Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Regrets, he has a few
CNN is reporting that the Portland police are reopening the sexual assaault investigation on Al Gore. The power of the internet! (and The National Enquirer) Come to think of it, I'll bet Al is regretting the fact that he ever invented the internet in the first place.
Obama and Kagan: supporters of partial birth abortion
Have any of the senators asked Elena Kagan about her support for partial birth abortion (which Obama also supported as an Illinois state senator}? Joan of Arrgh raises the issue in no uncertain terms.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
One of a President's most lasting legacies: appointments to the Supreme Court
Mr. McDonald wins! Only in America could the persistence of one citizen come to fruition as in this Chicago case. In a 5-4 decision (which, as Elena Kagan says in refusing to say where she stands, could come back before the Supreme Court again), the Supreme Court held that the second amendment (an individual's right to defend himself) does apply in Chicago, in Illinois, and in every city and state in the U.S.
Hat tip The End Zone
Hat tip The End Zone
Is Obama weakening our national defense?
Yesterday the New York Times reported that the Obama administration is proposing a new space policy that would focus on international cooperation, rather than the Bush policy of national security. The Michael Ramirez cartoon below seems right on. The anti-missile interceptor was launched this morning. The Army is seven for seven in hitting their target.
Where is that candidate?
I wonder if rank and file members of labor unions are aware of the fact that their union leaders are pushing for amnesty for illegals. Do they not realize that illegals are competing with them for the same jobs? I'll bet they do realize it, and if the right candidate came along (is Ronald Reagan available?), they would vote for that candidate, in spite of what their union leaders tell them to do.
Who will provide the intellectual leadership we need?
Iowahawk, writing as T. Coddington Van Voorhies VII, "intellectual conservative at large," is beginning to "believe this Obama fellow is unequal to the task." Further, he asks whom we should look to for leadership, "the blind pig (tea partiers) who occasionally stumbles on a truffle," or elite columnists like himself, the gifted (if fashionably late) Cordon Bleu-trained chef who knows how to whip it into an intoxicating soup."
Nothing crazy here!
Al Gore allegedly brought the hand of the masseuse down to his pubic area, touching his penis, and asked the masseuse to release his second chakra. I was unfamiliar with the concept of chakra, let alone the second one. Perhaps you are, too. I checked with Wikipedia, and found that no autopsies have ever revealed the existence of a chakra. Nevertheless, some people who believe in man-made global warming are convinced it is there.
The second chakra (believers say there are seven altogether) is said to be located in the coccyx, the last bone in the spinal column, and is called the Sacral Chakra, or the Swadhisthana.
The second chakra (believers say there are seven altogether) is said to be located in the coccyx, the last bone in the spinal column, and is called the Sacral Chakra, or the Swadhisthana.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
An inspirational leader
CBS News reports that "Vice President Joe Biden gave a stark assessment of the economy today, telling an audience of supporters, "there's no possibility to restore 8 million jobs lost in the Great Recession." Now there is a motivator, folks. Nothing like some inspirational remarks from our Vice President to kick start our day.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Kagan "Not Kosher"
Monday will be the beginning of the Senate judiciary hearings on Obama nominee for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan. 850 members of the Rabbinical Alliance of America have announced that even though Kagan is Jewish, they take no pride in her nomination, and, in fact, believe that she will hasten society's already steep decline into Sodom and Gomorrah.”
An "unpredictable predator"
I have just listened to the audio of Al Gore's accuser. Every voter in America should listen to it in full. She was "shocked at his craziness," calling him an "unpredictable predator" who "tried every angle." She was "sickened," and "in very deep shock." She "wants this man stopped," because she intuitively knows "I'm not the first" person he has done this to. She wants "justice," and she hopes that by her courage in coming forward, that "the others will become brave enough to come forward." I hope she has many more opportunities to tell what happened, and I thank the Portland police for releasing the audio tape, even though I wish they would have had the courage to charge this monster with the crime of sexual assault.
Friday, June 25, 2010
"Reproductive justice"
It is not news that liberals favor "reproductive justice," a concept whereby children are told by educators that their body is their own, and no one has the right to tell them what they can or cannot do with their bodies. In my last job as a social services director I worked in a county where condoms were distributed in the school, and parents were not told about it when the nurse handed them out. I objected and expressed my opinion that children should be told not to have sex with anyone until they are ready to make a lifetime commitment to that person. I was told that "kids are going to do it anyway, and they should have protection" and I was looked upon as a neanderthal. This school district in Massachusetts would be in agreement with those who thought I was a neanderthal.
No place for the border patrol? How about the police? Well, maybe...
Hot Air brings us "community activist" Elena Herrada who speaks out at a forumn that included Obama buddies Bill Ayres and Bernadette Dohrn. href="">
Don't ask, and I won't tell you about Elena Kagan's apparent inconsistency when it comes to protecting gay rights
Is the effort to get rid of "Don't ask, don't tell" really the "Bring back the draft act"? Frank Gaffney explores issues of "the impact of repeal [of the law] on morale, discipline, unit cohesion and overall military readiness" here.
In another related article here at Town Hall, Gaffney writes that Senate Judiciary member Jeff Sessions plans to ask Obama's Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan about her failure to oppose efforts to bring Shariah law to America. How is that related to "Don't ask, don't tell"? On the one hand Kagan appears to have been a supporter of "gay rights" when she led the effort to keep military recruiters off the Harvard campus, but she did not lift a finger to oppose Harvard's acceptance of $20,000,000 from the Saudi royal family to establish a center for the study of Islam and Shariah law. Shariah law, of course, advocates the death or flogging of homosexuals.
In another related article here at Town Hall, Gaffney writes that Senate Judiciary member Jeff Sessions plans to ask Obama's Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan about her failure to oppose efforts to bring Shariah law to America. How is that related to "Don't ask, don't tell"? On the one hand Kagan appears to have been a supporter of "gay rights" when she led the effort to keep military recruiters off the Harvard campus, but she did not lift a finger to oppose Harvard's acceptance of $20,000,000 from the Saudi royal family to establish a center for the study of Islam and Shariah law. Shariah law, of course, advocates the death or flogging of homosexuals.
Iran, Brazil, Venezuela, and Turkey
I have written about anti-American George Soros investing 900 million dollars in Brazil's state-owned oil company, and Soros being backed by a loan offer from no less that Barack Obama. But what about these two characters? What do they have in common, other than unshaven faces? Is Brazil becoming a dwindling friend, or an actual enemy of the United States? And what about Turkey, a nation once thought to be our friend? Nicle Ferrand explores these issues and more here.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Arnold Fisher is a New Yorker who has raised money to enable the opening of a Defense Department research facility in Bethesda, Maryland to "remove the profound veil" surrounding traumatic brain injuries and other afflictions suffered by many who served In the Iraqi war. Nobody from Congress or the White House attended the opening ceremonies yesterday. Fisher asked, "Where are they?"
I know a gentleman here in Colorado who suffers from traumatic brain injury as a result of his military service. He was incorrectly diagnosed as bi-polar, and is fighting in federal court to correct the misdiagnosis. Please wish him well. He is representing himself.
I know a gentleman here in Colorado who suffers from traumatic brain injury as a result of his military service. He was incorrectly diagnosed as bi-polar, and is fighting in federal court to correct the misdiagnosis. Please wish him well. He is representing himself.
Why is it the forgotten war?
This is one of the most famous pictures on the internet. Kim Jong-il has his lights on, but the rest of the country is without electricity. Sixty years ago today 90,000 North Korean troops, backed by Soviet communist tanks, invaded South Korea. It is called America's Forgotten War. Why have we forgotten? America had no reason to fight there, except Harry Truman was determined to prevent the enslavement of the people in South Korea. He remembered Mussolini and Hitler. It is a great shame that we have forgotten the many thousands of Americans who fought to protect the freedom of the people of South Korea.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Longest match in Wimbleton history
The longest tennis match in Wimbleton history ended today with a victory by American John Isner defeating a Frenchman by the score of 70 to 68!
Once in a while we do sports here
Jason Giambi's href="">walk off home run lifts the Rockies over the Red Sox last night.
Let's not let this die!
The GOP failed in a 15 to 12 vote in the judiciary committee to require the White House to release documents regarding White House attempts to persuade Romanoff and Sestac not to challenge incumbents favored by the White House. Under the Hatch Act, federal employees are not allowed to engage in political activity while on the job, defined as activity directed at the election or defeat of a candidate. Michael Riley has the story in today's Denver Post.
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The man with no last name
Did you know that Rory Reid, son of Harry Reid, is running for Governor of Nevada? One problem, though, he is apparently sheepish about using his last name. href="">in t.v. ads!
"Unwanted sexual contact"
Here is the police report on Al Gore's alleged "unwanted sexual contact" with a masseuse at an "upscale" Portland hotel
"The world owes me a livin"
Please stay tuned until the end of this you tube posting, since there is a surprise ending.
Government regulators knew about cracks in the well!
According to Bloomberg News, BP filed a report with the Interior Department in February, two months before the fatal explosion, that there were cracks in the well! "Cracks in the surrounding rock continued to complicate the drilling operation during the ensuing weeks. Left unsealed, they can allow explosive natural gas to rush up the shaft."
What changed?
Rush Limbaugh wants the "drive-by media" to post this headline: Obama turns to Bush's general. It's true, folks, Petraeus was the general Bush appointed to run the Iraq war. Rush also reminds us that the New York Times gave MoveOn.org half-price on their General Betrayus ad. Rush further reminds us of Hillary Clinton's statement to General Petraeus that his testimony requires the "willing suspension of disbelief." href="">
An "out of control sex-crazed poodle"
People magaizine reports that "An Oregon masseuse filed a complaint last year accusing Al Gore of sexual abuse following a nearly three-hour massage session at an upscale Portland hotel in 2006, reports the Portland Oregonian." "The alleged incident took place at the Hotel Lucia Oct. 24, after the masseuse, 54, was called by the hotel to administer a late night massage to a "VIP" client, who was later identified as Gore, 62, the former U.S. Vice President, senator from Tennessee and Nobel Prize-winning advocate for the environment."
The unidentified woman, who has been a masseuse for 12 years, filed the accusations Jan. 8, 2009, alleging Gore, who checked into the hotel as Mr. Stone and was 30 minutes late for his 10:30 p.m. in-room appointment, sexually assaulted her in his hotel room by forcing repeated, unwanted sexual touches.
"He pleaded, groped me, grabbed me, engulfed me in embrace, tongue kissed me, massaged me, grabbed my breasts," the woman says in her detailed complaint to Portland police officers and posted by the Fox 12 Oregon TV station.
At one point, she says Gore pinned her down, resulting in an injury to her left leg and knee, and which required medical care for several months.
Gore, she says, was so persistent that she called him a "sex-crazed poodle" for being "out of control." The writer of this blog post has owned several poodles, and is offended by this characterization of the breed. I have never had a poodle who acted this way.
"The woman, who says she notified two friends following Gore's alleged groping, also saved the black pants she wore after discovering stains following the session. Since the alleged incident, the masseuse says she has been traumatized, has trouble sleeping at night, and that her work has been "more stressful and frightening since the incident." She is also seeing a specialized counselor."
Oh, and one more thing: if this was reported by the masseuse one and one-half years ago to the Portland police, why has it just now been reported by the media? Do reporters not routinely review police reports?
The unidentified woman, who has been a masseuse for 12 years, filed the accusations Jan. 8, 2009, alleging Gore, who checked into the hotel as Mr. Stone and was 30 minutes late for his 10:30 p.m. in-room appointment, sexually assaulted her in his hotel room by forcing repeated, unwanted sexual touches.
"He pleaded, groped me, grabbed me, engulfed me in embrace, tongue kissed me, massaged me, grabbed my breasts," the woman says in her detailed complaint to Portland police officers and posted by the Fox 12 Oregon TV station.
At one point, she says Gore pinned her down, resulting in an injury to her left leg and knee, and which required medical care for several months.
Gore, she says, was so persistent that she called him a "sex-crazed poodle" for being "out of control." The writer of this blog post has owned several poodles, and is offended by this characterization of the breed. I have never had a poodle who acted this way.
"The woman, who says she notified two friends following Gore's alleged groping, also saved the black pants she wore after discovering stains following the session. Since the alleged incident, the masseuse says she has been traumatized, has trouble sleeping at night, and that her work has been "more stressful and frightening since the incident." She is also seeing a specialized counselor."
Oh, and one more thing: if this was reported by the masseuse one and one-half years ago to the Portland police, why has it just now been reported by the media? Do reporters not routinely review police reports?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Can we vote for him even if we don't live in Alabama?
My co-blogger at Kingdom Triangle Network News, Cliff Stewart, posted this ad today. Since two of my favorite bloggers are from Alabama, I couldn't resist posting it here, too.
No longer "General Betrayus?"
Obama has appointed General Petraeus to succeed General McCrystal as head of the Afghanistan war. Remember when the George Soros funded group MoveOn.org purchased a full page ad in the New York Times calling Petraeus "General Betrayus"? Remember when Hillary Clinton accused General Petraeus of being a liar? That was when General Petraeus was explaining to Congress the need for a surge (which policy was funded and succeeded in Iraq). Now, however, Obama says Petraeus has his "full confidence." What changed? When did that happen? Obama was a huge critic of Petraeus during the hearings on the proposed surge. Now Petraeus has his full confidence? I'm confused.
You mean there is a branch of government called the judicial?
Yes, there is one more branch of government, and it is not yet wholly controlled by the Obama regime. Yesterday a federal judge in New Orleans struck down the Obama administration's ban on deep-water drilling and rebuked the government for imposing a moratorium that would cause "irreparable harm to businesses" along the Gulf Coast.
Our founders were true geniuses.
Our founders were true geniuses.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Arizona is a long way from Chicago
Senator John Kyl meets with constituents, and tells them about his meeting with President Obama in the oval office. Don't you love the internet?
In the end, it shall be we the people who are in charge.
So General McChrystal gives an interview to Rolling Stone magazine. According to the usually unreliable New York Times, the General was
Although I agree with the general, I do think he should be fired, if it is true that he spoke contemptuously of the White House. The president is the Commander in Chief. The military is below, not above the Commander in Chief. If you cannot agree with the Commander in Chief, resign, and speak your mind as a free American citizen. We will listen!
"openly contemptuous of some senior members of the Obama administration.”in the interview. Did the General know what he was doing? If so, who was he hoping would hear his words? The troops? The voting citizens of America? Will the White House fire him?
Although I agree with the general, I do think he should be fired, if it is true that he spoke contemptuously of the White House. The president is the Commander in Chief. The military is below, not above the Commander in Chief. If you cannot agree with the Commander in Chief, resign, and speak your mind as a free American citizen. We will listen!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Relax, George, Obama is doing all he can to help you!
Obama has imposed a six month moratorium on all oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, the Brazilian oil company which the Democrats' sugar daddy George Soros has invested nearly 900 million dollars in, faces no such moratorium. It's full steam ahead for Brazilian oil, Venezuelan oil, Iranian oil, and Saudia Arabian oil. Obama wants to help the Soros-funded Brazilian oil company, and is offering them a loan of our tax-payer funded dollars, up to ten million dollars
A man and his dreams
Did you hear Rush Limbaugh talk about his recent wedding? I believe it is in the back of his mind to consider running for President. His beautiful wife is an experienced "event planner." She planned every aspect of their wedding, including inviting Elton John to perform. Mr. John has been the target of incredible hatred from the left for daring to "build a bridge."
A tribute to Mr. Elton John, and a reminder to all of us: "You'll be blessed." We are blessed by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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Oh, and one more thing. Rush, if you do decide to run, I hereby volunteer to be your campaign coordinator in Colorado!
A tribute to Mr. Elton John, and a reminder to all of us: "You'll be blessed." We are blessed by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
href="">
Oh, and one more thing. Rush, if you do decide to run, I hereby volunteer to be your campaign coordinator in Colorado!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
"Power Hungry"
Energy and power are certainly in the news these days. Remember when we were told that oil would soon be depleted? This gulf oil spill seems to indicate that there is no danger of depletion any time soon! There is a new book entitled Power Hungry by Robert Bryce, which apparently takes a comprehensive look at our energy and power needs and usages. It is reviewed extensively by Jon Boone here. Apparently, Mr. Bryce recommends we get on with the task of developing our natural gas fields, then on to more nuclear power.
Guilty of Heroism?
There is an update today in the Denver Post about the rafting story I wrote about yesterday. I had heard the sheriff discuss the incident yesterday on talk radio. It seems the sheriff got several details wrong. Ryan Snodgrass, the guy who swam to the girl, was actually the rafter whose boat capsized. His partner has not yet been charged with obstructing government operations, as has Mr. Snodgrass. The way the Post story is written makes it seem that the rafter is guilty of nothing but heroism.
Friday, June 11, 2010
"OBSTRUCTING GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS"
Here is an interesting breaking news story. Because the first week in June was very hot, temperatures reaching the nineties here in the Denver metro area, our mountain streams are running very high with freshly melted snow, after a very cold and snowy spring. This is the season for river rafting. Clear Creek is the stream made famous by Coors Brewery ads, as it starts up on the continental divide and flows through Golden (into the Coors Brewery) and on across the metro area. Up in the mountains it is roiling right now.
Yesterday one of the river rafting companies had a group of four or five people in a boat that capsized in the roaring mountain stream. All but one immediately made it to the river bank safely. The one was a thirteen-year-old girl. After searching for her for several minutes, the rafters called 911. The Clear Creek County Sheriff, (whom I just heard interviewed by Jon Caldera on talk radio station KHOW, so my information is more up-to-date than the Denver Post on-line story linked to above) asked for help from all the neighboring law enforcement agencies, who converged on the scene and soon found the girl on the opposite bank of the river from where the officers came down to the river. The officers were getting their rescue operation started when...
At the same time that the call was made to the sheriff, the rafters called their company. Two guys from the company got in their vehicle and rushed to the scene. They saw the officers and rushed down the bank to the river. The Undersheriff was at the scene, saw that the rafting company employees were about to jump in the river to swim across to the girl, and ordered them not to do so. One of the rafting company employees ignored the order, and jumped in the roiling river and swam across to the girl. He was arrested and charged with "obstructing government operations." So was his companion from the rafting company, who was standing by with rescue equipment, perhaps to throw it across to his fellow employee and the girl.
I told this story to my three children, and asked them what they would have done. Six-year-old Sara said she would have pushed the rafting company employee into the water, arrested him, taken him to jail, and then when her boss the sheriff was not looking, she would get the keys and let the guy out of jail. (A budding devious female?)
Eight-year-old Greg said he would have given the guy a ticket and made him pay a five dollar fine.
Ten-year-old Jon said he would have taken everybody to a nearby pizza restaurant to celebrate the rescue.
What are your thoughts?
Yesterday one of the river rafting companies had a group of four or five people in a boat that capsized in the roaring mountain stream. All but one immediately made it to the river bank safely. The one was a thirteen-year-old girl. After searching for her for several minutes, the rafters called 911. The Clear Creek County Sheriff, (whom I just heard interviewed by Jon Caldera on talk radio station KHOW, so my information is more up-to-date than the Denver Post on-line story linked to above) asked for help from all the neighboring law enforcement agencies, who converged on the scene and soon found the girl on the opposite bank of the river from where the officers came down to the river. The officers were getting their rescue operation started when...
At the same time that the call was made to the sheriff, the rafters called their company. Two guys from the company got in their vehicle and rushed to the scene. They saw the officers and rushed down the bank to the river. The Undersheriff was at the scene, saw that the rafting company employees were about to jump in the river to swim across to the girl, and ordered them not to do so. One of the rafting company employees ignored the order, and jumped in the roiling river and swam across to the girl. He was arrested and charged with "obstructing government operations." So was his companion from the rafting company, who was standing by with rescue equipment, perhaps to throw it across to his fellow employee and the girl.
I told this story to my three children, and asked them what they would have done. Six-year-old Sara said she would have pushed the rafting company employee into the water, arrested him, taken him to jail, and then when her boss the sheriff was not looking, she would get the keys and let the guy out of jail. (A budding devious female?)
Eight-year-old Greg said he would have given the guy a ticket and made him pay a five dollar fine.
Ten-year-old Jon said he would have taken everybody to a nearby pizza restaurant to celebrate the rescue.
What are your thoughts?
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
No evidence? No problem!
The top-of-the-fold story in today's Denver Post is about a man who was awarded a multimillion dollar settlement. He had served ten years in prison after being convicted of killing a woman. Problem: there was no evidence whatsoever to prove he was the killer. He was convicted because of the testimony of a "forensic psychologist." It seems the young man had visions of becoming the next Stephen King, and had many violent drawings and writings.
I guess I better gather up all of son Greg's drawings right now and burn them! (Not on your life).
I have had some personal experience with forensic psychologists. I worked for a while as a "Child and Family Investigator" for the district court system in Colorado. My job was to investigate and report to the court, making recommendations about which parent or other person should be awarded how much parenting time. One case involved a man who really liked to sue people, hiring high-priced lawyers to file motion after motion. I made many visits to his beautiful upscale home and to the modest home of his ex-wife, to see them interact with the children. I had no trouble deciding that the children would be better off spending the majority of their time with their mother. The father hired a forensic psychologist, who, based soley on information provided to him by the father, never going to either home to see the parents' interactions with the children, became a hired gun for the father. I prevailed in court, but I am sure the father is still filing motions in the case many years later.
I guess I better gather up all of son Greg's drawings right now and burn them! (Not on your life).
I have had some personal experience with forensic psychologists. I worked for a while as a "Child and Family Investigator" for the district court system in Colorado. My job was to investigate and report to the court, making recommendations about which parent or other person should be awarded how much parenting time. One case involved a man who really liked to sue people, hiring high-priced lawyers to file motion after motion. I made many visits to his beautiful upscale home and to the modest home of his ex-wife, to see them interact with the children. I had no trouble deciding that the children would be better off spending the majority of their time with their mother. The father hired a forensic psychologist, who, based soley on information provided to him by the father, never going to either home to see the parents' interactions with the children, became a hired gun for the father. I prevailed in court, but I am sure the father is still filing motions in the case many years later.
A Mosque at Ground Zero?
Jeff Jacoby writes in the June 6 Boston Globe about the proposed 13 story mosque to be built just 600 feet from ground zero:
"IS GROUND ZERO the right place for a major new mosque and Islamic cultural center? Cordoba House is a 15-story, $100 million development to be built just 600 feet from where the World Trade Center stood; the plans include the mosque, a 500-seat auditorium, swimming pool, restaurant, and bookstore.
The prospect of an Islamic center so close to ground zero is, not surprisingly, controversial. Many relatives of Sept. 11 victims are strongly opposed. One group, 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America, calls Cordoba House “a gross insult to the memory of those who were killed on that terrible day.’’ But the project also has strong political support. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer are among its backers, and Cordoba House was endorsed by lower Manhattan’s Community Board No. 1 in a near-unanimous vote last month.
Of particular interest are the views of leading Muslim moderates — Muslims known for their commitment to tolerance and pluralism, and for their opposition to all forms of radical Islam.
One such individual is Zuhdi Jasser, a physician, US Navy veteran, and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
Jasser reminisced last week about his family’s history of building mosques in the heartland communities where they lived. His parents, Syrian immigrants to the United States, helped create the Fox Valley Islamic Center in Neenah, Wis., in 1980. “This was during the Iranian hostage crisis,’’ he recalled, “and some of the local residents wanted the Zoning Commission to prevent the mosque from going forward.’’ But the commissioners gave their blessing to the project, and the modest mosque — the construction budget was just $80,000 — became part of the neighborhood. Later the family later moved to western Arkansas, where they joined with others to create the Islamic Center of Fort Smith. As recently as March, Jasser came out in support of Muslims in Sheboygan, Wis., whose plans for a new place of worship were meeting with vocal resistance.
But he adamantly opposes the ground zero mosque.
“For us, a mosque was always a place to pray, to be together on holidays — not a way to make an ostentatious architectural statement,’’ Jasser said. “Ground zero shouldn’t be about promoting Islam. It’s the place where war was declared on us as Americans.’’ To use that space for Muslim outreach, he argues, is “the worst form of misjudgment.’’
Equally opposed is Stephen Suleyman Schwartz, a devout Muslim and director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism in Washington.
Schwartz notes that the spiritual leader of the Cordoba Initiative, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, describes himself as a Sufi — a Muslim focused on Islamic mysticism and spiritual wisdom. But “building a 15-story Islamic center at ground zero isn’t something a Sufi would do,’’ according to Schwartz, also a practitioner of Sufism. “Sufism is supposed to be based on sensitivity toward others,’’ yet Cordoba House comes across as “grossly insensitive.’’ He rejects Rauf’s stance that a highly visible Muslim presence at ground zero is the way to make a statement opposing what happened on 9/11. Better, in his view, is the approach of many Muslims “who hate terrorism and who have gone privately to the site and recited prayers for the dead silently and unperceived by others.’’
Ali al-Ahmed, a Saudi native who founded the Institute for Gulf Affairs and is an advocate for civil rights and religious freedom in the Middle East, hopes for the best from Cordoba House. “A mosque should be a good thing,’’ he told me. But he worries about the number of Americans who may be “hurt and upset’’ by the project, and wonders whether a mosque is really the best thing for Muslims to build so close to ground zero. Why not something less emotionally charged, he asks — a social-service agency, perhaps, or an assisted living center for the elderly?
Muslims must take the feelings of Americans into account, Ahmed contends. He cites no less an Islamic authority than the Imam Ali, Mohammed’s influential son-in-law. “Reconciliation of your differences,’’ says Imam Ali in the collection of teachings known as the Peak of Eloquence, “is more worthy than all prayers and fasting.’’
Will a mosque at ground zero make reconciliation more likely? Or will it needlessly rub salt in the unhealed wounds of 9/11?"
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at jacoby@globe.com.
"IS GROUND ZERO the right place for a major new mosque and Islamic cultural center? Cordoba House is a 15-story, $100 million development to be built just 600 feet from where the World Trade Center stood; the plans include the mosque, a 500-seat auditorium, swimming pool, restaurant, and bookstore.
The prospect of an Islamic center so close to ground zero is, not surprisingly, controversial. Many relatives of Sept. 11 victims are strongly opposed. One group, 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America, calls Cordoba House “a gross insult to the memory of those who were killed on that terrible day.’’ But the project also has strong political support. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer are among its backers, and Cordoba House was endorsed by lower Manhattan’s Community Board No. 1 in a near-unanimous vote last month.
Of particular interest are the views of leading Muslim moderates — Muslims known for their commitment to tolerance and pluralism, and for their opposition to all forms of radical Islam.
One such individual is Zuhdi Jasser, a physician, US Navy veteran, and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
Jasser reminisced last week about his family’s history of building mosques in the heartland communities where they lived. His parents, Syrian immigrants to the United States, helped create the Fox Valley Islamic Center in Neenah, Wis., in 1980. “This was during the Iranian hostage crisis,’’ he recalled, “and some of the local residents wanted the Zoning Commission to prevent the mosque from going forward.’’ But the commissioners gave their blessing to the project, and the modest mosque — the construction budget was just $80,000 — became part of the neighborhood. Later the family later moved to western Arkansas, where they joined with others to create the Islamic Center of Fort Smith. As recently as March, Jasser came out in support of Muslims in Sheboygan, Wis., whose plans for a new place of worship were meeting with vocal resistance.
But he adamantly opposes the ground zero mosque.
“For us, a mosque was always a place to pray, to be together on holidays — not a way to make an ostentatious architectural statement,’’ Jasser said. “Ground zero shouldn’t be about promoting Islam. It’s the place where war was declared on us as Americans.’’ To use that space for Muslim outreach, he argues, is “the worst form of misjudgment.’’
Equally opposed is Stephen Suleyman Schwartz, a devout Muslim and director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism in Washington.
Schwartz notes that the spiritual leader of the Cordoba Initiative, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, describes himself as a Sufi — a Muslim focused on Islamic mysticism and spiritual wisdom. But “building a 15-story Islamic center at ground zero isn’t something a Sufi would do,’’ according to Schwartz, also a practitioner of Sufism. “Sufism is supposed to be based on sensitivity toward others,’’ yet Cordoba House comes across as “grossly insensitive.’’ He rejects Rauf’s stance that a highly visible Muslim presence at ground zero is the way to make a statement opposing what happened on 9/11. Better, in his view, is the approach of many Muslims “who hate terrorism and who have gone privately to the site and recited prayers for the dead silently and unperceived by others.’’
Ali al-Ahmed, a Saudi native who founded the Institute for Gulf Affairs and is an advocate for civil rights and religious freedom in the Middle East, hopes for the best from Cordoba House. “A mosque should be a good thing,’’ he told me. But he worries about the number of Americans who may be “hurt and upset’’ by the project, and wonders whether a mosque is really the best thing for Muslims to build so close to ground zero. Why not something less emotionally charged, he asks — a social-service agency, perhaps, or an assisted living center for the elderly?
Muslims must take the feelings of Americans into account, Ahmed contends. He cites no less an Islamic authority than the Imam Ali, Mohammed’s influential son-in-law. “Reconciliation of your differences,’’ says Imam Ali in the collection of teachings known as the Peak of Eloquence, “is more worthy than all prayers and fasting.’’
Will a mosque at ground zero make reconciliation more likely? Or will it needlessly rub salt in the unhealed wounds of 9/11?"
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at jacoby@globe.com.
Addiction, or Blessing?
Jeff Jacoby, writing his June 9 column in the Boston Globe, nails it regarding the A-word. No, I am not talking about Obama's use of another A-word on the Today show.
"AS THE DEEPWATER Horizon spill continues to foul the Gulf of Mexico, pundits and policymakers everywhere are once again reaching for the A-word.
The BP disaster, proclaims Washington eminence David Gergen, is “a wake-up call to end our addiction to oil.’’
Without “a real climate bill,’’ warn the editors of the Washington Post, “America might be addicted to oil a lot longer than it needs to be.’’
We must “begin to wean ourselves from our addiction to oil,’’ intones Senator John Kerry on ABC, while syndicated columnist Thomas Friedman lambastes “the powerful lobbies and vested interests that want to keep us addicted to oil.’’
To be sure, this isn’t a new trope. Barack Obama liked to say during his presidential campaign that we are bankrolling “both sides of the war on terror’’ through our “addiction to oil.’’ George W. Bush, a onetime oilman, memorably announced in his 2006 State of the Union address that “America is addicted to oil.’’ According to Nexis, the media database, the metaphor dates back at least as far as 1974, when psychiatrist Thomas Szasz wrote in The New York Times that “oil addiction is equivalent to drug addiction.’’
But it’s not.
The explosion of BP’s oil rig in the Gulf has been a calamity in so many ways, above all the loss of 11 human lives. With hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil gushing daily from the crippled wellhead, the environmental impacts have been excruciating. BP is responsible for a dreadful mess, one that will take years and many millions of dollars to clean up.
Awful as the catastrophe has been, however, life without oil would be far, far worse.
Americans consume oil not because they are “addicted’’ to it, but because it enriches their lives, making possible prosperity, comfort, and mobility that would have been all but unimaginable just a few generations ago. Almost by definition, an addiction is something one is healthier without. But oil-based energy improves human health and reduces poverty — it makes life longer, safer, and better. Addictions debase life. Oil improves and expands it.
“Oil may be the single most flexible substance ever discovered,’’ writes the Manhattan Institute’s Robert Bryce in “Power Hungry,’’ a new book on the myths of “green’’ energy. “More than any other substance, oil helped to shrink the world. Indeed, thanks to its high energy density, oil is a nearly perfect fuel for use in all types of vehicles, from boats and planes to cars and motorcycles. Whether measured by weight or by volume, refined oil products provide more energy than practically any other commonly available substance, and they provide it in a form that’s easy to handle, relatively cheap, and relatively clean.’’ If oil didn’t exist, Bryce quips, we’d have to invent it.
Of course there are problems created by oil, as the Deepwater Horizon calamity so heartbreakingly demonstrates. But most things of great value come with downsides. There are 40,000 traffic fatalities in the United States each year, but no rational person suggests doing away with cars, trucks, and highways. Airplanes sometimes crash and boats sometimes sink, but air and sea travel are not derided as “addictions’’ we need to break. Deaths due to hospital infections, medication errors, or unnecessary surgery number in the scores of thousands annually, but who would recommend an end to medical care?
Someday there may be an energy source that is as abundant, efficient, clean, and economically viable as oil. But nothing today fits that bill — certainly not biofuels, wind farms, or solar power. Besides, it isn’t only energy products that we get from petroleum. Crude oil refining also makes possible plastics, synthetic fibers, lubricants, waxes, asphalt. “Other products made from petroleum,’’ notes the US Energy Information Administration, “include ink, crayons, bubble gum, dishwashing liquids, deodorant, eyeglasses, CDs and DVDs, tires, ammonia, [and] heart valves.’’
The United States consumes more than 300 billion gallons of oil per year, nearly two-thirds of it imported. There is no denying the drawbacks associated with oil, but its advantages are equally undeniable. American wealth, progress, and autonomy — the most dynamic and productive economy in history — would be impossible without it. What we have isn’t an addiction, but a blessing."
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at jacoby@globe.com
"AS THE DEEPWATER Horizon spill continues to foul the Gulf of Mexico, pundits and policymakers everywhere are once again reaching for the A-word.
The BP disaster, proclaims Washington eminence David Gergen, is “a wake-up call to end our addiction to oil.’’
Without “a real climate bill,’’ warn the editors of the Washington Post, “America might be addicted to oil a lot longer than it needs to be.’’
We must “begin to wean ourselves from our addiction to oil,’’ intones Senator John Kerry on ABC, while syndicated columnist Thomas Friedman lambastes “the powerful lobbies and vested interests that want to keep us addicted to oil.’’
To be sure, this isn’t a new trope. Barack Obama liked to say during his presidential campaign that we are bankrolling “both sides of the war on terror’’ through our “addiction to oil.’’ George W. Bush, a onetime oilman, memorably announced in his 2006 State of the Union address that “America is addicted to oil.’’ According to Nexis, the media database, the metaphor dates back at least as far as 1974, when psychiatrist Thomas Szasz wrote in The New York Times that “oil addiction is equivalent to drug addiction.’’
But it’s not.
The explosion of BP’s oil rig in the Gulf has been a calamity in so many ways, above all the loss of 11 human lives. With hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil gushing daily from the crippled wellhead, the environmental impacts have been excruciating. BP is responsible for a dreadful mess, one that will take years and many millions of dollars to clean up.
Awful as the catastrophe has been, however, life without oil would be far, far worse.
Americans consume oil not because they are “addicted’’ to it, but because it enriches their lives, making possible prosperity, comfort, and mobility that would have been all but unimaginable just a few generations ago. Almost by definition, an addiction is something one is healthier without. But oil-based energy improves human health and reduces poverty — it makes life longer, safer, and better. Addictions debase life. Oil improves and expands it.
“Oil may be the single most flexible substance ever discovered,’’ writes the Manhattan Institute’s Robert Bryce in “Power Hungry,’’ a new book on the myths of “green’’ energy. “More than any other substance, oil helped to shrink the world. Indeed, thanks to its high energy density, oil is a nearly perfect fuel for use in all types of vehicles, from boats and planes to cars and motorcycles. Whether measured by weight or by volume, refined oil products provide more energy than practically any other commonly available substance, and they provide it in a form that’s easy to handle, relatively cheap, and relatively clean.’’ If oil didn’t exist, Bryce quips, we’d have to invent it.
Of course there are problems created by oil, as the Deepwater Horizon calamity so heartbreakingly demonstrates. But most things of great value come with downsides. There are 40,000 traffic fatalities in the United States each year, but no rational person suggests doing away with cars, trucks, and highways. Airplanes sometimes crash and boats sometimes sink, but air and sea travel are not derided as “addictions’’ we need to break. Deaths due to hospital infections, medication errors, or unnecessary surgery number in the scores of thousands annually, but who would recommend an end to medical care?
Someday there may be an energy source that is as abundant, efficient, clean, and economically viable as oil. But nothing today fits that bill — certainly not biofuels, wind farms, or solar power. Besides, it isn’t only energy products that we get from petroleum. Crude oil refining also makes possible plastics, synthetic fibers, lubricants, waxes, asphalt. “Other products made from petroleum,’’ notes the US Energy Information Administration, “include ink, crayons, bubble gum, dishwashing liquids, deodorant, eyeglasses, CDs and DVDs, tires, ammonia, [and] heart valves.’’
The United States consumes more than 300 billion gallons of oil per year, nearly two-thirds of it imported. There is no denying the drawbacks associated with oil, but its advantages are equally undeniable. American wealth, progress, and autonomy — the most dynamic and productive economy in history — would be impossible without it. What we have isn’t an addiction, but a blessing."
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at jacoby@globe.com
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Glenn Beck on Israel and the "freedom flotilla"
Here is part four of Glenn Beck's series on Israel and the "freedom flotilla." What I like about Glenn is that he searches for truth, and encourages all of us to do the same.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Find out where the money is coming from!
The Wall Street Journal has a front page investigative report this morning, showing how rival supermarket chains are the source of money behind efforts to stop Wal-Mart from coming into communities. The rival chains would rather spend hundreds of thousands of dollars stopping Wal-Mart than match Wal-Mart's low prices. The result is that Wal-Mart is now the nation's most popular grocer.
So, where do you think all the money to fund socialist groups like ACORN comes from? If you elect politicians who are controlled by unions, socialists, communists, and other leftists, they take your tax money and spread it around to ACORN and other left-leaning groups. Look into it!
So, where do you think all the money to fund socialist groups like ACORN comes from? If you elect politicians who are controlled by unions, socialists, communists, and other leftists, they take your tax money and spread it around to ACORN and other left-leaning groups. Look into it!
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Chemical warfare
The June 4 Wall Street Journal features a front page story detailing how chemical companies are now in an outright war to develop new herbicides and new herbicide-resistant seeds, since more and more weeds are becoming resistant to Monsanto's "Round Up" herbicide. Farmers had sold off their tilling equipment, because Round Up had been doing such a great job of killing weeds. Not any more. At least nine species of weeds (sorry, Cliff, ragweed is one of them) have developed resistance to Round Up, and have spread to millions of acres across the United States. Other chemical companies are "dusting off" older, more potent herbicides that had lost the battle to Round Up in the 1990s. Companies such as DuPont, Bayer (you mean those guys who make my aspirins?), Dow Chemical, and others are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to come up with seeds that can survive a "dousing" with their potent chemicals. Some of their chemicals are more harmful to the environment (Round Up tends to stick to the ground, and not drift onto the neighbors' fields). For example, if a cotton farmer uses a chemical called 2,4-D, it is likely to drift in the air and kill the grapes in the neighboring vineyard.
Not a word in this article about the effect of all of these chemicals on us human beings,
Not a word in this article about the effect of all of these chemicals on us human beings,
Get the U.S. out of the U.N.!
I am so glad Cliff Stewart posted at the Kingdom Triangle Network News Service the video of Dennis Prager's remarks about the U.N. When I was living in Texas in the 1960s, I used to see billboards which said: ""GET THE U.S. OUT OF THE U.N.!. The billboards were put up by the John Birch Society, and I thought they were extreme, if not ridiculous. No longer. Now I think we should engage in a discussion of the pros and cons of getting out of the U.N.
The latest outrage was the U.N.'s condemnation of Israel for stopping a boatload of jihadist thugs, twenty of whom had posted martyr videos prior to leaving on their "humanitarian" voyage to Gaza, fifty of whom have now been identified as known terrorists. The U.N. "Security" Council urgently convened to condemn Israel for its act of self defense, while Iran now has developed enough uranium for two nuclear bombs, and the U.N. is completely ineffectual at stopping Iran.
Glenn Beck has a five part video series on You Tube about Israel and this so-called "freedom flotilla." I especially recommend parts four and five, if you are pressed for time. I was unable to embed it here, perhaps because I am still learning how to use the borrowed computer.
The latest outrage was the U.N.'s condemnation of Israel for stopping a boatload of jihadist thugs, twenty of whom had posted martyr videos prior to leaving on their "humanitarian" voyage to Gaza, fifty of whom have now been identified as known terrorists. The U.N. "Security" Council urgently convened to condemn Israel for its act of self defense, while Iran now has developed enough uranium for two nuclear bombs, and the U.N. is completely ineffectual at stopping Iran.
Glenn Beck has a five part video series on You Tube about Israel and this so-called "freedom flotilla." I especially recommend parts four and five, if you are pressed for time. I was unable to embed it here, perhaps because I am still learning how to use the borrowed computer.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Who will be left at the end?
The federal law which clearly pertains to White House efforts to limit our choices on political candidates to the ones favored by the White House:
Federal law makes it a crime for anyone "who directly or indirectly promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or any other benefit" to someone else to do so "as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office."
It is also illegal for a government official to use "his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate."
The above quotes are from a May 30 Denver Post story misleadingly headlined "Boundaries murky in Sestak case." Murky? It is the opposite of murky! The law is crystal clear in the Sestak case and the Romanoff case in Colorado, and the next domino to fall will come in the Blagojevich trial in Chicago, which begins today. Rahm Emmanuel has been subpoenaed. Romanoff and Sestak still hope for White House support in their bids to become U.S. Senators. The Blagojevich case is very different. While no criminal charges are being levied against Romanoff or Sestak, who appear to have been innocent victims of White House efforts to bribe them not to run for Senate, Blagojevich faces serious jail time if he is convicted of trying to sell President Barack Obama's former Senate seat. Blagojevich seems like the kind of guy who would not hesitate to bring down a President if it means saving his own a.. er, I mean, preserving his own freedom. His lawyers plan to ask White House Chief of Staff Emmanuel if he pressured Blagojevitch to nominate Obama friend Valerie Jarrett to the vacant seat.
Federal law makes it a crime for anyone "who directly or indirectly promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or any other benefit" to someone else to do so "as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office."
It is also illegal for a government official to use "his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate."
The above quotes are from a May 30 Denver Post story misleadingly headlined "Boundaries murky in Sestak case." Murky? It is the opposite of murky! The law is crystal clear in the Sestak case and the Romanoff case in Colorado, and the next domino to fall will come in the Blagojevich trial in Chicago, which begins today. Rahm Emmanuel has been subpoenaed. Romanoff and Sestak still hope for White House support in their bids to become U.S. Senators. The Blagojevich case is very different. While no criminal charges are being levied against Romanoff or Sestak, who appear to have been innocent victims of White House efforts to bribe them not to run for Senate, Blagojevich faces serious jail time if he is convicted of trying to sell President Barack Obama's former Senate seat. Blagojevich seems like the kind of guy who would not hesitate to bring down a President if it means saving his own a.. er, I mean, preserving his own freedom. His lawyers plan to ask White House Chief of Staff Emmanuel if he pressured Blagojevitch to nominate Obama friend Valerie Jarrett to the vacant seat.
THANKS, CLIFF!
Can you believe how kind my good friend Cliff Stewart is? A few days ago I was attempting to post here (on my wife's business computer, which is our only computer), and the hard drive crashed! So, what does fellow Kingdom Triangle blogger Cliff do? He loans me his beloved Mac! I am typing on it now, and it is sure easier to type on than that Think Pad I was formerly using. Anyway, thank you again, Cliff!
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