us to countless military air shows. I’ll never forget holding my father’s hand as he shared with us all the details of each air craft and standing in aw as we gazed up to the sky to watch the Blue Angels demonstrate the techniques and maneuvers that all Navy pilots are taught to execute
Shopping with Mom at the military commissaries and exchanges at 32nd Street in San Diego, feeling as if we had stepped back into another era, completely safe and secure
Trips to Disneyland, running out to the parking lot at lunchtime to devour the lunch that Mom had taken days to prepare for us (in hopes of saving some money in the park) only to have Pop take us back in and a few hours later splurge on whatever goodies our hearts desired. Watching Pop get emotional every time we ever rode “It’s a Small World”
Fourth of July – fireworks on Silver Strand in San Diego. Trying to learn to skip stones over the bay, just like my big brothers did. The scent of the hot dogs and hamburgers that Mom made at home for us…and somehow she always knew how to keep them warm until we were ready to eat, it was like “magic”
The excitement and drama of watching every Olympics, cheering on the American’s I’ll never forget how we all cried and cheered the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980
Being awaken every Thanksgiving morning by Pop as he whispered gently in my ear, “come on Nanny, the parade is on”
Drive-in movies – huddled in the back of our station wagon together for the latest and greatest family film
I remember Pop’s favorite motto: “Don’t tread on me” – learning why it was and what it really meant
Learning that both my parents didn’t just “talk” politics around the dinner table, but actually were active, volunteering in local, state and national campaigning
Tying yellow ribbons around the trees in our front lawn when our military was in Harm’s way – flying our American flag everyday
High school football games on Friday nights, baseball games on Saturday
Pop’s cooking dinner on Sunday’s – his favorite roasted potatoes
Mom’s schlepping all over town to pick us up and drop us off, skating lessons, football and baseball practice, diving, swimming, track and tennis

I suppose I could go on and on sharing the many memories I have of growing up, but the point is to show that my parents didn’t just “preach” what it is to be an American – they lived it. They taught us to appreciate the sacrifices that were made by the brave and valiant men and women serving in our military each day, as well those in days past. To appreciate that everyone has opportunity here…it’s not just a “slogan” on a billboard. We learned that we could, through hard work; personal responsibility and dedication become anything we want, as my parents demonstrated. They gave us an example of what it means to have and achieve the American dream. They taught us that as long as we carry a dream in our heart – being an American allows us the promise and hope of fulfilling it.

Most of all, they showed us in their countless ways everyday, what it means to love the freedoms our nation affords us and it is why I am now and will always be proud to call myself American.

America, Why I Love Her - John Wayne

2008-05-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

U.N. racism investigator to visit U.S. from Monday

Let's see...we have genocide going on in Darfur, we have genocide going on in Burma, we have extreme cases of racism and slavery still existing in South Africa, we have genocide still occurring in Bosnia, Christians in Iraq are executed on a daily basis and women are treated as less than human in nations like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan...but the UN feels an urgent the "need" to investigate racism in the US (while pushing the expense of this "investigation" onto the US)!

Mind you...the US is the ONLY nation that actually fought a WAR to END slavery and has continuously fought for civil rights for all American's.

And many wonder why most American's believe the UN to be absolutely useless and totally illegitimate?

U.N. racism investigator to visit U.S. from Monday

Fri May 16, 2008 2:48pm EDT
By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - A special U.N. human rights investigator will visit the United States this month to probe racism, an issue that has forced its way into the race to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit.

"The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.

His three-week visit, at U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Race has become a central issue in the U.S. election cycle because Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the battle for the Democratic nomination battle, stands to become the country's first African American president.

His campaign has increased turnout among black voters but has also turned off some white voters in a country with a history of slavery and racial segregation.

Diene, a Senegalese lawyer who has served in the independent post since 2002, will report his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council next year.

However, the United Nations has almost no clout when it comes to U.S. domestic affairs and is widely perceived by many as interfering. The United States is not among the 47 member states of the Geneva-based forum, but has observer status.

In a report last year he said Islamophobia had grown worldwide since the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States, carried out by al-Qaeda militants.

DEATH PENALTY

A U.N. panel which examined the U.S. record on racial discrimination last March urged the United States to halt racial profiling of Americans of Arab, Muslim and South Asian descent and to ensure immigrants and non-nationals are not mistreated.

It also said America should impose a moratorium on the death penalty and stop sentencing young offenders to life in prison until it can root out racial bias from its justice system.

Racial minorities were more likely than whites to be sentenced to death or to life without parole as juveniles, according to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It monitors compliance with an international treaty which Washington ratified in 1994.

Read further here

2008-05-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

Obama says "Lay off my wife!"

As long as Michelle Obama goes out on the campaign trail and opens her big mouth...she's FAIR game as a target! If she doesn't want to be...then she should stay home and STOP making herself a PUBLIC figure!

As for Obama...let's see...we can't talk about:

his ears
his name
his education
his drug use in his youth
his "friends"his connections to Syria
his connections to home grown terrorists (the weathermen)
his obnoxious, arrogant and hate-filled pastor
his church
his lack of experience
his lack of foreign policy knowledge/experience
his limited experience as a state senator
his desire for "change" but his lack of expressing HOW or WHAT he proposes we change
his lack of ANY sort of "plan"
his desire to sit down with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without any conditions being put upon the meeting
his desire to "nuke" Pakistan
his race
his use of the race card in this campaign
his family (mother/father)
his upbringing
his grandmother (although he can throw her under the bus anytime it's convenient for him)
his early schooling in muslim schools
his statement that children are nothing more than a burden to be exposed of when so desired
the fact that he talks a lot, but says nothing
his income
his lack of giving to charity, while crying about the need for government to take more from the "rich" to give to the poor
the fact that he thinks that if we eliminate taxes on gasoline for three months that it will only "save" most people a half of tank of gas...so therefore its not worth it! (talk about elitism!)
and NOW HIS WIFE!

Sure...let's just elect the man without actually knowing anything about him and "HOPE" that he will lead us fearlessly...sigh...Anyone who votes for this idiot is completely ignorant!

Obama Warns GOP "Lay Off My Wife"

Obama Loses Argument With Wife Over Getting a Dog
By IMAEYEN IBANGA
May 19, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama ripped into a Republican ad today that targets comments made by his wife, Michelle, and called the GOP tactic "low class" and "detestable."

The Illinois senator told "Good Morning America" that he expects hardball tactics from the Republicans if he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee.

"But I also think these folks should lay off my wife," he told "GMA" as his wife chuckled beside him.

Obama told "GMA" that he believes he will win a majority of the Democratic delegates once the votes are counted after Tuesday's primaries in Kentucky and Oregon. Obama is favored in Oregon while rival Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is expected to win Kentucky.

Read further here

2008-05-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

Liberalism wins again!

For those who believe that liberalism is not dangerous and that activist judges don't exist...take another look. Today in California, the definition of marriage has now been changed by activist judges sitting on the highest court in the state. Gay marriage is now "accepted" in CA as valid and any denial of it has been declared "unconstitutional".

So...you know what this means? Soon they will be demanding that all instutions that provide marriage ceremonies, i.e., the Catholic Church, MUST provide them for gays and lesbians as well. Of course, in CA businesses already have to provide "benefits" to domestic partners, but I am sure the benefit cost to businesses are going to sky rocket though, as we have hundreds to thousands of gay/lesbian couples move into CA to marry "legally".

You do realize, however, that we, the people of CA, have voted AGAINST gay marriage more than once...the last being Proposition 22 which stated simply:

“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

Proposition 22 was ratified by an overwhelming majority of California voters, prevailing by a 23-point margin. Statewide, 4,618,673 votes were cast in favor of the proposition, comprising 61.4% of the total vote. Opponents garnered 2,909,370 votes, for 38.6% of the vote.

Final vote counts revealed that Proposition 22 won in 52 of California's 58 counties, including all of the major metropolitan areas except for San Francisco. The six counties which did not approve Prop. 22 were all in the immediate San Francisco Bay area, including: Alameda county, Marin county, San Francisco county, Santa Cruz county, Sonoma county, and Yolo county.

But once again, we see what activist judges can do. They throw out the people's desires and MAKE their OWN laws based off of their OWN PERSONAL AGENDAS!

California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban

May 15 01:45 PM US/Eastern

California's supreme court ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unlawful Thursday, effectively leaving same-sex couples in America's most populous state free to tie the knot in a landmark ruling.

In an opinion that analysts say could have nationwide implications for the issue, the seven-member panel voted 4-3 in favor of plaintiffs who argued that restricting marriage to men and women was discriminatory.

"... limiting the designation of marriage to a union 'between a man and a woman' is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute," California Chief Justice Ron George said in the written opinion.

Before Thursday only one US state -- Massachusetts -- allowed gay marriage, although California, New Jersey and Vermont have legislation which grants same-sex partners many of the same legal rights as married couples.

Thursday's ruling came after a long-running legal battle that erupted in 2000 when California voters approved a law declaring that only marriages between men and women could be legally recognized.

In February 2004, the City of San Francisco defied state law by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, arguing that existing laws were illegal because they violated equal rights legislation.
A court later halted the issuance of licenses and declared that same-sex marriages that took place during this period were void.

Read further here

However, this should only be TEMPORARY...as this coming November, yet ANOTHER initiative will be included on our CA voters ballots:

LIMIT ON MARRIAGE. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Amends the California Constitution to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: The measure would have no fiscal effect on state or local governments. This is because there would be no change to the manner in which marriages are currently recognized by the state. (Initiative 07-0068.)

To learn more about this initiative and how you can help support it please visit: ProtectMarriage.com

2008-05-10T09:40:00.001-07:00

So where's the outrage in the MSM over this??

So I want to know...where's all the calls for the CA Department of Education to be investigated and illegitimatized? Where's the constant coverage by the MSM, the plastering of this story and any others, (including false stories and accusations) all over national television, newspapers and the web? Where's the calls for the removal of US Dept. of Edu Sectretary Margaret Spellings? Where's the calls for the LA Unified School district to pay BILLIONS in retribution? Where's the STIGMA that should be placed on all prinicipals and teachers...you know accusing them all of being child molestors? Where's the chastisment of anyone who believes in education?

Oh that's right...those things are are only done when the story involves a CATHOLIC priest! Yet did you know that in 2002 Department of Education carried out a study of sexual abuse in the school system and the report estimated that from 6 percent to 10 percent of all students in public schools would be victims of abuse before graduation? But instead, we have been led to believe that sexual abuse is a problem within the Catholic Church only! We are constantly reminded of it...as we all just witnessed when Pope Benedict XVI came to visit the US. The news media hounded him and even wrote false reports about what he stated in his speeches and homilies and all centered around "sexual abuse" and the "hurt" caused. Its frankly disgusting and once again, demonstrates the hypocrisy in the MSM!

Sound Familiar?
LA assistant principal accused of having sex with teen was transferred to different school, where he allegedly molested again

A school administrator in Los Angeles was transferred to a Watts middle school last year, even though top officials in the Los Angeles Unified School District knew of allegations that he had had sexual relations with a minor girl. The administrator has since been accused of molesting two more students.

Steve Thomas Rooney allegedly had sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl, a student at the Foshay Learning Center, where Rooney was assistant principal. Police told school district administrators of the allegations last spring after Rooney was arrested for waving a gun at the girl’s stepfather. School officials then placed Rooney in a desk job at a local district office; but, last August, he was transferred to Markham Middle School in Watts, where he allegedly molested two more students.

The Foshay student, now 18, last year told police that she had engaged in relations with Rooney. However, she later denied her story after Rooney was arrested; she claims a Foshay administrator told her she “needed to recant everything.” The girl identified the administrator as “Hubbard;” and, the school district’s communications office told the May 6 Los Angeles Times an Alan Hubbard had been removed from Foshay in connection with the Rooney case and, like Rooney, was placed in a “non-school” job.

When Rooney was arrested in March on charges of having sex with a 13-year-old student, the Foshay student again came forward and said she had basically been living with Rooney at his downtown loft. She claimed she had visited his family in New York and become pregnant, though she later had a miscarriage. Los Angeles Police investigators said they found items in Rooney’s apartment that suggested he had had an intimate relationship with the girl.

On May 5, Dan Isaacs, who retired last year as the district’s chief operating officer, said that when he learned of the allegations of sexual abuse at Foshay, he immediately told school district officials of it, including Carol Truscott, the administrator overseeing the district that includes Markham Middle School. The district has a memo by Isaacs concerning the Rooney investigation and addressed to district Superintendent David Brewer and the school board.

2008-05-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

So talks with Hamas are not acceptable to Obama, BUT...

A sit down "tea" with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran (Iran the nation that funds and supports Hamas) is totally acceptable to him! But, I guess that's understandable since Ahmadinejad prefers to support Obama!

Earlier in March, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the Spanish El Pais newspaper that the real circles of power in America would not allow Senator Barack Obama to enter the White House, adding that he would have no problems if the junior senator from Illinois were to be elected.

But back to the main story...Obama decided today to get "tough" on the advisors he's surrounded himself with by cutting one of them lose...(hmm...seems to me, he's not a very good judge of character, huh? His "friends" include the "good" reverend Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn founders of the Underground Weatherman, Tony Rezko...)

Informal Obama adviser steps aside over Hamas talks
Posted: Friday, May 09, 2008 4:47 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC's Andrea Mitchell
One of the Obama campaign's informal Middle East advisers, Robert Malley, confirms to NBC NEWS that he has resigned from any role in the campaign because critics have tried to make an issue of his meetings with Hamas. The Times of London called him about it this morning, and has posted a story online. As a result, he called Obama's campaign today and took himself out of any future role.

Malley's paid job is with the International Crisis Group, which, he says, requires him to meet with Hamas and others. Malley worked for six and a half years at the Clinton National Security Council under Tony Lake and Sandy Berger. Lake is now one of Obama's top foreign policy advisors.

Speaking to NBC NEWS, Malley said, "I decided based on the fact that this was coming a distraction that it was best that I remove myself from any association with the campaign."
Malley added, "My job with the International Crisis Group is to meet with all sorts of savory and unsavory people and report on what they say. I've never denied whom I meet with; that's what I do."

2008-05-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

They don't want the help...so....

Update: UN Halts aid to Myanmar after junta seizes supplies!

I say, turn the ships around, bring home the money, the food and supplies! Sure...they want the money, supplies and food, but they don't want any personnel...no medical, no media, nada. Course, we all know what happens when corrupt nations are in control of the food and supplies that are sent in to help the people right? Like Saddam, the corrupt leaders horde the goods and use them to further oppress their people...its how they stay in "control"!

U.N.: Myanmar's Refusal to Grant Visas is 'Unprecedented'
Friday, May 09, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar — The U.N. blasted Myanmar's military government Friday, saying its refusal to let in foreign aid workers was "unprecedented" in the history of humanitarian work, while survivors of a devastating cyclone waited for food, shelter and medicine.

Myanmar's junta said Friday it was grateful to the international community for its assistance, which has included 11 chartered planes loaded with aid supplies. But the best way to help was to just send in material rather than personnel, the junta said in a statement.

It said one relief flight was sent back after landing in Yangon on Thursday because it carried a search and rescue team and media who had not received permission to enter the country. It did not give details, but said the plane had flown in from Qatar, which apparently referred to a U.N. flight.

• Click here to view photos.

More than 62,000 people are known to have died or are missing from Cyclone Nargis that hit the country's Irrawaddy delta on Saturday. Shari Villarosa, who heads the U.S. Embassy in Yangon, said the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses.

The isolationist regime of this Southeast Asian nation has refused to grant visas to foreign aid workers who could assess the extent of the disaster and manage the logistics.

Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program, said the organization has submitted 10 visa applications around the world, including six in Bangkok, Thailand, but that none has been approved.

Even if the government changes its mind, there is no hope of getting any visas in Bangkok until Monday because of a Thai holiday Friday that has shut the Myanmar Embassy, Risley said.

"The frustration caused by what appears to be a paperwork delay is unprecedented in modern humanitarian relief efforts," said Risley, who is based in Bangkok. "It's astonishing."

"We strongly urge the government of Myanmar to process these visa applications as quickly as possible, including work over the weekend," he said.

But there was no sign the junta was relenting.

"Currently Myanmar has prioritized receiving emergency relief provisions and making strenuous effort delivering it with its own labor to the affected areas," said the junta statement, carried in the state-owned New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

• China Urges Myanmar to Work With International Community On Disaster Aid

The announcement came as critical aid and experts to go with it were poised in neighboring Thailand and elsewhere to rush into one of the world's poorest nations.

"Believe me, the government will not allow outsiders to go into the devastated area. The government only cares about its own stability. They don't care about the plight of the people," said Yangon food shop owner Joseph Kyaw, one of many residents angry at the regime for doing little to help them recover from the storm's destruction.

Read further here

2008-05-08T12:53:00.001-07:00

The lunatics are out of the looney bin again!

So what gets me is that Code Pink has, apparently, no problem getting their permits to harass and disrupt...but notice how the city of Berserkley...has not yet given the same permits to the Republicans who want to counter protest?? Yea...there's no bias or discrimination going on in that city...maybe if the leader of the Student Republicans clamed she was lesbian they would provide the permits...hmm...

It's a good thing I don't live close enough...cause I would be all to willing to create a little havoc myself! This group is just one example of the hypocrisy on the left...they cry "tolerance and compassion" for all...yet what they really mean, is "tolerance and compassion" for ONLY those who AGREE with THEM!

Code Pink Protesters Try Witchcraft at Anti-Marine Rallies
Thursday, May 08, 2008
By Jana Winter
Code Pink is now resorting to witchcraft to beef up the number of its supporters protesting Berkeley's controversial Marine Corps Recruiting Center.
The women's anti-war group has told ralliers to come equipped with spells and pointy hats Friday for "Witches, clowns and sirens day," the last of the group's weeklong homage to Mother's Day.
"Women are coming to cast spells and do rituals and to impart wisdom to figure out how we're going to end war," Zanne Sam Joi of Bay Area Code Pink told FOXNews.com.
The group's week of themed protests, which included days to galvanize grannies and bring-your-daughter-to-protest, appears to have done little to boost its flagging numbers.
A FOX News camera, which has a 24/7 live shot of the recruiting center's front door, recorded little action, and the gatherings have, until this point, been ill attended.
In February, the Marine Corps Recruiting Center was the site of fierce pro- and anti-war protests. It made national headlines when Berkeley's city council voted to send a letter to the recruiting station advising the Marines they were not welcome. Council members later moderated their position, saying they oppose the war in Iraq but support the troops.
Code Pink — which was given parking and noise permits by the city council and is allowed to protest during the recruiting center's business hours — has been protesting daily since September.
The group frequently announces bizarre theme weeks in front of the office, but their numbers have been dwindling and the events get little media attention.
Now, after three months of continual protest, their actions barely capture the attention of even the Marines at the recruiting center.
Capt. John Paul Wheatcroft said he's unfazed by Code Pink's antics. "They're always in pink and wear funny things, half-shaved heads, one side with hair and the other one bald, yeah, I'm pretty much used to anything," he told FOXNews.com.
Code Pink said that grandmothers did show up for Monday's protest — some over 90 years old, some in wheelchairs — and began knocking on the door of the recruiting center.
• Click here to see pictures of past protests.
"The grandmothers were here and tried to get recruited," Joi said. "They tried to have conversations with the Marines, but the Marines were too scared to talk."
Wheatcroft, who was the Marine on the other side of the door, said that he was not afraid of the grannies. He just didn't open the door.
"Most of the time they are just practicing their right to protest and their freedom of speech or whatever, so it's not usually a problem for us. But sometimes it crosses the line, and that happened [Monday] when the grannies were here blocking the entrance and banging on the door," Wheatcroft told FOXNews.com.
On Tuesday, Code Pink's theme was "Fierce mothers raging against war," Joi said, to talk about all the mothers killed and raped in war. Wednesday's theme was "Bring your daughter to the protest," where daughters explanied why they don't want their parents fighting the war.
Thursday is "Sisters don't allow sisters to live in war zones" day, and the week wraps up Friday with "Witches, clowns and sirens day."
Code Pink isn't the only group rallying around the Marine recruiting center that has seen its numbers drop.
Kimberly Wagner, Berkeley College Republicans activism chair, who is dating a Marine, said her group has been trying to keep up a presence outside the center since Feb. 13, when Code Pink's parking permit went into effect.
The college Republicans are fighting to acquire the same parking permits that Code Pink has. A resolution to grant the group an equal permit will be entered and voted upon in the May 20 city council meeting.
Read further here

2008-05-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ex-Gitmo prisoner carries out suicide attack

Iraqi security forces were the apparent target in last week's blast
The Associated Press
updated 12:35 p.m. CT, Wed., May. 7, 2008
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The U.S. military confirmed Wednesday that a former Guantanamo detainee from Kuwait carried out a recent suicide attack in northern Iraq.

A spokesman for U.S. military's Central Command told The Associated Press that Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi took part in an attack in Mosul.

Cont'd

The U.S. transferred al-Ajmi to Kuwaiti custody from Guantanamo in 2005. A Kuwaiti court later acquitted him of terrorism charges.

The Rest Here

Oh Gee, well whaddaya know? Who'd a thought? Idiots!

2008-05-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

Report: Global Sea Ice at 'Unprecedented' Levels

April 2008 had the third highest recorded amount since records were started in 1979, contradicting media coverage of diminishing sea ice.

By Jeff Poor
Business & Media Institute
5/6/2008 8:52:34 AM

Don’t expect to hear this reported on the your evening newscast, but according to new data, sea ice levels in the Southern Hemisphere are at 25-year highs.

“On a global basis, world sea ice in April 2008 reached levels that were ‘unprecedented’ for the month of April in over 25 years,” Steve McIntyre wrote on Climateaudit.org on May 4. “Levels are the third highest (for April) since the commencement of records in 1979, exceeded only by levels in 1979 and 1982.”

McIntyre, along with Ross McKitrick, debunked the validity of the “hockey stick” graph used in a journal article by Michael Mann, which described the increase in Northern Hemisphere mean temperature. The two claimed Mann’s graph was based on flawed calculations and data defects.

That data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) suggests the effects of global warming aren’t as dire as some media reports would have you believe. A segment on ABC’s March 28 “Good Morning America” warned melting sea ice is endangering the global warming alarmists’ favorite mascot, the polar bear.

“[I] realize what I need to do is try and tell these stories through National Geographic magazine by using animals such as polar bears to hang this campaign on, to say that if we lose sea ice in the Arctic, and projections are to lose sea ice in the next 20 to 50 years, we ultimately are going to lose polar bears as well,”

National Geographic magazine photographer Paul Milkin said to ABC’s Sam Champion.
According to the NSIDC data, sea ice had declined in 2007 to record lows, but showed a rebound in 2008, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere.

Report: The Rest Here

Whew! I'm glad I heard about this from the mainstream media! What would we do without them? (rolleyes)

2008-05-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Idaho student says teacher tossed his Mexican flag in trash

May 7 04:24 PM US/Eastern

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) - A high school student says he may file a lawsuit against a physical education teacher who took a Mexican flag he had brought for Cinco de Mayo and put it in the garbage.
Clint Straatman denies Froylan Camelo's version of events but said he took the flag Monday because "white kids" might have hurt the 16-year- old. He said he put it in a garbage can because he had no place else to keep it.

Camelo said he was changing into gym clothes at Minico High School in Rupert when Straatman told him, "Give me the flag."

"I said, 'What's the problem?'" Camelo, speaking in Spanish, told The Times-News of Twin Falls. "He said, 'The problem is that we are in the United States and not in Mexico.' He grabbed it from me. He threw the flag in the garbage can."

Camelo said that Straatman told him the flag would be returned at the end of the school day, but that Straatman taunted him instead.

"I asked, 'Where is my flag?'" Camelo said. "He said, 'What, the U.S. flag?' I said, 'No, the one for Mexico.' But he wouldn't give it to me."

Camelo said he then took the undamaged flag out of the garbage. He said he's been contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union and is considering a lawsuit against Straatman.

Camelo and others brought Mexican flags to the south-central Idaho school to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the May 5 recognition of Mexico's victory over the French army on that day in 1862. About a third of the student body is Hispanic.

Straatman denied saying the words Camelo attributed to him, and said the student may have misunderstood him because of his poor English skills. He said he took the flag from Camelo after Camelo had been waving it in the school gym, and denied withholding it later.

"I had to confiscate it so it wouldn't escalate any problems in class," Straatman told The Times-News. "We're worried about that stuff all the time. We always have kids saying stuff to each other, and we have a lot of fights between kids."

"We believe in nondiscriminatory practices and cultural sensitivity," he said. "We train for that and talk about that. If there is a teacher making derogatory comments we don't approve of that. We also don't approve of a student disrupting the classroom."

The Rest Here
Nondiscriminatory practices and cultural sensitivity are why our schools are becoming substandard. We are focusing on absolute nonsense instead of what really matters. This kid, who knew enough to call the ACLU, should have known that what he did could cause a problem. I blame the student, not the teacher.

2008-05-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

The Whole World is becoming Conservative...

While we in America are becoming more and more liberal...sigh...

London Mayor Voted Out, Among Many Labour Defeats in Britain

LONDON — A Conservative lawmaker with a knack for offensive remarks ousted the left-wing mayor of London in an upset that capped the ruling Labour Party's worst local election showing in four decades.

Results released early Saturday showed Boris Johnson defeating Ken Livingstone in Labour's first test at the polls since then-Prime Minister Tony Blair handed the reins last year to Gordon Brown, who has since been dogged by accusations of indecision and incompetence.

Voters also picked opposition candidates in more than 300 municipal council races, prompting Brown to humbly pledge to heed the scathing verdict.

Conservative leader David Cameron said his party's strong gains represented a key moment on the path to ousting Brown at the next national election, to be held before mid-2010.

"Three years ago the idea that the Conservatives would win London and build up a 20-point lead across the county would have been literally unthinkable," Cameron said.

"I do hope that it does show that the Conservatives have changed into a party that can again be trusted," Johnson said, shortly after the result was announced to cheers from raucous supporters. "Let's get cracking tomorrow and let's have a drink tonight."

Johnson, a former magazine editor, offered lavish praise for his rivals in the race and paid tribute to Livingstone's role in guiding London through the 2005 transit network bombings.

Livingstone — a staunch leftist who courted Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and faced off with the U.S. Embassy for unpaid congestion charges — said the blame for his defeat must rest at his door, not Brown's.

"I accept that responsibility and I regret that I couldn't take you to victory," the veteran politician said, looking pale and crestfallen. He leaves office immediately.

Johnson took 1,168,738 votes to Livingstone's 1,028,966 in a contest that hinged on a second round of voting.

Voters are asked to pick a first, then second choice as mayor — Johnson didn't win the required 50 percent initially, but triumphed when second preferences from eight minor candidates, eliminated after the first round, were added to the totals.

Uncombed and often awkward, Johnson is known both his wit and for remarks that are have offended minority communities and others.

He labeled members of the Commonwealth "piccaninnies" — a derogatory term for black people, referred to Africans as having "watermelon smiles," and likened his party's internal conflicts "to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing."

Johnson's scorn has also been directed at gay marriage, which became legal in Britain in 2005. In his book "Friends, Voters, Countrymen," he said that if homosexuals could marry then why not "three men, as well as two men; or indeed three men and a dog."

Ex-party leader Michael Howard ordered Johnson to visit the northern city of Liverpool in 2004 to apologize after he wrote an editorial accusing the city's people of "wallowing" in victimhood after Liverpudlian Ken Bigley was taken hostage in Iraq and beheaded.

Johnson has cultivated a befuddled, rumpled image and was often seen clumsily pedaling his bicycle to Parliament.

His campaign billboards featured silhouettes of his iconic poses — scratching his unruly thatch of blond hair, ambling along a road with hands stuffed in wrinkled pockets, gesticulating wildly to make a debating point.

His first key test is likely to hinge on how he handles relations with China. As mayor, he will be expected to attend at least part of the Beijing Olympics — and his party will hope he is able to avoid offending the hosts.

"Chinese cultural influence is virtually nil, and unlikely to increase," Johnson wrote in one of his several books — on subjects ranging from sports cars to Ancient Rome.

Johnson said it is likely "there will be the odd ill-chosen expression" in his future.

Results from the 159 local councils which held ballots in England and Wales on Thursday showed the Conservatives gaining 260 seats with Labour losing 333. The Liberal Democrats gained 34 seats.

Most results were announced Friday, but a high turnout in London — where around 5.5million cast ballots — meant the count there continued until early Saturday.

The British Broadcasting Corp. projected the Conservatives would take 44 percent of the vote in England and Wales, putting it 20 points ahead of Labour. Brown's party was a point behind the Liberal Democrats, usually the country's third-largest party, according to the BBC.

Read further by clicking here

Maybe the Conservative/Republican party here in America, those already holding office, those running for office and those leading the party, should take a good hard look at the approach Johnson took...maybe we should stop playing the "political correctness game" and start exposing the liberals for what they really are, then maybe we too could get back to true Conservatism and actually get some things accomplished!

2008-05-01T20:52:00.001-07:00

Typically...Ann is on target and this one is just too good not to share!

Obama Campaign Gives Up On Finding 'Mr. Wright'
by Ann Coulter
Posted: 04/30/2008

Whew! I'm certainly glad to hear the "snippets" from Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons "in context."

In the famous B. Hussein Obama speech that sent a tingle down Chris Matthews' leg, Obama dismissed the clips of Rev. Wright being played on TV as mere "snippets." He claimed the media were highlighting Wright's "most offensive words," complaining that they had been played endlessly, as if repetition were the problem with the statement: "GOD DAMN AMERICA!"

It's absolutely unheard of to repeat passages from famous speeches. In fact, I have a dream that we will not do that. Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask that the media stop replaying "snippets." All we have to fear is repetition itself, because we are the people we've been waiting for to tear down that wall of endless repetition.

So, like I said: Whew. At last Rev. Wright's "snippets" have been put in a healing context. In two speeches and one uxorious interview with PBS' Bill Moyers over the past few days, Rev. Wright had plenty of time to lay out the lush analytical context of his remarks.

In his speech to the National Press Club on Monday, for example, Wright described America as a country of "segregation, Jim Crow, lynching and the separate-but-equal fantasy." Then he ran outside to feed more quarters into the meter where his time machine was parked.

Wright described this as a country that supported the "racist regime of South Africa" and "the Contras, who were killing the peasants and the Miskito Indians in those two countries" -- as opposed to the Sandinistas, who were equal-opportunity murderers with a more diverse group of victims.

Read further by clicking here

2008-05-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is just ONE little reason why Obama would be BAD for America

Obama May Levy $15 Billion Tax on Oil Company Profit (Update1)
By Daniel Whitten

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax on oil companies could cost $15 billion a year at last year's profit levels, a campaign adviser said.

The plan would target profit from the biggest oil companies by taxing each barrel of oil costing more than $80, according to a fact sheet on the proposal. The tax would help pay for a $1,000 tax cut for working families, an expansion of the earned- income tax credit and assistance for people who can't afford their energy bills.

``The profits right now are so remarkable that one could trim them 10 percent or so, which would turn out to be somewhere in the $15 billion range,'' said Jason Grumet, an adviser to the Obama campaign.

Obama's plan may be three times larger than the $50 billion, 10-year plan contemplated by his Democratic rival, New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Republican candidate John McCain, an Arizona senator, has no plan to raise oil and gas industry taxes, said his economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

Oil companies would still have ample reason to ``continue to pursue production, while at the same time providing relief to consumers,'' Grumet said.

A flurry of energy proposals from presidential candidates and lawmakers has come after crude oil futures prices reached $119.93 a barrel on April 28. Retail gasoline prices hit a record $3.603 a gallon this week, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

Obama's Proposal

Among the options Illinois Senator Obama is mulling is imposing a 20 percent tax on the cost of a barrel of oil above $80, said Grumet, who spoke at a conference in Washington today.
``The industry has profited greatly -- over $150 billion in 2007 -- due to global instability fueled by conflict in Iraq, failing domestic fiscal policies that have weakened the U.S. dollar and skyrocketing global demand resulting from a lack of investment in alternatives,'' said the Obama fact sheet.

Energy companies argue that new taxes will discourage production at a time when supply is needed most.

Clinton would impose a $20 billion windfall profits tax on oil companies over the next decade and repeal $30 billion in tax breaks over 10 years to pay into a so-called strategic energy fund, said Brian Deese, Clinton's economic policy director.

Read further by clicking here

As I mentioned earlier in the week...it's a complete toss up as to which plan of the three candidates, McCain, Hillary and Obama, is the worst...sigh...

Apparently, a 7.5% profit margin is just TOO much for the "big bad oil" companies... **rolling eyes Most businesses, WalMart, Starbucks, Toyota...you name it...shoot for something like a 40% profit margin to consider themselves "successful"...as they should!

What do these three think the oil companies are in business for? They have shareholders who hold them accountable and who expect to see increases in profit margins!

If these clowns want to help consumers...they would simply DRILL in America and decrease dependency on foreign oil a bit, encourage the building of more refineries, create ONE standard of gasoline for ALL the states, and then REMOVE the taxes!! But alas...they prefer to let us be held PRISONER by the ENVIRONMENTALISTS! (I am not sure when we decided to add environmentalists as another branch of government...can anyone help me out with when this occurred??)

2008-04-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ooops...Hillary just left out a few key points...again!

Clinton blasts Bush for not stopping a project Bill OK'd
By Steven Thomma McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS — Hillary Clinton loves to tell the story about how the Chinese government bought a good American company in Indiana, laid off all its workers and moved its critical defense technology work to China.

It’s a story with a dramatic, political ending. Republican President George W. Bush could have stopped it, but he didn’t.

If she were president, Clinton says, she’d fight to protect those jobs. It’s just the kind of talk that’s helping her win support from working-class Democrats worried about their jobs and paychecks, not to mention their country’s security.

What Clinton never includes in the oft-repeated tale is the role that prominent Democrats played in selling the company and its technology to the Chinese. She never mentions that big-time Democratic contributor George Soros helped put together the deal to sell the company or that the sale was approved by her husband's administration.

In response, the Clinton campaign said that Bill Clinton's administration had gotten assurances at the time it approved the deal that production would remain inside the United States, and that the shift of jobs to China didn't occur until under the Bush administration.

“Hillary Clinton must have been hoping we Hoosiers have short memories,” Ed Dixon of Valparaiso said in a letter to a local newspaper after a recent Clinton visit. “Her husband was president at the time and allowed this to happen.”

“They would have us believe Bush was behind this sale,” added Fred Sliger of Valparaiso in another letter, “when in fact the Clinton administration rubber-stamped this along with the sale of numerous other high-tech secrets to the Chinese. …Let's get the facts straight.”

Read further by clicking here

It seems its getting to be a habit with her lately! Oh wait...for years she's been reciting "I just don't recall"...shame on me, I forgot that's her motto!!

2008-04-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

Antarctic ice threatened by ozone-hole recovery

Global winds could accelerate melting.
Amanda Leigh Haag
The ozone hole (here shown in September 2006) may have delayed Antarctic warming.NASARecovery of the ozone hole above Antarctica could warm the Antarctic and cause more ice to melt in coming decades, researchers say. As the ozone hole heals, wind patterns that shield the interior of the polar region from warm air may break down, causing warming in the Antarctica as well as warmer and drier conditions in Australia.

Despite global temperatures rising, the interior of Antarctica has experienced a unique cooling trend during its summer and autumn over the last few decades. Scientists attribute this cooling to the hole in the ozone layer, which alters atmospheric circulation patterns and strengthens the westerly winds that swirl around the continent. These winds have isolated the Antarctic interior from the warming patterns seen on the continent’s peninsula and throughout the rest of the world.

“The warming of the Antarctic may have been delayed because of the ozone hole,” says atmospheric scientist Judith Perlwitz, a climate scientist at the of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But thanks to the 1987 Montreal Protocol that banned the release of ozone-depleting substances, most scientists agree that the ozone hole has probably reached its largest and that ozone levels will recover by the end of the century.
The Rest Here

What is going on here? Is it hot or cold? Has Global Warming, gone the way of the killer bees??? On to the next multi billion dollar, socialist fear mongering?? Gimme a break!

2008-04-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Who's plan sounds best??

Dems Draw Distinctions on Gas Tax Plans
April 29, 2008 4:34 PMLindsey Ellerson

ABC News' Sunlen Miller and Eloise Harper Report: The Democratic presidential contenders traded jabs on the campaign trail Tuesday regarding their varying positions on a gas tax holiday.
From a Winston Salem, NC town hall meeting, Senator Barack Obama painted Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton as supporting the tax plan for purely political reasons.

"This isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer, it's designed to get them through an election," Obama said of the proposal which he does not support. "The easiest thing in the world for a politician to do is to tell you what they think you want to hear. But if we're gonna solve our challenges right now, then we've gotta start telling the American people what they need to hear. Tell 'em the truth."

Obama said McCain and Clinton's support of the gas tax illustrates the problem with Washington.

"Oil companies like Shell and BP just reported record profits for the quarter. And we're arguing over a gimmick to save you half a tank of gas over the course of the entire summer so that everyone in Washington can pat themselves on the back and say that they did something."

But, a spokesman from the McCain campaign, Tucker Bounds, fired back at Obama, charging that the Illinois Senator doesn't fully grasp the current state of the U.S. economy.

Read further by clicking here

So McCain wants to give us a "break" by repealing the federal taxes on gasoline for three months during the summer. So he is offering a "temporary" band-aid without providing any sort of long term solution.

While Hillary says, that's not good enough...we have to repeal the federal taxes PLUS...ADD an EXTRA TAX to the "big oil" companies who provide us with this "good"...(and that will help how??) Umm...doesn't it just make sense that the extra cost that the providers will have to pay, will then be passed on to the consumers??

Oh but wait...Obama gets the "prize" for his idea...DO NOTHING! He says that repealing the federal tax will only amount to a "half tank" of savings...so its not worth doing...umm...I would take that HALF TANK SAVINGS ANYDAY! Man...what an "elitist" attitude...sigh...

Here's my idea...how about none of the above? Why can't we do what President Ronald Reagan did back in 1981?? He lifted price controls, deregulating crude oil prices which then provided incentives for domestic producers to invest in exploration and to increase production. In addition, he encouraged DOMESTIC DRILLING!!

So how about...we drill offshore and in ANWR, federalize ONE EPA standard gasoline grade instead of one for every state...so we can increase efficiency at the refineries that are currently working at more than full capacity...and perhaps encourage the building of SEVERAL MORE refineries...and on top it all off by ELIMINATING federal taxes on gasoline and at the very least...reduce the state taxes!! Bet we would see a dramatic drop then...but of course, then we would remove the "need" for government to "save us" every time the price of gas goes up!!

2008-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Clinton: $2.3B in earmarks

By Manu Raju and Kevin Bogardus
Posted: 04/28/08 08:08 PM [ET]
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has requested nearly $2.3 billion in federal earmarks for 2009, almost three times the largest amount received by a single senator this year. The Democratic presidential candidate’s staggering request comes at a time when Congress remains engaged in a heated debate over spending federal dollars on parochial projects.
It also has gained traction on the campaign trail. Presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), a longtime foe of earmarks, has called for eliminating what he dubs “wasteful Washington spending.” Democratic front-runner Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has spurned earmarks, seeking no funds for pet projects in the upcoming fiscal year.
Yet Clinton is continuing to request billions for earmarks, most of which will go to her home state.
The money is needed for homeland security, emergency response and health projects throughout New York, according to documents provided by her office.
The total amount Clinton requested greatly surpasses the $837 million secured last year by Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee who took home the largest dollar amount of earmarks in the current fiscal year’s spending bills. In those bills, Clinton secured $342 million in earmarks.
Clinton’s huge earmark requests have some speculating that the former first lady is preparing for a soft landing should she lose the Democratic primary to Obama and refocus her energy on winning a third Senate term.
Steve Ellis, a vice president at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group critical of earmarks, said the amount is not unusual for a senator hailing from a big state who has long secured pet projects.
“For her to all of a sudden change course would look opportunistic,” Ellis said.
“There’s a decent chance that she is going to remain the senator from New York, and she needs to do what she can to stay the senator from New York.”
Obama has released all the earmark requests he offered since being elected to the Senate in 2004, which totaled roughly $740 million over three years. Obama has also criticized Clinton for not disclosing her requests. Her office would not say how much she requested in previous years.
The documents outlining her most recent requests, however, are broadly defined, with few details on precisely where most of the money would go.
For instance, Clinton asked for an additional $750 million for a homeland-state grant program and another $125 million for an urban-area security initiative in the upcoming homeland security appropriations bill. But it does not say which projects the grants would pay for.
Clinton’s office justified the requests, saying the money is needed after a “staggering” reduction in the Bush administration’s budget proposal that left states and localities “ill prepared to prevent another major terrorist attack.”
In addition, Clinton is asking for grants of up to $400 million for interoperable emergency communication, $335 million for emergency planning, $190 million for port security and $225 million for transit security.
The senator also wants appropriators on the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies subcommittee to add $10 million to bolster the nation’s emergency 911 network and defense appropriators to add $3.2 million for a program geared toward transitioning members of the National Guard to the construction industry.
In the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education funding bill, Clinton asks for $231 million to go toward monitoring the health of people affected by the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Philippe Reines, a spokesman for Clinton, said some of the funding for first responders and homeland security is based on need and risk, so New York would receive a portion of the money but so would other parts of the country.
The most specifics the office provided related to her request for the Military Construction spending bill. In that bill, she wants appropriators to provide $7 million to complete construction of a facility at the Air National Guard base in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., $6.6 million to construct a fire station in Fort Drum, N.Y., and $8.5 million for a dining facility and community center at a Niagara Falls Air Reserve base.
The Rest Here

2008-04-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

So NOW Obama is outraged???

Obama says he's outraged by former pastor's comments
By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 46 minutes ago

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Barack Obama angrily denounced his former pastor for "divisive and destructive" remarks on race, seeking to divorce himself from the incendiary speaker and a fury that threatens to engulf his front-running Democratic presidential campaign.

Obama is trying to tamp down the uproar over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at a tough time in his campaign. The Illinois senator is coming off a loss in Pennsylvania to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and trying to win over white working-class voters in Indiana and North Carolina in next Tuesday's primaries.

"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.

His strong words come just six weeks after Obama delivered a sweeping speech on race in which he sharply condemned Wright's remarks but did not leave the church or repudiate the minister himself, who he said was like a family member. After weeks of staying out of the public eye while critics lambasted his sermons, the former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago made three public appearances in four days to defend himself.

On Monday, Wright criticized the U.S. government as imperialist and stood by his suggestion that the United States invented the HIV virus as a means of genocide against minorities. "Based on this Tuskegee experiment and based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything," he said.

And perhaps even worse for Obama, Wright suggested that the church congregant secretly concurs.

"If Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected," Wright said. "Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls."

Read further by clicking here

Forget the fact that the "rev" has insulted America with his "GD America" statements...or forget his outrageous accusation that the US government created the AIDS virus to "do away" with blacks...or forget his slanderous lies about how the US government caused 9/11...forget that the "rev" supports and promotes Hamas, one of the world's worst terrorist organizations...yea...all of that is fully acceptable...UNTIL NOW!!

Cause NOW the good "rev" has made it PERSONAL! He's not turned on his protege and attacked B. Obama Huessein...calling him "a typical politician, who'll say whatever is required to get elected!"

Talk about "self-absorbed"...sigh...Obama even through his own grandmother under the bus to support the man he calls "like an old uncle"...and only NOW, when the good "rev" attacks him...finds it "OFFENSIVE"...am I the ONLY one seeing this hypocrisy??

2008-04-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Yea...this is ONE of the reasons why ethanol is NOT a viable solution!

Food Crisis Starts Eclipsing Climate Change Worries
Gore Ducks, as a Backlash Builds Against Biofuels
By JOSH GERSTEIN, Staff Reporter of the Sun April 25, 2008

The campaign against climate change could be set back by the global food crisis, as foreign populations turn against measures to use foodstuffs as substitutes for fossil fuels.

With prices for rice, wheat, and corn soaring, food-related unrest has broken out in places such as Haiti, Indonesia, and Afghanistan. Several countries have blocked the export of grain. There is even talk that governments could fall if they cannot bring food costs down.

One factor being blamed for the price hikes is the use of government subsidies to promote the use of corn for ethanol production. An estimated 30% of America’s corn crop now goes to fuel, not food.

“I don’t think anybody knows precisely how much ethanol contributes to the run-up in food prices, but the contribution is clearly substantial,” a professor of applied economics and law at the University of Minnesota, C. Ford Runge, said. A study by a Washington think tank, the International Food Policy Research Institute, indicated that between a quarter and a third of the recent hike in commodities prices is attributable to biofuels.

Read further by clicking here

I have been saying it for a few years now...there is currently no true viable alternative to oil. There are so many issues with ethanol its insane to even consider it an option!

First off, it takes more energy and water to convent the corn into ethanol than is actually produced in the final product
Then there is the problem of mass transportation of...it can't be transported in trucks or pipes, increasing shipping costs
Due to the complicated process of production, ethanol actually increases prices at the pump
You can't go as far on a tank of ethanol as you can a tank of gas
The cost of corn has increased...and we are seeing less and less of corn fed beef, corn tortillas, corn oil, etc, etc.
At the same time, because so much corn is now being harvested for ethanol...we have fewer and fewer acres of forest
And the biggest outrage is that billions of tax dollars are being spent on ethanol subsides!

Isn't it about time we actually put a stop to some of the maddness and actually start thinking practically about the best solution?? We should be demaning drilling offshore and in ANWR, the building of more refineries and the deregulation of EPA standards (at least let's make ONE Federal standard, instead of taxing the overworked refineries further by allowing each state to demand their "own" grade of gasoline!)

2008-04-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

Christian group sues Google after search engine refuses to take its anti-abortion adverts

By SIMON CALDWELL -
Google: Its policty is not to take adverts from websites which mix abortion with religion
A Christian group is suing Google over the internet giant's refusal to take its anti-abortion adverts.
The Christian Institute, a "non-denominational Christian charity", wanted to pay Google so that whenever the word "abortion" was typed into the popular search engine, its link would appear on the side of the screen.
The link would have read: "UK abortion law - news and views on abortion from the Christian Institute. www.christian.org.uk."
But Google refused the advert because it said it had a policy of declining sites which mixed the issue of abortion with religious views.
Its Dublin-based advertising team replied: "At this time, Google policy does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain 'abortion and religion-related content'."
Google does, however, accept adverts for abortion clinics, secular pro-abortion sites and secularist sites which attack religion.
The Christian Institute has now started legal proceedings against Google on the grounds that it is infringing the Equality Act 2006 by discriminating against Christian groups.
It is seeking damages, costs and the permission to publish its advertisement.
Mike Judge, Christian Institute spokesman, said: "For many people, Google is the doorway to the internet.
"If there is to be a free exchange of ideas then Google cannot give special free speech rights to secular groups whilst censoring religious views.
"To say that religious sites with material on abortion are 'unacceptable content' (while) advertising pornography is ridiculous."
The group was supported by the Christian former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe, who said: "It does seem to me to be the most appalling and blatant case of religious discrimination and also to be a very silly attempt to stifle due debate."
The institute sought to promote its online articles on abortion ahead of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill arriving in the House of Commons next month.
The Bill will provide the first opportunities in 18 years for MPs to vote on the upper time limit for abortions: currently 24 weeks.

2008-04-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Brigitte Bardot on trial for Muslim slur

Tue Apr 15, 2008 12:41pm EDT
PARIS (Reuters) - French former film star Brigitte Bardot went on trial on Tuesday for insulting Muslims, the fifth time she has faced the charge of "inciting racial hatred" over her controversial remarks about Islam and its followers.

Prosecutors asked that the Paris court hand the 73-year-old former sex symbol a two-month suspended prison sentence and fine her 15,000 euros ($23,760) for saying the Muslim community was "destroying our country and imposing its acts".

Since retiring from the film industry in the 1970s, Bardot has become a prominent animal rights activist but she has also courted controversy by denouncing Muslim traditions and immigration from predominantly Muslim countries.

She has been fined four times for inciting racial hatred since 1997, at first 1,500 euros and most recently 5,000.

Prosecutor Anne de Fontette told the court she was seeking a tougher sentence than usual, adding: "I am a little tired of prosecuting Mrs Bardot."

Bardot did not attend the trial because she said she was physically unable to. The verdict is expected in several weeks.

French anti-racist groups complained last year about comments Bardot made about the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha in a letter to President Nicolas Sarkozy that was later published by her foundation.

Muslims traditionally mark Eid al-Adha by slaughtering a sheep or another animal to commemorate the prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son on God's orders.

France is home to 5 million Muslims, Europe's largest Muslim community, making up 8 percent of France's population.

"I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its acts," the star of 'And God created woman' and 'Contempt' said.

Bardot has previously said France is being invaded by sheep-slaughtering Muslims and published a book attacking gays, immigrants and the unemployed, in which she also lamented the "Islamisation of France".

(Reporting by Thierry Leveque; writing by Francois Murphy, editing by Mary Gabriel)

Once again, so much for free speech, huh? How sad about France. They gave this woman a two-month suspended prison sentence and fine her 15,000 euros ($23,760. A fuckin suspended prison sentance!!! FOR THIS!?!?!? If we continue on our present course, this WILL happen in the US sooner or later. Sooner, I think. If it does, lock and load baby.

2008-04-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

Happy 85th Birthday Mother Angelica!!

We thank you for the beautiful example you have set for all of us and for all that you have given to the world!! May you continue to be blessed with His grace, mercy and love!

We love you!!

2008-04-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Student Flag Project Draws Controversy in Maine

Thursday , April 17, 2008
A Maine college student has caused a firestorm after plastering the floor of a campus building with American flags to see if anyone would trample Old Glory.

Susan Crane, a student at the University of Maine, Farmington, placed hundreds of flags on the floor of the school's student center Tuesday for an art class assignment. She set down the flags in a maze-like pattern to document whether students and staff would step on them.

But instead of fostering dialogue, the experiment drew demonstrators, among them Vietnam War veteran Charles Bennett.

"As far as I was concerned, that was desecration of the American flag," Bennett told FOXNews.com. He went down to the student center to protest the display after a friend told him what was going on, he said.

Bennett was among a vocal group that protested the treatment of the Stars and Stripes.

Click here to see video taken during the project.

Crane did not return a request for an interview, but she told the Franklin County Daily Bulldog that she chose to use the flag so passers-by could reflect on their patriotism.

"It sparked conversation and thought about how we feel about our flag, which I think is very important," Crane told the paper. "It was a very hard thing for me to do, to put the flag on the floor."

She said she filmed students from the knees down to see if they would walk on the flags. More than 95 percent did not.

"The strong emotions caught me by surprise. The veterans said, 'A lot of people died for that flag,'" Crane told the paper. "I had a hard time with it. Most others asked, 'What's this about?'"

The university gave Crane permission to arrange the project, which she designed to fulfill a requirement for her class, the Cultural Relationship of Art and the Personal Politic.

Bennett said he was irritated that the school permitted the project at all. He planned a protest for Thursday afternoon.

"It's a patriotic feeling that I have," he said. "That's what I fought for — for our freedoms — so they could do things, but don't do it with the American flag."

The school expected the project would cause a stir.

"Certainly passions are always swirling around the flag," said Celeste Branham, vice president of student and community services at the university. "Particularly in a time when there's a lot of controversy about our involvement in Iraq, we expected that the passions would be heightened, and we were not at all surprised by the reaction."

Branham said it's the role of a university to spark debate as part of the learning process.

The project was supposed to stay up for 24 hours, but the flags were removed 10 hours into the experiment after a fire marshal asked Crane to move them to the side of the hallway, the Daily Bulldog said.

Branham said the school wouldn't hesitate to allow the project to go on again.

"We were supporting and would continue to support any student's First Amendment right to free expression under the law," she said.

So, in the name of, Free speech, this student bitch, is allowed to make a public display which insults a great many people. The little lefty troll lady that looks like a concentration camp victim, say's that "they are protecting free speech", by allowing this nonsense. But when someone, a war veteran, who disagrees with this "exhibit", dares to protest this protest, he is told that he will be escorted out! Wait a minute. I thought they were protecting free speech, yet they threaten to escort this vet off the grounds for actually practising his right of free speech?!?! Well, THAT, is the leftists in America today. Lying, hypocritical scumbags. To them, it is only protected free speech, as long as it sides with them! They are the enemies of all that is America, and it is high time that they are removed from this great nation.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

2008-04-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

Homily for the Mass in Yankee Stadium

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus tells his Apostles to put their faith in him, for he is "the way, and the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6). Christ is the way that leads to the Father, the truth which gives meaning to human existence, and the source of that life which is eternal joy with all the saints in his heavenly Kingdom. Let us take the Lord at his word! Let us renew our faith in him and put all our hope in his promises!

With this encouragement to persevere in the faith of Peter (cf. Lk 22:32; Mt 16:17), I greet all of you with great affection. I thank Cardinal Egan for his cordial words of welcome in your name. At this Mass, the Church in the United States celebrates the two hundredth anniversary of the creation of the Sees of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville from the mother See of Baltimore. The presence around this altar of the Successor of Peter, his brother bishops and priests, and deacons, men and women religious, and lay faithful from throughout the fifty states of the Union, eloquently manifests our communion in the Catholic faith which comes to us from the Apostles.

Our celebration today is also a sign of the impressive growth which God has given to the Church in your country in the past two hundred years. From a small flock like that described in the first reading, the Church in America has been built up in fidelity to the twin commandment of love of God and love of neighbor. In this land of freedom and opportunity, the Church has united a widely diverse flock in the profession of the faith and, through her many educational, charitable and social works, has also contributed significantly to the growth of American society as a whole.

This great accomplishment was not without its challenges. Today's first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, speaks of linguistic and cultural tensions already present within the earliest Church community. At the same time, it shows the power of the word of God, authoritatively proclaimed by the Apostles and received in faith, to create a unity which transcends the divisions arising from human limitations and weakness. Here we are reminded of a fundamental truth: that the Church's unity has no other basis than the Word of God, made flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord. All external signs of identity, all structures, associations and programs, valuable or even essential as they may be, ultimately exist only to support and foster the deeper unity which, in Christ, is God's indefectible gift to his Church.

The first reading also makes clear, as we see from the imposition of hands on the first deacons, that the Church's unity is "apostolic". It is a visible unity, grounded in the Apostles whom Christ chose and appointed as witnesses to his resurrection, and it is born of what the Scriptures call "the obedience of faith" (Rom 1:5; cf. Acts 6:7).

"Authority" … "obedience". To be frank, these are not easy words to speak nowadays. Words like these represent a "stumbling stone" for many of our contemporaries, especially in a society which rightly places a high value on personal freedom. Yet, in the light of our faith in Jesus Christ - "the way and the truth and the life" - we come to see the fullest meaning, value, and indeed beauty, of those words. The Gospel teaches us that true freedom, the freedom of the children of God, is found only in the self-surrender which is part of the mystery of love. Only by losing ourselves, the Lord tells us, do we truly find ourselves (cf. Lk 17:33). True freedom blossoms when we turn away from the burden of sin, which clouds our perceptions and weakens our resolve, and find the source of our ultimate happiness in him who is infinite love, infinite freedom, infinite life. "In his will is our peace".

Real freedom, then, is God's gracious gift, the fruit of conversion to his truth, the truth which makes us free (cf. Jn 8:32). And this freedom in truth brings in its wake a new and liberating way of seeing reality. When we put on "the mind of Christ" (cf. Phil 2:5), new horizons open before us! In the light of faith, within the communion of the Church, we also find the inspiration and strength to become a leaven of the Gospel in the world. We become the light of the world, the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-14), entrusted with the "apostolate" of making our own lives, and the world in which we live, conform ever more fully to God's saving plan.

This magnificent vision of a world being transformed by the liberating truth of the Gospel is reflected in the description of the Church found in today's second reading. The Apostle tells us that Christ, risen from the dead, is the keystone of a great temple which is even now rising in the Spirit. And we, the members of his body, through Baptism have become "living stones" in that temple, sharing in the life of God by grace, blessed with the freedom of the sons of God, and empowered to offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing to him (cf. 1 Pet 2:5). And what is this offering which we are called to make, if not to direct our every thought, word and action to the truth of the Gospel and to harness all our energies in the service of God's Kingdom? Only in this way can we build with God, on the one foundation which is Christ (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). Only in this way can we build something that will truly endure. Only in this way can our lives find ultimate meaning and bear lasting fruit.

Today we recall the bicentennial of a watershed in the history of the Church in the United States: its first great chapter of growth. In these two hundred years, the face of the Catholic community in your country has changed greatly. We think of the successive waves of immigrants whose traditions have so enriched the Church in America. We think of the strong faith which built up the network of churches, educational, healthcare and social institutions which have long been the hallmark of the Church in this land. We think also of those countless fathers and mothers who passed on the faith to their children, the steady ministry of the many priests who devoted their lives to the care of souls, and the incalculable contribution made by so many men and women religious, who not only taught generations of children how to read and write, but also inspired in them a lifelong desire to know God, to love him and to serve him. How many "spiritual sacrifices pleasing to God" have been offered up in these two centuries! In this land of religious liberty, Catholics found freedom not only to practice their faith, but also to participate fully in civic life, bringing their deepest moral convictions to the public square and cooperating with their neighbors in shaping a vibrant, democratic society. Today's celebration is more than an occasion of gratitude for graces received. It is also a summons to move forward with firm resolve to use wisely the blessings of freedom, in order to build a future of hope for coming generations.

"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people he claims for his own, to proclaim his glorious works" (1 Pet 2:9). These words of the Apostle Peter do not simply remind us of the dignity which is ours by God's grace; they also challenge us to an ever greater fidelity to the glorious inheritance which we have received in Christ (cf. Eph 1:18). They challenge us to examine our consciences, to purify our hearts, to renew our baptismal commitment to reject Satan and all his empty promises. They challenge us to be a people of joy, heralds of the unfailing hope (cf. Rom 5:5) born of faith in God's word, and trust in his promises.

Each day, throughout this land, you and so many of your neighbors pray to the Father in the Lord's own words: "Thy Kingdom come". This prayer needs to shape the mind and heart of every Christian in this nation. It needs to bear fruit in the way you lead your lives and in the way you build up your families and your communities. It needs to create new "settings of hope" (cf. Spe Salvi, 32ff.) where God's Kingdom becomes present in all its saving power.

Praying fervently for the coming of the Kingdom also means being constantly alert for the signs of its presence, and working for its growth in every sector of society. It means facing the challenges of present and future with confidence in Christ's victory and a commitment to extending his reign. It means not losing heart in the face of resistance, adversity and scandal. It means overcoming every separation between faith and life, and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness. It also means rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and political life, since, as the Second Vatican Council put it, "there is no human activity - even in secular affairs - which can be withdrawn from God's dominion" (Lumen Gentium, 36). It means working to enrich American society and culture with the beauty and truth of the Gospel, and never losing sight of that great hope which gives meaning and value to all the other hopes which inspire our lives.

And this, dear friends, is the particular challenge which the Successor of Saint Peter sets before you today. As "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation", follow faithfully in the footsteps of those who have gone before you! Hasten the coming of God's Kingdom in this land! Past generations have left you an impressive legacy. In our day too, the Catholic community in this nation has been outstanding in its prophetic witness in the defense of life, in the education of the young, in care for the poor, the sick and the stranger in your midst. On these solid foundations, the future of the Church in America must even now begin to rise!

Yesterday, not far from here, I was moved by the joy, the hope and the generous love of Christ which I saw on the faces of the many young people assembled in Dunwoodie. They are the Church's future, and they deserve all the prayer and support that you can give them. And so I wish to close by adding a special word of encouragement to them. My dear young friends, like the seven men, "filled with the Spirit and wisdom" whom the Apostles charged with care for the young Church, may you step forward and take up the responsibility which your faith in Christ sets before you! May you find the courage to proclaim Christ, "the same, yesterday, and today and for ever" and the unchanging truths which have their foundation in him (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 10; Heb 13:8). These are the truths that set us free! They are the truths which alone can guarantee respect for the inalienable dignity and rights of each man, woman and child in our world - including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn child in the mother's womb. In a world where, as Pope John Paul II, speaking in this very place, reminded us, Lazarus continues to stand at our door (Homily at Yankee Stadium, October 2, 1979, No. 7), let your faith and love bear rich fruit in outreach to the poor, the needy and those without a voice. Young men and women of America, I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord's call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious life. Can there be any greater mark of love than this: to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was willing to lay down his life for his friends (cf. Jn 15:13)?

In today's Gospel, the Lord promises his disciples that they will perform works even greater than his (cf. Jn 14:12). Dear friends, only God in his providence knows what works his grace has yet to bring forth in your lives and in the life of the Church in the United States. Yet Christ's promise fills us with sure hope. Let us now join our prayers to his, as living stones in that spiritual temple which is his one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Let us lift our eyes to him, for even now he is preparing for us a place in his Father's house. And empowered by his Holy Spirit, let us work with renewed zeal for the spread of his Kingdom.

"Happy are you who believe!" (cf. 1 Pet 2:7). Let us turn to Jesus! He alone is the way that leads to eternal happiness, the truth who satisfies the deepest longings of every heart, and the life who brings ever new joy and hope, to us and to our world. Amen.

2008-04-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

EXPELLED!!! IT'S AWESOME!!

I just came in from seeing Ben Stein's Expelled...it was better than I could have imagined! I am so thankful to Mr. Stein for making this film, I am going to shoot off an email immediately to show my appreciation!

This film covered everything...at first I thought, hmm...not sure, it seems to be moving a little slow. But man, about 20 minutes into it and I was hooked. It took all my strength not to shout out a whopping YES!!! During the middle of it! He exposed the hypocrisy of those on the left, in the media, in academia and within our own courts!

He demonstrated how, sadly, most of Europe has more academic freedom today than we do here in the US!

I don't want to get into too many details...I just want to say, if you are a solid Conservative who is SICK of the media manipulation, the gross bias within academia and the attack on Judeo/Christian beliefs and values...YOU WILL LOVE THIS MOVIE!

So go check it out...and then come back and let me know if I was right!!

2008-04-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI Emphasis the Duty of All States to Encourage and Allow Complete and True Religious Freedom

Since I have already seen the MSM take his words out of context and imply their own liberal meanings - (i.e., Pope makes veiled attack on US over Iraq) I have decided to post the entire text of his address, highlighting what I feel are the most direct slams on the UN and their failings! As you will read...the Pope never once mentions the war in Iraq, nor does he specifically mention the US - headlines like the one above are complete and absoluteLIES! And in fact, one could interpret his words to mean that, with the human attrocities that were taking place in Iraq prior to the war, the UN and the world was obligated to take action! But...read for yourself his words and come to your own conclusion...at the very least, he makes it very clear that we must help others in need!

Address to the United Nations General Assembly
Speaking first in French and then in English, the Holy Father delivered the following address to the General Assembly of the United Nations, 18 April 2008.

[In French]Mr President,Ladies and Gentlemen,
As I begin my address to this Assembly, I would like first of all to express to you, Mr President, my sincere gratitude for your kind words. My thanks go also to the Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, for inviting me to visit the headquarters of this Organization and for the welcome that he has extended to me. I greet the Ambassadors and Diplomats from the Member States, and all those present. Through you, I greet the peoples who are represented here. They look to this institution to carry forward the founding inspiration to establish a "centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends" of peace and development (cf. Charter of the United Nations, article 1.2-1.4). As Pope John Paul II expressed it in 1995, the Organization should be "a moral centre where all the nations of the world feel at home and develop a shared awareness of being, as it were, a 'family of nations'" (Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on the 50th Anniversary of its Foundation, New York, 5 October 1995, 14).

Through the United Nations, States have established universal objectives which, even if they do not coincide with the total common good of the human family, undoubtedly represent a fundamental part of that good. The founding principles of the Organization - the desire for peace, the quest for justice, respect for the dignity of the person, humanitarian cooperation and assistance - express the just aspirations of the human spirit, and constitute the ideals which should underpin international relations. As my predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II have observed from this very podium, all this is something that the Catholic Church and the Holy See follow attentively and with interest, seeing in your activity an example of how issues and conflicts concerning the world community can be subject to common regulation. The United Nations embodies the aspiration for a "greater degree of international ordering" (John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 43), inspired and governed by the principle of subsidiarity, and therefore capable of responding to the demands of the human family through binding international rules and through structures capable of harmonizing the day-to-day unfolding of the lives of peoples. This is all the more necessary at a time when we experience the obvious paradox of a multilateral consensus that continues to be in crisis because it is still subordinated to the decisions of a few, whereas the world's problems call for interventions in the form of collective action by the international community.

Indeed, questions of security, development goals, reduction of local and global inequalities, protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate, require all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to work in good faith, respecting the law, and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the planet. I am thinking especially of those countries in Africa and other parts of the world which remain on the margins of authentic integral development, and are therefore at risk of experiencing only the negative effects of globalization.

In the context of international relations, it is necessary to recognize the higher role played by rules and structures that are intrinsically ordered to promote the common good, and therefore to safeguard human freedom. These regulations do not limit freedom. On the contrary, they promote it when they prohibit behaviour and actions which work against the common good, curb its effective exercise and hence compromise the dignity of every human person. In the name of freedom, there has to be a correlation between rights and duties, by which every person is called to assume responsibility for his or her choices, made as a consequence of entering into relations with others. Here our thoughts turn also to the way the results of scientific research and technological advances have sometimes been applied.

Notwithstanding the enormous benefits that humanity can gain, some instances of this represent a clear violation of the order of creation, to the point where not only is the sacred character of life contradicted, but the human person and the family are robbed of their natural identity. Likewise, international action to preserve the environment and to protect various forms of life on earth must not only guarantee a rational use of technology and science, but must also rediscover the authentic image of creation. This never requires a choice to be made between science and ethics: rather it is a question of adopting a scientific method that is truly respectful of ethical imperatives.

Recognition of the unity of the human family, and attention to the innate dignity of every man and woman, today find renewed emphasis in the principle of the responsibility to protect. This has only recently been defined, but it was already present implicitly at the origins of the United Nations, and is now increasingly characteristic of its activity. Every State has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights, as well as from the consequences of humanitarian crises, whether natural or man-made. If States are unable to guarantee such protection, the international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the United Nations Charter and in other international instruments. The action of the international community and its institutions, provided that it respects the principles undergirding the international order, should never be interpreted as an unwarranted imposition or a limitation of sovereignty. On the contrary, it is indifference or failure to intervene that do the real damage. What is needed is a deeper search for ways of pre-empting and managing conflicts by exploring every possible diplomatic avenue, and giving attention and encouragement to even the faintest sign of dialogue or desire for reconciliation.

The principle of "responsibility to protect" was considered by the ancient ius gentium as the foundation of every action taken by those in government with regard to the governed: at the time when the concept of national sovereign States was first developing, the Dominican Friar Francisco de Vitoria, rightly considered as a precursor of the idea of the United Nations, described this responsibility as an aspect of natural reason shared by all nations, and the result of an international order whose task it was to regulate relations between peoples. Now, as then, this principle has to invoke the idea of the person as image of the Creator, the desire for the absolute and the essence of freedom. The founding of the United Nations, as we know, coincided with the profound upheavals that humanity experienced when reference to the meaning of transcendence and natural reason was abandoned, and in consequence, freedom and human dignity were grossly violated. When this happens, it threatens the objective foundations of the values inspiring and governing the international order and it undermines the cogent and inviolable principles formulated and consolidated by the United Nations. When faced with new and insistent challenges, it is a mistake to fall back on a pragmatic approach, limited to determining "common ground", minimal in content and weak in its effect.

This reference to human dignity, which is the foundation and goal of the responsibility to protect, leads us to the theme we are specifically focusing upon this year, which marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document was the outcome of a convergence of different religious and cultural traditions, all of them motivated by the common desire to place the human person at the heart of institutions, laws and the workings of society, and to consider the human person essential for the world of culture, religion and science. Human rights are increasingly being presented as the common language and the ethical substratum of international relations. At the same time, the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights all serve as guarantees safeguarding human dignity. It is evident, though, that the rights recognized and expounded in the Declaration apply to everyone by virtue of the common origin of the person, who remains the high-point of God's creative design for the world and for history. They are based on the natural law inscribed on human hearts and present in different cultures and civilizations. Removing human rights from this context would mean restricting their range and yielding to a relativistic conception, according to which the meaning and interpretation of rights could vary and their universality would be denied in the name of different cultural, political, social and even religious outlooks. This great variety of viewpoints must not be allowed to obscure the fact that not only rights are universal, but so too is the human person, the subject of those rights.

[Continuing in English]

The life of the community, both domestically and internationally, clearly demonstrates that respect for rights, and the guarantees that follow from them, are measures of the common good that serve to evaluate the relationship between justice and injustice, development and poverty, security and conflict. The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security. Indeed, the victims of hardship and despair, whose human dignity is violated with impunity, become easy prey to the call to violence, and they can then become violators of peace. The common good that human rights help to accomplish cannot, however, be attained merely by applying correct procedures, nor even less by achieving a balance between competing rights. The merit of the Universal Declaration is that it has enabled different cultures, juridical expressions and institutional models to converge around a fundamental nucleus of values, and hence of rights. Today, though, efforts need to be redoubled in the face of pressure to reinterpret the foundations of the Declaration and to compromise its inner unity so as to facilitate a move away from the protection of human dignity towards the satisfaction of simple interests, often particular interests. The Declaration was adopted as a "common standard of achievement" (Preamble) and cannot be applied piecemeal, according to trends or selective choices that merely run the risk of contradicting the unity of the human person and thus the indivisibility of human rights.

Experience shows that legality often prevails over justice when the insistence upon rights makes them appear as the exclusive result of legislative enactments or normative decisions taken by the various agencies of those in power. When presented purely in terms of legality, rights risk becoming weak propositions divorced from the ethical and rational dimension which is their foundation and their goal. The Universal Declaration, rather, has reinforced the conviction that respect for human rights is principally rooted in unchanging justice, on which the binding force of international proclamations is also based. This aspect is often overlooked when the attempt is made to deprive rights of their true function in the name of a narrowly utilitarian perspective.

Since rights and the resulting duties follow naturally from human interaction, it is easy to forget that they are the fruit of a commonly held sense of justice built primarily upon solidarity among the members of society, and hence valid at all times and for all peoples. This intuition was expressed as early as the fifth century by Augustine of Hippo, one of the masters of our intellectual heritage. He taught that the saying: Do not do to others what you would not want done to you "cannot in any way vary according to the different understandings that have arisen in the world" (De Doctrina Christiana, III, 14). Human rights, then, must be respected as an expression of justice, and not merely because they are enforceable through the will of the legislators.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
As history proceeds, new situations arise, and the attempt is made to link them to new rights. Discernment, that is, the capacity to distinguish good from evil, becomes even more essential in the context of demands that concern the very lives and conduct of persons, communities and peoples. In tackling the theme of rights, since important situations and profound realities are involved, discernment is both an indispensable and a fruitful virtue.

Discernment, then, shows that entrusting exclusively to individual States, with their laws and institutions, the final responsibility to meet the aspirations of persons, communities and entire peoples, can sometimes have consequences that exclude the possibility of a social order respectful of the dignity and rights of the person. On the other hand, a vision of life firmly anchored in the religious dimension can help to achieve this, since recognition of the transcendent value of every man and woman favours conversion of heart, which then leads to a commitment to resist violence, terrorism and war, and to promote justice and peace. This also provides the proper context for the inter-religious dialogue that the United Nations is called to support, just as it supports dialogue in other areas of human activity.

Dialogue should be recognized as the means by which the various components of society can articulate their point of view and build consensus around the truth concerning particular values or goals. It pertains to the nature of religions, freely practised, that they can autonomously conduct a dialogue of thought and life. If at this level, too, the religious sphere is kept separate from political action, then great benefits ensue for individuals and communities. On the other hand, the United Nations can count on the results of dialogue between religions, and can draw fruit from the willingness of believers to place their experiences at the service of the common good. Their task is to propose a vision of faith not in terms of intolerance, discrimination and conflict, but in terms of complete respect for truth, coexistence, rights, and reconciliation.

Human rights, of course, must include the right to religious freedom, understood as the expression of a dimension that is at once individual and communitarian - a vision that brings out the unity of the person while clearly distinguishing between the dimension of the citizen and that of the believer. The activity of the United Nations in recent years has ensured that public debate gives space to viewpoints inspired by a religious vision in all its dimensions, including ritual, worship, education, dissemination of information and the freedom to profess and choose religion. It is inconceivable, then, that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves - their faith - in order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one's rights. The rights associated with religion are all the more in need of protection if they are considered to clash with a prevailing secular ideology or with majority religious positions of an exclusive nature. The full guarantee of religious liberty cannot be limited to the free exercise of worship, but has to give due consideration to the public dimension of religion, and hence to the possibility of believers playing their part in building the social order. Indeed, they actually do so, for example through their influential and generous involvement in a vast network of initiatives which extend from Universities, scientific institutions and schools to health care agencies and charitable organizations in the service of the poorest and most marginalized. Refusal to recognize the contribution to society that is rooted in the religious dimension and in the quest for the Absolute - by its nature, expressing communion between persons - would effectively privilege an individualistic approach, and would fragment the unity of the person.

My presence at this Assembly is a sign of esteem for the United Nations, and it is intended to express the hope that the Organization will increasingly serve as a sign of unity between States and an instrument of service to the entire human family. It also demonstrates the willingness of the Catholic Church to offer her proper contribution to building international relations in a way that allows every person and every people to feel they can make a difference. In a manner that is consistent with her contribution in the ethical and moral sphere and the free activity of her faithful, the Church also works for the realization of these goals through the international activity of the Holy See. Indeed, the Holy See has always had a place at the assemblies of the Nations, thereby manifesting its specific character as a subject in the international domain. As the United Nations recently confirmed, the Holy See thereby makes its contribution according to the dispositions of international law, helps to define that law, and makes appeal to it.

The United Nations remains a privileged setting in which the Church is committed to contributing her experience "of humanity", developed over the centuries among peoples of every race and culture, and placing it at the disposal of all members of the international community.

This experience and activity, directed towards attaining freedom for every believer, seeks also to increase the protection given to the rights of the person. Those rights are grounded and shaped by the transcendent nature of the person, which permits men and women to pursue their journey of faith and their search for God in this world. Recognition of this dimension must be strengthened if we are to sustain humanity's hope for a better world and if we are to create the conditions for peace, development, cooperation, and guarantee of rights for future generations.

In my recent Encyclical, Spe Salvi, I indicated that "every generation has the task of engaging anew in the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs" (no. 25). For Christians, this task is motivated by the hope drawn from the saving work of Jesus Christ. That is why the Church is happy to be associated with the activity of this distinguished Organization, charged with the responsibility of promoting peace and good will throughout the earth. Dear Friends, I thank you for this opportunity to address you today, and I promise you of the support of my prayers as you pursue your noble task.

Before I take my leave from this distinguished Assembly, I should like to offer my greetings, in the official languages, to all the Nations here represented.

[in English; in French; in Spanish; in Arab; in Chinese; in Russian:] Peace and Prosperity with God's help!