lifeofwylie

AMAZING GRACE

2008-02-21T16:20:00.003-05:00

I am not a pious man. I go to church to support my wife and set a good example for my children. But sometimes, just sometimes, I think I see God's hand in my life.

My wife and I are going through an amazingly difficult time in our lives. We truely have been challenged and have had to do things that we never thought we would. The end is not in sight and the chance of things working out O.K. for us look slim on the best days. However, at the end of each day, we still want to be together. We still lover each. There is no blame, no condesension, no bitter under current.

To me this is a gift of God. I may loose everything but I will have the love of my life and my amazing children with me no matter what. Because that is what I can handle.

That's the hand of God.

Before You Vote

2008-02-13T16:35:00.002-05:00

Here are the 20 bills that Senator Clinton sponsored in the U.S. Senate in SIX year of labor doing the peoples work. Not too impressive if you want to be President:

1. Establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site.

2. Support the goals and ideals of Better Hearing and Speech Month.

3. Recognize the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

4. Name courthouse after Thurgood Marshall.

5. Name courthouse after James L. Watson.

6. Name post office after Jonn A. O'Shea.

7. Designate Aug. 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day.

8. Support the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart Recognition Day.

9. Honor the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton on the bicentennial of his death.

10. Congratulate the Syracuse Univ. Orange Men's Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.

11. Congratulate the Le Moyne College Dolphins Men's Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.

12. Establish the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program.

13. Name post office after Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda.

14. Honor Shirley Chisholm for her service to the nation and express condolences on her death.

15. Honor John J. Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford, firefighters who lost their lives on duty.

16. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11.

17. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11

18. Assist landmine victims in other countries.

19. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.

20. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.

Only the last five seem to be anything more than ceremonial. Let's hope if she gets elected that she has the same success!

Some People Just Do Not Get IT

2008-01-29T17:14:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite quotes from a Few Good Men...

"Now you're asking us to sign a piece of paper that says we have no honor... If a court decides that what we did was wrong, then I'll accept whatever punishment they give. But I believe I was right sir, I believe I did my job, and I will not dishonor myself, my unit, or the Corps so I can go home in six months... Sir."

Most conservatives understand this completely and that is why the mantra that you should vote for McCain because he will defeat the democrats falls on deaf ears. I will vote for the best conservative I can find and I will not vote for McCain simply to win. He is not a conservative and he will sell us down the river. He is for open boarders, He has bought into global warming whoy, and is as much a democrat as Ted Kennedy. IF that means we loose, then so be. We will deal with that reality and we will take our punishment. Period.

General Tibbets has passed away.

2007-11-03T19:20:00.000-04:00

I am so sad to hear that Brigadier General Paul Tibbets Jr. has passed away. Most of us today owe our lives to this one man. General Tibbets is the leader and pilot who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. And, yes, he saved millions of lives because of his sacrafice, skill and dedication to duty.

You don't have to look long on the internet to hear General Tibbets described by his peers as the best damn pilot they every new. He was the real deal. He said he never lost any sleep over dropping "the bomb." Thank god for him.

Once the war in Europe was over, most our troops were not going home. They were training and being prepared to get on board ships to participate in the invasion of Japan. Every Allied estimate said that the Japanese would never surrender and that we would have to prepare to loose a MILLION troops and see millions of Japanese (soliders and citizens) die.

The Japanese were warned and given the chance to surrender (a chance they never gave the Chinese ~ 300,000 men, women and childrend died were murdered in Nanking alone when the Japanese invaded) and turned it down. After the first bomb dropped the Japanese again refused to surrender, calculating that we could not have build more than one bomb.

If you have a grandparent or great grandparent who served in World War II you owe your life to General Tibbs and his 11 man crew:

Capt. Robert Lewis - copilot
Maj. Thomas Ferebee - bombardier
Capt. Theodore Van Kirk - navigator
Lt. Jacob Beser - radar countermeasures
Capt. William "Deak" Parsons - weaponeer
2nd Lt. Maurice Jeppson - assistant weaponeer
Sgt. Joe Stiborik - radar
Staff Sgt. George Caron - tail gunner
Sgt. Robert Shumard - asst. flight engineer
Pfc. Richard Nelson - radio
Tech Sgt. Wayne Duzenberry - flight engineer

May they all find peace.

What World Am I Living In?

2006-02-23T19:13:00.000-05:00

The chorus seems to be sing in unique harmony that we should not 'allow UAE to own our ports.' I must say that I am probably one of the hardcore national defense types and I still am appalled by this idea. What is wrong with banning business from competing for business simply because of their country of origin or ethnicity? Well, it is WRONG for the same reason it was wrong to send all Japanese citizens to interment camps in WWII just because of their national origin. It is wrong for the same reason that Jim Crow laws that robbed freed slaves of their vote was wrong. It is racist and morally repugnant. I do not even have to cite the facts (which have been totally mis-represented by everyone!) to tell you this is good old fashion racism based on fear.

Semper Fi, representative Murtha

2006-01-08T17:59:00.000-05:00

In the summer of 1982 I attended the 121st Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia. OCS in the U.S. Marines is a starkly unique experience. It is not boot camp; it is not designed to break you down and rebuild you. It is an evaluation. It is designed to strip you bare and determine if you have the necessary mental equipment to lead Marines in combat. It is a 10 week study in the limits of human endurance, a relentless cycle of fatigue and stress. It is a test of heart, of clarity, of motivation.

Over half the Officer Candidates go home prior to graduation having been unable to demonstrate the requirements demanded to lead Marines or physically unable to survive the ordeal. The remaining few are sent to "The Basic School." It is, as it's title describes, a school which teaches the basic skills and knowledge needed to be an effective Marine Officer. Every Marine Officer is trained as a rifle platoon leader first. Everyone. No exceptions. No excuses.

The essence of being a Marine Officer is leadership. The Marines under your charge are a precious item. They deserve leaders who value them, who will do the right thing not matter what the cost and will do all in their power to keep them alive.

It is within this context that I view the conduct of Representative Murtha. He has traded the oath he took in blood and sweat as a Marine Officer in order to exercise his political freedoms. Make no mistake, his political rhetoric is being paid in full by Marines fighting the Global War on Terror. God forgive him, I won't.

The Coming Storm...

2005-12-23T17:15:00.000-05:00

I am not one for conspiracy theories and such but there seems to be many events bubbling that should make us all very worried about the situation in Iran in 2006. Here are a few things to worry about (all have come out in the last month):

1) Military Intelligence Chief Aharon Ze'evi Farkash of Israeli intelligence says that Iran is within 1 or two years of having a functioning nuke. Iran has produced 45 tons of UF- 6 gas that is used in the centrifuge process for producing enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

2) Iran acquired German-origin measuring instruments and propulsion and guidance systems for the Shihab-3, the German Magazine Focus has reported. The missile, designed to deliver a nuclear warhead, was said to have a range of 2,000 kilometers and could strike southern Europe. (This was done with the help of the Russians).

3) Russian Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Monday that Russia was ready to supply Iran with modernized Tor-M1 anti-aircraft systems. The Defense Minster reports that "A contract has been signed with Iran on supplying Tor anti-aircraft systems."

4) Iran's space agency is trying to snap up technology from abroad as fast as possible for its satellite program, fearing the West will seek to impose restrictions like those put on the Iranian nuclear program. The Shihab-3 missle has a range of 1,240 miles so you have to wonder how much help it would be to a missle program of that type to have space technology (for guidance and tacking). There seem to be technical difficulties with adapting these for Nuke but they easily carry thickend VX (chemical weapon).

I could go on but it just scary quickly...

Silent Night

2005-12-23T12:03:00.000-05:00

Some Folks Just Don't Get IT

2005-12-21T17:08:00.000-05:00

I know that the Democrats and left leaning side of the country just don't get why Bush never seems to get "trashed" for all he has "done". I will try to make it simple: We like what Bush is doing, we believe in what he is doing and he does what we think is the right thing even when everyone one else seems to be critising him.
Here are some examples:

1) "Bush Lied and Thousands Died" Boy, what a nifty saying to sink a President but it hasn't worked. Why? Because Bush doesn't think he lied and neither do his supporters. Going with the best intel you have at the time and making a decision is what we want from a leader and Bush did that. Every serious commission to look into this (there have been three (2 congressional and 1 British)) and found...nothing. Since President Bush did not think he lied, he doesn't come off as a liar and so it doesn't stick.

2) Now it is eavesdropping and violating our civil rights. Since President Bush doesn't think he like (and it looks like no serious legal minds think he did either) he will come out of this unscathed also. In fact, it will help him. Why? Because, in the end, he can say he has done everything in his power to protect us even things we do not know about. We like it when a leader takes positive action even when it won't get him any direct public credit. It is called character (you know, doing the right thing even when no one is looking).

3) The economy stinks and the tax cuts only help the rich. Kerry tried this in the election and it did not get him an inch. Well we have ad 30 months of real job growth, 10 consecutive quarters of GDP growth above 3%, overall tax revenues are UP since the tax cut (in fact they are at a record high of 2.15 trillion dollars) and the deficit is about 4% of GDP (very reasonable - it was over 6% in 1983). If you check the IRS, you will see that the top 50% of Americans pay 96% of all income taxes. If you give a tax break it goes to the top half of American tax payers because they are the only ones paying taxes ("The rich!").

A Christmas Posting

2005-12-21T12:43:00.000-05:00

I have tried to think of a post to put up for Christmas. I read in a blog a letter from a U.S.M.C. Capitan serving in Iraq. It's end is better than anything I could ever write:

"This holiday season, cherish what is yours, smell the trees, have fun with family, take walks, have some egg nog and a stoag for us and enjoy your holidays. Although we had rather be home, know that we will finish what needs to be done and you can rest in peace, your Marines are on guard this holiday season. Merry Christmas & Semper Fidelis"

If you want to read the entire thing it is here http://shepherdaway.blogspot.com/2005/12/holiday-season-i-finally-get-break.html

Peace be with you.

2005-12-19T14:46:00.000-05:00

Here is the Patriot Act:

http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html

Read it. It is not designed to rob anyone of their liberties. It is a solid tool for fighting the war on terrorism. If this had been in place before 9/11 then thousands of lives might have been saved.

We are fighting a war and this is a very minimal intrusion for what it get us.

Read it.

If you think we are truly at risk

2005-12-19T13:56:00.000-05:00

After watching the President last night and seeing the defeat of the Patriot Act, it seems to me things are coming to a head. It all comes down to what you believe:

If you believe we are truly at risk then everything Bush is saying and doing is right. If you truly believe we are truly at risk and you were President would not you authorize "eavesdropping" on the phones and email accounts found in terrorist possession. If you truly believe that we are at risk and you were President would not you want to have the Patriot Act. Wouldn't it be your duty?

I will take it further. If you even suspected that we were at risk and you were President wouldn't it be your duty to assume the worst and use every tool at hand to protect your citizens.

It seems to be that you would be a damned fool and a poor President if you did not do what President Bush has done.

Recruitment Statistics Out

2005-12-16T18:18:00.000-05:00

All services met there active duty recruitment goals in November:

Accessions Goal Percent
Army 5,856 5,600 105
Navy 2,742 2,694 102
Marine Corps 2,127 2,026 105
Air Force 2,407 2,390 101

For re-enlistments, the Army is at 92% of there goal for the year while the Marines and Air Force had excellent re-enlistment rates through November. The Navy barely missed their goal (they are having trouble with a few specialty skills).

Three of the six reserve components met or exceeded their recruiting goals this month. The range was a high of 110% of goal for the National Guard and a low of 71% for the Air National Guard

Given these stats, it is hard to believe the doom and gloom you hear out of the MSM about the military being broken and the war being so unwinable.

A Good Day for Democracy

2005-12-15T13:48:00.000-05:00

I hear that we are not making ANY progress in Iraq.

I hear that Iraq is the new Vietnam.

I see Iraqi's voting in groves and cannot help but feel that today's elections in Iraq represent progress toward a democratic, peaceful Iraq.

Will I ever learn not to trust my lying eyes? I hope not.

Big Oil

2005-12-08T02:27:00.000-05:00

I hate this topic because most Americans, living in the world center of capitalism, mess up on it all the time. Here are some fun facts to recall:

1) Over the past 25 years the Oil companies in the U.S. have paid over 2.2 trillion dollars in taxes and that, my friends, is 3 times what they made in profits during the same time frame. Want to be mad about the price of oil? Be mad about how much tax the government puts on it!

2) Check out the financial statements for "big oil" and take a look at how much profit is made for ever dollar in sales. It not usually more than 10 cents on the dollar; that is pretty modest considering McDonald's fast food does about 14 cents and, my old company, Citibank was above 25 cents in profit for every dollar in sales.

3) My favorite, often heard on the news, "I know it is gouging because the price is different here versus the place down the street." Oil is a commodity and the price is very dependent on how you buy it! So usually, the discount places buy in the spot market where they Waite for a down turn in the price and then catch as much as they can. Unfortunately that doesn't work when the price is rising consistently. Bigger places own their own supplies and can try to smooth things out. Then there are the folks buying futures to try and even out the price. Are there individuals who try to take advantage? Sure. Is it evil and systematic? Forget about it. It is called a market economy and it usually is very good at correcting itself.

Valuable commodities, like Oil and Gold, shift greatly depending on uncertainty. Every market is driven up when the future is not clear or the status quo is challenged. Commodities such as Oil, Gold, Silver, Chrome all have this trait.

Lastly, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) studied the last time we had "windfall taxes" and found that the 1980s windfall profits tax depressed the domestic production and extraction industry and furthered our dependence on foreign sources of oil.

A Special Place in Hell

2005-12-04T22:25:00.000-05:00

If you want a practical reason to fight on in Iraq, to me, this as good as any:

The Iraqi army said on Thursday it had seized a number of booby-trapped children's dolls, accusing insurgents of using the explosive-filled toys to target children.

The dolls were found in a car, each one containing a grenade or other explosive, said an army statement.

The government said that two men driving the car had been arrested in the western Baghdad district of Abu Ghraib.

"This is the same type of doll as that handed out on several occasions by US soldiers to children," said government spokesperson Leith Kubba.

It was not immediately clear when the find was made or the suspects arrested.

There is a special place in hell for people who would do this (and I hope the Marines catch up with them and send them there)

In Case You Missed The POINT

2005-12-04T22:15:00.000-05:00

I follow several blogs. One is called "Iraq the model" and is reporting via a blog by a fellow living in Iraq. Here is a small snippet:

Election violence and violations of campaigning rules are still happening; a couple of days ago AllawiÂs list lost their candidate in Amara/Maysan in an assassination

In case you missed the point, people in Iraq are losing their lives just for running in the upcoming election. These people are risking everything to try and build a democracy. Could you do it? Given the history of our country, is it not our duty to stick with these people until they have a functioning democracy? Look me straight in the eye and tell me we should walk away from 26 million people yearning to be free.

People Act Like Iraq Was A Good Place Before The War

2005-12-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

People seem to forget that Iraq under Saddam, all propaganda aside, was one of the worst places to live in the entire world.

He, and the small vicious minority that made up the Baathist, killed over 250,000 of his own country men (men, women and children, technically speaking). Search any human rights database on the web and look for Iraq prior to the invasion. It is not a hard number to find. The U.S. military has documented over 300,000 bodies found in mass graves around the country. No matter who does the counting it makes Saddam and his government, illegitimate.

I am constantly amazed to see people, supposedly education and thoughtful, who act like things are worse in Iraq since we got there. The only people it is worse for is the Baathist. The real problem is that people are afraid that as long as Saddam is alive, the Baathist might return. In the scenario it best to keep your mouth shut about anything good happening.

Uggh!

Wow, I Made a Mistake

2005-12-01T16:07:00.000-05:00

In my last post I said that I am not really political but it is just the GWOT. I lied! I started to think about it, and it is not just the Islamic terrorist because they are not the only ones threatening our way of life and the country I love dearly. It is also the MSM, Democrats, Communist (yes, there are still some out there, I actually know ONE) and the mis-informed.

Now that was a close call! I almost crossed over to the dark side of political correctness! Never again!

The Global War On Terror

2005-11-30T21:23:00.000-05:00

I have been accused of being coming very political in the past few years. I want to clarify. I do not enjoy politics and my involvement is limited to one basic issue: The Global War On Terror.

Nothing else matters. This is the fight of our century and if we loose this one, our grandchildren's grandchildren will still be dealing with the consequences.

Everything we hold dear is threatened by this war. They hate our way of life, not just the materialism, but the freedom of women, the tolerance of other religions, the western concepts of justice. Everything.

They are ruthless and truly global.

The Iraqi War is just one battlefield but it is a very important one that we must win.

NO END BUT VICTORY.

A Summary of the Truth based on Facts

2005-11-26T13:08:00.000-05:00

If you do not read anything in my blog except this, Please take the time to read this. As usual, I wish I had written this one!

Urban Legends About the Iraq War

Urban Legend: The Bush Administration in general, and the Vice President and his office in particular, pressured the Central Intelligence Agency to exaggerate evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Reality: Here is the verdict of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s bipartisan Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq: “The Committee did not find any evidence that intelligence analysts changed their judgments as a result of political pressure, altered or produced intelligence products to conform with administration policy, or that anyone even attempted to coerce, influence, or pressure analysts to do so. When asked whether analysts were pressured in any way to alter their assessments or make their judgments conform with administration policies on Iraq’s WMD programs, not a single analyst answered ‘yes.’”

Urban Legend: The President and his administration intentionally misled the country into war with Iraq—and the “16 words” that appeared in the 2003 State of the Union are the best proof of it. In the words of Senator Ted Kennedy, “The gross abuse of intelligence was on full display in the President’s State of the Union…when he spoke the now infamous 16 words: ‘The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.’… As we all now know, that allegation was false….”

Reality: On July 14, 2004—after a nearly half-year investigation—a special panel reported to the British Parliament that British intelligence had indeed concluded that Saddam Hussein was seeking to buy uranium from Africa. The Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction, chaired by Lord Butler, summarized: “It is accepted by all parties that Iraqi officials visited Niger in 1999. The British government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that this visit was for the purpose of acquiring uranium…. The statement in President Bush’s State of the Union Address of 28 January 2003 that ‘The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa’ was well-founded.”

In the U.S., the Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq revealed that the CIA considered it important that the Nigerian officials admitted that the Iraqi delegation had traveled there in 1999, and that the Nigerian Prime Minister believed the Iraqis were interested in purchasing uranium, because this provided some confirmation of foreign government service reporting.” The Select Committee on Intelligence also noted that the CIA reviewed and cleared the President’s State of the Union address....

Urban Legend: Helping democracy take root in Iraq was a postwar rationalization by the Bush administration; it was an argument that was not made prior to going to war. In the words of a November 13, 2003 New York Times editorial, “The White House recently began shifting its case for the Iraq war from the embarrassing unconventional weapons issue to the lofty vision of creating an exemplary democracy in Iraq.”

Reality: The President argued the importance of democracy taking root in Iraq before the war began. A February 27, 2003 New York Times editorial shatters the very myth the paper was perpetrating just nine months later: “President Bush sketched an expansive vision last night [in an American Enterprise Institute speech] of what he expects to accomplish by a war in Iraq. Instead of focusing on eliminating weapons of mass destruction, or reducing the threat of terror to the United States, Mr. Bush talked about establishing a ‘free and peaceful Iraq’ that would serve as a ‘dramatic and inspiring example’ to the entire Arab and Muslim world, provide a stabilizing influence in the Middle East, and even help end the Arab-Israeli conflict. The idea of turning Iraq into a model democracy in the Arab world is one some members of the administration have been discussing for a long time.” President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union made the same case….

Urban Legend: Saddam Hussein posed no threat. In the words of former Senator Max Cleland, “Iraq was no threat. We now know that. There are no weapons of mass destruction, no nuclear weapons programs, no ties to al-Qaeda. We now know that.”

Reality: Upon his return from Iraq, weapons inspector David Kay, head of the Iraq Survey Group, said in Senate testimony: “I think the world is far safer with the disappearance and the removal of Saddam Hussein…. I actually think this may be one of those cases where it was even more dangerous than we thought…. After 1998, it became a regime that was totally corrupt…. And in a world where we know others are seeking WMD, the likelihood at some point in the future of a seller and a buyer meeting up would have made that a far more dangerous country.”
Dr. Kay’s report noted that, “We have discovered dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002.” He concluded, “Saddam, at least as judged by those scientists and other insiders who worked in his military-industrial programs, had not given up his aspirations and intentions to continue to acquire weapons of mass destruction…. Saddam intended to resume these programs whenever the external restrictions were removed. Several of these officials acknowledge receiving inquiries since 2000 from Saddam or his sons about how long it would take to restart CW [chemical weapons] production.”

Urban Legend: There were no links between al-Qaeda and Iraq.

Reality: The 9/11 Commission Report indicates that a senior Iraqi intelligence officer met with Osama bin Laden in Sudan in late 1994 or early 1995 and that contacts continued after bin Laden relocated in Afghanistan. Iraq harbored senior members of a terrorist network led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an al-Qaeda associate. CIA Director George Tenet told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (in a 10/7/02 letter), “We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda going back a decade.” Senator Hillary Clinton stated on October 10, 2002 that Saddam “has given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaeda members.” The Clinton administration tied Iraq to al-Qaeda back in 1998, arguing that Saddam Hussein had provided technical assistance in the construction of an al-Qaeda chemical plant in Sudan….

Urban Legend: President Bush and his administration wrongly tried to link Iraq and Saddam Hussein to the September 11 attacks. “President Bush should apologize to the American people” for this “plainly dishonest” effort, insists a New York Times editorial.

Reality: Neither President Bush nor any member of his foreign policy team has ever said Iraq was linked to the attacks of September 11. On September 17, 2003, for example, in response to a question from a reporter, President Bush said: “No, we’ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September 11.”

Urban Legend: President Bush has shown an “arrogant disrespect” for the United Nations on Iraq, according to Senator Ted Kennedy.

Reality: The administration devoted enormous time and energy to pass five separate U.N. Security Council Resolutions on Iraq, each by unanimous vote.... President Bush personally addressed the U.N. General Assembly in September 2002. The administration supported the work of Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. special envoy in Iraq, and a continued U.N. role in Iraq’s political transition.

Urban Legend: The President launched a “unilateral attack on Iraq,” to use the words of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean.

Reality: The coalition that liberated Iraq ranks among the largest war coalitions ever assembled. President Bush in his 2004 State of the Union address: “Some critics have said our duties in Iraq must be internationalized. This particular criticism is hard to explain to our partners in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands, Norway, El Salvador, and the 17 other countries that have committed troops to Iraq…. There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of many nations, and submitting to the objections of a few. America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country.”

Urban Legend: Flights out of the country for members of the bin Laden family were allowed before national airspace reopened on September 13, 2001; there was political intervention to facilitate the departure of the bin Laden family from America; and the FBI did not properly screen them before their departure.

Reality: Here are excerpts from The 9/11 Commission Report: “First, we found no evidence that any flights of Saudi nationals, domestic or international, took place before the reopening of national airspace on the morning of September 13, 2001. To the contrary, every flight we have identified occurred after national airspace reopened.

Second, we found no evidence of political intervention. We found no evidence that anyone at the White House above the level of Richard Clarke participated in a decision on the departure of Saudi nationals....

Third, we believe that the FBI conducted a satisfactory screening of Saudi nationals who left the United States on charter flights.... The FBI interviewed all persons of interest on these flights prior to their departures. They concluded that none of the passengers was connected to the 9/11 attacks and have since found no evidence to change that conclusion. Our own independent review of the Saudi nationals involved confirms that no one with known links to terrorism departed on these flights.”

Published in The Year the Democratic Party Sailed to New England October-November 2004

The implications of abandoing Iraq

2005-11-26T07:27:00.000-05:00

I wish I had writtem this one. Some original thinking about the U.S. abandoning the Iraqi Democracy:

Memo to Murtha
By Clifford D. May
Scripps Howard News Service
November 24, 2005 Before I say anything else, Congressman Murtha, let me thank you -- for your long public service in Washington and, before that, in Vietnam.

And let me commend you, too, for sparking an honest debate. Until now, what has passed for debate on Iraq has been mostly slander – for example, calling President Bush a liar and questioning his patriotism. Yes, questioning his patriotism: because anyone who would lie to get America into a war for reasons unrelated to national security would not be a patriot. He'd be a traitor.

I ask you, sir: Has such a vicious charge ever before been leveled at an American president in a time of war – or even a time of peace?

But you have not taken this low road. Instead, you have said you believe the war in Iraq “cannot be won” and that “it's time to bring the troops home.” This is a discussion worth having.
You also say that “80 per cent of Iraqis want us out.” I'm not sure where you got that figure but it's probably low. I'd guess that close to 100 percent of Iraqis – as well as 100% of Americans – would love to see U.S. troops heading home for the holidays. But some of us think it matters whether we leave Iraq after we've defeated our enemies – or whether we leave Iraq after having surrendered to our enemies.

When you suggest that planning for the war in Iraq was flawed, I think you have a point. American leaders, in the Pentagon and elsewhere, crafted an effective strategy for toppling Saddam Hussein. Once that mission was accomplished, however, they had only a vague idea about how to transform Iraq into a free, independent and self-reliant nation within a short period of time. Maybe that's because no one had ever attempted such a feat before.
Clearly, we should not fail again to plan adequately. So I would ask you about your plans for the aftermath of the defeat you say we must now accept. For example, it's obvious that if the U.S. military can't stand up to al-Qaeda in Iraq, the fledgling post-liberation Iraqi military won't have a prayer. That means we must plan for the possibility that al-Qaeda will come to power in part or all of Iraq. What, if anything would you propose to do in response to that?

Even if al-Qaeda only manages to shore up its positions in the Sunni areas of western Iraq, we must expect it will use that base to continue attacking Jordan and other countries in the region. Maybe we'd send advisors to help the Jordanian king? But help him do what exactly? Decide when the fight has become hopeless?

Also possible: The “Party of Return,” Baathists loyal to Saddam Hussein, could take over (maybe in some kind of de-facto coalition with al-Qaeda). They might even release Saddam from the jail where he has been awaiting trial (odd, isn't it, how trials, like wars, aren't as speedy as they used to be?) and restore him to power. What would we do in that case – ask the U.N. to re-start sanctions and the Oil-for-Food program?

The Shia of Iraq would turn to Iran's mullahs for protection against both al-Qaeda and the Baathists. To whom else could they turn? If what followed was an Iranian anschluss – annexation – of southern Iraq, will you have a plan to deal with that contingency?
Iraqis who “collaborated” with us would undoubtedly face execution – perhaps tens of thousands of would be killed for revenge or just to send a message. I guess Congress could offer a resolution condemning such behavior.

Thousands, perhaps millions of Iraqis would no doubt flee the country. Should the U.S. accept them as refugees? Or turn them away?

In many other countries where al-Qaeda has been applying pressure -- Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand to name just a few – three things would now be clear: (1) It is dangerous to be allied with the U.S.; (2) it is futile to resist al-Qaeda; and (3) bin Laden and Saddam were correct in predicting that if you bloody Americans, they will always turn tail and run.

As evidence they'd cite not only Iraq but Mogadishu and Beirut and, of course, Vietnam, where you served honorably. In truth, after that defeat – while millions of Southeast Asians suffered and died – Americans got on with their lives and we even went on to win the Cold War.

Is that the idea, Congressman? To cross our fingers and hope that our defeat in Iraq will follow the Vietnam pattern? Because if so, I have to say candidly, sir, that isn't much of a plan.
Clifford D. May, a former New York Times foreign correspondent, is the president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies a policy institute focusing on terrorism.

Hitler and Saddam; Brothers in Arms

2005-11-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

Saddam Hussein was nothing like Hitler.

Suprizingly, many of the Iraqi's who disappeared under the Saadam's years are starting to emerge from hiding, some after decades of hiding and, boy, they sound an awful lot like Jews after the fall of Nazi Germany.

Oh yeah, Hiltler did not kill 260,000 plus of his own country men like Saddam did, so they are different.

Saddam's Iraq and Nazi Germany never did anyting to us. That must be the way they are the same. I mean, there were no Germans at Pearl Harbor and we did not declar war on Germany. Germany declared war on us 4 days after Pearl Harbor.

The only reason people do not accept the comparison of the evil of Hitler and the evil of Saddam is fear and shame. Saddam and Hitler were both evil men who needed to be stopped and any decent person can see that.

I am thankful to be a fool, dolt and moron-

2005-11-24T17:04:00.000-05:00

I hear it all the time in the media and from some of my friends. President Bush is a fool, a dolt, a moron. The insults fly much faster than any facts and the implication is always there: If you agree with "him" you must also be deficient. I must be a fool too because:

I believe that the United States is unquestionably a force for good in the world. I could site case after case but if you don't believe it, you will never listen.

I believe that people who serve in our military are responding to a higher calling to serve their country. I could list my facts but if you don't believe it, you will never listen.

I believe that ALL people want to live free, peaceful lives and the United States should help them. I could go through the argument but if you don't believe it, you will never listen.

I believe that there is evil in this world, that some views are plainly wrong, and that some ideas are worth the risk of life. I could try to explain it but if you don't believe it, you will never listen.

Yes, I am a fool. The war for the liberation of the people of Iraq is not "Mr. Bushes" alone, it is mine to. I hope I never "smarten up."

I see an opportunity

2005-11-23T17:22:00.000-05:00

I saw a headline today that said "Iraq request exit date from U.S." As written below, I think exit strategies are the quickest way to lose, but in this "request" I seen a win for the President and our cause.

Iraq is a sovereign nation with an interim government. If they ask for an exit date, we should set one with them. Announce to the world that we will be leaving Iraq on date X as agreed to with the soverieng government of Democratic Iraq.

Make it know that when we leave the Iraqi people will be ready to defend their country from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Step up the war. Put more money into it. More troops. More everything.

What would be the outcome? Dis-armament of the Democrats, destruction of the foreign terrorist in Iraq, and the ultimate goal: a democratic, free and peaceful Iraq.

Game over.

A view from the North: American Crack Up-

2005-11-22T08:15:00.000-05:00

I was quiet suprized to see this come out of Canada

November 20, 2005
American Crack-Up

By David Warren

I begin to understand why the Bush administration so hesitated to defend itself, from the wild charges being made against its Iraq policy. Commentators, at least on the Right, were pulling their hair in frustration. And even on the pro-Bush Left: Christopher Hitchens told me, the other evening, that the reason he goes to such provocative lengths to defend the U.S. President and his foreign policy is that the guy "doesn't seem to do it himself".

Mr. Hitchens, and Salman Rushdie, though the most famous, are incidentally far from the only supporters the Bush Doctrine has had on the Left. Nor, as Mr. Hitchens is also wont to explain, is President Bush short of enemies on the Old Right, from the Brent Scowcroft Beltway school of "realpolitik", to the isolationist heartland. The view that Americans had better leave tar-babies alone, and that "stability" is the only value they should pursue in the oil-bearing Middle East, is rife not only outside the government, but throughout State Department and CIA. Whereas Mr. Hitchens, who describes himself as "not necessarily not still a Marxist", applauds Bush and Blair for being "on the right side of history", carrying the torch of democracy and secular modernity to the world's most intransigent states.

Neither a Marxist, nor a neoconservative (whatever that means), but still a militant Tory, I don't believe in sides of history. It's just one gigantic palpitating mess beyond the possibility of human comprehension, but we try to make the best of it as we go along. Principles there are, and none are relative, but there is the frequent embarrassment of competing principles, and sorting through their hierarchy of the moment requires something like prudence or tact. From the beginning, a major and sometimes necessarily military effort to eliminate radical Islamism from the available pool of the world's ideological resources, has struck me as both prudent and wise. (It was ditto with Nazism and Communism.)

What I'm getting at here, is that the Bush Doctrine of physical intervention against the worst evils, while seeding democracy on Mesopotamia's irrigated plain, can be defended or attacked from several points of view. The doctrine's principal defence has lain with its author, however, and over the last few years, he has done a good job of keeping it to himself.

In the last week, both Mr. Bush and his vice president have, suddenly, counter-attacked their domestic opponents. They have called the Democrats on the floor of Congress for using facts and arguments against the U.S. intervention in Iraq which are neither true nor, strictly speaking, sane. Their idea that Mr. Bush dragged his unwilling country into war, by means of some fraudulent intelligence data, is absurd. He in fact made good on a Clinton administration policy (get rid of Saddam), and on the basis of pretty much the same murky intelligence we all had. Moreover, many of the same Democrats (and now, a couple of unhinging Republicans) who supported him every step of the way, now claim either they didn't, or they were fooled. Take your pick, either claim is false.

There are other issues clouding the political field; but in the main, the administration's current effort to call the Democrats' bluff has not caused the latter to crawl back into their holes. It has instead driven them further into cloud cuckooland, with the mainstream media chasing behind. It has resulted in a level of shrieking the like of which I cannot recall in the august Senate chamber. And this, perhaps, was the reason Messrs Bush and Cheney hesitated to try it on before. They thought, perhaps, that just "being presidential" might finally carry the day. Better, anyway, than provoking a kind of bipartisan nervous breakdown.

I look at this business from abroad. I note that polls now show the American isolationist impulse being triggered. On both Right and Left, something approaching half the electorate want to take their marbles and go home. For some unaccountable reason, Americans sometimes respond to being abused and slandered all over the world by turning in on themselves. And this, in the present unsettled state of the world in question, would be nearly the worst thing that could happen. It would leave all of America's allies -- corresponding very roughly to the side of the angels -- up a certain creek without a propulsive device.

The world has left the United States to do too much heavy lifting. It is an urgent matter for countries like Canada to stop mouthing off and heave ho.
Copyright 2005 Ottawa Citizen

Race Card of War

2005-11-20T10:21:00.000-05:00

The Washington Post reports that we have reach 2,083 American Service men and women dead in Iraq. It seems to me that whenever someone wants to make their negative position on Iraq "bullet proof" they quote the number of Americans dead. It is the social equivalent of accusing someone of being a racist so that whatever they say is meaningless. It is the worst kind of politics and social argument.

2,083 lives lost and everyone of them was important and the cause they died for was that important, too. They gave their lives so that others could be free. They gave their lives so that a free, democratic, peaceful, Arabic country could take hold. They gave their lives so that an evil, regressive, brutal ideology would not prevail. They gave their lives as volunteers on the right side of the greatest struggle in our life time.

I hope god blesses them and I wish people would stop using them.

I am just trying to listen and understand!

2005-11-20T02:03:00.000-05:00

Name Calling

2005-11-20T01:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was accused of some name calling in my blog. I must say that I try not to engage in such tactics. It is hard not to and I will tell you why.

It is hard because I come in contact everyday with people who make "pronouncements" of their "truth" without any specific facts to back them up, without any specific background to make them qualified to speak intelligently on the topic, without any specific education to understand what they are saying. They won't engage in any real discussion because they have nothing meaningful to contribute and their views wont hold up to any serious debate. But still they declare the truth with such disdain for others that decent people go quiet. They think the people are quiet because of the power of their intellect. In fact, the silence is from embarrassment for the fool who has just revealed themselves.

I try hard not to name call because I feel sorry for these people more than anything else.

If your character is such that have to ask, you morally cannot afford it

2005-11-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

Recently the Commandant of the Marine Corps testified before congress. He was asked directly "Do you tell possible recruits that they may be sent to Iraq?" He responded in a straight forward manner I would expect of any Marine, "Yup, and more. We tell them and their parents that if you join the Marine Corps you will do a tour of duty in Iraq, and they still sign up..."

The war is going so badly according to the MSM and Democrats an yet Recruitment in all Armed Services is up:

August 2005 shows military recruitment is up substantially obtained from dcmilitary.com show that total military recruiting has exceeded all set goals.Air Force recruitment is at 104% of quota, the Air Force National Guard stands at 108%, the Air Force Reserve at 101%, Navy recruitment is at 103% and the combined Army and Marine Corps stand at 102% of goal.

It is harder than ever to get into the U.S. Armed Services. Under the current standard, 58% of age eligible youths don't qualify for other reasons (medical, academic, character issues to name a few). It is also been reported recently that 85% of the enlistments come from households with a income between 30 and 85K per year. That's as middle America as it gets, folks!

It is not what people who have no other options do. The people without options are the 42% who cannot qualify because they did not graduate high school, are already a single parent, have a drug or alcohol problem, have a physical limitation (this isn't how good an athlete you are, it is your basic health), because they have committed a criminal offense (the services do not care if you were convicted or not and your records as a minor are not "sealed" to them, they want to know what you did, why and what is says about your character), have a mental disability, chronic antisocial behavior... And the list goes on and on.

It is not for money. After training a basic soldier makes about $300 a week in base pay. Congress estimates, that with benefits included, the average service person only makes 6% less than their civilian counter part.

It is not what people do to avoid jail or criminal conviction. All services adhere to the policy of "Applicants may not enlist as an alternative to criminal prosecution, indictment, incarceration, parole, probation, or other punitive sentence. They are ineligible for enlistment until the original assigned sentence would have been completed." Once the sentence is completed they typically are disqualified for the criminal conviction.

At this point if you do not understand why men and women volunteer to serve in the U.S. Armed forces, you never will. Maybe it is more accurate to say: If your character is such that have to ask, you morally cannot afford it.

Timelines for Democracy

2005-11-19T01:33:00.000-05:00

Here is a timeline for Democracy that was down right discouraging but worked out to be worth the wait:

July 3, 1775 - Washington takes command of Continental Army.

July 4, 1776 - Declaration of Independence.

December 26, 1776 - Washington crosses the Delaware and achieves the FIRST colonial victory of the entire war (Nearly a year and a half after taking command).

October 19, 1781 - Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown (Over 6 years after Washington took to the field of battle and we would not have made if a foreign power, the French, had not stuck with us and put their soldiers and sailors on the line!).

January 14, 1784 - Official end of war with Britain.

September 7, 1787 - Final draft of constitution. 12 years after Washington took to the field.

April 30, 1789 - George Washington sworn in as first president.

Lets see, a year and half before even one military victory, 6 years to achieve overall military victory, 12 years to get to a final draft constitution. 14 years from when one make took up arms until the day he could lead a nation free and at peace.

I cannot see how you can look at our history and not stand by the Iraqi effort. That's why it is un-American to call off our effort before a free, democratic, peaceful Iraq exist.

Finally!

2005-11-18T22:57:00.000-05:00

Finally a politician says it right ( it is enough to make me want to move to Florida):

Our mission in Iraq is clear: Peace through strength, and victory through resolve. Those who would have us withdraw immediately have forgotten what appeasement does to madmen and murderers.

Withdrawing our troops from Iraq while our mission is not yet achieved will send a chilling message to freedom-loving peoples across the globe about the intentions of our great country. It will not only put into question our resolve to stand up to these fanatical Islamist extremists who wish to destroy our way of life, it will also set a terrible precedent by letting every Islamist militant know that we can be terrorized into retreat. Our mission in spearheading freedom and democracy in the Middle East is critical, and we must not let any set of circumstances thwart it.
My stepson and his fiancée are proud Marines currently serving in Iraq — and I can tell you that they feel privileged to take part in this mission. And they fully understand that what they are doing will affect their children and grandchildren.

That’s why I am voting these evening to stay the course in Iraq. Thank you for your tremendous support of this mission — and thank you for honoring those who stand with America today.

NO END BUT VICTORY.
Sincerely,Congresswoman Ileana Ros-LehtinenFlorida, 18th Congressional District

Canadian by Birth, American by Choice

2005-11-16T19:25:00.000-05:00

I know that in many circles it is not popular to be partiotic but I am very proud to be an American by choice. This is a famous broadcast from a Canadian journalist on June 5th, 1973. I think we are still the same people this speech describes. I hope we always will be. (notably, over 3.5 millions recordings of this speech were sold by a Canadian celebrity; he donated every penny to the American Red Cross).

Here it is:
The Americans" The United States dollar took another pounding on German, French and British exchanges this morning, hitting the lowest point ever known in West Germany. It has declined there by 41% since 1971 and this Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least-appreciated people in all the earth.

As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtse. Who rushed in with men and money to help? The Americans did. They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Misssissippi is under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help.

Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States. When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.

When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United States that hurries into help... Managua Nicaragua is one of the most recent examples. So far this spring, 59 American communities have been flattened by tornadoes. Nobody has helped. The Marshall Plan .. the Truman Policy .. all pumped billions upon billions of dollars into discouraged countries.

Now, newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent war-mongering Americans. I'd like to see one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes. Come on... let's hear it! Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar or the Douglas 107? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all international lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or women on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times ... and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everyone to look at. Even the draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, most of them ... unless they are breaking Canadian laws..are getting American dollars from Ma and Pa at home to spend here.

When the Americans get out of this bind ... as they will... who could blame them if they said 'the hell with the rest of the world'. Let someone else buy the Israel bonds, Let someone else build or repair foreign dams or design foreign buildings that won't shake apart in earthquakes. When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke.

I can name to you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake. Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of these. But there are many smug, self-righteous Canadians.

And finally, the American Red Cross was told at its 48th Annual meeting in New Orleans this morning that it was broke. This year's disasters .. with the year less than half-overÂ has taken it all and nobody...but nobody... has helped.

Nov 2 Protest by Duped High School Studens

2005-11-16T14:42:00.000-05:00

In Batavia on this past November 2nd, a bunch of high school students protested the election of President Bush. The evil school board had them issued citations for truancey because they left the school grounds and did not properly notify the school of there "event." I have a friend who says it was just wonderful to see these students become politically active.

Here is the real scoop:

This protest was organized by a group called "The World Can't Wait - End the Bush Regime". On there website they openly state that "Supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Party helped initiate thier cause." Both these organizaitons celebrated the recent riots in France (I guess you could say it is just wonderful to see the students of France becoming politically active). If you are a decent, law abiding American, they have nothing but contemp for you.

Sadly, even a cursory view of websites and association to "the world cant wait" and "the revolutionary communist party" reveals that the only ones following these folks are the vulnerable youth of our society and the sadly, ill informed.

If you are in high school and want to be a real rebel then speak respectully of the President whether you agree with him or not, stand when your countries flag goes by and become poltically active by using your own mind. It appears that will qualify you as one in one hundred.

Appeasement in The U.S. Senate

2005-11-16T10:12:00.000-05:00

As we all saw yesterday, the Republican Senators once again ran from the fight and appeased the Democratic Senators. The vote on the war on Iraq gave the Democrats, and the terrorist in Iraq, the encouragement to continue on in the effort to destroy our way of life. When will some politician say "Enough is Enough."

The effort to create a free, peaceful and democratic Iraq is the first real effort toward "Peace in the Middle East" in 60 years. The people of the Middle East deserve this chance. The Iraq people deserve this chance. My children deserve this chance.

God help us all!

Any "Exit Strategy" is a Losing Strategy

2005-11-15T21:06:00.000-05:00

Although clear to any 12 year old who has played capture the flag that pronouncing an "Exit Stategy" is the surest way to lose, I feel the need to illustrate.

Lets suppose that I am head of a relatively small group trying to take over a country by "terrrorizing" (beating, raping, gasing, beheading, burning alive, etc.) the population. This works out great until "occupying" forces from large, powerful nation with a crazy notion that all people want to be free decides that they have had enough of my regional bully tactics and my "support" of fellow bullies worldwide. These freedom nuts move in and start to destroy everything I have worked so hard to take by force. They keep killing everyone I can convince to fight them. This is really bothersome because to get people to fight, I have to promise a huge reward in the next life and provide plenty of drugs in the current life. The only strategy I can hope for is to get the freedom nuts to leave of thier own will while I am still alive ('cause, damn them, I cannot kill hardly any of them - I have had 2 years and over 100,000 targets everyday and I have barely killed 2,000) . Luckily, they are not too smart and some of them want to tell me when they are leaving. Once I know when they are leaving I can just lay low, wait for them to leave and then take over. Even if they do not set a date, but just tell me what needs to happen before they'll leave I am O.K. with that. I can stop beheading folks or blowing up cars for a few months if I need to, after all, I will need my rest if I am going to fill the gap when they leave.

Giving any emeny the timetable or conditions under which we will withdraw is giving our enemy a monumental strategic advantage. In the past 7,000 years of warfare, countries have killed to keep secrets that gave a 1/100th of the advantage that this would give them.

Explain to me why this is not so?

Imagine You're a Woman

2005-11-14T20:11:00.000-05:00

I found this of MEMRI and I thought it was inspired.

Al-Bishr is "a lecturer in social sciences at King Saud University" who "recently published an article titled "Imagine You're a Woman" in the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" (excerpts by MEMRI):

"Imagine you're a woman. When your brother is born, people say: 'It's a boy, how wonderful,' and when you are born they say: 'How wonderful, it's a little girl' , using the diminutive form. Your arrival is welcome if [you are] the first or second girl, but it's best if there are no more than two, so that nothing undesirable happens to the mother. On the other hand, your brothers' arrivals are welcomed, the more the merrier."Imagine you're a woman. You always need your guardian's approval, not only regarding your first marriage, as maintained by the Islamic legal scholars, but regarding each and every matter. You cannot study without your guardian's approval, even if you reach a doctorate level. You cannot get a job and earn a living without your guardian's approval. Moreover, there are people who are not ashamed to say that a woman must have permission to work even in the private sector. "Imagine you're a woman, and the guardian who must accompany you wherever [you go] is your 15-year-old son or your brother, who scratches his chin before giving his approval, saying: 'What do you think, guys, should I give her my permission?' Sometimes he asks for... a bribe [in return], heaven forbid! [But] your brother avoids taking such a bribe in 'cash' because his self-respect prevents him from touching a woman's money. So he prefers the bribe to be a car, a fridge, or an assurance of money that you will pay in installments [for him], until Allah gets him out of his financial straits..."Imagine you're a woman, and you are subject to assault, beatings, or murder. When the press publishes your photo [together with] the photo of the criminals and [descriptions] of their brutality, there are people who ask: 'Was the victim covered [by a veil] or not?' If she was covered up, [the question arises:] 'Who let her go out of the house at such an hour?' In the event that your husband is the one who broke your ribs, [people will say] that no doubt there was good reason for it."Imagine you're a woman whose husband breaks her nose, arm, or leg, and you go to the Qadi to lodge a complaint. When the Qadi asks you about your complaint, and you say, 'He beat me,' he responds reproachfully 'That's all?!' In other words, [for the Qadi], beating is a technical situation that exists among all couples and lovers, [as the saying goes]: 'Beating the beloved is like eating raisins.'"Imagine you're a woman, and in order to manage your affairs you must ride in a 'limousine' with an Indian or Sri Lankan driver... or that you [must] wait for a younger brother to take you to work, or that you [must] bring a man who will learn to drive in your car, and will practice at your expense... because you yourself are not permitted to drive."Imagine you're a woman in the 21st century, and you see fatwas [issued] by some contemporary experts in Islamic law dealing with the rules regarding taking the women of the enemy prisoner and having sexual intercourse with them. Moreover, you find someone issuing a fatwa about the rules of taking the women of the enemy prisoner even in times of peace, and you don't know to which enemy women it refers."Imagine you're a woman who writes in a newspaper, and every time you write about your [women's] concerns, problems, poverty, unemployment, and legal status, they say about you: 'Never mind her, it's all women's talk.'"

For those of you who have not seen the MEMRI site, it is as direct a source as any not Islamic/Arabic speaker can get. They track and translate the meida in the middle east. Notably they broke the Oil for Food scandal months prior to it making it to the mainstream press and they did not hesitate to name names.

2005-11-14T07:40:00.000-05:00

An American Conservative

2005-11-14T07:08:00.000-05:00

A Promise To Myself

Lately, I have come to realize that I am guilty of being a silent American conservative. Like too many, I have fallen silent when people call the President names, when people make unpatriotic pronouncement, when people twist the truth. Sadly, these people, easily found under the heading of democrat, have no back ground to qualify to make the judgements they prounounce, no facts to back up what they say and not enough commensense to remain civil. As an American Conservative, I pledge to myself:

1. I will respond immediately to anyone who insults the President of the United States. I will not let my silence be taken as consent. I demand respect for the leader of our county.

2. I will respond immediately to anyone who makes unpartiotic pronouncements. This includes any statement any statement that being with "I support the troops but...", name calling of public officials, belittling of our governments efforts, or giving aid and comfort to our enimies.

3. I will respond immediately to "pronuoncements" of truth that come without fact, without background, with commonsense.

I will remain civil but firm until civil no longer works, then I will be uncivil.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
-Edumnd Burke

2005-11-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

Wylie is my dog. He has quiet a life and understands how lucky he is. That makes him smart than many Americans and certianly smarter than any Democrats I know.