Gaza War Videos You Won't See On The Mainstream Media

Quickie link: Gaza War Videos You Won't See On The Mainstream Media (Yid With Lid)

Meanwhile, the following in the streets of London:




And the idiocy of Cynthia McKinney, on a rescue mission for Hamas.

The mainstream media's shilling for the Pseudostinians stinks to high heaven.

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Global Warming Scare Tactics

(Note: Please pause the PlayList to your right before watching the following videos)

With a hat tip to student MJB for the first video below:



Animals commit suicide? Global warming will turn the earth into what looks like a nuclear wasteland? Give me a break!

Now, for a little humor with an honest message about global warming.

(Note: Please pause the PlayList to your right before watching the following video)

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You And I Fund Senators' Official Portraits

Unlike official Presidential portraits, largely funded by donations, we the taxpayers shell out the bucks so that politicians on Capitol Hill, as well as other bureaucrats, can burnish their perceived legacies.

From CNSNews.com:

Portraits of Senate leaders are almost always paid for with taxpayer money, at a cost of up to $70,000 each. By contrast, portraits of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush – unveiled on Friday [December 19] – were paid for with private donations.

[...]

In the Senate, portraits traditionally are commissioned for the majority and minority leaders, and former members who have been out of the Senate for 25 years who are chosen by a special commission of the Senate Rules Committee, said Donald Ritchie, the Senate historian.

The funds for those paintings come from a taxpayer-funded curator’s budget....

[...]

...[T]he tradition of portraiture of U.S. government officials goes back more than 200 years and...many lawmakers think the tradition is a way to maintain continuity between offices.

[...]

Many federal agencies also commission portraits for their top officials, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget...

Government waste knows no bounds.

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Weekly Blog Talk Radio: December 26 — Cassandra USA

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, which WC and I cohost. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.

The call-in number is (646) 915-9870.

Callers welcome!

Our guest is Cassandra USA, author of Escape! from an Arab Marriage and Thirty-Three Secrets Arab Men Never Tell American Women. We will be discussing the institutionalized pandering to the Moslem male ego.

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Listen to the December 26, 2008 edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show, live or later, by CLICKING HERE.

UPCOMING SHOWS:
January 2: Tom Trento
January 9: Yoni Tidi
January 16: Dr. Richard Crandall
Jsnuary 23: Nonie Darwish

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Merry Christmas!

(This post stuck here through Christmas Day)



Wishing all my readers a Blessed Season. I hope that you will join me in taking a break from politics during this Holy Time when our Lord became Flesh and the Word Incarnate came to a lowly stable so as fulfill the many prophecies of Redemption.

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Scroll down for my entry to the 2008 Carnival of Christmas — a free verse, Christmas acrostic. Although I hope that you, my readers, will like what I've written, I wrote the poem primarily for myself. What I tried to express doesn't lend itself to writing an essay, my preferred genre.

In any case, I hope that you will read many, if not all, of the entries to the 2008 Carnival of Christmas, hosted by CatHouse Chat on December 24.

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A Piano Christmas (2008 Carnival of Christmas)

A free verse, acrostic poem for Christmas (with much thanks to Warren for the above graphic):


All those years without a piano in the house!

People who don’t make music
In the touching of black and white keys
Allow others to make music for them and
Never know the same joy.This year,
Our house hears my music!

Christmas carols — the traditional ones — ring out.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, my favorite carol of all,
Reverberates and uplifts the soul.
I shouldn’t have waited so long to make the
Songs my own once again.
Too many chairs are empty now:
Mom, Dad, grandparents, cousins,
Aunts, uncles, friends — gone. But I coax the keys to
Sing, the circle made whole again in Christ Child timbre.

(The 2008 Carnival of Christmas is hosted at CatHouse Chat on December 24th)

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Your Sunday Funny

From Walt Handelsman:



A reminder from Charles Krauthammer's essay "A U.S. House Of Lords?":

The problem with Caroline Kennedy's presumption to Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat is not lack of qualification or experience. The Senate houses lots of inexperienced rookies -- wealthy businessmen, sports stars, even the occasional actor.

The problem is Kennedy's sense of entitlement. Given her rather modest achievements, she is trading entirely on pedigree.

I hate to be a good-government scold, but wasn't the American experiment a rather firm renunciation of government by pedigree?

Yes, the Founders were not democrats. They believed in aristocracy. But their idea was government by natural -- not inherited -- aristocracy, an aristocracy of "virtue and talents," as Jefferson put it.

[...]

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Caroline Kennedy. She seems a fine person. She certainly has led the life of a worthy socialite helping all the right causes. But when the mayor of New York endorses her candidacy by offering, among other reasons, that "her uncle has been one of the best senators that we have had in an awful long time," we've reached the point of embarrassment.

[...]

...[W]e should resist encouraging the one form of advantage the American Republic strove to abolish: title.

No lords or ladies here. If Princess Caroline wants a seat in the Senate, let her do it by election. There's one in 2010. To do it now by appointment on the basis of bloodline is an offense to the most minimal republicanism. Every state in the union is entitled to representation in the Senate. Camelot is not a state.

Of course, Barack Hussein Obama has been channeling Camelot since the early days of his campaign, never mind that the Kennedy Camelot is nothing more than an illusion in the first place.

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Who Paid For Congressman Ellison's Haj?

(Two posts today. Please scroll down for the other one)

According to this at Creeping Sharia:

...The trip was paid for by the Muslim Brotherhood linked Muslim American Society’s Minnesota chapter.

Of course, Ellison, through his spokesman Rick Jauert, at first claimed that he paid for the jaunt himself.

Let's remember that this is the same Hajj filled with chants of "Death to America!" As far as I've been able to find out, Ellison hasn't said one word about those chants, nor even one word of objection to the cleric's words.

No, indeed.

Instead, Ellison keeps blathering on about what a wonderful kumbaya experience the Hajj is.

Yeah, right.

What is Congressman Ellison doing still serving in our Congress?

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Pigs Fly!

Courtesy of WC, who posted the following along with the above graphic at Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

San Francisco Chronicle: "People Trying to Call Attention to the Threat of Radical Islam are Persecuted Under the Aegis of Islamophobia"

Hat Tip to Weasel Zippers.

How did this ever get by the SFC's editor's desk ?!

It was often said after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that everything had changed. And for a few years afterwards, indeed it had. After decades of denial, America and its allies went on the offensive against Islamic terrorism, both militarily and morally. Most importantly, there was no hesitancy to name the enemy or to condemn his inhumanity.

But if the lack of outrage over the Islamic terrorist assault on Mumbai, India last month was any indication, everything has changed back.

The obfuscation that characterized much of the early reporting on Mumbai is partially to blame. Watching a number of television reporters go through visible pains not to use the word "terrorist" to describe a four-day reign of terror that would eventually kill more than 170 people and injure hundreds was a surreal spectacle. Initial articlesdescribed "militants," "gunmen," and "extremists," but rarely terrorists, and rarer still, Islamic terrorists. So-called experts prattled on vaguely about the perpetrators' motivations, as if the ideology fueling a group called the Deccan Mujahedeenwas a complete and utter mystery. ("Deccan" refers to a historic Islamic claim on the Deccan Plateau, the territory which stretches between Mumbai and Hyderabad, while "mujahedeen" are Muslim fighters engaged in jihad.) Links to the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba added further confirmation and yet still, many of the talking heads remained stubbornly ambiguous. Indeed, the attack was largely presented as if it were occurring in a vacuum.

When it was learned that the terrorists had attacked a Chabad center in Mumbai, the only specific target other than hotels and restaurants catering to Western tourists and wealthy Indians, the coverage become stranger still. No context was provided for the torture and murderof the Chabad Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his wife, Rivka, and four other Jews, although it was obvious why they were targeted. The Holtzberg's surviving toddler son, Moshe, who was rescued by his Indian nanny, was certainly not the first Jewish child orphaned by Islamic terrorism. No connection was made to the virulent anti-Semitismfueling jihadist ideology. Nor to the Nazi-like propaganda promulgated throughout the Muslim world and fed to children so that they too will grow up to hate Jews, whether Israeli or not.

Similarly unexamined were the implications of the terrorists' barbarism. Witnesses described victims being lined up and shot execution-style and terrorists spraying bullets indiscriminately into crowds of men, women and children. Some survived by feigning death for hours under the weight of countless dead bodies. If not for the heroism of the hotel and restaurant staff, as well as others who rose to the occasion, more lives would have been lost. But lacking analysis, these horrific details were soon forgotten. Is it any wonder that the world no longer grasps the utter depravity and cruelty of the formidable opponent it's facing?

This is the same enemy who held hostage and slaughtered Russian children in Beslan; who lobs rockets at schools, uses women and children as human shields, preys upon the weakest in their own societies - women and children -- to mold them into suicide bombers, targets mosques and plans attacks on Muslim holidays, murders school teachers and aid workers, commits beheadings, hangings, stonings and honor killings, puts children and pregnant women into car bombs so they can more easily pass through checkpoints, indiscriminately targets civilians the world over, and who seeks to squelch all human achievement and progress.

Should not this grave threat to human rights be called what it is? Should not the world rally against this cancer within its midst and spare no expense or effort to stop it from metastasizing? Should not human rights groups make defeating this ideology its chief priority? Should not women's groups make the oppression of Muslim women, both within and without the Muslim world, its first priority? Should not gay rights groups turn their attention to the hangings of young men across the Muslim world? Should not Jewish groups condemn the hateful, anti-Semitic propaganda that is brainwashing Muslim youth? Should not those who believe in religious freedom denounce the persecution of religious minorities, apostates, and atheists in the Muslim world?Should not those who advocate free speech condemn the campaign to silence journalists and activists in the Muslim world, as well as attempts to do the samein the West? Should not the international community do everything in its power to prevent fanatical Islamist regimes from acquiring nuclear weapons and wreaking unprecedented havoc on the planet?

The answer to these questions would seem to be self-evident, but sadly, the world continues to waffle. Just as in the past when aggression and brutality were met with indifference or appeasement, today we are at risk of falling into the same trap.The old habit of believing one can mollify one's enemies by understanding his alleged grievances, avoiding offense, and indulging in self-blame is back in full force. Those who argue for forthright terminology and decisive action are demonized and bullied, while those who peddle in pacification and platitudes are glorified. Without leadership and moral clarity, we have become numb to the horrors at hand. Meanwhile, the enemies of civilization gain strength from our lack of fortitude.

There are those trying to call attention to the threat of radical Islam, but increasingly they are voices in the wilderness. Either that or they persecuted under the aegis of "Islamophobia."Defying this characterization, Muslim and Arab reformersare forthright about the conflict raging within Islam and the religious nature of the ideology fueling the jihadists. An inspiring show of opposition came from Mumbai's Muslims, who refused to bury the dead terrorists and who marched against their hate and violence. While such demonstrations are few and far between in the Muslim world, they should be broadly recognized and supported when they do occur.

Similarly, reformers in the West such as M. Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Ali Alyami, executive director of the Center for Democracy & Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, and former Dutch parliamentarian and women's rights advocate Ayaan Hirsi Ali, should be supported as modern-day dissidents. But instead, they are hardly household names and in some cases face castigation, even as they risk their lives to tell the truth. Perhaps the problem is the world is not ready to hear the truth.

Until there is a united will to defeat this modern-day fascism, this threat to human rights, this abject evil, it will continue to thrive and to leave atrocities in its wake. And we will have no one to blame but ourselves for letting it happen.

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The Busiest Season

This afternoon, I'll be inordinately busy with last-minute Christmas preparations and taking my elderly aunt to the doctor.
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After The Maids came late Tuesday to do the Christmas deep clean, the tree is finally up, as of last night, but stands in the corner with only lights and the angel tree-topper adorning the branches. The tree skirt, brand new, is in place with a few wrapped presents from out of town sitting there to keep our three cats from rooting the velour material all over the room. Not a single ornament has been added to the tree yet!

I hope to finish trimming the tree tonight and tomorrow. Those touches may be delayed, however. Staying on schedule, albeit a delayed one, will depend on what the doctor says today about my aunt's chest congestion. I hope that this afternoon doesn't turn into a go-to-the-hospital nightmare. My aunt, nearly 93 years of age, has been sick for two weeks now. She is the last surviving family member of my parents' generation, and all of us in the extended family cherish this dear aunt and are quite concerned about her condition and the outcome.

In the meantime, scroll down to other posts, including a student's essay and political threads.

Later, my friends, and hopefully not too much later. Prayers appreciated.

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Student Essay: "Pictures and Memories"

The criteria for the Kaplan/Newsweek "My Turn" Essay Competition are here and here. According to the competition's guidelines, the essay should provide the reader an intimate glimpse of the author's experience, thoughts or feelings.

Last school term, MJB, a tenth grader at the time, wrote the following introspective essay for the "My Turn" Essay Competition:

Pictures and Memories
All I have of my first father is pictures. In fact, I don’t remember what he looked like without looking at those pictures. People that knew him while he was alive say that I have his crooked smile, and I don’t know what to say back to them. People also say I have his mannerisms, so I must be my father’s son. What I do remember clearly is his funeral. I remember playing with my new Magic School Bus kit in his hospital room. I remember the strange faces at my father’s funeral—his friends, no doubt—looking at me oddly and inquiring as to how I’d felt.

Unlike most young widows, my mother did not have to work. As a result, once my father was gone, she could focus on making a new life for a family of two. Within a few short months, we started taking vacations, traveling through Iceland, Alaska, Paris and Hawaii. We also visited my father’s relatives in England on numerous occasions. I enjoyed myself on those vacations, but I can look back on them now and understand what my mom was really doing—making do for my loss of one parent. Eventually, of course, she realized that she could not take me around the world forever. I had to start school soon, and she knew she had to settle down and get back into life. During the next four years, my mother found two father figures for me.

The first such father figure, using “El Perrito,” his parrot puppet, Mr. Gutierrez was funny and played little games with the class. He taught us students how to say the numbers 1-10 in Spanish, and soon I was proudly blurting them to my mother. In only a short time, I started looking forward to Spanish class with Mr. Gutierrez.

When after a year Mr. Gutierrez resigned his position at the school I was attending, my mother became concerned that the one male role model with whom I had bonded after my father’s death was leaving my life. At the time, I was indifferent—if I remember any of my emotions at all. But my mother wanted me to have Mr. Gutierrez as my teacher, so she tracked him down and discovered that he was starting his own company where he taught students to play the piano. And we already had a piano in our home.

For years, my family had owned a Steinway grand, which my first father had used to play. It has always sat in the piano room, faithfully waiting to be played, every string tuned correctly. In the year since my father had died, that piano had been sitting idly. At a mere five years of age, I had not shown much interest in playing the piano or any instrument for that matter. Nevertheless, because my mother wanted to secure a male role model for my life, she signed me up for weekly lessons with Mr. Gutierrez. Since then, I have learned many lessons from that piano, just by sitting on the bench and learning to play.

But I would learn much more from the man who taught me to coax music from the piano.

Probably as a reward for performing in my first piano recital, my mother took me on a vacation to Iceland. By coincidence we ran into an “old friend” of my mother at the airport. That “old friend” happened to be Robert. Being well over six feet tall, he towered over me. In fact, I remember offering him my Gameboy at the airport and seeing that his thumb was the size of the button pad! In spite of his physical presence, however, my first impression of him was that he was funny, and I don’t think he tried to be. To this day, he maintains that same insider sense of quirky humor.

I’m not sure if I told my mother at the airport nine years ago how much I liked her “old friend,” but soon after we returned from our vacation, my mother did see him again. She and Robert began to fall in love. Over the course of the next two years, they continued to date.

I can’t remember much of their dating period, only a few major events in their relationship. I must have felt a sense of loss when they broke up because one of the three days I actually wrote anything in my diary was the day Robert left. The entry reads, “Today when Robert left, I was sad. Even later I was sad.” Obviously, my relationship with my mother’s boyfriend had grown.

My mother and Robert did not stay apart for long, and they were soon back together. They dated a few more months, at which point he proposed to my mother. They married three months later.

Now, whenever Robert irritates my mother in some way, she jokingly says to me, “You told me to marry him.” I guess I must have said something along those lines to her. Still, I don’t know how much of a role I played in my mother’s and Robert’s reconciliation or in their eventual marriage. As a result, I don’t know if I told my mother how I felt about Robert’s leaving. Maybe, however, while my mother was consciously looking for a father figure for me, I was subconsciously looking for a father for myself.

Pictures are supposed to keep memories alive. But in my case the pictures of my first father bring back no memories other than what the camera shows he looked like. When my mother became a widow, she was overwhelmed with grief. But instead of lying around feeling sorry for herself and for me, she found, as well as her new lover, two role models for me: my music mentor and my second father. With both Mr. Gutierrez and Robert, I am continually sharing and making new memories.

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Weekly Blog Talk Radio: December 19 — Alec Rawls

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, which WC and I cohost. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.

The call-in number is (646) 915-9870.

Callers welcome!

Our guest is Alec Rawls of Error Theory. We will be discussing the Flight 93 Memorial. Videos about the memorial are below the fold:



"It Points to Mecca"



"44 inscribed translucent memorial blocks on the flight path"


Listen to the December 19, 2008 edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show, live or later by CLICKING HERE.

UPCOMING SHOWS:
December 26: Cassandra USA
January 2: Tom Trento
January 9: Yoni Tidi
January 16: Dr. Richard Crandall

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Congressman Keith Ellison At The Haj

From the Khaleej Times, on December 10, 2008:

As Keith Ellison, the first Muslim member of the US Congress who performed Haj this week, told CNN, you forget who you are –- black or white and American or African — and where you come from when you are before God circling the Kaaba in a two-piece unstitched garment....

Ellison, who serves on the Financial Services and Judiciary Committees, forgot where he came from? He forgot he is supposed to be an American — and, having taken the oath of office, as a public servant in the United States Congress?

Oh, wait.
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Ellison took the oath, at least symbolically, on the Koran. Allah and the ummah come first and foremost for him.

And what kind of sermon was preached at the Haj?

Saudi Arabia’s top cleric has used his annual sermon to Muslim pilgrims assembling for hajj to urge Muslim countries to renounce capitalism and form an Islamic economic bloc.... [shari'a law]

The United States is already embracing shari'a finance. See this essay by Alyssa A. Lappen.

Shari'a finance is the camel's nose in the tent. Money is power.

Crossposted to THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Infidel Bloggers Alliance]

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2008: Worst Waste Of 2008

Quickie link: this must-read posting at Bob McCarty Writes

[END OF THIS POSTING]

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Hey, Federal Government! How About Removing The Beam From Thine Own Eye First?

(with at hat-tip to Tom's Place for the cartoon and the first link below)



Below the fold, "Seven Myths about Detroit Automakers" by Mark Phelan:

7 myths about Detroit automakers

BY MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

This column by Free Press auto critic Mark Phelan originally was published on Nov. 17 and has been updated.

The debate over aid to the Detroit-based automakers is awash with half-truths and misrepresentations that are endlessly repeated by everyone from members of Congress to journalists. Here are seven myths about the companies and their vehicles, and the reality in each case.

Myth No. 1: Nobody buys their vehicles

Reality: General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC sold 8.5 million vehicles in the United States last year and millions more around the world. GM outsold Toyota by about 1.2 million vehicles in the United States last year and holds a U.S. lead over Toyota of nearly 700,000 so far this year. Globally, GM in 2007 remained the world's largest automaker, selling 9,369,524 vehicles worldwide -- about 3,000 more than Toyota.

Ford outsold Honda by about 850,000 and Nissan by more than 1.3 million vehicles in the United States last year.

Chrysler sold more vehicles here than Nissan and Hyundai combined in 2007 and so far this year.

Myth No. 2: They build unreliable junk

Reality: The creaky, leaky vehicles of the 1980s and '90s are long gone. Consumer Reports recently found that "Ford's reliability is now on par with good Japanese automakers."

The independent J.D. Power Initial Quality Study scored Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Mercury, Pontiac and Lincoln brands' overall quality as high as or higher than that of Acura, Audi, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Scion, Volkswagen and Volvo.

J.D. Power rated the Chevrolet Malibu the highest-quality midsize sedan. Both the Malibu and Ford Fusion scored better than the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

Myth No. 3: They build gas-guzzlers

Reality: All of the Detroit Three build midsize sedans that the Environmental Protection Agency rates at 29-33 miles per gallon on the highway.

The most fuel-efficient Chevrolet Malibu gets 33 m.p.g. on the highway, 2 m.p.g. better than the best Honda Accord. The most fuel-efficient Ford Focus has the same highway fuel economy ratings as the most efficient Toyota Corolla. The most fuel-efficient Chevrolet Cobalt has the same city fuel economy and better highway fuel economy than the most efficient non-hybrid Honda Civic.

A recent study by Edmunds.com found that the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact is the least expensive car to buy and operate.

Myth No. 4: They already got a $25-billion bailout

Reality: None of that money has been lent out and may not be for more than a year. In addition, it can, by law, be used only to invest in future vehicles and technology, so it has no effect on the shortage of operating cash the companies face because of the economic slowdown that's killing them now.

Myth No. 5: GM, Ford and Chrysler are idiots for investing in pickups and SUVs

Reality: The domestics' lineup has been truck-heavy, but Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have spent billions of dollars on pickups and SUVs because trucks are a large and historically profitable part of the auto industry.

The most fuel-efficient full-size pickups from GM, Ford and Chrysler all have higher EPA fuel-economy ratings than Toyota and Nissan's full-size pickups.

Myth No. 6: They don't build hybrids

Reality: The Detroit Three got into the hybrid business late, but Ford and GM each now offers more hybrid models than Honda or Nissan, with several more due to hit the road in early 2009.

Myth No. 7: Their union workers are lazy and overpaid

Reality: Chrysler tied Toyota as the most productive automaker in North America this year, according to the Harbour Report on manufacturing, which measures the amount of work done per employee. Eight of the 10 most productive vehicle assembly plants in North America belong to Chrysler, Ford or GM.

The oft-cited $70-an-hour wage and benefit figure for UAW workers inaccurately adds benefits that millions of retirees get to the pay of current workers, but divides the total only by current employees. That's like assuming you get your parents' retirement and Social Security benefits in addition to your own income.

Hourly pay for assembly line workers tops out around $28; benefits add about $14. New hires at the Detroit Three get $14 an hour. There's no pension or health care when they retire, but benefits raise their total hourly compensation to $29 while they're working. UAW wages are now comparable with Toyota workers, according to a Free Press analysis.

Reaction to the UAW's statement this morning [Reuters report here] upon the Senate's refusal to bail out Detroit are ongoing, including this possibility offered by the White House.

What say you, readers? Bail out Detroit or not?

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Fearless Blogger Awarded To Always On Watch

My compatriot No Compromise has awarded this blogger the Blog Destemido–Fearless Blogger Award.


The Fearless Blogger Award is given to people who are not fearful of the consequences of blogging and who are fighting for their countries. The rules are as follows:

* first, to accept the award;

* second, to name the bloggers he/she is awarding it to;

* and third, to display the banner in a prominent place of his/her blog.

I humbly accept this award. Many bloggers out there are fearless and brave warriors for their country. And all of them are contributing to the upholding of our nation.

I cannot give all of these fearless bloggers the award. Therefore, I hereby bestow the Fearless Blogger Award upon the following five bloggers, in no particular order:

(1) Pastorius — for starting the Infidel Bloggers Alliance and for not mincing any words when it comes to combatting Islamofascism in this propaganda war. He lifts my spirits when I'm down, and I've been down a lot lately. In fact, as I think about it, all my compadres over at IBA deserve this award, but Pastorius most of all as he brought all of us at IBA together!

(2) WC — for sorting and collating the multitudinous erosions of our Western culture via the many types of jihads and for affording me the opportunity to cohost with him a weekly Internet radio show. Nobody vents his spleen like WC!

(3) Mustang — for his service in the United States Marine Corps and for penning thought-provoking essays which uphold conservative principles. He was my first cyber friend and taught me the basic principles of political blogging, so I'd likely not still be blogging if it were not for Mustang.

(4) The Merry Widow — for always upholding the Lord's Word and for applying it to current events. A prayer warrior extraordinaire, she knows that following the Lord's will is not a popularity contest.

(5) Mark Alexander — for sounding the warning cry about the dangers of Islam long before the rest of us had a clue and for continuing to sound the alarm in numerous languages at his web site. A UK citizen living across The Pond, he loves America, sadly, more than some of our own citizens do.

Pastorius, WC, Mustang, Merry Widow, and Mark, thank you for standing up for America and for being my fearless friends!

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Weekly Blog Talk Radio: December 12 — Zack Highstreet & Dave Gaubatz

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, which WC and I cohost. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.

The call-in number is (646) 915-9870.

Callers welcome!

Our guests today are Zack Highstreet, author of the novel A Plague on Both Houses, and Dave Gaubatz of The Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE) .

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Listen to the December 12, 2008 edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show, live or later by CLICKING HERE.

UPCOMING SHOWS:
December 19: Alec Rawls
December 26: Cassandra USA
January 2: Tom Trento
January 9: Yoni Tidi

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If Only

Every week, the Washington Post has a little contest called "The Style Invitational." A few weeks back, the Invitational was "If Only!" — a one liner explaining how the world would be different had some event not occurred.

The printed results for "If Only!" are below the fold (emphases mine, all a matter of personal preference):

REPORT FROM WEEK 790
in which we asked you to tell us what would be different had some event not taken place: We acknowledge that some of these effects might not withstand the most rigorous logic....

4. If the chairs had been bolted down on the Titanic's deck, we would have been spared one overused cliche. (Chuck Smith, Woodbridge)

3. If Watergate hadn't happened, reporters would be coining each new scandal "Something-pot Dome." (Larry Yungk, Arlington; Russell Beland, Fairfax)

2.the winner of the Potty Elmo: If newspapers hadn't been invented, we'd be shouting crossword puzzle answers at the town crier. (Stephen Langer, Chevy Chase)

And the Winner of the Inker

If Napoleon to had been exiled to Egypt, instead of the palindrome "Able was I ere I saw Elba," we'd have "Zeus was I ere I saw Suez." (Chris Doyle, Ponder, Tex.)
What Might Has-Beens: Honorable Mentions

If Shakespeare hadn't written "Hamlet," an infinite number of monkeys would be looking for jobs. (Beverley Sharp, Washington)

If Ralph Nader had not run for the presidency in 2000, Uday Hussein still would be the chief motivator of the Iraqi soccer team. (Howard Walderman, Columbia)

If her father had owned a more down-market lodging chain, Paris Hilton might have been named Indianapolis Motel 6. She'd still be just as talented, though. (Andy Bassett, New Plymouth, New Zealand)

If Noah hadn't been so OCD about getting two of every last animal, I'd be able to sit on my deck without lighting all those citronella torches. (Kevin Dopart, Washington)

If God hadn't given the Ten Commandments to Moses, Judge Roy Moore would have been ordered to remove the statue of Baal from the courthouse. (Mike Turniansky, Pikesville, Md.)

If Abraham Lincoln had not been assassinated, then Andrew Johnson would never have been president and, uh, well, lots would have changed. Like, instead of "Bush 41" and "Bush 43" we'd have had "Bush 40" and "Bush 42." (Zack and Russell Beland)

If Philo T. Farnsworth hadn't invented the TV, guys would have to sit on the couch all weekend reading the football newspapers. (Kevin Dopart)

If Herman Melville hadn't written "Omoo," countless crossword puzzle constructors would have been ruined and might have turned to a life of 34 Down: Illegal act. (John Shea, Lansdowne, Pa.)

If Wham! hadn't come along, Andrew Ridgeley would be practically unknown today. (John Shea)

Had the Anglo-Saxons not named their goddess of spring Eostre, then that place in Polynesia with the big heads that look like John Kerry would be called Passover Island. (Roy Ashley, Washington)

Had guns never been invented, the Washington Wizards would still be known as the Washington Poison-Tipped Arrows. (David Garratt, Glenn Dale)

If Eve had never tasted the apple, you'd be reading this naked. (David Garratt)

If Alexander Graham Bell hadn't invented the telephone, Superman would have to change in port-a-potties. (Randy Lee, Burke)

If the endoscope had not been invented, we would have ended up relying completely on space aliens for anal probes. (Larry Yungk)

If McDonald's hadn't been founded, American cuisine would be unknown to the rest of the world. (Russ Taylor, Vienna)

If the South had won the Civil War, Virginia would have named every school and road after a Southern general -- in other words, three more than there are now. (Larry Yungk)

If Hope and Crosby had never stopped making those "road" films together, well, it would be kind of creepy trying to make a movie with two dead stars. (Russell Beland)

If the Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Co. had not invented toilet paper in 1877, for the last 130 years pranksters would have had to litter front yards with corncobs. (Larry Yungk)

If The Style Invitational had never been created, I would have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked. (Ira Allen Ginsberg, Bethesda)

If Barack Hitler Obama hadn't changed his middle name, he might not have gotten elected. (Chuck Smith)

[source]

Readers, care to play? Political entries not required. Be serious or not, as is your wont. You may submit more than one entry — in the comments section here, of course. No prizes given. however.

(An excerpt from the above was crossposted to THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS)

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Does Obama Have A Plan?

In his commentary "A Team in Need of a Plan," which appeared in the December 2, 2008, edition of the Washington Post, columnist Eugene Robinson, a columnist with whom conservatives certainly do not always agree, addressed the problem of combating terrorism and, in my view, makes points worth noting. Excerpts from Mr. Robinson's commentary are below the fold.

A concept that excludes nothing defines nothing. That's why one of the most urgent tasks for President-elect Barack Obama's "Team of Rivals" foreign policy brain trust is coming up with a coherent intellectual framework -- and a winning battle plan -- for the globe-spanning asymmetrical conflict that George W. Bush calls the "war on terror."

Terrorism (for the umpteenth time) is a tactic, not an enemy; Bush might as well declare war against flanking maneuvers or amphibious landings. Everyone knows what Bush is trying to say, and no one can deny the potential of terrorist attacks to destroy lives and change the world. Few would doubt that a line can be drawn between the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and last week's bloody rampage in Mumbai. But is it a straight line or a zigzag? Is it bold or faint? Continuous or dotted?

The Bush administration correctly takes the position that all terrorism is evil. But that black-and-white view doesn't take you very far toward useful policy choices. Being firmly opposed to rainy days won't keep you dry in a storm.

The fact that all terrorism is evil doesn't mean that all terrorism is alike...

[...]

...Soon...it will be Obama's responsibility -- and that of Clinton, as the new architect of U.S. diplomacy -- to find a way out of this kind of logical cul-de-sac.

In his opening statement, Obama vowed to continue the fight against "those who kill innocent individuals to advance hateful extremism." Is that his definition of terrorism?...

[...]

There might be other issues that Obama and his team would like to tackle first. But as the carnage in Mumbai reminds us, terrorists don't wait their turn.

Mr. Robinson has, or wants to have, confidence in Obama's discernment. Agree with that confidence or not, the monstrous attacks in Mumbai bring to the fore once again the importance of the war declared by jihadomaniacs, who are poised as best they can to strike whenever and wherever they can.

My father used to say about the office of President of the United States, "Who would want such a job?" Obama apparently does, and one of his first tasks should be naming the enemy in something other than nebulous, politically correct catch-phrases. Perhaps he will take that step early in his term as President. But can he convince Americans in general that the threat of Islamic terrorism is real? Various surveys show that national security is not now high on the list of concerns of the average American. After all, it's much more comfortable to be an ostrich.

Additional reading:

1. "We Have Been Warned" (Front Page Magazine)

2. "Looking for the Ideal Spot to Make a [Foreign Policy] Speech" (New York Times)

The video below shows one Egyptian cleric's plans for Obama:



(Crossposted to THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS)

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Recycle — Or Else!

Quickie link to Ogre's "Thow Away a Can? Go to Jail"

[END OF THIS POSTING]

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Little Moshe And His Nanny

Note: Please scroll to the footer and stop the music before playing the video below.

From this posting at Yid With Lid:





More details over at Yid With Lid.

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Weekly Blog Talk Radio: December 5 — Chaim

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, which WC and I cohost. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.

The call-in number is (646) 915-9870.

Callers welcome!

Our guest at the top of the hour is Chaim of Freedom's Cost. We will discuss the monstrous terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.

------

Listen to the December 5, 2008 edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show, live or later by CLICKING HERE.

UPCOMING SHOWS:
December 12: Dave Gaubatz
December 19: Alec Rawls
December 26: Cassandra USA
January 2: Tom Trento

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Over At David Horowitz's Blog

The web site is HERE, and the topic under discussion is Barack Obama's citizenship requirements, a matter which the United States Supreme Court is scheduled to consider on December 5, ten days before November 4's election results are due to be certified by the Electoral College.

Begin with the December 1, 2008, posting. So far, Mr. Horowitz has posted on this topic three times in three days.

Excerpt from that date's posting:

...64 million Americans voted to elect Barack Obama. Do you want to disenfranchise them? Do you think it's possible to disenfranchise 64 million Americans and keep the country? And please don't write me about the Constitution. The first principle of the Constitution is that the people are sovereign. What the people say, goes. If you think about it, I think you will agree that a two-year billion dollar election through all 50 states is as authoritative a verdict on anything as we are likely to get....

Huh?

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Lowlifes Steal Cross

The full article from 9News Now, a local channel here in the D.C. area:

Hospital Volunteer's Cross Stolen From Chapel

WASHINGTON DC (WUSA) She raised six children and was grandmother to 13 others, but 71 year old Patricia Perna always found time to do more.

Perna was a girl scout leader, water aerobics instructor, and had volunteered more than seven thousand hours at the Washington Hospital Center, before ovarian cancer claimed her life last January.

Her family and friends filled the chapel at the hospital Tuesday to receive a brass cross with Perna's name on it from the women's auxillary. That's when they got the unthinkable news. The cross was missing.

Investigators are trying to track down the brazen thief who stole the cross right off a church altar.

The theft from the Washington Hospital Center chapel was discovered just hours before the cross was to be blessed and given to the family of Perna.

Being a place of worship, the hospital chapel is open to anyone 24 hours a day. There is no security guard or surveillance camera in the chapel.

The hospital wouldn't let 9News Now take pictures in the chapel. Nobody could provide a photo of the two foot by two foot brass cross, but the hospital is asking for the public's help to find it.

You'll know it when you see it. It has Patricia Perna's name engraved across the front of it.

[source]

What is WRONG with people, to do such a thing as steal a cross dedicated to a volunteer? For the monetary value of the brass?

Even worse, as a society we have become inured to such deeds and shrug them off, saying, "What else can you expect? The chapel wasn't locked."

Has our society reached the point that we have to lock down everything, even on the altars of places of worship?

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Goodbye, Sheba

[Click on each photo for a larger image]
July 15, 1988 - December 1, 2008

We had our Christmas 2007 miracle and many more months of good quality of life, thanks to our home-care vet, truly an animal talker. But advanced age took its inevitable toll, and yesterday came the dreaded time for all pet lovers — the time to say goodbye.


Recent pictures of Sheba below the fold.



In June 2008:


In August 2008:

(Crossposted to AOW's Photos)

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Obama For America: Asking For A Handout

(With a hat tip to No Sheeples Here)

From "Tapped Out," an essay written by Peter Funt of Candid Camera fame:

This is not easy to write, because I consider the election of Barack Obama to be one of the most inspiring political and social developments of my lifetime. I truly mean no disrespect when I say: Stop asking for money.

Last spring, I signed up to receive e-mails from all the major presidential campaigns. Not surprisingly, the recurrent theme in the almost-daily messages was: Donate money. After Hillary Clinton dropped out, her pleas for donations increased; just last week, supporters received another letter seeking money to retire Clinton's campaign debt.

A week after the election, David Plouffe, the head of Obama for America, wrote: "We've been reviewing the books, and the DNC went into considerable debt to secure victory for Barack and Joe. . . . Please make a donation of $250 or more today and receive your Obama Victory T-shirt."

Americans barely have the stomach, or the money, to bail out the banks, the automakers and various foreign governments. Now the Democratic National Committee is seeking a handout?


[...]

...[D]espite the extent to which Americans have supported the Obama campaign, comes Plouffe again with an e-mail I find particularly riling. "Will you support the Obama-Biden transition," he wrote on Nov. 21, "with a donation of $250 or more?"

Money from "grass-roots supporters," he claims, will prevent the "secretive undertakings" of previous presidential transitions.

Taxpayers are already funding the Obama transition to the tune of $6.3 million. Apparently that's not enough, which is why tapped-out contributors are being asked to dig deeper into their pockets. Unlike election financing, in which Team Obama had to forgo taxpayer money when opting for private donations, in transition financing it can keep all the taxpayer money plus whatever comes in from those with anything left under the mattress....

Reality bites, doesn't it, Sheeple of Barack?

(Crossposted to THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS)

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