Thursday, November 25, 2004
JP Blecksmith-United States Marine
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
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
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
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
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
“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
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
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
Monday, November 15, 2004
In memoriam Lt. James P. Blecksmith
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.
CBS Lies Again
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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Another Orwellian Label-The reality Based Community
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
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
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.
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Thursday, November 04, 2004
After The Election
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
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?
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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
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.
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Pre-positioning Florida to Stop the Election
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
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
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
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.
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Friday, October 22, 2004
Robertson Misremembers
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
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
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
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
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
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.’”
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Monday, October 18, 2004
Like the Gentle Rain that Falleth From Heaven
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
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
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."