Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Good vs Evil: Good Wins
An article from The American Thinker.com which makes for a great read. And yes for those who like to complain it is from a right sided view. The Passion of the Left: Hating Christians January 21st, 2006 "If viewers happened to be tuned into CSPAN several weeks ago, they were in for quite a spectacle. CSPAN was re-airing a conference that took place in May of 2005 with the ominous title, “Examining the Real Agenda of the Far Religious Right.” Sponsored by the New York Open Center, the conference was anything but open-minded. Instead, participants launched into a litany of complaints against the so-called Christian Right that bordered on bigotry. I half expected it to end with a pitchfork armed mob breaking down the doors of a local church. Perusing the Open Center’s website, one will find the sort of New Age psychobabble melded with eastern mysticism and apocalyptic environmentalism that is common on the left these days. Having been taught by multiculturalism to hate their own western religious background, they turn instead to the east. It just goes to show you that people need to believe in something. Those who run the Open Center obviously believed they were enlightened in holding their anti-Christian confab, but elitist would be more like it. Every time a speaker referred to a particular Christian belief or quoted a remark they found particularly inflammatory, the audience snickered knowingly, as if to say, “what a fool.” Obviously, the secular fundamentalists of the Open Center consider themselves far more reasonable than those nutty Christians. But judging by the level of paranoia expressed at the conference, I wouldn’t bet on it. At one point, a speaker spoke about the need “to save democracy” from the “Christian Right,” to which the audience broke out in applause. An associate professor of comparative studies equated the zeal of the “Christian Right” with that of “suicide bombers.” A former Pentecostal minister gave a presentation titled, “Christian Jihad,” while someone claimed to unveil, “The Real Hidden Religious Agenda: The Theocratic States of America.” For those suffering under such delusions, evangelical Christians are indeed the biggest threat to America and the entire world for that matter. Meanwhile, actual threats from a different religion go unnoticed. Not once during the conference was it mentioned that the real suicide bombers are Islamists who have been killing innocent civilians all over the world. Call me crazy, but isn’t the zealot who’s actually acting on his beliefs just a tad scarier than the one who’s simply talking about it? Anyway, in a democratic society, belief does not equal theocracy. Islamists on the other hand, are actively pushing a system that hearkens back to the 7th Century and they’re not taking no for an answer. To compare this approach to that of American citizens simply exercising their democratic rights is beyond ludicrous. The conference attendees seemed particularly concerned with Christians who believe literally in the Book of Revelations, The End Days, The Rapture, Armageddon and so on. They labeled such beliefs Dominionism and decried its real or imagined influence. They spoke menacingly about Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” series and referred to its “surprising popularity.” The fact that 82% of the country is Christian seems not to have come under consideration. Much like those who lament the popularity of conservative talk radio as if it weren’t simply a case of supply and demand, the Left is simply in denial about the nature of their country. Lest it be thought that Christians were the sole objects of wrath, “Neoconservatives” or in other words Jews, were also reviled. Apparently, it’s the Christians and the Jews that are the problem. The funny thing is that’s exactly what the Islamists are always saying. And that’s exactly why some of us are so concerned with maintaining that bulwark of Western civilization, the Judeo-Christian alliance. At precisely the time that Jews, Christians and all those interested in advancing democracy should be banding together in the face of a fascistic and totalitarian threat, the Left would have us hasten our demise. It’s no coincidence that as Christianity has declined in the West, Islam has been ascendant. Whether through demographics in Europe or ideological sway in America, Islam is clearly on the rise. In an ironic twist you couldn’t make up if you tried, the attacks of 9/11 seem actually to have helped this along. The number of Muslim converts is growing, with disaffected secularists being ripe for the picking. Meanwhile, Saudi money continues to pour into the coffers of U.S. institutions and to taint future generations with the stain of Wahhabism. The left flank in the battle against Christianity certainly hasn’t been neglected. The fact that President Bush is a man of faith has upped the ante for the left and they’ve been in anti-Christian overdrive ever since his election. While organizations such as the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State were doing damage long before Bush’s presidency, the campaign to erase Christianity from American public life has reached new heights in the past six years. This combined with the encroachments of Islamism has led to an ideological battle in which Christianity finds itself on the defensive. Although almost a year ago, the attitudes expressed by leftist attendees at the Open Center conference have if anything magnified in the time since. A recent article by Bill Moyers demonstrated the same anti-Christian fervor, complete with references to the “rapture index.” Moyers’ main bone of contention is that evangelical Christians somehow threaten environmentalism. Never mind terrorism, it’s the specter of global warming we should be worried about. Then there’s the new television show, The Book of Daniel, which portrays an Episcopal priest and his family as a collection of druggies, perverts and sociopaths. When NBC’s Nashville affiliate chose not to run the show due to the large number of complaints from viewers, those on the left immediately cried, “censorship.” To them, not publicizing one of their pet projects is tantamount to banning it. Yet Christians are not taking the abuse lying down. Groups such as the American Center for Law and Justice, The Alliance Defense Fund and others have had great success tackling the legal front. The recent hoopla over the “war on Christmas” was really generated by the Left, which is simply outraged that Christians are now fighting back. Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation have jumped into the fray as well, demonstrating that Christians are not alone in this struggle. The secularists’ attempts at bullying are in fact starting to have the opposite effect and Christianity in America is now stronger than ever. I certainly hope so, for in civilizational battles, those that cease to believe in anything tend to fall by the wayside. And if people aren’t willing to fight for their civilization, there’s always someone waiting in the wings that is." Cinnamon Stillwell is a columnist for SFGate.com and a staff writer for the New Media Alliance. cinnamon@cinnamonstillwell.com Cinnamon Stillwell
It Is about the Politics of Death
With the new president in Iran calling for the death of all the Jewish people, most of our Jewish politicians only seem to care about protecting abortion. Chuck Schumer Di Fi, Babs Boxer and ect are silent. Here is an article from My Way News.
Jan 15, 10:14 AM (ET)By NASSER KARIMI
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran, whose president has denied the Holocaust, said Sunday it would hold a conference to examine the scientific evidence concerning Nazi Germany's extermination of 6 million Jews.
Hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has recently provoked global condemnation for saying the Holocaust is a "myth" and calling for Israel to be wiped from the face of the earth. Iran further alarmed Western countries last week by restarting its research at a nuclear facility after a two-year freeze.
"It is a strange world. It is possible to discuss everything except the Holocaust," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. "The Foreign Ministry plans to hold a conference on the scientific aspect of the issue to discuss and review its repercussions."
Asefi did not say where or when the conference would be held or who would attend.
Earlier this month, the Association of Muslim Journalists, a hard-line group, proposed holding a similar conference.
But Asefi said he was not aware of the association's wishes. He said the conference he announced was planned and supported by the ministry.
On Saturday, Ahmadinejad urged the West to be open-minded enough to allow a free international debate on the real aspects of the Holocaust.
Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., has said he understood Iran was considering a conference to call into question the evidence that the Nazis conducted a mass murder of European Jews during World War Two.
Jan 15, 10:14 AM (ET)By NASSER KARIMI
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran, whose president has denied the Holocaust, said Sunday it would hold a conference to examine the scientific evidence concerning Nazi Germany's extermination of 6 million Jews.
Hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has recently provoked global condemnation for saying the Holocaust is a "myth" and calling for Israel to be wiped from the face of the earth. Iran further alarmed Western countries last week by restarting its research at a nuclear facility after a two-year freeze.
"It is a strange world. It is possible to discuss everything except the Holocaust," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. "The Foreign Ministry plans to hold a conference on the scientific aspect of the issue to discuss and review its repercussions."
Asefi did not say where or when the conference would be held or who would attend.
Earlier this month, the Association of Muslim Journalists, a hard-line group, proposed holding a similar conference.
But Asefi said he was not aware of the association's wishes. He said the conference he announced was planned and supported by the ministry.
On Saturday, Ahmadinejad urged the West to be open-minded enough to allow a free international debate on the real aspects of the Holocaust.
Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., has said he understood Iran was considering a conference to call into question the evidence that the Nazis conducted a mass murder of European Jews during World War Two.
Amacrap.com
I have noticed over the past year that Amazon.com's reviews had been over run by some idiots. And I found a very well writen article on the following blog site:
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/006205.php
January 23, 2006
Leftists Against Free Speech And Dialogue
One of the least-welcome developments of the Internet has been the rise of e-graffiti, especially at places like Amazon.com, where the victims overwhelmingly have been conservative writers. It appears that those who oppose conservative thought have little love for free speech when practiced by those who disagree with them, and their only intellectual recourse is to deface websites that sell the books written by conservatives. Kate O'Beirn's book, Women Who Make The World Worse attracted not just the usual flood of phony reviews from Kate's detractors but also a hacked picture of the book's cover. That hack job, in all senses of the word, is not only obvious but childishly so.
One could make an argument -- a specious argument, but at least an argument -- that Kate's approach to her subject generates the ill will it received. However, Fred Barnes' book about George Bush, the newly-released Rebel In Chief, focuses on Bush himself, not his opposition. Such is the lack of intellectual heft and tolerance on the Left that the Amazon site has already been overrun by the bookburners. Michelle Malkin provides a glimpse of the faux reviews entered from the book's "readers". The picture got hacked briefly and replaced with the image at the right. Daniel Coppens of Crown Forum notes:Amazon already has contracts with Liberal newspapers and magazines that are free to post bad reviews (obviously) of Conservative books. However, they offer no such contracts to Conservative media and therefore offer no way to refute what is said in the negative Liberal reviews, other than what we are allowed to put in our own 'quotes' section. These types of business practices by Amazon are completely unacceptable; for them not to monitor these images that anyone can put up and for them not to make any effort to support their Conservative business partners is awful.
I would put it somewhat differently, and list Amazon as a victim of this as well. It offers free access to post reader reviews to assist their customers in selecting the books they want to read. Instead, the Left hijacks this system to get a free ride for their sloganeering and abuses Amazon by illegally interfering with its business. The Left doesn't want people to hear what conservatives have to say, perhaps knowing that they have been intellectually outclassed and proven disastrously wrong by history and current events. Instead, they issue mindless attacks, childish insults, and do everything possible to keep people from having access to conservative thought.
That's not the actions of people who have confidence in themselves. Those are the actions of a fearful, small-minded, vulgar group of Neanderthals who have suddenly seen Homo sapiens and realized that their days are numbered. These mouthbreathers cannot offer any new ideas, so instead of trying to compete with conservatives, they're busy with the electronic equivalent of sticking their fingers into their ears and shouting, "LA-LA-LA-LA, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU!!" as loudly as possible.
In short, the Left consists of ill-educated, ill-mannered children. That they keep going to such lengths to prove it shows that they don't have anything else to offer.
Posted by Captain Ed at January 23, 2006 12:25 PM
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/006205.php
January 23, 2006
Leftists Against Free Speech And Dialogue
One of the least-welcome developments of the Internet has been the rise of e-graffiti, especially at places like Amazon.com, where the victims overwhelmingly have been conservative writers. It appears that those who oppose conservative thought have little love for free speech when practiced by those who disagree with them, and their only intellectual recourse is to deface websites that sell the books written by conservatives. Kate O'Beirn's book, Women Who Make The World Worse attracted not just the usual flood of phony reviews from Kate's detractors but also a hacked picture of the book's cover. That hack job, in all senses of the word, is not only obvious but childishly so.
One could make an argument -- a specious argument, but at least an argument -- that Kate's approach to her subject generates the ill will it received. However, Fred Barnes' book about George Bush, the newly-released Rebel In Chief, focuses on Bush himself, not his opposition. Such is the lack of intellectual heft and tolerance on the Left that the Amazon site has already been overrun by the bookburners. Michelle Malkin provides a glimpse of the faux reviews entered from the book's "readers". The picture got hacked briefly and replaced with the image at the right. Daniel Coppens of Crown Forum notes:Amazon already has contracts with Liberal newspapers and magazines that are free to post bad reviews (obviously) of Conservative books. However, they offer no such contracts to Conservative media and therefore offer no way to refute what is said in the negative Liberal reviews, other than what we are allowed to put in our own 'quotes' section. These types of business practices by Amazon are completely unacceptable; for them not to monitor these images that anyone can put up and for them not to make any effort to support their Conservative business partners is awful.
I would put it somewhat differently, and list Amazon as a victim of this as well. It offers free access to post reader reviews to assist their customers in selecting the books they want to read. Instead, the Left hijacks this system to get a free ride for their sloganeering and abuses Amazon by illegally interfering with its business. The Left doesn't want people to hear what conservatives have to say, perhaps knowing that they have been intellectually outclassed and proven disastrously wrong by history and current events. Instead, they issue mindless attacks, childish insults, and do everything possible to keep people from having access to conservative thought.
That's not the actions of people who have confidence in themselves. Those are the actions of a fearful, small-minded, vulgar group of Neanderthals who have suddenly seen Homo sapiens and realized that their days are numbered. These mouthbreathers cannot offer any new ideas, so instead of trying to compete with conservatives, they're busy with the electronic equivalent of sticking their fingers into their ears and shouting, "LA-LA-LA-LA, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU!!" as loudly as possible.
In short, the Left consists of ill-educated, ill-mannered children. That they keep going to such lengths to prove it shows that they don't have anything else to offer.
Posted by Captain Ed at January 23, 2006 12:25 PM
They Were There
I found this on csnews.com. And since this site is not backed by Mr. Soros I am sure some will call it fiction.
Demolishing the WMD MythBy David ThibaultCNSNews.com Editor in ChiefJanuary 30, 2006This isn't the type of commentary about weapons of mass destruction that you have seen so often over the last 18 months, from media liberals like the Washington Post's Richard Cohen, who at every turn have insisted that Saddam Hussein had no WMDs or links to al Qaeda when he was routed from office by U.S. and coalition military forces in 2003.Armed only with the conclusions of United Nations and Bush administration-appointed weapons inspectors that no significant WMD caches had been discovered in Iraq, these media misfits and the liberal apparatus in Congress has had a field day castigating President Bush for his decision to invade Iraq.Nobody states the Democrats' weak-kneed response (What would F.D.R. and Harry Truman think?) better than the Massachusetts Democratic senator that the party entrusted with its presidential nomination in 2004 - John Kerry."Let's be clear: there is no question that Americans were misled into war in Iraq. Simply put, they were told that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction when he did not," Kerry proclaimed on Nov. 14, 2005, in a speech -- and you have to give him points for audacity here -- meant to honor American veterans.The website of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House minority leader, still claims in a release dated Jan. 12, 2005, that "President Bush has refused to concede what has been obvious for months: the primary justification for the invasion of Iraq was not supported by fact."Enter Georges Sada, one of Saddam Hussein's top generals and military advisors, whose book, "Saddam's Secrets - How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein," is causing quite a stir and may or may not be giving Kerry and Pelosi heartburn.Sada is unsparing in his criticism of Republican President George H. W. Bush for failing to finish the job in the first Persian Gulf War and rid the world of Saddam. And he blasts away at Democratic President Bill Clinton for his weak responses to terrorist attacks and the Saddam threat in the 1990s.Not only does Sada praise the current President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, stating that U.S.-led coalition forces "did us a great service," he demolishes the myth that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction and posed no international threat.Sada details a frightening passage in which Saddam asked for his advice about attacking Israel with chemical weapons -- the nerve gases Tabun, Sarin 1 and Sarin 2. He also explains how Saddam managed to smuggle his weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq and into Syria, following a natural disaster in northwestern Syria on June 4, 2002. "[W]hen Syrian president Bashar al-Assad asked for help from Jordan and Iraq, Saddam knew what he would do." Sada writes. "For him, the disaster in Syria was a gift, and there, posing as shipments of supplies and equipment sent from Iraq to aid the relief effort, were Iraq's WMDs." The author confirmed these details with one of the pilots of the 747 jets that were gutted on the inside in order to store the WMDs, before being flown from Iraq to Syria.Sada has much more to say in the book, the first substantive, reliable account of how Saddam made fools of the international community, U.S. liberal politicians and the media establishment who were determined to create the self-fulfilling prophecy that there were no WMDs in Iraq. We know that that these groups and individuals did it for political gain -- it hasn't worked so far -- instead of using their common sense and pointing the finger at the real enemy.Sada's book, while adding crucial details on how Saddam got rid of his WMDs, was no news flash to Cybercast News Service. Please read our own comprehensive account, reported by Scott Wheeler on Oct. 4, 2004, of Saddam's procurement of weapons of mass destruction as well as his extensive links to al Qaeda.
Demolishing the WMD MythBy David ThibaultCNSNews.com Editor in ChiefJanuary 30, 2006This isn't the type of commentary about weapons of mass destruction that you have seen so often over the last 18 months, from media liberals like the Washington Post's Richard Cohen, who at every turn have insisted that Saddam Hussein had no WMDs or links to al Qaeda when he was routed from office by U.S. and coalition military forces in 2003.Armed only with the conclusions of United Nations and Bush administration-appointed weapons inspectors that no significant WMD caches had been discovered in Iraq, these media misfits and the liberal apparatus in Congress has had a field day castigating President Bush for his decision to invade Iraq.Nobody states the Democrats' weak-kneed response (What would F.D.R. and Harry Truman think?) better than the Massachusetts Democratic senator that the party entrusted with its presidential nomination in 2004 - John Kerry."Let's be clear: there is no question that Americans were misled into war in Iraq. Simply put, they were told that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction when he did not," Kerry proclaimed on Nov. 14, 2005, in a speech -- and you have to give him points for audacity here -- meant to honor American veterans.The website of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House minority leader, still claims in a release dated Jan. 12, 2005, that "President Bush has refused to concede what has been obvious for months: the primary justification for the invasion of Iraq was not supported by fact."Enter Georges Sada, one of Saddam Hussein's top generals and military advisors, whose book, "Saddam's Secrets - How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein," is causing quite a stir and may or may not be giving Kerry and Pelosi heartburn.Sada is unsparing in his criticism of Republican President George H. W. Bush for failing to finish the job in the first Persian Gulf War and rid the world of Saddam. And he blasts away at Democratic President Bill Clinton for his weak responses to terrorist attacks and the Saddam threat in the 1990s.Not only does Sada praise the current President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, stating that U.S.-led coalition forces "did us a great service," he demolishes the myth that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction and posed no international threat.Sada details a frightening passage in which Saddam asked for his advice about attacking Israel with chemical weapons -- the nerve gases Tabun, Sarin 1 and Sarin 2. He also explains how Saddam managed to smuggle his weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq and into Syria, following a natural disaster in northwestern Syria on June 4, 2002. "[W]hen Syrian president Bashar al-Assad asked for help from Jordan and Iraq, Saddam knew what he would do." Sada writes. "For him, the disaster in Syria was a gift, and there, posing as shipments of supplies and equipment sent from Iraq to aid the relief effort, were Iraq's WMDs." The author confirmed these details with one of the pilots of the 747 jets that were gutted on the inside in order to store the WMDs, before being flown from Iraq to Syria.Sada has much more to say in the book, the first substantive, reliable account of how Saddam made fools of the international community, U.S. liberal politicians and the media establishment who were determined to create the self-fulfilling prophecy that there were no WMDs in Iraq. We know that that these groups and individuals did it for political gain -- it hasn't worked so far -- instead of using their common sense and pointing the finger at the real enemy.Sada's book, while adding crucial details on how Saddam got rid of his WMDs, was no news flash to Cybercast News Service. Please read our own comprehensive account, reported by Scott Wheeler on Oct. 4, 2004, of Saddam's procurement of weapons of mass destruction as well as his extensive links to al Qaeda.
It Is A Hate Crime
Why isn't this guy being charged with a hate crime. He attacked these students with a SUV. He attempted to kill them because they are Americans. And I love the part of allah being the co counsel! Hope allah has time in between locating virgins and booz.
CHAPEL HILL -- The UNC-Chapel Hill graduate charged with injuring nine people when he drove an SUV down a crowded campus walkway politely told a judge Monday he plans to represent himself, with the help of Allah.
Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, was taken into Orange County District Court chained and in an orange jumpsuit and flanked by sheriff's deputies. Calm and with a constant closed-lip smile, he answered Judge Pat DeVine's questions of whether he understood the day's proceedings with "Yes, Ma'am"s.
"I'm thankful you're here to give me this trial and to learn more about the will of Allah," he told the judge in court.
District Attorney Jim Woodall read off each of the 18 charges, naming the nine people hit by the rented 2006 Jeep Cherokee on Friday. Six of them were treated for minor injuries at UNC Hospitals, and three refused treatment, according to university officials.
When asked by reporters outside the courthouse whether he intended to kill his targets, Taheri-azar said, "Yes."
A U.S. citizen born in Iran, Taheri-azar faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury for each of the nine people hit. DeVine kept bail at $5.5 million and asked the public defender's office to work with Taheri-azar until the court felt comfortable that he was competent enough to represent himself.
Taheri-azar will stay at Raleigh's Central Prison for safekeeping, DeVine said, after court officials determined he was unstable and a danger to himself and others. Court documents said Taheri-azar told a UNC-CH police detective that "people all over the world are being killed in war and now it is the people in the United States['] turn to be killed." Police say he also told them he intended to kill people when he drove into The Pit, a campus gathering spot.
Taheri-azar grew up in the Charlotte area, attending public school for 13 years until he graduated from South Mecklenburg High School in 2001.
UNC-CH senior Dave Van Atta, who shared a dormitory suite his freshman year with Taheri-azar, described him as a serious student, a hospital volunteer and a Muslim who became deeply committed to his religion relatively recently.
The two met up again for lunch in Durham last spring and talked about religion for two hours after Van Atta expressed his own atheism. "He was pretty devout," Van Atta recalled.
"It was as if he had just found religion," Van Atta said. Taheri-azar had studied the Quran, the Muslim holy book, and knew it well. "He was really at peace with himself when I talked with him last."
Taheri-azar graduated in December with a double major in psychology and philosophy and had recently started working at Jimmy John's, a Franklin Street sub shop.
Recording of 911 call
On Monday, UNC-CH released a recording of the 911 call Taheri-azar made after he left campus Friday.
"I just hit several people with a vehicle," he told the dispatcher. "I don't have any weapons or anything on me; you can come and arrest me now."
Taheri-azar said he left the Jeep running but didn't want to get back in because he didn't want police to think he was trying to run away.
In his call, Taheri-azar said he left an explanation for his actions in a one-page letter on his bed.
"Really, it's to punish the government of the United States for their actions around the world," he told the dispatcher.
After his arrest, police evacuated Taheri-azar's Carrboro apartment building before searching it with the State Bureau of Investigation's bomb squad, but no explosives were found.
Inside the unlocked and empty apartment Saturday, a GoArmy packet with enlistment information lay on the bed in a front bedroom thought to be Taheri-azar's. A packet, "Questionnaire for National Security Positions," had been marked with a highlighter and included questions such as, "What is your nationality?"
A blank photocopy of a "Reference Form" for a handgun permit with the Orange County Sheriff's Office was in the trash.
Among the books lined up against the wall on the floor were the Quran, books by Nelson Mandela and Cornel West and "Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror."
CHAPEL HILL -- The UNC-Chapel Hill graduate charged with injuring nine people when he drove an SUV down a crowded campus walkway politely told a judge Monday he plans to represent himself, with the help of Allah.
Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, was taken into Orange County District Court chained and in an orange jumpsuit and flanked by sheriff's deputies. Calm and with a constant closed-lip smile, he answered Judge Pat DeVine's questions of whether he understood the day's proceedings with "Yes, Ma'am"s.
"I'm thankful you're here to give me this trial and to learn more about the will of Allah," he told the judge in court.
District Attorney Jim Woodall read off each of the 18 charges, naming the nine people hit by the rented 2006 Jeep Cherokee on Friday. Six of them were treated for minor injuries at UNC Hospitals, and three refused treatment, according to university officials.
When asked by reporters outside the courthouse whether he intended to kill his targets, Taheri-azar said, "Yes."
A U.S. citizen born in Iran, Taheri-azar faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury for each of the nine people hit. DeVine kept bail at $5.5 million and asked the public defender's office to work with Taheri-azar until the court felt comfortable that he was competent enough to represent himself.
Taheri-azar will stay at Raleigh's Central Prison for safekeeping, DeVine said, after court officials determined he was unstable and a danger to himself and others. Court documents said Taheri-azar told a UNC-CH police detective that "people all over the world are being killed in war and now it is the people in the United States['] turn to be killed." Police say he also told them he intended to kill people when he drove into The Pit, a campus gathering spot.
Taheri-azar grew up in the Charlotte area, attending public school for 13 years until he graduated from South Mecklenburg High School in 2001.
UNC-CH senior Dave Van Atta, who shared a dormitory suite his freshman year with Taheri-azar, described him as a serious student, a hospital volunteer and a Muslim who became deeply committed to his religion relatively recently.
The two met up again for lunch in Durham last spring and talked about religion for two hours after Van Atta expressed his own atheism. "He was pretty devout," Van Atta recalled.
"It was as if he had just found religion," Van Atta said. Taheri-azar had studied the Quran, the Muslim holy book, and knew it well. "He was really at peace with himself when I talked with him last."
Taheri-azar graduated in December with a double major in psychology and philosophy and had recently started working at Jimmy John's, a Franklin Street sub shop.
Recording of 911 call
On Monday, UNC-CH released a recording of the 911 call Taheri-azar made after he left campus Friday.
"I just hit several people with a vehicle," he told the dispatcher. "I don't have any weapons or anything on me; you can come and arrest me now."
Taheri-azar said he left the Jeep running but didn't want to get back in because he didn't want police to think he was trying to run away.
In his call, Taheri-azar said he left an explanation for his actions in a one-page letter on his bed.
"Really, it's to punish the government of the United States for their actions around the world," he told the dispatcher.
After his arrest, police evacuated Taheri-azar's Carrboro apartment building before searching it with the State Bureau of Investigation's bomb squad, but no explosives were found.
Inside the unlocked and empty apartment Saturday, a GoArmy packet with enlistment information lay on the bed in a front bedroom thought to be Taheri-azar's. A packet, "Questionnaire for National Security Positions," had been marked with a highlighter and included questions such as, "What is your nationality?"
A blank photocopy of a "Reference Form" for a handgun permit with the Orange County Sheriff's Office was in the trash.
Among the books lined up against the wall on the floor were the Quran, books by Nelson Mandela and Cornel West and "Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror."
There Goes Our Dollar
When reading this article I would advise one to be seated next to a cooler full of beer. The financial burden of this problem is infinite and the potential health risk are deadly. And many politicians, no matter what their part membership refuse to step up.
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
Cristobal Silverio emigrated illegally from Mexico to Stockton, Calif., in 1997 to work as a fruit picker.
He brought with him his wife, Felipa, and three children, 19, 12 and 8 – all illegals. When Felipa gave birth to her fourth child, daughter Flor, the family had what is referred to as an "anchor baby" – an American citizen by birth who provided the entire Silverio clan a ticket to remain in the U.S. permanently.
But Flor was born premature, spent three months in the neonatal incubator and cost the San Joaquin Hospital more than $300,000. Meanwhile, oldest daughter Lourdes married an illegal alien gave birth to a daughter, too. Her name is Esmeralda. And Felipa had yet another child, Cristian.
The two Silverio anchor babies generate $1,000 per month in public welfare funding for the family. Flor gets $600 a month for asthma. Healthy Cristian gets $400. While the Silverios earned $18,000 last year picking fruit, they picked up another $12,000 for their two "anchor babies."
While President Bush says the U.S. needs more "cheap labor" from south of the border to do jobs Americans aren't willing to do, the case of the Silverios shows there are indeed uncalculated costs involved in the importation of such labor – public support and uninsured medical costs.
In fact, the increasing number of illegal aliens coming into the United States is forcing the closure of hospitals, spreading previously vanquished diseases and threatening to destroy America's prized health-care system, says a report in the spring issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.
"The influx of illegal aliens has serious hidden medical consequences," writes Madeleine Pelner Cosman, author of the report. "We judge reality primarily by what we see. But what we do not see can be more dangerous, more expensive, and more deadly than what is seen."
According to her study, 84 California hospitals are closing their doors as a direct result of the rising number of illegal aliens and their non-reimbursed tax on the system.
"Anchor babies," the author writes, "born to illegal aliens instantly qualify as citizens for welfare benefits and have caused enormous rises in Medicaid costs and stipends under Supplemental Security Income and Disability Income."
In addition, the report says, "many illegal aliens harbor fatal diseases that American medicine fought and vanquished long ago, such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy, plague, polio, dengue, and Chagas disease."
While politicians often mention there are 43 million without health insurance in this country, the report estimates that at least 25 percent of those are illegal immigrants. The figure could be as high as 50 percent.
Not being insured does not mean they don't get medical care.
Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1985, hospitals are obligated to treat the uninsured without reimbursement.
"Government imposes viciously stiff fines and penalties on any physician and any hospital refusing to treat any patient that a zealous prosecutor deems an emergency patient, even though the hospital or physician screened and declared the patient's illness or injury non-emergency," says the report. "But government pays neither hospital nor physician for treatments. In addition to the fiscal attack on medical facilities and personnel, EMTALA is a handy truncheon with which to pummel politically unpopular physicians by falsely accusing them of violating EMTALA."
According to the report, between 1993 and 2003, 60 California hospitals closed because half their services became unpaid. Another 24 California hospitals verge on closure, the author writes.
"American hospitals welcome 'anchor babies,'" says the report. "Illegal alien women come to the hospital in labor and drop their little anchors, each of whom pulls its illegal alien mother, father, and siblings into permanent residency simply by being born within our borders. Anchor babies are citizens, and instantly qualify for public welfare aid: Between 300,000 and 350,000 anchor babies annually become citizens because of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside."
Among the organizations directing illegal aliens into America's medical systems, according to the report, are the Ford Foundation-funded Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Immigration Law Center, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration Policy, Practice, and Pro Bono, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the National Council of La Raza, George Soros's Open Society Institute, the Migration Policy Institute, the National Network for Immigration and Refugee Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Because drug addiction and alcoholism are classified as diseases and disabilities, the fiscal toll on the health-care system rises.
When Linda Torres was arrested in Bakersfield, Calif., with about $8,500 in small bills in a sack, the police originally thought it was stolen money, explained the report. It was her Social Security lump sum for her disability -- heroin addiction.
"Today, legal immigrants must demonstrate that they are free of communicable diseases and drug addiction to qualify for lawful permanent residency green cards," writes Cosman, a medical lawyer, who formerly taught medical students at the City University of New York. "Illegal aliens simply cross our borders medically unexamined, hiding in their bodies any number of communicable diseases."
Many illegals entering this country have tuberculosis, according to the report.
"That disease had largely disappeared from America, thanks to excellent hygiene and powerful modern drugs such as isoniazid and rifampin," says the report. "TB's swift, deadly return now is lethal for about 60 percent of those infected because of new Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. Until recently MDR-TB was endemic to Mexico. This Mycobacterium tuberculosis is resistant to at least two major anti-tubercular drugs. Ordinary TB usually is cured in six months with four drugs that cost about $2,000. MDR-TB takes 24 months with many expensive drugs that cost around $250,000 with toxic side effects. Each illegal with MDR-TB coughs and infects 10 to 30 people, who will not show symptoms immediately. Latent disease explodes later.
TB was virtually absent in Virginia until in 2002, when it spiked a 17 percent increase, but Prince William County, just south of Washington, D.C., had a much larger rise of 188 percent. Public health officials blamed immigrants. In 2001 the Indiana School of Medicine studied an outbreak of MDR-TB, and traced it to Mexican illegal aliens. The Queens, New York, health department attributed 81 percent of new TB cases in 2001 to immigrants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ascribed 42 percent of all new TB cases to 'foreign born' people who have up to eight times higher incidences apparently, 66 percent of all TB cases coming to America originate in Mexico, the Philippines and Vietnam."
Other health threats from illegals include, according to the report:
Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis or "kissing bug disease," is transmitted by the reduviid bug, which prefers to bite the lips and face. The protozoan parasite that it carries, Trypanosoma cruzi, infects 18 million people annually in Latin America and causes 50,000 deaths. The disease also infiltrates America's blood supply. Chagas affects blood transfusions and transplanted organs. No cure exists. Hundreds of blood recipients may be silently infected.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, was so rare in America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past three years America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy. Leprosy now is endemic to northeastern states because illegal aliens and other immigrants brought leprosy from India, Brazil, the Caribbean and Mexico.
Dengue fever is exceptionally rare in America, though common in Ecuador, Peru, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Mexico. Recently, according to the report, there was a virulent outbreak of dengue fever in Webb County, Texas, which borders Mexico. Though dengue is usually not a fatal disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever routinely kills.
Polio was eradicated from America, but now reappears in illegal immigrants as do intestinal parasites, says the report.
Malaria was obliterated, but now is re-emerging in Texas.
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons report includes a strong prescription for protecting the health of Americans:
Closing America's borders with fences, high-tech security devices and troops.
Rescinding the U.S. citizenship of "anchor babies."
Punishing the aiding and abetting of illegal aliens as a crime.
An end to amnesty programs.
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
Cristobal Silverio emigrated illegally from Mexico to Stockton, Calif., in 1997 to work as a fruit picker.
He brought with him his wife, Felipa, and three children, 19, 12 and 8 – all illegals. When Felipa gave birth to her fourth child, daughter Flor, the family had what is referred to as an "anchor baby" – an American citizen by birth who provided the entire Silverio clan a ticket to remain in the U.S. permanently.
But Flor was born premature, spent three months in the neonatal incubator and cost the San Joaquin Hospital more than $300,000. Meanwhile, oldest daughter Lourdes married an illegal alien gave birth to a daughter, too. Her name is Esmeralda. And Felipa had yet another child, Cristian.
The two Silverio anchor babies generate $1,000 per month in public welfare funding for the family. Flor gets $600 a month for asthma. Healthy Cristian gets $400. While the Silverios earned $18,000 last year picking fruit, they picked up another $12,000 for their two "anchor babies."
While President Bush says the U.S. needs more "cheap labor" from south of the border to do jobs Americans aren't willing to do, the case of the Silverios shows there are indeed uncalculated costs involved in the importation of such labor – public support and uninsured medical costs.
In fact, the increasing number of illegal aliens coming into the United States is forcing the closure of hospitals, spreading previously vanquished diseases and threatening to destroy America's prized health-care system, says a report in the spring issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.
"The influx of illegal aliens has serious hidden medical consequences," writes Madeleine Pelner Cosman, author of the report. "We judge reality primarily by what we see. But what we do not see can be more dangerous, more expensive, and more deadly than what is seen."
According to her study, 84 California hospitals are closing their doors as a direct result of the rising number of illegal aliens and their non-reimbursed tax on the system.
"Anchor babies," the author writes, "born to illegal aliens instantly qualify as citizens for welfare benefits and have caused enormous rises in Medicaid costs and stipends under Supplemental Security Income and Disability Income."
In addition, the report says, "many illegal aliens harbor fatal diseases that American medicine fought and vanquished long ago, such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy, plague, polio, dengue, and Chagas disease."
While politicians often mention there are 43 million without health insurance in this country, the report estimates that at least 25 percent of those are illegal immigrants. The figure could be as high as 50 percent.
Not being insured does not mean they don't get medical care.
Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1985, hospitals are obligated to treat the uninsured without reimbursement.
"Government imposes viciously stiff fines and penalties on any physician and any hospital refusing to treat any patient that a zealous prosecutor deems an emergency patient, even though the hospital or physician screened and declared the patient's illness or injury non-emergency," says the report. "But government pays neither hospital nor physician for treatments. In addition to the fiscal attack on medical facilities and personnel, EMTALA is a handy truncheon with which to pummel politically unpopular physicians by falsely accusing them of violating EMTALA."
According to the report, between 1993 and 2003, 60 California hospitals closed because half their services became unpaid. Another 24 California hospitals verge on closure, the author writes.
"American hospitals welcome 'anchor babies,'" says the report. "Illegal alien women come to the hospital in labor and drop their little anchors, each of whom pulls its illegal alien mother, father, and siblings into permanent residency simply by being born within our borders. Anchor babies are citizens, and instantly qualify for public welfare aid: Between 300,000 and 350,000 anchor babies annually become citizens because of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside."
Among the organizations directing illegal aliens into America's medical systems, according to the report, are the Ford Foundation-funded Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Immigration Law Center, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration Policy, Practice, and Pro Bono, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the National Council of La Raza, George Soros's Open Society Institute, the Migration Policy Institute, the National Network for Immigration and Refugee Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Because drug addiction and alcoholism are classified as diseases and disabilities, the fiscal toll on the health-care system rises.
When Linda Torres was arrested in Bakersfield, Calif., with about $8,500 in small bills in a sack, the police originally thought it was stolen money, explained the report. It was her Social Security lump sum for her disability -- heroin addiction.
"Today, legal immigrants must demonstrate that they are free of communicable diseases and drug addiction to qualify for lawful permanent residency green cards," writes Cosman, a medical lawyer, who formerly taught medical students at the City University of New York. "Illegal aliens simply cross our borders medically unexamined, hiding in their bodies any number of communicable diseases."
Many illegals entering this country have tuberculosis, according to the report.
"That disease had largely disappeared from America, thanks to excellent hygiene and powerful modern drugs such as isoniazid and rifampin," says the report. "TB's swift, deadly return now is lethal for about 60 percent of those infected because of new Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. Until recently MDR-TB was endemic to Mexico. This Mycobacterium tuberculosis is resistant to at least two major anti-tubercular drugs. Ordinary TB usually is cured in six months with four drugs that cost about $2,000. MDR-TB takes 24 months with many expensive drugs that cost around $250,000 with toxic side effects. Each illegal with MDR-TB coughs and infects 10 to 30 people, who will not show symptoms immediately. Latent disease explodes later.
TB was virtually absent in Virginia until in 2002, when it spiked a 17 percent increase, but Prince William County, just south of Washington, D.C., had a much larger rise of 188 percent. Public health officials blamed immigrants. In 2001 the Indiana School of Medicine studied an outbreak of MDR-TB, and traced it to Mexican illegal aliens. The Queens, New York, health department attributed 81 percent of new TB cases in 2001 to immigrants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ascribed 42 percent of all new TB cases to 'foreign born' people who have up to eight times higher incidences apparently, 66 percent of all TB cases coming to America originate in Mexico, the Philippines and Vietnam."
Other health threats from illegals include, according to the report:
Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis or "kissing bug disease," is transmitted by the reduviid bug, which prefers to bite the lips and face. The protozoan parasite that it carries, Trypanosoma cruzi, infects 18 million people annually in Latin America and causes 50,000 deaths. The disease also infiltrates America's blood supply. Chagas affects blood transfusions and transplanted organs. No cure exists. Hundreds of blood recipients may be silently infected.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, was so rare in America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past three years America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy. Leprosy now is endemic to northeastern states because illegal aliens and other immigrants brought leprosy from India, Brazil, the Caribbean and Mexico.
Dengue fever is exceptionally rare in America, though common in Ecuador, Peru, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Mexico. Recently, according to the report, there was a virulent outbreak of dengue fever in Webb County, Texas, which borders Mexico. Though dengue is usually not a fatal disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever routinely kills.
Polio was eradicated from America, but now reappears in illegal immigrants as do intestinal parasites, says the report.
Malaria was obliterated, but now is re-emerging in Texas.
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons report includes a strong prescription for protecting the health of Americans:
Closing America's borders with fences, high-tech security devices and troops.
Rescinding the U.S. citizenship of "anchor babies."
Punishing the aiding and abetting of illegal aliens as a crime.
An end to amnesty programs.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Seal Both Borders
What border can we control. If my name was Mohammed I would tunnel through the Canadian border. Better fishing!
Third border tunnel defendant pleads guilty
By GENE JOHNSONAP LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER
SEATTLE -- The last of three men charged with digging a sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnel under the U.S.-Canadian border pleaded guilty on Friday, two days after a Senate bill was introduced to make cross-border tunneling punishable by 20 years in prison.
Timothy Woo faces at least five years in prison and a maximum fine of $2 million when he is sentenced for conspiracy to smuggle marijuana, as do Francis Devandra Raj and Jonathan Valenzuela, who previously entered guilty pleas.
All three are from Surrey, British Columbia. They were arrested last July, shortly after they finished the 360-foot tunnel just north of Lynden - the first tunnel discovered along the U.S.-Canadian border. It ran from the living room of a home on the U.S. side to a boarded-up Quonset hut on the Canadian side.
Border guards noticed construction materials being brought into the hut, and loads of dirt coming out, and investigators used the Patriot Act's provision for "sneak-and-peek" search warrants to examine the tunnel and set up cameras to monitor it.
The investigators allowed three marijuana-running trips to take place in the tunnel in hopes of learning more about the suspects and whether they were involved in a wider drug ring. In each case the defendants were tailed as they left the tunnel.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash; Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill that would make financing or building a cross-border tunnel punishable by 20 years in prison. Though it is illegal now to avoid examination at the border, tunneling is not specifically a crime.
"This is an issue of national security," Cantwell said. "We need to keep drugs out of our communities and terrorists out of our country."
Since Sept. 11, 2001, 35 border tunnels have been discovered in the United States - all but one on the Mexican border, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"There's always a concern that this is a harbinger of future events," U.S. Attorney John McKay said Friday. "We have to stay vigilant."
McKay said he could not comment specifically on the proposed legislation.
However, he said creating harsh penalties for tunnel financing and construction could actually hinder the efforts of law enforcement. Canadian authorities were extremely reluctant to allow the drug smugglers to make runs through the tunnel for fear that they might get away. U.S. investigators shared that concern, but convinced the Canadians it was essential for building the case against the three suspects and for conducting a broader investigation.
If tunnel-building itself carries a 20-year sentence, Canadian authorities could argue that American prosecutors don't so much need to verify what suspects are using the tunnel for, McKay suggested.
Cantwell spokeswoman Charla Neuman said the legislation is designed to give investigators more options.
"You can still convince the Canadians that monitoring is necessary," Neuman said. "And say the Canadians don't agree. At least you can still go after the criminals for something."
The investigators have not determined who financed the tunnel's construction, estimated to have cost more than $20,000.
---
Gene Johnson has covered courts and legal affairs for the AP since 2000
Third border tunnel defendant pleads guilty
By GENE JOHNSONAP LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER
SEATTLE -- The last of three men charged with digging a sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnel under the U.S.-Canadian border pleaded guilty on Friday, two days after a Senate bill was introduced to make cross-border tunneling punishable by 20 years in prison.
Timothy Woo faces at least five years in prison and a maximum fine of $2 million when he is sentenced for conspiracy to smuggle marijuana, as do Francis Devandra Raj and Jonathan Valenzuela, who previously entered guilty pleas.
All three are from Surrey, British Columbia. They were arrested last July, shortly after they finished the 360-foot tunnel just north of Lynden - the first tunnel discovered along the U.S.-Canadian border. It ran from the living room of a home on the U.S. side to a boarded-up Quonset hut on the Canadian side.
Border guards noticed construction materials being brought into the hut, and loads of dirt coming out, and investigators used the Patriot Act's provision for "sneak-and-peek" search warrants to examine the tunnel and set up cameras to monitor it.
The investigators allowed three marijuana-running trips to take place in the tunnel in hopes of learning more about the suspects and whether they were involved in a wider drug ring. In each case the defendants were tailed as they left the tunnel.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash; Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill that would make financing or building a cross-border tunnel punishable by 20 years in prison. Though it is illegal now to avoid examination at the border, tunneling is not specifically a crime.
"This is an issue of national security," Cantwell said. "We need to keep drugs out of our communities and terrorists out of our country."
Since Sept. 11, 2001, 35 border tunnels have been discovered in the United States - all but one on the Mexican border, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"There's always a concern that this is a harbinger of future events," U.S. Attorney John McKay said Friday. "We have to stay vigilant."
McKay said he could not comment specifically on the proposed legislation.
However, he said creating harsh penalties for tunnel financing and construction could actually hinder the efforts of law enforcement. Canadian authorities were extremely reluctant to allow the drug smugglers to make runs through the tunnel for fear that they might get away. U.S. investigators shared that concern, but convinced the Canadians it was essential for building the case against the three suspects and for conducting a broader investigation.
If tunnel-building itself carries a 20-year sentence, Canadian authorities could argue that American prosecutors don't so much need to verify what suspects are using the tunnel for, McKay suggested.
Cantwell spokeswoman Charla Neuman said the legislation is designed to give investigators more options.
"You can still convince the Canadians that monitoring is necessary," Neuman said. "And say the Canadians don't agree. At least you can still go after the criminals for something."
The investigators have not determined who financed the tunnel's construction, estimated to have cost more than $20,000.
---
Gene Johnson has covered courts and legal affairs for the AP since 2000
Keep Them Out
Since we know where most of our enimies originate from, we should not accept students from those places. Case in point:
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. -- A suspect who is accused of hitting students with a sport utility vehicle at the University of North Carolina made his first court appearance Monday.
Mohammad Taheri-azar, a 2005 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, smiled and waved before his hearing Monday. Taheri-azar told the courtroom that he was "thankful for the opportunity to spread the will of Allah."
As he left court, Taheri-Azar told reporters, "the truth is my lawyer." When asked if he was trying to kill people, he said yes.
Taheri-Azar was appointed a public defender in court. A young woman believed to be Taheri-Azar's sister did not comment on the case as she left to get into her car.
In court, Taheri-azar did not deny driving a rented silver Jeep Grand Cherokee into The Pit, a central area on the UNC-CH campus around noon Friday. Six people were taken to UNC Hospitals with non-critical injuries, and three people were treated at the scene.
Campus police said Taheri-azar, a 2005 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, admitted to them Friday that he acted to "avenge the death of Muslims around the world." The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the incident from Friday.
Investigators believe he acted alone and they don't know of any groups in which he associates. Search warrants showing what investigators found inside his apartment have not yet been released.
The Raleigh Islamic Center and UNC's Muslim Student Association condemn Taheri-azar's actions.
Taheri-azar spent most of his life in the Charlotte area. Officials with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system confirmed that he graduated from South Mecklenburg High School in 2001.
On Friday, authorities searched the SUV that Taheri-azar rented as well as his apartment and his personal vehicle.
Taheri-azar remains in Central Prison under a $5.5 million bond. He is charged with nine counts of attempted first-degree murder and nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill.
Reporter: Kelcey Carlson Photographer: Richard Adkins OnLine Producer: Kamal Wallace
Copyright 2006 by WRAL.com.
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. -- A suspect who is accused of hitting students with a sport utility vehicle at the University of North Carolina made his first court appearance Monday.
Mohammad Taheri-azar, a 2005 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, smiled and waved before his hearing Monday. Taheri-azar told the courtroom that he was "thankful for the opportunity to spread the will of Allah."
As he left court, Taheri-Azar told reporters, "the truth is my lawyer." When asked if he was trying to kill people, he said yes.
Taheri-Azar was appointed a public defender in court. A young woman believed to be Taheri-Azar's sister did not comment on the case as she left to get into her car.
In court, Taheri-azar did not deny driving a rented silver Jeep Grand Cherokee into The Pit, a central area on the UNC-CH campus around noon Friday. Six people were taken to UNC Hospitals with non-critical injuries, and three people were treated at the scene.
Campus police said Taheri-azar, a 2005 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, admitted to them Friday that he acted to "avenge the death of Muslims around the world." The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the incident from Friday.
Investigators believe he acted alone and they don't know of any groups in which he associates. Search warrants showing what investigators found inside his apartment have not yet been released.
The Raleigh Islamic Center and UNC's Muslim Student Association condemn Taheri-azar's actions.
Taheri-azar spent most of his life in the Charlotte area. Officials with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system confirmed that he graduated from South Mecklenburg High School in 2001.
On Friday, authorities searched the SUV that Taheri-azar rented as well as his apartment and his personal vehicle.
Taheri-azar remains in Central Prison under a $5.5 million bond. He is charged with nine counts of attempted first-degree murder and nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill.
Reporter: Kelcey Carlson Photographer: Richard Adkins OnLine Producer: Kamal Wallace
Copyright 2006 by WRAL.com.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Truth Hurts
I found this at http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c040.html
The issue of homosexual behavior has had a lot of publicity of late. Homosexuals say that the slaves have been freed and women have been liberated, so gay rights are long overdue. Society does seem to be moving in that direction. Many homosexuals are "coming out" and openly declaring their homosexuality. In many parts of the western world, homosexual couples receive the same recognition as heterosexual couples with regard to social security benefits. Some church leaders are giving their blessing to homosexual relationships, homosexual church members and even homosexual ministers.
Many homosexuals' claim that...
They are made that way.
Homosexuality is of no harm to the participants or to anyone else.
If it feels right to those involved, it is nobody else's business.
Homosexual relationships and heterosexual relationships are equally valid. (Some even claim that the Bible condones homosexual relationships.)
Made that way?
Since other groups who have been discriminated against (such as women, blacks and the disabled) have been given equal opportunity, homosexuals claim that they, too, should be liberated. However, as one Christian expert has said...
"Gender, race and impairment all relate to what a person is, whereas homosexuality relates to what a person does."1
In contrast, homosexuals claim that scientific studies have shown that there is a biological basis for homosexuality.
Three main studies are cited by "gay rights" activists in support of their argument2—Hamer's X-chromosome research,3 LeVay's study of the hypothalamus,4 and Bailey and Pillard's study of identical twins who were homosexuals.5
In all three cases, the researchers had a vested interest in obtaining a certain outcome because they were homosexuals themselves. More importantly, their studies did not stand up to scientific scrutiny by other researchers. Also, "the media typically do not explain the methodological flaws in these studies, and they typically oversimplify the results".6 There is no reliable evidence to date that homosexual behavior is determined by a person's genes.
To the extent that biological or social factors may contribute to a person's bent toward homosexual behavior, this does not excuse it. Some people have a strong bent towards stealing or abuse of alcohol, but they still choose to engage or not engage in this behavior—the law rightly holds them accountable.
The final report of the Baptist Union of Western Australia (BUWA) Task Force on Human Sexuality states 'that a person becomes a homosexual ultimately by choosing to be involved in same-sex activity... This is in contrast to innate characteristics such as gender and ethnicity.'7 The report affirms that 'the Bible is clear that sin involves choice, and it unequivocally condemns homosexual behavior as sin'.7
The foundational teaching on marriage and sexual issues is found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. When Jesus was questioned about marriage, He referred to these 2 chapters (Matthew 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-12). Genesis teaches us that 'male and female He created them' (Genesis 1:27). We were created to a plan—male and female complementing each other. That is, God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, nor Madam and Eve.
Genesis also teaches that God instituted and designed marriage between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:18-25). There are a number of reasons why He did so.
The complementary structure of the male and female anatomy is obviously designed for the normal husband-wife relationships. Clearly, design in human biology supports heterosexuality and contradicts homosexuality.
The combination of male and female enables man (and the animals) to produce and nurture offspring as commanded in Genesis 1:28—'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth'. This command is repeated to Noah after the Flood (Genesis 8:15-17). But procreation is not the only reason God made humans as sexual beings. The BUWA report affirms 'that sexual intimacy between husband and wife is good, and is intended by God for bonding, pleasure and procreation.'7
Thirdly, God gave man and woman complementary roles in order to strengthen the family unit. Woman was to be the helper that man needed (Genesis 2:18). However, the woman's role as the helpmate is certainly not an inferior one. The enterprising God-fearing woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 is an inspiring role model.
No harm?
Andrew Lansdown points out that 'homosexual activity is notoriously disease-prone. In addition to diseases associated with heterosexual promiscuity, homosexual actions facilitate the transmission of anal herpes, hepatitis B, intestinal parasites, Kaposi's Sarcoma and AIDS.'1 Research on the life expectancy of a group of homosexual men in Canada in the early 1990s indicated that they could expect 8-21 years less lifespan than other men.8
Effect on others
Secular psychologists assure us that 'children raised in lesbian and gay households are similar to children raised in heterosexual households on characteristics such as intelligence, development, moral judgments, self-concepts, social competence and gender identity'.6 The humanists have, however, forgotten one important ingredient.
'Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it' (Proverbs 22:6).
You cannot faithfully teach God's Word to your children while living a lifestyle specifically condemned by God's Word. All Christians are sinners forgiven by God's grace, but living in a homosexual relationship constitutes habitual, unrepented sin.
Nobody else's business?
Gay activists claim that homosexual activity is nobody's business other than those involved in the relationship. However, this is not true. God, our Designer and Creator, has authority over all aspects of our lives. He makes the rules, and He quite specifically forbids homosexual behavior.
'You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination' (Leviticus 18:22; see also Leviticus 20:13).
Disobedience of such a clear command indicates rejection of God's authority.
Some people argue that the Old Testament law (including Leviticus 18 and 20) was superseded with the coming of Christ. However, we should at least consider as binding those aspects of the law that are renewed in the New Testament. The teaching of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 was certainly reaffirmed in the New Testament.
Equally valid?
Some people claim that homosexual behavior was only condemned in the Bible because it was associated with idolatry (e.g. 1 Kings 14:24). However, it is clearly condemned apart from idolatry as well (e.g. Leviticus 18:22). It is described in Scripture as an unnatural, immoral perversion.
'For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another...' (Romans 1:26-27).
The Greek word arsenokoitai used in 1 Timothy 1:10 literally means 'men who sleep with men'. It is the same Greek word used for 'homosexual offender' in 1 Corinthians 6:9, variously translated as 'abusers of themselves with mankind' (KJV), homosexuals (NASB) or homosexual offender (NIV).
Some people claim that the sin involved in Sodom was rejecting hospitality customs or selfishness rather than homosexual behaviour. Certainly, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great and their reported sin was grievous to God (Genesis 18:20). God sent angels to Sodom and...
'Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have sex with them”' (Genesis 19:4-5).
"While it is true that the Hebrew word yadha does not necessarily mean 'to have sex with,' nonetheless in the context of Sodom and Gommorah, it clearly had this meaning. ...It means 'to know sexually' in this very chapter when Lot refers to his two daughters not having 'known' a man (19:8)."9 You would not offer virgins to appease a mob if their sin was lack of hospitality, but only if their desire was sexual.
Although Ezekiel 16:49 condemns Sodom for its selfishness with regard to poverty etc., this does not contradict its condemnation for homosexual practices. "The very next verse of Ezekiel (v. 50) calls their sin an "abomination". This is the same Hebrew word used to describe homosexual sins in Leviticus 18:22."10
It is also used in Scripture to describe such things like the practice of offering children to Moloch, but never such things as mere selfishness or lack of hospitality. Even in legal parlance, the word used to refer to one aspect of homosexual practice is 'sodomy'.
Another argument is that Jonathon and David were homosexuals as 'Jonathan “loved” David (1 Sam. 18:3), that Jonathan stripped in David's presence (18:4), [and] that they kissed each other (20:41)'.11
However, 'David's “love” for Jonathan was not sexual (erotic) but a friendship (philic) love. And Jonathan did not strip himself of all his clothes, but only of his armor and royal robe (1 Sam. 18:4).'12 Also, a kiss was a normal greeting in that day, such as when Judas kissed Jesus. In several cultures today, men normally greet each other with a kiss, too. Further, David's love for his wives, especially Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), clearly reveals his heterosexual orientation.
Isaiah 56:3 states that eunuchs will not be excluded from God's presence ('my temple'), but practising homosexuals are not eunuchs. Eunuchs have no sexual relations at all.
Other scriptural arguments for homosexuality can similarly be easily refuted. It is clear that heterosexual marriage is the only form of marriage sanctioned in the Bible and that homosexual practice is always condemned.
Punishment
The Bible not only describes homosexual behavior as detestable, but it also calls for the punishment of those involved (Leviticus 20:13). Their unrepentant attitude caused God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25).
Just as homosexual conduct has been punished in the past, so it will also be punished by God in the future.
"...Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Hope
However, there is hope for the homosexual. God forgives and cleanses a person who repents and turns from their sin, including the sin of homosexual behavior (1 Corinthians 6:11). As well as forgiveness, God's grace brings with it the power to live a life that is pleasing to God (Romans 6:6-7). If repentance and reform are genuine, prior homosexual actions should not be a bar to church membership or ministry, as all Christians are reformed sinners.
'Liberal' churches espouse tolerance of homosexual behavior in the name of 'love'. They plug for the acceptance of homosexual conduct as normal, 'because they can't help it'. They are not only wrong about the latter, but they are actually not being at all loving towards homosexuals, because, contrary to the Bible, they reduce the homosexual person to the level of an animal, driven by instinct. In removing moral responsibility from the person, they dehumanize them, whereas the Bible says we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), with the power of moral choice.
Furthermore, the gospel proclaims liberation from the bondage of sin, including homosexual sin, whereas the 'liberals' tell the homosexual that they cannot help it, and they can't help them either, so they will accept them as they are! However, many a person has been gloriously rescued from the bondage of homosexual sin (and other sin) by the power of the Holy Spirit, but only Bible-believing Christians can offer such hope.13
Conclusion
As with all moral issues, our beliefs about our origin determine our attitude. If we believe that we arose from slime by a combination of random chance events and the struggle for survival, it is understandable to say that there is no higher authority, and we can make our own rules. However, if there is a loving God who planned us and gave commands for us to follow, then we must do so. God has set forth His standards in the Bible, beginning with the foundational teaching in the book of Genesis.
The issue of homosexual behavior has had a lot of publicity of late. Homosexuals say that the slaves have been freed and women have been liberated, so gay rights are long overdue. Society does seem to be moving in that direction. Many homosexuals are "coming out" and openly declaring their homosexuality. In many parts of the western world, homosexual couples receive the same recognition as heterosexual couples with regard to social security benefits. Some church leaders are giving their blessing to homosexual relationships, homosexual church members and even homosexual ministers.
Many homosexuals' claim that...
They are made that way.
Homosexuality is of no harm to the participants or to anyone else.
If it feels right to those involved, it is nobody else's business.
Homosexual relationships and heterosexual relationships are equally valid. (Some even claim that the Bible condones homosexual relationships.)
Made that way?
Since other groups who have been discriminated against (such as women, blacks and the disabled) have been given equal opportunity, homosexuals claim that they, too, should be liberated. However, as one Christian expert has said...
"Gender, race and impairment all relate to what a person is, whereas homosexuality relates to what a person does."1
In contrast, homosexuals claim that scientific studies have shown that there is a biological basis for homosexuality.
Three main studies are cited by "gay rights" activists in support of their argument2—Hamer's X-chromosome research,3 LeVay's study of the hypothalamus,4 and Bailey and Pillard's study of identical twins who were homosexuals.5
In all three cases, the researchers had a vested interest in obtaining a certain outcome because they were homosexuals themselves. More importantly, their studies did not stand up to scientific scrutiny by other researchers. Also, "the media typically do not explain the methodological flaws in these studies, and they typically oversimplify the results".6 There is no reliable evidence to date that homosexual behavior is determined by a person's genes.
To the extent that biological or social factors may contribute to a person's bent toward homosexual behavior, this does not excuse it. Some people have a strong bent towards stealing or abuse of alcohol, but they still choose to engage or not engage in this behavior—the law rightly holds them accountable.
The final report of the Baptist Union of Western Australia (BUWA) Task Force on Human Sexuality states 'that a person becomes a homosexual ultimately by choosing to be involved in same-sex activity... This is in contrast to innate characteristics such as gender and ethnicity.'7 The report affirms that 'the Bible is clear that sin involves choice, and it unequivocally condemns homosexual behavior as sin'.7
The foundational teaching on marriage and sexual issues is found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. When Jesus was questioned about marriage, He referred to these 2 chapters (Matthew 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-12). Genesis teaches us that 'male and female He created them' (Genesis 1:27). We were created to a plan—male and female complementing each other. That is, God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, nor Madam and Eve.
Genesis also teaches that God instituted and designed marriage between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:18-25). There are a number of reasons why He did so.
The complementary structure of the male and female anatomy is obviously designed for the normal husband-wife relationships. Clearly, design in human biology supports heterosexuality and contradicts homosexuality.
The combination of male and female enables man (and the animals) to produce and nurture offspring as commanded in Genesis 1:28—'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth'. This command is repeated to Noah after the Flood (Genesis 8:15-17). But procreation is not the only reason God made humans as sexual beings. The BUWA report affirms 'that sexual intimacy between husband and wife is good, and is intended by God for bonding, pleasure and procreation.'7
Thirdly, God gave man and woman complementary roles in order to strengthen the family unit. Woman was to be the helper that man needed (Genesis 2:18). However, the woman's role as the helpmate is certainly not an inferior one. The enterprising God-fearing woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 is an inspiring role model.
No harm?
Andrew Lansdown points out that 'homosexual activity is notoriously disease-prone. In addition to diseases associated with heterosexual promiscuity, homosexual actions facilitate the transmission of anal herpes, hepatitis B, intestinal parasites, Kaposi's Sarcoma and AIDS.'1 Research on the life expectancy of a group of homosexual men in Canada in the early 1990s indicated that they could expect 8-21 years less lifespan than other men.8
Effect on others
Secular psychologists assure us that 'children raised in lesbian and gay households are similar to children raised in heterosexual households on characteristics such as intelligence, development, moral judgments, self-concepts, social competence and gender identity'.6 The humanists have, however, forgotten one important ingredient.
'Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it' (Proverbs 22:6).
You cannot faithfully teach God's Word to your children while living a lifestyle specifically condemned by God's Word. All Christians are sinners forgiven by God's grace, but living in a homosexual relationship constitutes habitual, unrepented sin.
Nobody else's business?
Gay activists claim that homosexual activity is nobody's business other than those involved in the relationship. However, this is not true. God, our Designer and Creator, has authority over all aspects of our lives. He makes the rules, and He quite specifically forbids homosexual behavior.
'You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination' (Leviticus 18:22; see also Leviticus 20:13).
Disobedience of such a clear command indicates rejection of God's authority.
Some people argue that the Old Testament law (including Leviticus 18 and 20) was superseded with the coming of Christ. However, we should at least consider as binding those aspects of the law that are renewed in the New Testament. The teaching of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 was certainly reaffirmed in the New Testament.
Equally valid?
Some people claim that homosexual behavior was only condemned in the Bible because it was associated with idolatry (e.g. 1 Kings 14:24). However, it is clearly condemned apart from idolatry as well (e.g. Leviticus 18:22). It is described in Scripture as an unnatural, immoral perversion.
'For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another...' (Romans 1:26-27).
The Greek word arsenokoitai used in 1 Timothy 1:10 literally means 'men who sleep with men'. It is the same Greek word used for 'homosexual offender' in 1 Corinthians 6:9, variously translated as 'abusers of themselves with mankind' (KJV), homosexuals (NASB) or homosexual offender (NIV).
Some people claim that the sin involved in Sodom was rejecting hospitality customs or selfishness rather than homosexual behaviour. Certainly, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great and their reported sin was grievous to God (Genesis 18:20). God sent angels to Sodom and...
'Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have sex with them”' (Genesis 19:4-5).
"While it is true that the Hebrew word yadha does not necessarily mean 'to have sex with,' nonetheless in the context of Sodom and Gommorah, it clearly had this meaning. ...It means 'to know sexually' in this very chapter when Lot refers to his two daughters not having 'known' a man (19:8)."9 You would not offer virgins to appease a mob if their sin was lack of hospitality, but only if their desire was sexual.
Although Ezekiel 16:49 condemns Sodom for its selfishness with regard to poverty etc., this does not contradict its condemnation for homosexual practices. "The very next verse of Ezekiel (v. 50) calls their sin an "abomination". This is the same Hebrew word used to describe homosexual sins in Leviticus 18:22."10
It is also used in Scripture to describe such things like the practice of offering children to Moloch, but never such things as mere selfishness or lack of hospitality. Even in legal parlance, the word used to refer to one aspect of homosexual practice is 'sodomy'.
Another argument is that Jonathon and David were homosexuals as 'Jonathan “loved” David (1 Sam. 18:3), that Jonathan stripped in David's presence (18:4), [and] that they kissed each other (20:41)'.11
However, 'David's “love” for Jonathan was not sexual (erotic) but a friendship (philic) love. And Jonathan did not strip himself of all his clothes, but only of his armor and royal robe (1 Sam. 18:4).'12 Also, a kiss was a normal greeting in that day, such as when Judas kissed Jesus. In several cultures today, men normally greet each other with a kiss, too. Further, David's love for his wives, especially Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), clearly reveals his heterosexual orientation.
Isaiah 56:3 states that eunuchs will not be excluded from God's presence ('my temple'), but practising homosexuals are not eunuchs. Eunuchs have no sexual relations at all.
Other scriptural arguments for homosexuality can similarly be easily refuted. It is clear that heterosexual marriage is the only form of marriage sanctioned in the Bible and that homosexual practice is always condemned.
Punishment
The Bible not only describes homosexual behavior as detestable, but it also calls for the punishment of those involved (Leviticus 20:13). Their unrepentant attitude caused God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25).
Just as homosexual conduct has been punished in the past, so it will also be punished by God in the future.
"...Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Hope
However, there is hope for the homosexual. God forgives and cleanses a person who repents and turns from their sin, including the sin of homosexual behavior (1 Corinthians 6:11). As well as forgiveness, God's grace brings with it the power to live a life that is pleasing to God (Romans 6:6-7). If repentance and reform are genuine, prior homosexual actions should not be a bar to church membership or ministry, as all Christians are reformed sinners.
'Liberal' churches espouse tolerance of homosexual behavior in the name of 'love'. They plug for the acceptance of homosexual conduct as normal, 'because they can't help it'. They are not only wrong about the latter, but they are actually not being at all loving towards homosexuals, because, contrary to the Bible, they reduce the homosexual person to the level of an animal, driven by instinct. In removing moral responsibility from the person, they dehumanize them, whereas the Bible says we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), with the power of moral choice.
Furthermore, the gospel proclaims liberation from the bondage of sin, including homosexual sin, whereas the 'liberals' tell the homosexual that they cannot help it, and they can't help them either, so they will accept them as they are! However, many a person has been gloriously rescued from the bondage of homosexual sin (and other sin) by the power of the Holy Spirit, but only Bible-believing Christians can offer such hope.13
Conclusion
As with all moral issues, our beliefs about our origin determine our attitude. If we believe that we arose from slime by a combination of random chance events and the struggle for survival, it is understandable to say that there is no higher authority, and we can make our own rules. However, if there is a loving God who planned us and gave commands for us to follow, then we must do so. God has set forth His standards in the Bible, beginning with the foundational teaching in the book of Genesis.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
No Football Games or Parades Here
I found this this info on http://pilgrims.net/plymouth/thanksgiving.htm Take a read:
Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims seem to go together, just like Christmas and Santa Claus--but the truth is, the Pilgrims never held an autumnal Thanksgiving feast. Before you cancel the turkey, take a look at the origin of that particular myth. In some ways, the truth is even more intriguing.
The Pilgrims did have a feast in 1621, after their first harvest, and it is this feast which people often refer to as "The First Thanksgiving". This feast was never repeated, though, so it can't be called the beginning of a tradition, nor was it termed by the colonists or "Pilgrims" a Thanksgiving Feast. In fact, to these devoutly religious people, a day of thanksgiving was a day of prayer and fasting, and would have been held any time that they felt an extra day of thanks was called for. Nevertheless, the 1621 feast has become a model that we think of for our own Thanksgiving celebration and we do know something of the truth about it.
We can assume, for example, that the harvest feast was eaten outside based on the fact that the Colonists didn't have a building large enough to accommodate all the people who came. Native People were definately among the invited guests, and it's possible. even probable, that turkey (roasted but not stuffed) and pumpkin in some form, found their way to the table. And it gets better. This is the way the feast was described in a first-hand account presumably by a leader of the colony, Edward Winslow, as it appears in Mourt's Relation:
"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, Many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
From this we know that the feast went on for three days , included ninety "Indians", and food was plentiful. In addition, to the vensison provided by the Indians, there was enough wild fowl to supply the village for a week. The fowl would have included ducks, geese, turkeys and even swans.
Much of the information we have about the feast, and this period in the lives of these people, is the result of research conducted by the staff at Plimoth Plantation, the living museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, that re-creates the lives of the Pilgrims with Mayflower II, the 1627 Pilgrim Village, and a native homesite. From this research we know about the foods and recipes that would have been available to them, and from two first hand accounts(the second was written by William Bradford, Governor of the colony for 33 years, and can be read in Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647), we have a good idea of how the village looked, what the colonists wore, how they spoke, what animals they owned and how they lived. We even know what games they played, what their views may have been on everything from their new home to religion and politics. And with all this knowledge, we piece together what foods would have been served at the feast, how the table looked, how the setting looked, even perhaps what the conversation was like.
Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims seem to go together, just like Christmas and Santa Claus--but the truth is, the Pilgrims never held an autumnal Thanksgiving feast. Before you cancel the turkey, take a look at the origin of that particular myth. In some ways, the truth is even more intriguing.
The Pilgrims did have a feast in 1621, after their first harvest, and it is this feast which people often refer to as "The First Thanksgiving". This feast was never repeated, though, so it can't be called the beginning of a tradition, nor was it termed by the colonists or "Pilgrims" a Thanksgiving Feast. In fact, to these devoutly religious people, a day of thanksgiving was a day of prayer and fasting, and would have been held any time that they felt an extra day of thanks was called for. Nevertheless, the 1621 feast has become a model that we think of for our own Thanksgiving celebration and we do know something of the truth about it.
We can assume, for example, that the harvest feast was eaten outside based on the fact that the Colonists didn't have a building large enough to accommodate all the people who came. Native People were definately among the invited guests, and it's possible. even probable, that turkey (roasted but not stuffed) and pumpkin in some form, found their way to the table. And it gets better. This is the way the feast was described in a first-hand account presumably by a leader of the colony, Edward Winslow, as it appears in Mourt's Relation:
"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, Many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
From this we know that the feast went on for three days , included ninety "Indians", and food was plentiful. In addition, to the vensison provided by the Indians, there was enough wild fowl to supply the village for a week. The fowl would have included ducks, geese, turkeys and even swans.
Much of the information we have about the feast, and this period in the lives of these people, is the result of research conducted by the staff at Plimoth Plantation, the living museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, that re-creates the lives of the Pilgrims with Mayflower II, the 1627 Pilgrim Village, and a native homesite. From this research we know about the foods and recipes that would have been available to them, and from two first hand accounts(the second was written by William Bradford, Governor of the colony for 33 years, and can be read in Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647), we have a good idea of how the village looked, what the colonists wore, how they spoke, what animals they owned and how they lived. We even know what games they played, what their views may have been on everything from their new home to religion and politics. And with all this knowledge, we piece together what foods would have been served at the feast, how the table looked, how the setting looked, even perhaps what the conversation was like.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Genius' Need Not Apply
I have always wondered what makes a person want to run for elected office. On the local level it makes sense; your child goes to the school so you run for the school board. The city you live in does not run to your liking so you run for a council seat. Or even mayor. The state senate or assembly becomes a little more dicey, ie money and time and you must lick many a boot just to receive a few crumbs for your district. But in my non-humble opinion the governors' seat is the place to really make change. But unfortunately, you have to be independently wealthy or owe your soul to many a devil. So I have devised a plan to vault myself into the Mansion: Map out four promises of change and stick to them. Don't lie or waiver or make deals. Each of the promises will represent each year I am in office. Since I have never held office special interest and long time moss growing incumbents can take a flying leap. The 9th circus court will be reminded that the majority rule. Plus I am bigger and stronger and we can take "it out side" if need be...Pencil necks! So here I go with promise number one:
1. NO STATE PROGRAMS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. This will include deportation for the illegals who are incarcerated. Nothing personal it is just the law. Non profit organizations may provide services while people are relocated to their country of origin.
2. SECURE THE MEXICAN BORDER. I would reallocate monies saved from promise one to pay for state law enforcement. Also secure all ports of entry.
3. RESTRUCTURE DMV. A one time registration fee and no smog checks for vehicles newer than 1995. Driver's license renewal will be once every five years, subject to driving record.
4. ALL STATE REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE PART -TIME EMPLOYEES. That is right, they are OUR employees. Even the governor!
5. I know, I said four but my 5th would be not to run for a 2nd term.
With all the surplus funds schools and social programs can be properly funded.
You may not agree with all or any of the above and that is fine, but it would sure be nice if our future elected officials would clearly state their positions! It does not take a genius to be a politician, sorry for stating the obvious. But we sure deserve someone who is honest.
1. NO STATE PROGRAMS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. This will include deportation for the illegals who are incarcerated. Nothing personal it is just the law. Non profit organizations may provide services while people are relocated to their country of origin.
2. SECURE THE MEXICAN BORDER. I would reallocate monies saved from promise one to pay for state law enforcement. Also secure all ports of entry.
3. RESTRUCTURE DMV. A one time registration fee and no smog checks for vehicles newer than 1995. Driver's license renewal will be once every five years, subject to driving record.
4. ALL STATE REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE PART -TIME EMPLOYEES. That is right, they are OUR employees. Even the governor!
5. I know, I said four but my 5th would be not to run for a 2nd term.
With all the surplus funds schools and social programs can be properly funded.
You may not agree with all or any of the above and that is fine, but it would sure be nice if our future elected officials would clearly state their positions! It does not take a genius to be a politician, sorry for stating the obvious. But we sure deserve someone who is honest.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Thank God and a Vet for What You Have.
The only difference between our fighting men of today and those in WWI,II, Korea, Vietnam, GI,and II is the way they are allowed to fight. Watching the alphabet news channels' coverage of the war and listening to most politicians and commentators, it is apparent our boys have their hands tied behind their back. Car bombs? If it moves blow it up. If a shot comes out of a building, level it. If a city is hostile, raze it! War is not a social experiment. And as Truman posted on his desk," The Buck Stops Here." Unfortunatley, President Bush is no Truman.
On D-Day, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American forces landed numbered 73,000: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops. In the British and Canadian sector, 83,115 troops were landed (61,715 of them British): 24,970 on Gold Beach, 21,400 on Juno Beach, 28,845 on Sword Beach, and 7900 airborne troops.
11,590 aircraft were available to support the landings. On D-Day, Allied aircraft flew 14,674 sorties, and 127 were lost.
In the airborne landings on both flanks of the beaches, 2395 aircraft and 867 gliders of the RAF and USAAF were used on D-Day.
Operation Neptune involved huge naval forces, including 6939 vessels: 1213 naval combat ships, 4126 landing ships and landing craft, 736 ancillary craft and 864 merchant vessels. Some 195,700 personnel were assigned to Operation Neptune: 52,889 US, 112,824 British, and 4988 from other Allied countries.
By the end of 11 June (D + 5), 326,547 troops, 54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supplies had been landed on the beaches.
As well as the troops who landed in Normandy on D-Day, and those in supporting roles at sea and in the air, millions more men and women in the Allied countries were involved in the preparations for D-Day. They played thousands of different roles, both in the armed forces and as civilians.
How many Allied and German casualties were there on D-Day, and in the Battle of Normandy?
“Casualties” refers to all losses suffered by the armed forces: killed, wounded, missing in action (meaning that their bodies were not found) and prisoners of war. There is no "official" casualty figure for D-Day. Under the circumstances, accurate record keeping was very difficult. For example, some troops who were listed as missing may actually have landed in the wrong place, and have rejoined their parent unit only later.
In April and May 1944, the Allied air forces lost nearly 12,000 men and over 2,000 aircraft in operations which paved the way for D-Day.
Total Allied casualties on D-Day are estimated at 10,000, including 2500 dead. British casualties on D-Day have been estimated at approximately 2700. The Canadians lost 946 casualties. The US forces lost 6603 men. Note that the casualty figures for smaller units do not always add up to equal these overall figures exactly, however (this simply reflects the problems of obtaining accurate casualty statistics).
Casualties on the British beaches were roughly 1000 on Gold Beach and the same number on Sword Beach. The remainder of the British losses were amongst the airborne troops: some 600 were killed or wounded, and 600 more were missing; 100 glider pilots also became casualties. The losses of 3rd Canadian Division at Juno Beach have been given as 340 killed, 574 wounded and 47 taken prisoner.
The breakdown of US casualties was 1465 dead, 3184 wounded, 1928 missing and 26 captured. Of the total US figure, 2499 casualties were from the US airborne troops (238 of them being deaths). The casualties at Utah Beach were relatively light: 197, including 60 missing. However, the US 1st and 29th Divisions together suffered around 2000 casualties at Omaha Beach.
The total German casualties on D-Day are not known, but are estimated as being between 4000 and 9000 men.
Naval losses for June 1944 included 24 warships and 35 merchantmen or auxiliaries sunk, and a further 120 vessels damaged.
Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing during the Battle of Normandy. This figure includes over 209,000 Allied casualties, with nearly 37,000 dead amongst the ground forces and a further 16,714 deaths amongst the Allied air forces. Of the Allied casualties, 83,045 were from 21st Army Group (British, Canadian and Polish ground forces), 125,847 from the US ground forces. The losses of the German forces during the Battle of Normandy can only be estimated. Roughly 200,000 German troops were killed or wounded. The Allies also captured 200,000 prisoners of war (not included in the 425,000 total, above). During the fighting around the Falaise Pocket (August 1944) alone, the Germans suffered losses of around 90,000, including prisoners.
Today, twenty-seven war cemeteries hold the remains of over 110,000 dead from both sides: 77,866 German, 9386 American, 17,769 British, 5002 Canadian and 650 Poles.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 French civilians were killed, mainly as a result of Allied bombing. Thousands more fled their homes to escape the fighting.http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/faq.htm
On D-Day, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American forces landed numbered 73,000: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops. In the British and Canadian sector, 83,115 troops were landed (61,715 of them British): 24,970 on Gold Beach, 21,400 on Juno Beach, 28,845 on Sword Beach, and 7900 airborne troops.
11,590 aircraft were available to support the landings. On D-Day, Allied aircraft flew 14,674 sorties, and 127 were lost.
In the airborne landings on both flanks of the beaches, 2395 aircraft and 867 gliders of the RAF and USAAF were used on D-Day.
Operation Neptune involved huge naval forces, including 6939 vessels: 1213 naval combat ships, 4126 landing ships and landing craft, 736 ancillary craft and 864 merchant vessels. Some 195,700 personnel were assigned to Operation Neptune: 52,889 US, 112,824 British, and 4988 from other Allied countries.
By the end of 11 June (D + 5), 326,547 troops, 54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supplies had been landed on the beaches.
As well as the troops who landed in Normandy on D-Day, and those in supporting roles at sea and in the air, millions more men and women in the Allied countries were involved in the preparations for D-Day. They played thousands of different roles, both in the armed forces and as civilians.
How many Allied and German casualties were there on D-Day, and in the Battle of Normandy?
“Casualties” refers to all losses suffered by the armed forces: killed, wounded, missing in action (meaning that their bodies were not found) and prisoners of war. There is no "official" casualty figure for D-Day. Under the circumstances, accurate record keeping was very difficult. For example, some troops who were listed as missing may actually have landed in the wrong place, and have rejoined their parent unit only later.
In April and May 1944, the Allied air forces lost nearly 12,000 men and over 2,000 aircraft in operations which paved the way for D-Day.
Total Allied casualties on D-Day are estimated at 10,000, including 2500 dead. British casualties on D-Day have been estimated at approximately 2700. The Canadians lost 946 casualties. The US forces lost 6603 men. Note that the casualty figures for smaller units do not always add up to equal these overall figures exactly, however (this simply reflects the problems of obtaining accurate casualty statistics).
Casualties on the British beaches were roughly 1000 on Gold Beach and the same number on Sword Beach. The remainder of the British losses were amongst the airborne troops: some 600 were killed or wounded, and 600 more were missing; 100 glider pilots also became casualties. The losses of 3rd Canadian Division at Juno Beach have been given as 340 killed, 574 wounded and 47 taken prisoner.
The breakdown of US casualties was 1465 dead, 3184 wounded, 1928 missing and 26 captured. Of the total US figure, 2499 casualties were from the US airborne troops (238 of them being deaths). The casualties at Utah Beach were relatively light: 197, including 60 missing. However, the US 1st and 29th Divisions together suffered around 2000 casualties at Omaha Beach.
The total German casualties on D-Day are not known, but are estimated as being between 4000 and 9000 men.
Naval losses for June 1944 included 24 warships and 35 merchantmen or auxiliaries sunk, and a further 120 vessels damaged.
Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing during the Battle of Normandy. This figure includes over 209,000 Allied casualties, with nearly 37,000 dead amongst the ground forces and a further 16,714 deaths amongst the Allied air forces. Of the Allied casualties, 83,045 were from 21st Army Group (British, Canadian and Polish ground forces), 125,847 from the US ground forces. The losses of the German forces during the Battle of Normandy can only be estimated. Roughly 200,000 German troops were killed or wounded. The Allies also captured 200,000 prisoners of war (not included in the 425,000 total, above). During the fighting around the Falaise Pocket (August 1944) alone, the Germans suffered losses of around 90,000, including prisoners.
Today, twenty-seven war cemeteries hold the remains of over 110,000 dead from both sides: 77,866 German, 9386 American, 17,769 British, 5002 Canadian and 650 Poles.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 French civilians were killed, mainly as a result of Allied bombing. Thousands more fled their homes to escape the fighting.http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/faq.htm
Save Our People From Whom?
I am tired of people who will use any type of problem to not only self promote, but also create a "Racial" issue where none exsist. Being poor is not a racial issue, it is a work issue. Being an illegal alien is not a racial issue, it is a legal issue. If you want racial issues just Google Farrakhan quotes. You want racial issues check out La Raza. The partial article is from a 10-09-05 article posted by MSNBC.
10 years after march, new storms roil America
Updated: 7:57 p.m. ET Oct. 9, 2005
Farrakhan's customary incendiary comments
“The need to save our people — it’s so much bigger than the personality or the baggage that has been heaped on Louis Farrakhan or others,” Farrakhan said. “Katrina has focused this agenda.”
In recent weeks, Farrakhan has raised eyebrows by speculating that New Orleans’ levees did not collapse beneath the rising waters of Lake Pontchartrain, but that they were bombed.
“Is this a means of getting rid of the poor? The black?” Farrakhan asked in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Is this a means of ensuring that in the elections there will never again be a black or Creole mayor of that city?”
Hispanic, Asian groups weigh inOfficials with the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group, are battling the deportation of some undocumented hurricane survivors http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9644203/
10 years after march, new storms roil America
Updated: 7:57 p.m. ET Oct. 9, 2005
Farrakhan's customary incendiary comments
“The need to save our people — it’s so much bigger than the personality or the baggage that has been heaped on Louis Farrakhan or others,” Farrakhan said. “Katrina has focused this agenda.”
In recent weeks, Farrakhan has raised eyebrows by speculating that New Orleans’ levees did not collapse beneath the rising waters of Lake Pontchartrain, but that they were bombed.
“Is this a means of getting rid of the poor? The black?” Farrakhan asked in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Is this a means of ensuring that in the elections there will never again be a black or Creole mayor of that city?”
Hispanic, Asian groups weigh inOfficials with the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group, are battling the deportation of some undocumented hurricane survivors http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9644203/
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Our Boy Does Disappoint
President Bush's decision not to nominate a true conservative should finally prove to everyone that he is not what he says he issue refuses to close the borders. He refuses to fight an all out war in Iraq. He refuses to veto any spending bill. He refuses to fully support Israel. He refuses to cut foreign aid. And his refusal to nominate Janice Rogers Brown is just plain wrong. The article below is awesome.
One-Sided 'Balance' If Ruth Bader Ginsburg could replace Byron White, Janice Rogers Brown can replace Sandra Day O'Connor. BY MANUEL MIRANDA Wednesday, September 28, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
As soon as Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement in June, Democrats called on the president to name a moderate "consensus" replacement that would preserve the balance of the court. Now they are at it again.
By her voting record, Justice O'Connor was toe to toe with the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist 80% of the time, but where she parted with him, on key social issues such as Roe v Wade, is exactly where politically-minded Americans draw the battle lines. So naturally she has become the judicious voice of moderation for liberals. The president probably should have left John Roberts as Justice O'Connor's replacement. Unfortunately, we now have to hear Democrats and Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter make calls for balance.
But in the second round of replacing Justice O'Connor, liberals have adapted and added a second tactic. As I wrote in a previous column, Democrats, having neither a majority nor a viable filibuster threat, are launching a targeted pre-emptive strike by naming the potential nominees they will fight against. Coincidentally these are the only potential nominees that conservatives will likely lift a finger to fight for.
The left's main target is the jurist liberals know is the president's ultimate Katrina exit strategy, Judge Janice Rogers Brown. Although at her hearing she was a model of grace and intellect and she wrote more majority opinions than any of her colleagues on the California Supreme Court, liberals paint Brown as "unrelenting" and a "lightning rod." Her critics say that she has not been on the federal appellate court very long, even though she has now been on as long as David Souter had been when he was elevated, and she would have had more than two years' experience had Democrats not filibustered her nomination.
Last week, even the reputedly honest Russ Feingold of Wisconsin could not resist taking a gratuitous swipe at Judge Brown while announcing his support for Judge Roberts. Mr. Feingold suggested that Judge Brown would bring back the Lochner era. That was a reference to a 1905 Supreme Court decision in which the court replaced the economic policy judgment of a legislature with its own. It was like saying no more ice cream to a room full of children.
In truth, Judge Brown has written disapprovingly of Lochner: "The name has come to symbolize judicial usurpation of power . . . using the due process clause as though it provided a blank check to alter the meaning of the Constitution as written." Despite this, liberals insist that Judge Brown favors the Lochner decision because she criticized a small part of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes's dissent. Holmes said the U.S. Constitution did not reflect an economic structure, such as respect for private property. Judge Brown thinks that it does.
The call for balance is vapid given that a president is elected with the understanding that he will nominate someone to the Supreme Court in keeping with his judicial philosophy. George W. Bush made this a cornerstone of his campaigns. If a national election is not sufficient to gauge public opinion, a Gallup poll in July found that 70% of Americans want the high court either to be more conservative or to stay as conservative as they perceive it now to be. An Opinion Dynamics poll one week later asked this question: "When a Supreme Court justice retires, do you think the president has an obligation to replace the retiring justice with another justice with similar legal and political views?" An overwhelming 67% said no. The president is on sound footing if he leans to the right.
Not surprisingly, there is also a double standard. In 1993, when President Clinton needed to replace the retiring associate justice Byron White, a John Kennedy appointee who had been one of two dissenters in 1973 (together with Justice Rehnquist) on Roe v. Wade, no one called on him to maintain the "balance" of the court. He nominated the most pro-abortion feminist activist he could find. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was then confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 96-3.
But the left is so reliant on its balance argument that when Republican senators, and this writer, pointed out that Justice Ginsburg had posited that prostitution was constitutionally protected and that the age of consent should be lowered to 12, the same people who have distorted the records of Bush judicial nominees echoed in outrage and obfuscation. The problem is that it's true.
In papers Ms. Ginsburg wrote while she worked for the ACLU, she argued against criminalized prostitution and said that it was "arguably within the zone of privacy protected by recent constitutional decisions." In lawyer-speak that means that she, at least, tended to think prostitution fell under the constitutional right to privacy. She did not say "some would argue" or that it was "arguably not within the zone of privacy." And if arguably Mrs. Ginsburg did not aim, as her defenders say, to lower the age of consent, she was guilty of sloppy lawyering when she recommended that a statutory-rape law that had the consent age at 16 be replaced by a proposal that had it at 12.
But that is not all. The woman nominated to replace Roe's leading dissenter, Byron White, was not only pro-abortion, she wrote that the federal government should be constitutionally required to subsidize elective abortions. She urged coed prisons; criticized the Boy and Girl Scouts for perpetuating "gender" stereotypes; and suggested that "Parents Day" might replace Mother's and Father's day. Ms. Ginsburg had also opined that a law restricting the rights of bigamists "is of questionable constitutionality since it appears to encroach impermissibly upon private relationships."
Of course, when they confirmed Justice Ginsburg, liberals did not worry about balance. Actually, if not for their double standard, one might think that they had no standards at all.
Mr. Miranda, former counsel to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, is founder and chairman of the Third Branch Conference, a coalition of grassroots organizations following judicial issues. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. http://www.opinionjournal.com/nextjustice/?id=110007324
One-Sided 'Balance' If Ruth Bader Ginsburg could replace Byron White, Janice Rogers Brown can replace Sandra Day O'Connor. BY MANUEL MIRANDA Wednesday, September 28, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
As soon as Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement in June, Democrats called on the president to name a moderate "consensus" replacement that would preserve the balance of the court. Now they are at it again.
By her voting record, Justice O'Connor was toe to toe with the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist 80% of the time, but where she parted with him, on key social issues such as Roe v Wade, is exactly where politically-minded Americans draw the battle lines. So naturally she has become the judicious voice of moderation for liberals. The president probably should have left John Roberts as Justice O'Connor's replacement. Unfortunately, we now have to hear Democrats and Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter make calls for balance.
But in the second round of replacing Justice O'Connor, liberals have adapted and added a second tactic. As I wrote in a previous column, Democrats, having neither a majority nor a viable filibuster threat, are launching a targeted pre-emptive strike by naming the potential nominees they will fight against. Coincidentally these are the only potential nominees that conservatives will likely lift a finger to fight for.
The left's main target is the jurist liberals know is the president's ultimate Katrina exit strategy, Judge Janice Rogers Brown. Although at her hearing she was a model of grace and intellect and she wrote more majority opinions than any of her colleagues on the California Supreme Court, liberals paint Brown as "unrelenting" and a "lightning rod." Her critics say that she has not been on the federal appellate court very long, even though she has now been on as long as David Souter had been when he was elevated, and she would have had more than two years' experience had Democrats not filibustered her nomination.
Last week, even the reputedly honest Russ Feingold of Wisconsin could not resist taking a gratuitous swipe at Judge Brown while announcing his support for Judge Roberts. Mr. Feingold suggested that Judge Brown would bring back the Lochner era. That was a reference to a 1905 Supreme Court decision in which the court replaced the economic policy judgment of a legislature with its own. It was like saying no more ice cream to a room full of children.
In truth, Judge Brown has written disapprovingly of Lochner: "The name has come to symbolize judicial usurpation of power . . . using the due process clause as though it provided a blank check to alter the meaning of the Constitution as written." Despite this, liberals insist that Judge Brown favors the Lochner decision because she criticized a small part of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes's dissent. Holmes said the U.S. Constitution did not reflect an economic structure, such as respect for private property. Judge Brown thinks that it does.
The call for balance is vapid given that a president is elected with the understanding that he will nominate someone to the Supreme Court in keeping with his judicial philosophy. George W. Bush made this a cornerstone of his campaigns. If a national election is not sufficient to gauge public opinion, a Gallup poll in July found that 70% of Americans want the high court either to be more conservative or to stay as conservative as they perceive it now to be. An Opinion Dynamics poll one week later asked this question: "When a Supreme Court justice retires, do you think the president has an obligation to replace the retiring justice with another justice with similar legal and political views?" An overwhelming 67% said no. The president is on sound footing if he leans to the right.
Not surprisingly, there is also a double standard. In 1993, when President Clinton needed to replace the retiring associate justice Byron White, a John Kennedy appointee who had been one of two dissenters in 1973 (together with Justice Rehnquist) on Roe v. Wade, no one called on him to maintain the "balance" of the court. He nominated the most pro-abortion feminist activist he could find. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was then confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 96-3.
But the left is so reliant on its balance argument that when Republican senators, and this writer, pointed out that Justice Ginsburg had posited that prostitution was constitutionally protected and that the age of consent should be lowered to 12, the same people who have distorted the records of Bush judicial nominees echoed in outrage and obfuscation. The problem is that it's true.
In papers Ms. Ginsburg wrote while she worked for the ACLU, she argued against criminalized prostitution and said that it was "arguably within the zone of privacy protected by recent constitutional decisions." In lawyer-speak that means that she, at least, tended to think prostitution fell under the constitutional right to privacy. She did not say "some would argue" or that it was "arguably not within the zone of privacy." And if arguably Mrs. Ginsburg did not aim, as her defenders say, to lower the age of consent, she was guilty of sloppy lawyering when she recommended that a statutory-rape law that had the consent age at 16 be replaced by a proposal that had it at 12.
But that is not all. The woman nominated to replace Roe's leading dissenter, Byron White, was not only pro-abortion, she wrote that the federal government should be constitutionally required to subsidize elective abortions. She urged coed prisons; criticized the Boy and Girl Scouts for perpetuating "gender" stereotypes; and suggested that "Parents Day" might replace Mother's and Father's day. Ms. Ginsburg had also opined that a law restricting the rights of bigamists "is of questionable constitutionality since it appears to encroach impermissibly upon private relationships."
Of course, when they confirmed Justice Ginsburg, liberals did not worry about balance. Actually, if not for their double standard, one might think that they had no standards at all.
Mr. Miranda, former counsel to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, is founder and chairman of the Third Branch Conference, a coalition of grassroots organizations following judicial issues. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. http://www.opinionjournal.com/nextjustice/?id=110007324
Sunday, September 25, 2005
No Surprise!
Oh the religion of peace. Now just flip the scenario, a mosque as a war museum? But some Muslims use them as military forts and recruiting centers for suicide bombers.
United Nations Bankrolled Latest Anti-Israel Propaganda
By JACOB GERSHMAN - Staff Reporter of the sneakiest 17, 2005
The United Nations bankrolled the production of thousands of banners, bumper stickers, mugs, and T-shirts bearing the slogan "Today Gaza and Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem," which have been widely distributed to Palestinian Arabs in the Gaza Strip, according to a U.N. official.
Hamas To Convert Synagogue to Weapons Museum
By ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the SunSeptember 22, 2005
WASHINGTON - Emboldened by Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank, Hamas yesterday announced its plan to turn a synagogue in Netzarim into a museum that would display weapons employed by the terrorist group's members against Israeli civilians.
A statement issued yesterday by Hamas said, "Qassam rockets and other locally made arms will be exposed, since it is the legal weapon that evicted the occupation forces." The Middle East Media Research Institute yesterday reported that recent sermons delivered by Hamas leaders pledged to resist efforts from the Palestinian Authority to disarm the organization ahead of upcoming elections
United Nations Bankrolled Latest Anti-Israel Propaganda
By JACOB GERSHMAN - Staff Reporter of the sneakiest 17, 2005
The United Nations bankrolled the production of thousands of banners, bumper stickers, mugs, and T-shirts bearing the slogan "Today Gaza and Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem," which have been widely distributed to Palestinian Arabs in the Gaza Strip, according to a U.N. official.
Hamas To Convert Synagogue to Weapons Museum
By ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the SunSeptember 22, 2005
WASHINGTON - Emboldened by Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank, Hamas yesterday announced its plan to turn a synagogue in Netzarim into a museum that would display weapons employed by the terrorist group's members against Israeli civilians.
A statement issued yesterday by Hamas said, "Qassam rockets and other locally made arms will be exposed, since it is the legal weapon that evicted the occupation forces." The Middle East Media Research Institute yesterday reported that recent sermons delivered by Hamas leaders pledged to resist efforts from the Palestinian Authority to disarm the organization ahead of upcoming elections
Other Than the Pursuit of Justice?
I stumbled across this article and I find it very interesting that "The I Shall Not Kill" commandment has a loop hole in the muslim interpretation....I hope it means for premeditated murder.And not for infidel's world wide.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - GOD'S LAW, MAN'S CHOICE
American Muslim News Briefs
Monday, February 28, 2005
Arsalan Iftikhar, is national legal director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights
and advocacy group. He may be reached at arsalan@cair-net.org.]
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a monument engraved
with the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol "is an
impermissible establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment."
Reaction from religious groups is mixed - Jewish and Christian groups seem
divided and Muslims are largely absent from the debate.
Muslim silence on the issue should not be misconstrued as ambivalence
toward the Ten Commandments. In fact, the Quran, Islam's revealed text,
contains injunctions similar to all ten commandments.
A few examples:
Commandment: Thou shall have no other gods before Me.
Quran: Know therefore that there is no god but God. (47:19) Do not
associate another deity with God. (17:22)
Commandment: Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image.
Quran: No visions can encompass Him, but He encompasses all visions. (6:103)
Commandment: Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Quran: Glorify the name of your Lord morning and evening. (76:25) Remember
the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him exclusively. (73:8) Do not
use God's name in your oaths as an excuse to prevent you from dealing
justly. (2:224)
Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother.
Quran: You shall be kind to your parents. If one or both of them live to
their old age in your lifetime, you shall not say to them any word of
contempt nor repel them, and you shall address them in kind words. You
shall lower to them the wing of humility and pray: "O Lord! Bestow on them
Your blessings just as they cherished me when I was a little child." (17:23-24)
Commandment: Thou shall not kill.
Quran: And do not take any human being's life - [the life] that God has
willed to be sacred - other than in [the pursuit of] justice." (17:33)
Commandment: Thou shall not commit adultery.
Quran: You shall not commit adultery. Surely it is a shameful deed and an
evil way (opening the door to other evils). (17:32)
Commandment: Thou shall not bear false witness.
Quran: And (know that the true servants of God are) those who do not bear
witness to falsehood. (25:72)
Commandment: Thou shall not covet.
Quran: Do not covet the bounties that God has bestowed more abundantly on
some of you than on others. (4:32)
Such remarkable similarities are not surprising, because Muslims believe
that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all originate from the same God. God's
laws are universal, but their adoption is a matter of choice. The Quranic
order that there be "no compulsion in religion" (2:256) reverberates in
James Madison's, "The religion then of every man must be left to the
conviction and conscience of every man."
Opposition to the public display of the Ten Commandments should not imply
disavowal of their validity, just as support for their display should not
be an excuse for religious exclusivity.
I love all Ten Commandments, for their values are my values as a Muslim. I
also respect the Constitution and its support for religious pluralism. Just
as I want my government to not establish a particular religion, I also
desire that they not prohibit its free exercise. It is a delicate balancing
act. Getting that balance right is what makes American freedom unique and
enviable.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - GOD'S LAW, MAN'S CHOICE
American Muslim News Briefs
Monday, February 28, 2005
Arsalan Iftikhar, is national legal director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights
and advocacy group. He may be reached at arsalan@cair-net.org.]
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a monument engraved
with the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol "is an
impermissible establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment."
Reaction from religious groups is mixed - Jewish and Christian groups seem
divided and Muslims are largely absent from the debate.
Muslim silence on the issue should not be misconstrued as ambivalence
toward the Ten Commandments. In fact, the Quran, Islam's revealed text,
contains injunctions similar to all ten commandments.
A few examples:
Commandment: Thou shall have no other gods before Me.
Quran: Know therefore that there is no god but God. (47:19) Do not
associate another deity with God. (17:22)
Commandment: Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image.
Quran: No visions can encompass Him, but He encompasses all visions. (6:103)
Commandment: Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Quran: Glorify the name of your Lord morning and evening. (76:25) Remember
the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him exclusively. (73:8) Do not
use God's name in your oaths as an excuse to prevent you from dealing
justly. (2:224)
Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother.
Quran: You shall be kind to your parents. If one or both of them live to
their old age in your lifetime, you shall not say to them any word of
contempt nor repel them, and you shall address them in kind words. You
shall lower to them the wing of humility and pray: "O Lord! Bestow on them
Your blessings just as they cherished me when I was a little child." (17:23-24)
Commandment: Thou shall not kill.
Quran: And do not take any human being's life - [the life] that God has
willed to be sacred - other than in [the pursuit of] justice." (17:33)
Commandment: Thou shall not commit adultery.
Quran: You shall not commit adultery. Surely it is a shameful deed and an
evil way (opening the door to other evils). (17:32)
Commandment: Thou shall not bear false witness.
Quran: And (know that the true servants of God are) those who do not bear
witness to falsehood. (25:72)
Commandment: Thou shall not covet.
Quran: Do not covet the bounties that God has bestowed more abundantly on
some of you than on others. (4:32)
Such remarkable similarities are not surprising, because Muslims believe
that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all originate from the same God. God's
laws are universal, but their adoption is a matter of choice. The Quranic
order that there be "no compulsion in religion" (2:256) reverberates in
James Madison's, "The religion then of every man must be left to the
conviction and conscience of every man."
Opposition to the public display of the Ten Commandments should not imply
disavowal of their validity, just as support for their display should not
be an excuse for religious exclusivity.
I love all Ten Commandments, for their values are my values as a Muslim. I
also respect the Constitution and its support for religious pluralism. Just
as I want my government to not establish a particular religion, I also
desire that they not prohibit its free exercise. It is a delicate balancing
act. Getting that balance right is what makes American freedom unique and
enviable.
Remember This Joey?
Good ol' politicians just figure us people too dumb to remember yesterday let alone 12 years ago.
September 13, 2005
-- Different Standards 12 Years Later --WASHINGTON - Progress for America Inc. (PFA) president Brian McCabe today delivered the following statement on Joe Biden's Senate Judiciary Committee doublespeak:"In 1993, Senator Biden counseled Ruth Bader Ginsburg not to prejudge cases and she complied, refusing to answer approximately 55 questions, including questions about public education, labor laws, abortion, and many other topics. Twelve years later, he insists that Ginsburg answered questions that she clearly did not and badgers Judge Roberts for following her lead. Just because Senator Biden realizes his advice is no longer politically expedient, it is dishonest, unfair and unacceptable for Biden to attempt to change the rules of the game for Judge Roberts."BIDEN'S COUNSEL IN 1993
"You not only have a right to choose what you will answer and not answer, but in my view, you should not answer a question of what your view will be on an issue that clearly is going to come before the court in 50 different forms probably over your tenure on the court."
September 13, 2005
-- Different Standards 12 Years Later --WASHINGTON - Progress for America Inc. (PFA) president Brian McCabe today delivered the following statement on Joe Biden's Senate Judiciary Committee doublespeak:"In 1993, Senator Biden counseled Ruth Bader Ginsburg not to prejudge cases and she complied, refusing to answer approximately 55 questions, including questions about public education, labor laws, abortion, and many other topics. Twelve years later, he insists that Ginsburg answered questions that she clearly did not and badgers Judge Roberts for following her lead. Just because Senator Biden realizes his advice is no longer politically expedient, it is dishonest, unfair and unacceptable for Biden to attempt to change the rules of the game for Judge Roberts."BIDEN'S COUNSEL IN 1993
"You not only have a right to choose what you will answer and not answer, but in my view, you should not answer a question of what your view will be on an issue that clearly is going to come before the court in 50 different forms probably over your tenure on the court."
Ain't It the Truth
This was sent to me by a good friend.
From a Mc Comb, Mississippi Resident
What I have seen since Katrina:
The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.
Black, white, Hispanic, Oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.
Christian people giving, giving, giving.
Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name.
Neighbors going door to door helping one another.
Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable.
Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.
People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because
shelters are full.
Out of town volunteers coming with food and staying for now a week
still serving it.
The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians
do in a crisis.
The Red Cross doing a job in the shelters.
The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.
Four Hundred crewman from everywhere bring back the power to our
homes, churches and businesses.
Lines at service stations a block to a mile long.
National Guardsman patrolling the streets of McComb along with
Kentucky policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of Mc Comb,
Pike County and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before
Katrina).
Drug dealers working outside shelters.
Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly, even
sleeping in the hospital to do the job God called them to do.
________WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN: ___________
The ACLU setting up a feeding line.
People for the American Way helping in the shelters.
The NAACP doing any work whatsoever.
The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters.
Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations.
I could go on but you get my message. It is the Christian people who
do the work, with love and compassion.
The gripers in Congress should come on down and get in line to pass
the water and the ice. Are you listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy and all the
sorry loafers we call Senators and Congressmen. They don't have a clue as
to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast.
From a Mc Comb, Mississippi Resident
What I have seen since Katrina:
The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.
Black, white, Hispanic, Oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.
Christian people giving, giving, giving.
Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name.
Neighbors going door to door helping one another.
Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable.
Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.
People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because
shelters are full.
Out of town volunteers coming with food and staying for now a week
still serving it.
The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians
do in a crisis.
The Red Cross doing a job in the shelters.
The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.
Four Hundred crewman from everywhere bring back the power to our
homes, churches and businesses.
Lines at service stations a block to a mile long.
National Guardsman patrolling the streets of McComb along with
Kentucky policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of Mc Comb,
Pike County and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before
Katrina).
Drug dealers working outside shelters.
Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly, even
sleeping in the hospital to do the job God called them to do.
________WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN: ___________
The ACLU setting up a feeding line.
People for the American Way helping in the shelters.
The NAACP doing any work whatsoever.
The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters.
Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations.
I could go on but you get my message. It is the Christian people who
do the work, with love and compassion.
The gripers in Congress should come on down and get in line to pass
the water and the ice. Are you listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy and all the
sorry loafers we call Senators and Congressmen. They don't have a clue as
to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast.
Real Life Science Fiction
Please sell me stock in this company.
Four out of the five Atlantic storms occurring so far this year have become major tempests. This is unprecedented. But spraying hurricanes with chemicals from airplanes in hopes of sapping their strength is not. Despite official denials, there is evidence that Hurricane Frances was attacked by cloud-seeding airplanes as it approached the Florida panhandle.
Everyone knows about cloud-seeding: dropping silver iodide or other moisture-clumping nuclei into clouds from airplanes to make it rain. In the USA, scientific efforts to subvert hurricanes the United States stretch back to 1947. Today, licensed companies perform this service routinely across America and around the world.
One company in Jupiter Beach, Florida pledges “to protect humanity worldwide from hurricanes and typhoons.”
Dyn-O-Mat CEO Peter Cordani Peter Cordani thinks his sponge-like Dyn-O-Gel can soak up enough water around the central eyewall of a rapidly revolving tropical storm to weaken or destroy it. The idea is to sap hurricanes of their moisture-driven potential, causing these rapidly revolving storms to lose strength, become unbalanced and fly apart.
Because the destructive force of winds increases with the square of wind speed, even a small reduction in wind velocity could significantly decrease damage and the threat to lives on the ground.
In an experiment On July 19, 2001a chartered B-57 Canberra jet bomber dropping Dyn-O-Gel off West Palm Beach removed a building thunderstorm completely from the sky - a first-ever feat documented by Doppler radar
In September 2004, the western sector of oncoming Hurricane Frances disintegrated as it came into contact with a massive “dry zone” between the Bahamas and Florida. Emerging from the dry area, Frances reformed, slowed dramatically and missed Miami, unexpectedly hooking into millionaire homes lining West Palm Beach..
Four out of the five Atlantic storms occurring so far this year have become major tempests. This is unprecedented. But spraying hurricanes with chemicals from airplanes in hopes of sapping their strength is not. Despite official denials, there is evidence that Hurricane Frances was attacked by cloud-seeding airplanes as it approached the Florida panhandle.
Everyone knows about cloud-seeding: dropping silver iodide or other moisture-clumping nuclei into clouds from airplanes to make it rain. In the USA, scientific efforts to subvert hurricanes the United States stretch back to 1947. Today, licensed companies perform this service routinely across America and around the world.
One company in Jupiter Beach, Florida pledges “to protect humanity worldwide from hurricanes and typhoons.”
Dyn-O-Mat CEO Peter Cordani Peter Cordani thinks his sponge-like Dyn-O-Gel can soak up enough water around the central eyewall of a rapidly revolving tropical storm to weaken or destroy it. The idea is to sap hurricanes of their moisture-driven potential, causing these rapidly revolving storms to lose strength, become unbalanced and fly apart.
Because the destructive force of winds increases with the square of wind speed, even a small reduction in wind velocity could significantly decrease damage and the threat to lives on the ground.
In an experiment On July 19, 2001a chartered B-57 Canberra jet bomber dropping Dyn-O-Gel off West Palm Beach removed a building thunderstorm completely from the sky - a first-ever feat documented by Doppler radar
In September 2004, the western sector of oncoming Hurricane Frances disintegrated as it came into contact with a massive “dry zone” between the Bahamas and Florida. Emerging from the dry area, Frances reformed, slowed dramatically and missed Miami, unexpectedly hooking into millionaire homes lining West Palm Beach..
Flash Back!
President Bush is far from perfect, but as I remember president Bubba got a free pass on alot of "Shady" behavior. I don't recall President Bush playing with cigars and interns while terrorist were in our sights.
Kim Weissman writes in a Congress Action update on July 13, 1997
Bill Clinton and Al Gore have conspired with known criminals
Bill Clinton and Al Gore met with known criminals who either gave large amounts of money to the Democrats or were brought in by those giving huge sums of money to the Democrats. These people included convicted drug dealer Jorge Cabrera; a Chinese arms dealer named Wang Jun; and Grigory Lutchansky, whose company, Nordex, was on Clinton's CIA watch list and who was denied entry into Canada because he failed a background check!
There was also the appearance of foreign policy quid pro quos involving Indonesia, Paraguay, Guam, Vietnam and China. Even more disturbing are allegations of economic espionage, communist Chinese involvement in U.S. elections, and compromising U.S. national security - all in the name of helping the Democrats and securing Bill Clinton's reelection...There have been about 70 Congressional witnesses who have pled the Fifth Amendment right not to self-incriminate (or chosen to flee the country) in the Clinton-Gore dollars for political influence scam.
In a round of testimony by FBI Director Louis Freeh before Congress, Rep. Dan Burton asked: “Mr. Freeh, over 65 people have invoked the 5th Amendment or fled the country in the course of the Committee s investigation. Have you ever experienced so many unavailable witnesses in any matter in which you ve prosecuted or in which you ve been involved?” Freeh responded: “Actually, I have.” Burton asked: “You have? Give me, give me a rundown on that real quickly.” Freeh: “I spent about 16 years doing organized crime cases in New York City...”
Kim Weissman writes in a Congress Action update on July 13, 1997
Bill Clinton and Al Gore have conspired with known criminals
Bill Clinton and Al Gore met with known criminals who either gave large amounts of money to the Democrats or were brought in by those giving huge sums of money to the Democrats. These people included convicted drug dealer Jorge Cabrera; a Chinese arms dealer named Wang Jun; and Grigory Lutchansky, whose company, Nordex, was on Clinton's CIA watch list and who was denied entry into Canada because he failed a background check!
There was also the appearance of foreign policy quid pro quos involving Indonesia, Paraguay, Guam, Vietnam and China. Even more disturbing are allegations of economic espionage, communist Chinese involvement in U.S. elections, and compromising U.S. national security - all in the name of helping the Democrats and securing Bill Clinton's reelection...There have been about 70 Congressional witnesses who have pled the Fifth Amendment right not to self-incriminate (or chosen to flee the country) in the Clinton-Gore dollars for political influence scam.
In a round of testimony by FBI Director Louis Freeh before Congress, Rep. Dan Burton asked: “Mr. Freeh, over 65 people have invoked the 5th Amendment or fled the country in the course of the Committee s investigation. Have you ever experienced so many unavailable witnesses in any matter in which you ve prosecuted or in which you ve been involved?” Freeh responded: “Actually, I have.” Burton asked: “You have? Give me, give me a rundown on that real quickly.” Freeh: “I spent about 16 years doing organized crime cases in New York City...”
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Let Us Not Forget These Gems
Yeah Buddy! You gotta love an organization that defends NAMBLA and attacks the Boy Scouts. What do they want, a scout leader who is a member of NAMBLA?
06:00 AM Aug. 31, 2000 PT
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union will represent a group that advocates sex between men and boys in a lawsuit brought by the family of a slain 10-year-old.
The ACLU vs. the Boy Scouts
U.S. bases warned not to sponsor Scouts
ACLU sued Pentagon because group requires belief in God
By Margaret Crosby
Staff Attorney, ACLU-NC
Appeared in the Daily Journal September 3, 2002
In striking down the McCarthy-era law that rewrote the Pledge of Allegiance to insert the words "under God," Newdow v. United States Congress, the Ninth Circuit breathed life into the Pledge's stirring ideal of a country "with liberty and justice for all." The decision secured liberty for children of minority faiths who have quietly been denied religious freedom for nearly 50 years, when pressured in public school to pledge allegiance to a God they do not worship. By enforcing the First Amendment, the Ninth Circuit provided justice for all children in the United States.
06:00 AM Aug. 31, 2000 PT
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union will represent a group that advocates sex between men and boys in a lawsuit brought by the family of a slain 10-year-old.
The ACLU vs. the Boy Scouts
U.S. bases warned not to sponsor Scouts
ACLU sued Pentagon because group requires belief in God
By Margaret Crosby
Staff Attorney, ACLU-NC
Appeared in the Daily Journal September 3, 2002
In striking down the McCarthy-era law that rewrote the Pledge of Allegiance to insert the words "under God," Newdow v. United States Congress, the Ninth Circuit breathed life into the Pledge's stirring ideal of a country "with liberty and justice for all." The decision secured liberty for children of minority faiths who have quietly been denied religious freedom for nearly 50 years, when pressured in public school to pledge allegiance to a God they do not worship. By enforcing the First Amendment, the Ninth Circuit provided justice for all children in the United States.
ACLU: In Search of a Soul
This is a true picture of what the ACLU stands for. A small minority who want a socialist and non militarist country. The ACLU has always used lawyers and the courts to push their beliefs because they only represent a very small percentage of America.
by Robert C. Cottrell, Professor of History and American Studies at California State University, Chico
Believing that only the best sorts of people should be involved in an organization like the ACLU, Baldwin sought to limit the membership rolls. At the same time, theACLU became involved in a series of noteworthy cases, including those involving Sacco and Vanzetti, John T. Scopes, and the Scottsboro Boys. ACLU attorneys helped to reshape American constitutional law, with the idea of the First Amendment providing a shield for "preferred freedoms" beginning to take hold. All the while, Baldwin continued to back a number of left-wing endeavors, supporting various United Front and Popular Front enterprises, writing about and visiting Soviet Russia, and urging that radicals and liberals in the United States join together to fight fascism, racism, and poverty.... As the period of direct U.S. involvement in World War I approached, Baldwin ended up in New York where he became a leading figure in the American Union Against Militarism...However, in a display of solidarity with wartime resisters, Baldwin deliberately violated the Selective Service Act, which resulted in a celebrated trial and his confinement in prison.
by Robert C. Cottrell, Professor of History and American Studies at California State University, Chico
Believing that only the best sorts of people should be involved in an organization like the ACLU, Baldwin sought to limit the membership rolls. At the same time, theACLU became involved in a series of noteworthy cases, including those involving Sacco and Vanzetti, John T. Scopes, and the Scottsboro Boys. ACLU attorneys helped to reshape American constitutional law, with the idea of the First Amendment providing a shield for "preferred freedoms" beginning to take hold. All the while, Baldwin continued to back a number of left-wing endeavors, supporting various United Front and Popular Front enterprises, writing about and visiting Soviet Russia, and urging that radicals and liberals in the United States join together to fight fascism, racism, and poverty.... As the period of direct U.S. involvement in World War I approached, Baldwin ended up in New York where he became a leading figure in the American Union Against Militarism...However, in a display of solidarity with wartime resisters, Baldwin deliberately violated the Selective Service Act, which resulted in a celebrated trial and his confinement in prison.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Harder to Find Than Atlantis
I watched this interview Tuesday, 20 on The O'Reilly Factor and attempted to locate more info on the net. Good luck. I will dig up Hoffa before I find a decent article! From the interview the bottom line was that a White teacher was being harassed by a few black students and the Black principal stated that their behavior was due to their culture. Where is the Rev. Jackson, or Sharpton, or the ACLU? What a blatant double standard. Reverse the roles and let the White Principal state that the reason the students are jumping around out of control is because of their culture. Every race baiter in the country would be screaming. Miss Stokes eventually was attacked:and from what I heard on Fox News and went to the hospital. So under this "It is their culture" rule,any negative behavior and be explained by the culture of the perpetrator. What a complete lack of personal responsibility. I am not familiar with the American Renaissance web site but they seemed to give a decent overview.
AMERICAN RENAISSANCE
(Posted on September 20, 2005)
Brandy Stokes, a former teacher at Brentwood Middle School in Charleston, SC who is suing her school district for anti-white racial discrimination, will appear on The OÂ’Reilly Factor tonight (8 and 11 p.m. Eastern, Fox News) to speak about her suit. (The interview we announced on Sept. 12 was cancelled due to Katrina coverage.) While she was teaching at the school in 2002, Miss StokesÂ’s black students harassed and threatened her, and made clear their behavior was motivated by racial animus. When Miss Stokes asked the black principal to do something about the problem, the principal replied she could do nothing because the abuse was a product of the studentsÂ’ culture. Eventually, Miss Stokes was seriously injured by a student and had to be hospitalized. When her hospital stay was done, she asked for her job back, but the principal didnÂ’t give it to her. Two other white former teachers at the school are also suing the district for racial discrimination
AMERICAN RENAISSANCE
(Posted on September 20, 2005)
Brandy Stokes, a former teacher at Brentwood Middle School in Charleston, SC who is suing her school district for anti-white racial discrimination, will appear on The OÂ’Reilly Factor tonight (8 and 11 p.m. Eastern, Fox News) to speak about her suit. (The interview we announced on Sept. 12 was cancelled due to Katrina coverage.) While she was teaching at the school in 2002, Miss StokesÂ’s black students harassed and threatened her, and made clear their behavior was motivated by racial animus. When Miss Stokes asked the black principal to do something about the problem, the principal replied she could do nothing because the abuse was a product of the studentsÂ’ culture. Eventually, Miss Stokes was seriously injured by a student and had to be hospitalized. When her hospital stay was done, she asked for her job back, but the principal didnÂ’t give it to her. Two other white former teachers at the school are also suing the district for racial discrimination
Friday, September 16, 2005
Complete Insanity
And as you read this just remember many politicians, the ACLU and Lawyers think that everyone that comes here illegally wants to work. Scum like this is why real Americans have guns.
Dr. Madeleine Cosman, Ph.D., ESQMay 29, 2005 NewsWithViews.com
Des Moines, Iowa, ICE agents recently arrested 14 convicted sexual predators. Nationwide, ICE agents arrested 2,600 sexual predators, many well-armed.
Here are a few examples of horrifying illegal alien armed sexual predators in America's heartland. These typify the national invasion.
The Des Moines ICE office and the local U.S. Attorney's Office arrested and indicted Nicolas Sandoval-Medina, 24, of Mexico, the twice-deported child molester caught with 25 pounds of drugs, 6 rifles, 2 handguns, and much ammo. Sandoval-Medina likes young girls. He first came to ICE attention when agents arrested him for sex with a 12-year-old girl in a Des Moines motel room. America couldn't easily get rid of him. He arrived illegally in 1996, was deported in July 1997, re-entered illegally, and then in December 1999 was convicted again on two counts of Lascivious Acts with a Child. Criminally prosecuted for the felony of re-entry after deportation, he was removed to Mexico again in July 2000. He came back.
ICE in Minnesota recently deported the despicable illegal alien sexual predator who bound, gagged, and raped a 5-year-old Minnesota girl. Mexican Jaime Sanchez-Hernandez, 31, was convicted of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree in October 1999. ICE arrested him after his release from the Moose Lake Correctional Facility after serving a 57-month sentence for the rape of the child.
In our treatment of illegal aliens, the criminal justice world is upside-down. Rationality demands that a criminal conviction of an illegal alien should lead to his immediate deportation. Rationality demands immediate deportation for an illegal alien after he serves his sentence in our prisons. But American law does not routinely deport the illegal alien felon either before or after prison. Our prisons release the illegal alien right back into the town he had just terrorized by his heinous acts. Illegal Alien sexual predators that menace Americans with guns and rape are among the hidden medical and social horrors of our open borders.
© 2005 Madeleine Cosman - All Rights Reserved
Dr. Madeleine Cosman, Ph.D., ESQMay 29, 2005 NewsWithViews.com
Des Moines, Iowa, ICE agents recently arrested 14 convicted sexual predators. Nationwide, ICE agents arrested 2,600 sexual predators, many well-armed.
Here are a few examples of horrifying illegal alien armed sexual predators in America's heartland. These typify the national invasion.
The Des Moines ICE office and the local U.S. Attorney's Office arrested and indicted Nicolas Sandoval-Medina, 24, of Mexico, the twice-deported child molester caught with 25 pounds of drugs, 6 rifles, 2 handguns, and much ammo. Sandoval-Medina likes young girls. He first came to ICE attention when agents arrested him for sex with a 12-year-old girl in a Des Moines motel room. America couldn't easily get rid of him. He arrived illegally in 1996, was deported in July 1997, re-entered illegally, and then in December 1999 was convicted again on two counts of Lascivious Acts with a Child. Criminally prosecuted for the felony of re-entry after deportation, he was removed to Mexico again in July 2000. He came back.
ICE in Minnesota recently deported the despicable illegal alien sexual predator who bound, gagged, and raped a 5-year-old Minnesota girl. Mexican Jaime Sanchez-Hernandez, 31, was convicted of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree in October 1999. ICE arrested him after his release from the Moose Lake Correctional Facility after serving a 57-month sentence for the rape of the child.
In our treatment of illegal aliens, the criminal justice world is upside-down. Rationality demands that a criminal conviction of an illegal alien should lead to his immediate deportation. Rationality demands immediate deportation for an illegal alien after he serves his sentence in our prisons. But American law does not routinely deport the illegal alien felon either before or after prison. Our prisons release the illegal alien right back into the town he had just terrorized by his heinous acts. Illegal Alien sexual predators that menace Americans with guns and rape are among the hidden medical and social horrors of our open borders.
© 2005 Madeleine Cosman - All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Please Stick to Your Word
Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.
George W. Bush
I hope Mr. Bush truly believes his quote. The United States has the people and the technology to protect our borders forever. But we need strong leadership that is willing to kill armies and blow up cities if need be!
When I was in England I experimented with marijuana a time or two, I didn't like it, I didn't inhale it, and never tried it again
Bill Clinton
Compare this Earth moving quote to the previous Harry S Trruman's. I believe both these men are Democrats.
We Need You Harry!
Carry the battle to them. Don't let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive. And don't ever apologize for anything.
Harry S Truman
He crushed Japan and saved hundred of thousands of American lives. And I don't think he ever worried about polls.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
The Boot Goes to the Beach with the Bond Girls
We needed a good distraction from all of the daily fecal matter that is called the news!
It s Time
If this information is true and the bomb or bombs are detonated then the U.S. government instantly declares war on Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and we proceed to nuke all of the capitol cities. And of course, Mecca. We then deport all nationals that are from the above countries. Any American who is shown to have ties with any terrorist organization will be tried as a traitor. Any person crossing the southern border will have one warning shot fired. If they proceed the second shot will be intended to be fatal. Both borders need to be classified as a war zone. We as a country need to stop fooling around. And all mosques will be closed.
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
According to captured al-Qaida leaders and documents, the plan is called the "American Hiroshima" and involves the multiple detonation of nuclear weapons already smuggled into the U.S. over the Mexican border with the help of the MS-13 street gang and other organized crime groups.
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
According to captured al-Qaida leaders and documents, the plan is called the "American Hiroshima" and involves the multiple detonation of nuclear weapons already smuggled into the U.S. over the Mexican border with the help of the MS-13 street gang and other organized crime groups.
The Big Lie
Fabian Nunez is the type of person who is destroying America. The issue is not one of race, but of law. You cross the border without being invited you are a criminal. The last I checked illegal aliens did not build the Silicon Valley. Pedro picks crops, he does not build planes or computer chips.
By John Rice
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3:24 p.m. August 26, 2005
The Los Angeles Democrat also used the trip to cast a few barbs at Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and to stress his demands for better treatment of the some 2 million undocumented workers in California.......
Nunez, who spent most of the first seven years of his life in Tijuana, joined those around him in crossing his hand across his chest in salute as the Mexican flag arrived with a children's honor guard.....
Nunez said migrants had helped make California one of the world's great economic powers, "yet the gap between the poor and the rich grows greater and greater, the racism against immigrant workers continues."
He also denounced civilian immigrant hunter groups such as the Minutemen, saying they "try to deny our humanity and our dignity."
Nunez avoided reference to Mexican political issues, but praised the leadership of the union's chief, Heladio Ramirez, who is a key figure in the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, that ran Mexico for 71 years before losing to opposition candidate Vicente Fox in 2000.
The farm union itself has been a key part of the PRI for decades.
Ramirez, meanwhile, decried poverty in the countryside that he said was driving Mexicans across the border.
"That, comrades, is a national disgrace," Ramirez said. "It's humiliating that we are exporting poor Mexicans in the worst conditions so that they can achieve elsewhere what we deny them here."
By John Rice
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3:24 p.m. August 26, 2005
The Los Angeles Democrat also used the trip to cast a few barbs at Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and to stress his demands for better treatment of the some 2 million undocumented workers in California.......
Nunez, who spent most of the first seven years of his life in Tijuana, joined those around him in crossing his hand across his chest in salute as the Mexican flag arrived with a children's honor guard.....
Nunez said migrants had helped make California one of the world's great economic powers, "yet the gap between the poor and the rich grows greater and greater, the racism against immigrant workers continues."
He also denounced civilian immigrant hunter groups such as the Minutemen, saying they "try to deny our humanity and our dignity."
Nunez avoided reference to Mexican political issues, but praised the leadership of the union's chief, Heladio Ramirez, who is a key figure in the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, that ran Mexico for 71 years before losing to opposition candidate Vicente Fox in 2000.
The farm union itself has been a key part of the PRI for decades.
Ramirez, meanwhile, decried poverty in the countryside that he said was driving Mexicans across the border.
"That, comrades, is a national disgrace," Ramirez said. "It's humiliating that we are exporting poor Mexicans in the worst conditions so that they can achieve elsewhere what we deny them here."
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