What Does Patriotism Sound Like?

What Does Patriotism Sound Like?

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.
~ Thomas Paine ~


We recently released a CD of patriotic music. While promoting it we made the acquaintance of an excellent blogger and radio host out in sunny California named Kender. After getting to know him and respect him I offered to do some spots for his radio show.

In our emailing back and forth on the subject I was struck by this, referring to the intro spots: he asked that they be patriotic. Of course our CD is patriotic in nature and perhaps he assumed that’s what we would do. But I was still left with the question –

What does patriotism sound like?

My saucy wife and I met playing in a worship band for a stodgy, old time denomination who wished desperately to gain new tithers without reaching out to them in any meaningful way (but that’s a post for another day). I had been a Christian for a couple of years at this point, but had spent a lot more time wishing to be a dissolute, bad-ass musician. The fact that I was never really all that dissolute is not terribly germane to this post.

This point was made several times in my presence -- due to the fact that I am a drummer, people tend to talk in front of me as though I were furniture -- that some piece of music or another didn’t sound “Christian.” I would usually clear my throat, startling everyone in the room and ask what “Christian” sounds like.

Eyes would roll and knowing glances would be exchanged at this ludicrous question from the percussionist proudly clad in his favorite Rush concert T-shirt. I mean everybody knows what “it” is, right?

Actually, having come to believe outside of the traditional church structures forced me to ask a lot of questions that no one comfortable in that world enjoyed answering. But, for me, this was a big one. How was I, a guy weaned on Heavy Metal music, supposed to know what “Christian” sounded like. I could barely figure out what “Christian” looked like! Remember the “Rush” T-shirt!

So, in much the same fashion, I am now puzzled by the reaction to our CD. We made every effort to do a variety of music. Music that sounded American to our ears, music from all over this great land. Yet people have questioned whether or not it sounds patriotic.

So I ask again. What does Patriotism sound like?

I think patriotism must be defined by every generation. Patriotism may look and sound different for each successive generation but, that doesn’t mean it isn’t right or true. Though I am just as likely to listen to AC/DC as country music, I do get choked up when I listen to our National Anthem or God Bless America. I probably didn’t in many ways, before I got all old and staid, look much like a patriotic American, and yet I truly was at all points very patriotic.

I think patriotism isn’t found in a certain style of dress or expression. As much as I love big band music it doesn’t speak to my heart as the music of my youth does, never will.

There’s one other thing I want to address in this post. Embarassment. Why are otherwise proud Americans ashamed of their patriotic feelings? This has been one of the most surprising developments to us in the release of our CD. People have knocked the music, and that’s fine -- we’re adults, and we knew that not everyone would dig it. Of course it hurts, but that’s life in the bigs.

But for otherwise proud Americans to mock something because it’s patriotic is more than a little surprising to me. There’s a lot of patriotic music I don’t care for, but I appreciate that people are standing up and proclaiming their love of this country. I appreciate it because, unlike our brave liberal friends who insist they are under attack by the evil country of AmeriKKKa as they’re feted by the New York Times, us patriotic folk have to sneak around the fringes, hiding in the patriotic ghettos.

What are the patriotic ghettos? Well, ask yourself this: on which days of the year are you most likely to hear a Lee Greenwood song? How often would you put on a CD by a patriotic artist that wasn’t purchased from the Country section of the music store? What, you say there aren’t any patriotic artists outside the Country bins…well, I’ll be.

The fight for the protection of American values is not only the duty of the
military; it is the patriotic duty of all of us.
Michael F. Easley

So, what does patriotism sound like? I would submit that patriotism sounds exactly like us. Like Americans always have: defiant, proud, caring, worthy. Let’s seek out patriotic music, believe it or not there are great artists out there who believe things other than America sucks, or America is the great evil, or even, semi-nude teen-aged girls are the source of all goodness.

Let’s remember that big media is always surprised by the conservative values of Americans. Big media lives in big, blue towns and will never advance something outside of its belief system without having it shoved down their narrow necks. Might I remind you of what amazement big media evinced over the wild success of “The Passion Of The Christ”? And please allow me to predict the same amazement in advance for "The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe".

We cannot allow big media to decide who we should be listening to; this is a dangerous thing these days. I guarantee to you they do not have your best interests at heart. They are selling an agenda. Other than country artists, who in the mainstream stood up for our president?

Yet we have an enormous power as conservatives. The power to say no, the power to deny profits to the big media companies who continually deliver filth and garbage into the in-boxes of our lives. Just as TV and print news are taking it on the chin from blogs, so we need to create a subversive outlet for musicians who love this country.

Don, the guitarist on our album, had some friends over about a week after we finished the project. While chatting he showed them the album and inserted it into the player. Their response? “Why would you make a patriotic album?”

If you know the answer to that question, please allow me to challenge you. No longer accept the predigested crap pouring out from our entertainment capitals. No longer allow them access to your heart or you mind. No longer allow them to think they speak for America because they truly do not.

What does patriotism sound like?

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our
freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
~Abraham Lincoln

The fight for the protection of American values is not only the duty of the
military; it is the patriotic duty of all of us.
Michael F. Easley

I see fewer flags flying these days, and the patriotic flame that burned so
brightly after Sept. 11 also seems on the wane.
David Hackworth

As seen @

Stop The ACLU (I won't! I love them too much, don't hate me)

TMH's Bacon Bits (I could really go for some sausage)

Cao's Blog (Look lady, your the boss, okay? don't hit me I'm delicate)

Blue State Conservative (Yeah but, would Captain Kirk do you?)

Stuck On Stupid (I know I am, but what are you?)

Adam's Blog (Adam, yeah right, I think Kofi Annon runs this blog)

Adios, Au Revoir, Buh-Bye to the IFC at Ground Zero

Finally, Pataki gets off the fence and does the right thing: The International Freedom Center will not have a home at the 9-11 memorial at Ground Zero. Read the gracious response from Take Back the Memorial here. (Read our reports from the rally at Ground Zero earlier this month here and here.)

And here's what the IFC had to say about it all. Evidently, there can be no IFC anywhere but at the World Trade Center site. Their years of effort are down the tubes. They're rolling up the carpet and calling it quits. Amazing. Could it be that they don't think they would be able to draw enough of a crowd on their own, without piggy-backing on those who come to pay respects to those lost on 9-11?

All I can say is that, if they give up that easily on talking about freedom, thank God they weren't charged with winning or perpetuating it.

Imagine

"What does he have to do, go to thier houses and tutor them?"
Bill O'reilly to Charlie Rangel on the President's performance in race related issues.

We seem to be hearing a lot about race these days. Katrina comes to mind as an indictment of our instituitional love of racism. I don't agree, but that's neither here nor there.

It did get me thinking though, what if Lincoln had been allowed to finish what he started after the Civil War? What kind of country would we be living in today?

Lincoln had a peculiar genius for disarming enemies through his empathy and fairness. In almost every other civil war the world round the rebels could expect to be treated harshly, indeed, I would say its to be expected.

Not Lincoln though, he took a different path. He honored the brave men of the Confederacy, allowing them to return home with honor.

What if this compassionate yet strong president had been allowed to oversee the reconstruction?

Instead, we got Andrew Johnson. Johnson fought like the devil to make sure blacks gained no actual ground after the war. Among other things he was against civil rights for the newly freed slaves. He also fought the Freedmen Bureau act, an attempt the protect blacks against the newly enacted "black codes". He also successfully fought the first attempt at reperations, called "Forty Acres and a mule" relief, a bill to provide land and the means to work it to the newly freed slaves.

As my very smart wife has said, "reparations would have been a heck of a lot easier and simpler back then."

Johnson was completely against any gains for the newly freed slaves. So of course, the Republicans are to blame, though they fought like hell against this embarrassing president. Even attempting to impeach him.

The shame to me is that Lincoln was never given a shot. I can only imagine what this country would look like if he had been allowed to try.

I Don't Think She Got the Meaning of "Empowerment"

It must have been a misunderstanding. Clearly the female suicide bomber who killed at least six others and wounded 30 in Iraq today didn't get the memo clarifying that "empowerment" is a mental quest which does not involve explosives. And that it is supposed to lift you up, not blow you up.

The al-Qaida in Iraq claim came in a Web posting signed by the spokesman for the organization, Abu Maysara al-Iraqi.

"A blessed sister from the Al-Baraa bin Malek martyrdom brigade carried out a heroic attack defending her faith and honor on a gathering of volunteers for the apostate forces at a center for recruiting apostates in Tal Afar," the statement said.

"May God accept our sister among the martyrs," it said, without identifying her.

Still, I'm sure she must be very proud of the praise she's receiving from her "brothers" -- you know the ones -- the ones who would have stoned her to death if she'd had the nerve to be raped. 'Cause those are definitely the guys a girl wants to impress...

Aaron Broussard -- Lying or Stupid?

I had the misfortune of watching Mr. Broussard stink things up on old softie Tim Russerts show last night (thanks to the political teen for pouring this bilge into our TV free home, see video here, well I don't see it now).

See overview here

I don't know exactly how stupid Mr. Broussard might be, or conversely, how stupid he thinks we are but, his appearance on Meet The Press will go down in history as a classic example of a mental defective attempting to spin his way out of trouble.

The left eats this up as it fits the fantasy narrative the MSM and the left have pursued. Unfortunately every single point has been debunked, Michelle Malkin has details.

One detail though, I haven't seen this reported anywhere else. Puts a little different spin on poor Mr. Broussards motivations, doesn't it?

While weasely Tim lobbed softballs in Mr. Broussard's direction this inept bureaucrat couldn't even muster the mental acuity to rebut them in any sensible fashion. Offering only to debate or pummel anyone who had the audacity to question a public official in one of Americas most traditionally corrupt regions.

So, Mr. Broussard, you want a debate? I'm all over it pal, any time, any place.

And if you want to take a swing at me...well that's just sauce for the goose!

Be Not Ashamed

Be Not Ashamed

Here’s a question that’s always puzzled me. Why are we, as conservatives, ashamed of our position?

Perhaps we feel this way because we are inundated with messages from the left and the MSM that we represent the worst of America. That we are the side that supports racism and big business squashing the little guy. We are told that we are uncaring, cold and brutal toward the poor.

But is it true?

The Republican Party started auspiciously in 1854. The primary purpose to form was in direct opposition to slavery. Republican lawyer Montgomery Blair defended the "Dred Scott" case before the Supreme Court.

Our dear, delicate brethren in the Party of Peace almost beat Senator Charles Sumner to death. He required three years to recover from the beating he endured on the Senate floor.

Of course we come to Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was instrumental in freeing the slaves over the howls of outraged Democrats. We are to believe these days that slavery was but one issue among many that precipitated the Civil War, in my reading of history I must say that’s not exactly how it looks to me.

Republican opened the first black colleges, passed the 13th amendment outlawing slavery, opened the Freedmen bureaus to help blacks integrate after the war.

But Jake you’re saying, this was many years ago. What does this have to do with McBushie Hitler Chimpie Fascist Mcgee?

Well, I glad you asked. In 1956 On the campaign trail, Vice President Richard Nixon vows: “American boys and girls shall sit, side by side, at any school – public or private – with no regard paid to the color of their skin. Segregation, discrimination, and prejudice have no place in America”

From 1952-1960 President Eisenhower is a staunch defender of civil rights. Eisenhower’s administration pushed Brown vs. Board of education, bans racial segregation for interstate bus travel, championed Rosa Parks, met with Martin Luther King to talk about racial equality, signed the 1957 Civil Right Act, and so on ad nauseum.

But still, you’ll say, that’s ancient history. To which I would reply, only in this country is that ancient history, bub.

But okay, more current examples abound.

Both Reagan and Bush I were strong advocates of civil rights. Each man signed Civil Rights legislation strengthening civil rights laws. Our current president has spoken eloquently on the ‘soft bigotry of lowered expectations’. Many who know our current president consider him to be very strong on civil rights who had much success in Texas.

History is both mutable and fungible, and hmmm, who’s writing and teaching history in our country right now? The Republican Party isn’t perfect, that is not the point I’m trying to make here. No, rather the Republican Party has a proud tradition of supporting those in greatest need in stark contrast to the Democratic party that has found itself time and again on the wrong side of the issues that most effect us as a nation.

The Democratic Party had to be hauled kicking and screaming into the reality of civil rights and they were a most unwilling party (pun intended) to the changes that Republicans had embraced for over a hundred years.

Somehow, the Democratic Party has managed a stunning reversal of fortunes. Far from being rightfully considered the party of racists of every stripe, they are now the alleged champions of racial equality. This isn’t even a good joke.

Quick quiz – What party is Robert Byrd in?

So, the next time some smelly hippie is haranguing you about being a conservative feel free to let them know that their party isn’t all that!

Hat tip LoneRanger
Lone Rangers site is a must read for all Conservatives.
He also runs This Day in Republican History Another must read. Thanks Lone Ranger your research is appreciated!

Bush = Bull Connor = Bull$@#!

Although it is far from the first time that Charlie Rangel has opened his mouth to release turds of divisive rhetoric, he's really outdone himself this time. Rangel recently stated that "George Bush is our Bull Connor," comparing our president to the Alabama segregationist and police official who infamously used violent tactics against non-violent civil rights protesters in Birmingham. Read the whole story here. (Hat tip: Michelle Malkin)

Then, in an evident effort to compound the damage he brings to racial harmony every time he opens his big bazoo, Rangel accepted an invitation to appear on Bill O'Reilly last night. (Thanks to The Political Teen for providing regular video clips I can check out in my TV-free home! Put on your wading boots and watch Rangel frustrate O'Reilly here.)

Watch, weep, laugh, and draw your own conclusions. I just have two small pointers for Rangel:

The point of doing an INTERVIEW is to ANSWER the QUESTIONS posed by the INTERVIEWER. Apparently you haven't quite grasped that concept yet.

Bill Connor? Bull O'Connor? Bill O'Connor? If you want to engage in NAME-CALLING it's more effective if you GET THE NAME RIGHT.

Mysterious Massacre at Opelousas

September 28, 1868. Does the date mean anything to you? Ring any bells? Nah? That's what we said, too. Ditto the name "Opelousas Massacre."

While surfing the blogosphere a few weeks back, we stumbled across a reference to this date in history on a blog named (tongue-in-cheek) Stop the Republicans. We were quite fascinated, not least because we didn't recall ever having heard of the event. To the internet we went, trying to find additional information, with the idea of blogging it on its anniversary.

The short version is this: a young, white Republican newspaper editor (Emerson Bentley) was beaten by three other white men; when local blacks came to his rescue some were taken to jail, then hung, while others were chased into the fields and massacred; accounts of total deaths varies greatly, from 30 to 300.

The long version is...the same as the short version. That's it. That's all she wrote. That's all we could find. We found references at The African American Registry, The Freedmens Bureau, and the Republican Freedom Calendar. None of the accounts give great detail. We tried searching various databases, university records, and even checked out some ancestry stuff trying to get a lead on some more information. Nothing panned out.

So instead of bringing you a detailed and moving account of the Opelousas Massacre on its 137th anniversary, we are instead offering you what little information we were able to find and asking why nobody has ever heard of this. From the little we were able to glean, it seems that a large to incredibly large number of Americans need to be remembered on September 28th for crossing the racial divide to stand up for what was right. God rest their souls.

NOTE: If anyone reading this post has any additional information and/or resources regarding this, we'd love to hear from you!

Anti-War protesters -- Bye Bye!

Welcome home!
Your service will be remembered long after the protest of the day is forgotten. Do not let the protestors' limited world view trouble you. Part of what of what you defend is
their right to be wrong and in the wrong place. If they disappeared, nothing
would change. However, if the men and women who serve freedom were to disappear, the world would change and not along the path of "peace and love" promised by
the protestors.

Thanks for your service.

God bless.

From Howdy’s blog

I ran across this comment after reading an article at Howdy’s detailing his feelings of hurt and confusion when he was confronted by no good Moonbat protesters in his small hometown. Oh, did I mention he’s a Vet who’s just returned from Iraq? One of the very troops these miscreant bastards presume to speak for.

The mainstream media would have you believe these protesters are doing something important. Something vital for our democracy, something that isn’t stomach turning.

As usual these days their wrong.

Reading that comment got me thinking, what difference would it make if all the protesters disappeared? The point is amply made that if our brave men and women serving across the world disappeared we’d be in a world of hurt. But, what about the protesters?

hat tip Narley

A fine specimen of manhood on display here, and what’s that he’s hawking in his nebbish way? The Socialist Worker? Well, knock me over with a feather! I thought this was an anti-war protest, not a recruitment drive for leftist retards. My bad.

Here are some examples of lefty love when confronted by some red blooded Americans who felt it their duty to respond to the moonbattery.

hat tip globalcop

What’s the matter Gramps? The truth hurt, didn’t you realize you were a traitorous snake. Oops.

hat tip globalcop

Overheard from earnest granola munching lefties. “You mean somebody loves this shithole?”

hat tip globalcop

Remember – he’s addressing predominantly vets. Nicely done Mr. Lefty! That’s the way to cozen people to your proper way of thinking.

hat tip globalcop

Careful lefty fruit loop! Something might pop in that spontaneous outpouring of love…or something.

hat tip globalcop

Nice, you kiss your mom with that mouth?

Let’s contrast this fecal display with some regular Americans who braved the Lefty hordes to support their country and especially our brave men and women in uniform.

hat tip globalcop

I know which side of the line I would choose, how about you?

This next photo is the most shocking of all. The gentleman displayed is a veteran.

hat tip globalcop

That thing he’s holding isn’t a bong you leftist twits. It’s the prosthetic leg he wears in place of the leg god gave him. The leg he sacrificed for your freedom and security and ability to protest what a fascist place America is under Chimpy McHalliburton! Just so you know, he was heckled by this bunch of...freedom loving Americans, yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking!

How’s your stomach holding up? I know mine’s a little queasy. So onto something much more pleasant.

hat tip globalcop

What the deal here? It appears to these old rheumy eyes to be a hottie. A hottie who supports the troops. In fact in studying the photos I don’t find any hotties that support the other side. Notties, yes. Hotties, no. Consider…

hat tip Michelle Malkin

Oh my, I’m not going to say she’s ugly. Far be it from me, in fact in other circumstances she could be attractive if you, oh I don’t know, removed fifty pounds of ugly ass crazy first.

Okay, to compare-

Hotties support the troops--

hat tip globalcop

Notties don't--
hat tip Narley



Notties--


Hottie

hat tip globalcop

I don’t know about you, but it’s becoming clear to me. If the protestors disappeared we’d suddenly be short a bunch of low IQ leftards, clowns, consumers of bong water and general twits.

Turns out that the hotties would do just fine out of this deal.

I can live with that!

PS-If your concerned for my well being vis-à-vis Mrs. Jake, worry not, she’ll enjoy the hottie pix more than I do.

SERENITY NOW!!!

Run, don't walk, to the nearest theatre showing Serenity when it opens this weekend. Whether or not you watched/were a fan of the movie's TV incarnation, Firefly, when it ran on Fox a couple of years back, this flick is a must-see.

I have never been a huge sci-fi nut, but I fell in love with the TV show, and was fortunate enough to see an early screening of the movie this evening. Jake and I even got to waltz right in without standing in line after he came across an announcement inviting bloggers to register to preview the movie in exchange for blogging about it (hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ and Instapundit).

I think the thing that has often turned me off about sci-fi is that the story so often suffers for the science or lately, as Jake pointed out this evening, the effects. Serenity lacks in neither, while at the same time offering a terrific piece of fiction with all the trimmings: drama, humor, tension, plot, depth of character...you know, little stuff like that!

Now, as a writer and actor myself, I'm no creampuff when it comes time to play armchair critic. The writing and direction in this film were wonderful-- Joss Whedon made the translation from small screen to big screen seem effortless. The pacing was flawless. A gifted cast and director came together to bring these characters and this story to life in such a way that I cared about the characters from the opening scene, was riveted by the action and unfolding of the story, and sad to see the movie end when the closing credits started to roll. An impressive achievement anytime, but particularly in a time when Hollywood often has me sighing in disappointment, regretting having spent good money on a movie, or walking out before the end in frustration. Bravo!

One element I want to mention that particularly stood out to me (as it did in the TV series) is the humor. There is lots of it -- at all the right moments -- and superbly written and delivered. And it isn't corny humor, either, it's witty humor. Whedon gets that sexy humor is funniest when delivered by the most innocent character, and much more effective when applied sparingly rather than throwing it at you in large quantities that leave you numb a half hour in. The script is laced with great lines, and blessed with a cast that knows how to use them.

The entire script is intelligent, as a matter of fact, and boy is THAT refreshing. Serenity will make you think, make you laugh, make you cry...and make you glad you saw Serenity NOW!

P.S. With the lack of shame that is entirely essential for anyone pursuing a career in acting...if Mr. Whedon or anyone associated with Mr. Whedon is reading this, please visit my website because I have a terrific look for sci-fi and can make myself available for a screen test ANY TIME...

Serenity -- WOW!!

We have just returned home after the advanced screening of Josh Whedan’s “Serenity”.  Allow me to kill the suspense…

Wow!

It.  Rocked.  Hard!

Arriving we were pleasantly surprised by the long line.  I knew Firefly was a cult hit, but had no idea if anyone would be there tonight.  After some hassles we were able to bypass the line and head into the theater.  If there was any doubt that this would be Nerdapalooza, the shrieks and screams during the preview for the upcoming Doom would have silenced them.

If you’re a fan of Mr. Whedan you will leave this film an even bigger fan.  All the elements you’d expect are there in spades.  The characters remain true to the original, the plot was unique and yet comprehensible in context of the television show and the humor survived the trip to the big screen.

About ten minutes in my wife leaned in and whispered “now this is how you start a sci-fi film”.  I couldn’t agree more.  You hit the ground running and the film never lets up in terms of intensity.  The pacing was phenomenal.  I had to pee about forty five minutes into the film, but there were no slow spots where I could sneak out and take care of business.

But most of all, it was a smart film.  I for one really appreciate that.  It was clean without being dull, intense without pandering, violent without the violence hijacking the essential humanity of the characters, emotionally and visually dense without ever being confusing.

I would rather die than give away any of the surprises, but, let me say the main villain was menacing without ever overplaying his hand.  In fact, there was an understated quality to the film that I found immensely appealing.  

If you’ve watched the show you’ll know what I mean when I say that the essential tension between the characters is very much in evidence.  No simple two dimensional Hollywood style relationships here.  Each character onboard Serenity fights with the next and yet you fully believe they would sacrifice their lives for each other.  Much like in life.

To wrap up, I for the life of me cannot imagine why this delightful show was pulled off the air.  My fondest hope would be that this film is the impetus for someone to bring it back to life (hint-hint).  Please-Please-Please go see it.

In fact, grab a friend, grab ten friends, grab people you don’t know and go see this film.

You’ll thank me.

PS-I would like to thank Mr. Whedon for granting the blogosphere some respect and extending an invitation to us as bloggers to attend the screening as members of the press.  Hats off sir, I think you did a very smart thing.

PPS-The rewards of tenacity.  When we arrived there was an enormous line so I approached a security guard and mentioned that we were there as press.  He pointed to the end of the line.  I wouldn’t have minded standing in line, but the website was clear that we would be able to bypass it. We then made our way upstairs whereupon an attendant evincing proper big city ennui told us again we would need to stand in line.  We started downstairs when I thought-this isn’t right.  Up we went again and finally spoke to a manager who directed us to the right guy and we got to go right in.  Whoo-hoo!
Did I mention it was a really, really long line?

Anti-War Moonbats On Parade

Whilst enjoying a refreshing caffeinated beverage this morning I flipped though the coverage of this weekend's Moonbats on parade. One point that simply keeps being reinforced is that these folks on the left don’t like this country.

Okay, off the cuff I discount the protest of anyone under the age of, oh, let’s say twenty-three or so. I don’t mean to disrespect them, I don’t, but soon they’ll have jobs and kids and possibly a whole new appreciation of this whole corporate evil thang.

I also immediately discount anyone with a bright pink wig. It’s nothing personal, but, as a protest statement, it’s more likely to make me think you went to clown college, not Harvard.

One further note, to all those “Anarchists” wearing black masks and bandanas. Umm, how do I say this…your momma’s callin', time to head home boys and girls. You should thank your lucky stars I and some of my beefy pals don’t attend these “pink” deals. If we did, you’d find your points rammed home in an entirely new way and in an entirely new orifice, capisce?

In my perusing of the lunatic left on display this morning I stumbled across this quote on the Citizen Smash site-

The crowd finally settles, and Iraqi-American Nadia Keilani begins her prepared remarks. “I’m not here to apologize for the regime of Saddam Hussein,” she begins,”…but the streets were clean, the water was running, there was no crime, no homelessness, and everyone was educated.” She goes on to blame the sanctions, the “indiscriminate bombing” and the invasion for the suffering of the Iraqi people, and points her finger squarely at George Bush and American Imperialism. “I cry for both my countries, America and Iraq…”

She gets a standing ovation.

I’m not precisely sure where to begin to dissect this drivel, but let’s start at the beginning in an attempt to dispel the lingering swamp gasses that have clogged this girl’s brain.

The streets were clean? Well, they made the trains run on time in Fascist Italy. The police could also beat you to death on the street for the smallest infraction.

The water was running? Much like the blood that gushed in Saddam’s secret prisons. Like the suffering and torment that ran freely in Saddam’s childrens' prisons? Yes the water ran, but at what price?

The streets were clean? Yes, cleansed by the fear of a midnight knock on the door. Made squeaky clean by Saddam’s torturing sons and the secret prisons were dissenters were regularly fed through plastic shredders.

No crime? What in god’s name do you call Saddam’s regime? Disneyland Arabia?

No homelessness? Yeah, I suppose if you kill enough people everyone gets a house eventually. If you manage to survive.

Everyone was educated? Oh really? Educated freely, able to dissent in class without fear? Is that really how it was, Nadia? I don’t think so.

Nadia begins her simpering idiocy by suggesting that she’s not here to apologize for Saddam, and then proceeds to do exactly that. I have never lived under a totalitarian regime, so I cannot imagine the accommodations one must make just to get through each and every day. How your mind must twist trying to imagine what will make the dictator happy and trying to please him.

A quick Google search yields this tidbit-

Born in Iraq in 1972, Nadia immigrated to the United
States in 1981. She is currently a practicing attorney,
Former Board Member of the San Diego Chapter of
the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Nadia is active in the struggle to preserve and protect
the civil liberties of Arab Americans Also a proponent
of the Palestinians struggle for self-determination and
the right of all Palestinians to return to their homes.


Interesting, the picture begins to focus.

"It goes beyond just worry about my immediate family," said Keilani, who works with the San Diego chapter of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee. "I'm a mom, and when I see pictures of little children with missing limbs . . . I can't imagine what they are living through."

Yeah, what we have here is not a simple girl bemoaning her beautiful country being smashed. No, what we have here is a professional victim and protester whose name shows up in many, many articles. The go-to gal when you need an anti-Bush statement, when you need a boo-freakin’-hoo story about the poor Arabs.

Someone who supports terrorism.

I was prepared to write about a poor girl who didn’t know any better. Unfortunately, like most on the left, Ms. Keilani knows all too well the evils she’s associated herself with and just doesn’t care.

This dovetails nicely with another point I wanted to make. Beware the company you keep, lefties. The majority of the organizers of this weekend's rallies started under an inauspicious banner.

Communism!

I for one do not chuckle at silly old Communism. That old boogeyman of the right. That old canard tossed out to demonize the left, no, I think Communism is an ever present deal. Like any other foul ideology it can stage a comeback.

The more we do to you, the less you seem to believe we are doing it.
Dr. Joseph Mengele

The left in this country has always been shockingly cozy with Communism, that’s nothing new. The left has also been pretty consistently against this country, wishing to replace our stable, bountiful system with a homebrew nightmare concoction of Socialism and Communism.

Now, though, the left has made common cause with the worst dictators and regimes in the world, further marginalizing themselves and looking sillier by the day.

Israel is Fascist? Go vote in Palestine, see what good that does you as you march around with your oh-so-cool Palestinian headgear.

I cry for both the countries you mentioned too Ms. Keilani. Do you know why I weep?

Because fools like you would bring them both down to your level.

Anti-War Protesters -- some hard questions

A.N.S.W.E.R. held an anti-war protest in DC this weekend. The usual faces and names were in attendance. Cindy Sheehan, of course. Joan Baez, of course. Jesse Jackson, uh, yeah.

I have theory I want to advance in this article which will lead us inexorably to some hard questions. My theory is this, these anti-war people are not protesting the war. No, what their protesting is change.

After 9-11 our shared world changed. We were no longer at a remove from the bad stuff going on in the world. Though we'd had many previous reminders, 9-11 was the one that got our attention. Some people, mostly conservatives, understood that we stood in a new place and we would have to rethink a lot of our presumptions about things such as -- Immigration, religion, privacy, law enforcement and intelligence.

On the other side of the political sphere were the liberals. The liberal position boiled down to 'NO CHANGE!!'

2,749 dead, fine, do nothing different. Lots of people across the globe wish us a horrible, painful death? we'll we'd better be nicer to them and maybe they'll leave us alone.

Amongst the protesters are some distinct groups that I think we should take a moment to break out by category --

The first group are the sheep. These are folks who think it's cool to protest. They learned the lessons of Vietnam, America is bad, stop America at all costs.

The second group are those who know how bad the protest leadership is but do nothing in an effort to preserve thier precious cause. America bashing!

The third group is truthfully beyond my ken. A foul cabal of Communists, Anti-American dictator lovers and the deluded. These folks not only want our surrender in the face of a hostile enemy, they also want America gone, replaced by a workers paradise that has held such promise around the globe. I mean, when you think Communism don't you get a warm snuggly feeling? I know I do.

In our discussions we will not be talking about the third group. They know exactly what they're doing and I have no use for them.

As to the first and second though, it seems to me that what these folks want is a return to the idyllic days pre 9-11. Which would be fine if it were possible, but it isn't. These people are protesting change, the necessary realistic changes any open society must make in the face of a determined enemy.

The incident that really got me thinking about this is the revelation of the Los Angeles Jihadists. In the past terrorists were primarily defined by their locale. These were swarthy men for the most part who had to travel great distances to get to America's shores. Our relationship with terror was the same as between a homeowner and burglar.

The frightening difference between that situation and Los Angeles is the difference between a policeman and a doctor. Because we now have a cancer eating away at our national body politic and that cancer is a homegrown brand of jihadist. Now, no longer is border enforcement enough. Now we have to police our own, and as the Jamaican gentleman in London shows, innocents will be hurt or killed. As my very smart wife commented, when you fight cancer you kill healthy cells right along with the cancerous ones. And this cancer is spreading.

Levar H. Washington; Gregory V. Patterson; Hammad R. Samana. Which of these things is not like the other? Two of those names are American as apple pie, the other, who knows?

Prosecutors contend the men were working at the behest of Kevin James, a California State Prison, Sacramento, inmate who founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS. Washington converted to Islam while imprisoned there for a previous robbery conviction.

Violent, extremist Islam is being taught in our prisons, to our most vulnerable population and in our multicultural madness we allow this. Why? Is it so important to pay lip service to tolerance? Must we all die to prove how understanding we are?

This is just the opening salvo of a whole slew of hard questions we need to be asking ourselves. Here are some more--

Is it time to finally stop referring to Islam as the 'Religion Of Peace'? This is offensive to me and to the memory of every woman who's ever been stoned to death for the sin of being raped.

How do we deal with homegrown terrorists? Is this handleable by traditional law enforcement techniques, or, is something new required?

As Al Qaeda is operating in roughly sixty countries can we talk about putting a moratorium on immigration from those countries. (hint, one of those countries is Britain, another is France.) Or at least a severe restriction?

What would it take for us to ban Islam in the United States? Is this something we can even talk about? If not, why not?

What would it take for us to deal seriously with homegrown organizations with ties to terror?

Why are we allowing Anti-American Madrassas to operate on American soil?

Why are we allowing Anti-American Mosques to operate on American soil?

This is the new reality, like it or not these questions are not going away. We find ourselves in the usual situation. We can deal with it now or after several thousand more Americans die. Unfortunately, our history leads me to believe that this debate will only be held over the smoking crater of an American city.

Even then there will be those crying for the 'rights' of the Islamic bastards who committed the outrage. So to me, the toughest question of all is this--

How do we deal with those fellow Americans who wish for our eventual loss in this war?

Some are motivated by greed and that's bad enough. But some are motivated by a sincere desire to serve as Dhimmi's in the modern Caliphate. To those I say-

May the better man win!

Kender MacGowan has some similar thoughts -- http://kendersmusings.blogspot.com/

Another Day, Another Dogma: The Ever-Changing Values of Hillary Clinton

Don't blink. Whatever you do, don't blink. Not if you don't want to miss one single step on Hillary's path to give voters as much conflicting/confusing information as possible before 2008 gets here.

After comments earlier this year that seemed to be an attempt to moderate how voters perceived her on the abortion issue, Hillary has once again shuffled to the left. You can read all about her latest "maneuver" here.

Her fears, in the event that Roe v. Wade were overturned, include:

"There would be many places in the country that would criminalize [abortion]...They might even send women and doctors to prison."

Hillary says that there would be "many places" that would make abortion a crime. If, as liberal pro-choice advocates would have us believe, most Americans are on their side, how could there be "many places" that might actually throw people in jail for snuffing out innocent life with premeditation?

and...

"It would go in the direction that I saw in my travels, where, you know, in China they mandated you could only have one child. And in some places, like Romania during the Communist era, they mandated that you must have five children."

Hmmmmmm. China: Communist. "Romania during the Communist era..." I'm sensing a theme here. The last time I checked, America is not a Communist nation, and the only people who want it to be one certainly don't sit on my side of the fence on this issue.

and...

"If privacy in the most intimate areas of your lives doesn't exist, what do the other constitutional rights mean?"

Did she actually use "privacy in the most intimate areas of your lives" as a euphemism for killing an unborn child?!? For starters, the "other constitutional rights" mean that you can freely make ridiculous, jackass statements like that one. And that I can go to my polling place and freely vote (or NOT vote) for a candidate who makes ridiculous, jackass statements like that one. Those "other constitutional rights" also mean that I am empowered by the laws of the land to rise up with my fellow Americans to overthrow any Communists who (God forbid) might make it into power.

It's hard to imagine, but then so is someone whose moral fiber is so weak that their "core values" are determined by the sliding scale of poll numbers and flavor-of-the-week media reports.

MSM: A Force for Far Left Negativity

TWO, that's right TWO media representatives attended the Move America Forward press conference in downtown Chicago this morning. Every major news outlet with an office in Chicago (and most of the smaller ones, too) could have sent someone over ON FOOT to cover this press conference. There were TWO.

Now imagine, if you will, a press conference starring Cindy Sheehan. OK, so no one has to imagine a press conference starring Cindy Sheehan -- we are bombarded by them day in and day out. I don't have TV, so at least I don't have to listen to the hateful, deranged diatribe...I just read it (i.e. President Bush is "a terrorist," "a murderous liar," and a "death monger") on the internet. And the MSM is practically wetting itself as Sheehan protests in Washington (or, as she put it in her 8/30 blog, the place where George resides between vacations) this weekend.

So why the disparity? Why is Cindy Sheehan such a media darling, while Deborah Johns is a media who-the-heck-is-Deborah-Johns? The "drama" of Casey's mom camping out in a ditch near the president's ranch is often touted as the reason, and I think it's part of the reason. But I think the biggest reason is that Cindy Sheehan's message is extremely left and extremely negative.

Think about all the MSM coverage of Hurricane Katrina. What were the dominant stories? They weren't ready -- but only if "they" referred to President Bush and/or anyone associated with President Bush. They didn't do enough -- but only if "they" referred to President Bush and/or anyone associated with President Bush. They didn't respond fast enough -- but only if "they" referred to President Bush and/or anyone associated with President Bush. They wanted to kill black people -- but only if "they" referred to President Bush and/or anyone associated with President Bush.

How many times have you seen a front page headline about what went wrong, only to find one about something that went right buried far into the newspaper? How large was the headline about Nagin's prediction of 10,000 dead, compared to the much smaller headline indicating that the actual count was, well, much smaller. How often do you open up your internet browser to find that the top news headline is about something -- anything -- where our government, up to and including our president -- is wrong, stupid, or downright evil?

When will the MSM learn that far left, negative stories only appeal to a small portion of Americans? Answer: they will keep following the same path as long as they perceive that it is financially solvent for them to do so. That's why WE have to take action NOW. As long as we keep buying their newspapers and magazines, watching their TV stations, and supporting them even while we silently disagree with the slanted, incomplete, and sometimes just plain false stories they feed us, we are complicit in their hijacking of the media to promote and spread a far left agenda.

The recently reported difficulties of The New York Times (read more here) should encourage anyone who is fed up with the dominance of biased media coverage. But we've got to stop giving our hard-earned money to MSM publications and organizations that wield their power irresponsibly. They are hurting our country!

My plea to you? Don't buy it -- literally or figuratively. Speak up about it because, if you don't, your silence will speak volumes. Hold these people accountable, because their job is to report, not opine.

Mr. Conway responds!

I just got off the phone with Mr. Bob Conway. You may recall he was the lone journalist to cover the 'Move America Forward' press conference this morning.

I wanted to pose a couple of questions to Mr. Conway and he was gracious enough to give a couple minutes of his time. Of course his call came in the middle of my lunch, but what are you gonna do?

My first question was regarding the feeling in the room. The anger that simmered. I asked him if he felt it and he assented that he of course did.

I followed up by asking if he had any thoughts as to why people were so angry. He responded that he felt the folks there probably felt as if their story wasn't getting out the way the anti-war stories were.

I then asked if he had any thoughts about why that might be so. We chatted for moment and ended up with the old chestnut 'If it bleeds it leads'.

Being new to the reporting game I forgot the question I most wanted to ask and had to call him back. That question was simply this--"Why was Cindy Sheehan front page news and Deborah Johns barely worth a mention. I found his answer intriguing, he said.

"Well, with Cindy Sheehan, she lost her son in Iraq and then took her protest to the presidents front door."

I asked if he felt it was more dramatic as a story, he assented that it was more dramatic.

I first of all want to thank Mr. Conway for taking the time to answer my questions and reiterate what I wrote earlier. He truly seems like a decent man.

I would like to encourage my fellow bloggers to do what I did here. I think it's very important. I think it's too easy sometimes to snipe from a distance instead of going to the source and asking directly. If we want to be new media we have to act like new media and that often means making a phone call or following up.

Chicago is a big city, and if I can get through to a reporter in a couple of hours, so can you.

What conclusions did I draw from my adventures today?

Well, I think we all have our biases and sometimes even very decent people come to situations prepared to hear what they want to hear. I think Mr. Conway was very honest with me, though, being in the belly of the beast, I do have to wonder if he can see the breaking wave of media as clearly as someone outside can. Hard to say. I genuinely think he was pursuing the story, but what story?

Again, this was an instructive day for me, and I say again to my fellow bloggers.

Don't be timid!

Move America Forward & The Media

While attending the Move America Forward press conference this morning in Chicago I was struck by the paucity of media coverage.There were precisely two representatives of our local media present: a cameraman for the local ABC affiliate and a reporter from WBBM.

This is Bob Conway from WBBM radio in Chicago. He was the only reporter from Chicago to even bother to attend. So, Bob, thank you!

However, it felt a bit like Bob had decided certain things before ever entering the room. I felt the tone of the questions were fairly negative and that he was looking for certain answers to his questions. To be fair, I never had the chance to ask him his thoughts as he left before the event ended. I have a call in to him right now and await his response.

As he continued to question Mrs. Johns I could feel the audience grow restless. The anger in the room was palpable. I don't think anyone was angry at Mr. Conway personally, but he represented the media, and the folks in the room made it pretty clear that they felt ill-served by Mr. Conway's cohorts.

Two ladies in the audience began to question Mr. Conway, who was clearly uncomfortable being the one on the spot. When the ladies asked why the media weren't reporting the good news from Iraq there was applause from the room. Mr. Conway seemed genuinely puzzled by the response. The ladies also asked why all we heard about were the deaths in Iraq as opposed to schools being built, children innoculated, power restored, women taking leadership roles, and so on. Important points all, that are perhaps too hard to report on from the '”Green Zone”.

If you think I'm bashing Mr. Conway in this post you would be wrong. He, at the very least, showed up. I do not know what was in the man's head. I hope to have the opportunity to speak with him and find out what he thought.

What was interesting to me though was the honest bewilderment he seemed to feel when confronted by ordinary Americans angry over the treatment of their sons and daughters by the press. The clear anger they felt over the media's preference for Cindy Sheehan over Deborah Johns. The painfully clear willingness in the media to turn Iraq into another Vietnam. Does he think the media coverage is fair? Does he believe the media is impartial?

I have nothing negative to say about Mr. Conway. I don't doubt for a second that he is an honest and honorable man who does his best to report what he sees. I just can't get past his not seeming to understand why the families of those serving in Iraq would be upset by yet another hatchet job on them and theirs. Or, conversely, to be ignored yet again in preference of another America-hating, patchouli-smelling hippie.

Pardon my rambling. I am trying to honestly understand the media obsession with negativity, especially as regards the war. I have actually dealt with reporters a fair amount. As a chef, I've been interviewed several times. When we recently attended the Take Back The Memorial rally in New York we were interviewed repeatedly. The reporters were all nice enough -- honestly, they didn't have fangs or anything.

Yet, somehow, the bulk of those stories were never posted. The good news doesn't seem able to break through the wall of negativity that the media has built. If it doesn't fit the Vietnam-Cindy Sheehan, mold we probably won't hear about it. When one of the major news magazines ran an article on Deborah Johns they posted a picture of Cindy Sheehan to accompany the article.

Anyway, if you have any thoughts on this let me know. I don't pretend to have the answers.

I'm just left with lots of questions.

Move America Forward -- Support the Troops!

Hey y'all,

We had the pleasure of attending the Move America Forward press conference in Chicago this morning.

They will be hosting a big rally in DC this weekend and I urge anyone who can attend to do so. This issue is so important and the media is doing such an excellent job of not reporting it.

We will post more blogs on this topic as we saw several things that really struck us while attending.

Photos are here-- http://www.flickr.com/photos/53864621@N00/

Enjoy!

Move America Forward Moves Through Chicago

I had the pleasure of attending a press conference held in Chicago this morning by Move America Forward as they travel toward Washington to take part in the Support the Troops Weekend.

First we heard from Joseph Williams, whose son, Michael, died in Iraq in 2003. Joseph removed Michael's name from a cross in Crawford, Texas, where Cindy Sheehan and her supporters were protesting President Bush and the war. Waving a 2-page anti-war newspaper ad which included Michael's name, despite his father's request that it be excluded (I didn't get the name of the publication, but I'll find out and post it later), he stated that he would seek legal action if anti-war activists continue to use his son's name to promote their political agenda.

Then Deborah Johns took the podium. Her son, William, served 2 tours in Iraq. She spoke eloquently and passionately about the importance of supporting the troops who are serving our country -- voluntarily, she reminded us -- and making sure that their voices, and reports of all the good they are doing in Iraq & Afghanistan, are heard.

She implored the media to cover both sides of this important topic. We keep hearing about polls that show dwindling support for our efforts in the war in Iraq, but how representative can those polls be if most Americans are getting their information from and are influenced by a media that turns a cold shoulder on anything that isn't negative, anti-war, or anti-Bush?

Which brings me to another hot-button topic for Ms. Johns: Cindy Sheehan. After leading the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour down to Crawford, and getting little media coverage, a story was published about her efforts to support the troops...with a picture of Cindy Sheehan! How's that for fair and balanced coverage?

After the press conference, those in attendance signed their support and words of encouragement on a banner that will be sent to the troops after this weekend's gathering in Washington.

I send my thanks to Deborah Johns, Joseph Williams, and all the folks at Move America Forward for working so tirelessly to rally support for our troops. Godspeed as you continue your journey.

Moral Poverty

We've all been chewing on what, exactly, happened in New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina swept through and utter chaos broke out in her wake. As an American, I was shocked, appalled and embarassed by the thin veneer of civilation that the storm uncovered, then made short work of, like a tornado taking off a paper roof.

I'd been toying with how to put into words my take on the whole situation. Then my hubby sent me a link to this article by Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson: Moral Poverty Cost Blacks in New Orleans.

I read it, I read it again, then the words to express myself came to me: WHAT HE SAID.

Bloggers rule!

Hey y'all,

This just in--in a stunningly prescient move The creators of Serenity are turing to the bloggers to critique Serenity. Though I am at best a mid-level geek, I am a huge fan of this series, and am damn near pooping myself to be on the press list for the advanced screening.

To quote the inimitable Homer J. Simpson--Whoo-hoo!

Hotel Rwanda

Monroe: When these little African countries get into a dispute, they tend to just murder everybody. They live for the opportunity to settle scores... and they have a lot of scores to settle.
Congo

We just finished watching the movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’. As you can see we’re not exactly staying current on Hollywood’s output these days.  Overall I found this movie outstanding with a few caveats.  Don Cheadle was amazing as was the rest of the cast and of course it was a heartbreaking tale.

However, a couple of things occurred to me while watching.

The first is kind of weird.  We in America have seamlessly moved from being the world’s only superpower to becoming the world’s superparent.

When the good folks of Rwanda started killing each other like Mardi gras revelers throwing out beads, what did they do?  They simply expected the great father to come swooping in and save everyone.  Totally ignoring the reality that no matter what action we took we would be damned.  No matter what we’d be killing black folk and I can just hear Congressman Charles Rangel pontificating to Bill O’reilly about how America just loves to kill black people.  Thanks Charlie you’re a peach!

Of course the fact that the Clintonistas were in power didn’t help a thing.  The exempt media also made a point of not sharing with the world what was going on in Rwanda, earning the exempt title in spades.  Clinton handed this hot potato off to the UN, who managed to set a new level of callous indifference, this from a group not world renowned for effective action or basic decency.

To be fair, and it pains me to excuse a democrat or liberal at any time.  It’s not as if there isn’t a comparable situation in the world today.  Darfur in the Sudan seems to have a lot of the same ingredients, a local population killing fairly indiscriminately  Luckily the religion of peace has made another bold entry into it’s ledger of suffering and misery.

And I will ask the question that ‘Hotel Rwanda’ leaves hanging.  What exactly are we supposed to do?

Go in and kill all the bad guys?  I’m all for it, however, can we reasonably take this course of action every time some country decides to go bugnuts and starts killing its own?

Sanctions?  Well and good, but, frankly with the paragon of virtue (the UN) at the helm, forgive me if I don’t hold my breath.  Any organization that would place the Sudan on the human rights committee, oddly, doesn’t seem to warrant any respect.

I find it pretty interesting that local race hustlers such as Louis Farrakhan can’t seem to bring themselves to condemn what’s going down in the Sudan-

1. He added, "I should condemn (slavery) and certainly will, but I will not allow myself to be used as a pawn for the West in a political game that is being used by Western government to destabilize the Islamic government of Sudan… Let it be known, that as a descendant of slaves I stand ready to condemn slavery in all its forms…A lot of what I have been reading, when it comes to life in Sudan, are vicious lies…"

This to me is especially interesting in light of the alleged ‘ethnic cleansing’ that is being reported from the region.  What’s the matter Louis?  Can’t decide which hate group is more deserving in this situation?  Nice!

The White House has condemned the situation in Darfur in no uncertain terms. But the question remains, what, exactly are we supposed to do?

Jesse Jackson is on record saying America needs to solve the problem.  Fine, but Jesse, it’s your pals, the Muslims doing most of the bad stuff.  What, no condemnation for your buddies.  Are you afraid if you ever once spoke out against a villainous regime you may not be invited to the next vicious killers soiree?  Wasn’t there even one nasty killer like Castro or Yaser Arafat for you to put your arms around and love up a little?  Must’ve been a tough trip.  I feel your pain.

Well if no one else is prepared to offer a solution, I will.

Okay, see, what we do is make an aerosolized anti-psychotic drug and use crop dusters to blanket the region.  It seems as reasonable as anything else that’s been suggested.

What do you think?

Stuck on Stupid Fest

OK, let's face it: we're all going to be stuck on saying "Stuck on Stupid" for a while. It's too good to pass up, because Honore rocks.

That said, I'm going to indulge in a little Stuck on Stupid Fest and get it out of the way...not that I'm saying I won't ever use it again, mind you...

Rachel Maddow of Air America to MSNBC's Tucker Carlson:

"Conspiracy theories don't necessarily help but you have to understand where they come from. They come from people feeling like this disaster had a real racial component. I mean, it was a majority-black city that was absolutely abandoned by the country."

Absolutely abandoned by the country? I don't even have a TV, and I've been bombarded with story after story about how false that idiot statement is. I guess even a Rhodes scholar can be STUCK ON STUPID.

Speaking of Rhodes scholars, here's a good one from Bill "@#&$!-I-just-soiled-my-legacy-again" Clinton, speaking at his recent Clinton Global Initiative:

"I think we ought to consider maybe setting up some sort of an insurance program against terror because I think there's maybe too much fear of it."

Get OUT! I don't believe it! Do you think terror might somehow be feared?!? Sing with me, folks: I AM STUCK ON STUPID, 'CAUSE STUPID'S STUCK ON ME.

And because I think that, deep down inside, we all suspect that Mr. Clinton would always prefer to do two rather than one -- STUPIDS, that is -- from his recent "This Week" interview:

"You can't have an emergency plan that works if it only affects middle class people and up...If we really wanted to do it right, we would have had lots of buses lined up to take them out and also lots of empty vans."



Wait...what are those yellow and white things protruding from all that NOLA floodwater? Wait. I think I can see...yes. Yes! They're BUSES! Buses that were part of the city's evacuation plan that were never used by Mayor Nagin (perhaps because he was too busy cursing at the President on the radio)! Looking at this picture and saying you would have had lots of buses lined up sounds STUCK ON STUPID to me.

Since General Honore delivered the delightful phrase so searingly to a journalist, I feel it only right that I should close my Stuck on Stupid Fest with a journalist as well.

After a reportedly emotional description of what he called a "new journalism order" while addressing the Fordham University School of Law in Manhattan, Dan Rather added:

"All of this creates a bigger atmosphere of fear in newsrooms."

Hmmmmm. A bigger atmosphere of fear. I wonder what kind of fear that might be? Fear of not having any evidence to back up your story? Or perhaps just fear that someone might actually call you on your bogus story and hold you accountable regarding your journalistic integrity? Gee, what a burden that must be on those charged with delivering factual stories to the public...FINDING and CHECKING the facts! Only if you're STUCK ON STUPID!

Niceness

What is it with the liberal pantywaists?  I mean, of course we all wish the world was a nice place.  We all wish things were different.  We all wish things were…nice.

But they’re not.

No amount of wishing will make it so.  No amount of Bush bashing will make the boogey-men go away.  John Kerry or Al Gore wouldn’t have made the world love us.  No matter how much you liberals hold your hands over your ears singing LA-LA-LA, it won’t change the fact that there are millions of people on this planet who wish for your death, preferably in the nastiest most brutal way possible.

The world isn’t a nice place.

And yet these pantywaists, these ninnies would have us shape our national debate in such a way as to never hurt anyone’s feelings.

Children should never win or lose.  All people with the exception of White folks are poor victims of discrimination.  Certain words are much worse than horrible realities.  Reality must bend to the whims of the politically correct.

All wars must be fought in such a way that nobody’s feelings are hurt.  Perhaps we should commission an ‘Apology battalion’ who could follow our brave fighting men and women and apologize the smoking remains of our hated enemies.  Yeah, that’s a winning strategy.

Niceness.

It’s pernicious and like most things liberal sounds good until you actually stop and think about it.  We can’t protect our children, let alone our citizens from everything.  Can’t do it. Shouldn’t do it.

People need to be tough, not coddled.  All real Americans are nodding their heads in agreement.  All blathering liberal pantywaists are holding up a slim Niles Crane hand in horror.

But Jake, they splutter, you don’t understand the historical reality.  You don’t understand this situation.  Well, maybe I do, maybe I don’t, but let me share with you my deepest feeling on the subject.

I don’t care.

That’s not the principle this country was founded on.  Fierce self-reliance is the lynch pin of the American soul.  No more, no less.  Anything else gives you the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.  The mere fact that some joker shot at police is all the indictment of the welfare nanny state that I require.  I sincerely hope we will take long hard national look at what lead to that outcome.  Because as an American I’m sickened by the how the locals at every step dropped the ball.

Not just the government, though god knows they stank it up.  The residents also have a lot to answer for.  A piece of advice for Celine Dion, Celine, please shut your goddamn French Canadian piehole.  You are one comment shy of my hating you and I may be among the last six people on this half of the continent who still like you.

Niceness.

It’s pernicious.  Oh, let them loot, it’s just stuff.

No!  It’s a crime and in my humble opinion a dead serious one.  Societal anarchy is never a joke, it’s never cute or excusable.  It may mean nothing to you my liberal friend, but allow me to share with you how I feel about the aftermath.

I’m ashamed.

Ashamed that fellow Americans embarrassed us all in such an egregious way, ashamed that the world saw Americans acting in this fashion.  To me, being an American is something special, something truly important.

If you don’t feel the same.

I pity you.

The cowardly trio

"This is a time, I believe, of great inner turmoil for the majority of the American people. There is a new morality coming out of this administration -- fundamentalist religious views; a holier-than-thou attitude towards the rest of the world -- that is not classically American. I don't think Americans felt holier-than-thou in the twentieth century. We were happy and successful, with a great lifestyle. But something else is going on now." -- Neil Young, Rolling Stone, Aug. 21, 2003


Yeah Neil, what could be going on now? Hmmm, let’s see, swarthy men… Just be patient it’ll come… Ummm, wait, something about planes, I think… Yeah, I can’t think of it, but it will come back to me, it’s on the tip of my tongue…

What is it about these peace folks? No matter how hard we get hit, we mustn’t ever respond vigorously because then we’d be as bad as the terrorists. Yeah, I don’t think so either.

I am a musician living in Chicago, a city known for its nutty Liberal ways. A city only surpassed in Cerulean splendor by Malibu and Manhattan. Please pity me for I have had to be in the same room with people who hold these views and I’ll tell you what.

It’s all about cowardice.

I know it’s not nice, but that doesn’t make it untrue.

And to the cowardly list I would like to nominate the press and the Liberals. Peace protesters, the press and liberals. Such a lovely grouping, willing to sell us down the river into slavery or worse due to the delicate state of their consciences. No matter that about half the world would cheerfully kill you or I for no other reason than mere existence. No, we musn’t disturb the little darlings as they lay sleeping, mumbling into their jumpers about sugar plums and fairies.

In a way the press is the worst of all. ALL WARS ARE BAD!! The headlines blare. WE CANNOT WIN is the usual follow up. No fact remains untwisted in their craven desire to see the US bow before any and all enemies.

To these sissified purveyors of surrender, the enemy always shines brightly in their estimation. The valiant US army is always the criminal and the American people must be stopped at all costs. I mean, my god, what if the American people got their way and made this nation strong and free?

Can’t have that, can we?

As to the liberals. We will always be unprepared for any war, no matter how just. The enemy will always deserve more understanding than our own people, no matter how heinous the crime. Any amount of money is too much to stop those who would cheerfully destroy us and our way of life.

To these pusillanimous prophets of doom we musn’t even try. Due to their own uncanny ability to start and lose wars we are all imputed to be as worthless as they when it comes to the manly arts. Let us feed the parasites among us rather than waste money on making ourselves strong and free.

Sound familiar?

Finally we come to the poor, misunderstood peace protester. You see, they should be allowed to say any nasty, treasonous thing that enters their pea sized excuse for a brain. And god help us if we call the precious darlings on it. Of course the fact that their positions are wildly inconsistent (Casey Sheehan died for Israel? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?). How dare we insensitive louts question the patriotism of these proud Americans?

"I think war is based in greed and there are huge karmic retributions that will follow. I think war is never the answer to solving any problems. The best way to solve problems is to not have enemies."
Sheryl Crow

"In a situation like this, of course you identify with everyone who's suffering. [But we must also think about] the terrorists who are creating such horrible future lives for themselves because of the negativity of this karma. It's all of our jobs too keep our minds as expansive as possible. If you can see [the terrorists] as a relative who's dangerously sick and we have to give them medicine, and the medicine is love and compassion. There's nothing better."
Richard Gere

John Cusak "The war and repression that has been loosed on the world by the Bush administration"

Barbara Streisand “How could such a destructive man be so popular with the American people?"

Michael Moore Waging battle to smear Pres. Bush “the (9-11) passengers were scaredy-cats because they were mostly white"

Kevin Spacey "If we did what [Bush] is talking about doing, we'd go down a road from which we would never recover and which would start a chain reaction around the world. I live in the hope that it won't happen."

Jennifer Aniston "Bush is a f#cking idiot" (nice Jen, thanks for sharing)

Jeananne Garafalo "Our country is founded on a sham"

Eric Roberts considers the president "fascist" and a co-conspirator (with Osama bin Laden)

"Where is the acknowledgment that this was not a 'cowardly' attack on 'civilization' or 'liberty' or 'humanity' or 'the free world' but an attack on the world's self-proclaimed superpower, undertaken as a consequence of specific American alliances and actions... [I]f the word "cowardly" is to be used, it might be more aptly applied to those who kill from beyond the range of retaliation, high in the sky, than to those willing to die themselves in order to kill others. In the matter of courage (a morally neutral virtue): Whatever may be said of the perpetrators of Tuesday's slaughter, they were not cowards."
Susan Sontag

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like stupid people as much as the next guy. They are loads of fun at parties. You know that person, the one in the middle of a serious conversation who suddenly begins braying about how Bush is a Nazi? Everyone tries to keep talking around them out of politeness, but no. They keep on as if they were saying something of substance. Yeah, you know those people.

But this, this is simply amazing in the depth and breadth of ignorance on display. Simpering celebrities dancing on the charred ruins of 9-11. Way to go guys, nice job! What’s next? Taking a dump on a soldiers grave?

I would particularly like to focus on Mrs. Sontag’s vile spew. I would like to comment on the bravery of the rapist. He faces jail time for his crime after all. Shall we celebrate his courage under fire as he performs admirably knowing the danger he faces.

How about the selfless heroics of the serial killer. Coolly dispatching his victims, knowing full well peole won’t understand his motivation. I’m moved to tears, really.

Yep, cowardice. Cowardice drives these folks as suely as bravery drives our men and women protecting all we hold dear. Cowardice has never won a war, defeated evil, overcome anything.

Yet these folks want us to celebrate the mindless rot that pours from them like bilge from a leaky yacht.

Nope, sorry. Can’t do it. Won’t do it. I have too much respect for my country.

Viva Mexico!

I was recently reading On the Line: Inside the Border Patrol by Erich Kraus. Good book -- I highly recommend it if you have any interest in border patrol issues. Buried in this missive is this little detail:There have been 118 armed incursions into the United States by the Mexican military!

Holy Jesus! And, yes, I pronounced it Hay-Zeus!

What’s that, you say you’ve never heard of this fact? Well, neither had I. Hmm. I wonder why our faithful national media might have overlooked these stories. It’s almost as if they’re pushing an agenda or something.Nah, too crazy, right? I mean, Mexico is our friend, right?

My wife and I had the opportunity to live on the border for a little while. We worked on a guest ranch 200 feet from Mexico. On occasion we would help look for the horses grazing outside the corral. Opening the heavy wooden gate we would step out into the sage brush, and every morning was the same. A multitude of footprints filled the sandy soil all heading north. It looked like a concert had let out. When we asked about safety and the location of firearms, they just laughed at us as if we were crazy.We were there during the ‘monsoon’ season. Every day around 2p.m. there would be a raging storm that would flatten out the footprints. So every time we went out we were seeing fresh footprints.

Working as chefs we’ve moved around quite a bit. We are currently living in Chicago. Chicago is estimated to have 290,000 illegal immigrants, the bulk of them Hispanic. I started working in restaurants when I was eleven. When I was a kid you could earn a living working in a restaurant. I knew guys who were putting their kids through college working the line at Denny’s.

These are the jobs that Americans allegedly won’t do. And yet they used to, I used to, and I earned a decent wage. So what happened?We were sold out. Told that we needed these illegal aliens to strengthen our economy.

Allow me to respond with a pithy blue-collarism: BULLSHIT! I made essentially the same money in the mid-eighties as I do now. Would some egghead economist care to explain this to me? Let me take a guess. Hmmm. I don’t know -- how about cheap illegal labor has suppressed wages. Nahh. Too simple, right?

Estimates say there are 290, 000 less jobs available in Chicago, 350,000 less jobs in Florida, 540,000 less jobs in New York, 700,000 less jobs in Texas, 2,000,000 less jobs in Caifornia! Because those are the estimated numbers of illegals in each of those cities. See here for more detail-http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/illegalalien/illegal.pdf

Because, you see, it’s the right of every American business to have virtual slave labor, right? Isn’t that in the constitution somewhere? NO? Maybe I’m thinking of the Bill of Rights. And these cheap bastards tell us we’re unpatriotic if we don’t support their right to not hire Americans.

And yet barely a peep from the exempt media. No, Mexico is our good friend. Our ally, 118 Armed incursions onto American soil.

Uh-huh. Mexico is a corrupt kleptocracy completely incapable and most importantly, unwilling to police its border or control its out-of-control crime rate. It is run by criminals and incompetents who see us as too stupid and craven to control our own borders and even our country.

And maybe their right.

Drugs and criminals roam freely over the border. Gangs have made it impossible to control crime because they can do whatever they want and then run over the border where Mexico will hide them because they don’t support the death penalty!

Yeah, criminals never do (see lawyers and Democrats)! Hmmm. I wonder why Scott Peterson was headed south when he was apprehended. Though I must say, those streaky highlights were simply divine!

Our government seems to have staked out an interesting position in all this. Protect the Mexicans over Americans. WTF! How is it our government has so consistently taken a position guaranteed to hurt hard-working Americans? How is it our government has preferred illegal aliens to their constituents? I don’t understand it.

But I’ll say this: we can either fix it now, or I suspect we’ll have a shooting war inside our borders within the decade. Groups like Aztlan aren’t happy with merely over-running and out-reproducing us. No, they want the greedy gringo dead. Yep, D-E-D dead. They would like us to relinquish about a quarter of our landmass to their greedy little hands because they claim we stole it.

We are told that it would be too expensive to fix this problem. But what the hell is the cost of not fixing it? How do you calculate that Mr. Number-Cruncher man?

By their vary nature illegal aliens are here illegally. They are criminals from the word go, yet some are extra ambitious and decide to keep on going and add murder, rape, theft and child molestation to the list. That’s hard-working indeed. Whew…I need a Cerveza!

Mexico teaches their people how to sneak over the border because these self same criminals then support their families back home (because you see America is not their home) with dollars stolen from American workers. Yep, stolen, because dollar one is earned illegally, and a lot of that money goes directly into the Mexican economy. So, of course you see why that’s such a big help to the American economy. They have no right to it, what they have a right to is getting their asses kicked out whenever and wherever they are caught.

No that’s not entirely accurate. They also have a right to be kicked out swiftly and surely never to return.

Thank God for cities like Chicago, LA and Houston, who’ve taken the lunatic stance that we must welcome criminal aliens by being sanctuary cities. Thank God that when illegals and terrorists arrive in these metropolitan areas they are free as birds.

Let me sum it up. I could give a rat’s furry patoot if illegals are comfortable as they await deportation. We don’t need to spend millions of dollars on shiny new prisons and detention facilities. Nope, all we need are some army surplus tents in the desert. It didn’t kill ’em to cross the desert. Now they can live in it until they are either allowed in or booted out.

We need to stop acting as if it is anybody’s right to live here. Here’s a clue: it isn’t.

While I am an enormous supporter of LEGAL immigration, I have nothing but hatred for those who come here illegally and abuse our system. I am sick to death of the sob sister chorus that goes like this: “but they’re just hard working people looking for…”

I. Don’t. Care.

This is a sovereign country the last time I checked, and we have the right to admit or not admit whomever we wish. Even if it makes them cry.

Terrorists are on record wanting to set off a nuclear device in my fair city. If they succeed, as far as I’m concerned, it will be open season on anyone here illegally. Don’t like it.

Get out.

Hey ho-the UN's got to go!

From the best of Jake files.

I was just reading this excellent post @ The Deconstructor. Outstanding analysis! Oh, that I were that smart, alas, I'm pretty much just a smart-ass. So here's my take on the UN

Hey ho-the UN's got to go!

Frankly I’m disgusted with the American reaction to the august body that is the UN. Are we really such a bunch of quitters that when things get the teensiest bit difficult we chuck the whole deal? Well hang onto your hats, because I’m going to give you a whirlwind tour that I think just might reinvigorate your appreciation for this amazing worldwide organization.

First, the ability of the UN to quickly mobilize ”Emergency Pedophile Squads” and deploy them to Sierra Leone, Bosnia and the Congo should be a shining example to us -- a vibrant reminder of what can happen when good old fashioned stick to-it-ive-ness is wedded to the modern UN. Don’t worry though, it’s not just pedophilia, no sir. We can add rape to that list too. Refreshing isn’t it?

Second -- and this is exciting! -- Oil for Food. If this isn’t a fine example of making things happen in a tough place, I don’t know what is. No longer satisfied with their outrageous salaries and perks, these intrepid individualists took a bold step: Stealing. Yes, I know, I’m proud too. I think these wizards are showing us in the dowdy old west a thing or two about the free market. One for you, Mr. UN!

But wait, there’s more! Preceding every attempt by the US to make the world a better place, the UN has come out with extremely helpful advice, suggesting that Iraq could spiral into a humanitarian disaster, or that 100,000 Afghan children might die after our invasion. Hey! The fact that these Karnak-worthy predictions didn’t come true doesn’t mean they don’t care, far from it.

Related to Oil for Food is the subject of our plucky European “allies.” In the run up to the Iraq war they made it clear that they would offer no support. Of course, Britain flew in the face of this perfectly reasonable response. Damn those Brits for their cursed loyalty. Anyway, you might be tempted to impute some sort of negative characterization to our “allies” after finding out they were in the employ of Saddam Hussein (the best man who ever lived, all hail him). Well, you’d be wrong my friends. No, our “allies” were only trying to save us from ourselves, from our foolish insistence on saving our own lives. What were we thinking?

I hope we can finally lay to rest these pesky rumors of UN inefficiency and widespread corruption, because you see Kofi Annon has assured us they don’t exist. I, for one, hope we will boost our budget for this wonderful humanitarian group.

After all, there are lots of little girls in the world the UN hasn’t helped yet.

As seen @
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