January 22, 2009

Gaza Doctor: Hamas Lies About Civilian Deaths!

Confirming just what has always been known by those who are not shills for terrorists.

What really is behind the numbers reported on the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip? Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported Thursday that a doctor working in Gaza's Shifa Hospital claimed that Hamas has intentionally inflated the number of casualties resulting from Israel's Operation Cast Lead.

"The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter," according to the newspaper article.

In other words, their tactics are not dissimilar to those practiced by the Nazis in the last days of WWII, when they armed members of the Hitler Youth (remember, membership was not voluntary) and placed them in harm's way in a last ditch effort to protect that malign regime from its well-deserved defeat. That is appropriate, given that the Hamas program of anti-Semitism and genocide bears much in common with that espoused by the Nazi Party -- which a number of Hamas' spiritual and political ancestors adhered to during that time.

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Best Headline EVER!

And it has appeared in various publications worldwide today.

Clinically Depressed Poodle Mauls Former French President Chirac

I have a vision of Chirac writhng on the floor screaming out France's national motto -- "Je capitule à vous!"

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I Guess You Can Question Some PeopleÂ’s Patriotism

It seems like it wasn’t long ago that we on the conservative side were told that questioning the patriotism of those who claimed America deserved the 9/11 attacks, who insulted the troops and urged them to kill their officers, who leaked and published classified material damaging to national security, sought more legal protection for terrorists than are granted American soldiers or who otherwise gave aid and comfort to the enemy during time of war was somehow unacceptable. Indeed, we were regularly told that dissent – even dissent that seditious, treasonous dissent like that mentioned above – was the highest form of patriotism and that we were somehow fascists if we dared to be critical of those who engaged in the most vile of insults against President Bush.

Apparently, though, those days ended at noon on January 20. Failure to support President Obama blindly and give oneÂ’s assent to his agenda is now defined as hatred of America by the mainstream media.

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Up next, does Rush Limbaugh hate this country? Wait till you hear what he said about the new president. He wants him to fail. What an amazing. I've never heard anybody say they wanted a new president to fail. Usually you want the new president to succeed and then later on you argue the politics of what he or she does. But to want them to fail at the outset? What's that about?

* * * MATTHEWS: But it turns out that not everyone has warm wishes for the new president. On Friday radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh said he was asked by a major print organization to offer 400 words on his hope for the Obama presidency. Here's what Rush had to say just days before the Inauguration.

RUSH LIMBAUGH: I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, "Well I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance." So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, okay I'll send you a response but I don't need 400 words. I need four. I hope he fails.

MATTHEWS: Well Rush must have a lot of acorns squirreled away not to share everyone else's hopes that the economy does come back.

Yeah, the partisan Mr. “Thrill-up-my-leg” has questioned Rush Limbaugh’s patriotism. Apparently he has become the arbiter of how and when and over what other Americans may dissent. Will the same leftist activists and media talking-heads (in reality, the same thing) call him to account for questioning the patriotism of this dissenter? Will they remain silent as Matthews labels a dissenting political commentator as un-American – or worse yet, will they pile on along with him? In short, do the standards set by the Left during the Bush administration still apply in the Age of Obama – or is the new “thou shalt not dissent” standard one of the changes wrought by the dawning of the Age of Obama?

For what it is worth, I disagree with how Limbaugh expressed his position. I hope Obama is a success as a President – but I believe that for him to succeed he must repudiate the positions he took during the campaign. To the degree that he does not, I also hope that he fails in his efforts to bring to fruition the most of the proposed policies of his administration, policies which I believe will harm this nation. That is, as I understand him, exactly what Limbaugh was saying in the quote above – and that, my dear readers, is precisely the sort of dissent that is truly the highest form of patriotism.

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The Proper Way To Do It

I fully support CaliforniaÂ’s Proposition 8. I believe it to have been a proper action of the people of California to amend their state constitution to define the institution of marriage as they see fit. And I view as illegitimate most of the tactics engage in by its foes to intimidate supporters and prevent the results at the ballot box from being the law of the land.

On the other hand, I applaud the efforts being made by these folks – even as I oppose the measures they are proposing.

Angered by the passage of Proposition 8, grass-roots activists are working to place measures on the ballot to reverse California's ban on same-sex unions.

The sparsely financed groups are acting independently of the No on 8 Campaign, which is challenging the measure in the state Supreme Court. They plan to use the Internet to collect the nearly 700,000 signatures of registered voters needed to get on the ballot.

Two groups took the first step toward qualifying a ballot measure last week with the state Attorney General's Office, asking for an official title and summary. A third group is expected to follow suit this week.

"Our logic is that we should not put all our eggs in one basket and wait for the Supreme Court," said Charles Lowe, who after campaigning against Proposition 8 founded a Davis-based group called Yes! on Equality. "By doing so, we lose anywhere from 8 to 12 months."

His proposed constitutional amendment would repeal Proposition 8, which holds that "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California."

Meanwhile, two heterosexual Southern California college students – Ali Shams and Kaelan Housewright – want to take the state out of the marriage business.
Their proposed measure calls for the term "marriage" to be removed from state laws and replaced with "domestic partnerships."

Shams maintains the measure would provide equality to all couples, regardless of sexual orientation, while preserving marriage as a religious and social ceremony.

"This is a compromise," Shams said. "It says 'Get rid of marriage as a state institution. Make it a religious institution, keep politics out of it and stop the fighting.'"

Stephen Stapleton of Sacramento said he plans to file a third ballot measure request this week. Like the Yes! on Equality proposal, it would repeal Proposition 8.

The people have spoken on the issue of homosexual marriage in California -- twice in the last decade. There is nothing, however, to keep them from reconsidering their choice and possibly reversing course. It is my belief that they should not – but if popular sovereignty is to mean anything in this country, then giving these measures a chance to qualify for the ballot and possibly be adopted by Californians is both necessary and proper. And even if I disagree with those pushing these repeal proposals, I would like to express my admiration for their decision to take the high road. Too bad the rest of their movement have instead engaged in tactics similar to those used by the KKK during the 1950s and 1960s.

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No White Males Allowed

Well, I guess that is what “Hope & Change” means in the Age of Obama.

"I am concerned, as I'm sure many of you are, that these jobs [hopefully being created by government spending] not simply go to high skilled people who are already professionals or to white male construction workers."

Got that? Obama recovery point man Robert Reich is concerned that government spending might actually benefit white people – and wants to make sure that this does not happen.

No doubt this means that we will see race-based qualifications for beneficiaries of these programs, with disproportionate minority participation goals resulting in the exclusion of “excess white men” from the program.

Could you imagine if an official of a Republican administration expressed a concern that government spending not disproportionately benefit African-Americans? But this sort of racial discrimination is the politically correct kind, so the opinion elite wonÂ’t take note of it. After all, in the two weeks since the statement was made, we've heard not one peep out of the media. So much for the press protecting our right to know -- what they truly believe in is our right to drink the liberal Kool-Aid they dispense.

And here we had hoped that this post-racial presidency might result in an end to the sordid practice of sorting our citizens by skin color in the awarding of benefits and burdens. Instead, we have seen a stake driven through the heart of Dr. King's vision of a color-blind society by the administration of the American who most benefited from it.

H/T Malkin

UPDATE: Over at Hot Air, they have the video. Where is the MSM on this one?

Do we need a special prosecutor to investigate the Obama Administration's conspiracy to deprive whites of the rights under the Fourteenth Amendment? At a bare minimum, it is clear from this video that Barry Hussein and his merry band of socialists are on their way to be the administration which has shown the least respect for civil rights since that of Democrat President Woodrow Wilson -- if not that of Confederate Jefferson Davis (D-Mississippi).

UPDATE 2: Darleen Click offers this pointed commentary.

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January 21, 2009

A Thought For The Day

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We have heard from the Left for eight years that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. My friends on the Right and I are nothing if not patriots -- and will dissent from the policies of Barack Obama with more class and dignity than those on the Left showed for the last eight years. And we will work to ensure a rebirth of liberty in four years.

So to my fellow Americans I offer up the prize on which we must focus our eyes.

1/20/2013

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January 20, 2009

Congratulations, Mr. President

At noon today, Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th President of the United States.

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I did not vote for him.

I cannot imagine any circumstance under which I will ever vote for him.

But he is still my president for the next four years, for good or ill.

Let me close with these words I posted the day after President Obama's election in November.

I commit to offering to Barack Obama my support and respect after his inauguration -- and not the same level of support and respect that the Left showed George W. Bush. I will support Obama when he is right, but fiercely oppose him when he is wrong -- something I suspect will be more often than not. But as I said in 1993 when Bill Clinton was inaugurated, my prayer is that Barack Obama leaves this country better than it was at the beginning of his term, and am fully prepared to be pleasantly surprised if he does. After all, my country is more important to me than my party -- as it should be.

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A Grateful Nation Thanks You, George W. Bush

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History will be kinder to you than your critics have been.

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January 17, 2009

I Know Where To Cut College Spending

Here's an interesting article on why college costs have been skyrocketing in recent years.

Why has college tuition been rising so high and fast? Will college costs ever drop back to more affordable levels?

Those questions have been frustrating parents and students for years. A new report provides some surprising answers that will, unfortunately, probably only frustrate and anger them even more. At public colleges, tuition has generally been driven up by rising spending on administrators, student support services, and the need to make up for reductions in government subsidies, according to a report issued by the Delta Cost Project, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C.

In some cases, such as at community colleges (which educate about half of the nation's college students), tuition has risen while spending on classroom instruction has actually fallen. At public colleges especially, the current economic troubles will likely only accelerate the trend of rising prices and classroom cutbacks, says Jane Wellman, the author of the report. After analyzing income and spending statistics that nearly 2,000 colleges reported to the federal government, Wellman concludes: "Students are paying more and, arguably, getting less in the classroom."

There is one particularly interesting statistic that comes out of the article -- the one related to spending on administration. It seems that the a huge chunk of the spending is for non-classroom purposes like administration, maintenance, and "student services" -- $4000 a year, to the $8700 spent in the classroom. Knowing that colleges are like school districts, I know that there is plenty of room for cuts in one of those categories -- administration. For that matter, I wonder how much cutting could be made in "support services", much of which is fluff.

H/T The Glittering Eye

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January 16, 2009

Why I Find This Muslim Terrorism Plea Really Disturbing

It isn’t just that we once again find members of the ersatz “Religion of Peace” ready to engage in acts of murder mayhem, and jihad against the United States. Rather it is a tiny detail overlooked by other commenters on the matter.

Two cousins from the Chicago area have pleaded guilty in Ohio to taking part in a plot to recruit and train terrorists to kill American soldiers.
Federal prosecutors say the men had been training and planning to go overseas so that they could kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Authorities say the men were recruited by three Toledo men organizing the plot. All three were convicted last summer and are awaiting sentencing.

Khaleel Ahmed of Chicago and Zubair Ahmed of suburban North Chicago both pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Each faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.

Prosecutors say the two men received training in firearms and counter-surveillance so they could join the insurgency against U.S. troops.

They were alleged to be planning to go abroad – but that little bit that I bolded makes me wonder about a potential problem closer to home.

IÂ’ve been to North Chicago. Indeed, I went to school there and worked there when I was from the time I was 13 until I was 21.

North Chicago, you see, is the community that abuts Naval Station, Great Lakes, where my father was stationed for many years. It is home to the US NavyÂ’s only boot camp, as well as a great many advanced training programs for enlisted personnel in critical specialties. Here's hoping that federal authorities are looking closely at this connection -- and making sure that there is not a cell of terrorists preparing to strike at the heart of our national defense.

H/T Founding Bloggers

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Hanks Declares One Religion UnAmerican

No, not Islam – even though we have been under terrorist assault by Muslims for years.

No, Tom Hanks has declared that Mormons are un-American – for daring to oppose gay marriage.

Tom Hanks, Executive Producer for HBO’s controversial polygamist series “Big Love,” made his feelings toward the Mormon Church’s involvement in California's Prop 8 (which prohibits gay marriage) very clear at the show’s premiere party on Wednesday night.

“The truth is this takes place in Utah, the truth is these people are some bizarre offshoot of the Mormon Church, and the truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen,” he told Tarts. “There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them.

So let’s make this really clear – Tom Hanks (and many of his Hollywood buddies) believe that participation in the democratic process by members of the LDS Church is un-American. On the other hand, he would be among the first to accuse those who question the loyalty and patriotism of members of America’s Muslim community of profiling and engaging in religious bigotry, despite the fact that there have been multiple terrorism convictions of American Muslims.

And of course, Tom Hanks would have been one of those who reacted in outrage to even the mildest questions about the loyalty of those who failed to embrace AmericaÂ’s defensive war against the jihadi swine who have repeatedly indicated their desire to destroy this nation. But now he denigrates the Americanism of one of those with whom he disagrees on a question of public policy and engage in legal, constitutionally protected activities to further their policy goals. Dare I suggest that HanksÂ’ position on the matter is the epitome of unAmericanism?

Interestingly enough, by the way, Hanks (and many of his fellow travelers on the gay marriage issue) is quick to blame a religious minority that accounts for no more than 2% of the population of California for the passage of Prop 8. Could it be that he realizes that an attack upon the Catholic Church and the many black churches that actively supported Prop 8 would do grave harm to his career, while an attack upon Mormonism would do him no harm and might even increase the revenues he makes on his religiously bigoted anti-Mormon television series, Big Love?

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Quote Of The Day

Israeli spokesman Mark Regev has this to say about calls for Israel to declare a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza.

"I don't believe that there's a logical expectation in the international community that Israel unilaterally cease fire while Hamas would continue to target cities, trying to kill our people."

How true. However, such calls are not based upon logic or common sense. They are based upon a malignant belief that Israel has no right to peace and security, that it lacks the right to self-defense that every other nation has – and that Arabs who would murder Jews are never to be held accountable for their murderous actions.

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And May I Say “Who Cares?”

Some folks want to make this story into a big snub, an insult by Obama to George Bush.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama skipped his soon-to-be predecessorÂ’s final address to the nation on Thursday in favor of dining out.

At roughly 8 p.m. in Washington, about the time President George W. Bush began his televised speech, Obama left his new temporary residence across from the White House to go out for dinner in a restaurant a few blocks away.

A couple of observations.

1) In America, no one is required to watch a presidential address.

2) Obama had to eat sometime.

3) There is this remarkable invention called “Tivo” that allows one to record something off of the television to watch later – and there are also older bits of technology like VCRs and DVDs that do the same thing.

4) Like the White House hadnÂ’t already forward Obama a copy of the speech before it was given?

So come on, folks – this is a non-issue.

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The Arrogance Of Eric Holder

One more sign that this man is unfit for the office of Attorney General – or any other public trust under the United States.

Mr. Holder was forced to defend his record as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration as Republicans pressed him during a daylong confirmation hearing about his role in controversial pardons issued by President Bill Clinton and on other issues.

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, led the attack, pointedly suggesting that Mr. Holder had given political cover to then-Vice President Al Gore by refusing to seek an independent counsel to investigate accusations that Mr. Gore had violated campaign finance laws in a 1996 fund-raiser.

For the only time in more than seven hours of testimony, Mr. Holder abandoned his calm, stoic demeanor. “You’re getting close to questioning my integrity, and that’s not appropriate,” he responded. “That’s not fair, and I will not accept that.”

Excuse me, Mr. Holder, but you are being considered for the top position in the Department of Justice, and will have great authority over the investigation of criminal matters and the prosecution of those cases. Given that you supported the questionable pardon of a wanted fugitive (Marc Rich), the unsolicited pardon of a group of unrepentant terrorists to enhance Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign, and refused to investigate illegal campaign activity by a high ranking member of the administration in which you served, I think there is plenty of room to question both your judgment and integrity. It is fair, it is appropriate, and if you can’t accept it then you have absolutely no business seeking confirmation for a cabinet position. Indeed, there is but one appropriate action for you in this case – WITHDRAW! After all, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

And if Eric Holder will now withdraw, here an essay by the son of one of the victims of the FALN terrorists whose words quite eloquently explain why those pardoned terrorists should never have been permitted another day of freedom.

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January 15, 2009

The Miracle On The Hudson River

I don't know that my words can add anything to this photo of the aftermath of US Airways Flight 1549.

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All passengers and crew present and accounted for -- alive.

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Why No Riots?

After all, this bus ad by a Muslim group engages in an explicit act of blasphemy against both Judaism and Christianity. Yet unlike the sort of weÂ’ve seen when someone dares speak less than deferentially about Islam or Muhammad, this is the most outrage shown by folks who object to Muslim blasphemy against these two great faiths.

There's a new front in the conflict between Jew and Muslim: Broward County buses.

Fifty of the county's 290-bus fleet have been chugging around area streets for the past several weeks with a message that might seem more oblique than inflammatory. Black letters on a white backdrop proclaim, "ISLAM: The Way of Life of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad."

The $60,000 ad was paid for by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"We owe it to our fellow Americans to let them know that Islam stands for peace," said Altaf Ali, director of CAIR's South Florida chapter. "Muslims are here and Muslims are part and parcel of the United States."

Well, weÂ’ll set aside the fact that Altaf Ali, spokesman for the terrorist front group sponsoring the ad, is lying about the nature of Islam. WeÂ’ve seen enough of what Islam really stands for over the last couple of decades to know precisely how false his statement is.

But more to the point, Jesus was not a Muslim. Neither was Moses. And as for Abraham, the closest that Muslims can get to making their claim about him is that the Bible does indicate that he was the father of Ishmael – of whom it is written in Genesis that his hand would be raised against every man, a tradition which the spiritual descendants of Ishmael continue to this day with their acts of terror. And given that the Quran repeatedly contradicts the teachings of both the Old and New Testaments, it becomes impossible for any Christian or Jew who gives the matter serious consideration to accept the notion that the faith which grows from Muhammad’s book is truly kindred to ours.

But be that as it may, there is a bigger question. Broward County officials claim that the ad “didn't violate guidelines against ads that demean religions”. Really? I wonder, then – would Broward County allow for ads which Muslims found blasphemous, or would county officials determine that the offense taken by Muslims was sufficient to merit shutting down such a message? Maybe someone should consider trying to place an ad containing one of the Danish Muhammad cartoons on the buses to see exactly how open that open forum really is.

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Geithner Must Go

Yesterday I was willing to give Timothy Geithner the benefit of the doubt. After all, tax errors happen. Even the fact that he was willing to take advantage of the statute of limitations on what appeared to be an honest error was something I could accept. But this development makes him unacceptable – because he is clearly dishonest.

Although it has been dismissed by some observers as a “hiccup” in an otherwise smooth confirmation process, treasury secretary-designate Timothy Geithner’s failure to pay self-employment taxes during the years he worked at the International Monetary Fund is causing some Republicans on Capitol Hill to ask serious questions about his actions. First among those questions is why he accepted payment from the IMF as restitution for taxes that he had not, in fact, paid.

Yeah, you read that right – the IMF gave Geithner the money to pay the taxes – and while he accepted the cash, he didn’t pay the tax. Here are the details.

The IMF did not withhold state and federal income taxes or self-employment taxes — Social Security and Medicare — from its employees’ paychecks. But the IMF took great care to explain to those employees, in detail and frequently, what their tax responsibilities were. First, each employee was given the IMF Employee Tax Manual. Then, employees were given quarterly wage statements for the specific purpose of calculating taxes. Then, they were given year-end wage statements. And then, each IMF employee was required to file what was known as an Annual Tax Allowance Request. Geithner received all those documents.

The tax allowance has turned out to be a key part of the Geithner situation. This is how it worked. IMF employees were expected to pay their taxes out of their own money. But the IMF then gave them an extra allowance, known as a “gross-up,” to cover those tax payments. This was done in the Annual Tax Allowance Request, in which the employee filled out some basic information — marital status, dependent children, etc. — and the IMF then estimated the amount of taxes the employee would owe and gave the employee a corresponding allowance.

At the end of the tax allowance form were the words, “I hereby certify that all the information contained herein is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and that I will pay the taxes for which I have received tax allowance payments from the Fund.” Geithner signed the form. He accepted the allowance payment. He didn’t pay the tax. For several years in a row.

According to an analysis released by the Senate Finance Committee, Geithner “wrote contemporaneous checks to the IRS and the State of Maryland for estimated [income] tax payments” that jibed exactly with his IMF statements. But he didn’t write checks for the self-employment tax allowance. Then, according to the committee analysis, “he filled out, signed and submitted an annual tax allowance request worksheet with the IMF that states, ‘I wish to apply for tax allowance of U.S. Federal and State income taxes and the difference between the “self-employed” and “employed” obligation of the U.S. Social Security tax which I will pay on my Fund income.”

This isn’t a question of an error – or even taking advantage of a loophole. At this point it becomes a question of intentional fraud and willful tax evasion. As such, there can be no question of actually allowing Geithner to serve in the cabinet. Indeed, it may be that the first thing that we need to start the Obama Administration with the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate this matter (as well as the questionable actions of several other nominees) and other matters noted in a New York Times editorial today.

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They Told Me That Voting For Republicans Would Lead to A Return Of The Draft

Except it is “pro-freedom” Democrats who want to implement a program of involuntary servitude for young Americans.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) likely will introduce his controversial legislation to reinstate the draft again this year, but he will wait until after the economic stimulus package is passed.

Asked if he plans to introduce the legislation again in 2009, Rangel last week said, “Probably … yes. I don’t want to do anything this early to distract from the issue of the economic stimulus.”

RangelÂ’s military draft bill did create a distraction for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) soon after Democrats won control of Congress after the 2006 election.

Rangel, of course, wants it to be clear that his goal is to undermine the military capability of the US by making it difficult for the US to fight a war, even after we are attacked on our own soil by a foreign enemy.

Frankly, I don’t see how the Democrats can oppose the Rangel plan – after all, Barack’s proposed mandatory volunteer national service program (call it the “Obama Youth”) already proposes involuntary servitude for young Americans. Why would Rangel’s bill create a “distraction” if it does, in fact, seek to fulfill one of Obama’s own proposals?

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A Legend In His Own Mind

The choice of a buffoon like Joe Biden as vice president may have been a wise move by Barack Obama – after all, anything the new president says will look like sage wisdom by comparison to the sorts of things that regularly drip from the new veep’s mouth. But what is really scary is that Biden holds such an inflated opinion of himself, as demonstrated by his words here.

"I know as much or more than Cheney. I'm the most experienced vice president since anybody."

Now letÂ’s consider this for just a moment.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Does Biden really want to argue that he is more experienced or prepared than two of the most important Founders?

But then again, maybe we get some insight into the workings of Biden’s mind when we recognize that he does concede that one many may have been better prepared – Lyndon Johnson (who went on to be one of the worst presidents in history). What do they have in common? An extended tenure in the Senate – with Johnson having also been Senate Majority Leader and therefore having a greater breadth of experience.

Aside from being a rather narrow definition of “experience”, Biden’s criteria would also argue that he was not the best qualified choice for VP – and I therefore urge him to step aside and allow Obama to appoint Senator Robert Byrd, a former majority leader, president pro tem and KKK Kleagle, as vice president.

Call it “Experience We Can Believe In.”

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I Guess It WasnÂ’t Unconstitutional After All

Whatever will the liberals do now that their criticism of the wiretapping of foreign calls has been upheld by the courts as constitutional.

A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, is expected to issue a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a court order, even when AmericansÂ’ private communications may be involved.

The court decision is expected to be disclosed as early as Thursday in an unclassified, redacted form. It was made in December by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, which has issued only two prior rulings in its 30-year history.

The decision marks the first time since the disclosure of the National Security AgencyÂ’s warrantless eavesdropping program three years ago that an appellate court has addressed the constitutionality of the federal governmentÂ’s wiretapping powers. In validating the governmentÂ’s wide authority to collect foreign intelligence, it may offer legal credence to the Bush administrationÂ’s repeated assertions that the president has constitutional authority to act without specific court approval in ordering national security eavesdropping.

What this means, of course, is that the Bush Administration was right when it implemented a program of listening in on suspected terrorist phone calls. What’s more, it also bodes well for any challenge to the constitutionality of other warrantless surveillance programs related to national security, including those treasonously disclosed by the New York Times – programs that did nothing more or less than was done by the Roosevelt Administration during WWII.

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January 14, 2009

Don't They have Editors?

From today's Houston Chronicle homepage comes this headline:

Elevator accidents has workers in Houston tower using stairs

Shouldn't that be "have"? Good thing these folks don't write for a living. Oh, yeah -- they do.

Wonder if they will sweep the error down the memory hole.

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How Bad Was Hurricane Ike?

Here in Harris County, pretty bad.

Hurricane Ike damaged almost half the homes in Harris County and left more than 18,000 dwellings uninhabitable, according to a detailed assessment by the Harris County Housing Authority.

Hardest hit was the small Galveston Bay community of Shoreacres, an all-residential town where 58.6 percent of the homes were destroyed or suffered greater than 50 percent damage, according to the assessment provided to the Houston Chronicle Tuesday.

The report, based on inspections of 774,000 of the countyÂ’s 994,000 residential units from Sept. 23 through Nov. 13, is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the destruction caused by Ike, although itÂ’s limited to residential damage in Harris County.

As someone still out of my house due to the storm, I know how true this really is. My house stayed in the “minor damage” category – but that means that we were less than 50% damaged by the storm. Put my home at about 40-45% damaged – but a good number of my neighbors were not as lucky.

El Lago, a southeast Harris County town of about 4,100 people, was a distant second to Shoreacres in major damage, with 12.6 percent of its homes destroyed or sustaining greater than 50 percent damage. Next were Seabrook, 11.4 percent, and Nassau Bay, 10.1 percent.

I see that every day as I go by the house to check out the progress of my contractor on getting us back in – hopefully about 5 weeks from now. And since we share a zip code with El Lago, you can imagine what the damage to the area is really like. But the recurrent theme you hear around the area is "we will be back, better than ever."

Posted by: Greg at 02:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Is Rick Perry Delusional?

If he really does believe this, he must be – and would almost certainly be the only Texan to hold that belief.

Gov. Rick Perry expressed doubts Tuesday that U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will enter the 2010 Republican primary race against him and said Texans want a leader like him with "big ideas."

Perry, after addressing lawmakers on opening day of the Texas Legislature, talked about his record as governor and his ideas for the future in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press. The state's longest-serving governor, Perry said he wants to run next year for a third full term in office.
Hutchison has formed an exploratory committee to run for governor in 2010.

Perry noted that she hasn't formally jumped into the race and, when asked whether he has doubts that she will, Perry said: "Oh yeah. I mean, there's plenty of time for the senator to think that it's not in her best interest, Texas' best interest or the country's best interest to leave the United States Senate and come run for governor. But that's, again, that's her call.

"I'm running," Perry added. "I've announced, I'm in, I'm here and I'm enjoying continuing to move Texas forward."

For all of his “not in the best interests of Texas” rhetoric, what he really means is that it is not in the best interests of Rick Perry for Senator Hutchison to seek the governorship. The best interests of Texas are best served by getting him out of that office.

Posted by: Greg at 01:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Iranians Blaspheme The Obamessiah

obama_kerosene_465165a[1].jpg

I wonder if this will clue him in that there are folks who hate the US and every American just because we are.

Iranian demonstrators burned photographs of Barack Obama today as they protested against AmericaÂ’s inaction over Gaza.

Dozens of people gathered in Tehran waving Palestinian flags and defacing and setting fire to images of the President-elect.

Iranian demonstrators have often burned effigies or pictures of US presidents in the past but this appeared to be the first time Mr ObamaÂ’s picture had been defaced, a week before his inauguration as president.

Yo, Barry, you had better get used to this reality – YOU have become the face of the Great Satan. You are the enemy now – and America’s implacable foes aren’t going to buy into any Hopey-Changey agenda.

Posted by: Greg at 01:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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An Outrage That Must Be Corrected

Why on earth will the US government not grant immigrant status to the widow of a Marine killed in action as part of our ongoing war against jihadi scum – especially when his family is requesting it so that their new child, an American citizen and son of a hero, can be raised in the land for which his father paid the ultimate price?

Frankly, the question asked at Wizbang says it all.

What kind of fucked up immigration system do we have in this country? The wife of a fallen marine has to fight to gain entry to this country.

I’m not a big fan of special legislation to grant relief from the hardships of the immigration process – but if ever such legislation was needed, this is it. Let’s bombard our representatives and senators with calls and letters about this case so that Hotaru Ferschke can be guaranteed the ability to live in this country with her son and her husband’s family.

Posted by: Greg at 01:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And Where Does He Get His Life Back?

This story is the sort that produces mixed emotions for me as a teacher. On the one level, it is good to know that the criminal justice system works, even in these sorts of cases. But on the other hand, it points out the vulnerability that teachers – especially male teachers – have to these sorts of allegations. And it makes me ask the question with which I titled this piece – because I wonder if there is any way that Eric Foster will ever be able to recover his good name and his profession.

A former Conroe High School teacher has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.

Eric Foster went to trial last month in Montgomery CountyÂ’s 410th state District Court on three counts of indecency with a child and one count of sexual assault of a child. The jury cleared him of the charges.

The alleged victim was not a student in the Conroe Independent School District.
Foster, who was an algebra teacher, resigned shortly after his February indictment. He had worked for the district since 2000, school officials said.

Some have asked why Foster would quit if he was not guilty. Simple – in this state, we don’t have tenure here in Texas and so the district could have refused to renew his contract, which would have effectively made him unemployable in education (not that this accusation does not have the same effect). This way he can at least honestly state that he was not fired. In addition, as long as he remained employed by the district but suspended, the district would have been able to restrict his movement and activities during work hours in such a way as to make it difficult to work with his attorney to prepare his own defense.

But what happens now? The article about the initial accusation and indictment was longer and more prominently placed than the news of his acquittal. Too bad the media that tore him down doesn’t feel the responsibility to help restore his name. In addition, there are all too many who insist upon presuming his guilt even in the face of the jury verdict to the contrary – would any school be able to hire him and take the heat from the local public?

And what of the girl, whose identity remains protected, who made this all too public accusation. Will there be consequences for her? And doesnÂ’t the outcome here raise the question of the disparate treatment of accuser and accused in these cases? If we are to protect accusers because of the alleged stigma attached to these crimes, do we need to consider the greater stigma attached to an unsubstantiated/unproved accusation and consider withholding the identity of the accused?

Just some questions that cross my mind as I consider how this fellow educator recovers in the wake of an all too public accusation.

Posted by: Greg at 01:40 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Court Suspends Outrageous Ruling

This is a sensible action by the New Jersey Supreme Court in response to an absurd ruling by an appellate court. Hopefully this is the prelude to that ruling that overturns a decision that would expose newspapers (and others) to civil liability for repeating information found in public records and court filings.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has suspended a state appellate court ruling that said a newspaper can be sued for libel for reporting allegations from a lawsuit before any court proceedings have taken place.

The one-page order issued yesterday puts a hold on the November 2008 decision by the appeals panel, but does not reverse it.

The appeals court decision stemmed from a March 2006 story in The Record of Bergen County. It reported a federal bankruptcy court complaint alleging that Thomas John Salzano misappropriated money from a now-defunct Newark telecommunications company.

Salzano filed suit against the newspaper, saying the allegations in the complaint were unfounded.

The appeals court decision reversed a lower court ruling that dismissed the libel claim.

This goes right to the heart of the First Amendment and the right of the people to know what is going on in the courts. After all, court filings are public documents related to the administration of justice – and if a report about the allegations in a lawsuit (or criminal complaint) are accurate, it is really irrelevant whether or not the underlying allegation is true. After all, could you imagine, for example, OJ Simpson suing after his acquittal on murder charges on the basis that news reports defamed him? That is precisely what the appellate ruling would permit – making reporting on the courts a dangerous proposition for the press.

Posted by: Greg at 01:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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About Geithner

Now I can accept that a paperwork snafu led to immigration issues for a domestic employee. And I can accept that even the brightest guy can make a tax mistake – those IRS rules are confusing, and the one he broke more than most. But when you get pinged for a violation on one return that you know you made in other years but choose not to correct since you didn’t get caught, doesn’t that raise a serious character issue that needs to be considered?

Timothy Geithner didn't pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for several years while he worked for the International Monetary Fund, and he employed an immigrant housekeeper who briefly lacked proper work papers.

* * *

At the closed-door meeting, Mr. Geithner was contrite, several participants said. He told senators the mistakes weren't intentional, but that he should have known better. The Internal Revenue Service makes up by far the largest piece of the Treasury's budget.

Mr. Geithner declined to comment on any matters as he left the closed-door meeting Tuesday.

The tax issue relates to Mr. Geithner's work for the International Monetary Fund between 2001 and 2004. As an American citizen working for the IMF, Mr. Geithner was technically considered self-employed and was required to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for himself as both an employer and an employee.

* * *

In 2006, the IRS audited Mr. Geithner's 2003 and 2004 taxes and concluded he owed taxes and interest totaling $17,230, according to documents released by the Senate Finance Committee. The IRS waived the related penalties.
During the vetting of Mr. Geithner late last year, the Obama transition team discovered the nominee had failed to pay the same taxes for 2001 and 2002. "Upon learning of this error on Nov. 21, 2008, Mr. Geithner immediately submitted payment for tax that would have been due in those years, plus interest," a transition aide said. The sum totaled $25,970.

And therein lies the problem – Geithner DID know about the issue after the 2006 audit. He knew that he did his taxes the same way in 2001 and 2002 that he did in the years for which he was audited – but did nothing to correct the problem. THAT is troubling – but whether it is a sufficient question regarding his integrity to merit the denial of confirmation is one we have to consider.

Posted by: Greg at 01:11 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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January 13, 2009

Bingo

I used to play bingo a lot when I was younger -- there was this girl, and she used to go play with her grandmother and I would tag along for fun. I'll be honest -- I reallly grew to enjoy the game, though I'll concede that there was more than a little bit of enjoying the presence of the young lady. And since my girl and her grandmother played a couple of nights a week, I spent more than a little time playing.

Well now that we are in the internet age, you can play online in your spare time. There are lots of sites where you can play, and others where you can learn about places to play the game. Take, for example bestoffersbingo.co.uk. It has a good listing of online sites that will allow a person to play bingo. They also offer a comparison of those bingo sites as well.Best of all, the bingo sites that are listed have been checked out and are safe to use.

The site is broken down into various categories, including a list of top 10 bingo sites with information given on each one. There are also sections on the free bingo site of the month, the best bingo site of the month, as well as a section devoted to more unusual sites.

You will also find a ningo site search engine as well as some blog articles offering news and reviews about various sites. All of this together makes the site valuable for those interested in online bingo.

Posted by: Greg at 08:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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An Interesting Lawsuit

If this were a white athlete accused of such conduct by a black employee, wouldn’t we be hearing howls of outrage from the usual suspects – and demands for action by the appropriate league officials? So tell me, where is the similar outcry in this case?

Knick center Eddy Curry was slapped with a shocking sexual-harassment suit yesterday by his former driver, who claims the 6-foot-11 hoopster tried to solicit gay sex from him.

Stunning court papers charge that Curry, a married father of several kids, repeatedly approached chauffeur David Kuchinsky "in the nude," saying, "Look at me, Dave, look" and, "Come and touch it, Dave."

Curry, 26, also made Kuchinsky perform "humiliating tasks outside the scope of his employment, such as cleaning up and removing dirty towels [into which Curry had ejaculated] so that his wife would not see them," the Manhattan federal court suit says.

Kuchinsky, 36, who is straight and Jewish, also alleges racism, saying Curry hurled slurs at him, including "f- - - ing Jew," "cracker," "white slave," "white devil" and "grandmaster of the KKK."

Now for what it is worth, I don’t know if the accusations here are true or not. Curry denies them – but then again, could you imagine anyone actually admitting to them even if they were true? But I find it interesting that the charges of racism and anti-Semitism have not been the fodder for the sort of media frenzy that we see with charges of racism made against white celebrities. Sort of an interesting double standard, don’t you think?

Posted by: Greg at 11:14 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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But I Thought It WasnÂ’t Changeable

DonÂ’t we constantly hear that sexual orientation (and the associated sexual behavior) is an immutable quality and not a choice? If that is so, then explain this.

If the lipstick lesbian was the gay icon of the nineties, these days she’s been replaced by her more controversial counterpart, the hasbian: a woman who used to date women but now dates men. Though Anne Heche is the most prominent example, many hasbians (sometimes called LUGS: lesbians until graduation) are by-products of nineties liberal-arts educations. Caught up in the gay scene at school, they came out at 20 or 21 and now, five or ten years later, are finding themselves in the odd position of coming out all over again—as heterosexuals.

Some hasbians identify as bisexual, while others say theyÂ’re straight and describe their lesbianism as a meaningful but finite phase of their lives. . . .

Just a phase? Really? No wonder such women are considered such a threat by the gay community – their very existence undermines a major argument that is made to justify a host of legal and social changes. But if sexual orientation is fluid rather than hard-wired, doesn’t the main line of offense for gay rights activists weaken significantly as the issue becomes one of choice and conduct rather than immutable status?

Posted by: Greg at 11:13 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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About That Humanitarian Aid

Why should Israel let it through when it won’t get to the innocents for whom it is intended – but will instead be diverted by Hamas and sold at a profit?

Hamas on Monday raided some 100 aid trucks that Israel had allowed into Gaza, stole their contents and sold them to the highest bidders.

The IDF said that since terminal activity is coordinated with UNRWA and the Red Cross, Israel could do nothing to prevent such raids, Israel Radio reported.

Between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the army had ceased all military activity in Gaza and once again established a "humanitarian corridor" to help facilitate the transfer of the supplies.

Funny, the anti-Semites with UNRWA havenÂ’t offered a word of condemnation of this Hamas misdeed. After all, since those involved are not Jews, there is nothing to condemn.

Posted by: Greg at 11:12 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Poetic Justice

Why did five pirates making off with the ransom for their hijacked tanker die?

Because they were trying to avoid having the ransom taken by other pirates!

"Other pirates on the shore wanted a tip from the pirates on the Sirius Star, so they started to fire in the air as our people approached the land," Libaan Jaama told CNN. "When our pirates heard the shots, they thought they would be robbed, so they tried to return to the tanker. In that quick turn the boat capsized."

What? ThereÂ’s no honor among thieves? Shocking!

H/T Jawa Report

Posted by: Greg at 11:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Obama To Close Gitmo – Whose Backyard Will They Go To

Hey, liberals – in an effort to guarantee those who would destroy your liberties and murder you in your beds get rights accorded to no enemy captured in time of war anywhere in history, are you willing to volunteer YOUR town as a new home for the most dangerous of the illegal combatants capture during the Islamofascist jihad against the modern world and its freedoms? After all, Barry Hussein is going to order the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed even though he has no idea where to put these terrorists.

Advisers to President-elect Barack Obama say one of his first duties in office will be to order the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

That executive order is expected during Obama's first week on the job — and possibly on his first day, according to two transition team advisers. Both spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Obama's order will direct his administration to figure out what to do with the estimated 250 al-Qaida and Taliban suspects and potential witnesses who are being held at Guantanamo.

So come on, liberals, become a national hero by helping the Obamateur make his first major policy decision related to terrorism – importing terrorists into the territory of the United States.

Posted by: Greg at 10:23 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Make That “Senator Burris”

As predicted, the Democrats fold in the face of the Blagojevich gambit.

The Roland Burris saga is over, as Democratic Senate leaders have accepted his credentials, clearing the way for him to be sworn in as the junior senator from Illinois by the end of this week.

The decision ends an embarrassing chapter in Democratic politics and allows the Senate to move on after the Burris spectacle dominated the opening week of the 111th Congress

In a statement issued after a 45-minute meeting between Senate officials and BurrisÂ’ lawyers, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said Burris is the senator-designate from Illinois now that the secretary of the Senate has approved his latest credentials.

“Accordingly, barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week,” the statement said. “We are working with him and the office of the vice president to determine the date and time of the swearing-in.”

Remember – this is the same appointee that these same Democrat “leaders” declared would never be seated due to the “taint” of being appointed by the indicted Illinois governor. Well, I guess the best legal advice they could find told them what anyone who is familiar with the Constitution could have told them – the Senate really had no option but to seat Burris because he was properly appointed under the US Constitution and the laws of the state of Illinois. Thus the leadership of the Senate starts out with a big black eye, having been shown to be impotent blowhards.

Posted by: Greg at 10:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Quote Of The Day

One more reason I love Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal:

"We should genuinely want him to succeed. Our country is facing not only an economic challenge, but also international threats. ... I want our country to thrive under his administration. Clearly I will have philosophical disagreements with him. He deserves a chance to hit the ground running. He hasn't proposed his first bill. Republicans make a mistake in Congress if they simply go there and say their mission in life is to say 'no' to every proposal. I think we should look for opportunities to work with him. I also think we should be proactive if we don't agree with him and offer (alternative) solutions."

After watching the Democrats spend eight years trying to destroy George W. Bush, it is tempting to do the same to Barack Obama, a many who is uniquely underqualified for the office to which he has been elected. Love of country, though, mandates that I follow the path suggested by Jindal – which is a more eloquent statement of something I’ve been saying since election day. Country trumps party – and the good of the United States is more important than the good of the GOP.

Posted by: Greg at 09:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Color This Organization Irrelevant

When the biggest thing an NAACP chapter has to complain about is a racially diverse group of young women wearing vaguely antebellum hoop skirts with sun hats, then the organization needs to close up shop and go out of business.

They're part of a long standing tradition that will soon become a part of Presidential history.

The head of the Alabama NAACP, however, wants Mobile's Azalea Trail Maids to stay home on Inauguration Day, claiming the group reminds him of slavery.

"These are not just regular costumes. These are the costumes that remind someone of the plantation in Gone with the Wind," Edward Vaughn said in a phone interview.

Now I think the group looks rather silly – but not because of a connection to slavery, but rather because the outfits are almost a parody of what women actually wore in the mid-1800s. That said, I don’t see a need for them to consigned to the dust-bin of history.

Besides, what more modern icon would Vaughn have them replaced with? Perhaps a crew of idiocy-spewing race hustlers like himself – which I would argue demonstrates a shameful present much more offensive than anything that the Maids might represent of a “shameful past”?

Posted by: Greg at 09:41 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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January 14, 2009

Time To De-Nazify Berlin Police?

It certainly looks that way to me. After all, rather than make arrests disperse a crowd of anti-Semites seeking to create a new Kristallnacht, they instead chose to suppress the free speech of residents of an apartment who dared to display an Israeli flag in their window.

israelflaggermany.jpg

Yeah, that's right -- rather than actually take action against the criminals, the police instead kicked down the door of someone's home to silence the legal speech law-abiding supporters of Israel.

Today, 10.000 people demonstrated against Israel here in my hometown Duisburg (Germany) and to express their solidarity with Hamas. So, my girlfriend and me put two Israel flags out of the windows of our flat in the 3rd floor. During the demonstration which went through our street the police broke into our flat and removed the flag of Israel. The statement of the police was to de-escalate the situation, because many youth demonstrators were on the brink of breaking into our apartment house. Before this they threw snowballs, knifes and stones against our windows and the complete building. We both were standing on the other side of the street and were shocked by seeing a police officer standing in our bedroom and opening the window to get the flag. The picture illustrate this situation. The police acquiesced in the demands of the mob.

Have these people already forgotten the lessons of the Hitler era? Where is the world condemnation of this act? Heck -- where are the press reports? Seems to me that German authorities once again have sided with those who seek the death of Jews over Jews and their supporters. This video documents the assault on freedom to appease Jew-haters.

Of course, it isn't just Germany where we are seeing assaults on Jews and their institutions. In England there are calls for the beheading of Jews in response to Israel's defensive measures in Gaza. Pro-Hamas hatemongers (a redundant term, I know) have vandalized and attempted to burn multiple synagogues in Chicago. Pro-Hamas rallies worldwide have featured calls for the completion of the Holocaust.

When I was a child, I was taught that the world would never again permit such things, and that civilized people would not stand silent in the face of actions like those which led to the Holocaust.

How quickly that commitment has lost its force when the world is confronted with radical Islam and its fellow-travelers.

UPDATE: This report from one of Germany's most prestigious newspapers shows that this incident is worse than first reported -- and that it is causing quit a stir in Germany.

Police in the western German city of Duisburg have admitted they removed flags a student had hung in his apartment in support of Israel during a pro-Palestinian protest march in the city. Officers broke down his door and removed the flags. The city's police chief has issued an apology, but outrage is spreading.

* * *

P. said he was "shocked" by the incident. Afraid to return to his apartment, he first went to a friend's place nearby. Around two hours later he returned with his girlfriend and an acquaintance -- but he claims youths were still throwing things at the house.

He said he didn't return to the apartment until they had left. A police car passed by and P. asked the officers to come to his apartment. The officers warned that P. and his girlfriend should stay away from the window and that police would watch the house for a few hours.

"I was beside myself," P. said, "I was afraid." Two hours passed without any incident. Then P.'s acquaintance, also in the apartment, went out to the balcony for a smoke and claims he was immediately cursed as a "shit jew".

Two minutes later, the police returned to P.'s door -- and for the second time they did something unexpected. They ordered the acquaintance to leave the apartment.

So let's be clear -- not only did these cops violate the rights of the occupants of the apartment by suppressing their freedom of speech, they also made them virtual prisoners in their home, effectively placing them under house arrest and denying them the the free use of their home.

Here's a novel concept -- instead of going after the non-criminals, why don't cops start arresting the criminals and terrorists who practice the Religion of barbarism.

Posted by: Greg at 02:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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