Right As Usual

What is blogging? Is it journalism? Joseph Rago, writing for The WSJ's OpinionJournal , seems to think that no blogger can consider him/herself a part of that exalted group. Cassandra, at Villainous Company , provided the link (and the snark) to his thoughts. The blogs are not as significant as their self-endeared curators would like to think. Journalism requires journalists, who are at least fitfully confronting the digital age. The bloggers, for their part, produce minimal reportage. Instead, they ride along with the MSM like remora fish on the bellies of sharks, picking at the scraps. Well, that has SOME merit. Some bloggers merely provide links - though, that's not totally insignificant. It takes time to keep up on other's blogs, find links to other sites, and read, digest, and come up with commentary on that topic. For beginners - which, don't forget, many bloggers are - that takes a lot of time. Is that journalism? No. It's more akin to writing a thought...

No new Guard the Borders Blogburst this week - we're taking the holiday off. I've been off the net for the last few days, except for a few minutes. Two reasons: It's freakin' Christmas! My wireless connection was down on the laptop, until my WONDERFUL son-in-law fixed it - on Christmas, no less! It was the best Christmas present of all. Once I get some free time, later today, I'll try to catch up on email and 'stuff. Look to see light posting this week, but none after Thursday - I'll be traveling South. It's intended to be a leisurely trip, followed by extended relaxing.

I'm back in Cleveland for the holidays. I feel relaxes and mellow. I'm just about over that respiratory infection, and I finally bit the bullet and visited a chiropractor about my neck pain. One visit, and I'm pain-free. I really should stop avoiding doctors. I'll be blogging sporadically this week and the next. My laptop's wireless connection is down - until I visit my wonderful techie son-in-law later this week, it will probably stay down. I'm using my husband's computer - not as good as mine, but it works. I'll be spending time shopping, visiting family and friends, and just relaxing this week and the next. I've earned it, I'm taking it. I'll be finding out if there really is life off the net - I've heard that there is, but I don't entirely believe it.

Today's Blogburst is also available as a Podcast . By Nancy Matthis at American Daughter The Price of Lettuce Federal subsidies do not reduce the COST of food to the taxpayer. They increase it. Likewise, illegal immigration does not reduce the cost of food, or of any other goods and services, to the taxpayer. Illegal immigration also increases those costs. In fact, illegal immigration increases the citizen's financial burden in exactly the same ways and using the same types of governmental mechanisms as the inefficient and ill-conceived government subsidy programs. Let's just look at the numbers. The available data points come from different years, so our results will not be specific for any single year, but will be representative of the general problem . Note: This article responds to two comments made by liberals on earlier articles in our Illegal Immigration series. Joe Budzinski referenced our report on The Crider Case on Nova Townhall Blog...

Going By The Numbers by Nancy Matthis Understanding the impact of illegal immigration does not depend on accepting partisan opinions. It is just the result of doing some simple math. In a previous article, Illegals Deadlier Than War On Terror , we compared the numbers of United States citizens killed by illegal aliens to the tally of our troops killed in the war on terror. In response to that article, one of our readers wrote asking whether we had seen the video produced by NumbersUSA titled Immigration by the Numbers . He asked, “I wonder how accurate it is?” This widely distributed video uses gumballs in a jar to visually demonstrate the impact of numbers that increase exponentially rather than linearly . These are mathematical concepts that are immediately meaningful to folk with a technical background, but may be harder to understand for others. The answer to our reader’s question is that the video IS accurate. It is not based on partisan opinion. It is just a very graphic illust...

I just love it when the media - in this case, CNN.com , decide that they're going to tell us what schools need to prepare for the FUTURE! Invariably, the answers are: Too complicated Too expensive Written by people without children Well, on that last point, I can't say for sure, but it does read like someone who's had no contact with anyone younger than 25 in years. What is CNN saying? Competency in reading and math -- the focus of so much No Child Left Behind testing -- is the meager minimum. Scientific and technical skills are, likewise, utterly necessary but insufficient. Today's economy demands not only a high-level competence in the traditional academic disciplines but also what might be called 21st century skills. Yeah, that's what the current administration has been saying - basic competency is a STARTING POINT. Frankly, I'd have few problems if students had a "high-level competence in the traditional academic disciplines". Supposedly, CEOs a...

Via the 910 Group Blog , I found the following: I understand this is an unpopular war. When I stepped forward to define the enemy as ... fascists, I was ridiculed by the media and others, saying that my words were too harsh, saying that at worst my defining the enemy was incorrect, at best it was inflammatory. But I did so because I believe words matter. If you are going to confront an enemy you have to understand who that enemy is and you have to communicate that to the people... Ellipses mine. Now, who does that sound like? I've been reading The Gathering Storm, by Winston Churchill. Immediately, I saw the resemblance to the old man, ignored by all, ridiculed by many, leaving public life a failure. A failure whose time had passed, they said. Good riddance - he clearly didn't understand the modern world. He was a dinosaur, who yearned for the bad old days of Empire. Too bad. ...what have we seen over the past 6 months? We saw a situation in the central synagogue in Prague...

I found this video on Gay Patriot . Don't be afraid to see it - it will bring tears to your eyes, but it isn't gory. Why is the Democratic Party so beloved by homosexuals, when they support Islamic dominance in the Mideast region. Israel is the ONLY country in the region where gays have full rights.

You know, when the story first broke about the Muslim who was rudely interrupted at prayer, then told by the gym's staff The manager told me, 'You have to respect her (the patron), but she does not have to respect your God,' " said Wardeh Sultan of Dearborn. - something about it just didn't ring true to me. I was sure that the staff would have bent over backwards to treat Ms. Sultan with respect, particularly in Detroit, where so many Muslims live. I didn't understand why the staff member would have said "you have to respect her" - the other member. Now I understand. In Front Page Magazine's story by Janet Levy: (Oy! Her supposed religious/ethnic background will allow the story to be ignored) According to Jodi Berry, executive director of Fitness USA, Wardeh Sultan was praying in front of another member’s locker when the member wanted access to her belongings inside the locker. The inconvenienced patron tried to interrupt Ms. Sultan, but s...

I was visiting Yippee-Ki-Yay! and found that he has posted some musical links from YouTube. I decided to check it out, and also found the following: A Harry Potter Christmas Synchronized Christmas Lights - it has to be seen to be believed. A truly twisted Charlie Brown Christmas . It's A Charlie Brown Jihad. A LEGO Christmas tree being built The 12 Pains of Christmas as done by LEGO people A juggler plays "I Wish You a Merry Christmas" on a musical keyboard - truly impressive, especially at the end. A Coca-Cola Christmas A musical Christmas card - not flashy, but very cute Traditionally, I saved the best for last - I'll be home for Christmas. It's set to pictures of military, far from their homes. Please take the time to view it, and don't forget to also check out the soldiers' support groups, Soldiers' Angels , which provides ways to support military if you aren't fortunate enough to be acquainted with one personally. An offshoot of that ...

I found this video about the Flying Imans over at Michelle Malkin's blog . You do have that blog bookmarked, don't you? Frankly, I'm getting hooked on the Hot Air videos she posts. It's basically 8 Rules for Flying (similar to the Chris Rock How Not to Get Your A$$ Kicked ).

Michelle Malkin has a link to the Arianna Huffington take-down of Hillary Clinton. Michelle asks: So, what's Arianna's beef with Hillary? Well, I'm gonna tell you - it [was] the Queen Bee Syndrome. Joan Crawford, a veritable living example of the syndrome, starred in the movie. She played a woman who had to be the center of attention, even if it meant destroying her own family. Queen Bees are the ultimate narcissists. The only thing that matters to them is themselves. Sound like any two women we know?

This is neat! Their site allows you to direct your dollars to businesses that DON'T hire aliens. And, incidentally, to turn in those rascals that do.

Muslims: Offer your Salah (Prayer) neither in too loud a voice nor in too low a voice but seek a middle course. Qur'an 17: 110. Well, I guess the imans didn't read that part. From Dean's World, the money quote - Christians: And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Any questions? As part of OUR tradition, we find loud prayers strange - and suspicious. We don't view it as evidence of holiness, quite the contrary. This is a case where the imans and other Muslims must, themselves, practice cultural sensitivity. As I said before, I'm willing to make accommodations for Islam. I can certainly understand that Muslims may not want to offer prayers in...

I started to write that I'm against this: Airport officials said Friday they will consider setting aside a private area for prayer and meditation at the request of imams concerned about the removal of six Muslim clerics from a US Airways flight last week. Steve Wareham, director of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, said other airports have "meditation rooms" used for prayers or by passengers who simply need quiet time. A group of Somali clerics met with airport officials Friday and said they would attract less attention if they had a private area for prayer. Devout Muslims pray five times daily, facing the holy city of Mecca. "When we pray, we don't want a problem. We don't want what happened last week," said Abdulrehman Hersi, an imam at Darul-Quba mosque in Minneapolis, referring to six clerics who were barred from a US Airways flight in Minneapolis after drawing the concern of some passengers. Airports in Nashville, Tenn.; Co...

You HAVE to see what Francis Porretto, of Eternity Road, calls "my favorite chick with big knockers".

Today's Blogburst is also available as a Podcast . Illegals Deadlier Than War On Terror by American Daughter This past Thanksgiving evening, a United States Marine who was home from Iraq was driving with his date, when another car smashed into theirs and killed them both. The other driver, who was not even injured, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. On the early broadcast news in Washington, DC this morning (Thursday, November 30th), some stations carried the report of this incident, and described the drunk driver as an “illegal immigrant.” By the time the 7 AM news came on, that version of the story had been quashed. The main-stream media versions of the story do not mention the illegal status of the accused driver: Driver Accused Of DUI In Crash That Killed Marine Home For Thanksgiving COLUMBIA, Md. - A local Marine was killed Thanksgiving night in a crash caused by an alleged drunk driver. Brian Matthews, 21, of Columbia, Md., was driving with a date,...

The ever-popular Fausta's Blog brings up a good comparison. She talks about a blatant pervert of a few year's ago, who exposed himself to passers-by. Nobody, and I mean nobody, who witnessed Wino's exhibitionism felt anything other than disgust. Intense, visceral disgust. Fast-forward twenty-some years and now we have women pervs flashing from the front pages of the tabloids, from the TV, and talked about (in a wealth of details) in talk radio. The only difference is that now the disgust is not universal. Why isn't this increasingly common practice being treated with the contempt it diserves? I'm very angry. Actresses worked hard to improve the public standing of their profession. Through their efforts, they raised public perception from treating them as whores, to where decent women were able to mingle in society as equals. They did this by managing their public appearances, and keeping the raunchier parts out of the press. In a little over a generation, these ...

Boy, sometimes I really think there are conservatives who have gove over the edge in seeing the heavy hand of Big Brother in every government action. And then something like this happens . New Hampshire announced plans Wednesday to become the first state to offer the new cervical-cancer vaccine free to all girls. Beginning in January, the vaccine against the human papilloma virus, or HPV, will be provided to girls ages 11 through 18 as part of a state program that offers various immunizations to children at no cost. The program is paid for by the federal government and insurance companies. The Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine in June for girls as young as 9. It prevents infection from some strains of HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Cervical cancer is the No. 2 cancer killer in women. I REALLY don't like this. It strikes me as another Nanny State action, the kind that overrules the legal parents of a minor, pooh-p...

I just checked out a link to an article about the new push to vaccinate all pre-adolescent girls against HPV, which has been linked to some cervical cancers. I'm not on-board with giving young girls this vaccine, for several reasons: 1) It hasn't been studied long enough. Even its promoters acknowledge that long-term effects are still unknown. Is it possible that it will have side-effects affecting fertility, development, or other bodily or mental changes? It does have potential, but why push so hard? We need to take this slow, rather than find ourselves with a bigger problem in the future. 2) Vaccinating all girls strikes me as overkill. Not every woman will be exposed to HPV. Of those, not every women will develop cervical cancer. So, why are we treating this like polio, where even a passer-by could potentially infect you? HPV is not spread that casually. As I understand it, HPV causes most of its problems when other infections are present. The severity and duration...