Charlie Bit Me, Again! Laughing Twins!

Here's some lighter fare to brighten your weekend.

Naughty baby Charlie!


4-month-old twin boys laugh.

Abortion Art

Remember when I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last month? There was one piece of art that caught my complete attention. I love vintage stuff, so my first impression was how nice! Look at these old-fashioned objects. Then as I looked closer, I was like--hey--those are bloody surgical instruments in that bedpan down there. Oh, wait a minute. What is this about? My friend went to the wall and the card read: THE ILLEGAL OPERATION, 1962. Deep breath. Oh.

Artscenecal describes the piece:

At the same time Kienholz doesn't simply make voyeurs of us. He communicates empathy and culpability so that we become both victim and perpetrator if we remain passive. During the 1960s, when many people were campaigning for legalized abortion (remember that it was not legalized until 1973), Kienholz created The Illegal Operation, in which a woman's body, represented by a sagging burlap sack filled with cement, is trussed to the back of a shopping cart, complete with an oozing gash in the midriff area. Filthy buckets, pots, and bedpans filled with rusted and stained surgical instruments sit on a ragged knit rug. Its circular design draws one into the horror of the scene. About the piece, Kienholz declared, "I'm not sure what art is--you know, art, capital A-R-T--and I don't even care a hell of a lot about what art is, but if there is such a thing as art, and if I have even made a piece of art, The Illegal Operation would be it. . .We bleed off it."

Techno Diagnoses Palin Derangement Syndrome

Techno on Conservatives4Palin published his take on "the reasons why Palin is hated so vehemently by Obama voters, the Far Left, the Obama administration, and its allies:"

1) Before getting specific just look at these poll numbers now for the Messiah. Honestly and objectively, say Sarah Palin was never born (George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life) and you know what you know about what has transpired over the past 13 months since Obama's inauguration and how weak or mild generally the GOP opposition has been to Obama (poll was taken before summit) do you really think Obama would be sitting now at 44% job approval?

My answer: Rush Limbaugh and his cohorts would have kept Obama just under 50% but I really think Sarah Palin sent his numbers further into the tank. I believe the GOP as a party had little to do with Obama's fall from grace. The GOP is now jumping on the bandwagon of "I want him to fail."

2) The animosity, antagonism, and antipathy towards Palin began imho on Sept. 3, 2008 when Palin figuratively gutted and mocked the Messiah in her convention speech. In the minds of Obama's supporters Obama is a historical POTUS and a Messiah, akin to Mohammed, the Pope, Hitler, or Castro. Nobody is allowed to make him the object of ridicule, especially a woman who does not deserve to be in the same room as 'the Anointed One'. For that alone she must be destroyed, leaving politics out of it. Remember how much Charlie Chaplin was hated by the Nazis when he made The Great Dictator in 1940 mocking Hitler. And to add insult to injury for about 10 days after the end of the GOP convention Palin helped to catapult McCain to the lead in the polls until the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy ended that.

3) And this hatred was intensified during the debate with Biden where Palin again destroyed Obama's narrative (the MSM limited the damage by awarding the debate to Biden), accused Obama of 'palling around with terrorists, implied he was a socialist and basically like the convention took Obama's agenda apart and exposed how untoward and radical it was. That Obama did not win in a landslide was due to Palin (although some on the Left still try to assert she was the reason McCain lost)-53 to 46%-28 states to 22 states and most pundits on both sides of the aisle now agree that with the financial meltdown and the hatred of George Bush, without Palin McCain would have been lucky to get 40% of the vote, with Obama getting about 58% and yes blowing McCain-Palin out.

4) As for women on the Far Left it is quite simple. They hate Palin for being pro-life and not including an exception for rape or incest and for having Trig. If there is one issue that American feminists had a handle on it was abortion. Since Palin has come onto the national political scene there have been polls that show that fewer Americans now call themselves pro-choice and that not only strikes at the heart of the Left's narrative of abortion of demand but also to the financial abortion industry itself. We're talking here about billions of dollars that could be lost to the purveyors of infant extermination and to the Democratic party in the way of donations. And we're not talking here just America. Whatever happens in America could soon filter to the entire world. For the abortion industry alone Sarah Palin must not be elected POTUS.

5) The Far Left invested a huge amount of resources in Alaska to politically kill her off in the first half of last year with the use of Alinsky tactics and tactics from Thumpin'. That she survived by resigning from office is a source of great bitterness and frustration to the Left that they couldn't do the job. And as you know bitterness and frustration leads to anger and with the hatred and loathing already established and entrenched it just intensified even more after the resignation and the knowledge that Palin now had free rein to come after Obama with both barrels of the gun, no longer restricted by being Governor of Alaska. Oh by the way, Palin's high profile rejection of the stimulus money in February and March last year just threw more gasoline on the fire as far the Far Left was concerned.

6) And now we come to Palin's Facebook post on 'death panels' written on August 7th which basically turned senior citizens and later their children against Obamacare (evidenced by Obama's low standing among seniors consistently in the Econ/youguv polls since the middle of summer); even though the Far Left denied there were death panels in Obamacare and thus denied Palin's role in the debate, the simple fact is that as I write this on Feb. 27th Obamacare has not passed yet and may never pass. And as Sean Hannity said on his program today, Palin's coining of the phrase 'death panels' changed the tone of the debate; even though bills have passed both the House and the Senate, Obama is seen to be weakened greatly by the delay in Obamacare's passage and the Far Left pretty well blames one person for this potential debacle: Sarah Palin.

7) And we now come to global warming and climate change in which she destroyed man-made global warming, calling it snake-oil science, criticized Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore and the gurus of climate change and appears to have caused cap and trade to be now put on the back burner until after the 2010 midterms according to word last week from a couple of Democratic Senators. In addition Palin has attacked Obama's energy policy and exposed the folly of not drilling and instead relying on 'green sources of energy'. Palin is right in Obama's face and the Far Left doesn't like it one bit. They blame her solely for his failed presidency, although they won't admit it so as to give her credit.

8) And they blame her for emboldening the GOP members of Congress to oppose Obamacare and to take a more active role in opposing massive increases in the deficit, even if their general demeanor in front of the MSM is too milquetoast for my taste.

9) And now on Feb 7th there was her nationwide speech on several cable networks taking apart Obama's foreign policy and again mocking Obama by asking, "How's that hopey-changey working out for you?" And of course there was here prediction on Feb 8th on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace that Obama would not be re-elected if he did not change and listen to the people.

10) And now Palin has expressed intentions to campaign for GOP congressional candidates in the 2010 midterms. This one woman wrecking crew not only has gutted Obama, she is now intending on destroying the Democratic party and influence of the Far Left as well. Is there any wonder she is public enemy #1?

11) And to go back a step without Palin and Rush Limbaugh, it is my opinion that the Tea Party movement would not have had as great an impact on the political landscape as it has up to now. I know the TP movement does not have a leader, but when you have superstar Sarah Palin articulating what you stand for on national TV, you will certainly gain a higher standing in the arena of ideas than if you did not have any one person to focus on. Quite simply, Sarah Palin legitimizes the TP movement among conservatives and conservative Republicans. And the TP movement is a thorn in Obama's side.

12) There are probably many more reasons why the Far Left loathes Palin, but let me finish up with a key reason they 'would like to burn her at the stake'. She believes in God, Jesus, prays every day and wears her religion on her sleeve in an unabashed fashion. Atheists and secular humanists just can't stand her.

Kelly From Hillbuzz, A New American Thinker

I can't let this jewel pass us by. This lovely lady comments at Hillbuzz, and this is one of the reasons I like to read there so much lately.

Kelly Says:

February 27, 2010 at 4:19 pm
As a republican who lived in the Bay Area and now NYC (I mean, why would I choose the two most liberal regions of the country!), I’ve had some truly shockingly cruel things said to me purely b/c I believe in limited govt and fiscal conservatism. I also happen not only to believe that we should be self-reliant and personally responsible, but I also believe that when we are allowed to depend on ourselves, we are stronger, more successful, take greater pride in ourselves and our work, and are more likely to make positive contributions to society. And then we are happier people, or at least more likely to be happier.

Which brings me to my theory: I think fear is at the core of liberalism, and love/trust is at the core of conservatism. Liberalism is about control. Conservatism is about self-empowerment.

Control is a reaction to fear. I think in terms or politics and society – the fear behind liberalism is the fear that someone might withhold things (opportunities, money, whatever) from me, fear that if you live your life in a way I dislike that it might affect my life, fear that if you get that job, there will be nothing left for me. Fear that if you make tons of money, it’s means there’s less money out there for me. So these people seek control as a means of trying to create guarantees and safeguards against those circumstances they fear. Liberals try to control the world and people to enable their comfort and happiness. Which, as we know, is an endless quest. Trying to control others does nothing in the way of making oneself happy. By extension, voting in this mindset so that govt can try to control others will also – shocking – not lead to a happier, more comfortable life.

The conservative (and moderate, independent, but for the sake of expediency, the conservative), on the other hand, relies on himself to meet his own needs. And the trade off of being free to live his life as he wishes is also understanding that he has to make peace with how you live yours. By extension, aware that he wants to be able to hold onto this liberty and freedom forever, the conservative votes accordingly, so that everyone can remain free and in charge of his or her own life.

But here’s the crucial difference, I think, particularly in where misery on the left stems: The conservative does not worry, so to speak, about you. The conservative knows that you were born with the same access to self-love, self-empowerment, self-determination and self-reliance that we all were, no matter the circumstances into which you were born. (Think about the millions of people this country has allowed to crawl up from poverty into prosperity – the conservative KNOWS this is possible.) And the conservative believes that if you want prosperity, or a good job, or a good education, you can make it happen – but you have to work hard. The conservative hopes and intends that the free markets bring you all of the affordable and positive opportunities and resources that you need. The conservative also knows that on the other side of that hard work is great reward – material and, more importantly, emotional, spiritual and mental.

The conservative understands that not only is it a waste of time to try to control you, it’s actually impossible. Humans were born to be free. And if we put a roadblock in front of you, you’ll find another way around it. So we see attempts at control as a waste of resources, energy and time at best, and at worst, creating detrimental results that serve to hinder people’s upward mobility or teach dependence. We see much more efficiency, as well as endless opportunity, in leaving you to your own devices. And we want the same in return.

This is where dems mis-view repubs as heartless. But really, the conservative believes that there is one and one path only to sustainable success and independence – and that is self-empowerment. All other avenues – welfare, affirmative action, housing loans you can’t actually afford – ultimately risk doing a disservice to people as they teach dependence on special circumstances, the govt, or arbitrary assistance (that can disappear tomorrow). And the real danger – they will ALWAYS backfire, and leave the recipient in equally or more dire circumstances. Any false improvement will always expire.

The conservative believes in abundance. The liberal believes in scarcity.

The conservative believes man is born free and will be who he is, no matter what arbitrary limitations or rules are put on him. The liberal believes man is perfectible, and by extension, believes a society at large is perfectible, and command and control is justified in the quest to a “perfect” utopian society. (Sounds familiar!)

The conservative tends to be more faithful – and not necessarily in God, but in the ability of the individual to find great strength in himself (or from his God) to get what he needs and to be successful. Therefore the conservative has an outlet for his fear and disappointment – trust and faith in something bigger. The liberal believes the system must be perfected in order to enable success. Therefore disappointment is channeled as anger and blame at the system. Voids are left to be filled by faith in the govt, which they surely then want to come in and “fix” things.

And therein lies the roots of love and fear respectively. For the conservative, when life presents great struggles, he knows he has the power to surmount them. Happiness stems from internal strength and perseverance. For the liberal, when life presents great struggles, the system failed, therefore they were at the mercy of a faulty system, and they believe that only when the system is fixed can their life improve. Happiness is built on systemic contingencies, which they will then seek to control or expect someone else to.

One blames himself. The other blames anyone and everyone but himself.

And there it is. There’s where the meanness comes from. The liberal ideology causes that person to cast anger at the world when things go wrong or appear “unfair.” He constantly chooses only to see the “injustices” – and that makes for a very miserable, mean, blame-casting existence.

One last point that I have seen over and over and over with many (not all)of my liberal friends: Extreme stinginess and cheapness.

In my conservative community growing up, we were always taught that you give when people are in need – make donations to the Red Cross when there’s an earthquake, donate to charity when you can afford it, etc. Even if it’s just $50 here and there – it’s the right thing to do. Conservatives see this as the responsibility that comes with gaining from the capitalistic system; if you happen to benefit greatly from the system, it’s your duty to give back.

The liberal, on the other hand, does not seem to share this same viewpoint, at least not in my experience. And I think this is linked to believing in scarcity, and that your dollar comes at the cost of mine. So it seems that liberals, on some level of consciousness, feel guilty about not being voluntarily charitable. Therefor, to write off their guilt, they outsource their “generosity” to the govt by voting for wealth redistributive policies (I saw this ALL THE TIME in the Bay Area). Thus, the liberal cheats himself of the joy and addictiveness of direct generosity. (Not to mention – redistributive policies ALWAYS end up dis-empowering those who they’re meant to help.)

In short: Yes, I do think liberals are far more likely to be mean than conservatives. Because their ideology directs their thinking in a very angry, negative way.

Liberals Lack Compassion-Family Guy

Dr. Frank Luntz wired up a room of half Democrats and half Republicans and the response to the jokes about Down Syndrome were highly polarized, as were the responses to Sarah Palin discussing her son, Trig, who has Down Syndrome. Talk about no compassion!
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Killer Whale Violently Kills Trainer

This story has captured my attention. Maybe it is the majesty of the animal, as portrayed in Free Willy. Maybe it is that Dawn Branceau was a 40-something gal with a long-hair ponytail, like myself.
For whatever reason I find myself wondering, was Dawn's death avoidable? The latest information indicates that it was. This video shows footage of Dawn and Tillikum right before the attack. It turns out she had been feeding the whale in a "Dine With Shamu" show. And then went over to frolic with him for a bit, by lying down on a "slide out", an area of the pool that was a 4"-deep shelf. At one point after the tape stops, her hair apparently drifted across Tillikum's mouth. That was when he grabbed the ponytail and took off.
The original story that she was standing by the side of the pool and Tillikum grabbed her by the waist was wrong. Although this must have been a violent attack, as her death certificate cites drowning, along with multiple traumatic injuries. I don't buy the theory that Tillikum was lonely and wanted to play with her and didn't know his own strength. He knew his strength very well. These beasts work gently with trainers day in and day out. He knew full well that thrashing her body about would injure her. But for some reason he decided to do it. Wild animals do things like that. Especially man-eaters, or man-killers, as this particular animal was. He had killed humans twice before. And, I would think, especially a large bull-male of the species, the largest in captivity. He was no child. The trainers already knew better than to swim with him. I suspect a large reason they kept him around was for their artificial insemination program. Tillikum apparently has sired 13 babies to date.
Animal behavior specialist Brian Gisi said we may never know why the killer whale decided to attack.

However, from studying the behavior of animals for years, Gisi said several things could have played a part, such as the fact that Tilikum has fathered 13 calves.
"Breeding definitely plays a role in aggression because males are continuously trying to jockey for the best position access to the best females," Gisi said.
He said Tilikum could have been picking up on tension from other whales in the group.

Time describes the attack as particularly vicious:

Tilikum did not just knock Dawn Brancheau over and drag her down to drown at the bottom of the pool. According to a source, he rose out of the water to snag Brancheau by her ponytail, yanking her into the water for two brief but shocking episodes in the pool. After grabbing her by her hair, he toyed with her underwater for two minutes as she struggled to use trainer signals to calm him down and get him to release her. He knocked her about and, according to some reports, had her by the waist, her blood spreading through the clear water, in full sight of members of the public who had been watching Tilikum with another trainer through a glass underwater window.
(See 10 infamous animal attacks on humans.)
She was still alive at the end of the first takedown after Tilikum let her go. But he watched as she tried to get to safety and then grabbed her again and held her for another minute underwater, this time apparently killing her. He then settled at the bottom of the pool, keeping her in his mouth. She apparently remained there until the staff at SeaWorld managed to beach him and move him to a separate pen. No one at SeaWorld was available to confirm reports that Brancheau's body was badly mangled.

Killer Whales are kept in areas too small for them to feel comfortable. Animals stop breeding when they are stressed by their environment. For example zoo animals rarely breed in captivity. However, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, for example, has an excellent record of natural animal breeding, and great success with the white Rhino population (no relation to modern politicians). A white Rhino in a zoo setting will not breed. Put in on the Savannah, with acres and acres to roam across, and suddenly they get in the mood. Clearly something is wrong with the Killer Whale habitat at all of these marine exhibits. I also recall reading that there are renovations going at Sea World Orlando, so the Killer Whales are being kept in an even smaller area than usual.
I saw a comment on the internet today stating that Tillikum should be euthanized. I disagree. Do we euthanize bulls for charging people foolish enough to enter their pen? Should we punish a wild animal for acting wild? Killer Whales are playful, intelligent predators. But we expect them to swim around, come quietly to the human for food, and go back to swimming in circles. ABC News reports that Tillikum will not be punished. Although they are reviewing their protocol.
Trainer Ric O'Barry, who trained the famous Flipper in the 1960s, says:

"Along with sadness of this tragic event we can't help feeling anger toward those who insist upon exhibiting these wild creatures in habitats that can drive them to violence."
O'Barry has been an ardent campaigner against marine parks such as SeaWorld since the 1970s, saying his views on an industry he helped create changed after one of the dolphins he trained for Flipper died in his arms.

Time For A Few More Phone Calls?

The healthcare summit went well for the Republicans yesterday. The Democrats came across as arrogant, rude, and they monopolized the speaking time. We saw it for ourselves. Is today a day to sit on our laurels? No. When you have the momentum, you must keep it. Take time today to call these congressional offices. We must make sure that the reps hear US louder than they hear Obama/Reid/Pelosi. Last I checked, Obama/Reid/Pelosi only have 3 votes between them. We are more numerous. Let's remind these reps who will decide their fate in November.

These thirty Democratic Congressmen all voted FOR Obamacare the first time around.

But Obama/Reid/Pelosi cannot count on their votes again as Obama tries to jam the bill through using reconciliation in the Senate.

These members are all vulnerable and are frightened of the voter backlash for their support of Obama/Reid/Pelosi's "nuclear option" plan....

Call these people...

DC OFFICE LOCAL OFFICE
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 925-833-0643
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107
Jim Hines (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 630-406-1145
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 702-256-DINA (3462)
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150
Mike Arcuri (202)225-3665 (315)793-8146
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657
Earl Pomneroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803)327-1114
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954

Hat Tip @ghostofsantee on Twitter.

Swear Now, Or Forever Hold Your Peace

Can you believe that the CA legislature just voted to establish a "Cuss Free Week" as the first week in March? If this measure passes the senate next week, it will take effect immediately.
Theuglytruth commented: "You gotta love these politicians and the way they spend tax payer dollars. It's amazes me every time they come up with some rhetorical idea. "SAVE A TREE, SAVE THE FISH, SAVE THE OWLS" But don't save California. Ha, haaa, haa ha ha ha ha haaaaa!"

Gridlock, Please!

Hat Tip Powerline.

Will Europe Become Muslim?

If you have not received this email yet, take the time to read it. Confirmed true by snopes.
Geert Wilders is a Dutch Member of Parliament. Here is the speech of Geert Wilders, Chairman, Party for Freedom, the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York, introducing an Alliance of Patriots and announcing the Facing Jihad Conference in Jerusalem.

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for inviting me.

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. To close I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem .

The Europe you know is changing.

You have probably seen the landmarks. But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration.

All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighborhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighborhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe . These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe , street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe . With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam , Marseille and Malmo in Sweden . In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighborhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.

In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims.

Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear, 'whore, whore.' Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin.

In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin . The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity.

In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighborhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels , because he was drinking during the Ramadan.

Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya , Israel .. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe . San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France . One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favor of a worldwide caliphate. Muslims demand what they call 'respect'. And this is how we give them respect. We have Muslim official state holidays.

The Christian-Democratic attorney general is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey ..

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behavior, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. I call the perpetrators 'settlers'. Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies; they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighborhoods, their cities, their countries. Moreover, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behavior is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages - at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad.

Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology.. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.

Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam 'the most retrograde force in the world', and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Quran. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel . First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines , Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan , Lebanon , and Aceh in Indonesia . Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.
The war against Israel is not a war against Israel . It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel , Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel , they can get everything. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. In my country, the Netherlands , 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest threat. Yet there is a danger greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome , Athens and Jerusalem .

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe , American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe 's children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.
We have to take the necessary action now to stop this Islamic stupidity from destroying the free world that we know.
Please take the time to read and understand what is written here, Please send it to every free person that you know, it is so very important.

Naked Body Scanners-New Stimulus Plan

NewsCastDaily noticed that the images look an awful lot like full color negatives:

What happens if you invert the full body scan images which is then a positive picture? You don’t need to be a computer expert, using any software suite like Photoshop will work. Inverting a photo is a simple process that takes one click and is an option available even in the most basic image editing software. When you invert some of these images you get a naked body in full living color. I don’t think the American people will stand for these results. If this system gets put into service, how long before naked photos of people start showing up all over the internet. Now we know why the full body scanners break child porn laws in the UK.

According to Fox News:

The first (3) of 150 full-body scanners planned for U.S. airports will be installed in Boston next week, officials said Tuesday....
The rest of the 150 machines that were purchased with $25 million from President Barack Obama's 2009 stimulus plan are expected to be installed in airports by the end of June, another homeland security official, spokeswoman Amy Kudwa.

This is what some on Twitter are retweeting:
KevRightWinger

Expect Muslims to boycott the 150 U.S. Airports receiving the full body scanners. Good! Those airports will become the safest to fly out of.

Edited to add:
Bungalow Bill points out in comments that there may be more to it. Like the government may want these detailed images in order to identify Americans through biometrics. He says:
"There has to be other reason the government wants to record a person’s naked body. I fear, with all the talk before the election and with the formation of a national database, rumored to be under development by GE’s Healthymagination, these images could easily be stored and used for other purposes, including technology that matures from today’s face recognition software—bio metric software. These images could be used to identify people later on."

A Clean Sweep

I found a flyer on my doorstep the other day. It was for Ludwig House Cleaning Service. On the back of the flyer was a handy list of cleaning tasks which got me thinking. Maybe I'll hang onto this so I can better organize my house cleaning activities. Yesterday I ran loads of laundry and dusted/polished furniture and mirrors. Today I did the bathrooms and kitchen (whew!). Tomorrow I vacuum and mop. I'm not sure I will be hiring a new cleaning service now that the other one stopped. I will try my hand and see how it goes. There is a certain pride of accomplishment that comes from looking at a house cleaned by one's own hands.

To generous souls every task is noble.--Euripides

Regular Tasks (performed at each visit)

Bathrooms:
Basin, tubs, showers and shower doors
Vanity tops
Toilets
Mirrors
Floors
Fixtures

Kitchen:
Countertops, sinks & appliances
Stove, everything moveable
Microwave, in & out
Outside of ovens
Refrigerators, top & front
Window over sink
Floor washed

Other Rooms:
Furniture dusted and polished
Light fixtures dusted
Mini-blinds and shutters dusted
Window sills dusted
Mirrors cleaned
Carpets vacuumed
Floors vacuumed & washed
Cobwebs & fingerprints cleaned
All trash emptied
Ceiling fans dusted
Baseboards dusted

Alternating Tasks (one per visit for FREE)
Vacuuming furniture
Cleaning leather furniture
Baseboards washed
Polishing kitchen cabinets

Extra Tasks (Additional charge)
Clean inside of refrigerator
Clean inside of oven
Silver Polishing
Clean inside of fireplace
Washing windows and screens
Something not listed above? Let us know, and we will accommodate your request!

School Choice - Stossel

Did you know that CA teachers have tenure after just 2 years on the job? Ugh! That explains a lot! We spend 3 times on education (adjusted for inflation) than we did in 1980, with test scores flat. Why.
Hat Tip NNN.

Charlie Cook Says Dems Will Lose The House In November

He says it is "very hard to come up with a scenario" where the Dems don't lose the 40 seats to Republicans. This is based on miscalculation, not miscommunication. Cook is a highly respected pundit among Democrat circles. Or at least he used to be. They'll probably "shoot the messenger" on this one, though.
Hat Tip The Fix.

Call These Healthcare Swing Vote Congress-People

Dick Morris targets the vital swing votes that can stop Obamacare in the House. He says the Senate is a lost cause.

But please do more. If you live in any of the states from which these swing Congressmen come, please call them. Let them know your opposition to health care changes. The phone for Congress is 202 224 3121. Here’s the list:

Vulnerable Democratic Congressmen Who Voted FOR Obamacare The First Time Around

These are the folks we need to pressure to switch their votes!

Arizona:

Harry Mitchell (Phoenix suburbs)
Gabrielle Giffords (Tucson)
Ann Kirkpatrick (most of rural Arizona, NE part of state)

California:

Jerry McNerney (Stockton and Pleasanton)

Colorado:

John Salazar (Pueblo)

Connecticut:

Jim Hines (Fairfield County)

Florida:

Alan Grayson (Orlando)

Illinois:

Bill Foster (Dixon, Batavia, and Geneseo)

Indiana:

Baron Hill (from Kentucky border up to Bloomington)

Michigan:

Mark Schauer (Branch, Calhoun, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee & Washtenaw counties)
Gary Peters (Oakland County)

Nevada:

Dina Titus (Las Vegas)

New Hampshire:

Carol Shea-Porter (Portsmouth, Manchester, Lakes Region)

New York:

Tim Bishop (Suffolk County)
John Hall (Northern Westchester)
Bill Owens (Plattsburgh up along Vermont border to Canada)
Mike Arcuri (Utica and south central NY)
Dan Maffei (Syracuse)

North Dakota:

Earl Pomneroy (at large)

Ohio:

Steven Driehaus (Cincinnati west to Indiana border)
Mary Jo Kilroy (Columbus and west to Indiana border)
Zach Space (Dover, Zanesville, Chillicothe)

Pennsylvania:

Kathy Dahlkemper (Erie)
Patrick Murphy (Bucks County)
Christopher Carney (NE Penn)
Paul Kanjorski (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre)

South Carolina:

John Spratt (rural SC between Columbia and Charlotte)

Virginia:

Tom Perriello (Charlottesville, Bedford, Timberlake, Martinsville & Danville)

West Virginia:

Alan Mollohan (Wheeling, Morgantown)
Nick Rahall (Huntington)

Wisconsin:

Steve Kagen (Green Bay)

Let’s get busy to save health care in America!

How We Can Fight Back Against Reconciliation For Obamacare

Per Dick Morris:

We need to rally one last time to STOP him!

Obama will probably get the House liberals to go along with passing the Senate bill as long as reconcilation looms in the future. He will also have no trouble getting the 51 votes to pass reconciliation in the Senate.

The only way to stop him is to deny Pelosi the support of conservative Democrats in the House who are scared to death following the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts. When we first figured out what the White House was up to, we prepared ads to run in each of the districts of the swing conservative Democrats who voted for the original health care bill.

As you may remember, health care passed in the House by only 220-115. Thirty-eight Democrats voted no. But about twenty-three conservative Democrats voted in favor of Obamacare. They are all vulnerable to defeat this year. We need to advertise in their districts to persuade them that voting for Obamacare would mean likely political defeat. We need your funds to make these ads possible. We need $1 million for this final push.

PLEASE HELP US WIN THIS FIGHT! Even if you have given before — even if you have given several times before — please give again. This is the final round. Remember what Obama says: “we are on the five yard line with health care reform.” He is indeed in our red zone with the bill having passed both Houses in different forms already. We need a tough, strong goal line stand to block this disastrous piece of legislation from passing.

Please support the League of American Voters in their efforts to stop Obama — Go Here Now.

I'm Past My Prime

As I reflected on aging this morning in the shower, I thought, I'm Past My Prime. Then I remember every word of the song and belted it out, as one should do when in the shower. OK. I didn't play Daisy Mae in the main show in Junior High. To be precise, I played Daisy Mae's understudy. But they ran an understudy show on Sunday afternoon so everybody got to participate. This song is a sweet little duet and makes me reminisce...

These Congress-Critters Support Reidcare Reconciliation! Socialist-19

The Dims have 19 signatures on their petition for cloture...
AND THEY ARE...!!!!!

Bennett (CO)
Boxer (CA)
Brown (OH)
Burris (IL)
Feinstein (CA)
Franken (MINN)
Gillibrand (NY)
Kerry (MASS)
Lautenberg (NJ)
Leahy (VT)
Merkley (OR)
Mikulski (MD)
Reed (RI)
Sanders (VT)
Schumer (NY)
Shaheen (NH)
Udall (NM)
Whitehouse (RI)
Specter (PA)
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O'Reilly Defends His Statements On Gun Confiscation In State Of Emergency

Here we go again.

Commenter greywolfe at therightscoop said:
"It boils down to this: There is no provision in the constitution that allows the government to disarm a law abiding citizen. The tenth amendment states that any right not granted to the federal government belongs to the states or THE PEOPLE. His assertion that any action by the government is legal unless a court says otherwise is spurious at best. That leads to tyranny of the courts and that is not the province of the courts. I'm sending this comment to O'reilly. Let's see if he still wants to defend those comments."

Herman Cain Rocks CPAC!

"Yes, we are crazy. We are crazy about this country. We are crazy about our children and our grandchildren." What a great speaker. Thank you, Hack Wilson, for the follow. And for posting this awesome video to your blog so I could see it.

Chris Matthews Feels Left Out of Tea Party

Really. And he feels the term Patriot excludes him. Hmm. Maybe he's right...

After watching this it paints a clear picture of what we're up against. Trust me when I say that these two ignorant buffoons are not alone in their beliefs and feelings about the Constitution and Americans standing up for it. Many on the far left are so ignorant about our Founding Fathers and the American Revolution it makes it easy to feed them this anti-Constitution {edit-stuff}. Matthews was clearly ignorant as to why the Bill of Rights was an essential component to the Constitution. He didn't understand why there needed to be a Bill of Rights for the "gun nuts." Well Mr. Matthews let's educate you on the Bill of Rights from a reliable source athttp://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights.html.

Hat Tip John Carey.

O'Reilly Says Second Amendment Is Optional

He thinks that bad weather can suspend the Constitution. I disagree. In fact, I'm a little tongue-tied after viewing this video. I may have to remove O'Reilly from my DVR. Since when did defending the Constitution become an "extreme position." :-(

Opus #6's Divorce Lawyer Flies To Haiti and Back 5 Times In One Weekend

Did I tell you I went to divorce court today? Again? Turns out it was a non-event. But I got to talking with my lawyer, Patrick McCall, and he had quite a tale to tell...

Now I knew that he flew small planes. He has pictures up in his office. But I didn't know he flew larger 10-passenger planes. And I didn't know he and his children and friends spent the long weekend in Haiti ferrying supplies and doctors. I asked to see pictures and here are some examples.

This one shows how the passenger compartment was piled high with food and supplies on one of the flights in. Pat says that the loads were about 3 tons, heavier than a car.


Here is Pat McCall (Family Law Attorney in Orange, CA) with his kids, crew and friends. Pat is fourth from the left.


Local kids:


A load of doctors going home to America.


The unloading process:


Unloading is the tricky part. It really depends on WHO is doing the unloading. Apparently there are warlords and gunmen who take control of stuff and hoard. Pat noticed the hoarding and complained about it, and got the food back and into the hands of those who needed it. So I asked him who is supposed to oversee all of this, and he said that there was nobody, so it was up to the pilots to follow up on where the food went. And there was one situation where 20 gunmen took the load and UN troops had to take the stuff back. Yikes!

Another Watergate? MSM Doesn't Want To Report About Rashad Hussain.

If any American Jews still support Barack Obama, this should be the nail in the coffin:

Someone is covering up for Rashad Hussain. But who?
And what did Barack Obama know, and when did he know it?

Rashad Hussain is the Obama administration's newly appointed special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the thuggish international organization that is engaged in a full-scale campaign to intimidate Western governments into adopting hate speech codes that will effectively quash criticism of Islam - including jihad violence perpetrated in its name. Rashad Hussain is an apposite choice for this position, since several years ago he defended a notorious U.S.-based leader of a jihad terrorist group.

But someone doesn't want you to know that, and made a clumsy attempt to cover it up.

In 2004, Rashad Hussain, then a Yale law student, declared that the investigation and prosecution of University of South Florida professor Sami al-Arian, who ultimately pled guilty to charges involving his activities as a leader of the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, was a "politically motivated persecution" designed "to squash dissent."

Journalist Patrick Goodenough of Cybercast News Service reports that Hussain's remarks in support of Al-Arian were published in the jihad-enabling Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in November 2004. But now all that has gone down the memory hole. The Washington Report's archived version of this November 2004 article lacks two paragraphs that were included in the original version: the ones quoting Rashad Hussain. Otherwise the article is unchanged.

The Washington Report editors, caught red-handed, decided to brazen it out, and blame their accusers - a tried-and-true tactic that is also frequently employed by jihadists in the West. They insist that there was no cover-up, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a venomous Islamophobe: according to Goodenough, "WRMEA news editor and executive director Delinda Hanley denied there was a 'cover-up,' and implied that anti-Muslim discrimination was behind the fact this was now being raised...."

Was the Washington Report covering for Rashad Hussain at its own discretion, or at the behest of someone else? Did Barack Obama himself know about this cover-up? Did someone in the White House or the State Department find out about Hussain's defense of Al-Arian, and act to cover for the bright young special envoy before this defense was discovered and he became known as a terror apologist?

Or is the Obama Administration wholly uninvolved - and unaware of the fact that the President has chosen as an envoy to the world's leading organization of Islamic states a man who has openly declared his support for an admitted leader of a jihad terror group? Alternatively, is Hussain's disdain for the war on terror and support for Al-Arian precisely what Obama thought might make him appealing to the OIC?

Hat Tip Jihad Watch, via Mark Levin 2/17/10 Radio Show.

The Ugly Impetus Behind Obamacare

Is Obamacare the bill that never dies? The Undead? How many Americans need to speak out against this bill to be heard. How many Democrats need to be defeated politically for them to get the message. The reality is that the backers of the bill will do anything to see their 2000+page Leviathan of government panels and control enacted. Even without a "public option" the government will end up owning healthcare. How have we held them at bay? Through sheer force of numbers. The bill's backers will try anything, do anything to see it put into law. Fortunately for Americans, not all elected Democrats have the same blind drive. As the political winds shift to the right, as Democrats lose race after race, poll after poll, support for this bill gets weaker and weaker. Last November a liberal, John Cassidy at the New Yorker, wrote a piece explaining why it is so important to get the bill passed, as written, at all costs.

Why are they doing it? Because, according to Mr. Cassidy, ObamaCare serves the twin goals of "making the United States a more equitable country" and furthering the Democrats' "political calculus." In other words, the purpose is to further redistribute income by putting health care further under government control, and in the process making the middle class more dependent on government. As the party of government, Democrats will benefit over the long run.

This explains why Nancy Pelosi is willing to risk the seats of so many Blue Dog Democrats by forcing such an unpopular bill through Congress on a narrow, partisan vote: You have to break a few eggs to make a permanent welfare state. As Mr. Cassidy concludes, "Putting on my amateur historian's cap, I might even claim that some subterfuge is historically necessary to get great reforms enacted."

No wonder many Americans are upset. They know they are being lied to about ObamaCare, and they know they are going to be stuck with the bill.

More at WallStreetJournal.

The part about Obama wanting to make the U.S. a "more equitable country" makes perfect sense to me. Obama was raised by Marxist parents, sought out Marxist teachers, and believes to his bones that only equal outcomes will make America fair. He does not believe in the American Dream of equal opportunity.

Partisan Politics Must Be Banned From Our Schools

There are serious problems in the education community in our country. The problems come from a variety of sources. There must be a variety of solutions if this country is to provide future generations with the best possible opportunities for success. There is no one best option for educating our children. Public, private, and home education each has its strengths and weaknesses, and in a free society each option should be available for parents to choose for their children. One thing is certain; there is no room in publicly funded American education for the political indoctrination of our children by any political party. If the government is going to mandate that children attend school for a certain period of time in their lives, it is critically important that the government maintains the highest ethical standard of instruction, as free as is humanly possible from political bias. Teachers should teach our children and let those children decide for themselves, and neither lead nor lure them to a predetermined conclusion.

The teacher in Ohio who gave his students hand-outs covering President Obama’s Organizing for America (OFA) program was completely wrong. The material distributed in his classroom included an application for joining OFA, a program that is clearly a tool for pushing the Democratic Party’s political agenda. Just look at theirwebsite, paid for by the DNC. This one sided classroom presentation did not include any material covering opportunities for participation in any other political party in America. It is a complete outrage that a public school teacher used his classroom to push his political agenda on his students, no matter his party affiliation.

Our nation’s children are not getting the education that they need. Our schools should be focusing their attention on teaching our children in such a manner that they do not continuously fall behind their international peers in math and science. News article after news article after news article reports that US students are failing miserably. Why don’t we require our students to have mastered a basic understanding of the US Constitution before they leave high school? Maybe if our students were required to learn basic accounting our citizens wouldn’t have borrowed 2.1 trillion dollars in 26.5 billion credit card transactions in 2008. If they knew how dangerous this level of credit is to their personal finances they might not accept a federal government with $12,364,401,838,647.44 worth of debt (as of 15 Feb 2010 at 07:53:02 PM GMT) that has grown by “an average of $3.85 billion per day since September 28, 2007.”

More at Boarding in Bedlam.
I love a well-written blog post. Arby, you worded this one just right. We must keep politics away from our children in the school setting. Kids are sitting ducks for whatever agenda teachers might want to push at them. Children are particularly vulnerable to influences and it is our obligation to protect them. I don't let my kids watch much commercial TV for the same reason. I don't like subjecting their innocence to the wiles of Madison Avenue.

Eeew! Obama's Twitterer Is From MoveOn Dot Org

Not that there's anything wrong with that. It is only that this woman (on left) represented Obama to ten million people, and she was previously a fellow of NOI, the New Organizing Institute, a subgroup of MoveOn dot Org, a Soros-funded organization.

Tired But Happy

After a 15-year hiatus, I hit the slopes for 2 days of skiing with these wonderful children. This was probably one of the best weekends of my life. It was the company. These kids are great skiing companions. Always stopping and waiting for the group to catch up. My heart swelled to see how thoughtful and mature my kids have grown to be.

Sure this was the best snowy El Nino condition California has seen in years. Sure the weather was perfect. Yes, I was thankful that we were all healthy enough to go skiing in the first place. But nothing touches a mother's heart like knowing her children have developed into compassionate, responsible human beings. And sometimes these qualities are more visible when the elements present a challenge.
###

Greetings From Snow Summit

We wish you were here.
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My Daughter On The Chairlift At Big Bear

Live blogging has never been so fun.
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Why Is The Department of Justice Reading My Blog?

This is the second time I have found the U.S. Department of Justice reading my blog. Both times in response to a comment I have left on Gateway Pundit. Any ideas as to why I'm popular with Eric Holder's group? And why the outclick on my advertiser, Blog Her?

Domain Name		usdoj.gov ? (U.S. Government)
IP Address		149.101.1.# (US Dept of Justice)
ISP		US Dept of Justice
Location		Continent : North America Country : United States (Facts) State : District of Columbia City : Washington Lat/Long : 38.9097, -77.0231 (Map)
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
Operating System		Microsoft WinXP
Browser		Internet Explorer 6.0 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; DI60SP1001; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; InfoPath.2)
Javascript		version 1.3
Monitor		Resolution : 1024 x 768 Color Depth : 32 bits
Time of Visit		Feb 12 2010 8:51:19 am
Last Page View		Feb 12 2010 8:51:45 am
Visit Length		26 seconds
Page Views		1
Referring URL		http://gatewaypundit...-truther-statements/
Visit Entry Page		http://mainfo.blogspot.com/
Visit Exit Page		http://mainfo.blogspot.com/
Out Click		More from BlogHer http://www.blogher.com/advertise
Time Zone		UTC-5:00
Visitor's Time		Feb 12 2010 11:51:19 am
Visit Number		60,394

Will Our Cell Phones No Longer Be Private?

I find this chilling. Obama continues his march toward the Big Brother State.

On Friday, the first federal appeals court to consider the topic will hear oral arguments (PDF) in a case that could establish new standards for locating wireless devices.

In that case, the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.

Those claims have alarmed the ACLU and other civil liberties groups, which have opposed the Justice Department's request and plan to tell the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that Americans' privacy deserves more protection and judicial oversight than what the administration has proposed.

"This is a critical question for privacy in the 21st century," says Kevin Bankston, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who will be arguing on Friday. "If the courts do side with the government, that means that everywhere we go, in the real world and online, will be an open book to the government unprotected by the Fourth Amendment."

Hat Tip BBCW and CNET.

The Road To Serfdom

60% of Americans receive more from the Federal Government than they put in. We are very close to the tipping point that leads our country to serfdom. There are 5 more videos in this 6-part series and they can be found at Nearly Nobody's News. 70% of Americans believe in the free market system, and 30% believe in Socialism. That 30% are working hard to change the culture of America. Stossel asks Congressman Paul Ryan a good question. How, if he is talking about the Constitution now, can he explain that he voted for TARP and the auto bailouts.

Here Is Last Night's Resistnet Radio With Bill Turner (and me)

Bill did a great job putting me at ease and asking the right questions. Drag and drop the bar to the 64-minute mark to hear my guest segment.

Remember Our Troops

With Valentines Day coming this weekend, we should remember to show a little love to our troops overseas. Send a free card at this site <----by Xerox.

Our Very Own Blogger, LL, Has Written A Novel

Did you know LL has written a fictional novel about the CIA's secret war in Laos in the 1960s? And how does LL know about these things? He is not at liberty to say...

I have read White Powder and it is a fast-paced adventure. Here is the book review I wrote for Amazon.

5.0 out of 5 stars White Powder has it all!, February 8, 2010
By Opus #6 (Southern California) - See all my reviews
Have you ever wondered how an up-and-coming young soldier gets recruited by the CIA? Have you ever wondered what CIA spies do when they are running loose in the tropical jungle? Have you ever wondered what the living conditions of American soldiers were like in the 1960s in Southeast Asia? I found this book particularly satisfying because it answered all of my questions and more!

Order the book at Amazon here. This book is not for the faint-of-heart. But then again, the men who are sent to do battle for America overseas are expected to be made of tough stuff.

I Will Be On ResistNet Radio Weds Night

I hope you will join me in my "radio" debut. Bill Turner of ResistNet has been kind enough to invite me on the show. I have a ton of things to talk about. Who knows. I may bring printouts of your blog posts and read them on air. Muahahahaha!

Here is the link to last week's show. It is every Wednesday night from 8 to 10pm central time. I will be on the second hour, so that will be at 9pm central time or 7pm pacific standard time.

http://www.resistnet.com/group/resistnetradioshow

I am, of course, a little nervous, this being my first time doing a show. But I see this as a normal part of being a blogger. We are willing to stand up and speak, literally. Hey, if Michelle Malkin and Mary Katharine Ham can do all the Fox shows, I can do this, right?