The High Cost of Dumbing Down

A troubling piece in today's USA Today shows that 1 in 3 US High School students (gov't schools, of course) believe that the press should be more restricted and government should approve newspapers before readers see them. Wonder how they feel about the 2nd amendment?

Then there's this:

In case you're under the false impression that academia is about the free exchange of ideas, think again. Hat tip to Jack Mercer at News Snipet, for this: LeMoyne expels man over paper because the paper didn't fit the college template:

While students are guaranteed the freedom of speech, LeMoyne College's recent actions against a student have raised questions of whether or not academic papers are the place to exercise this right.

LeMoyne College expelled Scott McConnell, a student from its Masters of Education program, for writing a paper in which he advocated the use of corporal punishment in schools, he said.

The paper, written for a class on classroom management, originally earned McConnell an A-. However, when he attempted to enroll in classes for the spring semester, he found he couldn't.

"LeMoyne doesn't believe students should be able to express their own views," McConnell said. "If you differ from our philosophical ideal you will be expelled from our college."

Border Problem Getting More Attention

John Fund, in today's Opinion Journal calls attention the "Border Problem via Rush's comments last Friday:

On Friday, Rush Limbaugh, a staunch Bush supporter, took two separate opportunities to warn the president that he faced conservative opposition on some key issues that could hurt his chances of passing the rest of his second-term agenda. First was federal spending, which "is surging out of control," according to the Heritage Foundation's new "Mandate for Leadership." The other was immigration, which, Mr. Limbaugh told his listeners, "could break up the Republican-conservative coalition" à la Ross Perot. "We cannot maintain our sovereignty without securing and protecting our borders in an era where terrorists around the world seek entry to this country," he said.

Joseph Farah has a piece at WorldNetDaily about Rush's commentary as well. That Rush has finally addressed the illegal alien problem is welcomed by those who don't see the administration doing anything about it. Some have even gone so far as to stop calling "illegal aliens" illegal.

Several issues are involved here that have far reaching effects on the entire country. The obvious, and most dangerous problem is the security breaches which could be happening daily. If there is a free flow of illegal aliens crossing the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas at any given time, who's to say they are just ambitious Mexicans in search of a better lifestyle? This is post 9-11-01. Can you say terrorists?

So what gives? Why are we patting down old women in wheel chairs at airports and letting would be terrorists cross the border at will? Are politicians refusing to do anything for fear of offending the Hispanics, whose votes both parties seek?

Does the Hispanic vote trump the security of the country?

The Disappointed

A good opinion piece in the Telegraph (UK) explains how the left-wing commentators in Europe have disproportionately reported on the horrific acts in Iraq while omitting the positive (it would be safe to say the same for the old media in the U.S.). Now, it appears many are disappointed by today's election:

That elections are a better thing than tyranny seems a truth so obvious as not to be worth stating. Yet such were the passions aroused by the Iraq war that many Western observers now find themselves hoping, disgracefully, that that country's first free poll will fail.

Left-wing commentators, in Britain as in much of Europe, have focused disproportionately on the difficulties that any state must undergo during a transition process. To many of them, every terrorist bomb, every murdered election official, every sign of heightened military alertness - even the loss of a British aircraft - makes a nonsense of Iraq's democratic aspirations.

Be sure to read the entire piece. The bitter reaction of so many that Iraq may be on the road to freedom is a mind boggling thing.

UN Official Statement on Iraqi Vote

Here is the official statement from Koffi Annan today on the Iraqi election:

Abuja Nigeria, 30 January 2005 - Statement from the Secretary-General on the Iraqi Elections

Reports indicate that, despite significant attempts at violent disruption, Iraqis have turned out in large numbers to exercise their right to vote. It will be some days before final results are known, but current indications are that the elections have been successfully carried out.

I wish to pay tribute to the courage of the Iraqi people, and to congratulate the Independent Election Commission of Iraq, as well as the thousands of Iraqi election workers and monitors, on having organized and carried out elections so effectively in such a limited timeframe and such daunting circumstances.

And let me also congratulate my own colleagues in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq who, with other international electoral experts, have worked so hard to support this election.

Security forces, both Iraqi and international, also made a notable contribution to ensuring a relatively safe and secure environment.

The success of the election augurs well for the transition process. The next phase will be one in which the Transitional National Assembly drafts a permanent constitution for Iraq, which is expected to be put to a referendum in October 2005.

It is important to ensure that all individuals, groups and parties who, for whatever reason, were unable or unwilling to take part in the election are now brought into the constitution-making process. This is a time for reconciliation on all sides. In this respect I am encouraged by the recent statements of a number of Iraqi political leaders, indicating their willingness to play a part in this process or to allow others to do so. The United Nations stands ready to continue its electoral assistance, to facilitate vital outreach efforts, and, if invited, to assist the elected TNA in its work of drafting the constitution.

Hmmmm...no word of thanks to the United States led coalition or to the Bush administration for making this possible.

In Their Own Words

From the IRAQ THE MODEL blog you can get a glimpse of the giddyness and gratitude for the opportunity to vote today:

The people have won.
We would love to share what we did this morning with the whole world, we can't describe the feelings we've been through but we'll try to share as much as we can with you.
We woke up this morning one hour before the alarm clock was supposed to ring. As a matter of fact, we barely slept at all last night out of excitement and anxiety.

Check out the post. They are happy campers over there. The blogger writes:

Today, there's no voice louder than that of freedom.

It's sure to be a turning point for Iraq and maybe for the entire Middle East. It's evident that the loudest critics of the events leading up to this vote today are temporarily and wisely silencing themselves.

Michelle Malkin: This Photo says it All!

See it here. The NOW gang should love this pic, but I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that I didn't see it on their website.

Festive Voting

With the threat of violence in the air, elated Iraqis turned out in droves to celebrate the opportunity to vote. Reuters reports:

By Luke Baker

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Some came on crutches, others walked for miles then struggled to read the ballot, but across Iraq, millions turned out to vote Sunday, defying insurgents who threatened a bloodbath.

Suicide bombs and mortars killed at least 27 people, but voters still came out in force for the first multi-party poll in 50 years. In some places they cheered with joy at their first chance to cast a free vote, in others they shared chocolates.

Even in Falluja, the Sunni city west of Baghdad that was a militant stronghold until a U.S. assault in November, a steady stream of people turned out, confounding expectations. Lines of veiled women clutching their papers waited to vote.

"We want to be like other Iraqis, we don't want to always be in opposition," said Ahmed Jassim, smiling after he voted.

It's going to be interesting to watch the leftist spin machine. It is already revving up. Bush critics best be careful. He's a clear cut winner today. Unlike Kerry on Meet the Press, the savvy critics (read, Hillary) will overtly be congratulatory to Iraqis and avoid the obvious bitterness so evident in the Boxers, Bidens and Kennedys.

Negativism amidst Iraqi Jubilation

Tim Russert interviewed John Kerry on Meet the Press today. You can hear and read the disappointment, if not anger, that the election was an unprecedented success.
Here is a portion of the interview shown here with my own inciteful opinion (parenthetically) of what Sen. Kerry seemed to be thinking:

MR. RUSSERT: Election day, Iraq. Condoleezza Rice, the new secretary of State, has just told the United States and the world, "It has gone better than expected." What is your sense?

SEN. KERRY: I think it's gone as expected (dammit!). I think it was a good report by Brian (dammit!). I think it starkly lays out the challenges, Tim. Let me begin, if I can, by saying first of all I was just there a few weeks ago (trying to counter Bush's efforts). I think our troops today deserve yet again a thanks and a word of praise from everybody. They are at extraordinary risk. They're doing a remarkable job, (dammit) and I want to give them that credit.

Secondly, it is significant that there is a vote in Iraq (dammit!). But no one in the United States or in the world-- and I'm confident of what the world response will be(it's no big deal). No one in the United States should try to overhype this election(because it will hurt the dems). This election is a sort of demarcation point, and what really counts now is the effort to have a legitimate political reconciliation(Bush must admit he was wrong and needs to give more credit to France, Germany and the U.N.), and it's going to take a massive diplomatic effort and a much more significant outreach to the international community than this administration has been willing to engage in. Absent that, we will not be successful in Iraq (unless the U.N. is put in charge of this operation).

MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe this election will be seen by the world community as legitimate?

SEN. KERRY: (No! Not until the U.N. and the international community are more involved in what goes on there) A kind of legitimacy--I mean, it's hard to say that something is legitimate when a whole portion of the country can't vote and doesn't vote (even though the turn out was as large as the turn out for our election). I (don't) think this election was important. I was(not) for the election taking place. You may recall that back in--well, there's no reason you would--but back in Fulton, Missouri, during the campaign, I laid out four steps, and I said at the time, "This may be the president's last chance to get it right (and he did, dammit!)."

It must suck to be on the left!

Yikes!

From World Magazine Blog:

It's not good that Warren Buffett made a paper profit of $645 million in one day when Proctor and Gamble agreed to buy Gillette. There's nothing wrong with making money, but when he dies Mr. Buffett plans to give most of his assets to the Buffett Foundation, making it the largest foundation in the world. Its chief beneficiaries: Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups. According to an Aug. 9, 2004 Associated Press report, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway stock was worth about $40 billion. So what will the pro-death lobby do with a half a billion more?

Posted by Susan Olasky at CST 06:14 PM Comments (11)

'Straight Pride Week' hits campus

Here's something you haven't seen before. 'Straight Pride Week' is going to be celebrated on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma soon. What a refreshing idea!

Pride week on campus is not just for homosexuals anymore.

A group of College Republicans at the University of Central Oklahoma is gearing up for what it calls "Straight Pride Week."


"The general gist is that if you are a straight student on campus be proud, be loud, this is your time to shine," College Republican Kyle Houts told KOCO-TV.

Already posted around the Edmond, Okla., campus are fliers reading, "We're here, we're conservative, we're out."

University officials have granted permission for the fliers, but they say it's not an endorsement of the message.

Members of the Gay Alliance for Tolerance and Equality told the station they consider the celebration an assault on homosexual students.

"What is there to say about it, 'I'm proud, and I'm straight and I guess white,' I don't know?" said GATE member Jennifer Rodriguez. "I think they definitely are being discriminatory because there's probably a lot of gay Republicans out there."

A KOCO online poll asks how people feel about the College Republicans' "Straight Pride Week" celebrations.

With more than 9,600 votes yesterday afternoon, 54 percent said "Good for them," 22 percent stated, "Neither 'Gay Pride Week' nor 'Straight Pride Week' should be observed," 18 percent said, "I don't mind it because it just makes it them look bad," and 5 percent responded, "They are being discriminatory."

It's about time heterosexuals come out of the closet!

Be Careful What You Pray For?

From my friend, Lenny Cacchio:

“Be careful what you pray for because you might just get it.” I have heard that assertion and am puzzled by it.” It’s akin to prayers answered for Uncle Harry’s cancer, only to see the man die in a car wreck two weeks later. Did God answer our prayer to heal him, then pull a double cross because we didn’t ask God to protect him too?

Be careful what you pray for because you might just get it? That doesn’t seem like the God that Jesus described: “What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?” (Matthew 7:9-11 NKJV) His point, of course, is that “if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (verse 12 NKJV) He won’t give us a scorpion if we ask for an egg.

Indeed, God often gives us more than what we pray for because “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26 NKJV)

And then there is Matthew 6:32 and thereabouts. "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

Solomon’s encounter with God is a great example of how it all works. God asked Solomon what he wanted, and instead of riches and power and honor, Solomon asked for wisdom so that he could properly lead his nation. God was so pleased with the response that he not only gave Solomon the wisdom he asked for, he gave him the riches, power, and honor that he did not ask for.

Now that I think about it, maybe it does make a difference what we pray for. Pray for things that benefit others and God will shower his blessings on all of us.

Lenny Cacchio

Interested in attending public Bible studies, where these are other topics are discussed? In the Kansas City area, call (816) 520-1743.

Music Site of the Week

Hat tip to my daughter Chelsea, this kick butt audio site has it all! This is the next best thing to having your own extensive digital library. Whoo hoo!

Smokers, Fatties...You're Outa Here!

The anti-smoking nazis will love this. So will the food nazis. Check it out:

The owner of a Michigan company who forced his employees to either quit smoking or quit their jobs says he also wants to tell fat workers to lose weight or else.

A ban on tobacco use, whether at home or at the workplace, led four employees to quit their jobs at Okemos, Michigan-based Weyco Inc, which handles insurance claims.

The workers refused to take a mandatory urine test demanded of Weyco's 200 employees by founder and sole owner Howard Weyers, a demand that he said was perfectly legal.

"If you don't want to take the test, you can leave," Weyers told Reuters. "I'm not controlling their lives; they have a choice whether they want to work here."

Next on the firing line: Overweight workers.

Got a problem with this? I don't. As a micro-businessman, and potential employer, I wouldn't hire a smoker and I wouldn't hire someone who is grossly overweight. Although I used to smoke (and I'm still overweight), I'm not the stereotypical anti-smoking zealot who moralistically refuses the right of anyone to smoke. In fact, I still rather like the wafting aroma of the evil second hand smoke. I don't avoid smoking sections in restaurants and I enjoy an occasional cigar. I oppose anti-smoking laws in restaurants, private buildings and sports arenas. Why should anyone be able to tell someone they can't smoke in their own property or someone else's property who approves it.

Likewise, why should any employer not be able to hire whomever he wants. If I like the smell of smoke, but not the smell of smokers, I, as an employer have the right to hire them or not hire them. And smokers, if they wish to continue to work for me, should quit or hit the road. They don't have a "right" to work for me and I certainly don't have an obligation to keep them on.

Since I have the food and smoking nazis on my side, here, I wonder how they'd feel about my refusal to hire cross dressers, vegans, environmental terrorists or whoever else I deem to be unworthy of my hire. This is where we may lose the support of our food and anti-smoking nazi friends.

Simply stated, employers should be able to hire and fire whomever they wish without big gov't or the PC police saying otherwise.

What Happens in Davos, Stays in Davos

Would that it were true!

The World Economic Forum is taking place this week in Davos, Switzerland. Jay Nordlinger describes the gathering as "left heavy;" a veritable who's who on the left. So what happens when the lofty "international community" gather in Davos? All manner of discussions, presentations, luncheons, and dinners take place centering on how to more effectively redistribute the vast wealth of the productive countries to the poor, underdeveloped, third and fourth world countries.

AIDS is always a good fund raising vehicle. Who could be against helping people with AIDS, the unspoken argument goes. Countries who don't give their "fair share" are portrayed as greedy and insensitive.

Internationalists also constantly harangue about the devestating effect of greenhouse gases. Who could be in favor of global warming?

The United States, it will be decided, needs to "contribute" more to these causes, and the U.N. is the "best equipped" agency to make sure these funds are properly distributed.

The call for an international tax is already out there by Chirac (to fight AIDS, don't ya know).

Sadly, Tony Blair, as reported here, yesterday, wants us to meld more effectively into the fellowship of the international community.

Bah humbug! Global internationalists all! They should mind their own business and leave our resources out of their plans. We are already spending and doing more than anybody else on whatever world problem they wish to speak.

It's wonderful that these folks can get together in elegant Swiss environs to solve the world's problems. We all do that in varying degrees with our friends and family, but most of us don't have the ability to make much of a difference on a world scale. Unfortunately, many of these elitists do. It's my opinion that the world would be better off if they just keep their solutions to themselves. It might be better for them to convene in Las Vegas. What happens there, stays there.

Blair: U.S. Needs to Integrate With World

Drudge is reporting that Tony Blair is saying U.S. Needs to Integrate With World:

Associated Press Writer

January 26, 2005, 1:42 PM EST

DAVOS, Switzerland -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair called on the United States Wednesday to take the world's needs into account when it seeks global support for its actions, and cited climate change as an issue all nations must address together.

"If America wants the rest of the world to be part of the agenda it has set, it must be part of their agenda, too," Blair told the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

Blair pledged to help developing countries reduce pollution and build more environmentally friendly economies.

Blair called for a common agenda worldwide, at the top of which would be cooperation in the fight against terrorism. He also urged that the world's countries protect human rights and freedom and "when we can, seek to increase the number of people able to live in democracy."

Question: What if the rest of the world doesn't want to do what needs to be done, like take out a dictator who happens to be paying off many who don't want the party to end. Wasn't there a huge conflict of interest among our would be allies (France, Germany and the U.N.)? They were profiting from Saddam; they didn't want it to end and so they opposed us. What then, Mr. Blair?

That's the problem with a 'world body' who hasn't the resolve to do what needs to be done. In those cases, we must do what we need to do. And we did.

Quote of the Day

From an unnamed Fox News Spokesman as heard this morning on FOX & Friends

"Ted Turner is understandably bitter having lost his ratings, his network and now his mind. We wish him well."

Yet, Another Zero-Tolerance Horror Story

Two Florida boys were charged with a felony, handcuffed and arrested for drawing "violent" stick figures:

01-25) 20:18 PST OCALA, Fla. (AP) --

Two boys were arrested for making pencil-and-crayon stick figure drawings depicting a 10-year-old classmate being stabbed and hung, police said. The children, charged with a felony, were taken from school in handcuffs.

The 9- and 10-year-old boys were arrested Monday and charged with making a written threat to kill or harm another person. They were also suspended from school.
One drawing showed the two boys standing on either side of the other boy and "holding knives pointed through" his body, according to a police report. The figures were identified by written names or initials.

Another drawing showed a stick figure hanging, tears falling from his eyes, with two other stick figures standing below him. Other pieces of scrap paper listed misspelled profanities and the initials of the boy who was allegedly threatened.

The boys' parents said they thought the children should be punished by the school and families, not the legal system.

Sounds an awful lot like that bloodthirsty game we used to play called "Hangman." Boy, it's a good thing they weren't playing "Battleship"...they could have been busted on terror charges and sent to Gitmo.

Isn't This Special?

Bet you didn't know that this was "no name-calling week" (which suggests that it's OK to call people names every other week). Yup! Another feel good zero tolerance program to promote the acceptance of the "gay lifestyle," where else but in America's Middle Schools!

"No Name-calling Week" takes aim at insults of all kinds - whether based on a child's appearance, background or behavior. But a handful of conservative critics have zeroed in on the references to harassment based on sexual orientation.

"I hope schools will realize it's less an exercise in tolerance than a platform for liberal groups to promote their pan-sexual agenda," said Robert Knight, director of Concerned Women for America's Culture and Family Institute.

"Schools should be steering kids away from identifying as gay," Knight said. "You can teach civility to kids and tell them every child is valued without conveying the message that failure to accept homosexuality as normal is a sign of bigotry."

This doesn't apply to Senators Boxer, Kennedy and Byrd who freely maligned Dr. Rice prior to her assured vote of approval to be Secretary of State.

The Aviator; High School Drop Out

Since I've always been a big Howard Hughes buff, I found this pretty interesting; from Brian's Education Blog regarding Hughes' education:

Education: Hughes attended private school in Boston, where he was better at golf than classwork. He was attending Thacher School in California when his mother died. In California, Hughes spent time with his uncle, Rupert, who inspired his later interest in filmmaking. Hughes never graduated from high school. Nonetheless, his father arranged for him to sit in on classes at Cal Tech by donating money to the school. Afterward, Howard returned to Houston and enrolled at Rice Institute (now Rice University). Howard, Sr. died suddenly a few weeks after his son turned eighteen. Young Howard inherited much of the family estate and dropped out of Rice.

Maybe one of the reasons I've always admired the genius Hughes is because of his contrarian nature. He always knew what he wanted and was determined to do it or get it and he did. He didn't need school! That's not to say he didn't get an education...duh! He educated himself. He obviously had a voracious aptitude for learning. He outgrew school early on. It was probably too boring for him. Had he been forced to endure school, he probably would have been stifled and maybe less creative.

This is one of my criticisms of gov't schools. Brilliant students may not have the opportunity to excel because the teacher can't depart from the teaching of the greater group (class). Individual tutoring is always far better because the student can learn at his own speed. It's my observation that this is the reason so many home educated kids far excel gov't educated (indoctrinated?) kids. Once a student has mastered reading and has a craving to learn, the motivated student can learn on his own...like Hughes!

Just When You Thought the UN was Irrelevant

The U.N. Law of the Sea Treaty, or LOST, which gives the U.N. control over 70% of the earth's surface seems to have Presidential support. How unfortunate!

Ostensibly, the U.N. is at its weakest point; wrought with corruption, impotent to make any significant impact on problem spots around the world and guilty of heinous sex crimes with vulnerable West African girls they are supposed to be protecting. At a time when we should be demanding that the scandalous bureaucracy pack up and leave, the UN may have new life:

The Law of the Sea Treaty, or LOST, a U.N. agreement decried by U.S. sovereignty advocates who were able to prevent consideration by the United States Senate last year, appears to have new life after comments made by Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice at her confirmation hearings.

The international treaty, which gives a U.N. agency called the Seabed Authority control of over 70 percent of the earth's surface and natural resources, was thought to be a slam-dunk for approval in the Senate last year, but opponents pressured members of the body, including Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and no vote was held.

Bush administration officials have pushed for the treaty's passage, as has Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind. Lugar held hearings on the legislation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last year, but failed to allow opponents of the treaty to testify.

Please read the entire piece. This is one of those matters that the old media would never mention and the new media may find boring. Matters of sovereignty, such as this, should trump the inane rantings of Ted Turner (who compares FoxNews with Hitler) or with the effete democrat senators who insist on holding up the vote as they oppose Dr. Condoleeza Rice. Those stories may be fun to cover and certainly are fun to read, but they do little to weaken our resolve. The U.N. and their corrupt member states wish to weaken the resolve of the United States by co-opting as much sovereignty as possible.

Paul Weyrich , of the Free Congress Foundation said,

"Conservatives who want to stop this treaty had better be prepared to be even more aggressive this time. Powerful interest groups, notably the oil industry, want to have this treaty ratified despite its fine print that would place their fate in the hands of a governing body called the International Seabed Authority and ultimately the United Nations."

If you're opposed to this encroaching treaty, now would be a good time to contact your representatives in Washington to politely encourage his/her opposition to it.

Growing Up with Johnny Carson

Every generation or era eventually loses benchmark personalities who helped define that particular era. Johnny Carson was a benchmark personality for 30 years; a baby boomer staple who transcended generations. My grandma enjoyed Johnny when he did a daytime "game" show, "Who Do You Trust?" , which aired from 1956 to 1963. I remember that show when I was just a little tike (I'll be 53 in March). I didn't really get to see the Tonite Show very often until the late '60's when I was in high school and then in college in the early 70's. It became a must see show for my wife and me, if not for just the first half-hour, enough to catch the monologue and to see who the guests would be. Just like so many others, we saw, first hand, the hundreds of classic Tonite Shows that have been replayed so many times and that are being replayed, in part, at least in the tributes today.

An irreplaceable piece of pop culture died today, and as a budding old fart, allow me to say, they're not making pop culture like they used to.

Carson was stereotypical Mid-West Americana at its best. He made what he did look so easy. Frequent guests and guest hosts agreed that he actually listened to his guests and was completely focused on them as opposed to what he was going to ask next. He let the guests shine as brightly as possible and if they didn't, he kindly came to their aid to get them through it. Of course he had an ego. No one can be in that business without a great big one, but he was able to put it in the bottom drawer, according to Jack Klugman. Dr. Joyce Brothers, a frequent guest said that his jokes were always kind and he always made the guests look good. Stevie Wonder, who made two guest appearances, said Carson made you feel like you were coming home.

Carson interviewed or featured 22,000 guests on 6500 shows under 7 presidents over the course of 30 years. His last show was on May 22, 1992. One of his most endearing recurring characters was "Carnak the Magnificent" who would posit answers to questions before they were asked. Some classic examples were: "And the answer is, 'Hi Diddle Diddle'." And the question is: "How do you greet your 'Diddle Diddle' in the morning." And "Dippity Doo"....What forms on your Dippity each morning?"...and on and on.

Carson's appeal was that he was just 'plain folks', yet he was the king of late nite TV. The King is dead...long live the King!

Home Schooled Debaters Beat Oxford

Hearty congratulations are in order for the U.S. homeschoolers who beat Oxford debaters in a moot court tournament.

Four homeschooled students at Patrick Henry College went to Oxford University in December to take part in a debate with some of Oxford's best student debaters, and two of them won. Matt du Mee, 22, of Peoria, Ariz., and Miss Rayel Papke, 21, of Queen Creek, Ariz., were the winners in a moot court tournament that took three days.

The students were judged on their debating skills, presentation and courtroom demeanor. They had to argue over a fictitious lawsuit by a multimillionaire against a sculptor. The dispute was over the sculptor's statue of a purple boll weevil.

The Americans had to learn the intricacies of British contract law and a set of judicial fiats. According to The Washington Times, du Mee remarked: "We didn't really have any parallels we could work off of. We just had to buckle down and learn the material." They also learned about British courtroom decorum, addressing the judges as "my lord" rather than "your honor."

You probably won't find any mention of this story at the NEA Home Page, but to their credit, the NEA had quite a bit of information on what parents can do to be more involved in their children's education. Find that info here. What they are describing, of course, is "home schooling", but they don't refer to it in those terms. Still, what they are recommending to parents is essential for the proper development of a child's education. Parental involvement is the key.

The End of Sovereignty in Britain

The American Thinker is featuring an important piece on Britain's imminent membership into the EU which will result in the end of their sovereignty. What impact will this have, if any, on our close relationship with Britain?

America may soon lose its most trusted ally in the world. Britain is on the verge of surrendering to the European Union. It is an historic moment that should be showing up in blaring headlines --- but it is slipping in so quietly that only a few people have talked about it: Margaret Thatcher, George Will, Mark Steyn, Peter Hitchens. There are books with about it with titles like The Rape of the Constitution, The Abolition of Britain, and America Alone. Those warnings should be taken seriously, but Washington seems to live in blissful ignorance.

To understand Britain's looming precipitous decline, imagine Hillary Clinton being elected President of the US, backed by a two-thirds Democrat majority in Congress. Add the highest level of Political Correctness ever seen, including criminal penalties for anybody who speaks words that offend victim groups. Mix in a culture of government dependency for every single person. Give Dan Rather and CBS a monopoly over the broadcast media, and let Jimmy Carter run our foreign policy. Finally, let Mexico and Canada decree half of our domestic regulations. That is the mind-boggling situation Britain faces today. The EU Constitution will lock in Britain's decline and subordination to the European Union.

What is amazing is the lack of debate going on over this. Why aren't pundits and politicos all agog over here? This is an extremely important issue. We really can't afford to lose our most powerful, and next to Australia, our most reliable, ally. This issue deserves national attention and we need to do whatever we can to discourage Britain's acquiescence to the EU. Please read this very important piece in its entirety.

Wisdom Is Where You Find It

Another excellent essay from my friend, Lenny Cacchio:

Once I heard a young man waxing eloquent in a practice sermonette about a man named Balaam. Balaam was a prophet who found himself crosswise with God because God couldn’t seem to get through his bullet-proof head. You can read about him in Numbers 22 – 24. God was finally able to get his attention by speaking to him through his donkey. The young man’s point in describing this event got lost in a classic double entendre, perhaps intentional, that “if God can speak through a dumb ass, then why can’t he speak through you?”

Personally, I take a different lesson from that story: Accept wisdom wherever you find it. Sometimes that wisdom can come from an unlikely – or unlikable – source, but it is wisdom nevertheless. That’s what the proverb means when it says that wisdom cries in the street (Proverbs 1:20-21, 8:1-3). Wisdom can come from just about anywhere, but we must have the ears to hear it.

Besides speaking through Balaam’s “beast of burden”, God can also speak through a pompous, religious elitist as he did with the chief priest in John 11. Speaking of Jesus, whose murder he was planning, he claimed, “It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not” (Verse 50). He could not have been more right in what he said and more wrong in his understanding of it. But as with Balaam, we must take wisdom where we find it.

Here’s another example. Perhaps the most wicked of the Israelite kings was a man named Ahab. This man was putty in the hands of his demented wife Jezebel, and together they introduced more paganism into the nation’s religious milieu than any others in their history (I Kings 16:30). Yet even he mastered the profound when retorting to a threat from the nation’s enemies: “Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.” Ahab’s enemies would have been well-served had they listened to him, for wisdom is where you find it.

Wisdom indeed cries in the streets, the byways, and the city gates. When James tells us to ask for wisdom, he expects us to seek and find that wisdom wherever it may be rather than waiting for pixie dust from heaven, even if the wisdom comes from an unsavory source.

Interested in attending public Bible studies, where these and other topics are discussed? In the Kansas City area, call (816) 520-1743.

Lenny Cacchio

Blog Regulation?

Amy Ridenour comments on a recent Glenn Reynolds blog post at Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog. What I found interesting is what she said about the "Please Donate" ads which many bloggers post so that they may receive some remunerations for their efforts. Here's what she has to say:

"Is he aware that a typical national nonprofit (to be 'national' in this context all you have to do is have 'please donate' on a website that is accessible from all fifty states, even if no one donates) is regulated by nearly fifty different government agencies?"

I wonder how many bloggers would readily post that feature if they knew they were or could be regulated by any number of government agencies.

Boortz: The "F-Word"

Timely observations by veteran Talker, Neal Boortz, found today at Nealz Nuze:

If you can believe this, President Bush's Inaugural speech is catching flack from some quarters, particularly American leftists and Euro-weenies, because he used the "F" word 27 times. This is an "F" word that is even more offensive to the left than the "F" word. Yup ... Bush said "Freedom" at least 27 times during the speech.

Evidently Bush didn't get the booklet of instructions for Presidents making State of the Union or Inaugural speeches. You're supposed to talk about security, not freedom. Bush was talking about spreading freedom around the world, and much of the world was having none of it.

What is the problem with freedom? I think that the biggest problem is that people realize that along with personal freedom comes personal responsibility. To be sure, Americans will say nice things about freedom ... right up until the time that personal responsibility rears its ugly head. Freedom of speech? Sure, that takes no real effort. Freedom of religion? No problem there. It doesn't really require you to actually do anything. Introduce responsibility and consequences for irresponsibility, and the love of freedom suddenly wanes.

Krauthammer: "Tomorrow's Threat"

Dr. Charles Krauthammer writes an important piece that shouldn't be ignored. He writes of the growing kinship between Russia and China:

That may be beginning again. The quiescence with which Russia accepted the Soviet collapse may have run its course. Russia's helplessness at the loss of Ukraine followed a long string of humiliating losses: first the external Third World empire, then the outer Eastern European empire, then the inner empire of 14 Soviet republics.

Add to this NATO's attack on Serbia, Russia's traditional Balkan ally, and the expansion of NATO into the Baltic states. Vladimir Putin's Russia, already moving decisively back to traditional czarist authoritarianism, then suffered political defeat in Ukraine, which it considered its natural patrimony. This only compounds and embitters the feeling of alienation from the West in general and from the United States in particular.

It is no accident that Russia has begun hinting at making common cause with China. This is potentially ominous because of China's rising power and its status as the leading have-not nation on the planet, the Germany of the 21st century. In December, during the week of the rerun Ukrainian election that finally brought the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko to power, Russia made two significant moves toward China. First was the announcement of intensified economic cooperation in developing Russia's vast energy resources. More ominous was the Russian defense minister's Dec. 27 announcement of, "for the first time in history," large joint military exercises on Chinese territory.

He doesn't think this will be a revisitation of the Cold War in our immediate future, rather a growing threat down the road. Be sure to read the entire piece.

Peggy Noonan: This May Surprise You!

Peggy Noonan's take on "the speech" needs to be read and it may surprise you:

And yet such promising moments were followed by this, the ending of the speech. "Renewed in our strength--tested, but not weary--we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom."

This is--how else to put it?--over the top. It is the kind of sentence that makes you wonder if this White House did not, in the preparation period, have a case of what I have called in the past "mission inebriation." A sense that there are few legitimate boundaries to the desires born in the goodness of their good hearts.

Her criticism isn't major, but it will probably surprise some folks in that Noonan is a "touchy-feely" writer and one would think she would have been taken with the moment. But she is also extremely insightful. Given the importance of the speech which so many are giving it, her comments deserve consideration.

Our Lady of Chappaqua

Do you believe-a? I said do you believe-a??? (you have to add the "a" at the end of "believe" in order to sound like the stereotypical whacked out TV evangelist). What you need to believe is that Sen. Clinton has found what she thinks will give her the edge when she runs for president beginning several months ago. She's gotten religion:

Addressing a crowd of more than 500, including many religious leaders, at Boston's Fairmont Copley Plaza, Clinton invoked God more than half a dozen times, at one point declaring, "I've always been a praying person."

She said there must be room for religious people to "live out their faith in the public square."

Again, I ask, do you believe? Do you believe that she actually expects us to take her seriously? Ah, but she does, and difficult as it is to believe, so many do believe! (they are the ones who threw snowballs at the Presidential motorcade and those who refused to spend "one damn dime" on inauguration day...all twenty-eight of them!).

On November 17, I blogged that the dems were going to head down this religious path because they know they have become known as the "godless" party of the ACLU, Michael Newdow, Planned Parenthood and Michael Moore. They have become anti-thetical to religion and God (that is, unless you belong to an urban left-wing Black congregation...can you say "patronizing?"), so their only way back to relevance is to "become religious". Hillary is being "born again" (as are the dems in general, out of necessity) as her presidential campaign intensifies.

The New Testament words of Jesus found in Matthew 23:13-36, come to mind. O', I know...He's talking to "religionists" and not politicians, but these "religionists" were the elitist lawmakers of that era. They made the rules for the common man but were themselves above the law. You can't read that text without visualizing the elitist hypocritical politicos of our time. Read it!

Say it Ain't so Jimma

Former President Jimmy Carter has apparently been linked to the UN oil-for-food scam. This is not to say that he's on the take, mind you, but if he had any knowledge whatsoever of any wrongdoing by any of his associates, he needs to come forward and tell what he knew and when, if anything:

Former President Jimmy Carter has been linked with a key figure in the U.N.'s oil-for-food scandal by the group leading the nationwide effort to evict the United Nations from American soil and halt U.S. funding of the U.N.

Move America Forward today will call upon Carter to provide a full accounting of his meetings and conversations with Samir Vincent, who yesterday pleaded guilty to participating in numerous illegal activities as part of the U.N. scandal.

"President Carter needs to tell the American people exactly what relationships he had with the individuals involved in the oil-for-food scandal," said Melanie Morgan, co-chairman of Move America Forward, which is running television ads attacking the U.N. on national cable news networks, conducting an online petition drive and soliciting contributions to spread the message of the TV spots.

Samir Vincent admitted on Tuesday to receiving allocations for more than 9 million barrels of oil between 1996 and 2003 in return for serving as an agent of Saddam Hussein's regime. Vincent worked at Hussein's direction, lobbying U.S. and U.N. officials to end sanctions and to instead implement the oil-for-food scam.

"Did President Carter know he was dealing with an agent of Saddam Hussein or was he just terribly gullible?" asked Morgan. "And if he truly was naïve as to Samir Vincent's true agenda, then now is the time for him to come forward and repudiate Mr. Vincent and his actions."

Spreading Freedom

The central theme of President Bush's Inaugural Address was that we should spread freedom around the world to as many countries who want it. Why? Largely because our liberty is jeopardized by international tyrannies:

We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.

America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time.

So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.

The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.

Makes perfect sense to me. It may not be attainable in this present world, but that doesn't mean it's not a worthy goal.

One would think that this would be the aspiration of the UN, but I'm guessing they will be silent on this message at best and critical at worst. How can anyone be critical of "liberty for all"? But many will be. Many will say this is more American Imperialism, but who are we trying to overtake and dominate? In all of the liberating wars we have been involved in overseas, as Colin Powell told the UN, all we've ever asked for is enough land to bury our dead.

It will be interesting to see the reactions to the President's address.

Here's BBC's take on the inauguration.

Inaugural Leak: Iraq Exit Strategy Unveiled

This will be of interest to everyone, considering President Bush's ambitious push to share freedom with the rest of the world. See AMERICAN DIGEST, found at The American Thinker, to get a glimpse of our exit strategy for Iraq (heh heh).

Chortle of the Day

Well, actually yesterday's chortle. An essential chortle nonetheless! Go to Cox & Forkum and see why. Imagine what it would be like if "they" were being inaugurated today. Perish the thought!

"Bush Pledges to Seek Unity in 2nd Term"

An AP story, via My Way News is reporting that President Bush will seek to "unify the country" in his second term:

"Inauguration is a time of unity for our country," the president said. "With the campaign behind us, Americans lift up our sights to the years ahead and to the great goals we will achieve for our country. I am eager and ready for the work ahead."

A worthy ideal which he pretty well achieved while he was Governor. He went to Washington announcing his "new tone" by reaching out to the dems only to be bitch slapped at every turn. Remember when he invited Sen. Ted over to "the House" for movies and popcorn? And then the bloviating senior senator from the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts trashed him on the Senate floor within the week? I'm not criticizing the President for reaching out, but it's a two way street on which the dems refuse to walk. Their definition of reaching out is to turn the reins of government over to them lock, stock and barrel with an apology for having won the election. It's an honorable, high road policy to seek unity and I'm confident the President will reach out to his opponents, just as he has in the past, but the result will be even worse this time because of the ever growing hate so many of his opponents are nurturing toward him, his administration, and even his constinuency.

So, how does one deal with haters? Well, we're supposed to love them, and that, my friend is a real test of character!

Prolife Across America

One of my blogging friends, M.E., over at Stand in the Trenches, blogged about this worthy cause, Prolife Across America. Go see the article and check out the Prolife Billboard website. There are a million causes out there, but this one looks like it's doing an excellent job in turning the hearts of those who may otherwise consider abortion as a viable option. Turning hearts is the best way to deal with abortion. Beliefs cannot be forced on people; coercion merely serves to harden hearts. Please be sure to visit the above links! Thanks.

Media Trust in US vs Europe

A new Harris Poll that was taken in Europe, as well as here in the U.S., shows that Europeans trust the media more than Americans do:

A new Harris Poll measures the levels of trust which Americans have in important institutions, and compares the results with those in a virtually identical European survey. For many institutions the levels of trust, or distrust, on both sides of the Atlantic were similar. There were also some striking differences. Americans showed much less trust than Europeans in the media and in the United Nations. On the other hand, Americans, more than Europeans, trust religious institutions.

Surely the reason for this is that we have far more media choices in America. When there are fewer choices, especially when they are more strictly controlled by the gov't, people don't have the opportunity to hear a diversity of ideas. For example, if the Old Media still had a monopoly (remember that?), we may tend to be less cynical of the media. But interject the free flow of ideas from a wide array of information sources such as our privately owned and operated press outlets, (cable, talk radio and the internet) and the establishment becomes less trusted. The Old Media in America long for those good old days.

This is just one reason the leftist elites are so enamored with the "enlightened" European modus operandi. Control the media and you can, to a larger extent, control what people believe.

It shouldn't be too surprising that Europeans favor the UN, since Socialism abounds over there. If they had a freer press, maybe even their socialistic ideals would be weakened. But then, maybe not. They may be too entrenched in cradle to the grave gov't programs.

And is it any surprise that Secular Europe has less trust of religious institutions than we do here in America?

If You Haven't Seen This Yet...

By now this is all over the place, but in case you haven't seen the latest JibJab, by all means, do so. Hat tip to Michelle Malkin and Stand in the Trenches.

The Gap Widens

Go here to see a contrasting photo of an intelligent winner on the rise and a bitter loser whose time is up.

Dr. Rice could have been sworn in today, but the dems want more time to destroy their credibility by keeping her on the stand for another day. They're in no hurry to make her Secretary of State.

What the dems need is a brilliant public relations firm. As it stands they have become known as the party of; Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Terry McAwful, the Clintons, Algore, Michael Moore, Michael Newdow, the ACLU, Hollywood and the Old Media. Is it any wonder they lost...and continue to lose?

If You're Tired of...

Negative Iraqi reporting, then be sure to read this from the World Tribune. Hat tip to Rush for reading some of this today.

EU to Ban Swastika?

Should swastikas be banned in Europe? Some are saying so:

"It may be worth looking into the possibility of a total ban, a Europe-wide ban," his spokesman Friso Roscam Abbing told reporters. "Commissioner Frattini shares the general feeling of opprobrium on the use of the swastika and other Nazi symbols."

More symbolism over substance, if you ask me. Banning offensive symbols will only bring about additional problems. What about other "offensive" symbols? The cross is offensive to some; should it be banned as well? How about the Star of David? This slippery slope leads to the idiotic "zero tolerance" policies we see in gov't schools across the country which prohibit all drugs (including Midol and aspirins) and all weapons (including nail clippers and pictures of guns).

It also leads to revisionist history. Offended by some historic event? No problem...we just won't talk about it any more. Can the thought police be far behind?

Back Home

Whenever I fly from Dallas to LA, I make it a point to sit on the starboard (that would be 'right' side, facing foreward) side of the plane in a window seat. The vistas are far too breathtaking to accept a seat elsewhere. This most recent trip did not disappoint!

We flew Southwest to LA, this past weekend, because they're cheap and we have a companion pass for 'mama' to fly free. It's a trade off because you can't go directly to LA from Dallas without making superfluous stops in adjacent states thanks to something known as the The Wright Amendment ( named after the liberal Speaker of the House, Jim Wright, from Ft. Worth, known unaffectionately to so many as 'Jim Wrong'. But, this entire fiasco is fodder for some future volume). That being said, we flew from Dallas to Albuquerque, to Las Vegas, to Ontario, CA.

I like the 'right' side of the airplane when flying west because the scenery is so spectacular to the north. The Rockies are snow capped and visible in Texas from as far east as Amarillo (from 35,000 feet or so). The flight from Albuquerque to Las Vegas is extraordinarily beautiful on a clear day. We flew directly over the gorgeous hues of the Painted Desert of Arizona and to the near north we could see the eastern end of the Grand Canyon, where it is very narrow and we flew along the entire length of the massive Canyon to it's end at Lake Mead. This was only the second time I've been able to fly over the Grand Canyon. Can there be anything in this country like it? How can you even describe it? It's a mind boggling thing. My view of the Canyon and Lake Mead could have only been grander had I been able to see Hoover Dam, which was to the left of the airplane as we approached Las Vegas. It was the first time I had ever flown into Vegas and while we were able to see many of the popular hotels and casinos, it surely would have been more spectacular at night.

From Vegas, it's a short hop to Ontario, just over Lake Arrowhead and the San Bernadino Mountains where you could see the fire lines from the fierce fires of last summer that went almost to the edge of Arrowhead.

The weather this weekend in LA couldn't have been more perfect. An uninformed visitor could not have known of the misery beset upon the LA Basin just days before, except for the existence of water in previously dry gullies and concrete river beds throughout the area.

One of the highlights of our trip to LA was our visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library in Simi Valley on Friday. What an incredible treat! The Library is situated atop a hill with an astounding 360 degree view imperceptible if you watched the Reagan funeral, some of which capitalized on the Pacific View from the Reagan Burial Plot.

We were extremely impressed with the Library, its environs and vistas. In June, the Air Force One Exhibit will be opened where the President's 707 will be on display. How they will have gotten it up that hill will be historical in itself.

Unfortunately, we were unable to see President Reagan's burial plot because it was canopied due to construction (new granite was being put down on and around the burial site). We're looking forward to returning when the current projects are completed. Please explore the linked website; much is there!

We had a great weekend in the Southland! Good to see my sis, bro-in-law, nephews, their kiddos and the kinfolk in general; and dear old mom is holding her own at age 84, battling alzeimers, she still recognizes us and is always in a good mood. She loves getting out for a drive around town, seeing the snow capped mountains and having an In-N-Out Burger. Who wouldn't?

Heading West for the Weekend

Very soon, my wife and I, will be boarding a Southwest 737 to head to Sunny California for a visit with dear old Mom. It will be a quick trip and as much as I would love to visit the Gipper's final resting place in Simi Valley, over looking the Pacific, I'm not so sure we will have the time. Maybe next time, or maybe this time....we'll see. I said all that to say this; I'm not sure if I will have computer access out there so this will serve as a light blogging alert!!!! Someone please, alert the media. I hope to be back online soon! This would be a great time to explore my interesting links. There are some people and places linked here that you won't find at ordinary blogs, so go exploring and mention that you found out about them at this awesome little blog.

Boortz: "Ungrateful Nation Gives U.S. the Boot!"

From Boortz's Nealz Nuze:

After weeks of pouring millions in humanitarian and military aid into their country, the government of Indonesia has decided in their infinite wisdom to thank the United States. And how is the world's most populous Muslim nation going to do this?

They're kicking us out. That's right...having used us for what they needed, the America-haters are purging the great Satan. How nice.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla announced that all foreign troops must leave by the end of March. The insults continued, as he said: "Three months are enough. The sooner, the better. In the future, there will be no need for the foreign military presence." Oh really?

We'll have to remember that the next time Indonesia needs something, or another natural disaster occurs there. Already, in response, the United States has scaled back plans to base Marines in that country and pulled out the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln that was off its shores. Indonesia is seeking debt relief...perhaps we should think twice before helping them any further?

Thanks for nothing, Indonesia. We'll have to remember this one. And we should also remember that no good dead goes unpunished.

Also ... remember that Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim nation. Think about it.

It would be nice if the world took notice of this.

Traffic Cop Fingerprinting: Update

An alert populace apparently got to the Green Bay Police Department, proving once again our voices are heard. Their policy to fingerprint traffic violation offenders has come to a halt. Cops stop fingerprinting traffic violators:

With public fears of a police state being created in Green Bay, Wis., law enforcement authorities are dropping a new policy where officers collected fingerprints from traffic violators.

The practice would have continued if people wouldn't have voiced their protests. This wasn't a program to prevent terrorism, nor was it promoted as such; but when questionable police tactics like this pop up, people need to speak up and make sure the authorities are within the legal limits of the law. Which is why, boys and girls, it is necessary to read the Constitution from time to time.

A Tribute to the Swiftboat Vets

If it weren't for honorable men like John O'Neill and his compadres who served on the Swiftboats, (and, of course, the New Media, without whom the "Swiftees" would have had much difficulty getting their story out) the election may have turned out completely different. Be sure to read An American Story; a fitting tribute to some great patriots who didn't back down:

What impresses is the spirit of the American people and the point that Lincoln made, about how you can’t fool them all the time. The country finally handed up, in Mr.O’Neill, a man of extraordinary quality, a graduate of the Naval Academy who spent two years in combat in Vietnam, graduated first in his class at the University of Texas law school, and clerked on the Supreme Court for Justice Rehnquist. Mr. O’Neill, once summoned by his Vietnam commander, Admiral Roy Hoffmann, had to make but one or two calls to bring the Swiftboat Veterans scrambling to the defense of the Navy’s honor — and America’s.

Threats of lawsuits didn’t faze any of them. In the case of the sailors, they had already put their lives on the line, and in the case of the prisoners of war, they had already withstood torture on behalf of America’s cause. Telephoned death threats and the sneers of the glitterati meant little. And they knew their story. The moment Senator Kerry stepped onto the podium of the Democratic Convention in Boston, snapped a salute, and announced he was reporting for duty, Mr. Corsi, who had been studying the anti-war movement for years, knew that “Unfit for Command” was going to become a runaway best-seller.

You Know Gov't is Too Big When.....

What's wrong with this picture? An AP story in the Pasadena Star-News reports that the Gov't is urging Americans to slash calories and exercise more:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government on Wednesday told Americans to slash their calorie intake and exercise 30 to 90 minutes a day, updating guidelines that advised people to lose weight but gave few specifics on how to do it.
The new dietary guidelines will be used to update the familiar food pyramid, which most people recognize but few heed. The revision will be the pyramid's first since it was created 12 years ago.

"The guidelines offer Americans achievable goals for controlling weight," said Tommy Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services, which developed the guidelines with the Agriculture Department. "Let's start today."

Isn't this situation grossly juxtaposed? Why aren't Americans demanding that Congress stop their egregious spending and lessen our tax burdens? It's no business of theirs whatsoever how many calories we happen to consume or how much or how little exercise we get. How dare they presume to tell us how to live our lives. It's not their job to tell us what to do...it's our job to tell them what to do! What's worse is that Joe 6-pack and Jane Q. Public won't have a clue that this is none of Big Gov't's business. Pity! (Be sure to read the entire piece and then let your Representative know that you think Congress should immediately begin to cut the massive waste (waist) in our entirely too vast federal gov't.)

The "Tolerant" Left Sling their X-Rated Arrows at "Attilla the Honey"

In her most recent column, Michelle Malkin writes about some of the repercussions coming down on minority conservatives because of the Armstrong Williams brouhaha. Malkin is being hounded by foul penned cunning linguists insisting that she, too, is on the take. Wanna see the love being projected from the tolerant Left? Read her column and then go to her blog.

Quote of the Day

From Hugh Hewitt in his response to Howard Kurtz for his failure to give the blogosphere any credit for exposing CBS and Dan Rather in Kurtz's Washington Post piece:

I do think that, generally, legacy media has figured out that the blogs are a mortal threat to their very existence, and not in some hazy far off time, but right now, this year and next. That threat is especially real to the elite political reporters/columnists who are no longer such a hot commodity. Teleprompter reading anchors have been a sort of amusing set of fossils for some time, but the rise of serious blogger-analysts working all over the web really does devalue the sort of big media reporter who could once count on the "Washington Week in Review" effect to elevate their day-jobs to a status level that, even if it didn't add anything to the paycheck (and sometimes it did), at least got them some pretty good ego strokes. Bloggers setting the pace undercuts the value of every political and media reporter working today. It would be foolish to expect this subgroup of journalists to elevate their competition for the public's benefit.

"It's Roger Ailes' and Dubya's Fault"

Regarding the MSM, you can love them or hate them, but the worst thing you can do is disregard them. To their chagrin, ever more people are disregarding them, because of their credibility problem and fading influence.

Howard Fineman has a good piece, 'Media Party' is Over describing Dan Rather as being merely the top of the iceberg:

WASHINGTON - A political party is dying before our eyes — and I don't mean the Democrats. I'm talking about the "mainstream media," which is being destroyed by the opposition (or worse, the casual disdain) of George Bush's Republican Party; by competition from other news outlets (led by the internet and Fox's canny Roger Ailes); and by its own fraying journalistic standards. At the height of its power, the AMMP (the American Mainstream Media Party) helped validate the civil rights movement, end a war and oust a power-mad president. But all that is ancient history.

"Riding high in April, shutdown in May" as Sinatra may have observed about the Old Media. It really must be painful that they just aren't needed anymore. Oh, it's always good to have another opinion to compare against the facts, but opinion is just how most of the viewing/listening audience regard the Old Media.

This didn't happen overnight. It's been happening for almost 20 years. The Old Media may never be able to admit the real problem, (which is analogous to what is happening to the democrat party...blaming others for their failures) which only compounds their problem. Their problems are so obvious that it seems silly to enumerate them.

Roger Ailes (read, FoxNews) is probably ecstatic to accept responsibility for the demise of the MSM, and for them to credit Ailes only empowers him. But they arrogantly will not or cannot admit to their biases, and that is their primary problem. Their nemeses, talk radio (read, Rush), the internet and Fox News, aren't afraid to admit their biases, while the MSM to this day insists it is unbiased.

Does someone need to tell them we live in a different, better connected, more informed, less naive world? It's not complicated.

Meanwhile: NewsMax is reporting that CBS News continues to slide in the ratings.

Adding insult to injury: In one of his radio promo's Rush reminds us that "there is no 'BS' in EIB", referring to his Excellence In Broadcasting Network. Heh heh heh!

Your Driver's License and Finger, Please

In Greenbay, Wisconsin, Police have begun fingerprinting people on routine traffic stops:

"If you're ticketed by Green Bay police, you'll get more than a fine. You'll get fingerprinted, too. It's a new way police are cracking down on crime.
If you're caught speeding or playing your music too loud, or other crimes for which you might receive a citation, Green Bay police officers will ask for your drivers license and your finger. You'll be fingerprinted right there on the spot. The fingerprint appears right next to the amount of the fine."

Why don't they just go for the DNA while they're at it? What won't they do to "protect and serve?"

See Update.

Dennis Prager: The case for Judeo-Christian values

Dennis Prager makes the case for Judeo-Christian values in two columns where he writes about right and wrong, good and evil and moral relativism. You can find Part I here and Part II here:

In the late 1970s, in a public interview in Los Angeles, I asked one of the leading secular liberal thinkers of the past generation, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., if he would say that the United States was a morally superior society to that of the Soviet Union. Even when I repeated the question, and clarified that I readily acknowledged the existence of good individuals in the Soviet Union and bad ones in America, he refused to do so.

A major reason for the left's loathing of George W. Bush is his use of moral language -- such as in his widely condemned description of the regimes of North Korea, Iran and Iraq as an "axis of evil." These people reject the central Judeo-Christian value of the existence of objective good and evil and our obligation to make such judgments. Secularism has led to moral confusion, which in turn has led to moral paralysis.

The culture war will continue to wage as neither side is about to give up their cause. Those who believe in God believe that Truth will win out while moral relativists believe truth is subjective. So it goes.

Go Ahead....Cut Your Nose Off!

A handful of radical democrats are encouraging an anti-Bush boycott in an effort to foil the gaiety of inauguration Day:

DETROIT (AP) -

David Livingstone says the idea behind the economic boycott he's organizing is simple: If people don't show up at work or buy things, companies lose money. As he sees it, that's money the Bush administration can't tax, and can't use to run the war in Iraq, protect polluters or chip away at the Constitution.

So the Detroit Democrat and a handful of other anti-Bush groups across the country are urging others of like mind to withhold their cash and labor on Inauguration Day - from all businesses. They don't think they'll inflict a huge economic pain, but they do want to make a point.

"I view the inauguration of Bush as a black Thursday for this country," Livingstone says. "We've tried marching in the streets to stop the war, we tried writing letters, we tried initiatives on the Web, but Bush doesn't listen. It seems to us the only thing Bush and the Republicans will listen to is money."

Livingstone, a 41-year-old writer, hopes to be in Washington for the Jan. 20 festivities, which for him means protests, black armbands and backs turned to the parade route.

And he's vowing not to buy gas, food or use his credit card that day: He wants the GOP, big oil, big banking, big box stores and any other "bigs" to know they can't push him around or ignore him - at least not on Jan. 20.

Let's see, now...stay home from work, don't buy anything, (might as well go ahead and fast), wear black armbands and turn your back on the parade route. So what part of the protest is meant to punish President Bush?

Seems to me that the actions of the radical left only end up hurting themselves; don't work, don't buy anything, don't defend your nation, don't overpopulate the world, don't eat meat, don't drive SUV's, encourage abortions, promote homosexuality, malign Judeo-Christian moral values, eschew diversity of ideas, and refuse to tolerate those who don't accept your political agenda. Is there any wonder why radical leftists are being marginalized?

The UN's World Disorder

Via RealClearPolitics, Gerald Warner's piece in the Scotsman, aptly illustrates the utter irrelevancy of the UN and asks how much longer the corrupt institution can expect to be funded by member nations (read, the USA) whose policies are generally held in contempt by the UN. He speculates that an alternative to the crumbling UN may resemble something more akin to a G8 based organization. Don't be dissuaded by the title, this isn't just another anti-UN/New World Order rant.

12 Year Old Takes on Teaching Responsibility

A 12 year old Indian girl has taken it upon herself to teach homeless kids in her devastated hometown:

Indian schoolgirl Aashna Lucas is only 12 years old but she has taken on the massive job of helping educate youngsters left homeless by the tsunamis which lashed India's remote Andaman Islands.

"The tsunamis washed away their schools so how will they get an education if we don't do something?" asked Aashna at a fairground in the territory's capital, Port Blair, that has been transformed into an emergency shelter.

A grade A student at Mount Carmel Convent in Port Blair, Aashna has plunged into the task of schooling kindergarten-age tribal children evacuated from Car Nicobar island, which was devastated by the towering tsunamis two weeks ago.

She takes her job of teaching the tots — mostly aged three to five years, but a few of whom are older than her — extremely seriously. "I come here exactly at 8am every day and often leave at 11 at night during which I hold several shifts and they should not be disturbed," she said during a recess break.

Aashna, whose own school is closed due to the disaster, teaches some 15-odd tribal children poetry, English and arithmetic during each shift, shelter officials said. Teachers said she had a natural gift for teaching.

"It's amazing for a small girl like this to be able to instill discipline among such small children and then actually getting their attention to teach them stories," said N. Senguppa, a Port Blair teacher and aid worker.

Why Do We Announce our Plans?

I've never quite understood why stories like this get publicized:

THE Pentagon is considering forming hit squads of Kurdish and Shia fighters to target leaders of the Iraqi insurgency in a strategic shift borrowed from the American struggle against left-wing guerrillas in Central America 20 years ago.
Under the so-called “El Salvador option”, Iraqi and American forces would be sent to kill or kidnap insurgency leaders, even in Syria, where some are thought to shelter.

I would have thought this was being done all along. If they are going to do it, why don't they just do it?

Terri Schiavo: Vegetative State?

Estranged husband of Terri Schiavo, Michael, has insisted, for years, that his wife, Terri, is in a hopeless vegetative state and should be disconnected from any life support apparatus. Her parents have fought to keep her alive and wish to be her legal guardians, much to the chagrin of Terri's husband Michael who wants to be able to marry his live-in girl friend. The sad epic has Terri's life in the crosshairs. Michael wants her dead ASAP. Her parents want to care for her till the day she naturally dies. The court fight cries out for a Solomon-like solution. This story, by David N. Bass, lends credibility to Terri and her parents. But then, all of the stories about Terri Schiavo lend credibility to her and her parents.

Cox & Forkum: An Excellent Find!

From time to time I'm going to feature one of my linked websites. Today I want to showcase John Cox & Allen Forkum aka Cox & Forkum, world class editorial cartoonists. Be sure to go there and explore their website. These guys are good!

Secularists Seek Higher Global Profile

As reported by Reuters, secularists, domestically and abroad, are doing all they can to increase their strength in what could be called the international culture war:

By Robert Evans
GENEVA (Reuters) - Humanist and atheist groups around the world are looking to boost their profile in 2005 to counter religious fundamentalism and efforts by some Western leaders to relaunch faith as a keystone of national life.

Under pressure from the rise of militant Islam, Vatican activism in the European Union and the re-election of a "born-again" Christian to the White House, they feel they must resist to ensure the ideas of secularism survive and spread.

"In the face of the religious onslaught on Humanist values, we have to speak out and get our message over," says Roy Brown, Swiss-based president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) which links groups totaling millions of members.
Two central events will be a World Atheist Conference at Vijayawada in India in early January and the IHEU's World Congress in July at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

"We must work hard to combat the encroachment of religion on public policy and on the rights of non-believers everywhere," said IHEU executive director Babu Gogineni.

Atheists, who see no evidence for the existence of a deity, and Humanists, who are mainly atheists but include some believers, share that core concern: to keep religion out of politics and limit it to the private sphere.

They draw their inspiration from freethinkers down the ages, from ancient Greek and Indian philosophers through the 18th century Enlightenment that shaped much of modern political thinking in Europe and North America.

This is an important piece. Casual observers on the right may be lulled into thinking they are winning the culture war because of President Bush's re-election. They would be mistaken. The culture war is a full blown war for the soul of our country and our western Judeao-Christian system of beliefs, and far too many people who believe in those traditions are all too often, silently sitting back in their "Lazy Boy" recliner, remote control in hand, watching society get crazier and more out of control as each day passes. Don't just sit there, do something! The first thing you could do is finish reading the above article.

"We Will Shut You Up!"

Is the effort to 'shut up' Christians gaining ground in this country? It's already against the law in Canada and many European countries to publicly decry homosexuality. The radical element within our judiciary is acknowledging the so-called importance of recognizing international law. When that becomes reality, if it isn't already, our Constitution will be rendered irrelevant.

This linked article deserves your attention. If Americans sit back and allow this travesty to continue, then everyone's rights are threatened, not just those pesky Christians.

Update: Homosexuals planned Christian harassment

Sick of Sunday Morning TV Talking Heads?

Yeah, so am I. Here's a great alternative: give Michelle Malkin, blogger/columnist/frequent cable news guest and author extraordinaire, a listen as she debuts a new radio talk show airing 10am-1pm Eastern on News Talk Radio 77 WABC-AM this Sunday morning (1-9-05). Downstream it and give her a listen. Congressman Tom Tancredo will be co-hosting with her on this program.

Correction: Michelle is actually substituting for Monica Crowley.

What's Theirs is Theirs and What's Yours is Theirs Also

As reported in The American Thinker, the leftist government of Hugo Chavez , in Venezuela, is beginning to confiscate private ranches and farmland. This communistic confiscation strategy is a wonderful concept for those in power who pocket the wealth and prime real estate, but when corrupt governments assume ownership of productive farms and ranches, it's not long before people start going hungry. How's Zimbabwe doing these days and who's going to bail them out, some other dictator like Castro or Chavez? Hardly. Leftist dictatorships are so busy looking out for themselves, the last thing they care about is some other starving dictatorship.

The only way socialists and communists can survive, longterm, is for capitalism to directly or indirectly support them or, when all else fails, come to their aid.

A Great, but Misunderstood American

From my friend, Lenny Cacchio:

A Great but Misunderstood American

Americans have a penchant for not appreciating their heroes and giants until they are no longer on the scene. Abraham Lincoln was one of those, who was called everything from baboon to a buffoon, but whose intellect and foresight escaped his contemporaries, leaving it to the following generations to honor him.

Another famous American, while afforded a degree of respect these days, is still overlooked by many who have yet to understand the full depth of his intellect and world view. Sadly, where he stood on the social issue closest to his heart is either misunderstood or bent by his presumed heirs. I am going to quote from his own words. See if you can guess who this man was.

"Some things are right and some things are wrong, no matter if everybody is doing the contrary. Some things in this universe are absolute. The God of the universe has made it so. And so long as we adopt this relative attitude toward right and wrong, we're revolting against the very laws of God himself."

"All I'm trying to say to you is that our world hinges on moral foundations. God has made it so. God has made the universe to be based on a moral law. So long as man disobeys it he is revolting against God. That's what we need in the world today: people who will stand for right and goodness. It's not enough to know the intricacies of zoology and biology, but we must know the intricacies of law."

"We just became so involved in things that we forgot about God. And that is the danger confronting us, my friends: that in a nation as ours where we stress mass production, and that's mighty important, where we have so many conveniences and luxuries and all of that, there is the danger that we will unconsciously forget about God. I'm not saying that these things aren't important; we need them, we need cars, we need money; all of that's important to live. But whenever they become substitutes for God, they become injurious."

"And I tell you this morning, my friends, the reason we have to solve this problem here in America: Because God somehow called America to do a special job for mankind and the world. Never before in the history of the world have so many racial groups and so many national backgrounds assembled together in one nation. And somehow if we can't solve the problem in America the world can't solve the problem, because America is the world in miniature and the world is America writ large. And God set us out with all of the opportunities. He set us between two great oceans; made it possible for us to live with some of the great natural resources of the world. And there he gave us through the minds of our forefathers a great creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

"America, as I look at you from afar, I wonder whether your moral and spiritual progress has been commensurate with your scientific progress. It seems to me that your moral progress lags behind your scientific progress. Your poet Thoreau used to talk about 'improved means to an unimproved end.' How often this is true. You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live. You have allowed your mentality to outrun your morality. You have allowed your civilization to outdistance your culture. Through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood, but through your moral and spiritual genius you have failed to make of it a brotherhood. So America, I would urge you to keep your moral advances abreast with your scientific advances."

"I am impelled to write you concerning the responsibilities laid upon you to live as Christians in the midst of an unChristian world. … That is what every Christian has to do. But I understand that there are many Christians in America who give their ultimate allegiance to man-made systems and customs. They are afraid to be different. Their great concern is to be accepted socially. They live by some such principle as this: 'everybody is doing it, so it must be all right.' For so many of you Morality is merely group consensus. In your modern sociological lingo, the mores are accepted as the right ways. You have unconsciously come to believe that right is discovered by taking a sort of Gallup poll of the majority opinion. How many are giving their ultimate allegiance to this way?"

"'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God, Creator, with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.' This is a dream. It's a great dream. … [T]hat dream goes on to say another thing that ultimately distinguishes our nation and our form of government from any totalitarian system in the world. It says that each of us has certain basic rights that are neither derived from or conferred by the state. In order to discover where they came from, it is necessary to move back behind the dim mist of eternity. They are God-given, gifts from His hands. Never before in the history of the world has a sociopolitical document expressed in such profound, eloquent, and unequivocal language the dignity and the worth of human personality. The American dream reminds us, and we should think about it anew on this Independence Day, that every man is an heir of the legacy of dignity and worth."

I would think that many Americans would be surprised to learn that the above words were spoken from the pulpit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We can't know what he would think of those who expropriate his name while ignoring his message, but it is curious indeed that such statements today would disqualify him from serving on the federal bench. It should also be a reminder not to believe the propaganda we are often fed about history and public figures.

Lenny Cacchio

For more words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Stanford University's research project can be found here.

Perspective, Anyone?

Never one to shy away from the "insensitive" moniker, I happened upon this level headed article at Tech Central Station which, upon posting, will almost certainly categorize me as such. Still, it's a well done piece, not in the least bit insensitive if you read it in its entirety. At Risk In the Universe, by Ralph Kinney Bennett, puts things in perspective, even though perspective isn't always what people want.

The Only Way to Fight a War

There's a neat piece by Michael Fumento at TechCentralStation, Is Anything Mightier Than This Sword?

Time Magazine named it "one of the most amazing inventions of 2004," but to terrorists in Iraq it may be the scariest. By April, GIs in Iraq will be deploying 18 robots so small they could almost crawl between your legs. But don't let size fool you; these motorized midgets pack a powerful punch. They can fire anything from a light machine gun to a six-barreled 40 millimeter grenade launcher or multiple rocket systems.

The Sword is the first armed variant of a track-wheeled robot developed by Foster-Miller of Waltham, Massachusetts called the TALON. That machine proved itself in Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq in removing mines and other explosives. TALON robots have now completed more than 20,000 such missions and I was proud to find Internet photos of my former unit using them to protect Afghans.

The robo-warrior version has no independent capabilities like a T1 Terminator; rather it uses an outside operator with a viewing screen and joystick control. And like its flying cousin the Predator, its main job isn't killing but reconnaissance. Swords can be equipped with off-the-shelf chemical, gas, temperature, and radiation sensors. They carry up to seven cameras of any combination including thermal, night vision, zooms, and wide area.

Advantage, U.S.!

Soldier Begging For Dog Food For Deployed Dogs

This via Cheese and Crackers. There are lots of needy causes out there, but some don't get what they need just to survive. These guys just need some quality scraps from their master's table...they're saving lives and going hungry. You can find the story here, but it's imperative to visit the aforelinked videoblog, Cheese and Crackers.

C'mon, She was Depressed......!

So, Andrea Yates' murder conviction was overturned today by an Appeals Court, and why not? After all, she was depressed! Isn't it understandable that she could methodically drown five of her own flesh and blood in a fit of "post-partum blues?" If you don't get it, pal, then you're probably an insensitive white guy. You can read about it here. But don't worry, she got off on a technicality and she'll surely be found guilty in the next Appeals Court.