Huge + Ego = Hugo.....As In Chavez.....The Rise And Impending Fall Of A Ruthless Dic....tator

One of the 2 main guys who inspired me to start my own blog is Aleksander Boyd, the other, Hugh Hewitt . Mr. Boyd who has lived for many of his 37 years in Venezuela and now lives in London as a writer and an e-activist, mainly a conservative, anti-Chavez mover and shaker. Boyd basically packed up his bags in London and moved back to Venezuela about 4 months prior to the 2006 Venezuelan Presidential elections to report daily on the happenings of the contest between Manuel Rosales and Thuggo Chavez. Because Chavez hid his Dictator intentions from the Venezuelan people, he hints at the coming revolt of Venezuelans who "didn't get what they voted for".

He writes........

Well folks, it seems I have been proved wrong... Some of you may think "this guy's a joke" and you could be right. However what seemed normal a month ago it no longer is, for for all intents and purposes Venezuela has become, a de facto dictatorship. No more pretenses, no more posturing, none of that. The all-chavista assembly approved yesterday in first 'discussion' -as if they discussed orders from the dictator- an all-encompasing enabling law, which in practical terms means that Hugo Chavez will govern by decree, ruling on nearly all aspects of the country for the next 18 months. The good thing about this is that from now on, in the literal sense, without hesitation or remorse, we can indulge in calling coupster Chavez as many times as we want a "democratically elected dictator"�, as he always wanted to be. It's official now. Also great to be able to describe Venezuela in its appropriate context as a non democratic country, ruled -by decree- by a militaristic dictator as some of us have maintained for years now.

No wonder why Chavez did not want to debate with Rosales his "proyecto-pais" during the campaign. This time round he was careful enough to conceal the true intentions behind his 'XXI Century Socialism'. Further Chavez's fast moves of late lead me to conclude that he knows something that most of us do not and is acting on it. His rapid actions may have to do with the purported number of votes cast in his favour. Someone high up in Rosales' campaign team said to me in confidence not long ago that an optimistic guess at the number of mesas having been supervised on election day by opposition witnesses pointed at 60%. If the total number of mesas was somewhere around 33,000 the percentage suggests that in 13,200 of them there was no one from the Rosales camp to ensure that the vote was carried out in transparent fashion. What if the race was much closer? What if the margin was not 3 million votes but a few thousands? We will never know, what I am positive about though is that not once during the campaign I heard Chavez saying that he was going to rule by decree come January. Not once. Just imagine this campaign promise:

"compatriots give me your vote and out of love I'll become a dictator, I'll dismiss those upon whom you put your trust in the legislative elections of December 2005 and rule by decree, without consulting you or any of your representatives for that matter, but fear not for this is only for 18 months, until 'XXI Century Socialism' is properly rooted in Venezuela."

Will that have gained him 7 million votes? Most definitely not. Further, why the sudden attack against RCTV? Could it be due to the fact that all official TV channels combined have less than a fifth of RCTV's audience? The dictator needs of communication outlets with reach; no use of having a myriad of grassroot radios, TV channels and Bolivarian 'CNNs' if no one watches, if the message does not reach its target audience, is there? Of greater preoccupation for the hegemon is the social status of RCTV's audience, for although satellite antennas are a common fixture in many ranchos in Caracas, people in that stratum do love their telenovelas, production of which RCTV excels at. The range of personalities depicted in programmes produced by RCTV are part of Venezuelans' idiosyncrasy. Is the dictator bent on changing the fabric and values of our society? You bet, his now public communist persona just proves the point. And I couldn't agree more with sycophant Eva Golinger who, from her ivory tower in Alta Florida, tells the world that this isn't about freedom of expression. It is not, rather it has to do with the dictator's needs of communicating effectively with his alleged constituency.

The radicalization of Chavez's dictatorship will only accelerate his political demise. Let him be, make sure of getting sufficient supplies of popcorn though, for as in Reservoir Dogs the show will end up being rojo, rojito...

Afternoon UPDATE: NewsMax reports........Thousands Fleeing Hugo Chavez's Venezuela

The vote was on December 3, 2006....look what's happening AFTER ONLY 59 DAYS!!

I only have about 2 minutes today, so I'll leave with this....................

TROOPS RESPOND TO CRITICISM OF THE WAR. A must-see video.

Today in History....January 30

On this day in …

1835, in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, President Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, survives the first attempt against the life of a U.S. president
1883, James Ritty and John Birch received a U.S. patent for the first cash register

1933, Adolf Hitler, ym"sh, became chancellor of Germany

1942, the last pre-war automobiles produced by Chevrolet and DeSoto rolled off the assembly lines today. Wartime restrictions had shut down the commercial automobile industry almost completely, and auto manufacturers were racing to retool their factories for production of military gear

1943, the British Royal Air Force begins a bombing campaign on the German capital that coincides with the 10th anniversary of Hitler's accession to power

1945, a vital supply route linking India to China through Burma is finally cleared for Allied military transports 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist

1968, during the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive began as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals

1969, perhaps the most influential musical group of all time, the Beatles make their last public performance, giving an impromptu concert on the roof of their London recording studio. Neighbors complained about noise, and police broke up the concert. John Lennon closed the performance announcing, "I'd like to say thank you very much on behalf of the group and myself and I hope we passed the audition." In April 1970, Paul McCartney formally announced the group's breakup

1972, 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers were shot to death by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as "Bloody Sunday"

1981, an estimated 2 million New Yorkers turned out for a ticker-tape parade honoring the freed American hostages from Iran

2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the U.S. would watch closely to see what Iraq, Iran and North Korea did next, a day after President Bush singled them out as part of a dangerous "axis of evil"

Yep, It's That Time Of The Year

LGF has this on the yearly ritual bloodbath for the Shiites

I'm guessing tackle football on asphalt ain't got shiite on this.

Here’s one of the all-time most disturbing Ashura images, from the 2003 festivities in Pakistan, as a man shows his grief over the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Mohammed, by whipping himself (and anyone stupid enough to get close) with a giant metal claw.

House of Saud vs. Iran … in Gaza

Stratfor suggests Saudi Arabia is opening a Palestinian front … against Iran:

Amid renewed and deadly clashes between Hamas and Fatah, Saudi King Abdullah on Sunday invited leaders of the two Palestinian factions to an urgent meeting at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, saying that there, they could negotiate “without any interference by outsiders.”

… King Abdullah … warned that the intra-Palestinian fighting, which has killed as many as 27 people in the last three days, “serves only the interests of the enemies of Islam and the Arabs.”

On the surface, it would appear that the “enemy” the king had in mind was Israel, but … if he only meant the infighting serves the interests of Israel, then reference to the “enemies of Islam” would have sufficed. But given the rest of his statement — “and Arabs” — it appears instead that he was referring to Iran. From a Saudi and Wahhabi point of view, the Shiite Iranians and their Arab allies are not true Muslims, and therefore can be lumped into the “enemies of Islam” category.

… the (Iranian National Security Chief Ali) Larijani meeting (with Hamas in Damascus last week) would be “foreign intervention” in Palestinian affairs, and with the invitation to Mecca, it seems the Saudis are attempting to pull Hamas clear of Iran’s orbit.

… Though it is unlikely that Hamas will be jettisoned, meteor-like, from the Iranian orbit in the immediate term, there are several reasons for it to respond with alacrity to the Saudi invite for fresh talks with Fatah. For one thing, there is the growing international pressure for Hamas, an Islamist movement, to formally recognize Israel. And then there has been the escalation in clashes with Fatah. Both issues are weakening Hamas’ standing among Palestinians, and agreeing to talks gives, at the very least, an appearance of action. At most, it will bring Hamas another opportunity to bring the security situation under control — without, of course, having to concede its position on the existence of Israel.

But because Fatah is pushing for just such a concession, any talks that take place in Mecca would be, almost by definition, moribund, and continued friction — along further acts in the regional Saudi-Iranian drama — seems assured.

Contrary to positions put forward by the Iraq Study Group and Tony Blair, as well as Iran and other Muslim parties, resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict is not the key to greater Mideast peace, and pinning any hopes of Iraq and other regional conflicts on that is to wish for failure.

That doesn’t mean the Palestinian conflict doesn’t provide leverage points. Any and all isolation of Iran at this point is a positive development, as we seek to isolate the mullahs and weaken them, in order to drive them out of Iraq, end their nuclear program and reduce the very active threat Iran now poses to the entire region’s stability. Because at this juncture it is the hamstringing of Iran, and not Israel, which is the key to Mideast peace.

It's the 1970's All Over Again

Kerry tells Davos: USA is an 'international pariah'... If you and other American conservatives weren't the only ones who thought that John Kerry's revolting display at Davos amounted to support for the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranians thought so too..... Nice Going Jonn

Today in History....January 29

On this day in …

1820, ten years after mental illness forced him to retire from public life, King George III, the British king who lost the American colonies, dies at the age of 82
1834, Andrew Jackson becomes the first president to use federal troops to quell labor unrest after the banks of the Potomac River erupted in violence, as workers on the then-unfinished Chesapeake and Ohio Canal rioted

1845, Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven," beginning "Once upon a midnight dreary," is published in the New York Evening Mirror

1936, the first members of baseball's Hall of Fame, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, were named in Cooperstown, N.Y.

1942, Britain and the USSR secure an agreement with Iran that offers the Iran protection while creating a "Persian corridor" for the Allies-a supply route from the West to Russia

1963, the first members of pro football's Hall of Fame were named in Canton, Ohio

1968, in his annual budget message, President Lyndon B. Johnson asks for $26.3 billion to continue the war in Vietnam, and announces an increase in taxes

1979, President Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House, following the establishment of diplomatic relations

1989, Global Motors, the American company that imported the Yugo, filed for bankruptcy. The Yugo was a Yugoslavian-made economy car that sold for thousands of dollars less than its nearest competitor. Its astonishingly low price made it a popular car for a few years in the mid-1980s, but the car's flaws soon became apparent. It was underpowered, unreliable, and, famously, you could punch holes in the body with a wooden pencil. The cars were also poorly warrantied

1997, threatened with lawsuits across the country, America Online agreed to give refunds to customers who weren't able to log on because of the overwhelming demand created by AOL's flat $19.95 per month rate

2002, in his first State of the Union address, President Bush said terrorists were still threatening America --- and he warned of "an axis of evil" consisting of North Korea, Iran and Iraq

Murtha and Pelosi in Iraq, How Pathetic Does That Sound? Actually It's Scary

Murtha and Pelosi are in Iraq and about to attack:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Murtha, both vocal war critics, were in the Iraqi capital Friday at the head of a delegation of House members on a fact-finding mission as the White House and Congress dueled over the expansion of U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Pelosi delegation visited the heavily fortified Green Zone, site of the American Embassy, and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"We come out of the meeting with a greater understanding of the others' point of view," Pelosi, D-Calif., said, in brief remarks after the meeting.

Pelosi has been a sharp critic of the Bush administration's conduct of the war and has led a drive in Congress against sending 21,500 more troops as part of a new security crackdown in Baghdad.

Expect a BIG - "Bring Them Home Now" - speech any hour, now.Murtha said this week that he did not have a particular timeline for withdrawal from Iraq but that the military could do it within 6 months.

21 Ways To Be A Good Liberal

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression, and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before the Federal National Foundation for the Arts Funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial, but being homosexual is natural.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of US federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but loony activists, who have never been outside of San Francisco do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make The Passion Of The Christ for financial gain only.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Edison.

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.

17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.

18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.

19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

20. You have to believe that illegal Democratic Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.

21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy

Today in History....January 26

On this day in …

1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. After overcoming a period of hardship, the fledgling colony began to celebrate the anniversary of this date with great fanfare
1838, the first Prohibition law in the history of the United States is passed in Tennessee, making it a misdemeanor to sell alcoholic beverages in taverns and stores

1841, Britain formally occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British

1861, Louisiana seceded from the Union

1870, Virginia rejoined the Union

1907, Congress passed the Tillman Act, which prohibited corporations from making direct campaign contributions to federal election candidates

1942, the first American expeditionary force to go to Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland

1945, Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland, freeing the survivors of the network of concentration camps-and finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there

1950, India officially proclaimed itself a republic as Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president

1962, the United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon --- but the probe missed its target by some 22,000 miles

1980, at the request of President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. Olympic Committee votes to ask the International Olympic Committee to cancel or move the upcoming Moscow Olympics. The action was in response to the Soviet military invasion of Afghanistan the previous month

1997, the Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots 35-21 to win their first Super Bowl in 29 years

2006, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador from Denmark to protest caricatures of Muhammad published in a Danish newspaper. (Protests spread across the Muslim world for weeks, and dozens of people were killed by practitioners of that "religion of peace")

Islam - Box Office Smash Hits

The list could be endless...from Gravelrash at Democracy Frontline......here ........

“Citizen Caned” - directed by Ayatolah Khomeini
“On the Warfront” - directed by Green Helmet Man
“From here to Eternity - Boom (the remix)” - a combined production of the Al-Qaeda network
“Taxi-driver - a how to film” - brought to you by HAMAS
“Gone with the Wind - a historical rememberance of the kufar” - Ummah Productions
“The Da Vinci codes” - Religious Authority of Rhiyad

Dick Cheney Shoots Down A Wolf

Dick Cheney makes Wolf Blitzer look like a classless idiot and a goof.

h/t Antone Walker from Seattle

Destroying the USA - Islam Style

First, convince american leadership you only want forces removed from arab lands. In the works

Second, invent islamic organizations that pretend to foster civil rights for muslims in america. Done

Third, use american open borders to infiltrate thousands of your terror cohorts into the country. Done

Fourth, convince russians to turn over 15 of the 100 suitcase nukes they possess on american soil. Done

Fifth, hit the 15 sites in country that will blind america to what is happenning beyond her borders. In the works.

Sixth, sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

Prediction (not Joe's), based on reasoned analysis, says america done by 2008, dead, end of story. Historians will one day point to this spineless american generation as the cause for the new dark age that soon enveloped the world.

h/t Big Jimbo

The Definition of Irony

Joseph Farah at World Net Daily has this......

What is the definition of irony?

It may come any day now when Fidel Castro dies – the victim of his highly touted system of socialized medicine in the worker's paradise of Cuba.

Even though Castro imported a doctor from Spain to treat his diverticulitis – an infection in the large intestine that rarely proves fatal in capitalist countries – the Communist dictator is said to be in grave condition following three failed surgeries.

It's not only irony, it's poetic justice.

U.S. doctors look with stunned amazement at the relatively simple health-care problem Castro faced and the results – a hospitalization that has continued since late July. They suggest that medical procedures on Castro were botched.

What is the definition of irony?

It may come any day now when Fidel Castro dies – the victim of his highly touted system of socialized medicine in the worker's paradise of Cuba.

Even though Castro imported a doctor from Spain to treat his diverticulitis – an infection in the large intestine that rarely proves fatal in capitalist countries – the Communist dictator is said to be in grave condition following three failed surgeries.

It's not only irony, it's poetic justice.

U.S. doctors look with stunned amazement at the relatively simple health-care problem Castro faced and the results – a hospitalization that has continued since late July. They suggest that medical procedures on Castro were botched.

I would suggest the doctors caring for Castro did everything they could to save him. We're just now learning the truth about Cuba's health-care system after decades of lies.

Socialists in this country have been holding up Cuba as a model for medical care. How many times have you heard this lie? Yet, the real proof is that the best of Cuba's medical establishment couldn't successfully treat Castro for a routine ailment after six months.

Is Hillary Clinton paying attention to this?

Is Nancy Pelosi watching?

Is Harry Reid understanding the significance of this amazing story?

Keep in mind, this is happening to the Comandante – not some sugar-cane harvesting peasant. It shows you just how bad socialized medicine gets. It atrophies to the point where it is incapable of healing, even when doctors' lives may depend upon it.

Without getting into the gory details of his illness, suffice it to say that diverticulitis causes bulges in the large intestines that get infected. The normal treatment is a colostomy, the removal of part of the intestine, the creation of an opening in the abdomen and the attachment of an external bag for the patient's excrement. A second operation is required to rejoin the intestine.

But Castro's medical brain trust, in consultation with the Patient in Chief, opted for a shorter procedure – one that led to a second infection and two more surgeries.

When Castro dies, it will likely be because toxins from his own sick body poisoned him.

But it is the toxic ideas of Castro that have taken their toll on his homeland of Cuba and spread through much of Latin America and the rest of the world. Despite his many crimes against humanity, Castro is still perceived throughout much of the Western world as a kind of harmless folk hero.

One of Castro's best-known slogans was "Socialism or death!" Many Cubans have asked, over the years of Castro's reign, "What's the difference?" Now, even Fidel will see it is no choice – they are one in the same.

No doubt there will be some who don't learn the obvious lesson from Castro's bout with socialized medicine. They will continue to insist it is a better way – a fairer system, a more equitable one, one that focuses on saving lives rather than profits.

Let me leave you with one last thought: When was the last time you heard of some wealthy sick guy who chose to go to Cuba for treatment rather than, say, the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins University?

It doesn't happen. It never will happen. The only people who believe Cuban medical care is equal to or superior to what we have in the United States are those who teach at universities, attend them or pay to see Michael Moore movies.

RIP, Fidel.

Rot in perdition.

The Pledge

If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.

Sign the Pledge

Money Shot

Now that's what I'm talking about

Our military gittin' er done.....a few f-bombs here and there.

Today in History....January 25

On this day in …

1776, the first national memorial is ordered by Congress. It was built in in honor of Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, who had been killed during an assault on Quebec on December 31, 1775
1905, at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa, a 3,106-carat diamond is discovered during a routine inspection by the mine's superintendent. Weighing 1.33 pounds, and christened the "Cullinan," it was the largest diamond ever found

1915, the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service

1919, in Paris, delegates to the peace conference formally approve the establishment of a commission on the League of Nations

1956, in a long interview with visiting American attorney Marshall MacDuffie, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev adopts a friendly attitude toward the United States and indicates that he believes President Dwight Eisenhower is sincere in his desire for peace

1959, American Airlines opened the jet age in the United States with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707

1961, President Kennedy held the first presidential news conference carried live on radio and television

1968, the Israeli submarine Dakar, carrying 69 sailors, passes the island of Crete and radioed its position --- then disappears. The exact fate of this vessel remains a mystery to this day

1971, Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate

1981, the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived in the United States

1997, responding to recent cases of deadly food poisoning, President Clinton said in his weekly radio address that he would seek $43 million dollars to implement a state-of-the-art early warning system for food contamination

2002, J. Clifford Baxter, a former Enron Corp. executive who'd reportedly complained about the company's questionable accounting practices, was found shot to death in a car, a suicide

2006, Hamas won a large majority of seats in Palestinian parliamentary elections

Hillbilly Deluxe

Now THIS is a truck, coming in at a cool $218,000, trailer included...."The Tail Gator".......they just took tailgating to a whole new level, check out all photos.....and if you want to watch a VERY cool show, check out Trick My Truck on CMT.

The "Tail Gator" goes for only $127,500, this International CXT is the world's largest pickup truck, 300hp I-6 diesel, 4 door, crew cab, dualie, leather interior and comes with a jacuzzi, the 36 foot Fleetwood Gearbox rolls in at $90,500

Vinbergstein, you or Brenyn ought to look into one of these baby's!

Today in History....January 24

On this day in …

1848, James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in northern California, a discovery that led to the gold rush of '49
1907, in Ormond Beach, Florida, Glenn Curtiss, an engineer who got his start building motors for bicycles, set an unofficial land-speed record on a self-built V-8 motorcycle on this day: 136.29mph. No automobile surpassed that speed until 1911

1908, the Boy Scouts movement begins in England with the publication of the first installment of Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys. The name Baden-Powell was already well known to many English boys, and thousands of them eagerly bought up the handbook. By the end of April, the serialization of Scouting for Boys was completed, and scores of impromptu Boy Scout troops had sprung up across Britain

1916, the Supreme Court handed down a decision ruling in favor of an amendment paving the way for the federal income tax. (The Constitution explicitly forbade direct taxation of citizens) 1924, the Russian city of Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg) was renamed Leningrad in honor of the late revolutionary leader (however, it has since been renamed St. Petersburg)

1943, President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill concluded a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco

1972, the Supreme Court struck down laws that denied welfare benefits to people who had resided in a state for less than a year

1978, a nuclear-powered Soviet satellite, Cosmos 954, plunged through Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated, scattering radioactive debris over parts of northern Canada

1987, gunmen in Lebanon, practitioners of that "religion of peace", kidnapped educators Alann Steen, Jesse Turner and Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh (all were eventually released)

1989, confessed serial killer Theodore Bundy was put to death in Florida's electric chair

2003, the new Department of Homeland Security officially opened as its head, Tom Ridge, was sworn in

Top Five Terrorist Organizations Hoping for a Failed Iraqi State

5. Al Qaeda - a new base of operations to replace Afghanistan is just what the Doctor (Zawahiri) ordered.

4. Hamas - since sugar daddy Saddam's necktie party, the brave jihadi babyhunters of Hamas could use some support.

3. Hezbollah - Hamas' Lebanese cousins would welcome a nice training/recruitment site.

2. The Mainstream Media - reporting from Iraq is expensive; the sooner the MSM can begin ignoring the inevitable Vietnam/style bloodbath they've worked so hard to bring about, the better for their profit margins.

1. The Democratic Party - ever an organization to sacrifice truth, justice, and the American way on the altar of political expediency, the donkeys haven't had so much fun since the glory days of the Ku Klux Klan.

h/t Jawa Report

The Rich Get Richer, Which Is Good

How's this.......in Las Vegas last August, our President/CEO threw down $500 on Chicago and $100 on Indianapolis to reach the Super Bowl, he picked Chicago to win it all. We shall see..........

A Little Tequila Etiquette, Factoids and Recommendations

From the land of the Mrs.....................

If it comes with a worm, it ain't tequila, that's mezcal, you knew that.

Drinking tequila with salt and a lime means you are more than likely drinking tequila that is not very good, and if you are drinking fine tequila with salt and a lime...........well, that's sort of like showing up to play golf at a fine country club with parachute pants on............dork city.

If you're drinking margarita's with a tequila that costs over $25-30 a bottle, you're wasting your dough. Stick with the clear (white tequila) and stay from the Gold tequila, it's gold because of caramel coloring.

A change of pace tequila drink - try your tequila with Squirt, it's refreshing, the folks down in Tequila, Jalisco drink 'em that way at carne asada's and get togethers. Another way is to add mineral water and a little sugar and a lime with the Squirt and tequila.

Tequila should be served in a special glass, called a Caballito (cah bah YEE toe) -- "Little horse" -- or tequillita (tay key YEE tah) which is slightly smaller in diameter than a shot glass and about two and a half times as tall. It will hold just about two shots of tequila.

Show your tequila nads and order a Batanga, this is what the locals drink in Tequila and my favorite watering hole in the world "La Capilla" (Little Chapel). In a tall glass fill up about 2/3 the way with large ice cubes, then a little over halfway with blanco (white) tequila then finish it off with mineral water and coca-cola and a lime.

Tequila factoids:

Herradura in Herradura tequila means "horseshoe". As you are driving NW out of Guadalajara toward Tequila about 30+ miles or so you will come to a hairpin curve that resembles the exact shape of a horseshoe, and is the location of the Herradura facility, hence the name of the super fine tequila. BTW, Herradura was recently sold to Brown-Forman, a large marketer and producer of fine goods, for a cool $776 million.

The town of Tequila sits at the base of an extinct volcano and the 2nd highest mountain in Jalisco and home to 17 manufacturing tequila facilities.

The part of the blue agave plant that produces the end result tequila is called a "piña" which resembles a pineapple is underground and typically weigh 60-90 pounds.

There may not be a finer aroma (except maybe a grilled steak) than the scent of the cooked piña that flows through the town of Tequila. It is a sweet, honey like aroma that you will find no where else in the world.

Jimadores are the men that tend to the blue agave plant who shear off the sharp "leaves" to get to the piña.

Jose Cuervo translated is Joe Crow.

Sammy Hagar's tequila Cabo Wabo is the real deal.

Just as true champagne can only be made in Champagne, France, true tequila can only be produced in the Tequila region of Mexico and must meet stringent government regulations. It is made in two general categories:

• Tequila 100 percent Agave: Must be made only with the juice of the blue agave plant and must be bottled at the distillery in Mexico. It may be Blanco, Reposado, or Añejo.

• Tequila: Must be made with at least 51 percent blue agave juices. It may be exported in bulk to be bottled in other countries following the NOM standard. It may be Blanco, Gold, Reposado, or Añejo.

NOM, the official Mexican product safety requirements, defines three types of tequila, blanco, reposado and añejo.

Recommended tequila's:

Blanco (Blanco tequila is not aged, and is clear and transparent and must be bottled immediately after distillation. It is the base for all the other types of tequilas. It has the true bouquet and flavor of the blue agave and is typically strong in alcohol content.):

Hacienda de Cristero
Patron
El Platino
Frida Kahlo
El Tesoro de Don Felipe
Cabo Wabo
Don Julio
Las Trancas
Chinaco

Reposado (sometimes called "rested": Blanco that is aged in white oak barrels or casks for more than two months and up to one year. A more mellow taste with a pale color.):

Chinaco (even though it is from Tamaulipus and not Tequila, Jalisco!)
Lapiz
Herradura Antiguo
Don Julio
La Rosa Reposado
Casa Noble
Hornito's (best bang for your buck)
Cuervo Tradicional
El Tequileño Especial

Añejo (sometimes called "aged": Blanco that is aged in white oak barrels or casks for more than one year, with each barrel capacity less than 159 gallons. The oxidation through the wood barrels gives it a unique bouquet and taste producing an amber color and more woody flavor.):

Herradura Selección Suprema
Oro Azul Artesanal
Don Julio
Frida Kahlo
Corazon
Chinaco

Quote of the Day

"Sen. Hillary Clinton declared this weekend, " I'm in to win." Anyone who has watched her remarkable trajectory can have no doubt that she'll do whatever it takes to win the presidency. I wish she felt the same way about the war." -- Liz Cheney

Today in History....January 23

On this day in …

1556, an earthquake in Shaanxi, China, with a magnitude of approximately 8.0 to 8.3, kills an estimated 830,000 people. The disaster is considered the deadliest of all time
1845, Congress decided all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November

1922, at Toronto General Hospital, 14-year-old Canadian Leonard Thompson becomes the first person to receive an insulin injection as treatment for diabetes. The diabetic teenager improved dramatically, and the University of Toronto immediately gave pharmaceutical companies license to produce insulin, free of royalties. By 1923, insulin had become widely available, saving countless lives around the world, and Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine

1941, Charles A. Lindbergh, a national hero since his nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Lend-Lease policy-and suggests that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Hitler, ym"sh

1950, the Israeli Knesset approved a resolution proclaiming Jerusalem the capital of Israel

1957, machines at the Wham-O toy company roll out the first batch of their aerodynamic plastic discs--now known to millions of fans all over the world as Frisbees

1964, the 24th amendment to the Constitution, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections, was ratified

1968, North Korea seized the U.S. Navy ship Pueblo, charging its crew with being on a spying mission. (The crew was released 11 months later.)

1973, President Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War

2002,


Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was abducted in Karachi, Pakistan, by a group of practitioners of that "religion of peace" demanding the return of prisoners from the Afghan campaign; he was later beheaded


John Walker Lindh, a U.S.-born Taliban fighter, was returned to the United States to face criminal charges that he'd conspired to kill fellow Americans

Global Warming Forgot About Arizona

As a native Phoenix, Arizonan I would have to say that I'm glad for this global warming thing, in my few years on this planet, it has snowed here in Phoenix only a handful of times.....and yesterday there was snow in Arizona. I can't imagine what it must have been like 100, 200, 300 years ago, I bet the Phoenix area was much like the northeast is today. Al Gore, what a genius, you know....the internet and all.

You're Starving For Attention....And Cash

Chavez: Got to hell gringo's!'

This was a no-brainer to post......could have fun with this one......but I figure the photo above pretty much sums it up. I cherish the day when your fellow countrymen finally figure out that they're getting royally screwed and they call for your head.

Chavez’s real problem is the plummeting price of oil. He developed his power base and strategic plans around a huge cash flow funding his programs from that oil back when it was $75+ and going up. He believed the hype of a permanent $100+ world oil economy, and now is starting to get starved for cash.

As with Castro in the 50’s, give him ten years of rule with no ability to grow his economy or develop new key economic activities (due to an understandable reluctance of capital to invest where the capriciousness of the ruling government could lose your entire investment at a whim), and then let’s talk about how powerful and influential he really is.

He is grabbing the dictatorial powers now, because in ten years even his own county won’t be so enamored with him, I am willing to bet.

Emma's Run

Early last year, a co-worker of mine and friend Abby Simpkins lost their 6 year old daughter and youngest child, Emma, in a tragic accident in the driveway of their home in Anthem, just a shade north of Phoenix, AZ. Bill and Abby have 3 boys. In her memoriam, Abby, her husband Bill and a group that puts on running events are putting on a 5K run in Anthem this March 31. This event will coincide with the yearly “Anthem Days” event. All proceeds are going to an organization called “We Care in Anthem”, this is a great organization run by great people who work for free that helps out families in a time of real need, such as Bill and Abby’s family.











Runners - you can register for the run here ANTHEM DAYS (EMMA'S RUN) Register here.
Non Runners and Family - If you would like to get a shirt from this event just register on-line just as if you are running in the race. Cost is $18.

Thank you.

Today in History....January 22

On this day in …

1905, in Russia, the revolution of 1905 begins when czarist troops open fire on a peaceful group of workers marching to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to petition their grievances to Czar Nicholas II. Some 500 protesters were massacred on "Bloody Sunday," setting off months of protest and disorder throughout Russia.
1912, Florida East Coast Railroad opened, running between Key West and the mainland. The railroad closed in 1935. Three years later, the roadway was paved, bringing automotive traffic to the Florida Keys for the first time

1957, suspected "Mad Bomber" George P. Metesky was arrested in Waterbury, Conn. (He was later found mentally ill and committed to a mental hospital until 1973.)

1973, the Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion

1980, in Moscow, Andrei Dmitriyevich Sakharov, the Soviet physicist who helped build the USSR's first hydrogen bomb, is arrested after criticizing the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. He was subsequently stripped of his numerous scientific honors and banished to remote Gorky

1982, in a revival of the diplomacy "linkages" that were made famous by Henry Kissinger during the Nixon years, the administration of President Ronald Reagan announces that further progress on arms talks will be linked to a reduction of Soviet oppression in Poland. The U.S. ploy was but one more piece of the increasingly complex jigsaw puzzle of nuclear arms reduction

1987, Pennsylvania treasurer R. Budd Dwyer, convicted of defrauding the state, proclaimed his innocence at a news conference before shooting himself to death in front of horrified spectators

2002,


Kmart Corp., the discount chain that gave America the BlueLight Special, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection


Jack Shea, a gold medal-winning speedskater and patriarch of the nation's first family with three generations of Olympians, died in Lake Placid, N.Y., of injuries suffered in a car accident; he was 91

Thuggo Chavez....D-I-C-T-A-T-O-R

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's National Assembly gave initial approval Thursday to a measure that would let President Hugo Chavez enact laws by decree for 1 1/2 years, a key step in what the leftist calls an accelerating march toward socialism.

"This process is unstoppable," lawmaker Juan Montenegro Nunez told the National Assembly. "This process is a historic necessity."

Law Makes Hugo Chavez a Dictator .......of course.

Joe Prognosticator

2007 Superbowl prediction - Indianapolis vs New Orleans

Which translates to New England vs Chicago

Barack Hussein Obama.........Apostate

Once a Muslim, always a Muslim, at least that's what the Arabs and Muslims believe. Obama is a born again Christian, apostate in the eyes of Muslims and what is the penalty for apostacy?

Death.


Move ahead 2 years to the Presidential election in 2008, while I don't think he has a chance to become President, what if he did? You think the United States is the Great Satan in the eyes of Islamists now, what do you think the Islamists, especially radical Islamists would react at having Barack Hussein Obama, the apostate from Islam as the leader of the free world? Throw in his chain smoking habit and past drug habit and you're talking a rebel extreme in the eyes of muslims and a full blown ji-freakin'-had with constant death threats against him.

Would Democrats then understand what we're up against, that we are fighting what is the original World War that started back in the 7th century and the birth of Islam?

ADDENDUM: The audacity of apostasy: Barack Obama’s Muslim links:
http://www.brookesnews.com/070801obama_print.html

h/t The American Thinker

One of my fav's, brainiac Michael Medved has a funny little piece, What Gender is a Computer?

Today in History....January 19

On this day in …

1861, Georgia seceded from the Union
1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in seven hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds

1944, the federal government relinquished control of the nation's railroads following settlement of a wage dispute

1950, the People's Republic of China bestows diplomatic recognition upon the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Communist China's official recognition of Ho Chi Minh's communist regime resulted in much needed financial and military assistance in Ho's battle against the French in Vietnam, and also pushed the United States to take a more intensive and active role in the conflict in Southeast Asia

1953, episode #56, “Lucy Goes to the Hospital,” of hit 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy airs for the first time. The episode, in which Lucy Ricardo, famously played by Lucille Ball, gives birth to a son, was one of the most popular in television history. Forty-four million viewers, a full 72 percent of all U.S. homes with a television, tuned in; only 29 million viewers had watched President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s televised inauguration the previous night

1955, a presidential news conference was filmed for television for the first time, with the permission of President Eisenhower

1977, in one of his last acts of office, President Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D'Aquino ("Tokyo Rose"), an American who'd made wartime broadcasts for Japan

1997, Yasser Arafat, ym"sh, returned to Hebron for the first time in more than 30 years, joining 60,000 Palestinians in celebrating the handover of Judaism's second holiest city, and the last West Bank town, from Israeli control

2002, Israeli troops set off a powerful explosion that gutted the official Palestinian broadcasting building, dealing a blow to Yasser Arafat, ym"sh, and the Palestinian Authority. The move followed yet another suicide bomber practicing his "religion of peace"

- Now this is what I call fun, 54 seconds in length.

- It's a disease I guess, Democratic "intelligence" chief was for the surge before he was against it.

Mark Steyn Responds On France/Europe's Birth Decline Challenge - Read This For A Wake-Up Call

I'm just about finished with America Alone - The End Of The World As We Know It by Mark Steyn. This is a great serious read, funny as well, the main theme is much of what we loosely call the Western world will not survive this century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most Western European countries. Mark Steyn believes that birth rates in Europe are such that in a very, very short time the Continent's Muslim immigrants will outnumber the indigenous populations of Spanish, French, Dutch and so on—and that this is not a good thing. What really matters though is why this is happening. Steyn believes that this demographic decline (in which nominally Christian Europeans have negative birth rates and Muslim immigrants have positive ones) is joined with economic stagnation due to welfare-state policies and spiritual malaise due to rampant secularism to produce nothing short of doom for much of the Old World. As he writes: “By 2050, 60 percent of Italians will have no brothers, no sisters, no cousins, no aunts, no uncles.”

Yowsa. Steyn responds when challenged on the DECLINE of birthrates in France:

Au contraire, I think France’s rising fertility rate is confirmation of my thesis – that native Europeans have given up breeding and Islam is inheriting the Continent by default. If that’s the case, then as Muslims increase as a percentage of the population so that country’s fertility rate will improve.

Do Muslims generally correlate with healthy birth rates in Europe? Yes. The only nations on the continent breeding at replacement rate are Turkey, Azerbaijan and Albania.

Do significant minorities of Muslims improve fertility rates? Yes. Of all those Continental nations below replacement-rate fertility, the top breeders are the Macedonians, whose population is 30% Muslim, which happens to be the largest Muslim minority in a European nation. [I’ve excluded war-ravaged Bosnia from the analysis, as, pace Derbyshire, rubble causes (statistical) trouble.]

Well, okay, forget Macedonia and stick to western Europe.

Which country has the healthiest fertility rate? France.

Which country has the most Muslims? France.

Which country has the second healthiest fertility rate on the western end of the Continent? Denmark.

Which country has the second largest proportion of Muslims? Denmark.

Get the picture? Take France and its neighbors and rank them in order of healthiest fertility rates (2005 official Eurostat figures):

1) France
2) Netherlands
3) Belgium
4) Switzerland
5) Austria
6) Germany
7) Italy
8) Spain

Now rank them in order of highest proportion of Muslims (no central source, but compiled from national data, European Muslim groups, UN and State Dept figures):

1) France
2) Netherlands
3) Belgium
4) Switzerland
5) Austria
6) Germany
7) Italy
8) Spain

Hmm.

A Little Gay Nukey Nukey

Mackkkkmooood Ahm-hot-for-a-jihad and Bolivias President Evo Morales getting touchy feely. Notice the hand positions....maybe Mackmooood is doing a little comparison?

First off, would you EVER see guys like Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Chuck Norris or Pat Tillman sitting next to another man in a pose like this?

Yaaaawwnnnn....................... Iran warns it's ready for nuke standoff .....again. Try this.......
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070118/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear

Hmmmm......linkage problems...

You better hurry......... 'cause Iranian Politicians Threaten to Wipe Ahmadinejad From Map
try this..... http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2007/01/soaring-inflation-unemployment-may-wipe.html

H/T - Vinstein and GatewayPundit

Today in History....January 18

On this day in …

1778, English navigator Capt. James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, which he dubbed the "Sandwich Islands"
1803, Thomas Jefferson requests funding from Congress to finance the Lewis and Clark expedition. Jefferson officially asked for $2,500 in funding from Congress, though some sources indicate the expedition ultimately cost closer to $50,000

1912, English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had beaten them to it. (Scott and his party perished during the return trip.)

1919, the Paris Peace Conference, held to negotiate peace treaties ending World War I, opened in Versailles, France

1943,


During World War II, the Soviets announced they'd broken through the long Nazi siege of Leningrad (it was another year before the siege was fully lifted)

The deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to the concentration camp at Treblinka is resumed-but not without much bloodshed and resistance along the way

A wartime ban on the sale of pre-sliced bread in the U.S. -- aimed at reducing bakeries' demand for metal replacement parts -- went into effect
1950, People's Republic of China formally recognizes the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam and agrees to furnish it military assistance; the Soviet Union extended diplomatic recognition to Hanoi on January 30. China and the Soviet Union provided massive military and economic aid to North Vietnam, which enabled North Vietnam to fight first the French and then the Americans

1990, at the end of a joint sting operation by FBI agents and District of Columbia police, Mayor Marion Barry is arrested and charged with drug possession and the use of crack, a crystalline form of cocaine

2002, two Israeli tanks and an armored personnel carrier parked outside the headquarters of Yasser Arafat, ym"sh, confining the terrorist to his office complex a day after a Palestinian gunman burst into a banquet hall and gunned down six Israelis

Democrats: Pull Out....Quagmire....No Progress Made....The Sky Is Falling......Bush Lied.....But It's A Peaceful Religion....We're Gay.....Aaaaaahhhh!

Meanwhile they are busy trying to figure out every way to lose this "War for the Free World", a A "mini-Disneyland" is getting ready to open in Erbil, Iraq. GatewayPundit has this:

In what has to be one of the surest signs that a return to normalcy is on the agenda for Northern Iraqis, Kurdish businessman Malashin Barzani, a member of Northern Iraqi leader Mesud Barzani's clan, has purchased the formerly Istanbul-based amusement park "Tatilya."

Barzani's purchase of Tatilya was for 1.1 million dollars, and adds yet one more level of intricacy to the growing infrastructure of the Northern Iraqi region, which now boasts universities, ministry buildings, customs offices, and a parliament. And thus Tatilya, billed for years as being the largest amusement park in Europe under one roof, is now located in Erbil.

This goes along with Bryan Preston's Point #7 on opening schools and creating stability in Iraq.

And They're Off....

(click to enlarge)

Now that Barack Hussein Obama has announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination, things are starting to heat up. According to Dick Morris, none of the top tier Republican contenders for the nomination in 2008 are going to make it to the finish line. I don't quite agree with him, but hell, he's a lot older than me and and has been in Washington D.C. a long time and worked with the craftiest of them all, Bill/Hillary Clinton, I like Newt/Romney or Tancredo:

"I think you’ll see one of the minor leaguers win it [the GOP nomination],” Morris told Fox News Channel.

Morris thinks the leading Republican candidates – Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich – are "too flawed” to win the hearts and votes of conservatives in the early primaries.

"The top four candidates for the Republican nomination can’t win,” Morris said. "Rudy Giuliani, John McCain . . . Romney with all of the flip-flops on abortion and Newt Gingrich, who I don’t think gets into it.”

That leaves a cast of lesser-known Republicans in line for a surprise run toward the nomination.

"I think that the Republican nominee is going to be one of these minor leaguers: [Tom] Tancredo, [Mike] Huckabee, [Sam] Brownback, [Jim] Gilmore from Virginia, Duncan Hunter from California,” Morris said. "It’s like the pitching rotation is all going to be injured at the World Series and the Triple –A pitching staff, one of them is going to pitch the opening game.”


A Small Dose of Reality puts his 2 cents worth in regarding Tier 2 (for the moment) candidate Tom Tancredo:

Probably the only true conservative of the bunch. I believe he means what he says and says what he means. With no dominant Republican candidate and no serving Vice President seeking the nomination, the field is wide open. That is in addition to the fact that a lot of Republicans have turned wishy washy to try to keep their Senate and House seats. Finally I frankly think a lot of Republicans are afraid of Hillary. Tancredo is not. I recommend you research his record, listen to what he has to say and tell your friends about Tom Tancredo.

"I believe that what we are fighting here is not just a small group of people who have hijacked a religion, but it is a civilization bent on destroying ours."
Tom Tancredo

Today in History....January 17

On this day in …

1893, Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate
1917, the United States paid Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands

1945,


Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II

Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews, disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody
1946, The United Nations Security Council held its first meeting

1949, the Goldbergs debuts as television's first situation comedy. The show ran until 1954

1950, a team of 11 thieves, in a precisely timed and choreographed strike, steals more than $2 million from the Brinks Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts. The Great Brinks Robbery, as it quickly became known, was the almost perfect crime. Only days before the statute of limitations was set to expire on the crime, the culprits were finally caught

1961, in his farewell address, President Eisenhower warned against the rise of "the military-industrial complex."

1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the private use of home video cassette recorders to tape TV programs did not violate federal copyright laws

1994, 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 60 people and causing $20 billion in damage

1995, more than 6,000 people were killed when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 devastated the city of Kobe, Japan

1997, a court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country's history

1998, President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil suit when he answered questions from lawyers for Paula Jones, who had accused Clinton of s exu al harassment

2001, faced with an electricity crisis, California used rolling blackouts to cut off power to hundreds of thousands of people

2006, the Supreme Court protected Oregon's assisted-suicide law, ruling that doctors there who helped terminally ill patients die could not be arrested under federal drug laws

Muslim Democrat Keith Ellison Done Outsmarted Himself

The erudite Vinberg of Scottsdale sent this to me.

Keith Ellison, who was born in Detroit and converted to Islam while in college, said he chose to use Jefferson's Quran because it showed that "a visionary like Jefferson" believed that wisdom could be gleaned from many sources.

Damn straight Thomas Jefferson was a visionary. Ellison should have looked a little deeper into Thomas Jefferson before making this comment. Jefferson was President from 1801-09, took it upon himself to obtain a Quran so he could understand Islam and the Muslim world. So what did Jefferson learn from the Quran? …Unless a nation submitted to Islam, whether it was the aggressor or not, that nation was by definition at war with Islam. It's no wonder that Jefferson studied the Quran. He realized that if Americans ever capitulated, the Muslims would be singing 'From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of A-mer-i-ca'.

During the Jefferson administration, the Muslim Barbary States, crumbling as a result of intense American naval bombardment and on shore raids by Marines, finally officially agreed to abandon slavery and piracy.

Jefferson's victory over the Muslims lives on today in the Marine Hymn, with the line, "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, we will fight our country's battles on the land as on the sea."

It wasn't until 1815 that the problem was fully settled by the total defeat of all the Muslim slave trading pirates.

Jefferson had been right. The "medium of war" was the only way to put and end to the Muslim problem. Mr. Ellison was right about Jefferson. He was a "visionary" wise enough to read and learn about the enemy from their own Muslim book of jihad.

Democrat Keith Ellison is now officially the first Muslim United States congressman. True to his pledge, he placed his hand on the Quran, the Muslim book of jihad and pledged his allegiance to the United States during his ceremonial swearing-in.

Capitol Hill staff said Ellison's swearing-in photo opportunity drew more media than they had ever seen in the history of the U.S. House. Ellison represents the 5th Congressional District of Minnesota.

The Quran Ellison used was no ordinary book. It once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and one of America's founding fathers. Ellison borrowed it from the Rare Book Section of the Library of Congress. It was one of the 6,500 Jefferson books archived in the library.

Ellison, who was born in Detroit and converted to Islam while in college, said he chose to use Jefferson's Quran because it showed that "a visionary like Jefferson" believed that wisdom could be gleaned from many sources.

There is no doubt Ellison was right about Jefferson believing wisdom could be "gleaned" from the Muslim Quran.
At the time Jefferson owned the book, he needed to know everything possible about Muslims because he was about to advocate war against the Islamic "Barbary" states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli.

Ellison's use of Jefferson's Quran as a prop illuminates a subject once well-known in the history of the United States, but, which today, is mostly forgotten - the Muslim pirate slavers who over many centuries enslaved millions of Africans and tens of thousands of Christian Europeans and Americans in the Islamic "Barbary" states.

Over the course of 10 centuries, Muslim pirates cruised the African and Mediterranean coastline, pillaging villages and seizing slaves.

The taking of slaves in pre-dawn raids on unsuspecting coastal villages had a high casualty rate. It was typical of Muslim raiders to kill off as many of the "non-Muslim" older men and women as possible so the preferred "booty" of only young women and children could be collected.

Young non-Muslim women were targeted because of their value as concubines in Islamic markets. Islamic law provides for the sexual interests of Muslim men by allowing them to take as many as four wives at one time and to have as many concubines as their fortunes allow.

Boys, as young as 9 or 10 years old, were often mutilated to create eunuchs who would bring higher prices in the slave markets of the Middle East. Muslim slave traders created "eunuch stations" along major African slave routes so the necessary surgery could be performed. It was estimated that only a small number of the boys subjected to the mutilation survived after the surgery.

When American colonists rebelled against British rule in
1776, American merchant ships lost Royal Navy protection.
With no American Navy for protection, American ships were attacked and their Christian crews enslaved by Muslim pirates operating under the control of the "Dey of Algiers"--an Islamist warlord ruling Algeria.

Because American commerce in the Mediterranean was being destroyed by the pirates, the Continental Congress agreed in
1784 to negotiate treaties with the four Barbary States.
Congress appointed a special commission consisting of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, to oversee the negotiations.

Lacking the ability to protect its merchant ships in the Mediterranean, the new America government tried to appease the Muslim slavers by agreeing to pay tribute and ransoms in order to retrieve seized American ships and buy the freedom of enslaved sailors.

Adams argued in favor of paying tribute as the cheapest way to get American commerce in the Mediterranean moving again.
Jefferson was opposed. He believed there would be no end to the demands for tribute and wanted matters settled "through the medium of war." He proposed a league of trading nations to force an end to Muslim piracy.

In 1786, Jefferson, then the American ambassador to France, and Adams, then the American ambassador to Britain, met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the "Dey of Algiers" ambassador to Britain.

The Americans wanted to negotiate a peace treaty based on Congress' vote to appease.

During the meeting Jefferson and Adams asked the Dey's ambassador why Muslims held so much hostility towards America, a nation with which they had no previous contacts.

In a later meeting with the American Congress, the two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja had answered that Islam "was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Quran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."

For the following 15 years, the American government paid the Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. The payments in ransom and tribute amounted to 20 percent of United States government annual revenues in 1800.

Not long after Jefferson's inauguration as president in
1801, he dispatched a group of frigates to defend American interests in the Mediterranean, and informed Congress.

Declaring that America was going to spend "millions for defense but not one cent for tribute," Jefferson pressed the issue by deploying American Marines and many of America's best warships to the Muslim Barbary Coast.

The USS Constitution, USS Constellation, USS Philadelphia, USS Chesapeake, USS Argus, USS Syren and USS Intrepid all saw action.

In 1805, American Marines marched across the dessert from Egypt into Tripolitania, forcing the surrender of Tripoli and the freeing of all American slaves.

During the Jefferson administration, the Muslim Barbary States, crumbling as a result of intense American naval bombardment and on shore raids by Marines, finally officially agreed to abandon slavery and piracy.

Jefferson's victory over the Muslims lives on today in the Marine Hymn, with the line, "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, we will fight our country's battles on the land as on the sea."

It wasn't until 1815 that the problem was fully settled by the total defeat of all the Muslim slave trading pirates.

Jefferson had been right. The "medium of war" was the only way to put and end to the Muslim problem. Mr. Ellison was right about Jefferson. He was a "visionary" wise enough to read and learn about the enemy from their own Muslim book of jihad.

Barry G. at A Small Dose of Reality has some nice insight check out Racial Bias Unrelated to Prison Overcrowding

A little eye-opener.

Today in History....January 16

On this day in …

1920, Prohibition began in the United States as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)
1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London

1945, Adolf Hitler, ym"sh, takes to his underground bunker, where he remains for 105 days until he commits suicide

1953, The Chevrolet Corvette was introduced as a show car at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The car became an American classic almost instantly

1957, three B-52's (accompanied at first by two spare aircraft) took off from Castle Air Force Base in California on the first nonstop, round-the-world flight by jet planes, which lasted 45 hours and 19 minutes

1964, the musical "Hello, Dolly!" opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances

1969, an agreement is reached in Paris for the opening of expanded peace talks. It was agreed that representatives of the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front would sit at a circular table without nameplates, flags or markings

1979, faced with an army mutiny and violent demonstrations against his rule, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the leader of Iran since 1941, is forced to flee the country. Fourteen days later, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of the Islamic revolution, returned after 15 years of exile and took control of Iran

1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait

1997, Israeli soldiers dismantled their military headquarters in Hebron, marking the beginning of the end of Israel's 30-year-old rule over Judaism's second most holy city

2002, Richard Reid was indicted in Boston on federal charges alleging he'd tried to blow up a U.S.-bound jetliner with explosives hidden in his shoes

2003, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off with Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. (The mission ended in tragedy on Feb. 1, when the shuttle burned up during its return, killing all seven crew members.)

Off The Current Events Path

Went yesterday to the P.F. Changs Rock 'n Roll Marathon in Phoenix/Tempe , ahh...try this...http://www.rnraz.com/home.html to watch a friend and co-worker, Abby Simpkins, compete and finish (hopefully......and she did) in the marathon. She's an awesome person, in coping with loss of their 6 year old daughter last year in a tragic accident, she has turned to running. Abby finished and it was great to see her compete and complete despite having severe knee pain.

I took the Mrs. and 3 kids, we hung out, there were bands all over the place and I'm guessing, 150,000 people there, lots of fun despite the cold.... sunny and in the 40's, topping off at 51 degrees. It was the first time for me witnessing a marathon and I've got to tell you, very inspiring. People from ALL walks of life, young and old, fightin' and running like hell to finish.....very cool to see, the finish line at a marathon is very cool.

As we were leaving, about 1/4 mile or so from the finish line at about the 6 hour 30 minute mark, there was a group of about 15 people with yellow shirts with the letters "NF" coming down to the end, they looked to be a support group for a guy with a walker who you could tell was handicapped and struggling with every step. Everyone lining the streets was yelling, clapping, many people with tears in their eyes and encouraging him on, definitely one of those moments that'll put a lump in your throat and send chills all over your body.

I get home and finish reading the paper and see this article:

In the long run, my friend Pete is the true winner in life

It starts off............Somewhere in the sea of 39,000 runners in the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon races today will be the bravest, most selfless guy I've ever known.If you're out there, look for him.

The truth is, Peter Dingeman is not difficult to pick out of a crowd. The disease that has plagued Pete for as long as I have known him, over 40 years, has disfigured the side of his face a bit.

Well, more than a bit. He has endured more than 24 surgeries in his lifetime to fight the effects of neurofibromatosis, or NF, as it's known, and the NF tumors have been cruel to the side of Pete's face. In one of the more recent surgeries, doctors drilled holes in his skull and sewed his eyelid to the bone to keep it from drooping. It worked OK for a while.

Read the rest.

Although I've had a few surgeries on my right knee, I've got it figured out......... mix in 16 - 20 miles worth of running with 6-10 miles worth of fast walking and I can finish that sucker in around 4.5 hours.....the Mrs. already started training........last night when we got home................damn. ;-)

The Real Question That Never Gets Answered

Some of us want to beat Al Qaeda first and foremost. Some of us want to beat Republicans first and foremost, so they can respond proudly when their children ask, "Daddy, what did you do in the War Against Bush?"

Here's a chick with a pair.........an excerpt from CNN today on "Reliable Sources" with UPI reporter Pamela Hess:

KURTZ: Pam Hess, has the sending of 20,000 additional troops gotten a fair hearing in the media or has it gotten caught up in this wrenching, emotional debate about whether the war itself was a mistake?

PAM HESS: I think it's gotten caught up about it, and the debate about it is actually all wrong. What reporters know and what Martha says is that 20,000 really isn't that big -- isn't that big a jump. We're at 132,000 right now. It's going to put us even less that we had going in going across the line.

What we're not asking is actually the central question. We're getting distracted by the shiny political knife fight. What we need to be asking is, what happens if we lose? And no one will answer that question. If we lose, how are we going to mitigate the consequences of this?

It's so much easier for us to cover this as a political horse race. It's on the cover of "The New York Times" today, what this means for the '08 election. But we're not asking the central national security question, because it seems that if as a reporter you do ask the national security question, all of a sudden you're carrying Bush's water. There are national security questions at stake, and we're ignoring them and the country is getting screwed.

Better that the story should be missed, and the country screwed, than that a reporter might look unacceptably friendly to Bush!

How about an occasional story about the actual war itself, and the consequences of losing it?

And this......

What if U.S. just pulled out of Iraq?

Today in History....January 15

On this day in …

1777, the people of New Connecticut declared their independence. (The tiny republic later became the state of Vermont.)
1782, Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris went before Congress to deliver a report on the young nation's finances. Morris recommended establishing a national mint and outlined plans for decimal coinage

1909, motorized hearse was used for the first time in a Chicago funeral procession by funeral director H.D. Ludlow. It was a sharp break with tradition: stately horse-drawn hearses had been in use for centuries

1919, fiery hot molasses floods the streets of Boston on this day in 1919, killing 21 people and injuring scores of others. The molasses burst from a huge tank at the United States Industrial Alcohol Company building in the heart of the city

1933, after nearly a century of cooperative living, the utopian Amana colonists of Iowa begin using U.S. currency for the first time

1943, work was completed on the Pentagon, now the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense

1967, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League 35-10 in the first Super Bowl (although the matchup was then officially called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game)

1976, Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Ford in San Francisco

1997, a bitterly divided Israeli Cabinet agreed to withdraw troops from most of Hebron and rural West Bank areas, approving an accord wrapped up hours earlier by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat, ym"sh

2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft said that John Walker Lindh, the 20-year-old Californian who had fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan, would be charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and could face life in prison if convicted. (Lindh received a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty to supplying services to the Taliban and carrying explosives in commission of a felony.)

Joe Photographer

I know these have made the email rounds, but don't get tired of lookin at 'em. Lenticular clouds, technically known as altocumulus standing lenticularis, are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes, normally aligned at right-angles to the wind direction.




not mine BTW

Soccer star David Beckham signs with Los Angeles team for 5 years and $250 Million...

That's $50 Million/year..........HALF of what Tiger Woods makes/year.

Next Phase of the Koran-toons?

Truth is Iran is an 8 pound gorilla. It's our liberal left wing media that adds the other 792 pounds to the illusion.

Same as with Iraq and everywhere else in the world were we have enemies. Get rid of the liberal media and 90% of the problem goes away. Turn loose our great military and 110% of the problem goes away. It's our liberal media and liberal politicians that are destroying the world.

As Winston Churchill Once Said.....

"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in a word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without total victory there can be no survival.”


Memo to the Democrats, losing is not an option, pulling out of Iraq is not an option, stepping up with more force and tougher engagement tactics is what's in store. The time is now to crush the enemy, bust some serious a$$ and provide stabilization in the M.E. in this War for the Free World.


The Shia hate the Sunni and vice versa, the militant Shiites hate the fundamentalist Shiites, Hezbollah, Fatah, Hamas, Baathists, Wahhabists hate the US, and really, really hate Israel, well everybody hates Israel except conservatives, the Sunni Arab states are increasingly worried by the military alliance between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, these Sunni Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, seek American help against the rising power of the growing militant Shiite movement, Iran is the main enemy of Sunni Arab states........this is a frickin' hornest nest in the Middle East.

The road to the stabilization of Iraq goes through Iran, and for the regime in Iran, their days are numbered. They are numbered because we (IMO), the USA will give Israel the green light to destroy Iran's nuclear arms program, or we will do it. Removing a nuclear Iran from the equation is the key to isolating and defeating the terrorist, insurgent squads that are Shiite Islamist allies.

Finally, what goes unreported is that nearly 100 rockets have been fired on Israel since the so-called ceasefire agreement was announced in lat November. Israel has maintained its policy of not retaliating in order to honor the agreement.

I betcha something happens pretty soon to some nuke facilities.

Only in Nork-land

North Korea Seeks Giant Rabbits for Meat Production to Alleviate Food Shortage.

True Colors Come Out

H/T Serendip, excellent blog BTW.

The Professional Greiving Media Whore, Cindy Sheehan refuses to visit Cuban political prisoners even after being asked by the wives of political prisoners there to see what real abuse is, instead, she opts to visit prisoners at Guantanamo to see the abuse of 3 square meals a day, excellent medical attention (colonoscopy's for the over 50 crowd of terrorists, prayer rooms provided 5x a day, etc.

Did Jew Know? Part 4

Via IsreallyCool, I bet you didn't know he was a Jew.

Today's Jew:

-Had made 39 movies by 2006, with only two of those 39 recording losses
-Has both a species of spider and ant named after him
-Wasn't the first choice actor for either of his two most famous characters
-Has received just one Oscar nomination during his career
-Has made films that have earned, in total, approximately 6 billion US dollars in box offices worldwide
-Had a divorce that turned out to be the most expensive in the history of Hollywood

And the mystery Jew is... more »

Today in History....January 12

On this day in …

1773, the first public museum in America was established, in Charleston, S.C.
1900, the Detroit Automobile Company finished its first commercial vehicle, a delivery wagon. The wagon was designed by a young engineer named Henry Ford, who had produced his own first motorcar, the quadricycle, before joining the company

1915, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote

1932, Hattie W. Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate


1942, President Roosevelt re-established the National War Labor Board

1945, during World War II, Soviet forces began a huge offensive against the Germans in Eastern Europe

1966, President Johnson said in his State of the Union address that the U.S. should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there was ended

1984, an international panel overseeing the restoration of the Great Pyramids in Egypt overcomes years of frustration when it abandons modern construction techniques in favor of the method employed by the ancient Egyptians

1986, the shuttle Columbia blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz

1987, Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite arrived in Lebanon on his latest mission to win the release of four Western hostages being held by practitioners of that "religion of peace"; however, Waite ended up being taken captive himself

1997, the shuttle Atlantis blasted off on a mission to pick up American astronaut John Blaha from the Russian space station Mir

2002, the United States intensified its anti-terror campaign in eastern Afghanistan, dropping bombs on suspected al-Qaida and Taliban hideouts

2006, Mehmet Ali Agca, a practitioner of that "religion of peace" who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, was released from an Istanbul prison after serving more than 25 years in Italy and Turkey for the plot against the pontiff and the slaying of a Turkish journalist