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.