The Republican Party should dump Ron Paul

Happy Chanukah!
Merry belated Christmas!
(and no, they are not related holidays)

Only a few more days until the Iowa caucuses when the real fun begins.

Just a quick note on the race -

The Ron Paul newsletters should be getting much more attention than they are getting right now. I think we can safely say that Paul is a racist and an anti-Semite.

Many would say these newsletters don't matter since Paul isn't representative of the Republican party or of mainstream Americans as a whole. I disagree. He needs to be drummed out of the party on principle. We cannot have bigots on the national stage attempting to become the Republican nominee for president. Let me be clear - I am not condemning him for his libertarian and isolationist views - I am condemning him for being a racist and an anti-Semite.

Ron Paul has a right to hold any ideas he chooses. It's a free country. However, at the same time, he does not have to be a part of the Republican Party. He's not good for the party, and he's not good for America and what we stand for as a people.

Ex-Aide Makes Stunning Claims About Old Boss: Anti-Israel, 9/11 Truther, Doesn't Believe U.S. Had Any Business Fighting Hitler

The Real Ron Paul

Last Debate Before Iowa Caucuses

I enjoyed last night's debate - the last (thankfully) before the Iowa caucuses.

I thought everyone stepped up their game - especially Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum.

Here's what I think of the field so far:

Jon Huntsman -
I feel like he knows what he's talking about but isn't connecting with me. I finally figured out what the problem is -- Huntsman doesn't smile, he doesn't feel friendly. He also turns every answer into a campaign speech. It's annoying.

Michele Bachmann -
She went on the attack last night - she had to. For her and Santorum this debate was their last chance to make a real shot at showing well in the caucuses. While Ron Paul's foreign policy is an easy mark, especially his Iranian policy, but it was good that she called him out on it - calling it "dangerous". Santorum also clarified that Iran believes in martyrdom - which is a reason why the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, the deterrent used during the Cold War, would not work with Iran because death for them is a preferred option.

Bachmann also attacked Newt Gingrich for saying that she can't get her facts straight. She needed to do that. He had talked down toward her and dismissed her attacks regarding Fanny and Freddy. It happens to be true that she's made stupid mistakes, which doesn't help her, but to be dismissed like that was obnoxious.

Rick Santorum -
I like him, but he's young. And truthfully, other than being a senator I'm not sure what he's been up to. I haven't "googled" him or investigated him -- but just from what I hear on the news - I don't know much about his experience in government or in business. What has he accomplished? I don't know.

Ron Paul -
There's what to like about his domestic policy and it's easy to nod along with those ideas. However, when he wanders off American soil to discuss foreign policy - it's crazy talk.

Rick Perry -
His debating skills are getting better. At least he didn't say "oops". I was happy to hear him mention that yesterday was the day that the Bill of Rights was signed - that was exciting. I don't know if he can make up ground, but he did make some good points about terrorist training camps in South America - a serious issue that hasn't been dealt with.

Newt Gingrich -
We all know he's smart, fine. He was even growing on me for a while. I liked what he said about the 'Palestinians' being an "invented" people. I like that he would appoint John Bolton to head the State Department. But I'm not sure that he's electable. That's important. I do not put it past Obama to pull out a second term despite the economy.

Mitt Romney -
He's dependable, he's steady. He's friendly and personable. He just doesn't have the spark that Newt has, that people are looking for. That being said, at this point (things could always change), I think that he's the guy to put up against Obama. He has experience being a governor and knows business intimately. Both are important. He's not just an "idea" guy like Newt. Romney knows how to put it all in practice. Yes, there are flip flop issues - but I can accept that over time things change. Philosophies change - it's human, it's how we learn and grow.

We'll see it all play out the in the beginning of January. That's when the real games will begin.

Happy Bill of Rights Day! Time to Celebrate!

Bring out the chips, break out the drinks - it's time to celebrate! It's Bill of Rights Day!

We take so many freedoms for granted in the United States, while at the same time we don't give a second thought to where they were codified and established.

The Bill of Rights, ratified on December 15, 1791, was the original way of limiting the power of the federal government. The Constitution itself would not have been ratified if there had not been a Bill of Rights promised.

The Bill of Rights is truly a testament to the brilliance of our Founders. Take a moment to read them all (it won't take more than a moment or two) and appreciate where we would be today if they were not there to protect us from an overreaching Federal government. It's a scary thought.

If you don't already have a copy of the Constitution - buy yourself a copy today from the sidebar on the left. Everyone should have one.

Enjoy the day!

Bill of Rights Day (mine, 2002)
What is Bill of Rights Day?
More Bill of Rights Reading

Why a Muslim Cultural Center in a Jewish Area? (updated links)

An important read. The area mentioned here is where I grew up - mostly a Jewish and Christian community. There are very few Muslims living in the area.

As you read this, be mindful that it could just as easily be your community—and probably will be, eventually. Farmington, Michigan’s Public School Board of Education voted unanimously to sell their vacant Eagle Elementary School to the Islamic Cultural Association (ICA) for $1.1 million. The transaction was kept secret until the sale was nearly (some say clearly) complete. Many in the community have decried this as an under-handed sale intended to circumvent the largely Christian and Jewish residents of the immediate area. Much of the controversy is the ICA’s association with the HUDA school of Franklin, Michigan—just a few miles away. The HUDA school was ultimately denied their expansion which was the intended site for the ICA two years ago. The HUDA school could not satisfactorily reconcile the charge that they secretly wanted this new structure, in the charming and historic downtown area, to be a mosque. They refuted the charge despite the fact that their website, openly but prematurely, celebrated the soon-to-be new Franklin Village Islamic Center and Mosque. They also failed to explain why cars regularly fill their parking lot until the wee hours of the morning in this “children’s” school, particularly on weekends. Another disturbing issue was their refusal to reveal the source of their funding which many believe to be Saudi-Wahhabi in origin. More recently but equally disturbing is he HUDA school’s recent invitation to the highly controversial and pugnacious anti-Israel Jew, Norman Finkelstein, to speak at their center in this largely Jewish village. So, when the ICA again claims that they simply desire to have a community center in the Farmington school for their children—although few Muslims currently live in this area—many are incredulous and believe this to be just one more example of Al-Taqiyya.

Al-Taqiyya is the Islamic equivalent to using deceit, concealment and “tradecraft” in order to advance the cause of Islam. The Qur’an (16:106, 3:54, 3:28, 40:28) and the Hadith (49:857, 84:64-65) are replete in spelling out the circumstances when a Muslim can and should deceive infidels for a greater purpose. Al-Taqiyya must be appreciated if one is to understand the nature of nonviolent Jihad. In centuries past, Muslims practiced al-Takiyya as a means of defense and subterfuge against enemies, such as during the Spanish Inquisition. Today, radical Islam uses this as a necessary tool that extremists living in non-Muslim lands (Dar al-Harb) utilize to deceive their unsuspecting compatriots into believing they are assimilating while they are actually engaging in nonviolent Jihad against their host societies. Islamic jurisprudence has sanctioned this deception in modern times as depicted in confiscated al-Qaeda training manuals. It is said that al-Takiyya is “in tongue only, not the heart.”

We must not forget the stated mission of the Muslim Brotherhood which is to penetrate and conquer the infidel lands, most notably, America. That organizations ruling document states that Muslims are compelled to use deception to mask the intended goals; ”The Ikhwan [Muslim soldier, in this instance a Believer in the unbeliever’s lands] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

It’s a tragic shame that we feel compelled to view our Muslim neighbors with such suspicion. There is plenty of blame to go around for this. We can blame the naysaying liberals whose blind tolerance of the world’s most intolerant people defies logic. Or we can hold the media accountable for their obsession with moral equivalency. Also complicit are the silent “Silent Majority” of Muslims who probably just want to live their lives anonymously but lose the privilege when they utterly fail to combat the Jihadist cancer in their ranks—forcing us to. Their conspicuous absenteeism simply leaves us wanting in terms of understanding their true intentions and their loyalty to America or lack thereof. Mostly, however, we should blame the radical Islamic schemers leading this slow but steady infiltration of our nation as they have so successfully done in Western Europe.

I cannot help but imagine there is a nearby map dotted with pins representing Islamist Trojan horses in nearby cities including those of Franklin, Farmington and West Bloomfield. Maybe it’s just me but it seems ironic that on that same map, just a few miles away, resides the city of Troy.

This may be “coming soon to a theater near you”. For our community, it has already arrived.

Link to original article.

Farmington Hills demographic information

More Farmington Hills demographic data

Franklin demographic data

The Truth Will Set You Free

News flash: Newt Gingrich believes the Palestinians are an "invented" people. Whoo hoo! The truth is out and has been spoken aloud on the national stage. It's about time.

The problem is that Israel needs to say this same thing loud and clear - the Palestinians are a fictional people. If the Israelis don't say it - then it doesn't matter that anyone else says it. This being said, perhaps now that a national figure has the guts to put the truth out there, it'll give the Israelis courage to say the same. We can only hope.

Pearl Harbor and American Exceptionalism

Why We Fight, the film series directed by Frank Capra back during a time when Hollywood still believed in American exceptionalism, is a fascinating watch. The reason for this is simple - during World War II we knew who we were, we knew who our enemies were and weren't afraid to identify them.

These days we, as Americans, have become unsure of ourselves. Besides for the fact that we're unwilling to identify our enemies, we are no longer sure of who we are as Americans. There has been a move away from the basic American concept that no matter your upbringing, religious or political leanings, race, or sex -- that you can achieve success. Even more disturbing is the concept that someone else owes you something - not for working, not for services rendered, but instead simply because they have something that you don't.

What made the Greatest Generation great wasn't only that they marched off to war to save the world from the Axis Powers, but that they didn't expect anything handed to them. They earned everything that came their way. These days, to watch the "occupiers" on television, complaining that their college degrees aren't earning them top dollar, one would imagine that those of the Greatest Generation would tell them to 'get real'. The men and women of that generation sacrificed for all of us - many of them without a higher education - for us to be able to take our freedoms for granted.

This Pearl Harbor Day let us take a moment to thank those of the Greatest Generation for not only extinguishing a great evil but for also showing us the selflessness they demonstrated when they worked long and hard hours in jobs they may not have found "satisfying" in order for their children to live a better life. Rather than complain about what we are supposedly 'owed', let us rediscover what has historically made us great. Alexis de Toqueville, writing in 1831, coined the phrase "American exceptionalism", defining it as the ideals of liberty, equality, individualism, the common person free from a ruling class, and private business free from over-regulation.

These ideals, dating back to early America, are the keystones to our greatness. We must shake off the nonsense that we are no longer the America that our grandparents fought for abroad and at home by re-educating ourselves in our history and orienting our compasses accordingly.

It's time to build on the strong foundation that the Greatest Generation left us. It's time to rediscover American greatness.

Pearl Harbor, Never Forget (mine, 2010)

December 7, 1941 - A Day Which Will Live in Infamy (mine, 2009)

Pearl Harbor history

In honor of Pearl Harbor Day please visit Wounded Warrior Project and make a donation.

News Round-up

Herman Cain 'suspends' campaign... Too bad, but no surprise.

Islamists take a lead in Egyptian elections... Too bad, democracy in action, but no surprise.

85 year old, 110lb. grandmother strip searched by TSA... TSA = no common sense, but no surprise.

Teenage girl gets stopped by TSA for gun design on purse, and misses flight... Again, TSA = no common sense, but no surprise.

President Obama's ambassador to Belgium and fundraiser, blames Muslim hatred of Jews on Israel... Not based in reality, but no surprise.

Good-bye Barney Frank!

We won't be missing you anytime soon!

It is a newspaper truism that what is good for journalism is bad for the country, and vice versa. Let's just say that regarding the pending retirement of Congressman Barney Frank, we're delighted to make the professional sacrifice. Few House Members have made a bigger legislative mark, and arguably no one so expensively. Mr. Frank deserves to be forever remembered -- and we'll help everyone remember him -- as the nation's leading protector of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before their fall. For years Barney helped block meaningful reform of the mortgage giants while pushing an 'affordable housing' agenda that helped to enlarge the subprime mortgage industry. 'I do think I do not want the same kind of focus on safety and soundness that we have in OCC [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] and OTS [Office of Thrift Supervision],' Mr. Frank said on September 25, 2003, in one of his many legendary rhetorical hits. 'I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing.' The dice came up snake-eyes for the housing market and U.S. economy. Democracy can be unfair, and for his sins Mr. Frank was rewarded with the chairmanship of the Financial Services Committee in 2009 and an opening to remake the U.S. financial industry. It was like asking Charlie Sheen to teach an anger management class. The result was Dodd-Frank, which didn't solve the 'too big to fail' problem but did make banks even more subject to the wishes of Washington. The crony capitalism exemplified by Fannie and Freddie became more broadly embedded in U.S. financial markets. ... Liberals who regret Mr. Frank's departure needn't worry too much. The next Democrat in line to run Financial Services is California's Maxine Waters, whose main contribution to Dodd-Frank was requiring racial-preference officers at each of the regional Federal Reserve banks. Journalists may not miss Mr. Frank after all. --"The Barney Frank Era", Wall Street Journal

Barney Frank: Good riddance (Washington Post)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Proclamation of National Thanksgiving

George Washington

City of New York, October 3, 1789

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

An Open Letter to the Republican Candidates for President

Dear Candidates,

I am tired of attacks on Mitt Romney based on his Mormon beliefs. I am a politically conservative Jew, and as such, I have no interest in the question of whether or not Mormonism is really a part of the Christian faith or not. In fact, it disturbs me to hear of such attacks since the Constitution itself explicitly states that there is no religious test for office.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. - Article 6, Paragraph 3 [emphasis added]

If you feel the need to attack Romney please do it based on differences of philosophy, ideas and policy - things that effect all of us.

Mitt Romney has been a gentleman throughout this entire primary season. He has stuck to the issues and has focused on bringing his message to the public. I would appreciate if all of you would do the same.

Sincerely,
An undecided voter

Michael Coren on the Muslim Middle East

Thank you Regis!

After growing up with Regis Philbin over the years, it is time to thank him for the laughs that he brought us, and the feel-good start to every morning. We will miss him on television and wish Regis all the best.

Happy Feet Two - Can it get any Better (or Worse)?

I saw an advertisement on the side of a bus for Happy Feet Two. My first thought was 'oh no'! I saw the first movie with my brother and wrote a review which I am republishing below. All I hope is that the sequel won't be as bad as the first - but with that in mind - we know that sequels in general are never as good as the original... which leaves us an even worse movie.

Avi and I went to see the movie Happy Feet. I will, unfortunately, claim responsibility in choosing the film. I will also admit that I don’t read reviews, so I was not warned that it was an environmental piece of propoganda. I was hoping for a nice, cute movie with dancing penguins. But no. That would be too much to ask for.

It was a horrible movie, it just dragged on and on. I kept hoping that it would end. It begins with the mating season between emperor penguins. It seems that they sing to get a mate...let’s pause here and mention that this is not a kids movie.

So the penguins are singing to each other and we meet our Ma and Pa penguins...Pa penguin, Memphis, singing Heartbreak Hotel and sounding like Elvis or some backwoods Kentuckain. Ma penguin, Norma Jean, is a smooth singing penguin who could have anyone on the block but falls in love with Memphis. They have an egg together and while Norma Jean is off on her trek to the sea he is left with the egg singing/praying to the god that gives them a good fish harvest.

During the course of this praying to the fish god, Memphis lets go of the egg and it rolls in the snow -- the equivilent of dropping a baby on its head. When the egg hatches and we meet the new chick, Mumble (huh?), who is incapable of singing like all the other emperor penguins, but instead can’t control his happy, dancing feet. However, this is a problem in their rigidly, static, stuffy religion run by a penguin that looks awfully like a Puritan of the 1600s, where there is only one way to do things.

Mumble and his dancing feet get blamed for the lack of fish and is banished from emperorland. Mumble promises to return when he figures out why the fish are disappearing...and so begins his incredibly non-interesting journey.

On his way he is chased by a lion-seal, befriended by shorter stereotypical Latino penguins, who of course accept Mumble for his dancing feet. He is brought by the short penguins to the great, “all-knowing” Sunday morning preacher penguin with the fancy feathers Lovelace. Lovelace had a set of plastic rings (from pop cans) around his neck. We all know what that means. People are bad.

To go on and on would be a disservice to all of you reading and would be quite painful. I’ll summarize. Mumble ends up chasing a fishing boat and realizes that “aliens”/people are the ones responsible for the loss of fish. He ends up chasing the boat across the globe and ends exhausted on a beach somewhere, where he’s taken to a zoo. It’s somewhat humorous (not) when Mumble realizes that he finally has an opportunity to bring his plight to the aliens, but is ignored. He begins to lose his mind...when all of a sudden a little girl taps a beat on the glass. Mumble regains his mind, and of course starts dancing.

This dancing catches everyones attention. Of course, a dancing penguin would be quite a sight to see. Mumble is let loose to go back to his own kind with a homing device attached to his back. There he confronts the Puritan penguin who then tells him again that his backsliding is the cause of the penguin population starving. Then lo and behold a helicopter lands to watch the penguins. The penguins realize that this is the moment to start dancing for the people. Even the Puritan penguin dances. Obviously, the old ways of religion are no good. Obviously, all of it should be tossed out the window.

Then, miracle of miracles, the people divine from the penguins dancing that there’s a food shortage and the penguins are starving. When I see a penguin dancing - the first thought that crosses my mind is that they need food (not!). But wait, it gets better. Since people have read the dancing the issue goes to the United Nations where it is discussed and of course SOLVED! We know that the U.N. solves world problems every day. Then finally, by the grace of the fish god, the movie ended.

The first word out of my mouth when I turned to Avi was, “What?!” As we discussed the movie I realized how absolutely rediculous it really was. I don’t mind an environmental message on occasion, but I do mind being bludgeoned with it. People are bad. People destroy the environment. People kill defenseless animals. Whatever.

Then there is Mumble and his journey. He’s on a mission to talk to those taking the fish. We come along on this mission wondering how he is going to accomplish such a task. There’s a buildup and no real confrontation. I was left empty.

I could not even say that Mumble grew up through his adventures. First of all, they were not adventures. He met some characters; the Latino penguins were fun. But Mumble never changed. He didn’t grow. He didn’t learn. He didn’t effect others around him till the end when the people figured out the dancing. Nothing substantial happened during the entire movie.

It ended with what Avi called the Mack Truck ending. (There’s a fancy name for this but never mind.) A Mack Truck ending is when the main character is in a real bind, with no solution, and a Mack Truck comes in and runs over the problem to end it. That’s exactly what happened. It was painful to see.

One last note. The movie was one long song track. I counted approximately 44 songs in the credits. 44 songs at a minute and a half apiece...you do the math.

The up-side in all of this was that I hung out with Avi and made fun of the movie for hours afterward. My recommendation - don’t see the movie.

The World's Sliding Scale of Moral Values

Imagine a world where destruction of historic and archeological sites is dismissed as unimportant and irrelevant by the World Community. Imagine a world where the murder of innocents gets a moment of silence but is otherwise ignored by that same World Community. Imagine again, that this is not a make-believe world, but truly the one we live in. The World Community seems to be quite a tolerant bunch depending on what group you belong to. Perhaps they'll even admit you into their little organizations - despite or perhaps because of past 'activities'.

Let's start with the UNESCO vote to allow the "Palestinians" into their agency. UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. I wonder if anyone could list what the "Palestinian" contributions have been to humanity at large up until this point? Anyone?

Aside from the fact that the "Palestinians" deny Jewish history - denying that the Jewish Temples in Jerusalem ever existed, denying that modern day Jews are the descendants of those Jews of 3000 years ago, denying 3000 years of Jewish existence in the Land of Israel, and even denying the Holocaust - is the fact that the "Palestinians" actively destroy Jewish historical artifacts and sites.

One would imagine that actively destroying anyone's historical artifacts and sites would be frowned upon by UNESCO - but I suppose that it depends on who is doing the destruction. The "Palestinians" seem to be exempt.

Here are just a few examples of important Jewish holy sites being attacked and destroyed:
* In Septemer 1996, Palestinian rioters destroyed a synagogue at Joseph's Tomb in Schem/Nablus.
* Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem has been repeatedly attacked since 1996.
* In October 2000, Joseph's Tomb was torched after the Israeli garrison guarding it was temporarily withdrawn. It was subsequently rebuilt as a mosque.
* Also in October 2000, the ancient synagogue in Jericho was destroyed by arson and a second historic synagogue was damaged.
* The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the holiest site in Judaism, home of the First and Second Temples, has also seen tremendous destruction of historical artifacts. From 1996-2001 historic parts of the Temple Mount were destroyed to make way for underground mosques.

In November 1999, the Islamic clerics opened what they called an "emergency exit" to the new mosque. Over three days and nights, the "exit" expanded into a gaping hole, 18,000 square feet in size, and up to 36 feet deep. Thousands of tons of ancient fill from the site, subsequently found by Israeli archeologists to contain artifacts dating as early as the First Temple period, were dumped into the Kidron Valley.

In February and March 2001, an ancient arched structure built against the eastern wall of the Temple Mount enclosure was razed by bulldozers in order to further enlarge the "emergency gate" of the new mosque at Solomon's Stables.

Furthermore, without any archeological supervision, approximately 6,000 square meters of the ancient surface level of the Temple Mount were dug up by tractors, paved, and declared to be open mosques. The previous director of the Antiquities Authority has called this "an archeological crime." No Israeli official has seen any plans or has set limits on the work being carried out.

One would imagine that the destruction of a 3000 year site would stop a world body from allowing these "people" from joining the ranks of those who care about history and the preservation of ancient artifacts. But again, I suppose it matters who is doing the destruction and whose property is being destroyed.

I also suppose that we shouldn't be surprised by any of this. World organizations seem to like to reward egregiously destructive behavior such as those demonstrated by the "Palestinians".

The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta saw the "Palestinians" participate in the Games for the first time. Only 24 years after the Munich Olympic Massacre of the Israeli athletes - unarmed civilians there to complete on the world stage, the "Palestinians" were welcomed to compete as well. Once again, it matters who is doing the murdering and who is being murdered. The "Palestinians", of course, again get a pass.

So which world organization is next to admit the "Palestinians"? Would it be the World Heath Organization (WHO)? Perhaps using ambulances (Red Crescent and UNRWA) to transport bombs and terrorists would be sanctioned by WHO. Is this scenario really so far fetched?

Everything seems to be morally relative when it comes to the "Palestinians". Destroy historic artifacts and sites, holy sites not withstanding, and get admitted to UNESCO. Murder innocent Jewish athletes at the Olympics, and be admitted to those same Games a few years later. All is forgiven. Moral relativity at it's best - all dependent on the parties at hand. The World at large seems to have a sliding scale of standards, but then again, no surprise there.

Veterans Day/Remembrance Day 2011

Please take a moment today to thank a veteran. It is because of them, who are volunteers, that we have our freedoms here at home - and so many millions(!) of others across the world have theirs.

Veterans Day

Remembrance Day

The Story of the Flanders Fields Remembrance Day Poppies

Happy 236th Birthday US Marines!

Happy Birthday to the best of the best!

Please take a look at this link - excellent videos honoring the US Marine Corp

Also excellent - 236 Years of the Marine Corp in pictures

The Cain Question

The question - Did he or didn't he?

The answer - We don't know.

The upshot here is that all these sexual harassment allegations have taken Herman Cain off his game and off his message. I like Cain for a lot of reasons, while not fond of his national sales tax idea, he is a great example of how the American Dream really can come true.

It's time for Cain to bring out the National Restaurant Association's findings from their own internal investigations into the initial allegations to support his claims of innocence. While it won't fully answer all the women bringing complaints, it will certainly bolster Cain's side of the story - especially when some of these women have questionable characters.

This whole scandal has turned into a 'he said - she said' situation that is dragging Cain down. He needs to end this distraction as soon as possible and get his campaign back on track.

Happy 125th Birthday Lady Liberty!

History of the Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty Torch-Cam

Jewish Blood is Cheap

I cried as I watched the Hamas held Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, return to his family while throngs of people waving Israeli flags and singing Am Yisroel Chai (the nation of Israel lives) danced outside. It was a great moment. I'm happy he's home.

The prisoner exchange that set Shalit free, I believe, we can label a valuable "teachable moment". What lessons were learned and what were taught?

We learned that Israelis believe that every life is precious. Israel willingly traded 1027 terrorists - hundreds of them serving multiple life sentences for cold blooded murder - in order to see Shalit returned safely home after over 5 years in captivity without even one International Red Cross visit.

It's an admirable idea - to care for each soldier as if he were everyone's son, brother, father - and since military service is compulsory - Shalit really does represent everyone. This is why we saw that 80% of Israeli's supported this exchange.

While we learned that Israel cares about the sanctity of life, and was willing to go to great lengths to save Gilad Shalit - we also taught the terrorists a very important lesson as well: Jewish blood is cheap.

In other words: Kill a Jew, serve a few years and go home a hero.

The modern state of Israel rose out of the ashes of the Holocaust with "Never Again" the watchwords of the Jewish State. With this exchange, "Never Again" became an empty slogan. The idea that Israel was to be a safe haven for Jews, that Jewish blood could never be spilled in vain, is gone.

Some of the most horrific crimes against the citizens of the Jewish state: the 2000 Ramallah lynching, the 2001 Sbarro pizzaria bombing, the 2001 Dolphinarium discotheque bombing, the 2002 Passover massacre bombing, bus bombings and so many more - those terrorists who perpetrated them, or who helped those who carried them out are being freed to carry out more attacks on innocent men, women and children.

Life is precious, however, an innocent life is certainly more precious than the life of a murderer. Until now, Israel has reserved the death penalty for Nazis. It's certainly way past time to put terrorists to death as well. By allowing these murderers (and some mass murderers) to walk free minimizes the deaths of those innocents who were killed by those same people.

What of the victim's families? Their pain never ends. As Sherri Mandel, whose 13 year old son was murdered, explains:

Most people don't understand the continuing devastation of grief: fathers who die of heart attacks, mothers who get sick with cancer, children who leave school, families whose only child was murdered. We see depression, suicide, symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. You wouldn't believe how many victims' families are still on sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication. We see the pain that doesn't diminish with time. We literally see people die of grief.

In allowing these unrepentant murderers to go free, we see that terrorism truly does work. Every Israeli (and Jew) has now become a target for kidnapping. Calls for another Gilad Shalit have already begun. It's no surprise. Terrorism works. There is no down-side to kidnapping (or murdering for that matter) Jewish innocents. Kill as many Jews as you would like - you'll be free in a few years and you can do it all over again.

There needs to be a new lesson taught. That Jewish blood is not cheap. There must not be any murderers held in prison for life sentences awaiting the next exchange. They should be given a trial and executed if guilty. There must be a serious disincentive for spilling Jewish blood. If there isn't, G-d forbid, we are going to see future exchanges which will only result in more blood spilled.

"Never Again" must really mean Never Again.

New Math: 1027 = 1

The Simple Truth: They Want it All

The "Palestinians" are Talking War

We know that Hamas, the terrorist organization running the Gaza Strip, wants to destroy Israel and all Jews within. They have always been clear about their goals.

On the other hand, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been considered the "moderate" wing of the "Palestinians" and that Israel has been negotiating with them - even offering over the years most, if not all, of Judea/Samaria (the West Bank) and half of Jerusalem.

We are finding out now what some have known all along - that the "Palestinians" are attempting to establish a state as a first step in the destruction of the entire State of Israel. We are hearing it in their own words.

Abbas Zaki [a senior member of the Fatah Central Committee, led by PA President Abbas] told the interviewer that any final status agreement between Israel and the PA “should be based upon the borders of June 4, 1967....everybody knows that the greater goal cannot be accomplished in one go....”

He noted that reaching the “greater goal” would be impossible initially, and that revealing it would not be smart: “If we say that we want to wipe Israel out, c’mon, it’s too difficult. It’s not [acceptable] policy to say so. Don’t say these things to the world,” he warned. “Keep it to yourself.”

Here we have more clarity from "Tawfik Tirawi, member of the Fatah Central Committee and a former commander of the Palestinian Authority's General Intelligence Force".

Tirawi told university students earlier this week that Fatah has never "thrown aside the rifle" – an indication that the faction could resume the "armed struggle option" against Israel.

His statement contradicts assurances by other Fatah leaders that they have completely abandoned the path of violence and seek a peaceful solution with Israel.

What happened to a "two-state solution" with a Jewish state and a peaceful "Palestinian" state living side by side?

If this is what is what negotiations are all about - taking Israel apart piece by piece - then negotiations must come to an end immediately. To ignore talk of war is stupid and downright dangerous. Continuing the farce of negotiations is unacceptable.

We know what the "Palestinians" want, and it isn't peace. It's time to accept the truth and stop fooling ourselves.

Palestinian Authority - "Wipe Israel Out"!

What if the Arabs said exactly what they meant - that the goal of negotiations was to destroy Israel? Well, they have. This article in the Jewish Tribune got my attention. This is a must read.

1949 lines Israel’s doom: Fatah official
Tuesday, 04 October 2011

JERUSALEM – A senior member of the Fatah Central Committee, led by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, in an interview referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Barack Obama, as “dirtbags,” and explained how causing Israel to leave Judea and Samaria would spell its doom.

Abbas Zaki told the interviewer that any final status agreement between Israel and the PA “should be based upon the borders of June 4, 1967....everybody knows that the greater goal cannot be accomplished in one go.”

Israel claims that Abbas and numerous other PA Arab officials have made it clear in many ways that the “greater” and ultimate goal has been and continues to be the elimination of the state of Israel altogether, but this was an outright statement to that effect.

Zaki made his remarks during an interview on the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television channel, which reaches millions of Arabs worldwide.

A video clip of Zaki’s remarks was translated by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute), a media watchdog organization that monitors Arabic-language media.

“If Israel withdraws from Jerusalem, evacuates the 650,000 settlers, and dismantles the wall, what will become of Israel? It will come to an end,” Zaki predicted.

“Who is nervous, upset and angry now? Netanyahu, Lieberman, and Obama.... All those dirtbags,” he said scornfully. “Why even get into this? We should be happy to see Israel upset.”

He noted that reaching the “greater goal” would be impossible initially, and that revealing it would not be smart: “If we say that we want to wipe Israel out, c’mon, it’s too difficult. It’s not [acceptable] policy to say so. Don’t say these things to the world,” he warned. “Keep it to yourself.”

For public consumption, Zaki advised Arabs to stick to the party line: “I want the resolutions that everybody agrees upon. I say to the world, to the Quartet, and to America: You promised, and you turned out to be liars.”

In his recent speech to the 66th United Nations General Assembly, Abbas referred to Israel as the “land of Jesus and Mohammed,” with no mention whatsoever of the ancient history of the Jews who dwelled there, preceding both, and who have maintained a continuous presence in the land to this day.

Knowing this should change everything - shouldn't it? If it's spoken in Arabic does it not count? Why not? Why is Israel being pressured to give away the historic lands of Judea and Samaria (West Bank)? In exchange for what? Destruction of the Jewish People?

Sure seems like it.

The End of the United States as a Moral Power?

We've all heard that the Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership has to go to the Security Council first. We also all know that the United States has threatened to veto this bid.

What is a disturbing footnote to this story is that the US is attempting to avoid using it's veto power.

However, officials in both Israel and in Washington have affirmed that the U.S. was hard at work to prevent itself the possible embarrassment of being forced to use its veto power in order to thwart the Palestinian vote, by attempting to assemble enough council members to either vote against the proposal or abstain as to make the veto unnecessary.

Why is the United States trying to avoid using their veto? Perhaps they are trying to keep the Arab world happy with them by not throwing their wholehearted support behind Israel? But then again, wasn't the "Arab Spring" all about replacing totalitarian dictatorships with "freedom" and "democracy"? Shouldn't the Arab world show their appreciation to the United States for bringing those basic concepts to the world at large?

Rather, what we see is the United States' public face turning away from the principles that have made us great. We see a fearful stance - trying to have it both ways - keeping the Arab world happy by attempting not to use their veto, and keeping the Israelis happy by stating their support for the Jewish state.

Where is the United States' clear support for an ally of 60+ years? Words are cheap. Statements of support are easy to make. The US should be clear that they are vetoing this Palestinian bid without any attempt to find a way out of it.

Since when has the United States become a "follower" rather than a "leader" in the moral-relativity zone known as the United Nations? The US has been the moral compass of the world for years and now it seems that our needle is broken. We're willing to relinquish that leadership role.

Is this where we're headed? Is the US the same as every other two-bit nation that holds a seat at the United Nations? Are we no longer the power that we once were - too afraid of Arab and world "opinion" to do the right thing?

I certainly hope not.

Dennis Prager: The Palestinians Want Peace --- Just Not With a Jewish State

Dennis Prager: The Palestinians Want Peace --- Just Not With a Jewish State

Bingo!

Herman Cain wins GOP Florida straw poll; Rick Perry in second place - Washington Times

Herman Cain wins GOP Florida straw poll; Rick Perry in second place - Washington Times

Things just got interesting...

The "Palestinians" - A Fictional "People"

Everyone is in a tizzy over the Palestinian bid for United Nations' recognition of "Palestine" as a member state. Will they go through with the bid? Won't they? Can the United States stop them? Should they?

What no one is doing is challenging the Palestinian claim to the lands known as the "West Bank" - or in fact their claim to 'peoplehood'. The only thing being challenged is the timing and the road being taken to statehood. "Palestinian" legitimacy is being assumed... and we know where assuming takes us.

The idea that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an old one - centuries or millenia old is a pure fiction... but is repeated over and over again.

Let's take a few moments to get our facts straight.

Where does the name "Palestine" come from?
In 135 AD, the Roman Empire attempted to break the strong connection the Jewish People had with the Land of Israel by renaming the area "Palestine" after the Philistines that had lived in the area during Biblical times.

The Philistines were a Greek-like people, not Arabs like the "Palestinians" like to claim. The Philistines disappeared from the area by the 1st Century AD.

Ever since the Romans renamed the area - the name "Palestine" stuck. Jews and Arabs were both referred to as "Palestinians".

The "Palestine Mandate" given to the British after the First World War to administer included both what are now the countries of Jordan and Israel.

In 1922, Great Britain broke off 80% of the Palestine Mandate and gave it to the Hussein family - creating the country of Jordan. The Palestinians living in that area became Jordanians.

The rest of Palestine - what is now Israel - was then to be divided by the United Nations in 1947 into two states - Arab and Jewish. The Jews said 'yes' to the idea, and the Arabs said 'no'.

Israel declared independence in May 1948. The Jewish Palestinians then became Israelis. The Arabs in Israel had the option of becoming citizens of the Jewish state - some did and some did not. Those that did became Israelis. Those that did not kept the denomination of "Palestinian".

What needs to be understood is that these "Palestinians" are Arabs with no special claims to the Land. They chose not to be part of Jordan or Israel. There is no longer "Palestine" on the map. It is either Jordan or Israel - to claim a 'Palestinian' state is disingenuous. There was never an historical Palestine to claim.

The "Palestinian People" are a creation - a way of delegitimizing the Jewish claim to Israel. If, as they claim, the Palestinians were there first, then any Jews living in the land must be "occupiers" and do not belong there. We first see the "Palestinians" in 1964 when Yasser Arafat created the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), a terrorist organization with the goal of destroying Israel. (Please note that the PLO was established before the 1967 war in which Israel captured the "West Bank" and Gaza Strip - not in response to the so-called occupation.)

That these "people" are refugees is a joke. They chose not to become citizens of either Jordan or Israel. During 1948 these Arabs left their homes in response to the invading Arab armies telling them that they'd be allowed to return after the Jews had been driven into the sea.

It's 60+ years later and they're still sitting in camps bemoaning their fate. Who's fault is it? Saudi Arabia and the oil rich Arab countries are unable to take in and care for their brothers? Guess so - but it clearly shows that the Palestinians are there as willing pawns in the battle against Israel.

The accepted wisdom is that since the "Palestinians" occupy the same land as the Jews we must have negotiations to settle our differences - creating a two state solution. But why?

The "Palestinians" are an historical fiction. They are a tool of the Arab world, which has never accepted a Jewish presence, to destroy Israel. It's time to challenge the legitimacy of the "Palestinians" as a 'people' and certainly their right to a state at Israel's expense.

"Palestine", Apartheid State

To the UN without Jews - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
Yup, the new "Palestine" is to be Jew-free. Can we call for divestment now?

Medal of Honor for Sergeant Dakota L. Meyer

Sergeant Meyer is the very best of the United States. The chaplain who prayed at the beginning and at the end of the ceremony did an amazing job sanctifying what our soldiers do every day. Giving thanks to G-d and showing gratitude for the gift of freedom is something that dates back to our Founding Fathers. I am proud of our Armed Forces and the sacrifices they make for the values of this country.

G-d bless them and G-d bless the United States of America.

George W. Bush Flight 93 Memorial Speech, September 10, 2011

Worth watching.

Never Forgive, Never Forget 9/11

Post Debate Thoughts

I was a bit surprised as I watched the Republican debate last night. I had come to watch with certain expectations and was disappointed.

I was hoping that Rick Perry would blow me away, say something that would impress me. He didn't. I liked what he said about capital punishment in Texas but that was about it.

Rick Santorum, as a friend said, we forgot he was there.

I like Michele Bachmann but I like governors more.

Mitt Romney actually came out ahead of the debate. I don't think he's a real solid conservative on all issues, but on the other hand what we need now is a businessman. (That's why I also like Herman Cain). Romney's being concrete in his ideas and has put his plans out for all to see.

RomneyCare in Massachusetts bothers me, but on the other hand - that's the beauty of federalism. States have the right to experiment. Solutions do not have to come from the federal/national government. Every state is different, their needs are different from one another. It's up to each state to find what works best for them. It would be good for Romney to come out clearly and say this.

So we'll see what happens now. There's another debate September 22nd and I'm looking forward to it.

President of Some of the People

The stunt President Obama tried to pull last week requesting to speak to Congress on the same night as the Republican debate was obnoxious but shouldn't surprise us.

When House Speaker Boehner graciously said "no" due to technical difficulties and offered him a different night, the talking heads called it "unprecedented" that Obama was turned down.

What is truly "unprecedented" is how this president holds anyone who holds ideas other than his own in open contempt. We've seen this contempt not only this last week but also throughout his presidency. Jonathan Alter, of Newsweek, quotes Obama calling the Tea Party the pejorative term 'tea-baggers'.

We may even remember as a candidate he made denigrating remarks about blue collar workers.

Referring to working-class voters in old industrial towns decimated by job losses, the presidential hopeful said: "They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

He went on to apologize without a real apology.

Obama initially reacted to the resultant media firestorm over the weekend by trying to stand by his comments. But he later apologised, saying: "If I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that."

He didn't regret what he had said, he regretted the way he "worded things".

Watching Press Secretary Carney last week explain away how the President chose September 7th showed the contempt by describing the debate as "one of many" that's on "one channel of many".

All of this is obnoxious and playing petty political games. While it is true that the President is of one of the political parties - he is also supposed to be the President of all Americans. By attempting to schedule yet another one of his speeches during the Republican debate he showed us how much he really cares about those little people who would be forced to choose between him and those Republicans who are vying for his job.

Feed the Terrorists - They Need Strength to Fire Rockets into Israel

This tweet from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson caught my eye:

#Hamas pounds #Israel w/rockets; Thurs. Israel sent 263 truckloads w/goods into #Gaza for #Palestinian Pop. & sending more today #IDF

Why? Why is Israel sending tons of "goods" into Gaza?

Rockets are being sent into Israel indiscriminately, over a hundred in the last 3 days - people are being hurt and murdered - and Israel is sending goods into Gaza? It's almost a bad joke.

Does Israel think that sending goods into Gaza is going to make them our friends? We know it isn't going to happen. In fact, a poll of "Palestinians" in the "West Bank" and the Gaza Strip published last month proves the point.

Respondents were asked about US President Barack Obama’s statement that “there should be two states: Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people and Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people.”

Just 34% said they accepted that concept, while 61% rejected it.

Sixty-six percent said the Palestinians’ real goal should be to start with a two-state solution but then move to it all being one Palestinian state.

Asked about the fate of Jerusalem, 92% said it should be the capital of Palestine, 1% said the capital of Israel, 3% the capital of both, and 4% a neutral international city.

Seventy-two percent backed denying the thousands of years of Jewish history in Jerusalem, 62% supported kidnapping IDF soldiers and holding them hostage, and 53% were in favor or teaching songs about hating Jews in Palestinian schools.

When given a quote from the Hamas Charter about the need for battalions from the Arab and Islamic world to defeat the Jews, 80% agreed. Seventy-three percent agreed with a quote from the charter (and a hadith, or tradition ascribed to the prophet Muhammad) about the need to kill Jews hiding behind stones and trees.

So basically, these "people" are all for the kidnapping and murdering of Jews and establishing "Palestine" in all of what is Israel today. Yup, sending tons of goods into Gaza is going to do a lot for this relationship. What a waste.

I just don't get it. This is beyond comprehension. These "Palestinians" are bound and determined to destroy the Jewish People and we're trucking in "goods" as good will gestures. They must be laughing at us. How stupid are the Jews?

Come September when these wonderful, "peaceful" and tolerant people come to the United Nations to ask for a state - I'm sure they'll remember the good ole' days when the Jews were trucking in "goods" to help them out... even while they were sending rockets raining down on Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva. I'm sure that they really care.

It's amazing that some still assume that the "Palestinians" in the "West Bank" are somehow different than the ones in Gaza. Again, remember that this poll includes both groups... and again, remember that Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza are already in unity talks - which means that the United Nations will be thrilled to announce new terrorist states in the West Bank and in Gaza as well. Another bad joke.

Since the "Palestinians" have decided to forgo all negotiations and treaties signed with Israel - Israel should say that all is null and void. It's time to annex Judea/Samaria (aka the West Bank) and end the Arab occupation of Jewish land. We have a 3000 year history the Arabs do not respect or recognize. If those Arabs living in Judea/Samaria cannot handle living in a Jewish State - they are welcome to leave. No one is stopping them.

And as it's said - don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Muslims Need a Sense of Humor

Not that I find David Letterman funny, I don't. But it looks like he's offended the Muslims.

The new threat comes from a frequent poster on Islamic jihadist forums, Umar al Basrawi, who implored American Muslims to "cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever," according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, a non-profit that monitors online jihadists.

The New York Post reports Letterman, who isn’t Jewish, became the object of al-Basrawi’s ire when the late-night funnyman told a joke about the death of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda’s search for his replacement.

It seems that the Muslims don't have a sense of humor and can't laugh at themselves. Remember how South Park creators got a not so subtle death threat?

Cognizant that Islam forbids the depiction of its holiest prophet, Mr. Stone and Mr. Parker showed their “South Park” characters agonizing over how to bring Muhammad to their fictional Colorado town. At first the character said to be Muhammad is confined to a U-Haul trailer, and is heard speaking but is not shown. Later in the episode the character is let out of the trailer, dressed in a bear costume.

The next day the “South Park” episode was criticized by the group Revolution Muslim in a post at its Web site, revolutionmuslim.com. The post, written by a member named Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, said the episode “outright insulted” the prophet, adding: “We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid, and they will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them.”

Mr. van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker and a critic of religions including Islam, was killed by an Islamic militant in Amsterdam in 2004 after he made a film that discussed the abuse of Muslim women in some Islamic societies.

And let's not forget those Muhammed political cartoons that "sparked" riots across the world back in 2005.

But anyone without a sense of humor scares me. Muslims have no sense of humor. We've all heard Jewish jokes, Christian jokes (all denominations) - anyone with a Muslim joke out there?

The British Riots and Personal Self-Defense

Important reading: The Soft-on-Crime Roots of British Disorder by Joyce Lee Malcolm

When the police are unable to protect the citizenry and their property - what are ordinary, law abiding citizens to do?

This is an excellent article.

Republican Debate Tonight 9pm

Tonight is the Republican debate on Fox News.

Conventional wisdom is that they're all going to stand up there and bash Obama - which will be fun, but that's not what I'm going to be looking for. I know that I'm not voting for Obama - what are these candidates going to offer me? Who are they? What are they going to do for the country?

Someone needs to stand out from the pack and get my attention. For the most part they all look the same to me. I still can't figure out which one is Rick Santorum and which one is Tim Pawlenty. Every time I think I've got them straight, I find out that I'm wrong.

The upshot is that this election is ABO - Anyone But Obama. That being said, I'd still like to hear some real ideas and solutions.

Bring on the debate!

Run Hillary Run!

Democrats doubt Barack Obama's reelection chances

Finding it hard to defend his often listless and repetitive performances, Democratic strategists and commentators are privately agreeing with Republicans and comparing Mr Obama to Jimmy Carter, another Democrat who remains the post-war benchmark for a failed president....

Mr [Morris] Reid added that the president remained a formidable campaigner and fund-raiser and should not be ruled out of the fight in 2012. But he said some Democrats were feeling "buyer's remorse" for selecting the president in his epic battle with Mrs Clinton for the 2008 Democratic nomination.

"The notion everyone is talking about is 'is he Jimmy Carter or will he be a one-term president'," he said....

Mr Obama's approval rating has fallen dramatically since the killing of Osama bin Laden in early May, and he has failed to outline a vision for how he will improve chronic unemployment and a housing market in which one if five mortgage holders are in negative equity.

A 2012 primary challenge by Mrs Clinton is currently regarded as unlikely, but growing number of party activists and old hands are hoping that she changes her mind....

An article in the New York Times by Drew Westen, a professor of psychology at Emory University and a specialist in political messaging, summarised the dismay at Mr Obama's performance and was rapidly circulated online by liberals.

"Those of us who were bewitched by his eloquence on the campaign trail chose to ignore some disquieting aspects of his biography: that he had accomplished very little before he ran for president," he wrote.

It's incredible that the Democrats are just figuring this out. Obama was a nobody before he ran for President. They were excited about about how articulate and "magical" he was. They were excited about being able to vote for a black man, no matter his resume.

But here we are four years later and they've had time to think about how "hope and change" has been working out - maybe they'll give Hillary another shot?

Hillary for President?

The "Moderate" vs. "Extreme" Terrorists

Here we go... Terrorist Group No. 1 is in talks with Terrorist Group No. 2.

Representatives of Fatah and Hamas agreed on Sunday to a mutual release of political prisoners, Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.

Fatah’s Azza al-Ahmad and Hamas’s Mousa Abu Marzouk met in Cairo on Sunday in an attempt to rekindle reconciliation talks that hit a snag in July when the two parties could not agree on the formation of a unified government.

Fatah, the ruling faction of the Palestinian Authority (PA), is in talks with the well established terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. If the PA are supposed to be the "moderates" and Hamas are the "extremists" what does this tell us?

Are the "moderates" of the Palestinian Authority and the "extremists" of Hamas different than each other? In what way? Hamas is clear - Israel must be destroyed. The PA claims it only wants a state. Is the creation of another Arab state just a stepping stone toward the destruction of Israel?

Looking at the Palestinian Authority's revised charter we have to wonder if anything has really changed. While the terms "Israel", "Zionist" and other similar words are no longer included in the charter - it begins with these statements:

Revolution is our path to freedom, independence, and construction
It is a revolution until victory

It goes on to say:

This internal charter has been adopted within the framework of adherence to the provisions of the Basic Charter.

In reality, this "new" Palestinian Charter is an addendum to the Basic Charter - which includes the destruction of Israel.

Article (19) Armed struggle is a strategy and not a tactic, and the Palestinian Arab People's armed revolution is a decisive factor in the liberation fight and in uprooting the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated.

How is this different from from the new charter?

You must prepare yourself to inspire the spirit of organized revolutionary work in every Arab soul that is sincere to Palestine and that believes in its liberation. Let us train ourselves to be patient and to face ordeals, bear calamities, sacrifice our souls, blood, time and effort.

Fatah is the armed wing of the Palestinian Authority. We see what their interests are by their symbol.

Their background includes a map of the whole of Israel - not the so called West Bank or just the Gaza Strip. Of course the additions of the machine guns and a grenade are nice touches.

The Hamas charter is not much different from the PA Basic Charter.

The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up.... There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad.... "I swear by the holder of Mohammed's soul that I would like to invade and be killed for the sake of Allah, then invade and be killed, and then invade again and be killed." (As related by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Take a look at the Hamas flag.

Compare the Hamas and the PA flags - both have the whole of Israel on their flags. Both believe that "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free". Both believe in jihad and "liberation" through the murder of Jews.

Tell me again what differentiates the "moderates" from the "extremists" exactly?

30 US Soldiers Dead

It was a sad weekend for all of us keeping up with the news.

Thirty U.S. soldiers -- some from the Navy's special forces SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- seven Afghans and an interpreter died in Friday night's crash, just two weeks after foreign troops began a security handover to Afghan forces.

We salute these brave soldiers who lost their lives trying to help those in Afghanistan and protecting us here at home. We also pray for their families who paid the ultimate price.

Israel and the Art of Self-Preservation

It has finally happened.

In a dramatic policy shift, Israel's prime minister has agreed to negotiate the borders of a Palestinian state based on the cease-fire line that marks off the West Bank, a TV station reported Monday.

In other words - Israel will go back to pre-1967 borders before the Arab World attacked it. Why? Supposedly this offer will stop the "Palestinians" from going to the United Nations and unilaterally proclaiming a state.

It's truly amazing to me. Jews are supposedly a smart people. We have Nobel Prize laureates in biomedical, chemistry, economics, physics and literature reaching back more than 100 years. No one out there doubts that Jews have excelled in all areas - except, I would argue, one. Self-preservation when we are responsible for it.

G-d preserved the Jewish People in exile for more than 3000 years in order to return us to the Land of Israel in order to create the modern state. And here we are in 2011 being blackmailed into giving away our inheritance.

If we had a guarantee that these lands wouldn't be used as a launching pad to attack Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Be'er Sheva - we could conceivably assume that returning to a 9 mile wide border might possibly be a gamble that we would be willing to take. But there are no guarantees and we know what assuming gets us.

Considering the "Arab Spring" that sprung a few months ago, we have seen the Middle East neighborhood change - and not for the better. Iran is showing more influence in the region than they ever did before. The Gaza Strip - an experiment in "Palestinian" self-rule is a disaster. Rockets from Iran still rain daily upon civilian populations within Israel. Syria, a close ally of Iran, still supports Hezbollah in Lebanon - attacking Israel from the north. Egypt is no longer the close friend it used to be under Hosni Mubarak (not a pleasant fellow, but Israel could trust him). The military running Egypt allowed Iranian ships through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. They no longer attempt to control what weapons come into the Gaza Strip through the smuggling tunnels. As Egypt gets ready for their first real election in years we wonder about the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood as they are being allowed to join in the process.

The Middle East is a scary place for a little democracy full of Jews and other minorities. The Arab Middle East is a vast 6,145,389 square miles (the USA has about 3.8 million sq.miles) while Israel has under 8,000 square miles which doesn't include Gaza, Judea/Samaria or the Golan Heights (which doesn't improve the numbers by much). Israel is tiny.

The "Palestinians" still do not recognize Israel as a "Jewish" state and they never will because they don't believe that the Jews have any right to be there. When they are unable to acknowledge a "Jewish" state, it proves the point that it is not 'Zionism' as they proclaim to be the problem - but Jews and Judaism as the problem.

The point is not that the "Palestinians" need a "homeland" - they don't. It is that they don't want the Jews to have a homeland period. The Arab World could have solved the "Palestinian" question years ago - they have the money and the space. They didn't want to - why should they? The "Palestinians" are a thorn in Israel's side - a way to delegitimize the Jewish State, branding the Jews as usurpers when in truth it is the other way.

When Israel accepts the pre-1967 "Auschwitz" borders as a precondition for negotiations with people who are unable to recognize her existence as a Jewish state, when they themselves will unapologetically proclaim another Muslim state, it is mind boggling. When Israel accepts a 9 mile wide border as a precondition when surrounded by people who hate and wish them dead, it is mind boggling. When Israel hopes that proclaiming the pre-1967 borders as a legitimate starting point for negotiations in the hope that the United Nations, full of dictators and rogue states, will not recognize a new "Palestinian" terrorist state - it is mind boggling.

One hopes that G-d, who has protected the Jewish People over the last 3000 years to bring us to today, will again look kindly upon us and save us from ourselves.

The "Christian" Terrorist and the War on Terror

Admit it - we all believed the Oslo shooter was a Muslim terrorist. And we happened to be wrong - but we weren't wrong for believing it initially. The fact that all major terrorist acts have been perpetrated by Muslims within the last 30 odd years is nothing to sneeze at and proves the point.

Now there are plenty out there who are quite excited that Anders Behring Breivik was not a Muslim - because they finally get a chance to "prove" that Muslims are not the only terrorists around.

As westerners wrestle with such characterizations of the Oslo mass murder suspect, the question arises: Nearly a decade after 9/11 created a widespread suspicion of Muslims based on the actions of a fanatical few, is this what it's like to walk a mile in the shoes of stereotype?

The liberals have something... finally... to grab onto.

They are so excited, in fact, that many have claimed that Breivik was a fundamentalist Christian and connect him to Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber - another supposed Christian. (Because as we know, fundamentalist Christians are as dangerous as those jihadist Muslims.)

In his personal manifesto the killer wrote: "Regarding my personal relationship with God, I guess I'm not an excessively religious man. I am first and foremost a man of logic. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God."

He also quoted various atheist philosophers when he posted on blogs, was supportive of the gay community, hadn't attended church in 17 years, and seems to have had no connection to organized Christianity.

But that did not hold back the hysterical Christian-bashers out there.

The same happened, and still happens, with Timothy McVeigh. The Oklahoma killer was an atheist, who even in his final letter before execution screamed against God. No matter, he is still said to be a Christian.

By performing this terrible act of murder in Norway, Breivik has done everyone a huge disservice. The issue of the Islamification of Europe is very serious indeed and with the massacre, he has changed the topic. It is no longer Islamification - he has brought the entire "War on Terror" into question. Since now we know that not all terrorists are Muslims because Breivik is supposedly a Christian... the War is moot and should no longer be waged.

This is bad. We will no longer be able to productively debate the effects of Islam in Europe. From here on Breivik will always be brought up in defense of Islam. The mantra of "all religions have their fundamentalists" will be repeated ad nauseam and thoughtful discussion will be shown the door. Thank you Anders Behring Breivik. Good job.

Read Michael Coren: No Twisted Religion in Norway Tragedy

The War on Jewish History

I just came across these two must read articles.

The first is the archeological find of a small gold bell. Why is that important? The Arabs and most notably the "Palestinians" have a habit of denying and destroying any Jewish connection to the Land of Israel. This bell dates back to the 2nd Temple period and may have actually come from the cloak of the Jewish High Priest. It's nice to see history come alive with finds like this - proving what we already know - Jews have lived in the Land of Israel for 3000 years.

The second article deals with the Holocaust denial in "Palestinian" schools.

UNRWA, which provides assistance for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, was shocked when Palestinian school officials categorically rejected a request to insert Holocaust studies in their school curriculums....

The Palestinian Authority on the other hand does not encourage any instruction about that dark period in history and it remains out of bounds. UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), which provides assistance for Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, was shocked a few weeks ago when Palestinian school officials categorically rejected a request to have Holocaust studies inserted to the school curriculum as part of the education on human rights. The UNRWA Palestinian Workers Union explained to an embarrassed UNRWA management that "teaching the Holocaust to Palestinian children may confuse them."

I'm really not sure why UNRWA was so shocked by this Holocaust denial. It's been rampant for years within "Palestinian" society. Moderate Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, wrote his doctoral thesis on the collaboration between the Zionists and the Nazis, in essence denying the atrocities of the Holocaust.

I'm not one to cry anti-semitism at every turn. I don't bring out the Holocaust in every conversation. I really don't even care if people like Jews - as long as they don't try and hurt us or deny our history. By denying the Holocaust - a planned execution of 6,000,000 people, among them 1.5 million children - it proves that these are people that have no interest in making peace and only in making war.

This war may be in the form of rockets hitting school buses - or - this war may be in the form of an attack on Jewish history.

Denying 3000 years of Jews living in the Land of Israel - and destroying the archeology that proves it... is war.

Denying the execution of 6 million innocents simply because it doesn't fit their narrative ... is war.

It's time to stop pretending that the "Palestinians" are partners in this 'peace' process. A people who deny our existence in history and deny the loss of millions of our people are at war with us. There will be no peace.

Hillary for President?

With unemployment numbers continuing to rise (understatement of the year) and debt up to our proverbial ears - President Obama is in serious trouble. Polls show him losing to a generic Republican candidate in 2012.

With the presidential election still 18 months away and the GOP field wide open, 44 percent of voters say they are more likely to vote for a generic Republican candidate than President Obama, according to the latest Gallup poll. Just 39 percent would back the incumbent president.

The level of uncertainty heading into the 2012 election is also evident in the 18 percent of voters who, at this point, do not have a preference for Obama versus the Republican.

It seems that 2012 will be an "anyone but Obama" election.

The question that crosses my mind (and a few others watching the ad above) is that this is the perfect time for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to step into the power void that Obama has left with his base and independents.

We know that Hillary has said that she's no longer interested in being president and is happy being Secretary of State - but then again she was supposedly happy being a senator from the great State of New York and wasn't interested in being president. We know how that turned out.

It would actually be in the best interest of the Democratic Party to run Hillary instead of Obama. Democrats like her - she won all the big states when she ran back in 2008 - and I think she'd bring in the independent vote as well. She's seen as a moderate, and perhaps a fiscal conservative. Most importantly we know that everyone *loves* Bill.

To mollify the liberals - they'd finally have a chance to vote for a black guy and a woman two elections in a row. For those who are guided by identity politics, I think that would be a pretty big deal.

Of course those who do vote based on gender and race also have other options - Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann... but I won't hold my breath.

Wind farm invades Normandy Beach?

In news just reported today,

Last week, the French government opened the bidding process for the construction of 1,200 turbines in five spots along the coast. President Nicolas Sarkozy first announced the $27 billion plan for offshore wind farms in January. The successful bid will be announced in early 2012 and the wind farms are set to begin operating in 2015.

Thankfully I'm not the only one out there that was appalled when they heard about this -

In France, a collective of 483 organizations called the European Platform Against Windfarms has been loudly criticizing the plan, calling for a moratorium on all new wind farm projects. The group’s president, Jean-Louis Butré, said it objects to wind farms for a number of reasons, from health and esthetic reasons to historical concerns.

In a phone interview from Paris, Butré said that, if the government builds a wind farm off the D-Day beaches, “it means that they do not respect such things.

He is absolutely correct. Allied forces had casualties numbering at least 10,000 on D-Day. Another 12,000 were lost in April and May of 1944 leading up to the Normandy landing. To build 1,200 turbines along these beaches is truly a slap in the face of those who lost their lives saving France and the rest of Europe.

But hey, it's France and it even reminds me of a joke,
Why are the streets in Paris lined with trees? Because the Germans like to march in the shade.