Saturday, September 30, 2006

But the Truth Shall Set You Free!

From The Uncooperative Blogger comes a story that raises some questions about border security:
Congressmen who visit the U.S.-Mexico border unannounced are being monitored by the Department of Homeland Security, and at least one U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent has been suspended for speaking to a congressman without first getting supervisory clearance, according to documents obtained by the Daily Bulletin.

Congressional members interviewed by the newspaper said they were unaware until recently that Border Patrol agents were required to file Significant Incident Reports - normally used for shootings and other serious border incidents - when congressional members made unannounced visits in the summer along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A second document obtained by the paper reveals that one agent was suspended for 10 days without pay for speaking with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who made an unannounced visit to the border in May.

"Preventing Congress from speaking freely to federal employees violates at least two federal statutes, and agents are fearful of telling the truth," said King, who recounted several visits to the Mexican border when Border Patrol agents would not speak with him for fear of reprisal.

"Filing these reports is a form of intimidation. If anyone is going to be punished, then they should be punished for not speaking to a member of Congress, rather than for telling the truth."

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration(CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.
Don't quite know why, but this tickled me. Found on a substitute teacher blog:
Mr. Pool’s also broken down the difference between teaching at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. "It’s hugs, drugs and thugs, respectively," he says.
Dang, they really make me proud to be an American:
Leaders from four Western Alaska villages have rejected an offer of free heating oil from a Venezuelan- owned company because that nation's president this month called President Bush "a devil" and made other inflammatory comments about the United States.

"Despite the critical need for fuel in our region, the Unangan (Aleut) people are Americans first, and we cannot support the political agenda attached to this donation," read a statement from Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association released late Thursday.
The above story from Right Wing Sparkle.

What can any of us do? Participate in the boycott of Citgo oil.



The local Citgo station is geographically convenient - right next to the school - as well as a good price. But, as a principle, I refuse to subsidize the dictator who buddies up to our enemies.

Sometimes, there are things more important than the money.

A Lonely Saturday

I've been having a quiet weekend. My husband was supposed to come for a visit, but couldn't work it out. We were both disappointed, but made consoling noises "it's all right, I'll survive" - said with a laugh to indicate that it isn't tragic - even though it feels like it now.

So, as usual, when feeling the need to connect, without any local resources, I started reading blogs. I re-discover several I used to read, such as Church of the Masses. It's run by Barbara Nicolosi, who is a Catholic screenwriter (Touched by an Angel, for example). She posts her memories of September 2001:
Flags are our new vigil lights. Every flag that waves is suddenly a prayer that America will recall the blessings of God. Freedom, not license. Community not diversity. Prosperity to make virtue possible. Speech to utter the truth. Opportunity to advance human potential and achievement. God bless America. God bless America.
These American flags are a talisman - a tangible reminder of why America is so special. Yes, by God, we ARE different. We were settled by the discontented of the world - those people that wouldn't passively live their lives without hope and in the shadow of domination. More than any nation on Earth, we embrace change. Sometimes that change comes faster than we are comfortable with, and we step back for a time, to give us space to adjust. Then, once again, we run headlong into the future.

That willingness to face the future unafraid is what gives the Islamic fanatics fits. They hate change, they are fearful of the future, and look to the past for their guiding light.

They are destined to fail. Change, you might say, happens.

New Animated Avatar



I found a really cute place to make another avatar. Not totally my style (a little too young in the fashion accessories), but nicely animated and fun.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Bad Movies

I'm watching The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's only about 10 minutes into the movie, and I can only say that a bad movie reeks early on. Fortunately, I haven't invested too much time in it, so can watch something more worthwhile, like ET! or HSN.

Found this gem at the NY Post:
...honor's dead in Washington. And at "leading" universities (where patriotism, too, is beneath contempt). And in the media. Honor isn't hip. It's as pathetic as a powder-blue, polyester leisure suit.

To journalists and members of Congress, the concept of honor is so alien it's incomprehensible. If you can grab a headline, no matter the cost to your country, tell our secrets - and win an award for your "courage."

If you can bump up your poll numbers before the election, spill the beans. If you can stick it to the other party, by all means tell the terrorists what our senior intelligence officers think. Expose our security programs. Exaggerate our military problems. If we're short on bullets, tell the bad guys.

Honor's for the chumps, the losers, the average voter who "doesn't have a clue." In other words, for people like you and me.
The author of those words is Ralph Peter, a retired Army intel officer and the author of "Never Quit the Fight. I agree - it's time to put these leakers in jail. I'm sick of people abandoning their responsibilities to safeguard secrets, and making a buck (and a reputation with similarly scruples-challenged fools) telling what they haven't the right to tell.

Random Thoughts Before the Weekend

I've been busy - in a good way - this week.

  • I'm partly caught up on grading. I still need to input it into this computer I'm working on now, but I can finish that this weekend.

    I once had a professor tell me that not all work has to be graded. He obviously didn't teach high school, since I've learned that if it isn't graded, they won't do the work. Well, that does make some sense. If they didn't pay people, would any of us show up to work?

    I'll be spending more time at school this weekend. In one of my stupider moments, I offered to tutor this Saturday. Some of the kids are spending a few hours at school, making up absences. So, rather than having them spend time doing nothing (think The Breakfast Club), I said that I'd let any kid from my class who is there come to my room, and I'll work with them - tutoring, make-up labs, etc. I can't even claim I was drunk when I opened up my big mouth, much as it seems to be a reasonable conclusion.

  • My house is relatively clean. Not Martha Stewart-level, but livable. I've even cooked off the ground beef, and am simmering the chili as I write.

  • My husband may be in SC in the next few days. I'm really looking forward to THAT. Only about 5 months to go before he retires, and we can be together again for good.

    I'm hoping to spend some of the time next week with my husband looking for a couch. Nothing fancy, probably a sectional. I just want a couch that I can stretch out on on lazy days.

    I'll be having him set up the VCR while he's here. Hey, what else is a man for, but to assemble the electronics I don't want to bother with?

  • I finally caught Katie Couric this week. So far, I haven't caught her saying anything egregiously stupid, but I've only been listening with half my attention.

    I will mention that she seems to have toned down her hair and make-up - not so BLONDE and OVERLY-MADE-UP, as she wore on her morning show. Which, BTW, was probably an appropriate look for that venue.

    She does seem VERY serious. Lighten up, kid. You're not going to make us believe that you're a REAL newswoman, so at least show up some of that perky charm. Hey, go with your strengths.

    I do like that tonight (9/28), she's at least wearing a blouse that's buttoned up appropriately. I truly HATE those anchorwomen that are unbuttoned to the navel. Maybe it's jealousy - I am somewhat full-figured (have been since a young teen), and if more than the top button is open, show a scandalous amount of cleavage.

  • Amazingly, Star Trek (the original, the best) is 40. I'm hoping they run the series again this weekend. I could use a good marathon sci-fi weekend.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Blog Tips

I stumbled upon some interesting posts about blogging. If you blog, try checking these out.

David Sifry's tips validate something I've noticed. Blogs are a little like your daily newspaper.

  • They should be timely. Late news isn't news.
  • They should be short.
  • They should be updated OFTEN.

Now, that last isn't easy for the novice blogger. I remember when I started about 3 years ago, I spent HOURS trying to come up with ANYTHING to say - forget good, I kept coming up dry on lousy stuff.

But, 3 years later, it's not uncommon for me to punch out 250-500 words without effort. Yeah, I know sometimes it reads as though I put no time into it. But, in general, reading back over old posts, if I didn't know how much time they took, I couldn't tell.

That's the difference between passion and craft. Ideally, you have both. But the novice should have a passionate interest in whatever it is that he/she is posting about. That passion will carry him/her a long way - hopefully, past the hump of learning the craft of blogging, and into mastery of the art.

9/11 Design


Little Green Footballs showed the design of the AZ 9/11 memorial. He points out that it bears a striking resemblance to a crescent. You decide.

I do understand that many architects want to incorporate "flow" into a memorial. Certainly, a circle is conducive to that effect. But, why the assymetrical rendering that so resembles a crescent? Given the nature of the attacks, it would seem sensitive to avoid any similiarity.

Old, but Worth Watching

I found some videos on YouTube. The first one is of the mass gatherings of the spring. It was produced by Immigration Watchdog

Dennis Miller on immigration. Pointed and funny. Pay special to his last suggestion for illegal immigration proponents.

A typical anti-illegal immigrant activist presents his reasoned argument in favor of his position.

The illegal immigrants' marches are receiving less attention than in the spring, but they are still continuing. Notice that many in the crowd seem to be Anglo sympathizers (rather typical for St. Paul area).

March on Washington, 9/7/06. The angle from which this was shot may make the crowd appear larger than it was.

The marchers seemed to have learned about carrying non-US flags. This is apparently a top-down organized march. Signs are all mass-produced, the flags are all the same size and on the same poles.

Since so many have referred to it, here's Led Zeppelin's Immigrant song.

Here's the Viking Kittens version.

Ray Beck's video talking about the numbers on illegal immigration.

Part II of the Ray Beck video.

Chertoff is being interviewed in TX. He responds to a question about security of the infrastructure, and Sen. Hutchinson also responds.

Victor Davis Hanson on immigration.

Monday, September 25, 2006

A Truly Beautiful and Haunting Video

You really have to watch this video. It tells the story of the son of Theo van Gogh, who was murdered by an Islamic fanatic. The young boy is being persecuted by "Moroccan" youths - that's a code word for Muslims in Denmark.

The music that accompanies the video is Celtic, and, naturally, heartbreaking. One thing we Celts do well is break your heart.

I noticed the sign the young man made - the US flag is prominently displayed. I'm going to be contacting my Senators in Washington, and ask them to invite the van Gogh family to re-locate to the US, for their safety.

Control of 9/11 Memories

In AZ, the governor, Janet Napolitano, signed the order to create a memorial to 9/11 victims.:
“to build a lasting memorial on the Arizona State Capitol Mall to the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The family, friends and fellow citizens we lost on September 11 should never be forgotten, and this memorial will help ensure that generations from now, Arizonans will continue to honor their memory.”

Additionally the letter said, “We must always remember the lives that we lost on that terrible day, as well as the strength and compassion that all Americans showed soon afterward.”
Someone must have lost the order, and substituted their own agenda, because what they ended up with was this:
"Fear of Foreigners" Balbir Singh Sodhi, A Sike, murdered in Mesa"

"Foreign-Born Americans Afraid"

"Must Bomb Back"

"You don't win battles of terrorism with more battles"
among other catchy leftist phrases.

I hadn't thought of the issue of how the events will be remembered, but I think we must begin to think about the future.

How do we know about the events of the past? We've seen the landscape dotted with statues and markers, proclaiming the lofty motives and heroic actions of soldiers, sailors, marines, and just plain citizens. We've read the literature, sung the songs, and read the inscriptions.

Is this how we want our watershed event of this century to be remembered by our grandchildren and beyond? We need to take control of these commissions and committees, to prevent the appeasers from taking over our future memories.

Whoops! Almost forgot to credit DeMediacratic Nation for the information.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration(CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Guard the Borders

This Blogburst is also available as a Podcast.

by Toni at Bear Creek Ledger

All of these stories were found in the last couple days posted to Lucianne.

'Border Baby' boom strains S. Texas - There's a picture with the story of an illegal alien who's given birth to her fourth child on American soil at American taxpayer expense who thinks it's owed to her!

Of course the real story is how 'anchor babies' are breaking the backs of South Texas hospitals.

Doctors and health officials say they are overwhelmed by both the new arrivals and those immigrant mothers who already are in the state. Even Houston's feeling the pinch. An estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of the 10,587 births at Ben Taub General Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital last year were to undocumented immigrants, administrators say.

Also feeling the strain is Starr County, an already poor South Texas county that has the region's only taxpayer-supported hospital district.

Immigrants "want a U.S.-born baby" and know that emergency room staffers don't collect any money up front, said Dr. Mario Rodriguez, an obstetrician in Starr County.

"The word is out: Come to Starr County and get delivered for free. Why pay $1,000 in Mexico when you can get it for free?" Rodriguez said.

This story is more than disconcerting. Gives me a lot of confidence in ICE/DHS! The corruption is disheartening, read the list and weep.

Corruption Involving Immigration Workers:

In the past 12 months, dozens of U.S. immigration employees have been accused of corruption-related charges. Some cases, drawn from a review of court records and government announcements, and listed by agency:

U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION

- David Duque Jr., a Border Patrol agent since the mid-1990s, faces up to 15 years in prison at his November sentencing after pleading guilty to bribery and the unlawful transfer of documents. While being recorded by investigators, Duque sold some 70 identification documents to a source cooperating with law officers - including passports, birth certificates, green cards and Social Security cards. He also took a $5,000 bribe to allow cocaine through a highway checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas.

snip......

U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT

- Santiago Efrain Valle, an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in El Paso, Texas, was charged in March with trying to extort $20,000 from an immigration detainee at the El Paso Service Processing Center. Federal agents arrested Valle after he allegedly accepted $20,000 from undercover officers. According to court documents, Valle agreed to accept the money in exchange for dismissing pending immigration charges against the detainee and also changing his risk classification. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.

snip.....

U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES

- Robert Schofield, a USCIS district office supervisor in Fairfax, Va., was arrested in June, accused of illegally granting residency and issuing naturalization certificates to more than 100 unqualified immigrants. Qiming Ye, a Chinese citizen, also was charged for allegedly brokering deals between Schofield and Asian immigrants. One unqualified immigrant was granted residency status after meeting Schofield's wife in the Philippines, and then living with Schofield and baby-sitting his stepchild for a year, a court affidavit alleges. When stopped by Customs officials at an airport, the immigrant provided Schofield's name, cell phone and home telephone number from memory, the affidavit said. Passports seized from Ye's residence included green card stamps bearing Schofield's ID, and phone traces showed dozens of calls between Ye and Schofield's home number and his Department of Homeland Security cell phone, the court documents allege. "Numerous" allegations of bribery involving Schofield have been reported in the last decade, an investigator said in an affidavit. A trial date is pending.

I've only posted one of each area from the story. There's many more in the story and the dollars involved can be staggering.

Then we have more great news from ICE/DHS. Told of immigrant arrests, Feds often failing to act:

The lack of response by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents has fostered confusion among municipal officials already resentful of being designated as surrogate federal agents in the national policy debate over illegal immigrants.

This comes at a time when a suspected illegal immigrant who was once in Denver police custody stands accused of dragging a woman to death behind his vehicle. There are conflicting reports as to whether Denver police notified immigration officials after he was arrested in April.

Law-enforcement agencies in Colorado placed 9,429 inquiries about suspected illegal immigrants to ICE in the 2005 accounting year. ICE requested detainment for 330 of those suspects, according to agency statistics.

This year, ICE has received 13,063 inquiries from Colorado authorities, placing holds on 284.

Well that really confirms the story from TBone's buddy!

Now this is a story which gives me a modicum of hope.

GA Lawmaker may apologize to Latino's

A Georgia Republican says he'll apologize to a national Latino advocacy group he accused of supporting racism and illegal immigration if the organization agrees to a list of conditions.

In a press release this week, Rep. Charlie Norwood called the National Council of La Raza a "radical," "anti-American" organization that "supports racist groups calling for the secession of the western United States as a Hispanic-only homeland."

In offering a conditional apology, Norwood asked NCLR to sever all ties with a leftist student group and its "racist doctrines," to repudiate all claims that any American territory belongs to Mexico, and to seek outside supervision to ensure that NCLR-sponsored programs do not discriminate.

La Raza uses all the typical name calling of the left when they are in the wrong and have nothing left to use in their defense except for race-baiting.

Cry me a river on this story. I know, that's harsh but I'm sick and tired of the woe is me illegal alien injured illegally crossing the border into the US; then the American taxpayer has to pick up the tab for their medical expenses.

Woman finds scaling fence is a costly painful gamble:

A U.S. Border Patrol agent crouches in front of her. He slowly wraps her severed ring finger in a shirt. He places it in a bag of ice.

"I knew I couldn't do it, I knew I couldn't do it," she says quietly in Spanish to the man sitting next to her, Victor Perez.

Rosario, 25, and Perez, 24, sit with their heads down on a frontage road next to a 10-foot corrugated steel fence that marks the border south of Campo, Calif., about 50 miles east of San Diego.

About one hour earlier, the two climbed over the landing-mat fence as part of a group of Mexican illegal entrants.

The men and women helped each person climb over. Rosario caught her hand on the razor-sharp anvil point on top of the fence.

When she fell to the ground on the U.S. side, pain shot up her arm. Her hand was bleeding. The top third of her ring finger lay on the ground.

Just what do these illegal aliens think the fence is there for? It's To. Keep. Them. Out!

My BS meter sprang wildly out of control when I read this piece of scare mongering:

ID Program Will Cost States $11 Billion, Report says:

The cost to consumers for helping to secure America became clearer yesterday as a coalition of state groups tallied the bill for implementing the Real ID Act and federal officials divulged the price that some of its workers must pay for new smart cards.

In a report released by the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, state motor vehicle officials estimated it would cost more than $11 billion over five years to implement the technology required by the Real ID Act.

Under the law, states must start to re-enroll about 250 million holders of U.S. driver's licenses after May 2008. The states must train workers to verify copies of original birth certificates, Social Security cards, marriage certificates and various identification documents.

There's any number of ID's which could be incorporated into this program including a Voter ID! But the Democrats don't want any of this to happen since it would mean losing potential voters from the likes of illegal aliens, dead people, people voting twice......

House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), who introduced the Real ID Act, strongly disagreed with a similar cost estimate presented by the groups last year, saying it was bloated. The chairman cited a Congressional Budget Office report that estimated the cost of implementation at $100 million between 2005 and 2010.

The dollars saved on entitlement and social services and law enforcement to illegal aliens will more than cover the cost of this ID program.

Then we have the jailbreak from a detention center. This story was actually a bit confusing. There were 6 federal fugitives from this escape (which begs the question why these fugitives were only being held in a detention center) of which 5 of the six were held for repeated immigration violations (read: illegal aliens who have been deported multiple times). The sixth was a former McAllen cop gone bad, now a drug smuggler.

Outside help seen in Valley jailbreak:

The breakout's suspected leader is a former McAllen cop facing drug charges. Five Mexican nationals held on repeated immigration violations escaped with him.

snip....

He said investigators believe Francisco Javier Meza Rojas, 41, orchestrated the breakout.

"The only reason why we think he was the ringleader was because he had the money," Magallan said. "He could have arranged everything. He was (in the narcotics business) and a former cop."

A federal indictment from April alleges Meza, also known as "El Ocho" and "Chacho," led a drug trafficking organization that included his three brothers. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane on Thursday revoked the bond of one of them, Jesus Meza, a former Edinburg police officer.

The three now are being held in jails in McAllen, Raymondville and Karnes County, Magallan said.

The Mezas, along with other defendants, are scheduled to be tried in October on drug charges that include trafficking cocaine and marijuana from a rural area near Mission.

Yeah, that makes me feel real secure. Nice to know how prosperous the Mexican drug trade is in the US.


_____________________________________________


This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we're going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to admin at guardtheborders dot com.

Clinton Explained by Ace

I'll be heading to work in a few minutes, but I wanted to put up this link to the story behind the hunt for Bin Laden, as explained by the Washington Post (2004), via Ace. It has the ring of truth.
It was common in Clinton's cabinet and among his National Security Council aides to see the CIA as too cautious, paralyzed by fears of legal and political risks. At Langley, this criticism rankled. The CIA's senior managers believed officials at the White House wanted to have it both ways: They liked to blame the agency for its supposed lack of aggression, yet they sent over classified legal memos full of wiggle words.
Yeah, that slippery, I-didn't-do-anything, you-didn't-see-me, can't-legally-prove-it, Bart Simpson-type evasion. Sounds like the Clinton presidency.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

He's supposed to be a lawyer...

so did he skip the classes on character defamation?
The steps will be these: Air Force tankers will be deployed to fuel B-2 bombers, Navy cruise missile ships will be positioned at strategic points in the northern Indian Ocean and perhaps the Persian Gulf, unmanned drones will collect target data, and commando teams will refine those data. The latter two steps are already being taken.

Then the president will speak on national television. He will say this: Iran is determined to develop nuclear weapons; if this happens, the entire region will go nuclear; our diplomatic efforts to prevent this have failed; Iran is offering a haven to known al Qaeda leaders; the fate of our ally Israel is at stake; Iran persists in supporting terrorism, including in Iraq; and sanctions will have no affect (and besides they are for sissies). He will not say: ...and besides, we need the oil.

Therefore, he will announce, our own national security and the security of the region requires us to act. "Tonight, I have ordered the elimination of all facilities in Iran that are dedicated to the production of weapons of mass destruction....." In the narrowest terms this includes perhaps two dozen targets.

But the authors of the war on Iraq have "regime change" in mind in Iran. According to Colonel Sam Gardiner (author of "The End of the 'Summer of Diplomacy': Assessing U.S. Military Options in Iran," The Century Foundation, 2006) to have any hope of success, such a policy would require attacking at least 400 targets, including the Revolutionary Guard. But even this presumes the Iranian people will respond to a massive U.S. attack on their country by overthrowing their government. Only an Administration inspired by pre-Enlightenment fantasy could believe a notion such as this.
Yes, that's the former Sen. Gary (Monkey Business) Hart accusing GW of having insufficient character.

Well, it takes one to know one.

So, in his "expert" opinion, why would the President do this?
In more rational times, including at the height of the Cold War, bizarre actions such as unilateral, unprovoked, preventive war are dismissed by thoughtful, seasoned, experienced men and women as mad. But those qualities do not characterize our current leadership.

For a divinely guided president who imagines himself to be a latter day Winston Churchill (albeit lacking the ability to formulate intelligent sentences), and who professedly does not care about public opinion at home or abroad, anything is possible, and dwindling days in power may be seen as making the most apocalyptic actions necessary.
It won't surprise anyone that I found the post on The Huffy One.



See Huffy demonstrate how she would personally kill the fascist Bush with her bare hands.

A Classic Lileks Post

Run, don't walk, to read this:
Given the Left’s romance with revolution and guerillas, it’ll only be a matter of time before Hezbollah leader Nasrallah appears on T-shirts like Che, and his merry band are lionized as the new Viet Cong. Hezbollah builds schools, you know. Granted, they’re schools where the biology lesson consists of sawing off the heads of infidel frogs. But they build schools!

Imagine rallies in 1939 where brown-shirts taunted Jews, screamed NO BLOOD FOR BEER, blamed Pearl Harbor on the FDR, and called for the destruction of the French Entity while peace activists applauded. That’s what we have today. It’s like watching Nazis and Quakers ballroom dance.
Sometime, the leftists are going to have to perform an unpleasant task - they're going to have to pull their heads out of their A$$E$, and finally admit that the Islamofascists are genuinely CRAZY!

That's Right, It's All About YOU!

From CNN
In a contentious taped interview that aired on "Fox News Sunday," former president Bill Clinton vigorously defended his efforts as president to capture and kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"I got closer to killing him than anybody has gotten since. And if I were still president, we'd have more than 20,000 troops there trying to kill him," Clinton said, referring to Afghanistan.

"We do have a government that thinks Afghanistan is one-seventh as important as Iraq," he added, referring to the approximately 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
Remind you of anyone?



As he used to say on the show -
Missed it - by that much!

Anchors Away!

Steve Hampton, of Protect Our Border, wrote an email to the Coalition Against Illegal Immigration's Yahoo group, in which he addresses the issue of anchor babies:
If you look at how the text is written concerning Anchor Babies, it seems quite clear that Anchor Babies ( Babies born from ILLEGAL immigrants ) do NOT LEGALLY get Citizenship. The flaw is clearly written that they are NOT to become citizen. If you think its NOT a major major problem in the USA. You should know that 10% of the USA current birth rate is to ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

Contact your major groups and suggest a law suit to STOP ANCHOR baby Laws. This is a clear ABUSE of the 14th Amendment. Throw OUT of OFFICE ANY Politician reguardless of Party that defends "Anchor Baby" VIOLATIONS and Abuse of the 14th Amendment. Currently the USA is giving FULL Citizenship rights to babies born from ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, just because they were able to cross into the USA ILLEGALLY to have their baby.
I think he has a point. I've posted in the past about the need to clarify the status of "native-born" to mean any person who has an American parent, or who parents have a legal right to be in the US. I'm even willing to extend citizenship to legal, temporary residents, such as children of students, provided the parents leave once the visa expires, but NOT to visitors on a visa. Presumably, they have a home country, which the child will be a citizen of.

Why make a big issue out of this? Haven't we always given citizenship rather freely? Well, yes - and no. We have never had this large a flood of illegal aliens in our country. Before, if you came in without permission and were caught, you were treated like what you were - a criminal. It's clear that many are having children deliberately to obtain citizenship for that child, and, by extension, for the parents.

From the Center for Immigration Studies:
in 2002 almost one in four births in the United States was to an immigrant mother (legal or illegal), the highest level in American history. In addition, nearly ten percent of all births in the country were to illegal-alien mothers. This is important for at least two reasons: first, it is currently U.S. government policy to award American citizenship to all persons born on U.S. soil, even the children of tourists and illegal aliens. In addition, the number and share of children born to immigrants is now so large that it may overwhelm the assimilation process.

The new report, “Births to Immigrants in America, 1970-2002,” by the Center’s Director of Research, Steven A. Camarota, is on line at http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/back805.html.

Among the findings:

• In 2002, 23 percent of all births in the United States were to immigrant mothers (legal or illegal), compared to 15 percent in 1990, 9 percent in 1980 and 6 percent in 1970.

• Even at the peak of the last great wave of immigration in 1910, the share of births to immigrant mothers did not reach the level of today. And after 1910 immigration was reduced, whereas current immigration continues at record levels, thus births to immigrants will continue to increase.

• Our best estimate is that 383,000, or 42 percent, of births to immigrants are to illegal alien mothers. Thus births to illegals now account for nearly 1 out of every 10 births in the United States.

• The large number of births to illegals shows that the longer illegal immigration is allowed to persist the harder it is to solve, because these U.S. citizen children can stay permanently, their citizenship can prevent a parent’s deportation, and once adults, they can sponsor their parents for permanent residence.

• The issue of births to illegals also shows that a “temporary” worker program would inevitably result in the permanent addition of hundreds of thousands of people to the U.S. population each year, exactly what such a program is supposed to avoid.

• The dramatic growth in births to immigrants has been accompanied by a significant decline in diversity. The top country for immigrant births C Mexico C increased from 24 percent of births to immigrants in 1970 to 45 percent in 2002.
Every Mexican that is allowed to flout the law and get in without permission is one less LEGAL immigrant from another country, who has to wait longer to get their chance to come to the US.

Folks, it's a zero-sum game. More illegals, fewer legals. Should we reward the law-breakers, or the law-respecters?

Celebrating the End of a Monster

I found this on 7.62mm Justice:
So a small regional Surrender Monkey newspaper is reporting that Osama is dead. I can’t even being to describe the amount of salt that I am taking this report with. We’re talking a grain of salt the size of both of the former world trade towers.

It’s just too much to hope for.

However, if he is dead. I would like to invite everyone over for a pig roast. We’ll drink beer, eat pork, and celebrate Osama’s death like it was the 4th of July.
What a GREAT idea! We can use it as a kick-off to a fall weekend of partying with 'da pig.



Don't think he'll be flying - but he sure will be COOKING!

Eagerly Anticipating the Coup

Hey, not me - I think there are those who are nervously bouncing up & down, impatient for the coming of an eagerly awaited event:
These elites are not simply milling about waiting for “the next chapter of trouble.” I think in too many cases, they - like troubled eldest siblings, the “First Children” who have never quite gotten over the subsequent additions to the family - have been actively fomenting chapter after chapter of trouble, for some 40 years. They are complacently building little fortresses, but they are doing so for a reason. Having written all of these chapters of trouble, they are feeling quite confident that their story is solidly structured, and they are ready for the dénouement they have planned. The anticipation of their surprise ending is making them almost giddy.

The ending, of course, is the coup d’état. Believing that the rest of us, now disillusioned, are no longer clinging to romantic ideals of honor, or truth or nobility, these always-restless First Children, devoted to deconstruction, believe they are about to take down the presidency, the churches, the “old” government and even the “old” media. They expect to put into place something “brand new.” But believe me when I tell you what they are building is older than dirt. And up from it. Which is why they will need their fortresses. Castro lives in one, too.

They’ve been practicing all of this, by the way, perfecting the Art of the Painless Coup so thoroughly that most ordinary folks do not even realize what has occured.

Over the past 40 years these hyperactive First Children have been pulling off small scale coups with varying levels of success. They managed to deconstruct the academies, so that education is less a broadening of knowledge than a narrowing of perspective. They have deconstructed the liturgy to insist that a pantomime in clownface is a vast improvement over 2000 year-old sacrament and liturgy. They have deconstructed government by constructing something so huge and unweildly that nothing coming out of it is reliable or dependable, and almost no one is accountable, either. They have deconstructed the press to the point where the truth of a story is less important than how it may be framed and spun. They have deconstructed the idea of fascism to mean “those democracies in Israel and America” rather than the freedom-suppressing regimes which surround them.
All the above, and more, can be found on The Anchoress, for my money one of the most cogent and astute thinkers on any blog today.

Ding, Dong, the &itch is Dead, ...Oh, Wait...

From Reuters (and we know how unbiased and accurate THEY are):
France and the United States said on Saturday they could not confirm a report that Osama bin Laden had died and France launched a probe into how a secret document containing the claim was leaked.

The French regional daily L'Est Republicain, published in Nancy, quoted a document from France's DGSE foreign intelligence service as saying the Saudi secret services were convinced the al Qaeda leader had died of typhoid in Pakistan in late August.
This report reeks as badly as a bachelor's refrigerator; motives?

  • By releasing the news now, before it can be confirmed, takes away the possibility of an "October Surprise". If later proved true, media will call it a "ho-hum", old news, not worthy of the front page.
  • Democrats stand to benefit from the early release of the news. They'll start the drumbeat for total withdrawal of troops. Expect to see the - er - can't call it groundswell - how about carefully orchestrated chorus from the usual suspects?
  • I'm inclined to believe it's a lie, designed to get us to take our eyes off Pakistan's borders, whence AQ will wisk him away for medical treatment. In other words, a feint.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

POOF! The Illegals are Gone!

This has to be the fastest (NOT necessarily the best) way to get rid of illegal aliens:
- NEVER use the term "illegal alien"
- STOP imposing the term "illegal immigrant" on immigrant families, immigrant youth, and immigrant workers
- We CAN describe the complexities of the immigration issue without having to criminalize and stigmatize immigrant workers, immigrant families and our immigrant friends and loved ones by using the word "illegal"
- "Illegal immigrant" gives credibility to a broken immigration system that does not honor human rights, workers' rights, and people
Well, isn't that SPECIAL!

The same criminals law-breakers invaders ahem - paper-challenged and eager job-seekers will still be here, but they won't be illegal aliens any more.

Reminds me of the Abraham Lincoln joke:
If you call a tail a leg, how many legs has a dog? Five? No, calling a tail a leg don't make it a leg.


**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration(CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.
From Save Andromeda, I found this article focusing on whether illegal immigrants take only "jobs Americans won't do".
  • Between 2000 and 2005, 4.1 million immigrant workers arrived from abroad, accounting for 86 percent of the net increase in the total number of employed persons (16 and older), the highest share ever recorded in the United States.

  • Of the 4.1 million new immigrant workers, between 1.4 and 2.7 million are estimated to be illegal immigrants. This means that illegal immigrants accounted for up to 56 percent of the net increase in civilian employment in the United States over the past five years.

  • Between 2000 and 2005, the number of young (16 to 34) native-born men who were employed declined by 1.7 million; at the same time, the number of new male immigrant workers increased by 1.9 million.

  • Multivariate statistical analyses show that the probability of teens and young adults (20-24) being employed was negatively affected by the number of new immigrant workers (legal and illegal) in their state.

  • The negative impacts tended to be larger for younger workers, for in-school youth compared to out-of-school youth, and for native-born black and Hispanic males compared to their white counterparts.

  • It appears that employers are substituting new immigrant workers for young native-born workers. The estimated sizes of these displacement effects were frequently quite large.

  • The increased hiring of new immigrant workers also has been accompanied by important changes in the structure of labor markets and employer-employee relationships. Fewer new workers, especially private-sector wage and salary workers, are ending up on the formal payrolls of employers, where they would be covered by unemployment insurance, health insurance, and worker protections.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration(CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Taj Mahal - Which Culture Created It?

I found this fascinating alternate explanation of the Taj Mahal's origins via Dissecting Leftism
If you have ever visited the Taj Mahal then your guide probably told you that it was designed by Ustad Isa of Iran, and built by the Moghul Emperor, Shah Jahan, in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Indian children are taught that it was built in 22 years (1631 to 1653) by 20,000 artisans brought to India from all over the world.

This story has been challenged by Professor P.N. Oak, author of Taj Mahal: The True Story, who believes that the whole world has been duped. He claims that the Taj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz Mahal's tomb, but an ancient Hindu temple palace of Lord Shiva (then known as Tejo Mahalaya), worshipped by the Rajputs of Agra city.

In the course of his research, Oak discovered that the Shiva temple palace had been usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh. Shah Jahan then remodelled the palace into his wife's memorial. In his own court chronicle, Badshahnama, Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai Singh for Mumtaz's burial. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur is said to retain in his secret collection two orders from Shah Jahan for the surrender of the Taj building.

The use of captured temples and mansions as a burial place for dead courtiers and royalty was a common practice among Muslim rulers. For example, Hamayun, Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried in such mansions.

Oak's inquiries begin with the name Taj Mahal. He says this term does not occur in any Moghul court papers or chronicles, even after Shah Jahan's time. The term 'Mahal' has never been used for a building in any of the Muslim countries, from Afghanistan to Algeria.
It does seem unlikely that a follower of Islam would use traditional Hindu symbols in his structure. However, I can't claim to be an expert.

Expect to see more about this over the next few years.

Other "Arab" innovations that have been cited as examples of genius are:
  • The Pythagorean theorem - Pythagoras was Greek, not Arabic
  • So-called "Arabic" numerals are, in fact, Indian in origin
  • Algebra - origin is in dispute. Indian claims seem to have some merit
  • Chess - historians agree that it's an Indian game
  • Medicine, astronomy, philosophy - all of these were developed by the Assyrians (Chaldeans and Babylonians), before those people were conquered by the Arabs in the Islamic conquest of the 600's. They were largely Christian peoples before they were forcibly converted.

It's not unusual for cultures to be assimilated when conquered. I think it's important, however, to keep memory of the heritage of the conquered peoples alive, rather than take credit for all they accomplished.

Friday, September 22, 2006

This is a disgrace!

I was reading Ace of Spades HQ today, when I spotted this reference to the killing of Van Gogh.

Van Gogh's son talks about being stalked by Muslim extremists, Courtesy of My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

According to Dhimmi Watch
Since the murder of Theo van Gogh, last November, his now 14-year-old son Lieuwe has twice been physically attacked by young Moroccans, or (more likely) Dutch citizens of Moroccan descent.
Europe needs to deal with these thugs - soon, before they gain strength from official inaction. Have they learned nothing about the costs of failing to act against brownshirts?

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Coalition Against Illegal Immigration

It was pointed out to me that Right Truth, one of the members of the Coalition, was featured in an article on illegal immigration. To say that the article was hopelessly biased is to understate it:
Immigration opponents like to talk (when not talking about violent immigrant criminals, who of course exist, but whose actions and fate have little bearing on what we should do about immigrants only here to work)
Notice that slyly slipped reference to violent criminals - that allows the many criminals who only take your money to be trivialized
about abstractions such as the reverence for the law (why victimless crime laws deserve any particular respect is rarely argued, merely asserted),
Not by me - I don't suggest that anyone have to have "reverence" for any law, just obey it - and, BTW, who said this is a VICTIMLESS CRIME? Not me - I, and all the rest of the country who end up paying for stolen "entitlements", incarcerating criminals who are illegal aliens (a substantial part of the prison population in some places), and extending citizenship benefits to children whose parents broke the law to make that status possible (something almost no other countries do) - consider that WE are the victims here.
macroeconomic studies showing alleged overall negative effects on the national economy (for all I know, similar studies might say the same about political journalists, and they might well be right),
Oooh, talk about playing the victim - pity me, I'm a political journalist! Alleged overall negative effects - the dollars have been totaled, and they are substantial.
or big-picture lucubration on the glories of a majority-white-European culture that is as doomed as our previous majority-English-German culture was in the 20th century.
Memo to self - don't forget to apologize for an accident of birth. It is SO TOTALLY my fault that some of my ancestors were English & German - BTW, NOT the majority - and I have to grovel for that for all time.
reporting such as these stories about Stillmore and Arkadelphia town bring us down to the experienced realities of immigration policy as they effect the people who actually live with and work with the supposedly damaging immigrants:
remember Rule # 1 of reporting - only Republicans are guilty without a trial- all other persons arrested are only "alleged"
human connections and relationships—familial, friendly, economic, all equally important in a human community—frayed or destroyed.
Let's look at the impact on the criminal - forget about the cost to law-abiding citizens
Why would a legal American such as Stillmore trailer park owner David Robinson hang his flag upside down in solidarity with the "criminals" taken from his trailer park?
Because businessmen who wink at illegal activity make a VERY BIG BUCK doing it?
Because they were not criminals to him. They were his tenants. And this was (is) his country. I daresay anyone who could happily see the people who support his business, support his family, dragged away in the night
Oh, the inhumanity! Dragged away - In the night! Memo to self: sternly warn ICE agents to make daytime raids only. Only the harshest dictatorships arrest at night.
for violating a paper statute,
unlike our other legislation, which is written in blood on human flesh
not for harming another human being's person or property,
but taking a job that an American would otherwise have is OK
would also feel that the world has been turned upside down.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration(CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

And he has SUCH a sweet face!


The GA Governor has pro-illegal immigration supporters up in arms:
During a news conference last week, Gov. Perdue said, ``It is simply unacceptable for people to sneak into this country illegally on Thursday, obtain a government-issued ID on Friday, head for the welfare office on Monday and cast a vote on Tuesday,'' according to a transcript provided by Perdue's press office.
Well, I can't see any problem with that - it IS unacceptable.

The problem isn't just that SOME illegals get welfare benefits that were intended for citizens and LEGAL residents, it's that too many of them are trying to elbow their way to the front of the citizenship line, and grab rights to which they are not entitled - like voting.

Did you know that, even as a legal resident in Mexico, I couldn't own a home, work a job, or collect government benefits? So why should we extend those same privileges to illegals?


**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration(CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Monday, September 18, 2006

This threatening of the Pope has Catholics' knickers in a twist

From Girl on the Right
"We want a personal apology (from the Pope). We feel that he has committed a grave error against us and that this mistake will only be removed through a personal apology," Muslim Brotherhood Deputy Leader Mohammed Habib told Reuters.
Yeah? And we're still waiting for an apology for the World Trade Center attacks - both of them! And the USS Cole. And the Pentagon. And Pennsylvania. And Madrid. And Bali. And the Embassy. And London. And... I'm sure I'm missing quite a few, but I just woke up from a nap, so please excuse my foggy memory. If you're waiting for an apology from the Pope, you waited too long. Pope John Paul II was the official apology guy, and he's dead. Meet the new boss... NOT the same as the old boss.

Always liked that Girl.

You know, initially, I didn't think of the Pope's comments as that important - it seemed to be a relatively small part of a longer speech. That probably just shows my naivete - of course an educated and politically savvy man like B16 wouldn't have tossed off such a potentially inflammatory remark without being aware how it might be received.

The real question is, what now? Is the world going to stand by, AS THEY HAVE BEEN, watching and twiddling their thumbs while priests, nuns, and other dedicated Christians are murdered for their faith? This isn't the first time that part of the world slaughtered Christians - the New Testament abounds with stories about the persecution of the Apostles and their followers.

Every Sunday, Christians sing songs that swear they would die rather than give up their religion. It's an easy avowal - nobody's gunning for them.

But, there are people in this world who ARE gunning for Christians. The real question is, what are we going to do about it?

Last Night, In Jail...

I found a simply riveting post on Take Back Georgia. It begins:
I went to jail last night...

NO - not as a detainee, as an observer of our local Sheriff's Academy. :)

Imagine my (not so) surprise, when I learned the following:


Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Questions of the Day:

Do you know what the most common form of communication is in our local jail?

GANG SIGNS

also known as STACKING.

Do you know how many illegal aliens we had in our jail last night? 85

Next to probation, immigration violations were the biggest populator of our local jail yesterday. Surprised? Not really... Encouraged? Possibly.
Go there, and read the rest

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration(CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

We finally have progress on a fence!

This post is from Demediacraticnation. The news about the fence is not unalloyed bliss, however:
According to Fox News the new exchange program:

"will quintuple the number of Saudi students and scholars here by the academic year's end."
I'm more than a little concerned about that. 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 came from the Saudi kingdom. I'm not happy about taking in the resident crazies the king doesn't want around, however much it may stabilize the country.

This may be one of those "one one hand, on the other hand" kind of things. Few bills make it through Congress without acquiring a lot of baggage. It may be like that old joke about the gift whiskey
It was just right - any worse, it would have killed him. Any better, he wouldn't have gotten the gift.
**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.**

Guard the Borders

This week's Blogburst is also available as a Podcast.

by Darnell at Independent Conservative

If this information is true, it is the most detailed revelation of a planned attack that I have ever seen.
Next Attack Imminent: Muslims ordered to leave the United States

Urgent news from Abu Dawood, the newly appointed commander of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan:

Final preparations have been made for the American Hiroshima, a major attack on the U. S.

Muslims living in the United States should leave the country without further warning.

The attack will be commandeered by Adnan el Shukrijumah (”Jaffer Tayyer” or “Jafer the Pilot”), a naturalized American citizen, who was raised in Brooklyn and educated in southern Florida.

The al Qaeda operatives who will launch this attack are awaiting final orders. They remain in place in cities throughout the country. Many are masquerading as Christians and have adopted Christian names.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban will also launch a major strike (known as the “Badar offensive”) against the coalition forces in Afghanistan during the holy month of Ramadan.

The American people will be treated to a final audio message from Osama bin Laden which will be aired within the next two weeks.

Q: What do you mean by another attack in America?

A: Yes a bigger attack than September 11th 2001. Brother Adnan [el Shukrijumah] will lead that attack, Inshallah.

Q:Who is Adnan?

A: He is our old friend. The last time, I met him in early 2004, in Khost. He came to Khost from the North Waziristan. He met his leaders and friends in Khost. He is very well known in Al Qaeda. He is an American and a friend of Muhammad Atta, who led 9/11 attacks five years ago. We call him “Jaffer al Tayyar” [”Jafer the Pilot”]; he is very brave and intelligent. Bush is aware that brother Adnan has smuggled deadly materials inside America from the Mexican border. Bush is silent about him, because he doesn’t want to panic his people.

Read it all, read it all, read it all…

Back in 2004 there was news of Al Qaeda trying to bring a nuke over the US Southern border. Lately I’ve been reading numerous reports, that a dirty nuke was carried over the US Southern border and an attack is close.

Bush has done little to close the southern US border and if the aforementioned takes place on his watch, it would only be right to impeach him for failing to do what was necessary to protect the American people. We knew for a long time that Islamic nuts would try and attack the WTC again after 1993, and now we’ve heard many times they want to set off a nuke. Bush can’t say he didn’t know if it happens, because even we are reading about it ourselves. If such an attack is carried out, after such brazen and open announcements, the talk of “we knew we’d be hit again” is not going to be enough to shield Bush and Chertoff from efforts to remove them, for not defending our porous southern border.

And this raises another issue. Often there is talk of US forces playing it “soft” during Ramadan, so Muslims are not offended. I say if the enemy takes a break for a month, all the more opportunity to kill them. The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred between Thanksgiving and Christmas 1941, because the enemy (then Japan) knew we would be vulnerable then. We had to end that mess with Japan by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We showed the enemy we would not play nice then. It’s time to show this enemy we don’t take chances when it comes to our security and that we won’t capitulate to their customs, because they desire to kill us.

_____________________________________________


This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we’re going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to admin at guardtheborders dot com.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Even Paranoids Have Enemies

Gagdad Bod, AKA One Cosmos, has some illuminating (NOT Illuminati) things to say about the far left kooks.
it is very unsettling that a large segment of the population believes things about conservatives that are not only untrue, but cannot possibly be true. They are terrified of a wholly fantasized version of reality, while I am afraid of their seemingly boundless capacity to fantasize and to inhabit their malicious fantasies.

The purpose of language is to communicate about reality. But what if it is not communicating reality, but fantasy? Somehow, these people are "successful" in communicating to one another (they all know exactly what the others are talking about, while you or I would say, "wwwhhhhaaaat?), and are even perversely emotionally "nourished" by the communication. It is a relief to them that others share the same fantasy--it satisfies them, fills some kind of need. But it is not a need for truth. It's like an anxious group of primitives who invent a spurious cure for a disease they don't understand.
If that doesn't scare you, read his post (with comments) about the 14 Characteristics of Fascism.

Send this slimeball to jail

I found this post about the terrorist attorney, Lynne Stewart, on PC Free Zone. She is to be sentenced on October 16, 2006. You have an opportunity to let your voice be heard by writing a short letter of support for a VERY long and tough sentence.

What did she do?
On February 10, 2005, Lynne Stewart was convicted of helping terrorists by smuggling messages of violence from one of her imprisoned clients -- a radical Egyptian sheik -- to his terrorist disciples on the outside.

Lynne Stewart was convicted of providing material support, through a press conference and allowing access by her translator, to a terrorist conspiracy to kill persons outside of the United States and conspiring to defraud the U.S. government when acting as counsel to Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric who was convicted in 1996 of plotting terrorist attacks against various sites in the New York City area.
That's just one of the many despicable actions she has taken in a long and traitorous career.

You can get the mailing address from PC Free Zone. I know you probably seldom use snail-mail, but this is absolutely essential.

Lawyers cannot be allowed to subvert the law, using the protection of their attorney-client privilege. A strong sentence will make other terrorist-friendly lawyers think twice about such actions.

I wrote the following letter:
Dear Judge Koetl,

I understand that you will be the one to decide on the sentence for convicted lawyer Lynne Stewart. I’m concerned that the punishment she receives is appropriate for her crimes. What did she do?
On February 10, 2005, Lynne Stewart was convicted of helping terrorists by smuggling messages of violence from one of her imprisoned clients -- a radical Egyptian sheik -- to his terrorist disciples on the outside.
Lynne Stewart was convicted of providing material support, through a press conference and allowing access by her translator, to a terrorist conspiracy to kill persons outside of the United States and conspiring to defraud the U.S. government when acting as counsel to Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric who was convicted in 1996 of plotting terrorist attacks against various sites in the New York City area. Finally caught in the snares of justice, Lynne Stewart is now facing sentencing for her crimes, and your help is needed to be sure she receives the maximum sentence allowable by law.
Lynn was recorded bragging about her skills as an actress which she used to fool the prison guards into believing she was a lawyer instead of a terrorist, saying, "I can get an award for it" which was translated to the Sheikh: "She is saying, Your Eminence, that she can get an award for acting (all three laugh).
These are not the actions of a lawyer. Lawyers are officers of the court, and take an oath to behave honorably. She used her position to commit acts that furthered terrorist activities. This wasn’t the act of a duped innocent, but an accomplice to terrorist activity.
You are a NYC judge. You know the terrible damage and destruction unleashed by terrorists. You need to do the right thing, and put her away for a long, long time.
Please add your support to putting her in prison for the maximum time.

Poem of a Marine

I found this poem thanks to my dear Mischa, of the
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
. Now, I'm not much of a poetry person (my tastes are more for raunchy limericks), but this is beautiful. At the end is a picture I've grown very fond of. It represents the Person in Uniform, Tired, but Ever Watchful Over Us.

Another poem, from a long-dead author, that I've always liked.

TOMMY

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!
Here's to all the Tommys.


Pray for her

Immediately after posting the previous entry, I was checking out The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, and found a link to this in the comments:
An Italian nun was shot dead at a hospital by Somali gunmen Sunday, hours after a leading Muslim cleric condemned Pope Benedict XVI for his remarks on Islam and violence.

The nun, who was not immediately identified, was shot in the back at S.O.S. Hospital in northern Mogadishu by two gunmen, said Mohamed Yusuf, a doctor at the facility, which serves mothers and children. The nun's bodyguard and a hospital worker were also killed, doctors said.
Naturally, the media aren't convinced that it was related to the Pope's comments. They apparently didn't talk to these guys:
Witnesses also said the shooting and the pope's comments appeared to be linked.

"These gunmen always look for white people to kill, and now the pope gave them the reason to do their worst," said Mohamud Durguf Derow, who was at the scene when the nun was killed.

The nun, who spoke fluent Somali, was believed to be around 60 and had been working at the hospital since 2002, said witnesses at the hospital on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
'Cause that's a shooting offense, talking nice about those Christians.

Quid pro quo? You decide.

Pope - A Dope? Nope!

I hadn't commented yet on Pope B16's comments about Islam. Since I've sort of gotten out of the habit of watching the "news", I often miss the latest liberal outrage over B16's radical insistence on speaking the truth to his flock.

I found a post on The Cafeteria is Closed that covers the subject rather well. The blogger, Gerald Augustinus (what a great name!), states the obvious about the coverage the comments have received, with a simple title:
Moronic column on the Pope
That says it all, folks. But, for those who need more proof,
(Bold emphasis mine)By unwittingly angering Muslims with his comments on Islam, Pope Benedict XVI has shown that he has yet to shake off his academic theological roots and master the global media machine with the same deftness as his predecessor.

In clinging to theology and orthodoxy, the bookish Benedict has shown little regard for media management in getting his message across, unlike the communications-savvy John Paul II.
That the same communications-savvy John Paul II they used to fry for his writings on women, ordination, celibacy, birth control, and other topics?

I thought so. Better the dead pope than one whose words you can't twist without him butting in to tell you what he really meant to say.

B16 didn't just fall off the turnip truck. He says and writes exactly what he means.
In the most provocative part of a speech this week on “faith and reason,” the pontiff recounted a conversation between an “erudite” Byzantine Christian emperor and a “learned” Muslim Persian circa 1391. The pope quoted the emperor saying, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
I agree - it IS evil and inhuman to put a sword or gun to the head of a person, and make them swear to follow Islam. And to have ALL Islam consider that person a legitimate convert, whose repudiation of Islam would justify a death sentence.

I've heard rumors that the visit to Turkey is off, but:
Turkey's foreign minister said Sunday that the pope was still expected to visit in November in what would be his first trip to a Muslim nation.

"From our point of view, there is no change," Abdullah Gul told reporters before departing for a trip to the United States.
I hope he's still going - I realize that security is paramount, but Turkey's Catholics are under seige. Priests have died, and everyone is stepping lightly, hoping to ride out the anti-Catholic sentiment. The flock NEED a pastoral visit.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Because, of course, Liberal radio shows are just soaring in the ratings

Steinem & friends start an all-women radio network. Who are these founders?
Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and a high powered group of women decided to offer an alternative by founding GreenStone Media. It's the only national radio network owned by women, and it's designed to offer what is missing in talk today -- radio that is thought-provoking, emotionally involving, believable and trustworthy. Radio that talks with you, not at you.

GreenStone's talk radio network debuted in July, 2006. We began streaming a series of entertaining, informative shows nationally, and we are adding AM and FM affiliates across the country. We're broadcasting from studios in New York and Los Angeles.

Our mission is simple: meet the unserved need for innovative, topical, relevant and entertaining programming of particular interest to women.
Because Air America radio has been SUCH a great place to sink your life savings. Good thing Ted (ex-husband) Turner isn't dead - he's be spinning in his grave.



Guess Steinem has a new patron to provide her with a media company to play with.

Are we TRULY losing the drug war?

Are we losing the drug war? Or do we just have a lot of people who are only paying lip service to fighting it?

I found this article, about a relatively typical situation, which happened to occur in LA. But the course described by the reporter is all-too-common in too many cities.

Too many of the players in the judical arm of the law have taken it as their personal crusade to do the minimum - shuffle cases around, make a feeble stab at prosecution, and whine that "they have no choice" but to make deals with criminals.

I'm not advocating for life sentences for small-time users. But we need to take dealing seriously, without hiding behind the excuse "it's his first offense". Generally, that just means, it's the first time he's been caught and couldn't bury the evidence.

How can we expect rehab to work when addicts are surrounded by the temptation every day of their life? I've been dieting, and I find it hard to resist when people bring in food for school functions.

Imagine the lure of truly addictive substances. Now imagine a life that can't take you more than a block from home without being confronted by the sweet siren call of drugs.

LA, like many cities, has given up. I'd like to see some follow-up to the story, about just who is profiting from the continued flow of drugs. Is someone getting a pay-off?

What I really despise is the lame excuses the prosecutors and judge gave:
If police felt so strongly about this particular case, Moore said, they should have made that clear from the beginning, and the district attorney's office might not have agreed to early disposition in the case. Munoz's defense attorney, Vivian Gray, agreed that this was a pretty standard disposition.

The man who decided her client's fate, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Horowitz, said he often doesn't even see the police reports and relies on recommendations worked out by the prosecutor and defense attorney. Although the judge couldn't recall the Munoz case specifically, he said he would have considered a stiffer sentence if he had known the amount of drugs and police manpower involved.
Are they illiterate? The facts had to be in the record. They just didn't care enough to DO THEIR JOB.

I found the reference on Knowledge is Power.

Traffic is Up!

I really don't quite know why, but my traffic is up lately. It may be a seasonal thing - schools are back in session, so readership may just be responding to the increase in the numbers of people who have access.

Whatever the reason, I'm kinda enjoying the increased attention.

Not that I'm a Diva or anything.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Why the pyramids survive

I was browsing through old stuff, and found this reference to what may be pyramids in Bosnia. Ace skewers the "experts":
I love the circular logic here: someone finds a big pyramid-shaped thing in Bosnia, but "experts" know there's no such thing as a pyramid in Bosnia, and therefore whatever is under those mounds (which we shouldn't bother excavating, because the experts have already told us what cannot possibly be there) is most certainly not a pyramid. Because Europeans never built pyramids. QED.
I have no trouble believing that pyramids are possible - Bosnia isn't so far away from Egypt that they couldn't have been influenced by them. Or, maybe the Bosnian ancestors were the ones that invented the structure? Or, maybe, the Eqyptians at one time ruled the area.

All of those are possible explanations for the presence of pyramids in Bosnia. But, I want to bring up another point about history.

Why are old buildings hanging around? I mean, why didn't someone look at the old stuff, say, "Hey, why don't we build something new and useful over this spot", and merrily start tearing it down?

The conventional answer is that these more cultured civilizations realized the enduring value in old structures. That they cherished their ancestors' accomplishments, values, and contribution to their cultural heritage.

Nuts.

They didn't tear them down because either their culture was hopelessly moribund, unable to revitalize themselves, or - more likely - just too broke to build something updated.

Think of the cultures that virtually worship their crumbling structures:
  • Greece



  • Rome



  • Egypt



  • England



  • France



  • New England



  • the part of the US formerly known as The Confederacy




In every place, the continued presence of old "stuff" indicates little cash, and little get-up-and-go. Only that last example, after a century of wallowing in old stuff, finally got up, stopped worshipping the dead past, and started a building boom that has transformed the South.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

I have a new Hero!



The picture on the left is of Lena Haddix, a GREAT-GRANDMOTHER who is just returning from her 2nd deployment to the Mideast,
working for Department of Defense's Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) which operates shops selling goods to US military personnel on army bases.
I read of her remarkable story in The Smallest Minority. On her first trip, she worked in Kuwait. She is the oldest employee to have served in Iraq. The troops called her Mom. This military wife is a real trooper!

9/11 Conspiracists

I've only recently become aware that there are sizable numbers of people who believe that the WTC was brought down, not by Islamic fanatics, but by carefully planned and detonated explosive devices. Popular Mechanics devoted considerable space in their magazine to debunking the loonies sad examples of Prozac-deprived paranoids the seriously technology-challenged.

To no avail.

The true believers keep growing. It's hard to understand why, when the scientific evidence is so clear.

Aha.

That's it.

I understand.

The average person's ability to understand complicated scientific concepts is sorely lacking. And I oughta know.

I'm a physics teacher.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Whites only Fountain? Oh, Wait...

I'm having trouble understanding this:
A Christian man is recovering from a beating that left him with a broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder after he drank water from a glass reserved for the poor at a construction site in Pakistan.
So, when are the world's Christians going to wake up and smell the jihad?

We have got to act on this type of injustice. Do Christians act like that? We do NOT! Where are the churches? Too busy coddling Muslims yelling that they are being profiled, harassed (without proof), and discriminated against (because swimming pools won't let the girls wear street clothes - the same standard all other girls are held to).

I know I'm only one lonely voice, but, does anyone know what we can do? Who is looking out for the world's Christians?

Thanks to Ogre, where I found the story.

Guard the Borders

This week's post is later than usual. We didn't want to compete with the 9/11 memorials.

Warning: it's got a bite at the end. Which, BTW, I thoroughly agree with.

by Heidi at Euphoric Reality

This week’s Blogburst is available as a Podcast.

In the days and weeks leading up to the fifth anniversary of 9/11, I have been musing how the overall impact of that single days' terrorism has affected our nation. Some people have felt their initial shock and horror fade away to something sadly benign - a quiet relief that it hasn't happened again, and a determination to "do their part" going on with their lives. After all, if they didn't, then the terrorists would've "won" that day, they aver. Others like me, felt that same shock and horror harden into a stone cold fury and an implacable resolve to fight this burgeoning evil that hides behind the facade of religion.

The question on everyone's minds is, "Are we safer today than we were on 9/10?" With our wide-open borders, and our government's refusal to crack down on illegal aliens, my answer is a resounding "NO!" There is no way any politician or civic leader can claim that we have gotten tougher on evicting people who should NOT be here. In fact, they are competing over how many millions of illegals we can let in each year without identification, without background checks, and without any knowledge of where they are or what they are doing. In fact, our "leaders" are racing to see who can squash any meager attempt at controlling our borders or enforcing our immigration laws the fastest! It has become a feather in their cap to deny to rule of law and leave our borders defenseless.

There is no doubt that illegal immigration is the gaping hole in our tenuous national security. President Bush narrowly defines the issue of our national security as a matter of success in Iraq. The House - heeding the overwhelming demands of the constituents who elected them to office - has refused to grant amnesty to over 20 million illegal aliens inside our borders. And with the Senate's obstinate refusal to physically safeguard our border, Congress has reached an impasse. What a solution! When the swiftest and most decisive action is called for...they do nothing.

Third World County says it best:
...every single one of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers was in this country illegally at the time of their terrorist act.

Every. Single. One.

So, for all those political poltroons pimping amnesty (yes, you too, Mr. Bush), remember this: failure to enforce immigration laws, crack down on forged and hijacked SS documents, etc., cost American lives on 9/11.

__________________________________________


This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It is syndicated by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we're going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration in our country, join the Blogburst! Send an email with your blog name and url to euphoricrealitynet at gmail dot com.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

9/11 Retrospective

I wanted to post something in memory of the 9/11 terrorist attack. I haven't been able to come up with an original post. I have friends who lost family and friends in the attacks, I have a friend who was at the Pentagon at the time. But my memories are second-hand.

So, I've decided to link to others who were there. On the first official battlefield of WWIII.



That's all for now. If I find some more important sites, I'll tack them on to the end of this post.


Another 9/11 site - this one with unedited video clips, the full 9/11 report, and more. Found via the Captain's Quarters - you do have it bookmarked, don't you?

Lies of the Left

This COULD be a lengthy post. But, I'll try to winnow it down to a reasonable length. The CA Parent Bribery 'Scandal' - the 1...