Thursday, December 30, 2004

Good Science and Intelligent Design

The problem with this editorial is that it is not about good science. Good science starts with understanding what we can see and prove. It also starts with understanding a theory. So called "intelligent design" theory is not a counter to the idea of evolution. It assumes that evolution was guided or directed. It is based on the fact just as what John Polkinghorne calls "neo-Darwinism" is. Polkinghorne notes, in "the Faith of a Physicist" that neo-Darwinists, that is, those people who argue that all changes in species and the development of ever more complex organisms are the result of random mutations. Polkinghorne, speaking not as a man of faith but as a physicist, sees two problems with this theory. First, that biologists can offer no explanation as to how the changes which have occurred have managed to occur in what is, based on the scientific observations that have been made, a very short time in which they did in fact occur. That is, the time it takes to go from a light sensitive cell to an eye was very short based on observed changes in speciation in laboratories. Second, and much more of a problem is they why of it. The theory of the neo Darwinists is that these changes which survive make the organism's offspring more able to cope. Yet, as Polkinghorne points out, single cellular organisms seem to cope quite well and still exist, so far as we can tell, in exactly the same form as they did literally billions of years ago.

It would be better if scientists did a little investigation before they sounded off in public.

Midweek Perspecives: Keep the science in science class: "The school board of the Dover Area School District in York County voted in October to have so-called 'intelligent design' included in the science curriculum as an alternative to Darwinian evolution, and although a lawsuit has been filed against this decision, similar mandates are being considered elsewhere. As a scientist and a religious person, I hope that school boards will avoid mixing apples and angels in science classes."

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

As Usual, Atheists Find Proof of No God in Every Natural Occurence

A writer for the Guardian, sees the lack of God in a natural disaster.

Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | How can religious people explain something like this?: "Certainly the giant waves generated by the quake made no attempt to differentiate between the religions of those whom it made its victims. Hindus were swept away in India, Muslims were carried off in Indonesia, Buddhists in Thailand. Visiting Christians and Jews received no special treatment either. This poses no problem for the scientific belief system. Here, it says, was a mindless natural event, which destroyed Muslim and Hindu alike.

A non-scientific belief system, especially one that is based on any kind of notion of a divine order, has some explaining to do, however. What God sanctions an earthquake? What God protects against it? Why does the quake strike these places and these peoples and not others? What kind of order is it that decrees that a person who went to sleep by the edge of the ocean on Christmas night should wake up the next morning engulfed by the waves, struggling for life?

From at least the time of Aristotle, intelligent people have struggled to make some sense of earthquakes. Earthquakes do not merely kill and destroy. They challenge human beings to explain the world order in which such apparently indiscriminate acts can occur. Europe in the 18th century had the intellectual curiosity and independence to ask and answer such questions. But can we say the same of 21st-century Europe? Or are we too cowed now to even ask if the God can exist that can do such things?"

Of course, this is all mere blather and not rational thinking, a mode of thinking that atheists like to talk about. The fact of immense natural disasters is neither proof of the existence of God nor of the non-existence of God. After all, in older, vanished religions, man's life and well-being was considered to be of little concern to the Gods. Certainly, one can question what kind of God allows such things to happen. It is fair to ask.

The answer perhaps lies here:
Those of us who have learned enough about nature to live in harmony with it are less prone to suffer from natural disasters, or to put it perhaps more clearly, we are just as subject to natural disasters as less developed nations, we suffer from them less. We have learned to avoid the life ending consequences of many such disasters by building buildings which can withstand the shaking by learning how nature operates and avoiding the consequences of getting in nature's way. One must also comment on the astonishingly anthropocentric assumption which underlies the atheist's question which assumes that God's purpose, if there is a God, was to cause the devastation to humans and their works rather than accomplishing some other purpose.

It should be noted that significant geographical changes have occurred as a result of this earthquake. To what end, we do not know.

Sunday, December 26, 2004

Scott Turow Still Writing Faction

Scott Turow's fiction formula is to write dramatic stories that seem to be real. Here he writes a news story that is old hat. He says that the Democratic party will win because it has young people on its side. His reasoning seems to be that all of us old geezers will die off leaving a group of refreshingly liberal and tolerant voters who will, of course, vote Democratic. Sorry Scott, I heard that one before. When I was a young Democrat. Which was a while ago. A long while ago. A Neo Con, Scott, is a person who has been mugged by reality. That is what turns Democrats into Republicans. It is as natural a force as hair turning gray and wrinkles. ( Althoug I must say that my hair is not gray yet-- and still I am a Republican) This invention by Turow is a symptom of a party that doesn't want to face reality. "It will get better when all the conservatives die off." they tell themselves. Unfortunately for that thought, they have been telling themselves that for thirty years. Heck. Thirty years ago I was one of the people saying it. And, lo and behold, here I am a Republican.

The only Democrat to be successful as president since was a guy who pretended, via welfare reform, the protection of marriage act, and other quasi conservative actions, to be a conservative. Yes, I am speaking about Bill Clinton. Americans are conservative despite the Scott Turows of the world. Keep on dreaming up those plausible fictions Scott. It's made you a millionaire.A Dominant GOP? How So? (washingtonpost.com): "Kerry's impressive gains among the young just weren't enough to overcome Bush's even more significant gains among the old. But that's hardly a formula for continued Republican domination. Time will take a heavier toll on the older group. And aging voters have sometimes favored Democrats anyway."

Friday, December 24, 2004

Liberals Still Don't Understand the War on Terror

Ms. Carlson, an almost pathologically Bush hating liberal, here demonstrates her concern for victims of the Sudan front of the war of Islam against Christians. Perhaps she doesn't know that it is part and parcel of what is going on in Iraq? How can they be connected? The Janjaweed is part of the Islamo fascist coalition. Oh, it isn't a formal coalition. It is more a movement. But it is a part of a movement that is successful, in part, because people like Margaret Carlson cannot put one and one together and see two.

Islamofascists are, and have been, killing Christians and oppressing them all over Northern Africa, including Northern Nigeria. But political correctness has been a blindfold which prevents liberals from seeing.

'Hotel Rwanda' Should Open Our Eyes to the Genocide in Sudan : "Will 'Hotel Rwanda' open Americans' eyes to the almost identical genocide in nearby Sudan? After Rwanda, presidents Clinton and Bush said that never again would the West turn its back on such suffering. Yet the slaughter in Darfur by the janjaweed and Arab militias has killed tens of thousands and displaced about 2 million more. In September, Secretary of State Colin Powell called the killings genocide, a word the U.S. pointedly didn't use about Rwanda because to do so would have acknowledged a duty to intervene.

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. Few of us even know where Rwanda or Mogadishu or Sudan are unless, by chance, some American gets caught in the crossfire there. Who can sort out the Tutsis from the Hutus or make an educated guess as to what beyond blood lust, revenge and despair they are fighting over? The Middle East we care about. Africa, we don't.
"

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

This time of year is fraught with advice on gift giving, much of it negative and most of it commercial. What there is very little of is advice on gift receiving. As a society we have nearly forgotten our good manners when it comes to receiving gifts. In fact, the usual discussions about Christmas include some rueful, somewhat hostile comments about the terrible gifts some people give us. Such comments, and I have made a few of them myself, are contrary to the spirit of Christmas, which is, that of celebrating the great gift given to us in the person of a little baby, of humble origins, born in a stable, laid in a manger.

If we could approach each gift given to us in the way the Shepherds approached the Christ child we would all be better off for it. God gave us, not what the Jews asked for or expected, a warrior king, but a humble baby who grew up to repeatedly declare that His kingdom was not of THIS world.

It is an exercise, sometimes, when you receive a gift from someone who, you suspect, does not really feel any love or respect toward you but, nevertheless, feels obligated, to really feel any gratitude. It is a little less of a stretch to feel grateful for the gift from somenone who does mean it but just has no clue as to what you would really want. Still, there is something to be grateful for in each situation. The feeling of obligation that leads to the duty gift at least signifies just the tiniest amount of love, or at least like, or at least desire for relationship, with, who would suspect it, you.

Every gift is a hand outstretched in at least a modicum of friendship. Accept it, not in the spirit which was it was meant, but in the spirit of Christmas, being thankful for the gift which was sent because it was the gift we needed rather than the one we wanted.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Evidence of Jesus outside the Bible

Because Newsweek has resurrected many debunked theories that Jesus was a mass figment of the imagination, it is necessary to remind people that there is a good deal of historical evidence that such a man did exist. Here is a nice summary of the evidence, outside the gospels, of Jesus' existence. There is not much outside the gospels, but so what. The earliest gospels are dated to within 20 years of Jesus' death.

To dispute that Jesus was the son of God, is reasonable. To dispute that Jesus ever lived, is, historically, unreasonable.

Evidence of Jesus outside the Bible

Monday, December 06, 2004

An example of Justice Thomas' Writing

In POLLARD V. E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO.Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the court, holding that
front pay" , i. e. payments made in lieu of reinstating a victim of discrimination, is not subject to the $300,000.00 cap on damages awards in discrimination cases. Here he explains why he, and the court, reached that conclusion. This decision is a victory for plaintiffs in discrimination cases and should be applauded by liberals. It is also representative of Thomas' careful attempt to understand and carry out congressional intent when writing decisions. It is conservative only in the sense that Thomas, by basing his decision on careful textual analysis and congressional intent, is taking a conservative approach to making decisions.

POLLARD V. E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO.: "  In the abstract, front pay could be considered compensation for “future pecuniary losses,” in which case it would be subject to the statutory cap. §1981a(b)(3). The term “compensatory damages … for future pecuniary losses” is not defined in the statute, and, out of context, its ordinary meaning could include all payments for monetary losses after the date of judgment. However, we must not analyze one term of §1981a in isolation. See Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn., 505 U.S. 88, 99 (1992) (“ ‘[W]e must not be guided by a single sentence or member of a sentence, but look to the provisions of the whole law’ ”). When §1981a is read as a whole, the better interpretation is that front pay is not within the meaning of compensatory damages in §1981a(b)(3), and thus front pay is excluded from the statutory cap.


    In the Civil Rights Act of 1991, Congress determined that victims of employment discrimination were entitled to additional remedies. Congress expressly found that “additional remedies under Federal law are needed to deter unlawful harassment and intentional discrimination in the workplace,” without giving any indication that it wished to curtail previously available remedies. See Civil Rights Act of 1991, 105 Stat. 1071, §2. Congress therefore made clear through the plain language of the statute that the remedies newly authorized under §1981a were in addition to the relief authorized by §706(g). Section 1981a(a)(1) provides that, in intentional discrimination cases brought under Title VII, “the complaining party may recover compensatory and punitive damages as allowed in subjection (b) of [§1981a], in addition to any relief authorized by section 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from the respondent.” (Emphasis added.) And §1981a(b)(2) states that “[c]ompensatory damages awarded under [§1981a] shall not include backpay, interest on backpay, or any other type of relief authorized under section 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” (Emphasis added.) According to these statutory provisions, if front pay was a type of relief authorized under §706(g), it is excluded from the meaning of compensatory damages under §1981a.


    As discussed above, the original language of §706(g) authorizing backpay awards was modeled after the same language in the NLRA. This provision in the NLRA had been construed to allow awards of backpay up to the date of reinstatement, even if reinstatement occurred after judgment. Accordingly, backpay awards made for the period between the date of judgment and the date of reinstatement, which today are called front pay awards under Title VII, were authorized under §706(g).


    As to front pay awards that are made in lieu of reinstatement, we construe §706(g) as authorizing these awards as well. We see no logical difference between front pay awards made when there eventually is reinstatement and those made when there is not.3 Moreover, to distinguish between the two cases would lead to the strange result that employees could receive front pay when reinstatement eventually is available but not when reinstatement is not an option–whether because of continuing hostility between the plaintiff and the employer or its workers, or because of psychological injuries that the discrimination has caused the plaintiff. Thus, the most egregious offenders could be subject to the least sanctions. Had Congress drawn such a line in the statute and foreclosed front pay awards in lieu of reinstatement, we certainly would honor that line. But, as written, the text of the statute does not lend itself to such a distinction, and we will not create one. The statute authorizes courts to “order such affirmative action as may be appropriate.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e—5(g)(1). We conclude that front pay awards in lieu of reinstatement fit within this statutory term.


    Because front pay is a remedy authorized under §706(g), Congress did not limit the availability of such awards in §1981a. Instead, Congress sought to expand the available remedies by permitting the recovery of compensatory and punitive damages in addition to previously available remedies, such as front pay."

Judge Thomas for Yourself

The left is already sharpening its knives in contemplation that Justice Clarence Thomas may be nominated to replace Chief Justice Rehnquist. Senate Minority leader, Harry Reid said that Thomas is an "embarrassment" to the court. He accused him of not being able to write. His comment is so painfully typical of the kinds of things condescending racists liberals say about conservative Blacks. In truth, they think everybody who is black is stupid. They are willing to nominate black people to high office only when they are "smart" enough to be thankful to their white liberal friends. It is the new version of Stepnfechit.

So, Senator Reid has issued the challenge. He says Clarence Thomas's opinions are so poorly written that he is an embarassment to the court. Here is a list, with links, of all of his decisions. REad them and judge for yourself if they are poorly written. Or is that they are well written but conservative?Supreme Court Collection: Opinions by Justice

Saturday, December 04, 2004

The World's Most Beautiful Grandson


PICT0032, originally uploaded by sdsali.

Okay, okay, EVERY grandmother says that. It's our job. Parents have the responsibility to teach a child what is right and wrong, good manners, how to clean up his room and all that other stuff which requires discipline. Grandma's job is to hug and snuggle and spoil. Well, at least to some extent. So here is the object of my affection, the love of my life, the apple of my eye and the person I most like to hug. He is the person who makes every day merry.

Friday, December 03, 2004

The Importance of the Serenity Prayer

If you have ever delved into 12 step groups, Alcoholics Anonymous and similar Anonymous groups, you have heard the serenity prayer, "God give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference". It is a good prayer for everyone to say every day.

It is, particularly, a good prayer to say at times of family conflict and family loss. I was describing just such an event in my family to a couple of women, one of whom is a psychologist. I told them how I had had to reach the decision that a certain family member could no longer live in my house. "Tough love" one of them said. The psychologist, who has dealt with problems of addiction many times, and I looked at each other. No, not tough love. The phrase "tough love" implies an attempt to control or manipulate someone else's behavior. No, it is a simple acceptance of the first phrase of the serenity prayer-- the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I cannot make someone else stop using drugs. It is tempting to think that I can, because I certainly can make it more difficult, but, if the person is determined, I can't stop it. I cannot live someone else's life for him or her, 'though I might often think I would really do a much better job than he or she seems to be doing. But I can, by ushering that person to the edge of my life, control how his addiction affect my life.

The same is true for other losses. When a person you love has died, you cannot change it. You can review your own behavior interminably and come up with all sorts of scenarios in which that person would not have died and you can beat yourself up forever, but, before you engage in that exercise in futility and masochism, please re-read the previous paragraph again. You cannot, could not have, lived that person's life for him or her. He or she was making their own decisions. And chances are you know, in your heart of hearts that nothing you could have said or done would have changed the outcome.

It is very hard to accept that someone we love is lost to us. After the funeral is over, after the sympathy cards have stopped arriving, after the friends and well wishers have returned to their every day lives, we who have suffered loss find ourselves sitting alone. All the things we used to do to fill our days before that loss occurred, or most of them anyway, are still there to do. But those things, the shopping for the groceries, preparing for a birthday party, sending out Christmas cards, seem either meaningless, or even downright painful. How can I wish you a Merry Christmas when mine will be filled with feelings of longing and regret? It sometimes seems that it is the very biggest and most important events in our lives which are beyond our control and only the small and insignificant events that we have charge of.

So, we have to go ahead and send out the Christmas cards, because Christmas still comes and the rest of the living world is still here. We carry on with what seems to be our mostly insignificant lives because these are the things we can change. And yes, when you have suffered a great loss, even buying a Christmas tree and sending out cards and getting ready for Christmas takes courage.

For those who have recently suffered a loss, I can say, eventually the meaning comes back to those small acts. Eventually shopping for groceries becomes another small way you make your own or the lives of others close to you a little bit happier. Christmas cards become, again, a way to spread a little cheer. You learn to celebrate the milestone events of those you love who are still here with you and you even learn to savor those moments and to learn from your loss to treasure that which you have not lost, to hug the mother, sister, brother, son, daughter, cousin, niece who are here in your life and who love you and whom you love.

And so I return to the Serenity Prayer. God, please grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, that some of my loved ones haved died early, that some people I love have chosen paths in life that separate them from me, the courage to change the things I can, to make my house a cheerful place, to be a helpful person in other peoples lives, to love those who love and care about me, and the wisdom to know the difference.

God Bless and Merry Christmas.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

The Groningen Protocol

The Netherlands seems like some sort of super clean, white coated, white bearded and bespectadled doctor in a science fiction movie, always trying out the liberal recommendations in real life that are just rallying cries elsewhere. It makes sense, having actually adopted gay marriage, more or less legal drug use and assisted suicide for older people that they would also extend the so-called mercy of euthanasia to infants too young to make their own decisions. The link above is a report of this developement. Like so many liberal positions, when the proposal is presented in cool laboratory terms, devoid of feeling, with a sort of pseudo rationality lent by medical degrees and appropriate pomposity, the idea of killing infants seems, well, downright merciful. The trouble is that infants who have managed to survive, object to the practice, which some have tried to institute here. Here is the website for the disabled resistance
www.notdeadyet.org


Their name, not dead yet, summarizes their point of view. Healthy and active people may think that life in a wheel chair, not being able to sit up or to ski or to do all of the things that those of us who are healthier or more able to, would be miserable. These people assure us that we are wrong about that. Life is full of meaning and enjoyment for even severely disabled people breathing with the help of ventilators.

There is a world of difference between killing someone and allowing someone to die. It is, forgive me, the difference between love and rape. A person, whether an infant or an adult, who really wants to die, will. A person who really wants to die does not need help. The help offered by the likes of a Dr. Kevorkian or the Groningen protocol , is a veiled shove over the precipice of a person who was merely thinking about their own death.

Monday, November 29, 2004

Understanding the Middle East Game Plan

Because the MSM is so biased against the war in Iraq, it is positively stupid about what is going on in the Middle East and fails completely to understand the game plan. Too many Democrats are really too stupid about international politics to be allowed ever to be in charge.

It is true that Iran is more a danger to us than Iraq. So Japan was a danger in WWII yet we never invaded Japan. How could that be? We invaded the Phillipines who were not our enemy. In this case, like what was going on during WWII we have an enemy that is Islamic Fascism. We are taking out the weaker links first. We must establish a beachhead, so to speak in Iraq, to be able to go after Iran. We may never physically invade Iran. Each war is different. Iranians mullahs clearly understand what is going on , that is why they are lending support to the "insurgents". A democratic, western leaning Iraq on one side with a democratic, western leaning Afghanistan on the other presents a terrible danger to the mullahs. It is all about geopolitics-- i. e. the territory which is controlled and how it enhances or subtracts from one's ability to make war. In other words, by fighting in Iraq, we ARE fighting the Iranian mullahs. There is no question about it.

Iran Focus-News - Iraq - Iranian agents captured in Falluja: "Iranian agents captured in Falluja %A0%A0 Sat. 13 Nov 2004







Iran Focus

Baghdad, Nov. 13 - Ten Iranian agents were arrested during a raid on a local mosque in Falluja following attacks by coalition forces. News of the arrests came at a press conference by the heads of the multinational and Iraqi forces in Falluja.

The mosque had been housing at least 300 militants with 110 of them confirmed to be foreign nationals.

The latest arrests follow a string of reports blaming Iran%92s religious regime of backing insurgencies in an attempt to halt the democratic process in Iraq.

The head of security in Soleimaniya (northern Iraq), Brigadier General Sarkout Hassan Jalal, said earlier this week, %93Paramilitary forces secretly bring fresh forces from Iran into Iraq, and then take them to Falluja and other places.%94

The Al-Sabah daily wrote on Nov. 8, %93Iraqi National Guard forces arrested eight Iranians as they were blowing up food storages and other centers in Kut. After preliminary interrogations of those arrested, it became clear that they were blowing up a storage room where election ballots were stored. Voters will receive one of these cards to participate in the upcoming elections by showing their birth certificate.%94

Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi urged the European Union to use its influence over Iran to stop them from 'fuelling violence' in his country. Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar also accused Iran of orchestrating attacks in Iraq. 'Iran is playing a negative role in Iraq. It is behind the assassination of more than 18 Iraqi intelligence officers. It is also playing a negative role in southern Iraq,' Yawar told Kuwait's Al-Qabas newspaper.
"

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Religious Scientists

1 SOSc

In honor of all of the religion bashing that has gone on since the election, I am linking to this humble website. It is the website of the Society of Ordained Scientists. How's that? you say. Each of the members of this organization is a) a published scientist and b) ordained as a priest or minister. No, I am not kidding. And it has a reasonably large membership.

If you want to find some thoughtful, educated discussion of the issues of science and religion, start here. Sometimes the reading is, to put it blntly, hard slogging. These are, after all, people who are doubly brilliant and professional.

Rather than engage in arguments with the people who flatter themselves by saying that no intelligent person could (unlike themselves) believe in a fantasy God, we should simply point to people who have more credentials as scientists than say, Bill Maher, who not only believe in God but who have taken the time and trouble to become ordained.

The best response to those who claim that apples do not exist is to show them an apple.

C. S. Lewis suggested that those who refuse to believe in God have emotional reasons. I think he was right. People who deny the existence of God tend, in my experience, to be either people who are very angry at what has happened to them in life or are people who want to be able to do whatever feels good and do not like the idea of a non self centered morality.

Such a philosophy when adopted as a life principle tends to be self destructive because it is, at its heart, nihilistic. Lewis has much to say about this in Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters.

Life without God becomes life without meaning if one meditates very much and very honestly on the issue. Human beings have a neurological need for God. See Why God Won't Go Away by Andrew Newberg, et. al.

Hugh Hewitt Eats Crow

Hugh, in his 11th wrong USC football prediction for the year, will find himself again eating ummm not turkey but crow.

In celebration, go to this website where you can play the appropriate one of USC's many songs, Conquest ( the song the Trojan Marching Band plays after every touchdown)-- they played it often on Saturday at the Notre Dame game-- 41-10, Hugh

The Spirit of Troy - USC Trojan Marching Band

Thursday, November 25, 2004

JP Blecksmith-United States Marine

This essay, which appears on a marine's blog, captures much of what I wanted to say further about 2nd Lt. JP Blecksmith, who was killed in the battle for Fallujah. I attended his funeral because he is a son of my parish and because i wanted to honor his memory.

It was an impressive, awe inspiring ritual. More than 1500 people attended, completely filling our parish church AND the new parish hall. We all knew that we were in the presence of a true hero. On the back of the program was a quote from another son of our parish, General George S. Patton, Jr. "Let me not mourn for men who died fighting, but rather let me be glad that such heros lived"

In thinking about JP, as his friends called him, I reflected that he could have chosen so many other careers. For those who are not familiar with San Marino, it is a kind of older, quieter, more Republican Beverly Hills. JP was privileged to have parents who could provide him with a solid education. He attended Annapolis and could have chosen the Navy and, in this war, relative safety. He chose the Marines. The wonderful essay I have linked here talks about the unique history of the United States Marine Corps. You join the Marines to fight, if they will have you. You are trained to a high standard of honor and spirit. We are honored as a nation to have such men to protect us. Read the excerpt below and follow the link. It is well worth reading.

Domine, Non Sum Dignus » What Makes a Marine a Marine?: "All Marines die in the red flash of battle or the white cold of the nursing home. In the vigor of youth or the infirmity of age all will eventually die, but the Marine Corps lives on. Every Marine who ever lived is living still, in the Marines who claim the title today. It is that sense of belonging to something that will outlive your own mortality which gives people a light to live by and a flame to mark their passing."

Emphasizing the Negative

The trouble with articles like this one, which is about poor urban black "families", is that it focusses so exclusively on phenomena that are undoubtedly a problem, that it conveys the idea that this is the experience of all American black people. When I read this article I remember my friend Tina, a college graduate and one of four children of a two parent family raised in Ohio.

There are a great many two parent black families. They represent not a breakaway "new" model, but the prevalent model of black families until maybe 30 years ago. The truth is that welfare and attitudes that encouraged irresponsibility have contributed to the creation of dysfunctional black families as they have to the creation of dysfunctional families of every ethnic origin. What this article, probably well meaning does, however, is reinforce the idea that the free sex and love--welfare--crime continuum is somehow uniquely black. It's not. You will find some of the same phenomena, expressed differently but still the same fatherlessness, going on among white and Hispanic families. It is the result of a culture that believes that sex should be untied from responsibility. Sex in the city leads to fatherless children living in poverty leads to crime. That is how reality works. What this article is missing is the need to return to a sexual morality that says that sex should be confined to marriage. It's not prudery. It's not right wing religious fanaticism. it's what is best for children.

City Journal Autumn 2004 | Dads in the ‘Hood by Kay S. Hymowitz: "Could the black family—in free fall since the 1965 Moynihan report first warned of the threat of its disintegration—finally be ready for a turnaround? There's sure a lot of soul-searching on the subject. A 2001 survey by CBS News and BET.com, a website affiliated with the Black Entertainment Television network, found that 92 percent of African-American respondents agreed that absentee fathers are a serious problem. In black public discourse, personal responsibility talk, always encompassing family responsibility, has been crowding out the old orthodoxy of reparations and racism. Bill Cosby's much debated remarks in June at the Rainbow/Push conference, calling on parents to take charge of their kids and for men to 'stop beating up your women because you can't find a job,' set off an amen corner. Democratic National Convention keynote speaker Barack Obama, the black Illinois senatorial candidate, celebrated family, hard work, and the inner-city citizens who 'know that parents have to parent.' In a New York Times op-ed, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates added his blessing when he asked, 'Are white racists forcing black teenagers to drop out of school or have babies?' Even the wily Reverend Al recently corrected one of the Times's most fervent PC watchdogs, Deborah Solomon, that, no, Cosby wasn't being racist, and that 'we didn't go through the civil rights movement only to end up as thugs and hoodlums.'"

America is Different Because It Chose God

As this lovely article by an immigrant should remind us, the roots of the American identity and experience are a specific form of Christianity-- a form that belived that belief in God was more important than country, than family, than history and tradition. That belief is also, contrary to leftwing stereotypes, believes in love and forgiveness. We as a country are different from other countries, not because God chose us, but because we chose God. And we know that God loves every human being as if there were only one of us to love (Hat tip to St. Augustine) Thus differences of history and tradition are less important than our common humanity.

HoustonChronicle.com - An adopted daughter gives thanks to America: "You also impart to us a willingness to love and to forgive. These are very vulnerable concepts for many of us foreigners who were bound by traditions of getting even. You know, my Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese friends told me that they don't really get along well with each other, but it was Tan who reached out to Chin and invited her to our gatherings. In our international fellowship, I've often seen Croats break bread with Serbs and people from all over the Middle East — people who would be each others' enemies if they were still in their countries — befriend one another."

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Global Media Becomes a Combatant

Retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a frequent contributor to the New York Post notes, not for the first time, that Global Media has become part of the enemy combatant force.

Jack Kelly: Victory in Fallujah: "The victory in Fallujah was also remarkable for its speed, Peters said. Speed was necessary, he said, 'because you are fighting not just the terrorists, but a hostile global media.'"

The truth is that we expect Al Jazeera to be on the side of the insurgents, and, unfortunately, we have come to expect the same thing from the New York Times, CBS, NBC and ABC. It is time for each and every one of us to acknowledge our own complicity. These media giants are giants because we watch them or read them. It is that simple. Every time you buy a newspaper or watch a TV show you are voting with your money.

Saturday, November 20, 2004

France holds up its end of the Axis of Weasels

From MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute):

MEMRI: Latest News: "With the defeat of the Saddam Hussein regime on April 9, 2003, the Ba'th ruling party was outlawed and a committee for the de-Ba'thification of Iraq was established. [1] However, the Ba'th's propaganda machine appears to have found a new abode in Paris, France, whence threats to the U.S. are issued regularly in three languages - English, French, and Spanish. Not surprisingly, the Ba'thist propagandists use the word 'resistance' (in French, 'la resistance') to underscore the association with the struggle against the Nazi occupation of France during WWII.

The resurrection of the Ba'th Party on French soil was further strengthened by France's proposal that representatives of 'la resistance' should participate in any future conference that will be convened to discuss the future of Iraq. This position was clearly stated by Michel Barnier, the French Foreign Minister, in an interview with the French TV station ' France Inter.' In the interview, Mr. Barnier called for a political process in Iraq that would include 'a number of groups and people who have today opted for the path of resistance through the use of weapons.' [2]"

My comment: This is really almost an act of war by France. To establish a base of support for the former thugocracy of Iraq which is currently engaged in killing our troops, Iraqi troops and innocent Iraqi civilians, is unconscionable and uncomprehensible. There is no charm that is enought to compensate for this traitorous act by them. I hope our President will do something about this.

Flogging a Dead Horse, AGAIN

MSNBC - : "SECURE UNDISCLOSED LOCATION— There has been a John Kerry sighting.

“Regardless of the outcome of this election, once all the votes are counted— and they will be counted— we will continue to challenge this administration,” the 2004 Democratic candidate said in a prepared statement released today. “I will fight for a national standard for federal elections that has both transparency and accountability in our voting system. It is unacceptable in the United States that people still don’t have full confidence in the integrity of the voting process.”"


My Comment: These so called scholarly studies are a bunch of what if's, assumptions, , liberal world views that argue, essentially, that, if voters didn't behave the way liberals expected them to, then the voters don't exist.

They have not one shred of evidence, based on actually examining the machines, that the machines didn't work or that there was fraud. Their actual argument is, we didn't think you would vote that way, so you must not have. This from people who only recently learned the location of the Florida panhandle or Central Ohio. This from a bunch of people who look down their noses at people who live in these states.

So here is a newsflash for all of the academics who can barely stand to contemplate people who work for a living: Lots of people don't vote for president when they can't make up their minds because they want to vote on the down ballot issues. Lots of Democrats vote for Republicans and lots of Republicans vote for Democrats. Hey-- get over it. You lost.

Thursday, November 18, 2004

The Fog of War

I hear all these discussions about the Marine who killed a wounded terrorist differently now. I was never on the side of the people who condemned the Marine. But I think I used to think of it as a fierce game between the critics and the defenders. Now it makes me very sad. Even though I did not know JP Blecksmith personally, I am more deeply and thoroughly aware that what is going on in Iraq is not a video game. If you make a mistake, you cannot just cancel the game and start over. The Geneva Conventions were adopted in hopes of keeping war contained. They were a statement that all Is NOT fair in war. And because they were about containing war, apparently, they explicitly say that protocols relating to treatment of the wounded only apply when the enemy combatant himself or in the collective have ALSO been following the rules.

One thing everyone is agreed on is that these combatants didn't follow any of the rules, that they consider the Western tendency to follow the rules a weakness to be exploited.

What makes me so sad is that 1) at a time when our troops should be hailed and celebrated and thanked over and over and over again, this garbage, obscene arm-chair critique of a young man who has laid his life on the line for you and me, is going on.

I think to myself, What is wrong with these people? It is the left that treats this all as seriously as a videogame or a high school debate. They have no care for the consequences of what they say or do. It is the same feeling I get when I see abused or neglected children. I ask myself, how could an adult do this? These Marines are not children and they can take care of themselves, but nevertheless I ask the left how can you be so hateful toward the people who have protected you from a terrorist attack for the last three years?

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

The Geneva Convention and Fallujah

Before we all go on about what the Geneva Convention requires, we ought to, maybe, read it. One of the requirements for a combatant to be protected by the Geneva Convention is that he carry his arms openly.

The enemy combatants in Fallujah had, based on other statements, frequently used wounded and dead as decoys to hide weapons-- i. e. booby trap.Thus they are not entitled to the convention that requires the U. S. to protect the wounded. They violated other conventions by failing to dress in distinctive garb that would allow the Marines to tell from a distance who is a civilian and who is a foe.

If we are going to talk about the geneva convenations, maybe we should read them.

Reference Guide to the Geneva Conventions

Update to JP Blecksmith

JP Blecksmith's funeral will be at 1:00 on Saturday November 20 at Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal) in San Gabriel

Monday, November 15, 2004

In memoriam Lt. James P. Blecksmith


George S. Patton, Jr., originally uploaded by sdsali.

I didn't know Lt. Blecksmith personally. He died last week, in Fallujah. the picture above is of a statue of General Patton, who died in World War II. It stands in the garden of Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel. The church that George Patton, James Blecksmith and I all have attended.

When I go there I know I walk where heroes have walked.

Lt. Blecksmith was a Marine. He was only 24. He was loved by his mother and father and his brothers and sister and friends. He died doing something he believed in. He died trying to make the world safer for me and mine. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

For now the battle for Fallujah seems to be won. It may not be until my son's or my grandson's generation that we will know if the War on Terror is won, finally and for certain. But I already know that our soldiers are finer than we could hope or expect and that we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude. Thank you Marines. Thank you soldiers.

Well done, good and faithful servants. Well done.

Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

CBS Lies Again

I think now that the CBS reporters aren't even thinking about telling lies, its a way of life for them like it is for drug addicts. As in dealing with drug addicts, you begin to think, What's the point of trying to argue with them. Claims of Saddam's WMD had no foundation? There were all sorts of reports of WMD's, there was a time in the past when we know he had them because he used them. We have found sarin gas there now although not in large quantities. The Duelfer Report makes it clear Saddam wanted his neighbors to believe he had WMDs and , most important, he had the capability of making them. Somehow it is not enough to the left to tell the truth-- some of the claims Powell made to the U. N. rested on faulty evidence-- maybe it is the lawyer in me-- faulty evidence is not the same as no evidence. In law, it is a very big difference. For example, in a libel suit if you believed you were telling the truth, you can avoid punitive damages and you may avoid damages altogether, though the statement you made, believing it was true, turned out to be false. Is this too subtle and nuanced for liberals? If this reporter so casually repeats a Michael Moore lie as if it were true, he should not be a reporter.

White House adviser Rice 'likely' to succeed Powell - Coal - Food and Beverage - Forest Products and Paper - Industrial, Diversified - Mining and Metals - Oil and Gas - Natural Resources - Industrial Products & Services - Energy - Bond Market - Economy - War & Terrorism: "Iraq has dominated Powell's attention during his nearly four years with the administration. He will perhaps be best remembered for his appearance before the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003, during which he argued that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein must be removed from power because he possessed weapons of mass destruction.


There is no evidence that those claims had any foundation. Powell has maintained all along that the use of force by the United States-led coalition in Iraq was justified."

Working Poor is an Oxymoron

As Steven Malanga demonstrates in this article: City Journal Autumn 2004 | The Myth of the Working Poor by Steven Malanga

If you work hard and don't blow it on drugs or other bad choices the evidence is that you will no longer be poor even if you have only a high school education and no particular skills. The American dream is alive and well, but the left doesn't like it. Why? Probably so they can live in style while sneering at the people whose tax money they live off in the guise of government programs to help the poor.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

From one Theo to Another in Holland

Dhimmi Watch: "While the Arab-European League accused the Dutch immigration minister of giving a 'Hitler speech' at a rally in protest at van Gogh's murder, the Dutch know who the real Hitlers are. Even the most liberal society is illiberal when it is a question of survival. The Dutch see those who dream of Europe under a revived caliphate as a threat to their way of life. The prospect of Islamist imams imposing sharia law on Dutch cities amounts, they feel, to a new Nazi occupation


Unlike his great, great, great uncle Vincent, Theo van Gogh was not a genius. Was he really an artist at all? But van Gogh's murder has proved him right about the hardline Islamists. Their ideology is inimical to all that the Dutch hold dear. Last night, as van Gogh's cremation was seen on television, the tension was palpable. Holland is now the crucible of Europe. Not even the most tolerant people on earth can tolerate the Islamists."

When I first read this story, I thought my brain was confused. Theo Van Gogh-- wasn't that the brother of Vincent, the one who supported him and took care of him. Well, this the was a great great grandson, apparently, of that Theo. He made a movie about how Muslims treat women. I watched it on the net, it wasn't great, but it was critical. For this action. of telling the truth of Muslims and women, told by women who had been Muslim, he was murdered in broad daylight on a Dutch street. Apparently, the Dutch are, at last, offended. Perhaps the tide will turn before Eurabia becomes a reality.

Orrin Hatch gets it just right

Right Wing News (Conservative News and Views): "We are therefore pleased to learn that Sen. Orrin Hatch is introducing his own constitutional amendment. His version reads as follows: 'Civil marriage shall be defined in each state by the legislature or the citizens thereof. Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to require that marriage or its benefits be extended to any union other than that of a man and a woman.' This amendment would not only clearly allow civil unions to be enacted by legislatures; it would even allow legislatures to enact full-fledged same-sex marriage. But it would bar federal or state courts from imposing either.


Some conservatives will object that this amendment does not go far enough. But what it does is meet the challenge that actually inspired an amendment in the first place: the threat that judges will impose same-sex marriage or its equivalent in disregard of the public will. Hatch's language has the additional advantage of being clear and understandable to the layman. For most people, the notion that legislators should be making these decisions will seem like simple common sense.'


This my friends, is a winner. It is a Constitutional Amendment that CAN BE PASSED and that addresses the STATED concerns of people who are pro-gay marriage. This Amendment leaves the decision to the states & it does not use the Constitution to settle the issue of gay marriage forevermore. Of course, a lot of people who are pro-gay marriage would fight this Amendment tooth and nail because despite their claims to the contrary, they want the judiciary to impose gay marriage on America. But fighting against an Amendment like this would expose their real agenda for what it is.


On the other hand, as National Review said, there may be some conservatives who oppose this Amendment because they believe it doesn't go far enough. Hey, I understand where they're coming from, but you have to take your victories where you can find them. As I mentioned last week, Constitutional Amendments are difficult to get approved under the best of circumstances and this isn't the best of circumstances. So if we can pass an Amendment that protects states from having gay marriage imposed on them by the judiciary -- and as I said, I think Hatch's Amendment could be passed -- that would be a notable improvement over the current situation.


So if W. finds that he doesn't have the votes to get the Constitutional Amendment he's pushing for through Congress -- and that will probably be the case --I would strongly recommend that he throw his full support behind Hatch's Amendment or something very much like it."


John Hawkins in Rightwingnews.com also gets it right. Orrin Hatch's proposed amendment to the constitution exactly meets the attempt by gay activists to force marriage down the throat of the American people. It makes quite clear that the state propositions which have passed will be the law of those states and will not be set aside by activist judges. It also captures the elusive middle. That is, while it does not settle the question forever and for all time, it does require a vote of a legislature or the people of a state. If that amendment had been part of the constitution, Massachusetts would not now have gay marriage.

Gonzales will be a better pick than others think.

Captain's Quarters: "It seems to me that Bush did little for himself politically with this selection. Perhaps Rudy Giuliani and Larry Thompson made it known that they were not interested, but in the short time frame that the decision was made, it simply appears that Gonzalez was the pick all along. Either Giuliani or Thompson would have had a much easier time going through the confirmation process. Giuliani's star quality would have made him a highly effective proponent for the Patriot Act renewal, and his track record would have lent more trust to its implementation. Thompson would have been a smooth transition, professional and low-key, whose conservative bent would have kept Bush's base happy.


While I believe Gonzalez to be qualified to do the job, I don't think he was the most effective pick. Look for more challenges and partisan sniping from both the confirmation process and the Patriot Act renewal campaign in the upcoming session."

I think the captain has it wrong. First, let's look at plain old voting blocks. Picking Gonzales is saying to Hispanics who voted for him, thanks for your supports. Second, while it won't mollify the left, it will reassure the middle that hears all the left wing hysterics about the new theocracy. Gonzales is clearly not that guy. On the other hand, he is a loyal friend. Contrary to what you hear from the left, where the real extremism in this country is located, Roe v. Wade does not stand in the way of banning partial birth abortion. Roe v. Wade explicitly allows the government to regulate the treatment accorded to VIABLE fetuses. Partial birth abortions are only performed on viable fetuses. When they are not viable there is no need to kill them. (Which is part of the legal definition of partial birth abortion). Gonzales, I hope, will be the guy who can explain this to the worried middle. Contrary to what many pundits claim, abortion is an issue with a compromise position, made possible by the left's extremism. To protect viable fetuses is now characterized by the leadership of the Democratic party as an extreme right wing position. It is also one which some 70 percent of the American people agree with.

Monday, November 08, 2004

As Usual, Lying with Statistics

What the following report doesnt' tell you is that other countries do not count as infant deaths babies born near death. Thus the infant mortality rate in the U. S. always looks worse than that of nations that don't report every live birth as a birth.

Also , they really attribute the ususal leftwing reasons without any research into the facts. For example, lack of health insurance does not mean lack of medical care. There is no effort here to differentiate based on age of mother (teenage mothers have a higher infant mortality rate) or other non public health related factors.

FOXNews.com - Health - Minnesota Tops List of State Health Rankings : "The survey has documented steady improvements in a host of health indicators across the country since 1990 in areas including deaths from infectious diseases, motor vehicle accidents, and violent crime. But experts now warn that gains seen up until 2000 have leveled off to near stagnation.


“We’re not really making progress year over year,” says Reed Tuckson, MD, vice president of the United Health Foundation, one of three groups releasing the study.


Tuckson cites a near-doubling in national obesity rates since 1990 as a major drag on what could otherwise be an improving health picture for Americans. While death from violent crimes, cancer, infectious diseases, and car accidents are down, those gains appear to be at least partially erased by a 23 perhaps obesity rate in the adult population.


Obesity is associated with a variety of health problems, including diabetes, pregnancy difficulties, and cardiovascular disease. A study published earlier this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association predicted that by next year obesity could overtake smoking as the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S."

The Best post election analysis going

The Horserace Blog: Election Analysis Part II: Bush and the Republicans: "Note: Sorry this is a tad late. The Horserace Blogger needed to sleep in today!!!

As Bush-Cheney 2004 (BC04) was a reelection campaign, it had a fundamental advantage – it had the experience of four years ago upon which to draw. There were many lessons for them to have learned from Bush-Cheney 2000 (BC00). BC00 was run much the same that traditional Republican campaigns have been run. It was a top-down affair. BC00 did a masterful job of cultivating a good relationship with the media. Bush was decidedly chummy with his traveling press corps, and this chumminess engendered many a positive story – if you have any doubt, check out Alexandra Pelosi’s fantastic Journeys with George. It is important to remember that Bush was perceived differently that year. Bush and Rove worked very hard to cast Bush as a transcendent Republican, i.e. a Republican who could make peace with the Democrats, a Republican who could end the animosity that lingered after Clinton’s impeachment, a Republican who was not cast of Gingrich’s mold. Bush’s personality was perfectly suited to this task. He is, by all accounts, a very, very amiable fellow. A combination of Bush’s personality and the general theme of the campaign made this quite a smart strategy.
"

Another Orwellian Label-The reality Based Community

Warblogging.com: The Reality-Based Community — Read in the White House: "There is the faith-based community and the reality-based community. In the reality-based community we have such odd bedfellows as Patrick Buchanan, John Kerry and Jim Wallis (a Sojourner minister who has met with Bush on several occasions). As Matthew Yglesias notes, we may have finally found the unifying theme for the 'anti-Bush coalition'. Reality.

Gene Healy has suggested that we start printing and wearing 'Reality-Based Community' t-shirts. It may not be a bad idea."

Reality based? Cut me a break. The left continually tries to create their own reality and when reality does not conform to their ideas they ignore it.

Here is some reality: RE: Same sex marriage: My ex, who is gay,and I still see each other and have a bond some 30 years after we were divorced. What is it? Our children. His children are my children. Our Grandchild. There is a sense, which any parents can tell you, in which you will always be married to the person with whom you produced children. Your lives are inextricably tied together in a way that cannot ever be replicated in a same sex relationship. When we look at that little carrier of both of our DNA, he's the same little guy and that same biological urge to protect and promote and save, hits us both. It takes a man and a woman to have a baby. That's reality.

On the issue of babies, by the way, the left goes way beyond Roe v. Wade, which held that states could not prohibit abortions BEFORE the baby is viable. Unfortunately for NARAL and the doctrinaire left, medical science keeps moving that line back. Further, NARAL insists on the right to have and "abortion" right up until the baby is delivered, completely and naturally. Newsflash to the left, partial birth abortion, which NARAL has made a test case is different from an early delivery only in the fact that the baby is killed before it leaves the womb. The reason for that is that these so called abortions are performed late in a pregnancy when, if the baby is not killed before it leaves the womb, it might well survive. You can pretend all you want that that physical object that has a heart beat and a brain and which will breathe on its own once it is allowed to be born without being killed is not a baby, but those of us in the real reality based community know, that it is a baby, a small human person.

We know that, for example, if the person who killed Laci Peterson had pulled her baby from the womb, he would likely still be alive.

This is reality. The truth is the left is constantly engaged in spinning and denying reality so as not to have to see the consequences of the self centered agenda that they advocate.

With regard to the war-- the truth is that the islamofascists want to kill us because we are not islamofascists, that most of the civilians who have died in the war are the victims of arab terrorists not U. S. troops and that we must end Islamofascism if we are to live safely in this world.

That's the reality. Somehow, we who have faith in a greater power seem to be more able to face reality than the faithless so called reality based community. They find reality way too painful so they spin it which is a nice way of saying they lie to themselves and others about it. Babies or old people inconvenient because they make us either be responsible for others or face or own selfishness?-- No problem, lets pass laws allowing for abortion of even perfectly formed, adequately mature babies in the womb and assisted suicide laws. That way we can get rid of the helpless inconvenient life that would draw us away from our higher pursuits of patting each other on the back.

Do I sound angry? Well, I am.

The Gay Agenda Has Not Stopped

Gay News From 365Gay.com: "(San Francisco, California) A bill that would make same-sex marriage legal in California will be one of the first items on the agenda when the new session of the state Assembly convenes says the man who wrote the legislation.


Assemblymember Mark Leno tells the San Francisco Chronicle that he is not concerned that all eleven states which had constitutional bans on the ballot last week passed the measures.


Leno says that he has broad bipartisan support for his bill.  Although it does not specifically mention same-sex marriage it redefines the definition of marriage from a contract 'between a man and a woman'' to a contract 'between two persons.''   


The San Francisco Democrat, who is openly gay, said that Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and about 30 other legislators plus Treasurer Phil Angelides, Controller Steve Westly and Secretary of State Kevin Shelley support the bill."

Nevermind the California Constitutional Amendment that specifically states that marriage is between one man and one woman. And why? Because the right people really want it. Why is it that, to the left, what they want is always more important than what anyone else wants? Because they are, as Tammy Bruce notes, malignant narcissists.

Friday, November 05, 2004

Another Polling Flaw is Revealed

In most polling organizations on the presidential election, people are asked whether they are happy with the direction the country is headed. A no answer to that question is generally interpreted as being negative for the incumbent. In this case I think that interpretation was wrong. Put simply, the direction of the country emcompasses everything from Janet Jackson's breast to the the War in Iraq. For Values Voters, the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, coupled with actions by Gavin Newsome, the mayor of San Francisco decreeing gay marriage by fiat, were definite indicators that the country was headed in the wrong direction. Couple that with court decisions invalidating the partial birth abortion ban that was passed and they are very unhappy about the direction the country is headed in. But, Most Importantly, they didn't blame the president, nor should they have. They blamed the Democrats, and should have. The most wonderful thing about this election is that in very few instances were voters fooled by Democratic campaign rhetoric which tried to obscure their true positions.



The Bush Realignment: "What Kerry failed to see, and ultimately what sealed the fate of his candidacy, was a similarly momentous change in people's view of social issues brought into play earlier this year by the high court of his own home state. As we argued in these pages a month before the election ('The Rise of the Values Voter,' Oct. 11), survey research commissioned by Time and MSNBC/Knight-Ridder revealed that concern over social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage had taken a quantum leap this year and had become far more favorable to Republicans than in previous election cycles, particularly in the swing states in which the election was ultimately decided.
"

Thursday, November 04, 2004

After The Election

A lot of pundits are pondering the meaning of the election. I agree most with the Wall Street Journal. Miguel Estrada for the Supreme Court. Carolyn Kuhl and Janice Rogers Brown for the 9th Circuit. At a minimum. To people like Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, who, torn between his liberal values regarding social issues and his strong support for the war in Iraq, I say, please take another look at those social values. There is, indeed, a halfway point on issues like abortion and gay marriage. Abortion has never been about the right of a woman to control her own body. It is about that other person that grows inside her. Her baby. 80 percent of the American people, when they have the procedure explained to them, are opposed to partial birth abortion. The extreme position demanded by NARAL of any politician who wants national Democratic Party support, is killing the Democratic Party. What do I mean by extreme? Democrats, by their votes, assert that a woman has a right to engage a doctor to kill a baby which would be able to breathe, eat and cry on its own absent a pair of scissors inserted into its brain stem to kill it. They assert the right of a woman to engage a doctor to do this act for any reason the woman finds compelling. They refuse to acknowledge the reality of that baby's human being. They voted against the Lacy Peterson act, finding two victims when the woman is pregnant because it implicitly acknowledges the personhood of an unborn infant. The problem with partial birth abortion issue is that anyone who has ever had a baby or who has ever held a newborn baby knows that a day or a week before, if this infant had had to be delivered fromm even a dead mother, it would have lived. They know that this is a fully formed human being capable of life outside the womb by, at the outside, the sixth month. NARAL doesn't just want to protect Roe v. Wade, they insist on extending it. In Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court set the boundary of when the states could legislate protection for the unborn at the point where an infant could survive outside the womb. That is not enough for NARAL, they insist on an interpretation that allows a mother to have a doctor kill a baby which has partially emerged from the womb, its legs and body, hands and arms.

On the issue of gay marriage, again, the Republican majority can probably be talked into laws regulating domestic partnerships, if such laws are not cast in sexual terms. In California, for example, we have statutes concerning auto sales contracts, landlord and tenant arrangements and a host of other, essentially, contractual relationships. These laws require some contract terms, disallow some others and create a model contract in some cases, for those who do not have the money or time to construct their own. Similarly, there is a model will for the same reason. There is nothing inherently wrong in a state saying that it recognizes that persons who are not husband and wife may wish to enter a contractual relationship concerng their living situations and providing a model contract for that purpose. This could include, for example a grandmother and her grandchildren living with her. There is no reason for limiting a domestic partnership to persons maintaining a sexual relationship. Afer all, the claim made by homosexuals is that they are not able to have the defined obligations of marriage. But why shouldn't a man and woman who want to live together, for example, be able to enter a domestic partnership/

AS for marriage itself, I think that institution. to the extent it is recognized legally, must be reserved for a man and a woman, for the reasons I have set forth before.

On these two issues, Mr. Friedman and others who feel as he does, there is room for reasonable people to resolve their differences. If they are willing to budge one inch off of their positions.

Sunday, October 31, 2004

Why the Polls Don't Make Sense

(washingtonpost.com)

If you look at the weekend tracking polls, they don't make sense. The war on terror and the war in Iraq are listed as the most important issues in the election, Bush is rated far ahead of Kerry in handling those issues, and only slightly behind him on handling the economy, yet Bush and Kerry are even. There is an inconsistency there.

In thinking about that inconsistency, and some problems I have had to deal with in my family life, I remembered some words Bush has been saying, and the first three words of one of my favorite books, The Road Less Travelled, by Scott Peck. The first three words of that book are emblazoned on my memory. "Life is Difficult". In the rest of the book, a perennial best seller, Peck discusses the spiritual and psychological problems and consequences flowing from that hard truth. In summary, he says, if you face the difficulties, acknowledge them, work through them, then the difficulties are not so bad and life becomes, ironically, less difficult. But if you pretend that they are not there, or that they are someone else's fault, then, he says, they will get worse. Most mental and spiritual illness, he says, is a refusal to face the evil, the weakness and the pain in one's life. Scott Peck, last I checked was a liberal. Nevertheless, the ideas presented in his one great book still bear thinking about.

Because, I think, they explain this irrational desire to dump Bush, the irrational hatred of Bush. Bush is the leader who had the courage to point the finger, to name names to face the evil in our common lives as a nation.

We had 30 years of the American people refusing to accept this particular evil. From Jimmy Carter, whose State Department in the guise of helping a populist movement, refused to support the Shah of Iran , and Reagan, who had bigger fish to fry than what seemed like the petty evil of the Wahabbists, to Bush 41 who pretended it was just Saddam to Clinton who pretended it was a legal problem. Now we have a president who names names and kicks , well you know what. And it is scary. And it is hard and it is painful. And a lot of people are definitely not into scary, hard and painful. And Kerry tells them, leave it to me, I will take care of it, its easy if you know what you are doing. It is a siren song. REmember the sirens? They were the beautiful singers trying to lure Odysseus onto the rocks. And that is what is so frightening about this election. People want to be deceived because they have been promised that life really is not so hard, or it shouldn't be, or it is someone else's fault. So there is an emotional disconnect between what people know and how they are willing to vote.

Friday, October 29, 2004

Who Is Orwellian?

Newsday.com: NAACP leader's speech probed for tax-exempt offense: "NAACP leader's speech probed for tax-exempt offense
"

Julian Bond dawns his self-righteous liberal hat. When Newt Gingrich started conservative organizations, he and they were sued for violating this charitable organization prohibition. In addition, a number of people have been attending conservative churches and complaining that their pastors are campaigning from the pulpit. That is all apparently okay with liberals and Julian Bond. Only liberal non-profits are allowed to be political, not conservative ones. Well, as they used to say, what is good for the Republicans can be used to cook the Democrat goose.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Bush's October Surprise--Russia tied to Iraq's missing arms

Russia tied to Iraq's missing arms - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - October 28, 2004: "Defense officials said the Russians can provide information on what happened to the Iraqi weapons and explosives that were transported out of the country. Officials believe the Russians also can explain what happened to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs.

Whether planned or not, this story may well work to Bush's advantage before next Tuesday. Most people are skipping over this paragraph about the Russians providing information. There have been signs of a change of the Russian heart. The reason almost certainly is Beslan. There have been other terrorist acts in Russia in the past, but the horror of this one exceeded all of the others.

Putin wants Bush to win. Why? Bush understands the war on terror, he is a known entity and he is dependable. Kerry is none of those things.

In addition, by various actions Bush has made it clear that repentance and redemption are possible even for the people who were double dealing with Saddam, IF and its a big IF, they provide material assistance in the war on terror.

I don't think this last parapgraph in the story is a throwaway.
    
"

Pre-positioning Florida to Stop the Election

The key thing you need to remember about this story is the fact that is left out-- In Florida, election officials at the county level are elected. They are the ones who handle the actual voting. The officials who have supposedly messed this up are all Democrats. Now why would they be so careless as to lose 58,000 ballots? Maybe this is just another scam. Its enough ballots to change the outcome in Florida, and it gives the Dems a way to set aside the whole state election and demand a do-over. This is a very dangerous sitation and needs to be investigated right away.


FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Up to 58,000 Ballots Lost in Fla. County: "Up to 58,000 Ballots Lost in Fla. County"

Monday, October 25, 2004

If Kerry Wins Gay Marriage Will Be Mandated By the Supreme court

While Kerry has been mendaciously leading people opposed to gay marriage to believe that he opposes it, the truth is that he has promised homosexual advocacy groups that he will appoint judges who will enact it. If this issue is important to you, you must vote for Bush



Courting the Gay Vote: "ocate's profiler/interviewer, Chad Graham, writes that while the last three Democratic nominees, Bill Clinton twice and Al Gore, sat down for interviews in their election years, 'Kerry is the only one with the mettle to do it this close to an election. Bill Clinton and Al Gore spoke with the magazine months before facing voters on Election Day. Kerry speaks to us in an issue that will reach readers mere days before November 2.'



In the interview, Kerry repeats his opposition to same-sex marriage in language that can generously be described as cryptic: 'I have my view, and my view is my view.' Why, then, should gays come out to vote for the Kerry-Edwards ticket?


'If they think that they want a Supreme Court with more justices like Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia,' Kerry replies, 'then they should stay home. If they want a Court appointed by John Kerry that's going to fight for equality in America and the fair interpretation of the equal protection clause and due process, this is the most important election of our lifetime.'


The passage beginning 'fair interpretation' is of course the signal: Kerry's Supreme Court appointees, he is saying, will have views similar to those that led the Massachusetts high court to mandate gay marriage in Kerry's home state earlier this year. This should be posted next to Kerry's 'litmus



test' for judges on upholding Roe v. Wade, affirmed by the senator under Bush's challenge in the third presidential debate on October 13. This would enable the second Roman Catholic president, John F. Kerry, to continue to hold as a personal view his belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, just as he honors the church teaching that human life begins at conception, while at the same time blackballing any future judge who might vote against abortion or same-sex marriage as mandated constitutional law.


Even with a Bush victory on November 2, then, the revolutionary agenda of judicial elites is very far from being thwarted. A Kerry victory means that enactment of the judge-made marriage revolution is only a matter of time."

The Lord Loves Those Who Hate Evil

When all else fails, read the Bible. Psalm 97:10 "The Lord loves those who hate evil;he guards the lives of his faithful;he rescues them from the hand of the wicked. Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright of heart. Rejoice in the Lord oh you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name."

Now, when all is said and done, that is where we have to look for our election advice. These are, indeed, the times that try men's (and women's ) souls. When we see that almost half our nation appears to be willing to vote for a man who is willing to sell his soul for a billion dollars (okay, the price was high anyway), its pretty frightenting.

Why there is not Flu Vaccine Available

Here is just an example of the predatory trial lawyer at work. Not content to wait for people to come to them, they tell people who have Guillain Barre syndrome, maybe you got it from flu vaccine. Since so many people get vaccinated for the flu every year, there is a good chance that a lot of people who have Guillain Barre also had a flu vaccine injection.

To understand the dishonest science of it: What if the ad said, maybe you go it from drinking milk as a child. Most of the sufferers of GB did drink milk as a child because most people drink milk as a child. Scientists looking for cause and effect look for a lot more evidence than that. But the truth is that the lawsuits put a dampening effect on the industry and make people decide not to go into a business if it simply becomes a way to support trial lawyers.


Flu Vaccine Side Effects: "The Influenza vaccine is linked to neurological side effects and autoimmune conditions such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome. The Flu vaccine is given prior to Flu season in order to protect against the Influenza virus.

For years evidence has been mounting linking the Flu vaccine to serious neurological side effects. There have been occasional cases involving influenza vaccines causing Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and other autoimmune conditions. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances, the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase in intensity until the muscles cannot be used at all and the patient is almost totally paralyzed.

Additionally critics of the Flu Vaccine argue that the Flu vaccine might be irrelevant. These critics argue that the flu vaccine, for most healthy people, is (1) unnecessary; (2) ineffective; and (3) capable of causing serious neurological injuries. Most cases of so-called flu are not influenza at all, but rather cases involving rhinoviruses and other infections. Getting the flu, for most healthy individuals is not very serious.

Flu vaccines are admittedly viewed by many in the public health community as being a monetary vaccine, designed to reduce days lost from work.
"

Friday, October 22, 2004

Robertson Misremembers

CNN.com - No casualties? White House disputes Robertson comment - Oct 20, 2004: " 
Law

 

No casualties? White House disputes Robertson comment

'The president never made such a comment'


The best admonition in evaluating this story is from California Civil Jury Instruction Number 107 (These are standard jury instructions which California Courts must give to jurors in guiding them how to decide civil cases in California)

Sometimes a witness may say something that is not consistent
with something else he or she said. Sometimes different witnesses
will give different versions of what happened. People often forget
things or make mistakes in what they remember. Also, two
people may see the same event but remember it differently. You
may consider these differences, but do not decide that testimony
is untrue just because it differs from other testimony.

Seizing on this remark is part and parcel of the MSM campaign against Bush. If we go back and remember WHAT WAS BEING ARGUED before the war in Iraq started, the number of casualties actually suffered to date is very small even at 1000. Pessimists were predicting many thousands of casualties before our troops even made it to Baghdad. The war went immeasurably better than anyone expected and the number of casualties to date is still very small compared to almost any other war that U. S. troops have conducted.

Taking heed to the Jury Instructions we should remember that it is entirely possible that President Bush told Mr. Robertson that there would not be massive casualties in taking Iraq and that Mr. Robertson remembers it as there not being any.

This whole thing is being magnified to be a wedge between one group of Bush supporters and another, nothing more.

Also, there is either a deliberate or ignorant understanding of how evangelicals discuss their faith life. When they say that God wants this or that they are saying what someone less evangelical would express as, " I have meditated deeply on this issue and feel certain in my heart that this is the way things should be." It does not mean that Mr. Robertson hallucinates, which is what is implied in the news stories.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Why You Should Vote for Bush in 250 Words or less

In 1971 John Kerry advocated that the US should withdraw from Viet Nam because no great strategic interest of the US was involved. He assured the Fulbright committee and the American people that the communists would kill maybe two or three thousand people. He reassured us that we would not be letting down our allies in South Viet Nam. We, all of us, followed his advice. Millions of people died because the US withdrew and the Khmer Rouge knew we would do nothing about the killing fields in Cambodia because we had no appetite for a war in Southeast Asia. Hundreds of thousands of our former allies who were not killed escaped in leaky boats and came here with nothing. John Kerry was deeply, completely horribly wrong. He has never admitted he was wrong. He says he is proud of what he did in lying about Viet Nam. Our actions there gave our enemies the belief that the U.S. is a paper tiger. That image of America has now changed because of George W. Bush, Afghanistan and Iraq. Now when our president threatens retaliation, other nations are afraid. It is true that many nations don't love us as much as they once did. But they all respect us more. Respect is more important than love. Grownups judge people by what they do not what they say. John Kerry has been in favor of cut and run and cutting defense his entire career. When George Bush threatens consequences, he carries out his threats. When John Kerry talks tough its just politics.

The whole world is waiting to find out if we are willing to back up George Bush's words. The world will be a better safer place for us and our children and grandchildren with George Bush in office.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

10 Reasons again To Vote For George W. Bush

I am posting a link to the 10 reasons I set forth before. In short

1. National Security-- He has the cojones to go after the terrorists, the Dems don't. Read the record, believe what they do not what they say.

2. Energy Policy-- Any comprehensive strategy for combatting terrorism must include a policy that leads to energy independence so that we aren't funding terrorists every time we fill our tanks. We will never achieve that with a policy of conservation. We can't support an expanding economy with conservation.

3. Gay Marriage-- The Dem strategy is to stand back and let the judges force it on us. Bush's strategy is constitutional amendment. If this were the only important issue to you in the election you would HAVE to vote for Bush. We will have gay marriage if Kerry is elected.

4. Education. The teacher's unions OWN the Democratic Party (except for the part George Soros Owns) They will oppose any change in schools which makes schools accountable to parents. They will ask more money which will be spent on administrators and salaries. GWB's No Child Left Behind isn't great but it is a step in the right direction.

5. The ownership society. Establishing individual control over everyday health care costs is an important contribution to reducing them. Bush's health care savings accounts are a radical recasting of control in the health care area, much like Apple's challenge to 'IBM (individual computers vs. everyone connected to a mainframe) Same is true for retirement benefits.


6. Control over medical malpractice costs. Again plaintiffs lawyers own Kerry Edwards. This is part B of controlling health care costs.

7. Judges, judges, judges,-- this affects every other issue-- will we be a government of elite judges or will we be a democracy? The Dems have shown their true colors. They will fight as hard as they will fight for anything (I originally put in to the death, but many of them wouldn't fight for anything to the death) to preserve the right of judges to run the government.If you want a government of legislatures, governors and elected officials, vote for Bush.

8. Tax Cuts-- Kerry will raise our taxes. Clinton said he wouldn't but he did. The only good thing Clinton did was Nafta, which did cut our taxes and he did it with Republican votes.

9. Better smarter people-- We are electing a team. The team of Rice, Rumsfeld and Powell is smarter and better than the team of Halfbright, Berger and Holbrooke. These Clintonistas should not be given a second chance to screw up our foreign policy.

10. What might be called world cred-- Bush has set out to kick terrorist butt. He has done a pretty good job of it so far. If we unelect him the message to the terrorists is the same one they got from Somalia, if we kill enough Americans they will turn tail and run. see www.themesopotamian.com If we send that message it will set us back many many years in the war on terror and hundreds of thousands of Americans and millions of other people will die. (Look at what happened when we withdrew from Viet Nam. John Kerry either a) lied or b) didn't know what he was talking about when he told the Fullbright committee that perhaps 2,000 or 3,000 people would die if we withdrew our troops from Viet Nam. Millions died. It will happen again if we listen to him.)

FAITH HOPE AND CHARITY: September 2004: "10 Reasons to Vote for George W. bush"

If You Had Any Doubts About the Need for a Constitutional Amendment, Read This

The anti-marriage agenda supported by the Democratic Party is still in full swing. It depends entirely on judges imposing their minority views on whole states, one state at a time. They will ignore the desires of the voters. By the stand they have taken the Democrats have earned the righteous disdain of all persons who value families. The Dems do not have the guts to say that they support homosexual marriage so they just step aside and let the courts do it. Plural marriage will not be far behind.


Officials to fight ACLU lawsuit - The Washington Times: Metropolitan - October 19, 2004: "Officials to fight ACLU lawsuit


By Robert Redding Jr.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


A group of Maryland lawmakers yesterday said they will file an appeal to oppose an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that aims to force Baltimore and four counties to accept same-sex 'marriages.'
    'We have asked to be permitted to intervene so that we might be able to put out a serious and truthful defense of Maryland's marriage statute,' said Delegate Donald H. Dwyer Jr., Anne Arundel County Republican.
    The lawmakers — seven Republicans and one Democrat — were rebuffed last month by Baltimore Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdoch, who ruled that the lawmakers could not join the defendants in the ACLU lawsuit. The defendants are Dorchester, Prince George's, St. Mary's and Washington counties and the city of Baltimore."

This is What Appeasement Gets You

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "Spain arrests suspected bomb plotters
Tue 19 October, 2004 12:22

So, appparently the withdrawal of Spanish troops has not bought peace to Spain. There are still Islamic militants planning to bomb places in Spain. Anyone who believes that there is any other route to peace than killing the people who would kill us before they have the chance, is living in a dream world. At present that Dream World appears to include most of Europe. So sad.






By Estelle Shirbon

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police have arrested an eighth suspected member of a radical Islamic cell that was plotting to attack the High Court in Madrid, Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso says.

Police arrested seven suspected Islamic militants in raids across Spain late on Monday, which came seven months after train bombings by Islamic militants killed 191 people in Madrid.

'They were talking about an attack on the High Court or another judicial body but police are not ruling out other possible targets,' Alonso told reporters on Tuesday."

The Soros-Kerry Nexus

This is one of the most frightening facts in this election. George Soros has set out to buy it through a carefully calculated strategy of making it illegal for rich people to fund the Republican party while allowing rich people, including himself, to fund the Democrats. As Jesse Unruh often said, money is the mother's milk of politics. The source of the money is, ultimately, the controller of the party. If you want to know why there is an alliance between the left and the Muslims, look to George Soros. He is a clever man who is fabulously wealthy. Having tired of simply making money he has now determined to take over the greatest nation in the world and one of the parties of that nation has willingly sold out to him. The press considers him a worthy statesman. Perhaps he already owns them as well. The real danger in this election, as awful as it may seem, is not John Kerry. It is George Soros. Soros has no morals, no core beliefs other than the belief that if he can run the world, he should.

FrontPage magazine.com :: The Soros-Kerry Nexus by Rachel Ehrenfeld and Shawn Macomber: "Aside from desperately attempting to make John Kerry president, what other cause has George Soros bankrolled? One joint venture between the Tides Foundation, one of potential first lady Teresa Heinz-Kerry’s favorite charities, and Soros’s Open Society Institute is the Democratic Justice Fund, which FrontPage Magazine’s Ben Johnson has noted, “seeks to ease restrictions on Muslim immigration to the United States, particularly from countries designated by the State Department as ‘terrorist nations.’”


 "

Monday, October 18, 2004

Like the Gentle Rain that Falleth From Heaven

Deuteronomy 32 1-6

Its been raining here for a few days. When I heard that the sound of the raindrops echoing from the walls of the house and the roof, my heart said a gentle thank, lord. We Southern Californians have been sitting and waiting for the November surprise-- wild fires if there is no rain, or ...rain. The parched hills and the brown dusty valleys will turn green over the next three weeks. That's winter in Southern California. In summer it doesn't rain and everything turns brown. In winter, it rains, and everything turns green. Seems backwards at times. I was thinking as I walked from my car into the sanctuary Sunday, how we take these little miracles for granted. Like the 9 out of 10 lepers who didn't bother to thank Jesus for healing them, the vast majority of Southern Californians are mildly irritated by the rain and fail to even think of all the wild fire warnings we've been receiving this year. But there are probably hundreds of thousands of foresters and firefighters and hillside dwellers who were evacuated because of wildfires last year who heard the rain and saw the thirsty earth drinking it like a traveler at an oasis, who said a silent word of thanks. Thank you God for sending this October rain. We thank you, the trees thank you, the flowers thank you, the firefighters thank you. Life is Good.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

Christians gather around beleaguered Israel - Jerusalem Newswire

This is a new and important development in Christian Jewish relations. I am sure that there are many on both sides who view it with suspicion. I am not an official part of any such movement, but, truth be told, the more I read the Bible the more I am a Christian Zionist.

When you read the Bible you come to the conclusion that either this is true or it is a rather long and tortured fairy tale. If it is a fairy tale, well, it isn't worth all the work. If it is true then the Israel belongs to the Jews. Certainly there is ample archeological evidence that much of what is described in the Bible continues to exist to this day. Ancient temples, buildings artifacts abound in Israel. What we Christians have to acknowledge is that, first and foremost, Jesus was a Jew. He is Our Saviour because he is from God's chosen people. That is the message of the Bible. Why do Jews who do not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah still prosper and even thrive? I believe it is all part of God's plan. Jesus said he came to fulfill the law, not change the law. We Christians must be Jews in our hearts in order to be Christians. Judaism as a formal religion, keeps Christians honest and in touch with our roots. Unlike Muslims, we have not adopted a book that rewrites the Torah or what we Christians refer to as the Old Testament ( which is a lot more than the Torah). When Biblical scholars dispute certain passages and how they should be interpreted, Christians learn from Jews and the reverse also. We are talking about one and the same book. Islam was a late reinterpretation and rewriting. Many Christians were forcibly converted to Islam. Its in the Koran. Most leftists have no awareness that Judaism and Christianity were widely distributed throughout the Middle East before there was a Muslim religion. So, it is incumbent on us to remind them of that fact. So I am a Christian Zionist and like many Jews, I will leave it to the Messiah when he comes to announce if it is a return trip.

Christians gather around beleaguered Israel - Jerusalem Newswire: "Christians gather around beleaguered Israel


By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff


October 4th, 2004


JERUSALEM - Thousands of Christian Zionists gathered opposite the Knesset in Jerusalem Sunday to stand with the nation of Israel during these trying times, and let the Jewish people know their God is with them.

Top evangelical leaders and several Israeli government officials friendly with the Christian world attended the first annual International Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.

While the event brought a moral boost to many Israelis, and prompted an outburst of vocal Christian support for the Jewish state, it largely sidestepped the region’s current top flashpoint – the Gaza Strip and efforts to uproot the Jews living there.

A group of visitors traveling under the banner of the International Christian Zionist Center decided, however, to make physically standing with the Gaza’s Jews the grand finale and focal point of their trip."

The Left and Anti-Semitism Are One in the Anti-War Movement

In this article, which defends Arabs and refers to Israel, implicitly as occupied Palestine, we see the rabid anti-semitism of the left. This is part of the overall increasing identification of the left with thuggish, oppressive regimes whereever they can be found.

Norman Madarasz: American Neocons and the Jerusalem Post: "Through a forced equation linking democracy with human goodness, the only worthy country in the Middle East would be Israel. For those who still remain incredulous about an infiltration of the American government by Israel's Likud party, it is easy to blog on to how Richard Perle, the Pentagon strongman and former head of the commercial propaganda war machine known as the Defense Advisory Board, worked on policy analysis for Benjamin Netanyahu's presidential campaign. It is even easier to thumb through the pages of Daniel Pipes' book on 'Islamism'. Then, turn to the pages of the Jerusalem Post, and notice how both Pipes and Perle are among its closest associates."