Wednesday, October 31, 2007

For Lady Hawk, the Teacher

These are comments made on students' report cards by teachers in our public school system.

All teachers were reprimanded, but they are still funny!

1. Since my last report, your child has reached rock bottom and has started to dig.

2. I would not allow this student to breed.

3. Your child has delusions of adequacy.

4. Your son is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.

5. Your son sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.

6. The student has a "full six-pack" but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together.

7. This child has been working with glue too much.

8. When your daughter's IQ reaches 50, she should sell.

9. The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming.

10. If this student were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week.

11. It's impossible to believe the sperm that created this child beat out 1,000,000 others.

12. The wheel is turning but the hamster is definitely dead.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

More Christian Churches Swing Towards Apostasy

FUBAR Protestants - Crystal Cathedral Conference Accused of Twisting Biblical Christianity in this 'New Age'

It's an all-star conference set for the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., Jan. 17-19.

-Former President George H.W. Bush will speak.
-Chuck Colson will make a presentation.
-Larry King will be there.
-Rupert Murdoch will address attendees.
-Ben Stein will appear.

And Kay Warren, wife of Saddleback Church mega-pastor Rick Warren, will join Robert Schuller, the white-haired, bespectacled purveyor of "possibility thinking."
What could such a diverse group have in common? What's the topic?

Well, it's a little vague.

It's called the "Rethink Conference," and Schuller promises 30 "Aha!" moments from the 30 different speakers confirmed for the event.

Not everyone is thrilled about this meeting of the minds. Some, including Christian author and former New Age devotee Warren Smith, suspect an agenda to subvert the church – to take the focus off biblical truth and absolutes.

"From my perspective as a former New Age follower, I believe that Robert Schuller's mission has always been to 'rethink' and 'change' biblical Christianity into something 'new' – as in New Age/New Spirituality," he says.

Smith's "Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church" documents Schuller's contacts and endorsements of New Age stars such as Gerald Jampolsky, Neale Donald Walsch and Bernie Siegel.

"As a former New Age follower I could hardly believe it," says Smith. "On October 17, 2004, more than 20 years after his first appearance on the 'Hour of Power,' New Age leader Gerald Jampolsky was once again Robert Schuller's featured guest. I was not surprised on one level, because I had always been aware of Schuller's affection for New Age teachings. What did surprise me was Schuller's willingness to still be so openly aligned with a veteran New Age leader like Jampolsky."

Smith says it was Jampolsky who first introduced him to "A Course in Miracles," the best-selling book New Age bible that taught him "there is no sin," "a slain Christ has no meaning" and "the recognition of God is the recognition of yourself."

All of Jampolsky's books, according to Smith, are based on "A Course in Miracles." But yet, there was Schuller on his TV show recommending all of Jampolsky's "fabulous" works. He even noted he sold some of them in the Crystal Cathedral bookstore. And, according to Smith, for awhile, Schuller even hosted "A Course in Miracles" study groups in his church.

It's not a one-way street, either, says Smith. New Age leaders like Walsch, author of the best-selling "Conversations With God," and Jampolsky go out of their way to praise Schuller, too.

"They know that Robert Schuller has always been open to spiritual compromise," he says.

According to Smith, Schuller has always "done a good job of softening up the church" for what he sees as unbiblical New Age ideas. And that's just what he expects the "Rethink Conference" is all about.

If indeed that's what the conference is all about, some other big names are going along for the ride. They include Christian pollster George Barna, former heavyweight champ George Foreman, American Center for Law and Justice founder Jay Sekulow, Gary Smalley and "The Case for Christ" author Lee Strobel.

"Never before have we gathered such dynamic leaders who will challenge us to think outside the box as we grapple with a changing culture and our response to it," said Schuller.

The conference will not only be attended by thousands at the Crystral Cathedral, but it will be telecast by satellite around the world by Church Communication Network, according to organizers.

"These culture pioneers know what is center-stage in our culture right now and also what is breaking on the horizon," says Rethink Conference executive director Bill Dallas. "This conference will confront outdated and pre-conceived ideas, offer new perspectives and open our minds to all kinds of possibilities that connect us with out shifting culture without compromising our core values."

Smith just wonders about those "outdated and pre-conceived ideas."

"The church does not need to 'rethink' and 'compromise' its God-given biblical doctrines to accommodate the world," he says. "It needs to rethink its willingness to follow worldly leaders like Robert Schuller."

Societal Meltdown: 1 in 10 Schools 'Dropout Factories'

WASHINGTON — It's a nickname no principal could be proud of: "Dropout Factory," a high school where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. That dubious distinction applies to more than one in 10 high schools across America.

"If you're born in a neighborhood or town where the only high school is one where graduation is not the norm, how is this living in the land of equal opportunity?" asks Bob Balfanz, the researcher at Johns Hopkins University who defines such a school as a "dropout factory."

There are about 1,700 regular or vocational high schools nationwide that fit that description, according to an analysis of Education Department data conducted by Johns Hopkins for The Associated Press. That's 12 percent of all such schools, no more than a decade ago but no less, either.

While some of the missing students transferred, most dropped out, Balfanz says. The data tracked senior classes for three years in a row — 2004, 2005 and 2006 — to make sure local events like plant closures weren't to blame for the low retention rates.

The highest concentration of dropout factories is in large cities or high-poverty rural areas in the South and Southwest. Most have high proportions of minority students. These schools are tougher to turn around, because their students face challenges well beyond the academic ones — the need to work as well as go to school, for example, or a need for social services.

Utah, which has low poverty rates and fewer minorities than most states, is the only state without a dropout factory. Florida and South Carolina have the highest percentages. About half of high schools in those states classify as dropout factories.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Don't ... Ever ... Buy ... Miller ... Beer!

(CNSNews.com) - The Miller Brewing Company issued a formal apology on Friday for any offense caused by the use of its logos on a poster promoting the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco during late September by replacing Jesus and his disciples in Leonardo Da Vinci's painting of "The Last Supper" with half-naked homosexual sadomasochists.

In an email statement sent to Cybercast News Service by Senior Manager of Media Relations Julian Green, the company said it "has taken action to ensure that such an incident will not happen again."

... "We deeply regret that we did not adhere to our own policies with regard to the Folsom Street Fair," said Miller Senior Vice President Nehl Horton. "We apologize to everyone we offended as a result. We hope people will forgive us for this serious error and have confidence we will not repeat it."

"Miller Brewing was never afforded the opportunity to review our Fair poster before it was printed and distributed," said Andy Copper, board president of Folsom Street Events, which sponsors the "world's largest leather event" every year. "The approval was made by a third party without Miller's knowledge and consent."Copper also issued an apology on behalf of the organization which distributed the controversial poster.

"I would like to apologize to anyone who felt that the image was disrespectful to their religious beliefs," said Copper. "No malicious intent was involved."

... support Anheuser-Busch; the only family-owned, last remaining major American Beer company.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Liberal Revisionists Vilify All Things Distinctly American

By Michael Knox Beran : NRO

Congressman Pete Stark has apologized for saying that President Bush finds “amusement” in the spectacle of American troops getting “their heads blown off” in Iraq. Yet his comments have been embraced by many of the president’s detractors, among them bloggers at The Huffington Post and Daily Kos.

It is not hard to see why. Congressman Stark’s words are faithful to a particular way of looking at America and its place in history — are faithful to what might be called the “liberal interpretation of history.

”The liberal interpretation of history holds that the United States is not merely a flawed country — all countries are flawed — but a deeply flawed one. It was founded by statesmen who subscribed to a deeply flawed philosophy; statesmen who believed that all men are created equal, and that all men are entitled to life, liberty, and the fruits of their industry.

The founders of the United States, it is true, did not always live up to their philosophy. But by placing its principles in the Declaration of Independence, they preserved it, as Abraham Lincoln said, for all time, so that “to-day, and in all coming days, it shall be a rebuke and a stumbling-block to the very harbingers of reappearing tyranny and oppression.”

In the view of those who subscribe to the liberal interpretation of history, the philosophy of the Declaration is antiquated. According to the liberal interpretation, all men are created equal, except for blacks, Native Americans, Alaskan natives, Hispanics, and Asian and Pacific Islanders, who are racially challenged and must be classed apart from everyone else. (Native Hawaiians will be added to the list if the Akaka Bill becomes law.) All are entitled to life, except for those whose hearts beat in the womb; to liberty, except for those who require the supervision of the nanny state; to the fruits of their industry, except for those who have made a certain amount of money and are obligated to hand a disproportionate chunk of it over to the government each year.

Central to the liberal interpretation of history is the belief that a country founded on so flawed a philosophy cannot, as a rule, be a force for good in the world. Accordingly, when the United States acts in the world it most often acts not for good, but for evil.

... excellent article showing the absurdity of LIBERAL thought!

Full article ...

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Fubar Vatican! The Whore of Babylon?

Catholics Want Vatican to Clean Church

The recent highly publicized photos and video of San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer serving Communion to two flamboyantly dressed members of the ultra anti-Catholic "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" was no happenstance.

And soon they will be on their way to the Vatican for any who have not yet seen them.

"I am the gentleman responsible for the filming of the whole thing," Anthony Gonzales, chief of the St. Joseph's Men Society, told WND shortly after the first round of publicity over the photos and video. "I sent one of my men to film this.




"We knew he was going into this parish in the heart of the Castro Street Fair to celebration and be part of the celebration of their lifestyle, and we were waiting to see what he was going to do and how he was going to do it," Gonzales said.

And the reason?

"We can't even take our children to Mass anymore. We can't even go to our churches," he said.

"We finally got to the point, and said, 'Hey, look, we can't take this anymore,'" he said.

"We want the Roman Catholic faithful to return, and are sick and tired of having to deal with men who are faithless, who are our leaders," he said. "They come into positions of power because of other homosexuals, or at least are promoting them into positions of power.

"We want to keep the fires burning. This guy has to know he can't continue to get way with his actions. He's played dumb before," he said. "He says, 'I guess I made a mistake.' So he always makes these mistakes!"

"He says he didn't recognize two gay men dressed in drag coming up to receive Communion in clown makeup!" Gonzales wondered.

That incident was publicized with the mens group video on the Catholic blogsite Quamdiu Domine.

The archbishop, in an diocese newspaper editorial, apologized for serving the two "Sisters," explaining he didn't recognize who they were.

... Also assembled was documentation from Americans for Truth about the church's repeated sponsorship of booths and other entries in the various San Francisco "gay" festivals, such as the recent Folsom Street Fair, on which WND reported.

... "We need to bulldoze to the ground every Catholic Church in S.F. and send these left handed Catholics to the Masonic lodge where they truly belong. Let Satan put up with them," added "pablo."

... Mark was succinct: "Blasphemy."

... "You could say the Archbishop has a 'wide stance' toward perversion-enthusiasts in the church," added "Grandma Hat."

Previous stories:
See who's receiving Communion in San Francisco
Graphic pix of sex-fest sent to Miller's hometown
Spokeswoman 'dropped ball' on homosex-fest query
Pelosi won't condemn 'gay' slur of Last Supper
Homosex-fest sparks holy war with Miller
'Miller pulls logo from 'gay' Last Supper ad
'Gays' mock Jesus with Last Supper take-off
School kids appear in homosexual parade
State education chief pushes 'gay' pornfest


... dressed in Scarlet and Purple, sitting on many waters ...

An Iraqi Boy Takes Cover Behind An American Soldier




































The kid took shelter behind a hero. The boy knows who will not kill him but will save him.

An amazing and touching set of photos! Look at the soldier standing upright and alert while everyone else runs! Some news photos are so rich in symbolism they're almost like Renaissance paintings in how much they communicate.

Such a photo appeared on the front page of the New York Times's national edition, a picture of the scene after a bombing in Baghdad yesterday. Adding to the chaos of the bombing which killed at least 21 people and injured at least 66 was a shooter, maybe targeting people in the crowd. Amid all the Iraqis who are running from the gunfire was a U.S. soldier, standing tall, perhaps looking in the direction of the gunshots, not apparently looking for cover.

An Iraqi boy seeks shelter behind the soldier, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. The first picture shows it all. The kid's face shows he is scared to death, and he's running to the safest spot he can find: this soldier who stands between him and danger.

It would be difficult to stage a picture that provides a more potent metaphor for the role played by United States in this wretched world.

... thanks to Pat Campbell, www.540wfla.com

The Violent Oppresion of Women in Islam


Follow the link and scroll down - be forewarned! This is VERY graphic. This video has been banned by Youtube. It's all true, unfortunately.

Students Strap On Empty Holsters to Protest Gun Restrictions on Campus


College students across the country have been strapping empty holsters around their waists this week to protest laws that prohibit concealed weapons on campus, citing concerns over campus shootings.

"People who would otherwise be able to defend themselves are left defenseless when on campus," said Ethan Bratt, a graduate student wearing an empty holster this week on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a group of college students, parents and citizens who organized after the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech University in April, launched the protest.

... some are TAKING their freedoms back, to save themselves from the STUPID! (Photo By AP)

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Author Slams 'Clueless' American Trainers, Says Washington Arming, Funding Jihadists

U.S. Army officers e-mailing Terrorists

American security officers, including U.S. Army instructors, are so "clueless" about the nature of the Palestinian militias the U.S. regularly trains, that the officers have exchanged friendly e-mails with former students who also are known terrorists, including one of the most notorious terror leaders, according to the author of a recently released book.

WND's Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein, author of "Schmoozing with Terrorists," says he discovered officers of U.S. teams that train Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah security forces have kept in touch with some of their former students who also are members of a major Palestinian terror group, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, perhaps unaware they were chatting with terrorists.

In one example, Klein was made aware of a series of pleasant e-mail exchanges between a U.S. Army officer and his former student, one of the most infamous Brigades terror chiefs. The chief received U.S. training from the Army officer in the late 1990s in the West Bank as a member of Fatah's security forces.

The officer also exchanged Christmas greetings last year with his former student, who was a terror chief in the West Bank city of Bethlehem where in 2002 he holed up for 34 days in the Church of the Nativity, the believed birthplace of Jesus. The chief's group was accused of desecrating the holy Christian site.

Another U.S. trainer exchanged e-mails with a former student, a Fatah security officer who doubles as a Brigades terrorist whose cell was accused of orchestrating a series of suicide bombings inside Israel in 2005 and 2006.

In his book, Klein details how the U.S. has been arming, training, funding and coordinating security with members of Fatah's Force 17 and the Preventative Security Services, who openly serve in Fatah's declared "military wing," the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

The Brigades took credit along with the Islamic Jihad terror group for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years. It is responsible for more terrorism from the West Bank than any other Palestinian Arab organization, carrying out thousands of shootings and grenade attacks.

"It's scandalous that in the midst of the war on terror, our tax dollars are used to fund, train and arm the most active Palestinian West Bank jihad group," said Klein.

... "All the methods and techniques that we studied in these trainings, we applied them against the Israelis," he said.

"We sniped at Israeli settlers and soldiers," he said. "We broke into settlements and Israeli army bases and posts. We collected information on the movements of soldiers and settlers. We collected information about the best timing to infiltrate our bombers inside Israel. We used weapons and we produced explosives, and, of course, the trainings we received from the Americans and the Europeans were a great help to the resistance." ...

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Monday, October 22, 2007

Air Cavalry Crews See Higher-Tech Attacks, Weapons from Iran


BAGHDAD — Air cavalry helicopter pilots have had to change their tactics to adapt to newer and higher-tech surface-to-air missile systems that officials believe are coming in from Iran, a senior official in Iraq said Friday.
Crews from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade out of Camp Taji have flown support for operations in and around Baghdad for more than a year. Since their arrival, there has been an increase in the sophistication of attacks and types of weapons, Army Col. Daniel J. Shanahan said in a conference call with military analysts.
“In the last several months, we have had an increased threat from systems that we had not seen in the first part of the year,” Shanahan said. Some of them originated in “places like Iran,” he said, causing considerable change in tactics, techniques and procedures.
“It’s a real concern, and it’s something that we’re dealing with,” he said. “Right now we’ve got the best systems in the world, and we’ve got technology behind us.”
Shanahan said additional sensors and diffusers, which decrease an aircraft’s infrared signature, have been added, and crews’ flying tactics have changed.

Shanahan’s crews have logged 80,000 hours of flight time in the past 13 months, he said. The helicopters spend about 10 hours in the air for every one on the ground, Shanahan estimated. But even though the enemy’s weapons systems are more advanced than before, overall attacks on aircraft are down in the area, he said.

Crews are fired upon about 200 times monthly, he said. Attacks are from weapons types ranging from small arms to rockets known in military parlance as “man-portable air-defense systems,” or MANPADs, which are shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles that typically use infrared guidance.
MANPADs make up only about 5 percent of the attacks, “but if you ask the pilots, they would say that MANPADS is the biggest threat,” Shanahan said.

It takes about 3,000 troops to fly, fuel, arm and maintain the H-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters operating around the clock at the base. The aircraft are used for attack reconnaissance, air assault, air transport and medical evacuation missions.

In addition, crews partner with Iraqi Air Force units for training and some missions. The Iraqi
Air Force has progressed sufficiently that it routinely provides reconnaissance missions, patrolling pipelines, power lines and other infrastructure. It also provides in-country transportation for Iraqi government officials.

Iraqi Air Force pilots fly three types of helicopters: Mi-17s and Bell JetRangers in training programs and UH-1 Hueys mounted with defensive systems, which are workhorses for reconnaissance and transport, Shanahan said. This frees his crews from these types of missions and is a critical step toward the Iraqi government assuming its own security mission, he said.

Jihad Group Armed, Funded With American Tax Dollars

U.S. Trained Terrorists

The U.S. has been arming, training, funding and coordinating security with known terrorists, including much of the senior leadership of the most active Palestinian terrorist organization, charges a new book.

In "Schmoozing with Terrorists," author and WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein also documents how terrorists, including a terror chief, are among the official team that receives and distributes American weapons shipped to Palestinians.

"It's scandalous," writes Klein. "In the midst of America's war on terror, the U.S. is perpetuating terrorism to the point where the most active Palestinian jihad group is carrying out regular attacks, including shootings and bombings, using American-provided weapons, funding and training."

... which side are they on? - not ours!

Hmmm ... We Said the Same Thing About N. Korea

Cheney: U.S. Will Not Let Iran Go Nuclear

The United States and other nations will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday.

"Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions," Cheney said in a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies.

He said Iran's efforts to pursue technology that would allow them to build a nuclear weapon are obvious and that "the regime continues to practice delay and deceit in an obvious effort to buy time."

If Iran continues on its current course, Cheney said the U.S. and other nations are "prepared to impose serious consequences." The vice president made no specific reference to military action.

"We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.

... don't think I believe him! I hope I'm wrong!

Friday, October 19, 2007

'Che the Butcher's' Monument In Venezuela Destroyed!

Che Guevara, known as Fidel Castro's executioner, had a glass monument in Venezuela, placed there by Hugo Chavez - but not anymore!

A monument erected to immortalize the life and death of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentine revolutionary who fought with Fidel Castro in Cuba and in the Bolivian jungle, was demolished by gunfire in Venezuela, the country presided over by Hugo Chavez, Castro's heir apparent in Latin America.

The glass monument was shot up and destroyed less than two weeks after it was unveiled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government. (giggle : )

Images of the 8-foot-tall glass plate bearing Guevara's image, now toppled and shattered, were shown Friday on state television, which said the entire country "repudiated" the vandalism.

The monument on an Andean mountain highway near the city of Merida was unveiled Oct. 8 by Vice President Jorge Rodriguez and Cuba's ambassador to Venezuela to mark the 40th anniversary of Guevara's death.

Chavez venerates Guevara as a model socialist for all Venezuelans. He named a state-funded adult education program "Mission Che Guevara," and murals of the iconic revolutionary have become a common sight in Venezuela.

Police said they had yet to identify those responsible. The Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional published a copy of what it said was a flier found by the monument signed by the previously unknown "Paramo Patriotic Front."

"We don't want any monument to Che, he isn't an example for our children," the flier read. It called Guevara a "cold-blooded killer" and said the government should raise a monument in Chavez's hometown of Sabaneta, in the nearby lowland plains, if it wants to commemorate the Argentine-born revolutionary.

The local mayor, Jesus Maria Espinoza, suggested the vandals came from elsewhere.
"We can't tolerate people from outside ... damaging something that was unveiled with so much happiness, with so much enthusiasm that day," Espinoza told state television.

The 1.5-inch-thick stele was erected near the top of El Aguila Peak, a popular tourist spot and one of the highest points in Venezuela at 13,143 feet above sea level.

Guevara visited this spot in 1952 during his travels through South America, which he recorded in his diary, before joining the Cuban revolutionary struggle led by Fidel Castro.
... my, my - the darling of America's Left - shattered by people who know better! : )

Photo: Cortesia; Anti-Che Image: Thoseshirts.com

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Tee Hee!, Ha!, Huh! Ha! - Ha Ha Ha!

Voters Unhappy with Bush and Congress

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deepening unhappiness with President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress soured the mood of Americans and sent Bush's approval rating to another record low this month, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

The Reuters/Zogby Index, which measures the mood of the country, also fell from 98.8 to 96 -- the second consecutive month it has dropped. The number of Americans who believe the country is on the wrong track jumped four points to 66 percent.

Bush's job approval rating fell to 24 percent from last month's record low for a Zogby poll of 29 percent. A paltry 11 percent gave Congress a positive grade, tying last month's record low.

"There is a real question among Americans now about how relevant this government is to them," pollster John Zogby said. "They tell us they want action on health care, education, the war and immigration, but they don't believe they are going to get it."

The dismal assessment of the Republican president and the Democratic-controlled Congress follows another month of inconclusive political battles over a future path in Iraq and the recent Bush veto of an expansion of the program providing insurance for poor children.

The bleak mood could present problems for both parties heading into the November 2008 election campaign, Zogby said.

"Voter turnout could still be high next year, but the mood has turned against incumbents and into a 'throw the bums out' mindset," Zogby said.

California 'Mom,' 'Dad' Ban Garners International Scorn

The Trend Is Definitely Down!

World Congress of Families condemns promotion of 'polymorphous perversion'

Ban on 'Mom' and 'Dad' sparks call for exodus
'Public districts are no longer safe environment for children'

'Mom' and 'Dad' banished by California
Schwarzenegger signs law banning anything perceived as negative to 'gays'

Norway: Let kids indulge in sex in class
'They can play doctor, play mother and father, dance naked and masturbate'

Ha! Air America Host Caught In More Lies!

Air America radio host Randi Rhodes is temporarily off the air, but claims she was brutally attacked near her Manhattan apartment are bogus, her lawyer and a police source said today.

Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network that Rhodes had been mugged while walking her dog, Simon, on Sunday night. Elliot, who said Rhodes lost several teeth in the attack, waxed about a possible conspiracy.

"Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?" he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. "Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?"

A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan's 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.

... what absolute "useful Marixst" idiots!

Democrats Want Intelligence To Be Deaf and Blind

Asked what scares him the most, Bond says, “What really scares me the most is the left wing of the Democratic party, particularly some House members backed up by the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] and other groups and the liberal national media, which is using unnecessary scare tactics to take away the tools that we need to fight terrorists.”

If House Democrats and a large portion of the media have their way, American intelligence targeting terrorists would become “deaf and blind,” Sen. Kit Bond tells Newsmax.
As vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Bond has an inside track to that secret world. Yet when the ranking minority member of the intelligence committee tries to correct misimpressions created by the media, he is usually ignored.

In a wide-ranging interview, the Missouri Republican said House Democrats are threatening Americans’ safety by erecting roadblocks that make it difficult to find clues to the next terrorist attack.

In particular, Bond cites a House of Representatives’ revision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The Democrats’ bill, now being considered by the Senate, says no warrant would be required before intercepting communications between callers in foreign countries. But that is misleading because there is usually no way to tell if an individual is about to place calls to the U.S. For that reason, Bond says, the Democrats’ bill would require a warrant before listening in on a call by Osama bin Laden to an al-Qaeda cell group in the United States about, for example, the timing of a simultaneous attack on London, Madrid, Munich and Washington.

“We have no way of knowing where the hell he’s going to call or where he’s going to email,” Bond says. “Until you tap it and maybe get a helluva lot more information, you don’t know whether the communication is foreign-to-foreign or foreign-to-domestic. Under the House Democrats’ law, the National Security Agency (NSA) would have to go to the FISA court before listening to bin Laden’s calls.”

Because of a ruling by a court judge on May 31, since most telecommunications now pass through U.S. switching systems, if bin Laden made a call within Pakistan, a court order was required before listening to his conversation. During the months the ruling was in effect, U.S. intelligence was missing up to two-thirds of calls it should have been intercepting, according to intelligence sources.

The ruling delayed by nine and a half hours interception of calls by insurgents who captured American soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division in Iraq. During that time, officials scrambled to line up legal justifications to listen in.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Poking Giant Holes in Atheism’s Dogma

By: Phil Brennan - NEWSMAX.COM

"What’s So Great About Christianity?" by Dinesh D’Souza, Regnery, 344 Pages

If you have a son or daughter either in college or about to enter the halls of academia get your hands on this extraordinary book and give it to your offspring with instructions to read it from cover to cover.

There is no better way to inoculate a young man or woman against the virus of atheistic brainwashing epidemic on America’s campuses than Dinesh D’Souza’s new book, which carefully and calmly goes about the job of not only exposing the emptiness and lies of the atheistic materialism fervently embraced by a great number of academics, but also shows how effective Christianity has proven to be in combating its deleterious effects on our culture.

According to D’Souza atheism is losing and Christianity is winning. “God has come back to life,” he writes. “The world is witnessing a huge explosion of religious conversion and growth, and Christianity is growing faster than any other religion. Nietzsche’s proclamation ‘God is Dead’ is now proven false.”

The recent spate of books defending atheism and attacking religion reflects the near panic among atheists over the resurgence of Christianity. D’Souza’s book is nothing less than a massive refutation of the various allegations in such books as "God is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything" by journalist Christopher Hitchens.

Also in D’Souza’s sights are Sam Harris’s "Letter to a Christian Nation" and, especially, "The God Delusion" by Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins, who gets a royal drubbing in the book.

Step-by-step, chapter-by-chapter, the author calls on innumerable sources to refute secularism’s myths -- such as what he calls the “fable” of Galileo’s treatment at the hands of the Vatican.

After explaining just what it was that got Galileo in trouble with the Church -- noting that Arthur Keostler had written that his defense was so “patently dishonest that his case would have been lost in any court" -- D’Souza deals with Galileo’s allegedly harsh punishment.

“Contrary to what some atheist propagandists have said, Galileo was never charged with heresy and was never placed in a dungeon or tortured in anyway," the author writes. "After he recanted Galileo was released into the custody of the archbishop of Siena, who housed him for five months in his magnificent palace. Then he was permitted to return to his villa in Florence.”

The author barely conceals his contempt for the incredible arrogance of scientists Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkin’s descriptions of themselves as “brights” because “they think they and their atheist friends are simply smarter that the community of religious believers.”

His treatment of Darwinism, as opposed to the scientific theory of evolution with which he has no quarrel, is devastating. Darwinism, he insists, furnishes the “brights” with ammunition they think refutes intelligent design. He goes on to demonstrate that their ammunition is composed of duds.

Among his other disclosures:

-Contrary to secularism’s claim that Christianity ushered in the “dark ages” and destroyed the Greco/Roman classical world, the Christian faith is “the very root and foundation of Western civilization.” and was “responsible for many of the values and institutions secular people cherish most.”

-He cites western art, science, the idea of limited government, the idea that the ordinary human being has inherent dignity and value rather than that accorded by society, the importance of the family and romantic love and even the concept that consent of both a man and a woman was a prerequisite for marriage.

-Rather than being an enemy of science, as alleged by secularists, Christianity provides the explanation that the universe is rational, that it operates according to laws. “Without the ‘irrational, belief that we live in an ordered universe,” D’Souza writes, “modern science is impossible.”

Western man, he adds, got this “faith in an ordered, unified and accessible universe,” from Christianity.

“Christianity reinvigorated the idea of an ordered cosmos by envisioning the universe as following laws that embody the rationality of God, the creator,” he explains.
As the old Baltimore catechism declared simply, proof of the Divine origin of the world lies in its “order and beauty.”

The universe is not eternal, it had a beginning, despite atheism’s contention that it has always existed. Writes D’Souza, “The finding of modern physics that the universe has a beginning in space and time … [the Big Bang event] is one of the most important scientific discoveries ever made. It provides, for all who take the trouble to understand it and reflect upon it, powerful and convincing evidence of an eternal, supernatural being that created our world and everything in it.”

After discussing the validity of miracles, the dismal record of atheistic regimes that butchered tens-of-millions of human beings in the last century alone, the absolute necessity of a moral law and the motivations of many atheists based on their lower instincts, D”Souza explains just what is so great about Christianity.

“In a society based on self-fulfillment and self-esteem, on looking out for yourself and advancing yourself, Christ calls us to the heroic task of self-emptying. He must increase and we must decrease. This we do by allowing his empire an ever greater domain in our hearts,” he concludes. “Goodness and happiness flow from this.”

For anyone being subjected to a barrage of secularist propaganda of the kind found on campuses, this book is a potent defensive weapon. No student should leave home without it.

Garner - Washington Times


Atheism is the Opiate of the Morally Corrupt

By: Phil Brennan - NEWSMAX.COM

In his blockbuster new book published Monday, "What’s So Great About Christianity," Dinesh D’Souza attacks atheism at its very roots, draws line between Darwinism, which he maintains is the creed of atheists, and the scientific theory of evolution, shows how atheistic inspired movements killed millions in the last century alone, and explains why Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world today.

In an exclusive interview with NewsMax, Dinesh D’Souza tackles some of the issues raised in his book.

NewsMax: You say the new atheism is engaged in a one-sided all-out war on religion with Christians on the sidelines instead of fighting back. You write that 'atheists have been hammering Christians and the Christians have been running for cover.' How should Christians be responding?

"For a long time Christians have abandoned the public square, thinking that this is neutral space and if we just build up our homes and churches everything will be fine. But now a bunch of raging atheists have come charging into the public square, and they are blasting religion in general and Christianity in particular. The new atheists have mounted an aggressive intellectual and moral attack against Christianity. Their goal is to take over the minds of the next generation, so that America moves into a new age of science and moral freedom liberated forever from its Christian heritage."

The atheist belief that in essence the universe created itself and everything in it, including us, is on its face an absurdity. How can they defend it?

"Within the Newtonian framework, it was actually possible and even reasonable to believe in an eternal universe. Newton didn’t invent this idea; it went back to Aristotle. But Newton gave it a powerful scientific justification. The problem for atheists is that we now know that the universe had a beginning. The significance of the big bang is not just that matter came into existence, but that space and time came into existence. The laws of physics came into existence; there were no laws of physics preceding the big bang. For two thousand years the Bible has contended, in some ways against all reason and evidence, that the universe has not always existed; rather, it was created along with space and time. Now modern science has come to agree with the ancient Jewish and Christian text."

You accept the so-called 'big bang' theory as the method God used to create the universe. What evidence is there to prove that contention which most atheists deny?

"Today the evidence for a big bang or moment of creation is so strong that there are hardly any reputable scientists who do not believe it. Several lines of evidence have converged to make the big bang the closest thing we have to a scientific fact."

You write that Darwinism is the religion of most atheists. Can you explain why?

"Interestingly the leading atheists today are mostly Darwinians. I distinguish Darwinism from evolution. Evolution is a scientific theory. Darwinism is a worldview or metaphysics. Evolution simply tries to explain how one life form gave rise to another. Evolution doesn’t even pretend to account for the origin of life. Evolution cannot explain consciousness or morality. But the metaphysical Darwinists think they have come up with a master key to understand the entire universe. This is where they rely not on reason or evidence but on blind faith.”

Do you believe that God used evolution to create mankind? If so why would He have employed such a cumbersome procedure when all he had to do was think and his Divine will would have produced humans instantly, as we are informed by Holy Scripture in the Adam and Eve story?

"We don’t know what processes God used to create the universe. We also don’t know how God chose to create man. The Bible doesn’t say man was made out of nothing; rather the Bible says man was made out of the existing materials of the earth. 'Dust thou art and to dust thou shall return.' The Bible also says we are made in God’s image, but God is not a material thing. God is a spiritual being. So our resemblance to God is clearly not physical but rather spiritual and moral. For these reasons I’m not worried about whether evolution is right or not. It doesn’t threaten my Christian faith and it shouldn’t threaten anyone else’s.”

Atheists have blamed religion for killing millions of people in the name of Christianity. Isn’t it a fact that atheist have been the most murderous of all?

"Well, Henry Kamen’s study of the Spanish Inquisiton which is the most authoritative one found that the Inquisition killed around 2,000 people over a period of 350 years. That’s 2,000 too many. But compare that death toll to the number of people killed by atheist regimes in the past century. Pol Pot alone killed a couple of million, and he was a very junior tyrant by atheist standards. The regimes of Mao, Hitler and Stalin together killed more than 100 million people in the space of four decades. Atheism, not religion, is responsible for the mass murders of history."

Without God and the Ten Commandments and the moral way of life demanded of believers, how can there be peace among humans? Does not the denial of a necessary religious moral order lead inevitably to chaos among a mankind cut loose from all moral structures and ruled entirely by self-interest?

"Yes, morality is a defining characteristic of human beings and there is no way for us to rise 'beyond good and evil,' as Nietzsche would have it, and still remain human. Of course different religions put forward their own moral codes, and yet there are some important similarities between these. What seems to be new in the West is not a complete denial of morality but rather a denial of the idea of an external moral order. Many people seem to think that morality is something that we make up for ourselves. Of course this is a very attractive idea especially for young people because it offers them the prospect of escaping from the old moral rules, especially the rules about sexual restraint. I sometimes think that if it wasn’t for the Old Testament injunction against adultery, and Christ’s idea that if we have contemplated the sin we have in a sense committed it, if it wasn’t for these two things Western man would still be Christian."

Isn’t the demand for freedom from all morality and a license to do whatever one’s carnal desires crave the real reason why most atheists deny the existence of a divine lawgiver?

"I think it is the main reason, the desire to escape not just sexual rules but also to escape from ultimate moral judgment. Marx once said that religion is the opiate of the masses. He implied that religion was a kind of refuge. I turn this around and note that atheism is the opiate of the morally corrupt. Atheists try and escape the idea of judgment by getting rid of the judge."

What proof can you offer for the reality of a soul?

"The soul is that capacity that we all have within us to make free choices, both ordinary choices such as answering these questions, and moral choices, such as whether I should tell the truth or not. In both cases our choices are up to us. They are not determined entirely by physical laws such as the movement of atoms and molecules. If they were so determined then it would be pointless to say to someone, 'You shouldn’t have done that,' because clearly he would have had no choice in the matter. But this is absurd. We exercise choice all the time, and these choices are in some sense outside of the mechanical laws of nature. So we inhabit two domains: the natural domain and the metaphysical domain. Atheists ridicule the soul as the “ghost in the machine.” But there is a ghost in the machine, and it’s called free will."

Atheists reject the possibility of miracles. Why do they deny that miracles are possible?

"The short answer is because they don’t understand what science shows and what it doesn’t show. There is nothing in science that contradicts the idea of miracles. Science uses observations and experiments to posit laws. But these laws are provisional truths that are always open to revision. We believe that 'all swans are white' until we run into a black swan. We believe that 'light travels everywhere at 186,000 miles per second' until we find a situation where it doesn’t travel at that speed. Miracles are impossible only if the laws of the universe were known to be true in a final and unrestricted sense. But there is no scientific law, no matter how basic, that is true in this sense. I’m not trying to show that this miracle or that miracle is true, only that miracles are entirely consistent with modern science."

How can Christianity improve people’s lives?

"Christianity makes sense of the world that, without God, would lose its ultimate grounding and meaning. Christianity also gives life a goal and purpose. It makes available to us on a regular basis the experience of the sublime. It removes the cosmic loneliness that we all feel in the world. It enables us to cope with hardship and suffering and death. It fills us with the hope that we will ultimately see God. It gives us a reason to be moral and also shows us how to be moral. It’s simply a fuller, better, more fun way to live."

Sunday, October 14, 2007

The Haters of America Continue To Stir Up Trouble

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Air America Launches Nationwide Atheism Program

The liberal talk radio network Air America announced this week it will launch a nationwide show focusing on atheism. The first national show will feature Christopher Hitchens, author of "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

"The Freethought Radio Program, hosted by the co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has been airing on Air America's Madison, Wis., affiliate since April 2006.

On Saturday, Oct. 6, the show will begin airing on 14 other affiliates from Palm Springs, Fla., to Eugene, Ore., and on XM Satellite radio.

"You can turn on the radio or TV 24/7 to be preached at," Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the FFRF, said in a statement. "This is one hour a week of the public airwaves that offers an alternative."

Gaylor said the program "offers irreverent views, news, music and interviews," including a regular news feature called "Theocracy Alert.

"Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council, noted that atheists have the same free speech rights as all Americans. Yet, as he told Cybercast News Service, "I doubt atheist radio will be any more popular than liberal radio."

"Conservative talk radio dominates, as do Christian radio programs," he said. "I don't think Dr. James Dobson, with Focus on the Family, has anything to worry about from atheist radio."

Sprigg further said that liberals often claim that one can be a Christian and a liberal at the same, but, in his view, the step to promote atheism on the airwaves is indicative perhaps that liberalism is incompatible with traditional religious belief.

... funny how some Liberals say they believe in Freedom but really don't!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Attention Floridians! - Charlie Crist Works Hard to Spread GOP Liberalism

John Rizzi - Human Events

Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting competition these days for being the most liberal Republican governor in the nation. When it comes to embracing global warming and retreating from cultural conservatism, the Republican chief executive in Florida, Charlie Crist, is mentioned almost as frequently as the famed “Governator” of California.

And unlike the Austrian-born Schwarzenegger, Crist -- who has been profiled recently in national media outlets from Time magazine to Fox News -- is eligible to be President. There has even been talk among some Sunshine State Republicans that the former state legislator and two-term attorney general might be a good vice presidential candidate on a ticket headed by Rudy Giuliani, who tops the field of presidential hopefuls in most surveys of Florida GOPers.

Although Florida’s 27 electoral votes would make any governor an attractive prospect for a national ticket, the growing media interest in the 51-year-old Crist seems less to do with geography than with ideology. Like New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in the 1960s and Massachusetts Gov. William Weld in the 90s, Crist stands out in the media because, in a Republican Party that has been moving to the right, the Floridian is increasingly non-conservative.

The inevitable contrasts are being made between Crist and his Republican predecessor in Tallahassee, Jeb Bush, who, unlike his father or brother, rarely had his conservative credentials doubted. As Governing magazine noted: “It’s true that Crist has started to roll back some of Bush’s privatization efforts and is unimpressed by Bush’s faith in standardized tests as the be-all of education policy. Crist rejected 283 of Bush’s late board and commission appointees and has not shied from putting some former Bush enemies in positions of power.”

Contrasting Crist’s regularly consulting Democratic legislators on policy matters with Bush’s passionate conservatism, state Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller told reporters: “I don’t recall our inviting Gov. Bush to any of our meetings. Since Gov. Crist has taken office, there really has been a new day in Tallahassee. For the first time, we feel like we are dealing in a partnership with the governor instead of having someone to dictate to us.”

... Left-Leaning Social Agenda

In terms of social issues, the governor has said he doesn’t want the state Republican Party to spend any more money on promotion of a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. In his words, “I just think that their money can be better spent on other things that may be more pressing, like elections.” While running for governor last year, Crist endorsed and even signed a petition for the Florida Marriage Amendment Protection Act.

In addition to civil unions for gay couples, the governor’s social agenda also includes support for embryonic stem-cell research and restoration of voting rights to former felons.To be sure, Crist has promoted a property tax cut that is the largest in state history and actually vetoed more pork-barrel spending in his first year than Jeb Bush did in any single year.

But in terms of the environment, privatization and many cultural issues, there is a case to be made that Charlie Crist is more than just a “Republican In Name Only” (RINO), but, in fact, is what the American Spectator called a “RINO’s RINO.” Crist himself refers to his philosophy as “post-partisanship.”Whatever it is, it has certainly put the governor of the nation’s fourth-largest state in the national limelight and could even lead to a spot on a national ticket.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Live RPG Removed From Soldier

This Is Why The NRA Is Wrong About H.R. 2640, the "NICS Improvement Amendments Act"



A Christian church-affiliated university in St. Paul, Minn., has suspended a student after he raised questions about the campus ban on concealed weapons, and is ordering him to have a mental health evaluation before he can resume his education.

The Hamline University case involves student Troy Scheffler, who, after the Virginia Tech massacre where a student shot and killed nearly three dozen others, suggested the killing spree might have been stopped if students had been allowed to carry concealed weapons.

"Questioning administrators on controversial topics isn't going to be a threat even if the conversation involves guns," Robert Shibley, vice president of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education told WND.

Scheffler turned to FIRE for help after his brief exchange of e-mails was followed by an invitation from the university to meet to discuss his concerns, and then a letter notifying him of his suspension before he could even respond to the request for a meeting.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Update! - What Bush Is Doing Is Unconstitutional - It Is A Power Grab!

Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review Online points out very eloquently that Bush is in fact bypassing the U.S. Constitution and State Law by involving his administration!

At the Supreme Court today, a dangerous principle is being asserted to help an odious man.

The odious man is José Ernesto Medellín, who is on death row in Texas for his role in the 1993 gang rape and murder of two teenage girls. The dangerous principle is that the president of the United States has the power to order state courts to set aside state law in the interest of his foreign policy.

... please read it all ...

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

George W. Bush - Slave To The International Court

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case Wednesday in which the Bush administration will seek to overturn the death penalty of a convicted rapist-murderer at the behest of the International Court of Justice

Jose Medellin confessed in 1993 to participating in the rape and murder of two Houston teenagers. Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena were sodomized and strangled with their shoe laces. Medellin bragged about keeping one girl's Mickey Mouse watch as a souvenir of the crime.

Medellin and four others were convicted of capital murder and sent to Texas' death row. A juvenile court sentenced Medellin's younger brother, who was 14 at the time, to 40 years in prison.

The intervention in the case by the Bush administration comes after the International Court of Justice found Medellin was not informed of his right to contact the Mexican Consulate for legal assistance.

That, according to the Hague, was a violation of a 1963 treaty known as the Vienna Convention.

... The Bush administration became involved in the Medellin case in 2003 when Mexico sued the U.S. over the consular issue in the International Court of Justice at the Hague. The so-called "World Court" is the United Nations' top court for resolving international disputes.

The court ruled in Mexico's favor in late 2004 and ordered the U.S. to reconsider the Mexican inmates' murder convictions and death sentences. In February 2005, Bush announced that while he disagreed with the World Court's decision, the U.S. would comply. He ordered courts in Texas and elsewhere to review the cases.

... and some folks still insist Bush is no International Socialist - I.Q.s have taken a huge downward dive!

Monday, October 08, 2007

Proof That McDonalds Has Reached Africa!


The 'Spiral' Continues - Not By Bread Alone "T"!

Ivory-tower decay - America’s colleges and universities have become, and have been for some decades, the most closed-minded and intellectually dishonest institutions in our society

Michael Barone

I am old enough to remember when America’s colleges and universities seemed to be the most open-minded and intellectually rigorous institutions in our society. Today, something very much like the opposite is true: America’s colleges and universities have become, and have been for some decades, the most closed-minded and intellectually dishonest institutions in our society.

Colleges and universities today almost universally have speech codes, which prohibit speech deemed hurtful by others, particularly those who are deemed to be minorities (including women, who are a majority on most campuses these days).

They are enforced unequally, so that no one gets punished when students take copies of conservative alternative campus newspapers left for free distribution and dump them in the trash. But should a conservative student call some female students “water buffaloes,” he is sentenced to take sensitivity training — the campus version of communist reeducation camps. The message comes through loud and clear. Some kinds of speech are protected, while others are punished.

Where did speech codes come from? There certainly weren’t many when I was in college or law school. So far as I can tell, they originated after college and university administrators began using racial quotas and preferences to admit students — starting with blacks, now including Hispanics and perhaps others — who did not meet ordinary standards. They were instituted, it seems, to prevent those students from feeling insulted and to free administrators from criticism for preferential treatment — treatment that arguably violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (although Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the swing vote in the 2003 Supreme Court case on the subject, said they could continue another 25 years).

Racial quotas and preferences continue to be employed, as a recent article on UCLA makes clear, in spite of state laws forbidding them, and university administrators seem to derive much of their psychic income from their supposed generosity in employing them. This, even though evidence compiled by UCLA Professor Richard Sander suggests they produce worse educational outcomes for their intended beneficiaries and even though Justice Clarence Thomas makes a persuasive case in his book My Grandfather’s Son that they cast a stigma of inferiority on them.

Of course, college and university administrators insist they aren’t actually using quotas when in fact they are, as O’Connor’s decisive opinion in 2003 invited them to do. The result is that one indispensable requirement for being a college or university administrator is intellectual dishonesty. You have to be willing to lie about what you consider one of your most important duties. So much for open inquiry and intellectual rigor.