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April 30, 2007
This is great news!!
I read it in the Mirror UK:
BULLFROGS' 'CURE' FOR SUPERBUG
AMERICAN bullfrogs could hold the key to eliminating the MRSA superbug from hospital wards, scientists said yesterday. Researchers have found that a protein called ranalexin secreted by one species has a "very, very, potent" effect on combating the virus when combined with an enzyme.
The team from St Andrews University spent 18 months on the study. They have applied for a grant to continue their research and hope drug companies may one day market the treatment. Microbiologist Dr Peter Coote, who led the study, said: "If it works, then it could be a very good way of preventing MRSA."
The superbug is resistant to penicillin. It is a major cause of hospital infection and is responsible for around 2,000 deaths in Britain every year.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:34 PM | Comments (1)
A Word From Fred
The following is a little tease from a great article by the possibly soon to become republican candidate for the presidency, Fred Thompson. The article Sticks and Stones--ABC Radio Networks, shows what a great asset he would be in terms of communicating the American position and ideal:
It bothers Americans when we're told how unpopular we are with the rest of the world. For some of us, at least, it gets our back up -- and our natural tendency is to tell the French, for example, that we'd rather not hear from them until the day when they need us to bail them out again. **** But we cool off. We're big boys and girls, after all, and we don't really bruise that easily. We're also hopeful that, eventually, our ostrich-headed allies will realize there's a World War going on out there and they need to pick a side -- the choice being between the forces of civilization and the forces of anarchy. Considering the fact that the latter team is growing stronger and bolder daily, while most of our European Union friends continue to dismantle their defenses, that day may not be too long in coming. **** In the meantime, let's be realistic about the world we live in. Mexican leaders apparently have an economic policy based on exporting their own citizens, while complaining about US immigration policies that are far less exclusionary than their own. The French jail perfectly nice people for politically incorrect comments, but scold us for holding terrorists at Guantanamo.
**** read on at the link provided above.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)
The Power of Resolve
by Tina Grazier
Following the terrible events of 911 this country was filled with resolve. It was clear to nearly everyone that as a nation we could no longer tolerate terrorist attacks on our country. The world spent quite a few months holding it’s collective breath as plans for defensive measures were made. There was a certainty that America would act. By 2003 Col. Moammar Gadhafi was so certain of America’s resolve that he agreed to cooperate and disclose his nuclear weapons plans and caches. The President acknowledged his cooperation offering his example to other nations. This is the power of resolve…and it is the reason we should not, as Margret Thatcher said, “go wobbly”.
Alas for some Americans it’s too late. They have grown weary and lost this vital power. But at least for now we have our dedicated military and George Bush is still the President of the United States; he is our leader, and he has not gone wobbly. Indeed, he and the troops remain dedicated to protecting this nation from attack; they continue to be determined and strong.
The above thoughts occurred to me as I was reading a UPI story by Arnaud de Borchgrave, “Money laundromat for nukes”.
The most important trait one must possess, if he is to achieve anything, is a strong will. This story highlights the realities that our president has confronted since 911; he continues to face similar events each and every day.
WASHINGTON, April 30 (UPI) -- On Oct. 4, 2003, a German cargo ship, the BBC China, was inspected in the southern Italian port of Taranto as part of an ongoing program designed to check on ships that might be transporting equipment to assist nuclear proliferation. The inspection disclosed sophisticated components designed to facilitate the erection of centrifuges indispensable for the enrichment of weapons-grade uranium. The BBC China had taken on its secret cargo in Dubai and was on its way to Libya.
Strong>Instead of denouncing yet another imperialist plot, Libyan authorities startled Western intelligence agencies by admitting they did indeed have a clandestine nuclear-weapons program under way. Col. Moammar Gadhafi immediately capitulated and agreed to cooperate. The United States had just overthrown Saddam Hussein and the insurgency was in its infancy. Gadhafi thought Libya, as a secret nuclear proliferator, might be next on the Bush Doctrine's hit parade.
*…Gadhafi had interfered in 42 countries with a mix of lavishly funded terrorism (including the downing of Pan Am 103), subversion and outright military aggression.
*Gadhafi's confession staggered the CIA, MI6 and other leading Western intelligence agencies. Libya's secret nuclear purchase included the entire kit and kaboodle for a nuclear enrichment plant and detailed how-to plans for assembling a nuclear weapon.
*The supplier was not a nuclear proliferating state, but a company based in Dubai, run by the infamous Dr. A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and the second most popular man in his country after the founder of the state, Ali Jinnah.
* Gotthard Lerch, a Swiss domiciled German engineer, was the technical brain behind the Libyan project. He had already done business with Khan as he assisted in Pakistan's secret nuclear program in the 1980s.
Do yourself a favor, read the whole article, and the next time someone says this problem of terrorism isn’t serious give them an earfull. Unload, because unfortunately, we can’t rely on certain folks in the Congress for help; they are too busy playing in the sandbox of political pandering and dirty tricks. We must do this for ourselves so the world will once again hold it’s breath. And as American forces and our allies follow through with determination and strength our enemies will learn the power of American resolve.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:39 PM | Comments (0)
California, The Great State
by Jack Lee
I know it's easy to feel this State is going to Hades and there probably was never a better time to live somewhere else. But, then you have to remember those other things that made California a special place unlike anywhere else. Let me remind you of a few of them now and toss in some trivia just for fun.
We've got the highest mountain peak in the lower 48 states, over 14,495 feet at the summit, do you know it's name? Hint: It's within a 100 miles of the lowest point in the continental US, also in California. Like rural settings? We have one county with no high school, no ATM's, no dentist, no banks and not even a traffic light. I knew the deputy up there who rode the line trail into the back country to check on the folks living in cabins during the snow season...his name is Clint Eastwood, maybe you've heard of him? So, do you know what county I'm talking about? Here's another hint, it begins with an A, and no it's not Amador County.
We also hold claim to the city that is the Avocado Capital of the World, ever hear of Fallbrook? California raises more turkeys (and I am not talking about politicians) than any other state in the entire USA! Would you believe the largest 3 day rodeo in America is held just up the road in Red Bluff? (By the way, did you guess Mt. Whitney and Alpine County? If you did, you're right and yep Clint was a reserve deputy for Alpine County and rode horseback patrol)
When it comes to producing lots of things we're no slouch either. Our state economy ranks 6th in the world, just ahead of China, Canada and Italy...yes, I said China...check it out. California accounts for over 13 percent of the nation's output, and trails only Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France.
We hold title to the deepest gold mine in North America, it's the old Kennedy mine in Jackson. (See photo of the original mine site) A giant sequoia located in California's Kings Canyon National Park was named the nation's national Christmas tree...the nation's Christmas tree and it's over 300 feet tall! We also have redwood trees dating back to before the time of Jesus, imagine something growing that is over 2000 years old? Yes, you're lucky to live in California among so many man made and natural wonders and speaking of luck, did you know the Country Store in Baker has sold more winning California State Lottery tickets than any outlet in the state? Be sure and stop in for a ticket next time you're in the area and good luck!
Thank goodness this nation has California to add to it's massive economy...our exports totaled $94 billion in 2003 and it went up over 20% in 04!
If you haven't seen the railroad museum in Sacramento, maybe you should. It is the largest museum of its kind in North America!
And this time of year try a ride on 395, it is the gateway to the state's premier fishing lakes and streams. We've got the best lake and stream fishing bar none. The road winds and climbs past desert sage and gray rock formations and into deep green pine forests...it also takes you across Mt. Whitney, a harrowing ride to say the least!
For you campers, here is a link to some 400+ campgrounds! We've got the best camping in the US, from beach front sites to alpine villages, you can't beat California for camping.
Like to hoist a cold one every now and then? You're in the right place, we have 7 of the nations largest breweries right here. Drinking libations is an old California tradition that dates back to our first known public bar, called the Iron Door Saloon in Groveland, built in 1852. Or maybe you would prefer to sip a glass of fine California wine? Then you would be pleased to know you're in the land of plenty. In 2005 California produced a record high of 441 million gallons of wine (185.4 million nine-liter cases from 350,000 tons of grapes) with a retail value of $16.5 billion! That might explain why there's over 1350 wineries you can tour and sample la vino. Just don't try to do it all in one day, uh, that would be some hang over!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention you don't have too travel to far for your first taste, 4 of those wineries are right here in Butte County. The best part of this story is that California in finally being recognized for it's world class wines that often rival the best French wines.
The job market here is among the best in the world too. California has added about 2.4 million jobs over the past decade, an annual growth rate of 1.8 percent. Lot of those were clean high tech jobs. Not bad, eh? This might explain why your home price has gone up so much. The statewide average home is now over $500k. That's more than most people south of the border will make in three or four lifetimes! But, don't worry about the state getting too populated. Growth has slowed to about 2% per year, a manageable rate.
We are a genuine melting pot here, 25% of the state's current population is foreign born and half of them are from Latin America. Let's hope our growth stays around 2% because the K-12 school-age population is now growing the slowest of all age groups, reflecting our overall decline in birth rate. We now total over 36 million people living here as of 2005 and that's up about 3 million from 2000.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my brief recap of what's good in California and what we're about. It's a truly a great state to live in, even with our problems. And just remember, whatever those problems are, they pale compared to what's good about this place! (Now you just vote smart and it will get even better)
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)
War of Wills
by Tina Grazier
Our future depends on who wins.
This battle is about power. One side is determined to establish a worldwide Islamic State under sharia law…the other side fights for governments that respect basic human rights and afford basic freedoms. One story today reveals, like a snapshot, what life would be like if the enemies of freedom win.
Imagine a world where your haircut is determined by your government and your job is regulated and made possible only at the whim of the government. Imagine the oppression and control such government would bring to every single aspect of your life:
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, by Staff
Tehran - Iranian authorities are clamping down on barbers in Tehran, ordering them strictly to avoid making hairstyles for men considered by the administration as 'Western' and not in accordance with Islamic norms, a press reports said. The daily Etemad quoted a spokesman of Tehran's Barber Association as saying that offenders of this new instruction would lose their licence and the association's support.
A story by Ameer Ali, published in the Australian, offers an emerging solution. His proposal suggests that both East and West are mired down in mistrust of each other through opposing “imagined” mind-sets.
In the minds of many Muslims, an imagined West is the source of all or most of the problems afflicting the world of Islam. Similarly, in the West, an imagined Islam, purposefully structured and popularly propagated, has created a perception that this religion is a threat to Western civilisation. Between these mutually exclusive mind-sets a new phenomenon is emerging in the real West, laying the foundations for a new wave of Islamic rationalism in the 21st century.
I don’t agree with Mr. Ali that the western mind-set has determined that the religion is a threat, it is the extremist views of terrorists, interpreting the religion for power and dominance, that is the threat. His proposal, an Islamic renaissance, is exactly what is needed. The following excerpts will demonstrate the rising reformation that is happening and, if I may be so bold, establish this movement as yet another important and vital front in the war on terror.
The Islamic resurgence of the post-1970s strengthened the hands of the religious orthodoxy and engendered the spectre of political Islam but failed to rekindle the spirit of intellectual rationalism that once pushed Islam to the frontiers of science and modernity. That failure was compounded and worsened by the rise of tyrannical regimes in the Muslim world. The absence of democracy and lack of popular support forced these regimes to look for legitimacy elsewhere. One happy outcome of this tragic situation was the voluntary exodus of Muslim intellectuals to the West. From an inhospitable environment of political tyranny and ideological oppression Muslim scholars migrated to find refuge in the West, where the mind enjoys more freedom to think, debate and express.
Mohammed Arkoun, an Algerian Muslim, is an emeritus professor of Islamic thought at the Sorbonne, Paris, who approaches the Koran and other classical texts in Islam from historical, social, psychological and anthropological angles. The methodology of his research, the sharpness of his arguments and conclusions of his writings are dynamite to traditional Islam. **** Bassam Tibi, a political scientist, who writes mostly in German, applies sociological and anthropological theories to study Islam and finds that the cause of Muslim underdevelopment lies not in the West but in Islam as understood and preached by the orthodox clerics. *** Abdelwahab El-Affendi, a former Sudanese diplomat based in London, published Who Needs an Islamic State? in 1991, in which he questions the theological arguments advanced by the protagonists of an Islamic caliphate. **** Abdullahi An-Naim, a law professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, questions the inadequacies of Islamic sharia and its suitability for a pluralistic society.
There are too many of these scholars to enumerate and the number is increasing. All these cases underline the revolutionary thinking among Muslim intellectuals that is setting the pace for a new wave of Islamic rationalism radiating from the West…. The situation is changing fast. The internet and electronic communication technology have revolutionised the production and distribution of knowledge. Sources of information that were only remotely accessible to a selected few are readily available to many at the click of a mouse. Inquisitive Muslim minds do not have to wait for a cleric to arrive for consultation on theological issues…. This revolution in information gathering has become a subversive tool and is eroding the power base of traditional clerics. The authority of the pulpit is collapsing by the hour.
This war can be won and all that is required of the average US citizen is a firm and resolute will to win.
Posted by Post Scripts at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)
The Spy
Posted by Post Scripts at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2007
Not So Magical Mystery Tour
by Tina Grazier
Merlin may spell trouble for Tenet.
The man who “exposed” the Bush administration's controversial NSA spying operation has written a new book. "State of War" by James Risen, claims that the Clinton Administration gave plans containing nuclear technology secrets to Iran. The plans included “flaws” designed to divert Tehran's nuclear efforts. Code named “Operation Merlin” it was, as Mr. Risen points out, a foolish venture containing very little magic.
…classified data to Iran was personally approved by then-President Clinton…the CIA, using a double-agent Russian scientist, handed a blueprint for a nuclear bomb to Iran...But the deliberate errors were so rudimentary they would have been easily fixed by sophisticated Russian nuclear scientists, the book said.
Read the related stories HERE and HERE.
…a just released report will certainly warrant further scrutiny of the Agency's operations under Tenet…The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has published a new document, "Nuclear black markets: Pakistan, A Q Khan and the rise of proloferation networks: A New assessment".
According to the paper, the arrest and public confession of Khan in 2004 confirmed the existence of a global proliferation network which had, over almost two decades, provided nuclear technology, expertise and designs to Iran, North Korea, Libya and possibly other countries.
Posted by Post Scripts at 07:54 PM | Comments (1)
Is Cooperation Possible?
by Tina Grazier
This story offers a small ray of hope, but we can be sure...Tehran is watching our every move.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran will attend a conference of key powers including the United States this week that will focus on stabilising Iraq, a meeting Baghdad said might be a turning point for regional cooperation in easing the violence. **** Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Sunday there was a "high possibility" arch foes Tehran and Washington would hold bilateral talks at the May 3-4 conference in Egypt, although not necessarily at the ministerial level.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who will attend the conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, said she would not rule out the possibility of meeting directly with Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. **** But what do we need to do? "It's quite obvious," she told ABC television in the United States. "Stop the flow of arms to foreign fighters. Stop the flow of foreign fighters across the borders ... Stop stirring up trouble among militias that then go and kill innocent Iraqis. It's quite clear what needs to be done."
Her job requires a delicate balance. She must show strength and certainty while creating an open door of opportunity for strong willed and proud men to walk through as if they had constructed the door of their own accord and design. A tough job when presented with what appears to be two-faced rhetoric. There is considerable evidence of Iran’s involvement in Iraq and still they deny it:
Iran denies meddling in Iraq and blames the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 for violence…
Zebari, who visited Tehran last week, said one reason Iran had been reluctant to say whether it would attend was the detention of the five Iranians in the Kurdish city of Arbil. **** Washington says the five are linked with Revolutionary Guard networks that provide explosives and arms to forces inside Iraq to attack U.S. troops…
Stand off's seem to be the order of the day in the Middle East and yet, there is always hope…but as we have seen, it must be supported with lots of backbone. The surge…the president’s refusal to go along with Harry Reid’s lame plan, and the amazing strength and determination of our troops continue to provide plenty of backbone. The people of the United States need to stand tall behind our president, General Patreus and our troops. That kind of strength might garner cooperation. it is possible…if we can, as a whole nation, finally get tough and...
Read the story “Iran to attend key meeting on stabilising Iraq” by Ibon Villelabeitia.
Posted by Post Scripts at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)
That Didn’t Take Long
by Tina Grazier
A recent comment on this blog by “section9” suggested that Condoleezza Rice would clean George Tenet’s clock (my words) if she testified in a hearing before Congress:
Wait. Watch what Rice is doing. She's baited Waxman into this subpoena, where she will shine. Rice will show you how to handle a bully.
How right you were section9…but we didn’t have to wait for the hearings. As reported today in the AP story “Tenet Faces Backlash Over Memoir” by Katherine Shrader, Secretary Rice had quite a few things to say on the subject:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday disputed Tenet's claim that the Bush administration, before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, never had a serious debate about whether Iraq posed an imminent threat or whether to tighten existing sanctions.practically on the day that he took power about how to enhance sanctions against Iraq,” she said. “You may remember that in his first press conference, he said the sanctions had become Swiss cheese.” **** Rice, who was Bush's national security adviser in his first term, said the administration reviewed the sanctions, went to the United Nations to strengthen them and tried to tighten the no-fly zone in northern Iraq to better police Saddam Hussein's forces. **** She also said the question about the imminence of the threat was not ``if somebody is going to strike tomorrow.'' **** “It's whether you believe you're in a stronger position today to deal with the threat, or whether you're going to be in a stronger position tomorrow,” she said. “And it was the president's assessment that the situation in Iraq was getting worse.”
Posted by Post Scripts at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 28, 2007
No Mercy
by Tina Grazier
This story, out of the UK, tells how our guys are doing against the enemy. It’s in the Telegraph and is titled “US aircrews show Taliban no mercy”.
Smoke from the ambush they had just sprung on American special forces still hung in the air, but their attention was fixed on the two helicopter gunships that had appeared above them as their leader, the tallest man in the group, struggled to pull what appeared to be a burqa over his head.
By the time the gunships had finished, 21 minutes later, military officials say 14 Taliban were confirmed dead, including one of their key commanders in Helmand. **** The mission is typical of a new, aggressive, approach adopted by American forces in southern Afghanistan and particularly in Helmand, where British troops last year bore the brunt of some of the heaviest fighting since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. **** American commanders believe that the uncompromising use of airpower in recent weeks has been a key factor in preventing the Taliban from launching their expected full-scale spring offensive against coalition forces and forcing them to rethink their tactics.
Of course if you’re a weenie you’ll probably think it’s a hit piece…and that might have been the intent...it does say US aircrews show “no mercy”. No mercy is, however, the perfect attitude to adopt in response to a cruel, murdering, merciless, enemy.
Posted by Post Scripts at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)
You Can Run Senator Reid…
by Tina Grazier
…but you cannot hide. Not from al Qaeda, not from the multifaceted terrorist threat. So, why not fight? Why not pull out all the stops and oppose them in every way possible; in many ways and on many fronts? Why not develop some grit and work tirelessly to get this thing done?
Suspects linked to al-Qaeda have obtained sensitive jobs in vital industries that could be the target of terrorist attacks, it can be revealed. **** The individuals were uncovered by police and the security services in operations designed to protect key British sites such as transport hubs, power stations and the water supply.
MI5 is understood to have unmasked al-Qaeda sympathisers who joined its ranks during a recruitment drive aimed at young British Muslims, following the London bombings. At least three Metropolitan Police officers have also been investigated over visits they made to Pakistan, according to the Association of Muslim Police. **** This month, a former employee at America's biggest nuclear power plant was charged with taking access codes and layout plans to Iran. **** Mohammed Alavi, 49, a US citizen, is accused of downloading sensitive information about Palos Verde Nuclear Generation Station while on a visit to Teheran. He denies wrongdoing but could face up to two years in prison if convicted.
Global leaders of al-Qaeda have called on the organisation's followers in Western countries to adopt tactics that include the infiltration of key industries, known in security circles as the critical national infrastructure. A tactical manual published in 2004, The Management of Savagery by Abu Bakr Naji, urges al-Qaeda supporters to "infiltrate the police forces, the armies, the different political parties, the newspapers, the Islamic groups, the petroleum companies, private security companies, sensitive civil institutions".
The senator and his pals have, in the past, asserted that defending ourselves has only made them mad…has only made things worse. I say it has brought things into the light…for those with the guts to see. The dark evil intentions of the enemy are real and have been escalating for decades. So I repeat, you can run, senator, but you cannot hide!
Read the story, “Al-Qaeda supporters working at strategic sites” by Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
Go Rudy...Go Rudy…
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani continued his offensive against Democrats on Friday, saying his party is best qualified to deal with wars against poverty at home and terrorism abroad. Drawing from the first Democratic presidential debate the day before, Giuliani blasted his rivals for ignoring private sector solutions to health care and education. **** "I'll be darned if I'm going to concede that Democrats care more...
about poor people than we do," Giuliani said during his brief base-building trip to the home state of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. **** Giuliani said Democratic calls for mandatory universal health care would only exacerbate the cost of care by putting the system in the hands of bureaucrats.
Giuliani, who served as New York City mayor during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, praised President Bush for his response to the event. Giuliani said the United States needs to continue to fight terrorism abroad and at home with "aggressive" use of military strength, the Patriot Act and electronic surveillance and interrogation. **** "(Terrorists) do not respect weakness, they take advantage of weakness," Giuliani said. "They certainly respect strength."
USA Today, AP story: “Giuliani continues offensive against Dems” or Seattlepi.com AP story: “Giuliani assails Democrats' health plans”
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
The Timorous Mr. Tenet?
by Tina Grazier
An article by Victor Davis Hansen points to a Dana Priest story in the Washington Post in February of 2003 that clearly states Tenets position as he testified regarding the run up to the war, WMD, Saddam, al Qaeda, and Zarqawi:
“CIA Director George J. Tenet, questioned about the value of ongoing inspections by the United Nations, said there is “little chance you’ll find weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq unless Hussein cooperates with inspectors. On the other hand, Tenet said he would expect U.S. troops “will find caches of weapons of mass destruction, absolutely,” were they to invade the country.
”If the United States decides not to go to war with Iraq and instead waits on inspectors, Hussein will continue developing weapons of mass destruction,” Tenet said. “He will continue to strengthen himself over time,” he said. “It never gets any better with this fellow, and he’s never been a status quo guy.”
Tenet also elaborated on the CIA’s understanding of Iraq’s link to al Qaeda, a central issue in the administration’s case for going to war against Iraq in the near future, as opposed to waiting months longer for the U.N. inspectors to do more work. Tenet described Abu Musab Zarqawi, the main character in the administration’s case that Iraq is working with al Qaeda now, as it had not done in the past, as a “senior al Qaeda associate.” Zarqawi sought medical care in Baghdad, has met with Osama bin Laden, has been financially supported by al Qaeda and has taken “sustenance” from Iraq. But Zarqawi, he pointed out, is not under the control of Hussein.”
This sounds like a man who was very certain about his information and opinion. He should have stayed with those convictions. If he’s been bullied into changing his posture it’s more likely that media and liberal anti war cries have him running scared...all that loud whooping can seem pretty scary!
Remember, you can read the full article by Hansen, “...Find Caches of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Absolutely." over at National Review Online.
Posted by Post Scripts at 03:57 PM | Comments (0)
April 27, 2007
Leiberman Speaks “Truth to Power”
by Tina Grazier
I found the full transcript of Senator Joe Lieberman’s (ID-CT) speech on the floor of the US Senate over on the Tank blog at NRO. His remarks, posted by Kathryn Jean Lopez, were brilliant and reveal the incredible flaws in the bill as well as the disingenuous arguments of Reid’s position on the war.
By definition, targeted counterterrorism requires our forces to know where, when, and against whom to strike—and that in turn requires accurate, actionable, real-time intelligence. **** This is the kind of intelligence that can only come from ordinary Iraqis, the sea of people among whom the terrorists hide. And that, in turn, requires interacting with the Iraqi people on a close, personal, daily basis. It requires winning individual Iraqis to our side, gaining their trust, convincing them that they can count on us to keep them safe from the terrorists if they share valuable information about them. This is no great secret. This is at the heart of the new strategy that General Petraeus and his troops are carrying out. **** And yet, if we pass this legislation, according to the Majority Leader, U.S. forces will no longer be permitted to patrol Iraq’s neighborhoods or protect Iraqi civilians. They won’t, in his words, be “interjecting themselves between warring factions” or “trying to sort friend from foe.” **** Therefore, I ask the supporters of this legislation:, where, and when our troops can fight is How, exactly, are U.S. forces to gather intelligence about where, when, and against whom to strike, after you have ordered them walled off from the Iraqi population? How, exactly, are U.S. forces to carry out targeted counter-terror operations, after you have ordered them cut off from the very source of intelligence that drives these operations?
There is another irony here as well. **** For most of the past four years, under Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, the United States did not try to establish basic security in Iraq. Rather than deploying enough troops necessary to protect the Iraqi people, the focus of our military has been on training and equipping Iraqi forces, protecting our own forces, and conducting targeted sweeps and raids—in other words, the very same missions proposed by the proponents of the legislation before us. **** That strategy failed—and we know why it failed. It failed because we didn’t have enough troops to ensure security, which in turn created an opening for Al Qaeda and its allies to exploit. They stepped into this security vacuum and, through horrific violence, created a climate of fear and insecurity in which political and economic progress became impossible. **** For years, many members of Congress recognized this. We talked about this. We called for more troops, and a new strategy, and—for that matter—a new secretary of defense. **** And yet, now, just as President Bush has come around—just as he has recognized the mistakes his administration has made, and the need to focus on basic security in Iraq, and to install a new secretary of defense and a new commander in Iraq—now his critics in Congress have changed their minds and decided that the old, failed strategy wasn’t so bad after all. **** What is going on here? What has changed so that the strategy that we criticized and rejected in 2006 suddenly makes sense in 2007?
Lacking adequate moral and ethical grounding, a man will reveal his inability to make sound decisions and act with conviction; his ability to notice this flaw in his character is highly unlikely.
Reid and the supporters of this bill are definitely not qualified to lead...they’re not particularly good at writing legislation either. Thankfully the president’s pen will be swift and the shame of leaving our men on the field of battle without funds will stain more than the failed bill.
I salute Senator Leiberman.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)
Just in Case...
...the subject of “uranium from Niger” comes up again…
by Tina Grazier
I know this old horse is nearly beaten to death by now but if the media is going to continue to lie about it then we are going to have to beat that horse till it’s nothing but a grease spot! As James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal reports on his ”Best of the Web Today:”
By 21-10, the House oversight committee voted to issue a subpoena to Rice to compel her story on the Bush administration's claim, now discredited, that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa. --AP
"administration's warnings, later proven false, that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger for nuclear arms." --Reuters
After nearly a six-month investigation, a special panel reported to the British Parliament July 14 that British intelligence had indeed concluded back in 2002 that Saddam Hussein was seeking to buy uranium.
The review panel was headed by Lord Butler of Brockwell, who had been a cabinet secretary under five different Prime Ministers and who is currently master of University College, Oxford. **** Butler Report: It is accepted by all parties that Iraqi officials visited Niger in 1999. The British Government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that this visit was for the purpose of acquiring uranium. Since uranium constitutes almost three-quarters of Niger's exports, the intelligence was credible.
The Butler Report affirmed what the British government had said about the Niger uranium story back in 2003, and specifically endorsed what [President] Bush said [in that year's State of the Union Address] as well.
The democrats have absolutely nothing to offer, nothing but hearings in search of a credible excuse for impeachment…they will not rest until they force this onto the American stage. If, by some strange circumstance you’ve been living in a dark cave over the past thirty years as they developed this dirty MO…and you don’t believe it, consider this out of the LA Times:
Congressional Democrats authorized five subpoenas yesterday in their drive to step up oversight of the Bush administration, a move likely to heighten tensions between the majority party on Capitol Hill and the White House. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved a subpoena to compel Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify about the administration's disputed prewar claim that Iraq had tried to buy uranium.-- LATimes, by Richard Simon and Richard B. Schmitt
The media will assist in this effort and if they can manage to get a “twofer”...by impeaching both Bush and Cheney….the little queen herself will be found primping in the wings clapping her patty cakes with glee and dreaming of the power she will wield as America's first woman president.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:12 PM | Comments (4)
Hot News! - Saudis arrest 172 militants, more...
Compiled by Jack Lee
* RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Saudi officials say a terror plot they've broken up was on the verge of being carried out. Saudi police say they've arrested 172 Islamic militants in an alleged plot to carry out suicide attacks against "public figures, oil facilities" and "military zones."
* A top Al-Qaeda commander who led operations in Afghanistan and plotted the assassination of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has been taken into US custody, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday. Abd al Hadi al-Iraqi, who was taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba within the past week, was intercepted as he was trying to reach Iraq to manage Al-Qaeda operations and possibly plot attacks against western targets outside Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
* Diabetes Breakthough: Scientists have discovered three new genes linked to diabetes - a breakthrough which they say brings them a step closer to understanding what causes the disease.
* Former CIA Director writes "At the Center of the Storm", a critical book on Bush - Cheney. Ex-CIA director assails Cheney's role on Iraq George Tenet charges that some in the administration pushed the country into war without serious debate. "George Tenet, the former CIA director, has lashed out against Vice President Dick Cheney and other Bush administration officials in a new book, saying they pushed the country to war in Iraq without ever conducting a "serious debate" about whether Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to the United States. Tenet admits that he made his famous "slam dunk" remark about the evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. But he argues that the quote was taken out of context and that it had little effect on President Bush's decision to go to war. He also makes clear his bitter view that the administration made him a scapegoat for the Iraq war." NY Times.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:54 AM | Comments (2)
April 26, 2007
High Tech Weapon
“Plasma shield may stun and disorientate enemies”:
The US Army hopes, within a few years, to deploy a plasma shield – a machine that generates a protective screen of dazzling mid-air explosions – to stun and disorient an enemy. **** The device uses a technology known as dynamic pulse detonation (DPD). A short but intense laser pulse creates a ball of plasma, and a second laser pulse generates a supersonic shockwave with the plasma to generate a bright flash and a loud bang. **** The Plasma Acoustic Shield System will eventually combine a dynamic pulse detonation laser with a high power speaking for hailing or warning, and a dazzler light source. PASS has already been demonstrated by the system's makers, Stellar Photonics. --New Scientist, by David Hambling
Posted by Post Scripts at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)
You Must Remember This
by Tina Grazier
The next time a democrat, or a talking head on TV, spouts that old, tired, worn-out line about the rich not “giving their fair share” remember this:
As the Dow Jones industrials broke the 13,000 barrier for the first time Wednesday, analysts said the California state treasury might be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the resurgent stock market.
At the peak of the dot-com boom, in 2000-01, taxes on capital gains and stock options accounted for nearly 25 percent of the general fund.
Even in quieter times, a single stock deal can ripple through the state budget, as when several Google Inc. insiders sold billions of dollars worth of Google stock in 2005, generating hundreds of millions of dollars worth of capital gains tax payments to the state the following year.
California relies on personal income tax more than most states, and its unusually progressive brackets, with a top rate of 9.3 percent, mean much of the burden is placed on the wealthy.
In 2004 the top 13 percent of Californians -- those with incomes of $100,000 or more -- paid 80 percent of the state's personal income tax, said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the Department of Finance.
Excerpts from Sacbee.com article “Budget rides market wave” by Dale Kasler
Posted by Post Scripts at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
More On 2nd Amendment Rights
(The following was a post in response to another readers comments. We thought you might miss it if we left it in comments, so here it is, the writer makes some excellent points!)
From John F.....
Libby, I was raised with guns in my house along with a healthy respect for human life. The majority of my friends, Male and Female were raised the same way. We didn't solve our disputes with them... See healthy respect for human life. I later went on to a career in law enforcement and saw many instances where the right to have arms could have saved lives. Thankfully, I also saw instances, where it did. I find it quite odd that you see the cause for this tragedy to be the access to firearms, and not a respect for human life issue. In a society where we condone the killing of innocent life because we don't want to take responsibility for our actions, it isn't a leap to see how an
unstable person solves their perceived problems by killing them. If gun control is the answer, explain to me why the highest violent crime rates exist in areas that have the most restrictive controls, e.g. New York or Los Angeles. You of course will say population, but as a retired cop from South L.A. I can tell you that only 5% of the residents in South LA are responsible for the violent crimes which occurr there. No I'm sorry Libby, there has been enough attributing of evil to things and too little to ones personal conduct. That logic does nothing to secure people from those who would ravage them. It is just an easy way to pretend you have done something. Does anyone else remember the flyers from England to America during the Second World War asking for us to send a gun to save an English family?
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:04 PM | Comments (2)
Running for Election or To Be or Not To Be?
by Jack Lee
I came across these pearls by political consultant Joe Gaylord and featured in Muth's Truths. Whether you think that some day you might want to run for office or you are just curious what it takes to run, this might give you a little insight:
You cannot serve if you cannot win ( for the 3rd Assembly District, it's going to take at least 60,000 votes)
The planning is easy, the excution is hard ( how well I know this one!)
Conservatives don't use repetition often enough (but, the dems have this down to a science..no blood for oil, Haliburton!, mean spirited, stealing school lunches, waging war on the poor,...oh, it's a long list of phoney buzz words!)
People would rather be happy than angry (running for something than against...is better)
About 40% of the voters don't tune in until the last two weeks of the election (I thought it was the last 5-7 days)
The only law thats not broken in a campaign is Murphy's Law (not if I can help it)
It's not the media...it's the message (I agree, even though the media is a tad biased )
2/3 to 3/4 of your campaign money should be devoted to communications
Always tell the truth (duh!)
Go out with a bang, not a whimper (I'm not sure what that means... if you lose you throw a party? )
End ------------
And now here's my truism.... You run for election to do something...not to be something!
Too many people run because they want to be a (insert political title) and that's just not good enough. We've got too many in government like that already! There are too many in our State goverment and even in our Congress that have too much power and money and too few ideas.
My website link didn't work last time, so if anyone want's to check it out, it works now...and my ugly mug is up there, if you're curious. It was taken 4 days ago in my livingroom. That's the first time I have worn a tie this year...mostly I'm in a tee shirt and blue jeans with work gloves.
(this is an exploratory site only) http://www.jackleeelection.com/Positions.html
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:26 AM | Comments (3)
Do YaThink She Was Mad? Yikes....
Note the clothes hanging from trees and on lawn, furniture in his fishing boat...this guy is toast!
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!"
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:11 AM | Comments (1)
April 25, 2007
Omar & Mohammed to Reid & Media
“End the war: Right message sent to the wrong address.”
Harry Reid still has me boiling so I decided to take a peek over at ”Iraq The Model” blog to see what the two writers from Iraq were thinking about the sentiments of the shameless Senator from Nevada and the media reports on the “end the war” crowd. These men represent the many people in Iraq who are allied with the US and who long to live in peace in a free country. Their voices deserve to be heard:
Where are the media when terrorists use chlorine poisonous gas, acids, and ball bearings to kill and hurt more and more civilians in utter disregard to all written and unwritten laws, ethics and values?
I understand it's the duty of the media to practice scrutiny over the work of governments but isn't it equally their duty to expose criminals and their evil deeds? **** It's frustrating to see the media turn a blind eye to the nature of the crimes and open fire on an honest endeavor to restore peace to a bleeding nation. I'm sure the terrorists are pleased by the coverage. Why not, when their crimes are being portrayed as successful breakthroughs against the efforts of Iraq and America it's likely motivating them to keep up the killing. **** Would it be "hate speech" to expose the terrorists for what they are? I think our hate for their crimes must not be hidden; there is no shame in hating those blood-thirsty monsters. **** Even more appalling I see and hear some people who think the solution is to end the war from our end and I can't find an argument more naïve than this—I've seen enough wars in my life that I can't remember a day when there was peace and I hate wars more than they can imagine. But we didn't start his war; it's the terrorists who started this war against life.
Instead of telling us to stop fighting back, I'd like to see some people stand up and protest the crimes of the terrorists and tell them to stop the killing and destruction…turn the stop-the-war campaign against the terrorists, is that too much to ask for? **** Tell the criminals to stop killing us and stop attacking the people who are risking their lives fighting for liberty and equality. **** We're not asking the media and the stop-the-war crowd to carry arms and shoot the terrorists; we just want them to stop shooting at us.
The thick scull crowd won't be penetrated but maybe some of you will find these words compelling.
Posted by Post Scripts at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)
Snuggling With the Enemy
by Tina Grazier
Many Americans have been dismayed over the years watching democrat leaders give aid and comfort to enemies of freedom and democracy. A recent example is Harry Reid suggesting a time certain for leaving Iraq…it has to be a comforting thought for terrorists. Imagine being a kidnapper, rapist or murderer and being told from now on the police and the FBI will just ignore your activities.
Well they're spreading the joy again, this time in Latin America. A recent article in Investors Business Daily, ”Leahy’s Cut and Run” reveals the following:
Latin America: If the U.S. were neutral in Colombia's war against narco-terrorists, Congress' freeze on military aid might make sense. But we have a real stake in that victory. Withholding aid will hurt us directly. *** Sen. Pat Leahy, fresh from putting Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on show trial, also managed to find time Thursday for another low blow — against our ally Colombia. The Vermont Democrat froze $55 million in U.S. war-fighting aid based on unsubstantiated reports that Colombia's leaders were in cahoots with now-outlawed paramilitary guerrillas. *** The whisper campaign, spread by President Alvaro Uribe's enemies, probably was put out precisely to cut off U.S. military aid. Colombia's Marxist enemy in the war has been getting hit hard.
The Democrat Party leadership is threatening our freedoms and the safety of us all "in many ways and on many fronts". Pay attention...don’t be a pull toy voter…don't let them get away with snuggling with the enemy.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:29 AM | Comments (0)
Whats on your mind?
Is there an issue you want to bring to the public's attention? This is a good website to do it. Post Scripts is welcomes your comments on page one right along with ours!
Simply keep it under 250 words, (please use spell check) make it topical and don't break any laws...and your work will appear right here. All you have to do is send it in our comments section below, any comments section on any topic will reach us immediately. Just tell us, "PAGE ONE" followed by your story. It's that easy.
So why not say it here! Thousands of people will read it and who know's, maybe your work could influence an important subject?
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:04 AM | Comments (0)
Restrictive and intrusive gun laws are in effect just treating the symptom, not the disease. (See article on VA Tech for more thoughts)
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2007
Denying Iraqi Students the Chance of Freedom
by Tina Grazier
Recent comments in the democrat leadership leave the impression that Iraq is a lost cause. Democrat activists scream for peace and degrade our military with protests and accusations of brutality while demanding withdrawal from Iraq. The media’s coverage of the war paints a mostly negative picture and never conveys the idea that anyone in Iraq is living a normal life. It therefore might surprise some of our readers to know what students at a university in Baghdad were up to last week following the VA Tech incident:
Iraqi Students Express Solidarity with American Students
"We want to let the whole world know that we do not support terrorism anywhere," said Yassir Nazar, head of the student union at Baghdad Technology University, who organized the hanging of the banner near the campus gate. *** It reads, "We, the students of Technology University, denounce the attack at Virginia Tech. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims who faced a situation as bad as Iraq's universities do. The sanctity of campuses must be protected around the world."
"We have lost many friends and professors," said Nazar. "But in spite of our wounds, we want to show our solidarity with the students of Virginia Tech who are our brothers in humanity and in pursuing knowledge."
Students attending school…in Iraq…expressing solidarity with American students…imagine that. Our brave fighting forces are doing all they can to ensure those students have a chance for freedom.
Meanwhile back in the states on CNN Senator Harry Reid dismisses General Petraeus' opinion in a Q & A:
BASH: You talked several times about General Petraeus. You know that he is here in town. He was at the White House today, sitting with the president in the Oval Office and the president said that he wants to make it clear that Washington should not be telling him, General Petraeus, a commander on the ground in Iraq, what to do, particularly, the president was talking about Democrats in Congress. *** He also said that General Petraeus is going to come to the Hill and make it clear to you that there is progress going on in Iraq, that the so-called surge is working. Will you believe him when he says that?
REID: No, I don't believe him, because it's not happening.
Notice that Bash (what a moniker for a thinly veiled "bashing" reporter) referred to it as the “so-called surge”…let’s be kind though, and remember, they do these things not to be mean or take sides but because they care so much. In the village it takes to raise a child, always...always, it's “for the children”.
As for Harry…he’s more determined than ever to bring defeat to GWB and the pubbies. He has dug in his little heels and that's that! If successful he will of course, in the same stroke, also bring defeat to Iraqi students but, hey…they’re young, they’ll get over it. Right Harry?
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:45 PM | Comments (1)
Things to Consider When Running For Election
by Jack Lee
Update - As most of our readers may know, I was considering a run for the 3rd Assembly District. The seat is being vacated by Rick Keene next year and so far there are two other candidates. As part of my quest to determine if I am a viable candidate, and equally important - IF I want to put myself and my family through the process of running for election, I've been going down a check list of things I must do first.
I have now arrived at the ugly part. This is where candidates do a personal assessment as in... opposition research. This entails digging for mud on myself just as my opposition might do. Here's the juiciest thing my team has come up with so far:
Twenty years ago a good friend of mine owned an auto parts store and a car dealership. He was in partnership with another man. Their business got into trouble when the partner was arrested for drugs. I loaned my friend $10k to keep his doors open and cover most of the excise tax owed to the state. This other partner being involved in drugs set off a whole string of nasty events and rumors. Of course it rightly landed the man in jail and unfortunately my friend who had done nothing wrong, wound up in bankruptcy.
I was given a used car from the car lot as payment for the 10k debt and so that part ended ok for me, but it also deepened my connection. There's more...about 4 months prior to all this hitting the fan, I had also bought a car through the lot and another car, after the arrest went down. Both were just deals that anyone else could have bought for the same price.
There is one more suspicious thing here, I owned a rental limo at this time as a part-time business and so did my friend. As a result, we shared space at his car lot to take reservations and we shared the cost of advertising. The guy who went down for the drugs was also a half owner of my friends limo, not mine, however the connection was made. That added another layer of connection. So, what do you think? Is this really bad or what?
If you connected all these dots you can make anything you want out of it. That opens up the possibility for a lot of speculation and rumors! At the time the rumors really did fly too, but after an intensive investigation no charges were ever filed against my friend and certainly none against me. I've done a number of much, much larger personal loans over the years to local individuals and local businesses, however they never generated any controversy. Most of the bigger loans were just short term "bridge" loans involving real estate.
Let me you give you this classic example of mud, I think I mentioned this one earlier, but it's worth repeating: When Assemblyman Bernie Richter was running against Lon Hatamyia., Hatamyia did this hit piece that came out in the 11th hour of the race. By carefully parsing his words he took a non-event where a transient urinating on the back wall of a building, became (and I am paraphrasing: "Bernie Richter was mentioned in a police report involving lewd behavior at a children's arcade business owned by him." Bernie called in to report the drunk...that's all. This is the kind of junk that keeps people from running for office. They don't want to suffer this kind of character assassination, and it's why Bernie always said, "If you run for office, your skin better be about an inch thick!" I believe it too! But, then ol Bernie was right about a lot of things.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:57 AM | Comments (5)
Tick Warning
Jennifer from CSUC writes this warning....
If someone comes to your front door saying they are conducting a survey on deer ticks and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT!! IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see you naked.
I wish I'd gotten this information yesterday; I feel so stupid now.... Oh, excuse me, my doorbell is ringing again. I think it's the guys from the frat house. It's great to know that the FBI has secret agents stationed over there, cause it's so close to our house. I see them checking on us all the time with their FBI cameras and binoculars as they search for peeping toms and prowlers.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:19 AM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2007
War News-Pay Attention
"President of Iraqi relief organization calls on Dems to rethink withdrawals"
The president of the Iraqi Red Crescent, the only relief organization operating in Iraq, is calling on the Democratic-led Congress to rethink its troop withdrawal strategy and recognize that Iraq suffers from a worsening humanitarian crisis. *** In Washington for a series of advocacy meetings in Congress, Said Hakki, the president of the Iraqi Red Crescent, expressed concern that by setting a withdrawal timetable, the U.S. would abandon Iraq at the height of a humanitarian crisis. *** “Let’s not talk about differences, but about what we can agree upon,” Hakki said. If Congress agrees that there is a humanitarian crisis, he asked, “is it justified to set a timetable and leave all those people in a dire position, worse than they were [before 2003]?”
"200 Taliban fighters surrounded"
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Afghan forces have trapped up to 200 Taliban fighters in a southern village, possibly including the militia's military commander, demanding they surrender or come under attack, Afghan officials said Monday. *** Khan told The Associated Press that Mullah Dadullah, a close aide to Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, and other regional Taliban commanders were at the meeting when the village was surrounded. The security forces were still positioned around the village on Monday, he said.
"Spain fears al-Qaeda attack in France"
Madrid - The Spanish intelligence service fears that al-Qaeda militants could attack a target in Spain or in France in the coming weeks, possibly before the French election runoff, a media report said on Monday. *** Private radio station Cadena Ser, which is close to the governing Socialists, said the information is contained in the latest intelligence report on Al-Qaeda activity, compiled after April 11 suicide bombings in Algiers claimed by the network.
"Al-Qaeda and Iranian allies 'plan Hiroshima attack'"
AL-QAEDA leaders in Iraq are planning the first "large-scale" terrorist attacks on Britain and other western targets with the help of supporters in Iran, according to a leaked intelligence report. *** Spy chiefs warn that one operative had said he was planning an attack on "a par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki" in an attempt to "shake the Roman throne", a reference to the West, according to The Times newspaper in the UK. *** Another plot could be timed to coincide with Tony Blair stepping down as prime minister, an event described by al-Qaeda planners as a "change in the head of the company". *** The report, produced earlier this month and seen by The Sunday Times, appears to provide evidence that al-Qaeda is active in Iran and has ambitions far beyond the improvised attacks it has been waging against British and American soldiers in Iraq.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:51 PM | Comments (2)
Not So Wild About Harry
Ok US troop fans, here you go. The following link will take you to a must read story over at National Review Online (NRO). It's by W. Thomas Smith Jr. and it's called "Baghdad Calling".
Last Thursday, hours after Sen. Harry Reid (D., NV) proclaimed the Iraq War “lost,” U.S. Navy Lt. Jason Nichols was e-mailing Michelle Malkin from his office in Baghdad with a message for Reid.
“Your [Reid’s] words are killing us,” Nichols writes. “Your statements make the Iraqis afraid to help us for fear we’ll leave them unprotected in the future.”
Earlier that day — before Reid’s infamous declaration of defeat — I was on the phone with Nichols, who told me, “We are winning,” explained to me how he knows we are winning, why the troops actually doing the fighting continue to support the war effort, and what he and others are doing to get the facts in front of the American people.
Nichols, a Naval officer currently serving in Iraq, oversees a grassroots effort recently launched by a small group of active-duty servicemen and women hoping to communicate to Congress “the troops’ desire to remain in Iraq” until the mission is complete.
The effort, AppealforCourage.org, has been collecting signatures for a petition that reads:
As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts, which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.
AppealforCourage.org is a petition limited to service folks and is a counter-effort to antiwar AppealforRedress.org.
As of this writing, AppealforCourage.org, has received 2,172 signatures. AppealforRedress.org, has received 1,855. It’s not a lot of signatures for either group relative to the size of the U.S. armed forces. But as Nichols explains, “Appeal for Redress has received quite a bit more media exposure than Appeal for Courage, and we’ve exceeded their number of signatures in a third of the time it took them to collect theirs.”
Dont forget to read the article,"Baghdad Calling" at NRO...U.S. Navy Lt. Jason Nichols makes it well worth the time.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:56 PM | Comments (1)
News from the BBC
Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets of Caracas in protest at the president's decision to close the country's oldest private TV network. Mr Chavez's supporters say Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) backed a 2002 coup which briefly ousted him. But the country's opposition say the decision to close the network is an attempt to silence Mr Chavez's critics.
Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…Ya think?
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:52 PM | Comments (1)
Pull Toys
by Tina Grazier
It’s no secret that democrats want to change things from the top down. They want change in Washington and they want change in America. Yes, they want a better world, but what exactly does that mean?
Pull toy voters, many of them democrats, will tell you the change they seek includes world peace, a “sustainable future’, fairness, and an equal portion of the collective pie for all. If you ask them what that means they weave a pretty story about people learning to get along and resolving differences by gentle means. They tell you about alternative fuels, recycling, riding bicycles and newfangled light bulbs. They furrow their brows in deference to the “poor” and speak about “a living wage” and everyone sharing resources equally. They rail against Big Business and the greed of consumerism. When pressed for details, they look at you quizzically,
“Like, what else is there?”
Press them further and they frown and begin to call names. These are people who love the pretty pictures, the nice thoughts and kind, gentle treatment…of children, animals and even plants. But for the life of them, they can’t really tell you how to make Nirvana happen. They live on dreams and feelings and issues. Pull toy feminist, for instance, adamantly defend women’s rights, particularly a woman’s right to “choose”…which implies they somehow don’t choose before this other magic “choice” is made…but don’t confuse them with logic, they’ll go Rosie on you!
The current leadership in this party of fairness, caring, equality and choice is another story. Government, in their distinctive hands is “The Answer”. Never in the entire history of the world has any group been more brilliant…they truly see themselves as saviors to the world. Since all pull toys need an enabler, someone to pull that string, this combo becomes a magical fit. Together “they” will make a difference! The leadership is infected with the same pretty picture idealism as the pull toys. The difference is they have it within their power to effect grand sweeping ideas. And, wow, those ideas sound sooooo dreamy! World peace, they claim, is easy. And how do we achieve it…well, by being NICE, of course…and the little pull toys flip at the mere mention of it! Environmental issues are handled with equal aplomb. Pass a few laws, write some regulations, force people to make different choices by taxing them, by banning certain products…and by giving them x number of months to comply or be fined or tossed in jail. The little pull toys are screaming for joy now,
“Yeah! That’ll fix ‘em…how dare they so thoughtlessly pollute our world!”
As for that pie thing…that’s easy…tax those rich bums and then, acting as savior again, give it all to those who “have not”. Continue to raise the minimum wage until the hamburger flippers get the same as the hamburger owners. Share and share alike, well…at least with the profits, not, heaven forbid, the responsibility. Healthcare for everyone…it’s on the house…when government runs our lives we will have everything we want…let's all sing it now..."when the moo-ooo-oon is in the seventh house, na na na na…aren’t you thrilled about all this change?
Democrats are drenched in a haughtiness of spirit…they do not believe in you and me. They do not believe in the inventive creative spirit that has made America great. They do, however, believe that people are all “basically good”…and this is why they think being kind will stop mental cases from going on killing sprees and terrorists from blowing up buildings...and airplanes and train stations and small café’s and banks and government buildings and stock exchanges and subway stations…and lots and lots of people.
So here comes the bumper sticker...
Vote democrat…only through the beneficence of their leadership will you and the rest of the world survive.
You will buy that only if you are a pull toy voter.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)
Popular Books
'Atlas' At 50 by KEVIN WALKER reveals some interesting stats about favorite books of the last century:
More than 700,000 copies of Rand's books sold in 2006, 25 years after her death. Several years ago, when the Modern Library published readers' choices for the best novels of the 20th century, four books by Rand made the list: "Atlas Shrugged" (No. 1), "The Fountainhead" (No. 2), "Anthem" (No. 7) and "We the Living" (No. 8).
A survey in 1991 by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found "Atlas Shrugged" the second most influential book in the United States. The Bible was first.
One can see how some of this plays well to certain elements of the Republican Party - Rush Limbaugh is a fan; so was Ronald Reagan. But Rand also offers ideas that appeal to the independent-minded regardless of political affiliation. *** She makes this clear in the (lengthy) speech she gives John Galt, the mysterious central character in "Atlas Shrugged": "Man's basic vice, the source of all his evils, is that nameless act of blanking out, the willful suspension of one's consciousness, the refusal to think - not blindness, but the refusal to see, not ignorance, but the refusal to know." *** In another words, letting others do your thinking for you.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2007
Ugly America
by Tina Grazier
Is America as ugly as headlines around the world suggest?
I’m really sick of the anti-American rhetoric, both at home and across the world, but the garbage that spewed forth following the terrible incident at Virginia Tech was particularly sickening. Stories in the UK papers contemptuously held that the US was unusually violent. One suggested our frontier beginnings have somehow imbrued us with a collective Ike Clanton mentality. A few examples:
Independent (UK), by Rupert Cornwell The massacre at Virginia Tech has, yet again, focused attention on the culture of guns and the ease of obtaining firearms in America, an unending source of amazement to most of the rest of the world. Roughly 29,000 people are killed by firearms every year - 10 times as many as died on September 11, 2001.
Reuters, by Ralph Gowling World leaders and media commentators criticised what many called the gun culture in the United States on Tuesday after 33 people were killed in the country's worst shooting rampage. The world, including U.S. arch-foe Iran, united in sympathy. European newspapers saw a grim inevitability about the killings because the U.S. constitution enshrined the right to bear arms /snip/ Italy's leftist Il Manifesto newspaper said the shooting was ''as American as apple pie''
One holier than thou, “journalist” had the gall to long for “the Clinton era". I guess in his mind the killings at Columbine don’t count. Ian Bell writing in “The Herald” in his article “What is it about this fetish with firearms?” had these things to say:
What is it with certain Americans and guns? The successive massacres begin to amount almost to a collective psychological profile. History, the history of the civil war and of the frontier in particular, explains some of it, but it does not begin to unravel the fetishising of firearms, the perpetual escalation, like a longing for the promised Armageddon. Guns, for some, go to the core of their identities, to what it means to be American...
Hunting is part of the frontier mythology, of course, a rite of passage for virile boys bonding with their fathers. It is a favourite, all-American image invoked by the likes of the National Rifle Association….The American context is a strange one, however…It isn't sporting to machine-gun a deer….
The idea of American exceptionalism is defined, sometimes, as an example of the new world improving on the old. In the patriotic rhetoric of the republic, it offers us "the last best hope of mankind". But that itching trigger finger reminds us of something dark at America's heart, a self-loathing to match all the justified pride. And it is a trait of which some Americans simply refuse to be rid.
The best hope after the Virginia sacrifice, and it is probably a forlorn hope, is that the Clinton-era restrictions on automatic rifles - actual combat weapons - might be restored.
Mankind's best hope, I think, is that one dysfunctional nation is not our last best hope.
It’s time for Americans to talk back and at least one bold American, Steve Stanek has done just that. His response to all this UK elitist nonsense is in his piece, “'Only in America'? Gunning Down a Claim”:
In Scotland authorities are enacting knife control policies because violent crime has continued to climb (with knives as a weapon of choice) in the wake of the nation's gun bans. Should Americans speak contemptuously of Scotland's "blade and booze" culture?
Last November in Emsdetten, Germany, a teenager shot and wounded more than a dozen persons before killing himself. In 2002 in a school in Erfurt, Germany, a gunman killed 17 people and himself.
On September 28, 2001, in peaceful Switzerland, a man shot and killed 14 people, including 11 members of a local canton council.
Violence and murder are willful acts perpetrated by sick human beings…not inanimate objects. Excuse this mere amateur for preaching to the elite but as they say, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that there’s enough “ugly” in the world to go around.
I'd like to make a special note of those we count on to defend against such violence. In America it's proud gun toting fellow Americans. I'm grateful for their training, service and care because there will always be crazy ugly people in our world. I'm also quite certain I cannot count on smarmy writers of the fictional America featured in many publications across the globe for my defense.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:22 PM | Comments (9)
Same Old Song
by Tina Grazier
The Recent democrat stance on the war in Iraq, including betrayal of country and troops by the very weasely Harry Reid, deserves continuous condemnation. I was happy to see that John McCain was willing to step forward and graciously do just that:
"We, who are willing to support this new strategy and give General [David] Petraeus the time and support he needs, have chosen a hard road. But it is the right road. It is necessary and just. Democrats, who deny our soldiers the means to prevent an American defeat, have chosen another road. It may appear to be the easier course of action, but it is a much more reckless one, and it does them no credit even if it gives them an advantage in the next election. This is an historic choice, with ramifications for Americans not even born yet...."
Things haven't changed much for democrats through the years as is evidenced by this portion of the
party platform in 1864:
"Resolved, that this convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during which, under the pretence of military necessity, or war power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired, justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of the States or other peaceable means, to the end that at the earliest practicable moment peace may be restored on the basis of the federal Union of the States."
Then as now, in the midst of war they say we must have peace but they will not offer a path to peace and instead deny and run away. They cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. They refuse to acknowledge the goal. When times get tough they say all is lost...we have been ruined...they say we must back down no matter what hell that may bring tomorrow.
It's the same old song with democrats, give up, run away, quit...anything but WIN.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:52 PM | Comments (2)
Sen. Harry Reid Demands New Policy In Iraq
by Jack "Spoof News" Lee....
Senator Harry Reid-D from Nevada defended his critical comments regarding President Bush's recent "Surge" plan, and again decried, "We have lost the war in Iraq and you must flee for your lives! Run home American soldiers...flee!"
Reid explained to reporters at his press conference, "President Bush said if I didn't like his plan in Iraq, then I should come up with my own, so I took him up on his challenge! Effective today my new strategy is, If You Can't Beat Em - Join Em!" My new slogan for appeasement is, "Let's roll...over."
Reid told the press Sen. Nancy (Pelosi) already has her Hajib and she looks good in black. The Senator explained in Nevada, (where he lives in a tent with his Cadillac SUV, Lexus and his camel), it looks a lot like Iraq. So, it was this common ground, as it were, that he developed a thing for the mid-East culture. When the war started it was the perfect time for him to explore his penchant for middleast politics.
In closing the Senator for Nevada quipped, "The only question I have now is whether to become a Sunni or a Shia?" Insiders close to Reid say he may wait to see which one Senator Pelosi chooses. "Now it's just a matter of convincing our troops and President Bush to give up", Reid said. Then he excused himself for his Salat-ul-Asr (mid-afternoon) prayer.
See new design for the White House in 08 below....
Posted by Post Scripts at 12:40 PM | Comments (1)
April 21, 2007
Poster Asks For Poll
This is from N. F. (One of the troops we sent to Iraq)...
I'm doing a small poll Jack, for slogan production. Here are the choices:
1. With liberals supporting the troops, who needs terrorists?
2. I support Democrats, the same way they support they me. By voting them out of office.
3. If liberals supported the terrorists the way they support our troops, terrorists would have given up by now.
4. Who put the French in charge of our congress?
5. Iraq war stories: "We were surrounded... terrorists on our front, and a liberal congress on our backs."
6. I miss the good old days, when liberals just spit on us at airports.
7. Vote Democrat: They can't legislate morality, but they can legislate defeat.
8. If this is what liberals call support, I'd prefer indifference.
9. Vote Democrat: Losing wars since 1975
10. "The war in Iraq is lost" Democrats WIN!!.
I would also appreciate suggestions from others. The winner will be made into a bumper sticker.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:41 AM | Comments (4)
The Most Dangerous State
by Jack Lee
According to the latest DOJ statistics on crime per each 100,000, that includes murder, rape, robbery, burglary, auto theft and aggravated assault.
The 50 states ranked in order from most dangerous to safest.
1. Nevada
2. New Mexico
3. Arizona
4. Maryland
5. Tennessee
6. South Carolina
7. Alaska
8. Florida
9. California
10. Louisiana
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2007
This Weeks Funniest Joke
The National Transportation Safety Board recently divulged they had covertly funded a project with the U.S. automakers for the past 5 years, whereby the automakers installed black-box voice recorders in 4-wheel drive pickup trucks and SUVs in an effort to determine, in fatal accidents, the circumstances in the last 15 seconds before the crash.
They were surprised to find in 49 of the 50 states the recorded last words of drivers in 71.2 percent of fatal crashes were, "Oh, sh- - !" Only Texas was different where 89.3 percent of the last words were, "Hold my beer, I'm gonna try somethin'."
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)
Backlash grows over broadcast of campus killer's video
We were saying what American's felt when we published our story holding NBC accountable for their callous and indefensive decision to air the killer's video and now the backlash grows. We were glad to be a small part of the angry response to NBC's grossly irresponsible presentation of the killer's tape. It's very gratifying when our thoughts/words enjoy so much company!
"In a tape and document posted to NBC News in the middle of his killing spree, XXX XXXX XXX (we refuse to print his name) compares himself to a crucified Jesus, and says that he has been driven to kill in order to champion the downtrodden." His mother said he was a cold and distant child that caused them to worry. His grandmother called him an a- - h- - -.
For the whole story follow this link.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
Dare We Call It Treason?
by Jack Lee
Senators Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have declare the Iraq war might just as well be over today. We have been beaten by terrorists and there is no point in fighting any further, we ought to go home and lick our wounds. And worse, it's us, the USA, that is causing the Iraqi's to be killed by the hundreds every week now, the insurgency has won, the "surge" was a failure... so says Harry and company.
"I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and — you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows — (know) this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday," said Reid.
The White House called Reid's remarks "disturbing" and a slap at troops who are risking their lives. I think the word "slap" is way too mild, this was more like a stab...a stab in the back! And we ought not let Reid and Pelosi get away with it. By publishing their statements here as they are on other blogs all across the United States, we (the people) are holding them accountable and letting them and the rest of the country know exactly how mainstream American's feel about such underhanded tactics!
"I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week."
Harry ReidAnd it goes far beyond this....
"There is no reason that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children." — John Kerry.
"The idea that the United States is going to win the war in Iraq is just plain wrong." — Howard Dean.
"It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interest of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region." — John Murtha.
"He betrayed this country! He played on our fears!" — Al Gore on President Bush.
"Americans did not vote for fascism — but the fascists now control all three branches of our government." — Bob Fertig (party activist, blogger).
"Bush lied, people died." — A popular Democrat anti-war slogan.
An open feud has existed between the Democratic leadership ever since they took power last election and it's time for them to realize their election did not sanction them to say anything that would endanger, compromise or in any way take away from our effort to quell the internal violence in Iraq. In days gone bye, this sort of deliberate public undermining of the President's peace effort would be almost treasonus. It certainly has bolstered the moral of the enemy. And in doing so, it places this nation and it's citizens at greater risk to global Islamic terrorism. It will get more soldiers killed and that is shameful and a disgrace to every democract that still has an ounce of patriotism.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2007
Catalytic Converters & Global Warming
The Environmental Protection Agency is gearing up the next step in its war against automobiles, say critics. It released a report last summer that claims nitrous oxide (N2O) from the catalytic converters that clean the tailpipe emissions of automobiles is contributing to global warming. Global warming is the theory that so-called greenhouse gases produced by human activities are affecting the climate. The principal greenhouse gases are water vapor and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Experts point out that compared to the total amount of greenhouse gases, the amount of N2O emitted from car tailpipes is so insignificant it couldn't possibly affect the global climate.
Worldwide, the total annual output of greenhouse gases is around 157.1 billion metric tons, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Global Climate Change. Mankind produces just 7.1 billion metric tons of the total -- with the rest coming from natural sources, such as volcanic eruptions, the evaporation of sea water and the decay of organic matter. The U.S. produces 1.442 billion tons of greenhouse gases annually from human activities.
Of the U.S. output, the EPA claims 280.7 million metric tons comes from the operation of motor vehicles -- mostly water vapor and carbon dioxide (CO2), thanks to the catalytic converters.
It also estimates that N2O from all sources is 7.2 percent of Americans' total output of greenhouse gases, or 103.8 million metric tons. Thus the N2O from the tailpipes of American cars is at most 0.06 percent of total greenhouse gases produced in the world each year -- and EPA critics say it may be much less, since the EPA has a record of inaccuracy.
Source: Eric Peters, "A Catalytic Con Job," Investor's Business Daily
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:45 PM | Comments (0)
THIS WAR IS REAL
by Tina Grazier
“Here's what I think: this is a real war, extended beyond the borders of Iraq.”
These are strong words by Jon Voight, award winning Hollywood actor who played "Benjamin Franklin Gates' dad" in one of my all time favorite movies, "National Treasure".
I found his extraordinarily frank and patriotic words in a remarkable interview Patriot Act posted at radaronline.com. Please read the whole interview, it will lift your opinion of Hollywood and possibly inspire feelings of gratitude toward Mr. Voight for his decision to share his views in a somewhat hostile environment.
Here’s a taste of what he has to say. The format is Q&A:
Was the Iraq war part of the war on terror before we got there?
I'm interested in talking about this, but it's been so politicized, it's very disturbing, very dangerous. My view of it is this: they say our president lied to us. Well, he didn't lie to us, everybody else had the information he had, and they voted for that tactic. And the idea of weapons of mass destruction, whether they were in fact removed to other places, to Lebanon, to Syria, that's still in play, we don't know the full answer of where all that stuff went, because they had it, they have the pieces...
While you might not hear people say, "I don't support the troops", the country and the media on the whole are increasingly caustic and critical of the president and Iraq. Does that bother you?
It's a tidal wave going in this direction. It's sad for me. The attack on George Bush I find to be reprehensible. From the beginning it was politically motivated, and it's been very successful, the disrespect for our president and for our country and for our government. I have a great regard for our government. We have all sorts of checks and balances that are afforded to us by our constitution. We have a lot of wonderful hardworking people in the government. Once it gets to be partisan, it takes the energy in another direction. There was a big movement to impeach Lincoln during the Civil War, but it is not healthy at this time when we are fighting a very vicious enemy that has made it very clear in their attacks on American embassies and the Twin Towers, and on our forces what they intend.
So I imagine you're a supporter of the Patriot Act?
Yes, I'm a supporter of the Patriot Act. I support protecting us and investigating anyone who indicates they're going to be dangerous to our country. It's one of those things; it depends on which side you're on politically. If we had these things in place we could have anticipated 9/11. We're not interested in investigating someone who's doing something appropriate. We don't have time for that. That's nonsense. I certainly hope we're paying close attention to all those people crossing our borders who might be dangerous to us. We know for sure there are cells in the United States that are ready to erupt. ..So listen, it's a serious business. It's wartime, guys…We've got to all be alert now, we've got to be a part of it and be supportive of our troops for sure.
What else did you take away from the experience?
Someone said the president has been here and Dick Cheney comes down here regularly—I think he said every six weeks he comes and sees every person. Well, that's pretty terrific…I mean these guys are concerned people. Somebody said to me—a wounded soldier who was against Cheney and Bush—and he said, "Cheney's a really nice guy," like he was so surprised to see that the guy was a good guy. You understand?
Thank you Jon Voight...from this point forward you are a "national treasure."
Posted by Post Scripts at 01:41 PM | Comments (1)
Useless Gear-Useless Opinion
Popular Mechanics reports:There's a half-billion dollars invested in the gear hanging off the heads, chests and backs of the soldiers of Alpha company. Digital maps displayed on helmet-mounted eyepieces show the position of all the men in the unit as they surround a block of concrete buildings and launch their attacks. /snip/ ''It's just a bunch of stuff we don't use, taking the place of useful stuff like guns,'' says Sgt. James Young, who leads a team of four M-240 machine-gunners perched on a balcony during this training exercise at Fort Lewis, Wash. ''It makes you a slower, heavier target.''
In another war related story that great American weasel, Harry Reid adds fuel to that lefty engine chugging on down the line…in pursuit of losing the war:
The war in Iraq "is lost" and a US troop surge is failing to bring peace to the country, the leader of the Democratic majority in the US Congress, Harry Reid, said Thursday. I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week," -AFP
DUH, so much for his opinion…the president said this would happen…not to hard to get since a “surge” implies greater military activity resulting in greater violence. We didn’t send them over there to play checkers.
Posted by Post Scripts at 12:02 PM | Comments (1)
NBC Give's VA Shooter A Global Pulpit
by Jack Lee
If there is one thing that will almost guarantee us another sensational murder on the scale of Va Tech, it is not our crazies with guns or the gun lobby... it's the liberal mainstream media.
We were sitting at a dinner table inside the Elks Lodge last night near the big screen TV when the Virginia Tech shooter's tapes aired. Within moments, we found ourselves collectively of the same mindset as were got mad at what was being shown! This was outrageous! What were they thinking? This garbage wasn't news worthy, it won't help anyone or bring closure, but it could bring us a copycat and more tragedy. And so I have to wonder now, is this video going to be the trigger that set off some other twisted sicko? But, if it doesn't and we somehow luck out, it is still wrong because it is exploiting a tragedy, it was trash, it was polluting the airwaves and the timing couldn't have been worse. NBC's editorial decision to air this mad rant was calculated by the ratings it would generate verses any ethical or moral considerations. Forget the people it would offend and never mind the high risk from those who might fantasize doing their own psycho-killer tape some day soon on NBC...the latter would of course be good for NBC.
Hate is contagious
As we were almost forced to watch this sick individual on TV spewing his venom, it reminded me of the Muslim Jihadists suicide tapes. I saw a real correlation there...an insane, inhuman act irrationally justified as avenging some injustice and an attempt to punish a whole class of people.
Cause and effect
The video shows a lot of preparation and deliberate malice; that elevated this crazy to the legal status of premeditated homicide and this is good for the cops to know, but this doesn't need to be broadcast to the public at large! The worst part about this whole thing is in this killer's mind when he knew NBC would air his tape he was elevating himself to status of both victim and hero as he spoke to the world. Finally, he would achieve the power and influence over others as he never could before and this is what he despertely craved and it's what all such evil psychopaths crave! This publicity was one of, if not the key motivating force, that drove him to kill in the first place! Why else would he have gone to such great lengths to prepare it and send it to NBC news? It was his eternal legacy and without that...well, his crime may not have even happened.
Take away the motivation
By the way, are you noticing I am not using the shooters name? I'm denying him this notoriety here and I wish every media source in the world had done the same and that tape had never been shown!
NBC's airing of that tape and all the networks that picked it up, was very dangerous and irresponsible thing to do and I fear more people will lose their lives as a direct result of this "trigger". I hope I am wrong, but history says over and over that I'm probably not.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:56 AM | Comments (4)
More Fallout From the Don Imus Incident
There will only be 49 contestants in the Miss America Contest this year, because no one wants to wear the banner that says, IDAHO.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:54 AM | Comments (3)
April 18, 2007
Bye Bye American Pie
by Tina Grazier
I read an article tonight that just blew my mind. The piece, by Robert J. Samuelson, was in Newsweek online. It’s called, “The Rich and the Rest” and it’s chock full of silly misleading words and absolutely ridiculous ideas and beliefs about wealth, earnings and you.
Misleading as it is, we can still use the article as a tool for learning. It perfectly illustrates the upside down thinking that lives and breeds in the lefty mind; it illustrates the sneaky way that carefully worded articles can nudge people toward hatred and envy. This kind of writing begs you to be resentful and angry; it plants seeds to make you doubt your worth. It asks you to think about the money you don’t have, about the various “stations” in life, and about the “unfairness” of it all. The very first sentence is inviting…come into my world…let's chat...
In a democracy, there is something unsettling about great extremes of wealth and poverty. One question today is whether rich Americans are claiming too much of the economic pie.
You may be asking, "What's the big deal?" What’s wrong with these two harmless little sentences?" To begin, the premise is garbage…just what exactly is “unsettling” about extremes in wealth and poverty? It's a reality as old as dirt. People are different. They are born into different worlds. They have different desires and experiences. They want different things. They have their own story to create, and...they have personal choice. If anything, the sentence should read:
In a democracy, there is something unsettling about the numbers of people who can’t seem to get their act together. This sentence might actually spark a conversation with the chance of yielding ideas. We are a rich nation; a nation abundant in opportunities both for education and work. We are a charitable nation and a nation of government assistance. There is no excuse for anyone to be lower on the economic rung than he wishes himself to be….it’s all a matter of his many choices. The fact that someone else has more is meaningless. A more valid question might be, what keeps people from availing themselves of these opportunities so that they improve their standing?
The second sentence is even more absurd…rich Americans aren’t “CLAIMING” anything!!! They are earning…from their labor and their investments. Earnings are not delivered from a giant collective American PIE! Earnings are not part of a “distribution process”. WE WORK, and the money we earn is our property…not a gift or slice of something shared. Mr. Samuelson continues his patient little nudge:
Look at the latest astonishing estimates from economists Emmanuel Saez of the University of California at Berkeley and Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics. They find that the richest 10 percent of the population received 44 percent of the pretax income in 2005. *** As for what's caused greater inequality, (sounding reasonable-blah, blah, blah)… Pay practices de-emphasized "fairness" and focused on what the market would bear. Opportunities for huge gains—from company start-ups, from dealmaking—mushroomed.
It’s clear that he believes it is ‘unfairness’ and ‘deal making” that have caused YOU to be deprived of your FAIR SHARE of that imagined pie. Are you crawling up the wall yet? Have you decided “something” must be done? Well hang on for the piece de resistance:
Whatever its (the inequality of incomes) source, the present income distribution hardly seems optimal. To paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: The rich are tolerable only so long as their gains can be held to bear some relation to roughly what they have contributed to society.
Says you and Mr. Keynes…because you paint a portrait of the rich as selfish consumers who vacation all the time and offer little, if anything, to the community...and that's bunk. What is the value of the millions of jobs made possible by the efforts and the wealth investment of “the rich”? What is the value to the community of the very large donations and grants to things like PBS, research into diseases and cures, foundational projects, hospitals, libraries, parks, museums, universities, scholarships, etc.
In addition, the cause of the so called “inequality’ of income “distribution” would be better addressed in families, classrooms and society at large. We could begin with smarter talk about how to make a buck and who’s to blame if you’re stuck in a lower bracket than you desire. We could continue with discipline and effort and respect for authority. For now a good start would be to chuck the American Pie idea unless it's a real American pie, and a real American pie is one you make yourself…from scratch...in your very own kitchen.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:40 PM | Comments (2)
Ethanol Warning
WASHINGTON, Apr. 18, 2007 - Switching from gasoline to ethanol - touted as a green alternative at the pump - may create dirtier air, causing slightly more smog-related deaths, a new study says. For more on this story, follow this link.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:21 AM | Comments (1)
April 17, 2007
Traveling in Low Gere
by Tina Grazier
I have enjoyed most of Richard Gere’s work and I respect him for his religious values…so this story was a bit disappointing. It reflects the very definition of “the ugly American”. The indulgences of pop culture have invested many a world traveling citizen with the ability to paint a picture of America that is sleazy, vulgar and lacking in manners or propriety. I remember when as travelers we were aware that we were ambassadors for our country and as such should put our best foot forward…wish it were still so. I'm afraid we are too much into our "own thang" to even bother to notice now.
Indian protesters burn effigies of Richard Gere after public kiss
NEW DELHI (AP) - Angry crowds in several Indian cities are burning effigies of Richard Gere. It's happening after Gere swept a popular Bollywood actress into his arms and kissed her several times during an AIDS-awareness event. Photographs of Gere embracing Shilpa Shetty and kissing her on the cheek at an HIV/AIDS awareness event in New Delhi were splashed across front pages. India is a country where sex and public displays of affection are largely taboo. *** In Mumbai, members of the right-wing Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena beat burning effigies of Gere with sticks and set fire to glamourous shots of Shetty.
And they blame the very generous of spirit and humble GWB for America’s rep….BS, I’m thinking.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:38 PM | Comments (1)
Unbelievable... Immigration Law Passed!
Mike writes us.....
Oklahoma TODAY just "OVERWHELMINGLY" passed the MOST EXTENSIVE immigration reform Bill in the nation....NO civil rights laws were violated...nothing in the bill can be appealed as it says NOTHING about illegals.....took some smart lawyers to word it that way. The rest of the nation can follow suit.....will fit ANY state. For details take this link.
Thank you Jesus......!!!!
HB 1804 :
*Empowers U.S. citizens to suspend local law enforcements illegal alien sanctuary policies.
*Law enforcement officers to check Homeland Security database for felons ID & cooperate with ICE.
*Employers to use the Pilot Program database to check for proof new employee is legally authorized to work in the U.S.
*Laws regarding employment for legal residents and U.S. citizens will be enforced.
*Welfare recipients to be U.S. citizens.
> > > > > ...and God bless Oklahoma!
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:29 PM | Comments (1)
Post Scripts is Flippant? Nay, say it isn't so!
Daniela writes to complain...
"I am terribly offended by your flippant comments about Hajib. I am not affiliated with any particular religion so I hold no biases. I do, however know a great deal about a diverse number of religions. Your are greatly mistaken about Hajib. Like all things in religion, it can be abused. However it IS NOT the sign of an oppressed woman. In ancient Assyria, wearing a Naqab, or veil, covering ones chin, mouth, and nose was a custom reserved for the social elite. Woman wearing the Naqab were rich and assumed to be too beautiful to look at, the the common person was not worthy enough to lie eyes on such beauty. Thus were the beginings of Hajib. Now it is seen as a mark of Islam. You can visably see that a woman is Muslim by her Hajib, therefore they are more pertinate than men are in advocating their religion. Wearing a Hajib is being modest in front of God and in front of the world. Muslims don't believe in being flashy and always being aware of what they say and hear so they always reflect a "God-like" attitude of peace, modesty, and charity. Hajib is also pushing your sexuality back so woman aren't defined by it but instead defined by their personality and intelligence. Unfortunetly many people write off woman in hajib as being oppressed and therefore inferior in intellegence... On a final note, men are not excluded from hajib. Their hajib consists of wearing pants that go past their knees, not wearing silk or gold, covering their chest and belly at all times, covering their shoulders, and not wearing form fitting clothing. Again, I am an Italian woman who has no particular religion. I am not saying these things because I have a bias. I simply speak the truth and wish others were more educated and less ignorant and intolerant to those things they know nothing about."
Editor's note: Ironically, ignorance and intolerance was the reason for our commentary on the hajib. You see Daniela, to most of the modern world, the hajib IS a sign of oppression to an underclass. We base this on the fact that women in a number of Muslim countries are subjected to severe scorn and corporal punishment at the hands of men if they fail to wear the hijab as they are ordered...that's ordered Daniela, not asked. That would be the ignorance and intolerance part. In some cases they have been murdered over it because they didn't follow orders, and we