PurePolitics

“Gay” Sex Kills

2008-04-22T18:35:00.001-07:00

“Gay” Sex Kills

Can you imagine officials at a middle school, junior high or high school setting aside a day to promote “tolerance” for heavy smoking and drinking among children? How about a day where teachers encourage kids to “embrace who they are,” pick up that crack pipe and give it a stiff toke?

Neither can I. The public would go ballistic, and for good reason.

But that hasn’t stopped officials in thousands of schools across the country from promoting other politically correct and socially “in-vogue” behaviors that — both statistically and manifestly — are every bit as dangerous as the aforementioned frowned-upon behaviors.

That’s exactly what the homosexual activist “Day of Silence” is all about — advancing, through clever, feel-good propaganda, full acceptance among children of the homosexual lifestyle.

Just the Facts Ma’am

By recently admitting that “HIV is a gay disease,” Matt Foreman, outgoing Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, acknowledged what the medical community has known for decades: the homosexual lifestyle is extremely high-risk and often leads to disease and even death.

In fact, multiple studies have established that homosexual conduct, especially among males, is considerably more hazardous to one’s health than a lifetime of chain smoking.

To the consternation of “gay” activist flat-earthers and homosexual AIDS holocaust deniers everywhere, one such study — conducted by pro-“gay” researchers in Canada — was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE) in 1997.

While the medical consensus is that smoking knocks from two to 10 years off an individual’s life expectancy, the IJE study found that homosexual conduct shortens the lifespan of “gays” by an astounding “8 to 20 years” — more than twice that of smoking.

“[U]nder even the most liberal assumptions,” concluded the study, “gay and bisexual men in this urban centre are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871. … [L]ife expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men.”

This morose reality makes a strong case for a fitting redefinition of so-called “homophobia,” that being “Homophobia: The rational fear that ‘gay sex’ will kill you!”

The fact that we don’t have mandatory surgeon general warnings on the side of condom wrappers is a testament to the power and influence wielded by the radical homosexual lobby. (Warning: Male-male anal sodomy has been proven to shorten your lifespan by up to 20 years.)

Not surprisingly, that same homosexual lobby and its codependent enablers in the mainstream media moved quickly to sweep the IJE study under the rug. Under tremendous pressure, the researchers who conducted the study even jumped into the political damage control fray issuing a statement which read, “[W]e do not condone the use of our research in a manner that restricts the political or human rights of gay and bisexual men or any other group.”

Yeah, so?

Of course, that’s all just worthless fluff. All the political spin in the world doesn’t change reality, nor does it eliminate the study’s disturbing conclusions or practical implications. The research left ZERO wiggle room for anyone who would argue that homosexuality is a “perfectly normal and healthy alternative sexual orientation.”

The risks associated with homosexual conduct are so drastic, in fact, that U.S. health regulations prohibit men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have had sex with MSM, from even donating blood.

Consider that, according to the Food and Drug Administration, MSM, “have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population, 800 times higher than first time blood donors and 8,000 times higher than repeat blood donors.”
Adults and children who engage in homosexual conduct, especially males, are also susceptible, at an astronomical rate, to nearly all other forms of sexually transmitted disease (STD). For example, the Hepatitis B virus is about five to six times more prevalent among “gays,” and Hepatitis C is twice as common.
But perhaps most shocking are today’s syphilis rates among homosexual men and adolescents. A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that although homosexuals comprise only a fraction of the population (one to two percent), they account for an epidemic 64 percent of all syphilis cases.
The “Day of Silence”
In light of the irrefutable medical facts, it should be considered criminally reckless for educators to teach children that homosexual conduct is a normal, safe and perfectly acceptable alternative form of sexual expression (or “sexual orientation”).

But instead, the “gay” lifestyle is vigorously promoted in our public schools. Sexually confused children who suffer from gender identity disorder and same-sex attractions are told to “embrace who they are,” and are encouraged to entertain deviant and dangerous sexual temptations. “But always use a condom!” liberal educators bellow. (Forget that condoms have a perilously high failure rate and are incapable of preventing numerous STDs such as the HPV virus.)

On April 25, 2008, the pro-homosexual indoctrination of your children comes to a boil. Homosexual activists and like-minded liberal educators will be pushing the so-called “Day of Silence” on kids in thousands of schools across the country.

The “Day of Silence” (DOS) is organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), one of the most militant and well-funded of the powerful homosexual pressure groups. DOS purports to confront the alleged systematic harassment and bullying of children who self-identify as homosexual, bisexual or “transgender.” (For a sampling of the kinds of things GLSEN teaches children, click here. Be warned, though. It’s pretty graphic.)

To be sure, bullying and harassment should not be tolerated against anyone, anywhere for any reason, and those who engage in such activities should be firmly disciplined. However, DOS has very little to do with “bullying” and has everything to do with propaganda.

During DOS, children and teachers are encouraged to disrupt the school day by refusing to speak, in a show of support to self-described “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual” and “transgender” students. Kids are additionally taught that Biblical truth, which holds that human sexuality is a gift from God shared between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage, is “homophobic,” “hateful” and “discriminatory.”

Our schools are supposed to be places of learning, not places of political indoctrination. It’s the height of impropriety and cynicism for “gay” activists and school officials to use good-hearted but misguided children as pawns in their attempt to further a deceptive, highly controversial and polarizing political agenda.

DOS is pure, unadulterated propaganda and, based on the medical science, amounts to nothing short of educational malpractice. With liberal school officials in tow, these militant homosexual activists are brazenly circumventing and abusing parental authority to further this dangerous political agenda. DOS is also a slap in the face to the many students with traditional moral values.

So, it’s time for the “Day of Silence” to finally live up to its name. It’s time for these radical adult activists to be silent in our children’s schools.

And you can to do something to help.

At DOS-participating schools all over the country, parents are joining with dozens of pro-family organizations, such as Concerned Women for America (CWA), in a “Day of Silence Walkout.” They’re keeping their kids home from school on DOS as a show of protest. (For more information visit www.missionamerica.com).

Parents and children are also strongly encouraged to participate in the Alliance Defense Fund’s non-disruptive “Day of Truth,” which will follow DOS on Monday, April 28, 2008. (For more information visit www.dayoftruth.org).

Children are impressionable. Their young minds are fresh clay ready for molding, and these adult homosexual activists know it. Your child’s spiritual, emotional and physical well-being belongs in your hands, not in the hands of liberal activists and elitist educators with a deceptive and destructive political agenda.

It’s time to shatter the silence with truth.

Matt Barber is one of the “like-minded men” with Concerned Women for America. He is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law and serves as CWA's policy director for cultural issues.

Why Is Congress Ignoring The Incredible Promise Of Adult Stem Cells?

2007-01-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

Liberal Republicans and Democrats in Congress are rushing to overturn President Bush’s ban on expanded use of human embryos in stem cell research this week. Under consideration this week is H.R. 3, a bill that is designed to institutionalize the killing of unborn humans for their stem cells.

Why are liberals so determined to expand on the killing of the unborn? They already vigorously defend the so-called “right” of an abortionist to “terminate” the life of unborn children—even those in the ninth month of life. What drives these individuals to now view human embryos as spare body parts for others?

But, more to the point: Why do liberals consistently refuse to consider the promising results of adult stem cells, which are already being used to cure diseases?

For years, physicians have used adult stem cells, stem cells from umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid, placentas -- as well as gene therapy -- to help individuals with diseases. Significant progress is being made in the field of regenerative medicine – which uses the body’s own cells to regenerate damaged tissue.

The Washington Post, (January 8, 2007) reported on the promise of using cells in the amniotic fluid of pregnant women for the healing of diseases. These cells can grow into brain, muscle and other tissues!

These cells are apparently even easier to retrieve and to store than are embryonic stem cells – and don’t carry the ethical baggage with them. These cells can potentially be frozen and kept in a personalized tissue bank for future use. This is the latest breakthrough in the use of non-embryos for stem cells – and should be vigorously pursued.

Adult stem cells, on the other hand, have already been used to treat diseases successfully. The Journal of the American Medical Association has reported that 50% of those with Lupus who were treated with adult stem cells were disease-free 5 years after treatment; The Journal of Rheumatology found that 73% of those with rheumatoid arthritis could be controlled on medication after being treated with adult stem cells; and the journal Nature has reported that vision-impaired mice injected with adult stem cells showed improvement.

There is more: In 2004, the National Right To Life Committee reported that adult stem cells are used in more than 30 anti-cancer therapies! In addition, adult stem cells injected into damaged hearts have become healthy muscle tissue. Harvard Medical School researchers have successfully reversed juvenile onset diabetes in mice by using “precursor cells” taken from the spleens of healthy mice. In addition, severed spinal cords have been regenerated in mice by the use of gene therapy!

These are only a few of the many examples that can be given of the successful use of adult stem cells to cure diseases. On the contrary, there is not one case I’m aware of showing that the use of stem cells from unborn humans has been successfully used to cure any disease.

Why is Congress so eager to normalize the killing of unborn humans for their body parts? What sort of grisly mindset compels these legislators to believe it’s ethical to kill one human to benefit another? Is it because the embryo can’t donate, scream, protest, or picket? How can a civilized society accept the high-tech cannibalism involved in the deliberate killing of a human embryo to harvest its parts?

Perhaps our Congressmen should research the horrific practice in Communist China of killing political prisoners for their body parts. The same logic applies to the killing of unborn embryos for their parts. After all, why waste those eyes, livers, spleens, etc., of dead prisoners when they could benefit a high-ranking member of the Red Chinese Army? This is what has regularly occurred in China over the past decades. (After denying this practice for more than a decade, China’s leaders admitted what they were doing in 2006. They have now supposedly banned this practice. Lying to Capitalist news outlets is standard practice in this ruthless dictatorship so their assurance is suspect.)

So, will Chinese Communist ethics rule in Congress this week as legislators debate H.R. 3, or will our lawmakers reject this war against human embryos and focus on adult stem cell research and the promise that regenerative medicine holds? We’ll know soon.

By Rev. Louis P. Sheldon
Chairman, Traditional Values Coalition

A Tsunami of a Problem

2007-01-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

Try to remember that time not so long ago when celebrities were flooding the airwaves, begging for help for victims of the tsunami. Only the most heartless of Americans could have possibly turned down those impassioned appeals.

Now comes word from the BBC that half of the billions of dollars pledged by individuals, businesses, and governments around the globe for tsunami aid has not yet been spent—two years after the disaster.

It should come as no surprise, however, that a number of foreign governments have completely reneged on their promise to send aid. Others have only given a small percentage of what they promised.

All told, some 6.7 billion dollars was pledged, but only 3.4 billion has been spent, according to the BBC report. Among the biggest deadbeats—China, which pledged 301 million dollars to Sri Lanka, but has actually given only a paltry million…France, which promised 79 million, but has forked over just a little more than a million…and Spain, which pledged 60 million, but has actually donated less than a million.

With friends like these, the tsunami victims need no enemies.

The BBC reports that the European Commission owes 70 million; Britain, 12 million. Meanwhile, the United States has donated about 38 percent of the dollars it promised. The Red Cross, one of the most trusted relief agencies in existence, promised to build 50,000 homes, but has finished only about 8,000.

The British Red Cross is defending its post-disaster performance, with spokesman Matthias Schmale telling the BBC: “It is incredibly difficult…we said from the beginning, this is happening in very difficult circumstances. We raised the money knowing it was difficult. It will take time to spend this money in a responsible manner.”

Schmale admitted that the speed at which houses are being built sounds like “slow progress.” However, he noted that the tsunami also swept away identity papers and legal documents, creating a bureaucratic storm.

However, an official with the United Nations, Miloon Kothari, sees the excuse-making as uncalled for: “It should really not take this long to build permanent housing,” Kothari told the BBC.

Kothari added, “I do not accept the explanation that it is going to take four to five years, in some cases, seven. I’m an architect, I know how long it takes to build a house.”

It was the day after Christmas in 2004 that an earthquake measuring 9.3 in magnitude sparked a tsunami that resulted in the loss of more than 200,000 lives.

Obviously, it can take a long period of time for those who survive such a disaster to recover. But when promised money is inexcusably slow in coming…when pledges made are not kept…and when snail-paced bureaucracy is involved…recovery is not only hindered—it can actually grind to a halt.

If ever there was an effective argument against nationalized health care, the tsunami relief fiasco is it. If it takes more than two years for a centralized authority to build a house, imagine how long it could take for you to find a surgeon to remove your gall bladder—if the federal government were in charge of the entire health care system.

There are some things that the private sector is simply better equipped to handle. Home building, food service, economy-building, and health care are just a few of them.

Hanging Brings Iraq No Harmony

2006-12-30T21:34:00.000-08:00

Those who believe that a kindly Providence keeps a watchful eye on America's welfare can cite the fact of Gerald Ford. On Aug. 9, 1974, at a moment when the nation was putting aside a tormented president and aching for serenity in high places, to the center of national life strode an abnormality - a happy, normal man as president.

Watergate and a presidential resignation were only two of the nation's problems that August. The mid-'70s were years when everyday things could no longer be counted on - inflation was undermining the currency as a store of value, and lines at gasoline pumps testified to the power of foreigners to get between the Americans and their best friends, their automobiles.

Ford was a political sedative for a nation with jangled nerves.

He was one of five presidents who never got elected to the office. He was the only person to be president without receiving any popular or electoral votes for president or vice president. He was born in Omaha and represented a western Michigan district, and much was made, rightly, of his Midwesternness.

Ford was an "accidental president," but there are reasons why accidents happen as they do. Call it the cunning of history, or an irony of American life, but this underestimated graduate of the Yale Law School served a purpose Nixon did not have in mind when he nominated him to replace the disgraced Vice President Spiro Agnew. Nixon probably hoped Ford's popularity in the House would enable him to rally House Republicans against impeachment. Instead, Ford's presence in the vice presidency probably made his former House colleagues less afraid of impeachment.

There is a photograph of the House Chamber when President Truman was delivering one of his State of the Union addresses. Scattered through the chamber in front of Truman were four future presidents - Congressman Kennedy, Sen. Johnson, Congressman Nixon, Congressman Ford. Never before or since have four consecutive presidents gone directly from the legislative branch to national elective office.

In 1976 Ford might have won a full term if he had been less statesmanlike: His pardon of Richard Nixon unquestionably hurt him politically but unquestionably helped with national healing. Ford also might have won if he had stepped out of character and been more adventurous - if in selecting a running mate he had chosen, as he considered doing, Ambassador Anne Armstrong, a Texan, to be the first woman on a national ticket. Instead he chose a Midwesterner, Kansan Bob Dole, thereby giving a boost to a distinguished career that would produce the party's presidential nominee 20 years later. Ford also might have won if some unsettling economic numbers had not come out a few days before Election Day. Or if he had not become lost in the labyrinth of peculiar thinking and rhetoric that went with detente, insisting that Poland was not dominated by the Soviet Union.

He almost won anyway. A change of 12,791 votes in Ohio and Mississippi would have sufficed. The 1976 presidential election was the only one the Republicans lost between 1964 and 1992. Ford was punished for Nixon's sins: Jimmy Carter won by running as the non-Nixon.

Surely subsequent presidential history has deepened the nation's appreciation of what it had for 29 months.

Flag Day

2006-06-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

Millions of Americans will wave Old Glory from their front porches today - Flag Day proud of what it symbolizes: freedom.

Yet in Washington, Congress again plans to debate an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would "prohibit physical desecration of the flag of the United States."

Most Americans don't want to see their flag spat upon, defaced or burned. But a nation that tolerates such acts shows a profound respect for the freedoms it holds dear, especially the freedom of speech and expression. Some say that burning the Stars and Stripes is the ultimate expression of free speech, even though most of us find the message repugnant.

Supporters of the amendment say it would stop those who express hatred for freedom, insult the sacrifice of patriots and reject American principles. But limiting freedom of expression because we don't like the message represents a dangerous slippery slope.

The flag is an important symbol of national pride, but it is not more important than our cherished right to live and speak freely.

Diplomacy 101 with Iran

2006-06-06T05:01:00.000-07:00

The willingness — or desperation — of the Bush administration to try diplomacy in pursuit of dissuading Iran from its nuclear ambitions is a welcome change of behavior.

Tehran and Washington continue to push and shove with words, but the atmosphere took a decidedly promising turn when the White House agreed to talk with the Iranian regime. The two sides are wrangling over preconditions to those discussions, but even that is a remedial kind of diplomacy for each. "Working with our international partners," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last week, "the United States is making every effort to achieve a successful diplomatic outcome ... "

After nearly six years of bluster at every turn, these are welcome words out of the Bush administration.

American foreign policy has been powered by a sense of exceptionalism and independence from international rules and diplomatic protocols, as if the United States did not need anyone's permission or assistance. The Iraq war demonstrated the tragic consequences and expensive and lethal limitations of such an attitude.

Iran actively chose not to be impressed. Threats and intimidation have not worked, so President Bush and his secretary of state opted for old-fashioned diplomacy. They recruited two of Iran's key benefactors and trading partners — China and Russia — plus three European leaders — Britain, France and Germany — to tell Tehran to knock it off.

Suddenly, the mouthy Iranian regime no one trusts is confronted with a diplomatic coalition of the willing — countries ready to talk and cajole and back economic sanctions, if need be.

The next step is patience, plus the willingness to apply pressure and keep it in place to stanch the hemorrhaging of Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Give or take brief chats before U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, the two countries have not talked since 1979 and the rise of the Islamic revolution and the taking of American hostages. Give this process enough time to get established before it is prematurely declared a failure.

The Bush administration is invoking diplomacy and that ought to be applauded.
(by Seattle Times)

It’s Time to Re-brand “Brand Atlanta”

2006-05-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

With the Mayor’s proposal Monday to spend $14 million of additional taxpayer money to fund Brand Atlanta the next two years, the time finally has come to say publicly what everyone has said and thought privately: while Brand Atlanta has worthy goals, the creative execution has been a flop.

I do not assert this lightly or in a vacuum; I have asked the opinions of hundreds of people in the business world and larger community over six months, and the overwhelming verdict is that the campaign is bland, not uniquely identifying, nor meaningful. Certainly not one believes it has been worth the time and money spent, or that what we have out there now will materially enhance the city’s reputation and prospects.

Like the old fable of the Emperor sold on invisible clothes, townspeople were first stunned, then laughed quietly, then they just resigned themselves to watching the silliness unfold. But also like the fable, the situation has grown ever more serious while town elders have not spoken up, and someone now must tell the Emperor that (s)he’s not wearing any clothes! With a whopping $12 million spent so far, about a third of which came directly from taxpayers, and now the proposal for $14 million more, it is time to continue Atlanta’s legacy of speaking truth to power.

What was the original goal? In Brand Atlanta’s own words, to “distinguish the city as a preferred destination for visitors, residents and businesses alike.” Everyone rightly points to the Las Vegas campaign as the new promotional gold standard, to the point that I don’t have to repeat their tagline. They have a distinctive theme, use memorable imagery, and create humorous storylines.

So what specifically is wrong here? The slogan “Every Day Is An Opening Day” doesn't have a natural tie with Atlanta no matter how hard they spin it, no one really gets it (who’s opening what when?), and it’s just not true. The radio and TV commercials with Holly Hunter’s and Samuel Jackson’s distinctive voices sound polished, but ring of fake boosterism, like corporate-talk at a trade show. And why are we saturated with them here – isn’t this intended for people elsewhere?

The hip-hop “anthem” has a limited audience, and people who like the genre tell me it’s not a good hip-hop song anyway, a big reason it gets no airplay. No one cares about the alternate versions recently created. The logo looks like someone put Coke red, the Hawks wings, and a boring 70’s font style in a blender.

Let’s not forget (if anyone ever learned them to start) about “The Three O’s”, a set of mission-speak generalities that no one listens to – “Our city’s boundless optimism and spirit of universal openness create a place of opportunity for everyone.” Huh? What city are we talking about again?

Clearly, creativity just doesn’t work by committee, especially one run by huge companies.
Despite this poor start, however, there is still hope for a solution.

Burdened by the challenge of trying to please too many constituencies, Brand Atlanta spurned a simpler and better path. They rejected the one label everyone in Atlanta and almost everyone in the country already knows – "Hotlanta". Many times I have been in another city, told someone I was from Atlanta, and watched their face light up as they said “Oh, Hot-lanta! Great place, lots going on there.” How many other cities have such a positive and ubiquitous nickname?

Yet a November New York Times article reported that the committee actually regarded “Hotlanta” as a negative, one member asking, “Why remind people who are considering coming to Atlanta in July and August that it's hot here?” I had to read this twice at the time before laughing out loud at how badly they missed the meaning of the term. Come on, everyone knows it can get hot in the South! Texas is worse, and our climate is great the other ten months. More importantly, everyone I’ve talked to rolls their eyes when hearing that quote, knowing that the "hot" refers to the energy and dynamism of this city, the excitement and growth here, not the thermometer!

No, instead of running away from the one label everyone knows, it seems clearly smarter to embrace it. So I would like to put forth a different six-word slogan, one that every person of the hundreds I have polled believe works much better:
.
Hotlanta – The Cool Place To Be

This is at once easily identifiable, easy to interpret, and it speaks truthfully to everyone across cultural boundaries. The neat play on words between hot and cool works as a counterpoint: we’ve got both big-city sizzle and gracious Southern style. Hotlanta is so hot on several fronts that it's become the cool place to be. It purposefully doesn’t say “To Visit”, but a place to be, to stay – this message speaks to relocating companies as easily as it does to tourists and conventions.

Moreover, easily-imagined ad campaigns could support this theme for decades, putting front and center the special mix of assets, environment, and people Atlanta boasts: unique attractions (Georgia Aquarium, World of Coke, new High Museum, CNN, etc.); exciting and varied nightlife; a dynamic, hospitable business environment for large and small companies alike; the vibrant, trend-setting music industry scene; many top universities; great neighborhoods and diversity; and certainly our top sports venues and franchises – Michael Vick is one all by himself.

If we need a theme song, why try to create one from scratch? It would be easier and effective to reuse the most popular songs from our biggest hometown acts. Why not ask OutKast if we can take their major hit “Hey Ya” with its infectious beat, create new lyrics and change the title to “Hotlanta”? That would be an energetic, upbeat anthem out of the box, known and liked by all. For the logo, why not have a Peachtree Road Race-style design competition, choose 3 to 5 finalists and put it to a vote? Let’s make this a real community effort, one in which people feel they have a stake.

Good leaders in business and politics constantly solicit feedback, measure effectiveness, and take corrective action. Recently New Jersey spent $260,000 on a slogan before killing it, while New York aborted launching its own poorly received campaign. In Atlanta, we too can give ourselves a mulligan and quickly get back on track. The $4.5 million in tax money already spent is sunk, but we should at least learn the lessons it bought us before committing more.

Mayor Franklin has been incredible so far at taming large, long-standing problems facing our city. This represents a new challenge, one where she and Coke executive Jackson Kelly, Brand Atlanta’s new leader, can quickly turn a set of missteps into a victory.

So this time let’s give all Atlanta a voice – let’s have the AJC and other media run polls on whether people prefer the current slogan or this new one. If 70% or more agree that we can do better with Hotlanta, let’s do what Atlanta has done many times before and go with what works.

And if we do that, fear not: unlike the big-ticket ad firms, I won’t charge millions. The city can use the slogan free of charge. The best reward would be a cool key to The Cool Place To Be, Hotlanta.

Mr. Fleischmann is President & CEO of Atlanta-based MostChoice.com, a leading online insurance and mortgage quote request service providing leads for agents and brokers nationwide. He also has experience revamping his company's business model to achieve a spot in the upcoming Inc500.

President Fox, about the border

2006-05-22T04:20:00.000-07:00

Washington is honored and delighted to welcome Mexican President Vicente Fox for a visit this week. This is a perfect opportunity to show off our state, say thank you for all the apples Mexico buys, brag about our airplanes, and ask a few questions.

U.S. Census figures tell us Washington is home to more than 500,000 Latinos, and roughly 80 percent are of Mexican heritage. Two U.S. states separate our borders, but with economic and familial ties, we are practically neighbors. A question missing from the emotional immigration debate over tighter security at this country's southern border is what Mexico will do to cinch things up on its side of the international divide?

We know how President Fox feels about the fence proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives last December; he called it shameful and stupid. He has decried plans to "militarize" the border with National Guard deployments.

Not surprisingly, he is supportive of a guest-worker plan and a rational path to citizenship.

Entirely missing is a sense of what Mexico will do to impede, confront and interdict the movement of illegal, undocumented workers into the U.S. A significant responsibility falls on Mexico to be a reliable partner in regaining control of the border and maintaining a lawful environment.

One pointed inquiry is about the percentage mix of Mexicans who are attracted to opportunities in the U.S. versus those who flee a nation with continuing human-rights issues.

Mexico's economic strains are real enough. News reports say Mexico's economy must grow at a brisk annual rate of 6 percent just to provide a million jobs a year to keep pace with population growth. Uncle Sam cannot continue as the default employer.

President Fox will be out of office in a few months. Elections are in July.

He should share with friends in Washington what his leading National Action Party has in mind for managing Mexico's side of the border.

We got disconnected

2006-05-15T04:30:00.000-07:00

We got disconnected

Have you ever misdialed your phone and gotten someone other than who you expected? Have you ever received a misdialed call? Have you ever called an old friend's old phone number and discovered it had been assigned to someone else?

If any of these things have happened to you, how can you possibly claim you have never called nor been called by someone on the NSA's anti-terrorism watch list?

Since George W. Bush has asserted he has the right to arrest anyone and hold him indefinitely without filing charges, and since Congress has refused to challenge this assertion, you could wind up in Guantánamo — or Egypt? — for a wrong number!

If you aren't worried yet, it's because you haven't been paying attention!

I want my democracy back!

— Grover Partee, Seattle

More Fitting Punishment

2006-05-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

Regarding "Moussaoui Gets Life" (front page, May 4):

So, once again, "justice is served." Right. We all know that to be a lie.

How can Americans give Moussaoui a life sentence? The man talked about how much he hates Americans and how he would love to see Americans killed by Muslims, and they give him life? I think the majority of Americans who can even still remember 9/11 would love to see him put in a building and then watch someone fly an airplane into it. Lethal injection would be too good for him.

I hope these people who gave him a life sentence realize that, given the chance, he would prefer to kill them and their loved ones. Maybe one day the American people will wake up and realize these people despise us and would love to rid the Earth of all of us.

KERRI BOWMAN OUSLEY

Ohio's Race for Governor 2006

2006-05-03T04:53:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

In just over six months, voters will decide who will lead Ohio into the next decade. The person selected will either preside over the state's continued economic decline, or will find a way to staunch a devastating out-migration of jobs and talent.

The former is not an option.

Ohioans will choose between Secretary of State Ken Blackwell or Rep. Ted Strickland, the two winners in Tuesday's primary election.

These two now prepare for a general election campaign that must be one of ideas - thoughtful ideas premised on workable solutions. Voters must reject any emerging campaign banter that is unrelated to vital issues like job creation, job retention, education, tax policy and Medicaid expenditures.

Both Democrat Strickland and Republican Blackwell have talked to some extent about how they would attempt to reverse Ohio's decline. They have stressed the importance of shoring up Ohio's manufacturing base, while attracting new and emerging technologies. Both have addressed the failure of Ohio's public schools and the need for universities to form and sustain a talented work force.

But over the next six months, each man must spell out clearly how his administration would remove the corrupting stench of scandal from the Statehouse while propelling Ohio toward prosperity. Any reflex toward divisive social issues or gutter politics should be repressed, as Ohio voters have grown weary of candidates whose consuming focus on side issues keeps the real issues from their rightful place at the top of the agenda of public debate.

While it's fair to expect that Blackwell and Strickland will sometimes get rough as they engage in philosophical and intellectual warfare, this state no longer has the luxury of tolerating discussions that fail to advance prosperity and the overall public good.

In many ways, this race is the most important gubernatorial election in Ohio history. This is not a time for pandering. It is a time for candidates who advance thoughtful and sensible ideas.

Blackwell and Strickland owe that much to the 11 million people they want to lead.

Al Qaeda, Saddam

2006-04-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Bad news about Iraq is not hard to come by in current media coverage. Terrorist attacks on Iraqi citizens and U.S.troops are recorded day by day. Mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by Iraqi security forces leaps to the headlines. Calls for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation are gathering steam among Democrats on Capitol Hill, with Congress set to debate the issue next week.

When it comes to any good news out of Iraq, the liberal media are negligent or simply silent. And if there is new information corroborating the reasons the United States went to war against Saddam Hussein in the first place, it is of no consequence to the media, which long ago decided that Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programs were a figment of President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair's fevered imaginations. And of course, in their view, there's no shred of evidence linking Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda. All of which will surely go down in journalistic annals of disgrace.

Fortunately, much like that of the Nazis, Saddam's regime was one of recordkeepers. Piles and piles of its intelligence documents have been captured by U.S. forces, but have until recently been classified in bulk. Two million documents were released in February by the U.S. government, and of them, only some 5 percent , or 100,000, have been translated. Even so, the evidence that's already emerging of Saddam's dealings with Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda operatives is highly incriminating. This should be front-page news.

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Rick Santorum and Rep. Pete Hoekstra have carried the ball for the release of the documents, which ought to be the subject of extensive congressional hearings. In the media so far, Weekly Standard reporter Stephen Hayes was for a while all but alone in pursuing the truth in the Iraqi documents, but he is gradually being joined by others. Even a cover story in the May/June issues of Foreign Affairs magazine, based on a partially declassified Joint Forces study of Saddam's regime, concludes that the delusions of Saddam and the deceptions of his terrified underlings made the war's outcome a foregone conclusion.

In an interview with Frontpagemag.com, intelligence expert Thomas Joscelyn, whose writing have also appeared in the Weekly Standard, points to some of the most incriminating facts that have so far come to light.

For instance, a document dating from early 1997 summarizes contacts dating from the mid-1990s between Iraqi intelligence and Saudi opposition groups, including al Qaeda. At the time, Osama bin Laden was seeking help from Iraqi television to carry al Qaeda propaganda against Saudi Arabia, and he also asked for Iraqi help in "joint operations against foreign forces," meaning those of the United States. Saddam's operatives "were left to develop doors of cooperation between the two sides to see what other doors of cooperation and agreement open up." The document also records Iraqi contacts with one an al Qaeda propaganda operative, Dr. Muhammed al-Massiri, operating out of London, who has confirmed Saddam's contacts with the "Arab Afghans" who fled Afghanistan in 2001 to seek safe haven in northern Iraq.

Equally interesting, the Joint Forces study, also working from Iraqi documents, shows that from 1994 Uday Hussein's brutal fedayeen ran terrorist training camps, graduating more than 7,200 "good men with full courage and enthusiasm" in their first year — talk about euphemisms. From 1998, the camps included "Arab volunteers from Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, 'the Gulf', and Syria." In January 2003, the volunteers participated in a training event named "Heroes Attack," designed to prepare the fedayeen for resistance against U.S. forces.

Other incriminating information has been available for a long time, but remains conveniently ignored, for instance that al Qaeda and Saddam were working together in Sudan to produce chemical weapons of mass destruction. It will be recalled that the Clinton administration controversially bombed a pharmaceutical factory, suspected of producing nerve gas, in retaliation for the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

The fact that a large slice of the media and intelligence community have managed to overlook these connections, should not be a reason to allow them to ignore them any further. Documents have to be translated and authenticated with all due speed. November's mid-term election will be yet another referendum on the U.S. presence in Iraq. The American people should demand an accounting of all the facts before they vote.

(PurePolitics.com)
By Helle Dale
April 26, 2006

Border Solution: Tom Jefferson

2006-03-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

March 29, 2006

I wanted to write about border security with Mexico as a concerned citizen myself. It's unfortunate but when you become Congress members the American people expect you to have the answers on everything and every subject that exists in the world. I have written to suggest some ideas on this subject of Border security and to point out some points concerning it. First, I believe that are Nation has a unemployment rate. We have a problem with everyone finding a job in this nation, even without illegal immigrants pouring into our nation from other nations. If we want our country to succeed we need to fix the unemployment rate for the current citizens we have rather than making the unemployment rate worse by letting in millions of illegal immigrants who will take jobs from American citizens, and insure that those legal citizens who are currently looking for a job will never find one. So we are wrong in letting illegal immigrants become citizens of this nation. We are doing the American people wrong, their children wrong, and the Nation wrong. We are also enlarging our unemployment rate in America, and stealing jobs from those legal American citizens who are looking for them. We are taking jobs from the low income whites, low income African Americans, and the low-income legal hispanics, who would more than gladly do the jobs, even the unpleasant ones, if they could find them. If it comes down to working at a unpleasant job or starving, believe me a person will work at the unpleasant job everytime.

We are taking their jobs and giving them to people who are not only not citizens, but are illegal aliens. And we are allowing all of this to happen because of lobbyists, special interests, and corporations who are greedy and want to make bigger profits by hiring cheap labor in illegal aliens. We are allowing corporations who are greedy engage in illegal acts, and bring about the ruin of America and it's legitimate families at the same time. America has its own unemployment problems and crime problems, we do not need to be allowing illegal aliens into this Nation to make everything worse. We do not need to be providing amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens that are currently in this country. The only illegal aliens who should be granted amnesty are the ones who have married either a American husband or American wife, and the ones who have given birth to a child on American soil, and the child is still alive. I believe this policy should be the only one allowed because people don't want to break up families, and God does not like to see families broken up. However, this policy should not be advertised or we will have thousands of illegal aliens seeking to marry American citizens, and thousands of illegal aliens having sex to produce children on American soil. It should be a unadvertised policy that the government will implement on a case by case basis as the illegal aliens are apprehended. Everyone else who is caught stealing jobs from the American citizens should be escorted back to Mexico.

The next question is how can we go about bringing an end to the lack of security at our borders.

I feel a number of things could be tried, such as mounting security cameras along the southern border spaced apart ever so far. These cameras could be either hidden such as in trees, hills, or mountains, or they could be installed on large steel poles. If large steel poles are used then the cameras should be installed about 25 feet to 40 feet high and be equipped with night vision capabilities. It's even possible some kind of a deterrent fence could also be built to supplement the security cameras. If one is built along certain areas, it should be one that cannot be cut by wire cutters or bolt cutters, and at the same time makes it very difficult for someone who attempts to go over it.

Now let's get back to the proposed "Security Camera Program" which is the main thing and policy that should be financed and implemented, before anything else, if we want to be able to see and monitor all the land along the border on a 24 hour basis. A special security building could be built which houses all the monitors to the security cameras which span the 2,000 to 4,000 mile border area. A large federal employee force could be hired to watch the monitor 24 hours a day. If illegal aliens are spotted the employees in the special security building could radio special units who are closest to the intruders location. These special units should be set-up at various distances along the 2,000 to 4,000 mile border area, and be equipped with sturdy terrain vehicles, planes, and helicopters so they can quickly move to the intruders (illegal aliens) location and apprehend them.

It would probably also be a good idea to build illegal alien prisons at various places along the border. This would send a strong signal to illegal aliens. The particular state who captures the illegal aliens should be given the discretion to either deport the captured aliens, or give them long prison sentences to discourage other illegal aliens who might seek to cross in the future.

If an illegal alien knows he may go to prison for 5 to 10 years at American border prisons for attempting crossing the border, other illegal aliens may not risk it as they would not want to be separated from their family and friends for 5 to 10 years.

We are presently letting Mexico and their government benefit at our detriment. Mexico's government likes the illegal aliens crossing into America as it lowers Mexico's unemployment rate, and drastically raises America's unemployment rate. Mexico likes it because many of Mexico's trouble makers who do not want to get caught in Mexico and put into jail, therefore cross the border into America. Mexico's government has now found a way to lower it's unemployment rate and get rid of many of it's troublemakers at the same time.

The U.S. must get Mexico to comply with an agreement where the Mexican courts will punish all the illegal aliens that are deported back to Mexico from America, even if it's a light punishment such as a month prison term or something. The U.S. must also get Mexico to comply with helping to set up policies in Mexico which detects and apprehends illegal aliens as they seek to cross the border from the Mexico side. The U.S. should also encourage the Mexican government to address the concerns of their own people. Furthermore, it is not right for Mexican citizens to make things worse in another nation just because they want to be disloyal to their own nation by not seeking to improve their own Nation and their own government. These illegal Mexican citizens, we see all over the news media today, should be waving their flags in Mexico seeking change and reform there, they should not be waving their Mexican flags in America, especially while they are stealing the jobs of low income American citizens at the same time. Not all the hispanic people waving the American flag in these protests are illegal aliens, some are American citizens, but many of them waving the Mexican flag are illegal aliens, or they are hispanic American citizens who are seeking to pave the way for friends or relatives in Mexico who are currently here as illegal aliens. Some may be waving the Mexican flag for other reasons, but I do not understand it, this is America shouldn't everyone be waving the American flag, even if they are seeking policies that steal jobs form low income Americans and give them to illegal aliens.

The U.S. should also crack down on American employers and Corporations who knowingly hire illegal aliens out of greed. If American employers hire illegal aliens for any kind of work whether contract work, temporary work, or any other kind, there should be a mandatory one year prison sentence to the actual employers in that company who knowingly did it and were responsible. However, the one year prison sentence should only be applied to the person who gave the okay or order to hire the illegal aliens. If a President or owner of a company knew nothing about it, and other employees in the company were responsible for it, then those particular employees should receive the one year prison sentence and not the President or owner.

We currently have a problem in our own Nation with unemployment, and with lower income people barely being able to feed their own children and provide for their families. We do not need to be letting in millions of illegal aliens and only making the problem worse.

I pray the Congress will consider the ideas I have mentioned in this letter. I pray the Congress will protect the borders and escort people out of this nation who are here illegally, except for those who have married an American citizens or had a baby while on American soil. Congress you must protect the American citizens regardless of what any special interest groups or corporations try to get you to do. The American people have there trust in you, you can not let them down. You cannot allow things to go on that are costing American citizens millions of their tax dollars, and is increasing the unemployment rate in America at the same time. You must protect America and its citizens.

These are tough issues and tough decisions. But we are now presently living in an age of nuclear weapons also. If we do not fix our border problem, soon extremist Muslim terrorists will be putting on Sombreros and it will be "all she wrote". We need to take care of America, it's citizens, and its unemployment problem first, only then should we consider letting others become citizens of America through proper legal processes. Congress you must protect America first, that is what you took an oath to do. You cannot fall or be swayed by any other pressures anywhere else. And you will find that when you always do what is right for America and its citizens, then you will always have the full support and appreciation of the American people.

Sincerely,

Tom Jefferson

Budget Spending!

2006-03-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Fighting terrorism and rebuilding New Orleans, Iraq and Afghanistan are straining the federal budget. Harder to understand is why a Republican White House and Republican Congress, during a time of low unemployment and solid economic growth, have presided over a huge expansion in social spending.

In 25 major social programs, enrollment increased an average of 17 percent from 2000 through 2005. This comes as population increased only 5 percent, reports USA Today in a startling tally of the recent welfare expansion.

The reason for the increases, according to the newspaper's well-substantiated analysis, is that more low-wage workers are eligible for food stamps and other forms of welfare. Medicaid has added 15 million beneficiaries and Medicare has added a costly prescription drug benefit.

What should concern taxpayers is that while spending on social programs increased by 22 percent in the five-year period, the increase does nothing to help solve the future funding shortfalls facing Medicare and Social Security.

Here's another way to look at it. The average household pays $18,000 in federal taxes, which is about $4,000 less than what's needed to balance the ballooning federal budget. Within 10 years, taxes would have to rise to $25,000 per household to balance the budget, the conservative Heritage Foundation calculates. But taxes can't increase 39 percent without destroying jobs and slowing growth.

That means federal expenses must be brought under control. The National Taxpayers Union says that if federal spending had increased only 4 percent a year since 2001, Bush would have been able to boast a budget surplus of $58 billion next year.

Instead, the national debt soars, future tax increases loom and voters wonder what happened to the fiscal conservatives they sent to Washington.

Titanic" & "My Life" by Bill Clinton

2006-02-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

Titanic" & "My Life" by Bill Clinton.

Students were assigned to read 2 books, "Titanic" & "My Life" by Bill Clinton.

One smart-ass student turned in the following book report, with the proposition
that they were nearly identical stories.

His cool professor gave him an A+ for this report:

Titanic: $29.99

Clinton : $29.99

Titanic: Over 3 hours to read

Clinton : Over 3 hours to read

Titanic: The story of Jack and Rose, their forbidden love, and subsequent
catastrophe.

Clinton : The story of Bill and Monica, their forbidden love, and subsequent
catastrophe.

Titanic: Jack is a starving artist.

Clinton : Bill is a bullshit artist.

Titanic: In one scene, Jack enjoys a good cigar.

Clinton : Ditto for Bill.

Titanic: During ordeal, Rose's dress gets ruined.

Clinton : Ditto for Monica.

Titanic: Jack teaches Rose to spit.

Clinton : Let's not go there.

Titanic: Rose gets to keep her jewelry.

Clinton : Monica's forced to return her gifts.

Titanic: Rose remembers Jack for the rest of her life.

Clinton : Clinton doesn't remember Jack.

Titanic: Rose goes down on a vessel full of seamen.

Clinton : Monica...ooh, let's not go there, either.

Titanic: Jack surrenders to an icy death.

Clinton : Bill goes home to Hilary...basically the same thing.

Intentional blots

2006-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Intentional blots

If there is one thing you are not going to see printed in any newspaper in the world, it's cartoons depicting Jesus (for Christians) or Moses (for Jews) in the same way Muhammad was depicted in those Danish cartoons. It doesn't take much to wonder why.

If Muslims want the Western world to change its views about their culture, they are going to have to start changing their image of their "Religion of Peace" from within.

Also, I would consider the protests against the Danish and other fellow European countries about their portrayal of Muhammad legit if it were just limited to the flag-burning of those countries whose newspapers where involved. However, I see this as an excuse for violence when I see American flags being burned.

Last time I checked, I didn't see those cartoons being published by American newspapers as an act of solidarity with the European newspapers.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair: PurePolitics.com's 2005 Person of the Year.

2005-12-21T21:37:00.000-08:00

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been selected by our visitors and editorial oversight committee as PurePolitics.com's 2005 Person of the Year.

The Year 2005 was a year very historic year in the realm of U.S. politics and global international affairs.

During 2005 we encountered just some of the following events:

War on Iraq reached 2,000 American Causalities
Iraq holds democratic election
Hurricane Katrina Tragedy
London Transit Bombings
Selection of a new Chief Justice: Judge Roberts
Saddam Hussein is hauled into court
Bird Flu strains found
Guantanamo Bay
Deaths of Pope John Paul II, Rosa Parks, Richard Pryor and Peter Jennings
The Tsunamis in east Asia
Israel leaves the West Bank
Run-away bride Jennifer Wilbanks
Aruba tragedy of 18 year Natalee Holloway
Alan Greenspan retiring from Federal Reserve
Courthouse shootings in Atlanta
Terri Schiavo case
Cindy Sheehan-outspoken critic of the war
CIA- Valerie Plame scandal
Tom DeLay scandal

*The Right Honorable Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. He has led the Labour Party since July 1994, (following the death of John Smith in May of that year) and brought Labour into power with a landslide victory in the 1997 general election, replacing John Major as Prime Minister and ending 18 years of Conservative government. He is now the Labour Party's longest-serving Prime Minister, and the only person to have led the party to three consecutive general election victories.

Blair moved the Labour Party towards the centre of British politics, using the term "New Labour" to distinguish his policies of support for the market economy from the party's previous rigid adherence to nationalization. He has referred to his policy as "modern social democracy" and "the third way". Critics on the left feel that he has compromised the principles of the founders of the Labour party, and that the Blair government has moved too far to the right, placing insufficient emphasis on traditional Labour priorities such as the redistribution of wealth.

Since the advent of the War on Terror, a significant part of Blair's political agenda has been dominated by foreign affairs, particularly those concerning Iraq. Despite public protests, he supported many aspects of George W. Bush's foreign policy, sending British forces to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent peacekeeping operations and is known as one of the strongest foreign allies of the United States. In October 2004 Blair declared his intention to seek a third term but not a fourth.

The Labour party won a third term in government at the 2005 general election for the first time in its history, although its majority in the House of Commons was reduced to 66.

On February 6, 2005, Blair became the longest-serving Labour prime minister: his 2838th day in office moved him past the combined length of 7 years 9 months that comprised Harold Wilson's four terms during 1964 to 1966, 1966 to 1970, February to October 1974 and October 1974 to March 1976.

On July 6, 2005, it was formally announced that the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Games of the XXX Olympiad, were awarded to London as host city, as announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the extremely successful 117th IOC session in Singapore. The last minute surprise win by London over frontrunner Paris was said to have been decided by the presence of Tony Blair at the IOC session, even down to Irish IOC member Patrick Hickey saying "This is down to Tony Blair. If he hadn't come here I'd say that six to eight votes would have been lost and London would not be sitting here today winners".

On Thursday July 7, 2005, a series of four bomb explosions struck London's public transport system during the morning rush hour. At 08:50, three bombs exploded within one minute on three London Underground trains. A fourth bomb exploded on a bus at 09:47 in Tavistock Square. All four incidents are believed to have been suicide bombings. 56 people were confirmed dead, with 700 injured. The incident was the deadliest single act of terrorism in the United Kingdom since 270 died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and it was the deadliest bombing in London since World War II.

Blair made a statement about that day's London bombings, saying that he believed it was "reasonably clear" that it was an act of terror, and that he hoped that the people of Britain could demonstrate that their will to overcome the events is greater than the terrorists' wish to cause destruction. He also said that his determination to "defend" the British way of life outweighed "extremist determination" to destroy it.

On July 21, 2005, a second series of explosions were reported in London, two weeks and some hours after the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Four controlled explosions, of devices considerably less advanced than those of the previous attacks, were carried out at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval underground stations, and on a bus in Shoreditch. Even though the attacks on the 21st were less severe than those on the 7th, Blair was reported to have said that the bombings in London today were intended "to scare people and to frighten them, to make them anxious and worried". He went on to say how the "police have done their very best, and the security services too, in the situation, and I think we have just got to react calmly and continue with our business as much as possible as normal".

In December 2005, the Prime Minister was presented with the "Statesman of the Decade" award by the East West Institute, a Transatlantic think tank that organizes an annual Security Conference in Brussels.

"We are proud to name Prime Minister Tony Blair as PurePolitics.com's 2005 Person of the Year," said Robert Ragsdale III, CEO of PurePolitics.com. "He follows in the footsteps of past heroic British Prime Ministers. History will someday look favorably upon Britain's true Statesmen. He is a leader who chooses democracy and freedom as his guide versus choosing political polls."

Official Site
10 Downing Street

*Background information provided from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ariel Sharon polled second with Chief Justice John Roberts a close third out of eight finalists for the 2005 Person of the Year. The other five finalists were: Families of Hurricane Katrina, Peter Jennings, Pope John Paul II, Lance Armstrong and Rosa Parks.

To select nominees for the PurePolitics.com 2005 Person of the Year, we utilized our greatest asset -- our visitors. We conducted a comprehensive assessment, of the most searched-for people, the most frequently viewed photos and news articles in this year. The results of this comprehensive overview were compiled to create an initial master list of nominees. An editorial oversight committee, made up of PurePolitics.com employees who are experts in tracking and identifying user interests and trends, then reviewed the data collected and used it to determine the final list of 8 nominees.

History of Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T06:31:00.000-08:00

Throughout history mankind has celebrated the bountiful harvest with thanksgiving ceremonies.

Before the establishment of formal religions many ancient farmers believed that their crops contained spirits which caused the crops to grow and die. Many believed that these spirits would be released when the crops were harvested and they had to be destroyed or they would take revenge on the farmers who harvested them. Some of the harvest festivals celebrated the defeat of these spirits.

Harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations were held by the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Hebrews, the Chinese, and the Egyptians.

The Greeks

The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. Their goddess of corn (actually all grains) was Demeter who was honored at the festival of Thesmosphoria held each autumn.
On the first day of the festival married women (possibility connecting childbearing and the raising of crops) would build leafy shelters and furnish them with couches made with plants. On the second day they fasted. On the third day a feast was held and offerings to the goddess Demeter were made - gifts of seed corn, cakes, fruit, and pigs. It was hoped that Demeter's gratitude would grant them a good harvest.

The Romans

The Romans also celebrated a harvest festival called Cerelia, which honored Ceres their goddess of corn (from which the word cereal comes). The festival was held each year on October 4th and offerings of the first fruits of the harvest and pigs were offered to Ceres. Their celebration included music, parades, games and sports and a thanksgiving feast.

The Chinese

The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival, Chung Ch'ui, with the full moon that fell on the 15th day of the 8th month. This day was considered the birthday of the moon and special "moon cakes", round and yellow like the moon, would be baked. Each cake was stamped with the picture of a rabbit - as it was a rabbit, not a man, which the Chinese saw on the face of the moon.

The families ate a thanksgiving meal and feasted on roasted pig, harvested fruits and the "moon cakes". It was believed that during the 3 day festival flowers would fall from the moon and those who saw them would be rewarded with good fortune.

According to legend Chung Ch'ui also gave thanks for another special occasion. China had been conquered by enemy armies who took control of the Chinese homes and food. The Chinese found themselves homeless and with no food. Many staved. In order to free themselves they decided to attack the invaders.

The women baked special moon cakes which were distributed to every family. In each cake was a secret message which contained the time for the attack. When the time came the invaders were surprised and easily defeated. Every year moon cakes are eaten in memory of this victory.
The Hebrews

Jewish families also celebrate a harvest festival called Sukkoth. Taking place each autumn, Sukkoth has been celebrated for over 3000 years.

Sukkoth is know by 2 names - Hag ha Succot - the Feast of the Tabernacles and Hag ha Asif - the Feast of Ingathering. Sukkoth begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, 5 days after Yom Kippur the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

Sukkoth is named for the huts (succots) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. These huts were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart, and carry as the Israelites wandered through the desert.

When celebrating Sukkoth, which lasts for 8 days, the Jewish people build small huts of branches which recall the tabernacles of their ancestors. These huts are constructed as temporary shelters, as the branches are not driven into the ground and the roof is covered with foliage which is spaced to let the light in. Inside the huts are hung fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn, and pomegranates. On the first 2 nights of Sukkoth the families eat their meals in the huts under the evening sky.

The Egyptians

The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honor of Min, their god of vegetation and fertility. The festival was held in the springtime, the Egyptian's harvest season.
The festival of Min featured a parade in which the Pharaoh took part. After the parade a great feast was held. Music, dancing, and sports were also part of the celebration.
When the Egyptian farmers harvested their corn, they wept and pretended to be grief-stricken. This was to deceive the spirit which they believed lived in the corn. They feared the spirit would become angry when the farmers cut down the corn where it lived.

The United States

In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter.

The Pilgrims had beaten the odds. They built homes in the wilderness, they raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. Their Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.

The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.

In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.

Canada

Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Observance of the day began in 1879. (thanks to holiday.net)

Why Do We Run?

2005-11-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

Why? Why do we run from a fight? On pain of irritating those who hear me doing it often, I quote from the Mel Gibson’s timeless classic, Braveheart, the heart wrenching, yet inspiring epic based on the life of Sir William Wallace. In the movie, Wallace and several other Scottish nobles have amassed an army that stands opposite the hoards of Edward Longshanks, the King of England who is set upon annihilating Wallace and forcing the people of Scotland back into submission. As the military leaders of the respective sides ride towards the center of the field to discuss possible terms, Wallace rides off after them in a fury. When one of his lieutenants calls after him, asking where he’s going, he turns back, and with an expression of childish mischief yet deadly purpose, he replies, “To pick a fight.”

Wallace must have prophetically heard a phrase uttered some centuries down the road by one Mr. Edmund Burke. He said, “All it takes for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Die he might, but Wallace would never have been accused of doing nothing. Why then do we, as conservatives, rather than welcoming the opportunity to defend our opinions with a fiery passion, we continue to run from fights? Time, and time again, we have had opportunities to win political, policy, and philosophical battles, and time and time again, we turn and run the opposite direction. I think those of us who have called ourselves traditionalists, Christians, conservatives, Republicans…whatever label you put on yourself, you know who you are. And what I’m about to say applies to most, if not all of you. For years, decades, really, we have been those who did nothing to enforce our claim to political ground. Absolutely nothing.

So, when Hillary becomes POTUS, we deserve it. Had Miers been confirmed, we deserved it. If they take away our right to take our children to Mass, Sunday School, or Synagogue, we deserve it. If they take away our national anthem because it glorifies the Biblical ideals of freedom and liberty too much, we deserve it. In similar fashion, American conservatives stood idly by as our courts paved a highway for the murder of untold millions of unborn children. We stood idly by as they removed prayer from our schools, took the Ten Commandments out of the courthouses. We said nothing when they tried to take the pledge of allegiance out of our schools. We stand idly by as they, even now, try to increase their holds on our lives by restricting the practice of the principles upon which this country was built and by which it is sustained. Two problems with that. Two really simple, logical problems. First, we have the “firepower” to win.

We have majority in Congress. We have a President with three more years. We have a Supreme Court ripe for the picking. We hold a majority of the governorships around the nation. We have a massive grassroots organization that outnumbers the Democrats by over a million. Second, we’re right. It’s that simple. We, as conservatives, hold the value systems, beliefs, and the platform that most accurately reflects correct moral principles, the beliefs held by the founders of this country, and the standards that are truest to truth, justice, equity, life, liberty, and the pursuit of the happiness that so many of us so strongly desire. That, my friends, is why my jaw dropped in absolute amazement when I heard about Harriet Mier’s withdrawal. I was unabashedly, unequivocally against her nomination. I do not think that someone who’s qualifications are relatively unknown, and who’s convictions and philosophy are in question, should even be considered. Hence, as you may assume, my surprise when I learned that Miers was to withdraw her name, and another, more conservative nominee to be offered. My question is this: why did we have to go through the pain of a failed nominee to get to this point? More importantly, why weren’t conservatives heard and heeded during the initial selection, instead of in the withdrawal consideration? Put simply, it is our job to influence the influencers, and we have not been influencing. In short, I think conservatives need to take just a moment and review the events of the last month. We need to cognitively take stock, and realize something.
I’ve said this for years, yet few seem to comprehend what it really means.

If Christian conservatives will unite, band together, and exert the political and government influence that is duly theirs, our citizen lobby would outnumber the liberals, the pro-abortionists, the environmentalists, the sodomites, and the anarchists…put together.

In the alternative, I’ll reference the chilling words of the late Reverend Martin Niemoeller. “In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn't speak up because I was a protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.”

Politics of the Belly

2005-10-31T18:27:00.000-08:00

In a failed state on the West African coast, fallow fields and an oligopolic import market mean many are going hungry. In this year's elections, rice is used as a political tool.

In Liberia, devastated after 14 years of a senseless civil war, talk is cheap. Any aspiring politician this election years knows he needs rice – and lots of it – if he wants a crowd at his stump.

The impoverished masses of this country, founded on the West African coast 150 years ago by freed slaves from America, view campaign season as a boon time. This is politics in the Tammany tradition. And though a voter may think twice about selling his vote, at least there is no question as to what the currency will be. “A Liberian man may put food in his mouth all day,” says Vincent Klede, for three years a driver for Firestone, which maintains the world's largest rubber plantation outside the capital Monrovia. “But if he hasn’t eaten rice, he’ll say he hasn’t eaten.”

In a country so broken it can't even offer the statistics that show its neighbors have the lowest quality of life on earth, the staple food is a vivid image to the hungry. Liberians date the beginning of their political awakening to the rice riots of 1979, when frustration over rising prices and the one-party state brought the public to the streets. Monrovians associate the worst periods of their many years of conflict with the concomitant spike in the price of a cup of rice. Chea Cheapoo, former chief justice of the Supreme Court, opened his unsuccessful senatorial bid in River Gee County in September by explaining his reasons for retiring from the bench: “That judiciary is so rotten,” he told a dancing, drumming crowd in one of the least developed regions of the countryside. “They bribe just like how you cook rice every day.” And while only one warlord, Sekou Conneh, was among the 22 candidates in the political free-for-all that was the first round of the race for the presidency, his estranged wife over the border in Guinea is an eerie reminder of darker forces in the wings. The International Crisis Group, which monitors West Africa closely, reports Aisha Keita Conneh is luring throngs of former fighters to her home by cooking 100 50-kg bags of rice every week.

In the country’s last experiment with democracy, citizens overwhelmingly elected the country’s leading warlord to the presidency. Six years after the 1997 elections, Charles Taylor, alienated by the international community and with two rebel movements at the gates of Monrovia, fled into exile. He had been elected by turning his fighting forces into a well oiled political machine, with feasts of grand proportions at the precinct and district level. Many see their choice then as a mistake, but would only be so happy to live through his campaign once more.

The Liberian officials and international experts overseeing this year’s election have devoted much hand-wringing to its needless concurrence with the rainy season. Less attention has been given to the anachronistic constitution’s placement of campaigns during the hungry season, when hampers have run dry and children grow thin. In these months, the cost of feeding a family on imports from China and Pakistan, 80 percent of which are controlled by two Lebanese businessmen, can soar as high as $40, more than the monthly salary of many civil servants. Families grouse by on cassava or the much-maligned bulgur wheat, imported from the American heartland.

The campaign feeding frenzy has mellowed since October 11, when the first round of voting decided the races for the Senate and House. The two candidates in the second round - required because none received an outright majority of votes in the first - don't want their heightened profile to get them in trouble with the country's oft ignored campaign finance regulations, which outlaw vote buying.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a former World Bank official and chair of the Special Executive Rice Committee, has been part of the political landscape since the final days of the True Whig Party in the 1970s. But with her advanced Harvard degree and years abroad, she is far from the Liberian mainstream. Her runoff competitor is George Manneh Weah, the 1995 world soccer play of the year. He can’t boast a high school diploma, but his supporters say he’s too rich to be corrupted.

It's a stark choice for voters, but both candidates claim to offer the one thing Liberians want other than rice. A way out of the senseless war that has ravaged the country. Round two takes place on November 8.

By: Jeff Austin, writer for PurePolitics.com.

The Southern Vent: I am not a conservative

2005-10-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

I’ve got news for you, folks. The blame game in natural disasters can go all around in a vicious circle if it pleases, but the god honest truth is that the blame rests in the societal and cultural shift we’ve seen in the last decades towards a welfare state. If I may wax philosophical but for a moment, I’ll return us in memory to the principles upon which this country was founded: freedom, honesty, HARD work ethic, national pride, and patriotism.

I’m not even talking about philosophies or ideals…I’m talking about the character qualities that formed the core of our nation’s people. I’m a firm believer in the concept that those qualities that forged the strength and iron will of our nation’s people have been slowly but surely weaned out of us. Formerly, we were a “crock pot” nation. We are now a “microwave” nation. We were fitted with patience, cunning, and the ability to wait things out. Now (and I even include myself in much of this analysis), we are a microwave oven nation. We want our pop – tarts immediately, we want direct deposit for our paychecks, we want the paper on the front porch every morning, we want a coffee maker that will make coffee on a timer so we don’t have to turn it on in the morning, and we want to be able to buy movie tickets online so that we don’t have to stand in line.

Formerly, we were an enterprising nation. We are now a nation outsourced all over the world. A wise politician in our country once said that our country was equally formed by the bravery of our soldiers, and the sweat and toil of the farmers who stayed home. That’s not at all to detract from our men and women of arms; it’s simply a recognition of the hard work that made us great. Now, many people spend four years in college learning how to outsource, delegate, sub contract, and automate. The internet is plagued with a plethora of get rich quick schemes…we even have seven minute abs.

Formerly, we were a nation without fear. When this nation was founded, boys grew up just waiting for the opportunity to join the military. It was an honor, a desire, to serve our country in uniform. Nathan Hale regretted that he had “but one life to give for his country.” Now, fear permeates even our armed forces and law enforcement, and men and women desert the armed forces and quit their jobs as law enforcement in droves. It seems the sons of Benedict Arnold have returned. Formerly, a man was shamed and placed in stocks who refused to work for his food and his family. Now, we pat him on the back, give him a government check, and send him home to watch TV. When these same people are unable to receive the government handouts, they resort to violence, shooting, and crime. I know it’s harsh, but it’s the cold hard truth. I’ve talked to enough high school aged young men who PLAN, not stumble upon, but plan to drop out of high school, find a single girl with a child and a welfare check, woo her, and move in.

For those of you who’s ire I’m beginning to raise, I have a question for you: that sorry excuse for a young man is taking your hard earned dollars through your tax money: where’s your pride in a job well done? Why don’t you care to keep the money you worked hard to make? We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; we have abused power and called it politics; we have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition; we have become a generation of learners, not thinkers; we have become a generation of consumers, not producers; we have become a generation enslaved to a system who attempts to even the playing field and giving us everything we want, when we want it, and how we want it…on a silver platter.

We are no longer a nation of tested, tried, and true, enterprising, proud individuals. We are, and have become, a culture of egalitarian parasites. “In modern socialist theory, socialism is the pursuit of the goal of creating a democratic society that would form the backbone of an ideal welfare state.” That’s one dictionary’s definition of socialism. What did this “welfare state” bring us to, in one small example of the breakdown of the ideal American societal system? From the Washington Times: “Storm victims are raped and beaten; fights erupt with flying fists, knives and guns; fires are breaking out; corpses litter the streets; and police and rescue helicopters are repeatedly fired on. “The plea from Mayor C. Ray Nagin came even as National Guardsmen poured in to restore order and stop the looting, carjackings and gunfire…. “Last night, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said 300 Iraq-hardened Arkansas National Guard members were inside New Orleans with shoot-to-kill orders. ” ‘These troops are…under my orders to restore order in the streets,’ she said. ‘They have M-16s, and they are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary and I expect they will.’ ”

That’s why we had to send in thousands of battlefield hardened troops in APCs to the streets of New Orleans. That’s why the stories reported brought news of violence, rioting, rape, and anger in conjunction with floods, wind, destruction, and devastation. That’s why there were some reports of cannibalism taking place in New Orleans. That’s why the news feeds have contained images that could be confused with movies such as Hotel Rwanda and Black Hawk Down. That’s why, according to early news reports, New Orleans had no plan for getting all the criminals out of the city. So, they just let many of them loose. That’s why Drudge later reported: “Even as Americans rally to make donations to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Internet is brimming with scams, come-ons and opportunistic pandering related to the relief effort in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama — and in greater numbers and varieties than any past disaster, according to Thursday editions of the NEW YORK TIMES.

Florida’s attorney general has already filed a lawsuit against a man who mounted one of the earliest networks of Web sites — katrinahelp.com, katrinadonations.com and others — which purported to collect donations for victims of the storm. In Missouri, a much wider constellation of Internet domains — with names like parishdonations.com and katrinafamilies.com — displays pictures of the flood-ravaged south and drives traffic to a single site, InternetDonations.org, a nonprofit entity with apparent links to a white supremacist group.” That’s why, folks. Joseph Farah, in his article Why I Am Not a Conservative, speaks to this issue: “Conservatives, by definition, seek to conserve something from the past—institutions, cultural moores, values, political beliefs, traditions…No, it takes a radical agenda to defeat a radical agenda.

Conservatives have no stomach for fighting—the sort of fighting that it takes to restore real freedom in America. It’s not time for timidity or compromise. It’s not a time for defensiveness and conciliation. It’s time to take an offensive in this struggle. Was Washington a conservative? No. He was a revolutionary. He is known throughout the world—or was when people appreciated such concepts—as the “father of freedom.” Was Thomas Jefferson a conservative? No, he was a radical, a visionary. He wasn’t interested in preserving the status quo. Like his contemporaries, he risked everything to expand freedom, not just to preserve the limited freedoms that existed in his time…” “We can see these symptoms of materialism throughout our society, but the most visible one is the loss of courage. Our political leaders watch communism gobble up other nations, and they do nothing. They are afraid. People complain in private about the state of affairs, but will not speak out. They are afraid…” General Lewis B Walt

This being said, I will write to you from the perspective of one who lives and breaths this larger than life chess game we call politics, from the perspective of one who was raised on the fundamental principles this country was founded upon, from the perspective one of the few, perhaps, who still believes that patriotism rest secondarily only to devotion to one’s God and family.

I am, however, far from radical, as “pragmatic” seems to be an ever increasing part of the vocabulary that describes my personal, religious, and political beliefs. You will most of the time find me commenting on matters related to faith, family, and freedom; politics in the United States, or politics in the state of Georgia.

You’re welcome to contact me at smillican@gmail.com. I’d be honored to hear from you.

Seth Millican is a contributing writer for PurePolitics.com as well as other local and national news organizations. He resides in Macon, Georgia. He can be reached at smillican@gmail.com.

Non Bill of Rights

2005-10-03T04:56:00.000-07:00

"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to helpeveryone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots,keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure theblessingsof debt free liberty to ourselves and ourgreat-great-great-grandchildren,hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common senseguidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and otherliberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self evident: that awholelot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim theyrequire a Bill of NON-Rights."

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV,orany other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquirethem, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. Thiscountry is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- notjust you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a differentopinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always willbe.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If youstick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expectthe tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independentlywealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing.Americans are the most charitable people to be found and will gladlyhelpanyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizinggenerationafter generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing morethan the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. Thatwouldbe nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interestedinpublic health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm otherpeople. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't besurprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions ofothers.If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of othercitizens,don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in aplace where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or alife of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us surewantyou to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but weexpect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education andvocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being anAmericanmeans that you have the right to PURSUE happiness which, by the way, isalot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic lawscreated by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care whereyou are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to whereveryoucame from!

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country'shistoryor heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. Andyet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, ornofaith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST ispart of our heritage and history and if you are uncomfortable with it,TOUGH!!!! If you agree, share this with a friend. No, you don't have to, andnothing tragic will befall you if you don't. I just think it's abouttimecommon sense is allowed to flourish.Sensible people of the United States, speak out because if you don't,insensible people will.

tom delay indictment

2005-09-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

What will this do to the GOP Leadership? Will Democrats seize on this case?

MY MODEST SUGGESTION FOR GUSH KATIF

2005-09-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

Begin by reading http://www.livejournal.com/users/mishkaegli2/344.html

This is one of the better appeals for money for the Gush Katif refugees. Don't give them a nickel! It is money down the drain. Worse, by providing succor to the homeless, a network is being built which will allow the government to uproot many thousands more Jews. Whoever is responsible for these people's suffering must pay and no one else.

One must ask, why are the refugees agreeing to live like what you just saw? Once again, they are living on false hope. The government has promised them new homes and villages within 2-3 years. The naive refugees can't see this is a lie. The government doesn't want to pay and is stalling. Within two or three years it figures that all the charity workers will have settled the Gush Katif homeless and they'll be let off the hook.

And the activists are falling into the trap. They don't see the permanent damage they are inflicting on Gush Katif and all of Yesha. Isn't it amazing how quickly the refugees have organized for charity, yet they can't organize for their own justice. For that, there is no will. Permit me to suggest what should be done instead.

THE CHAMISH PLAN FOR GUSH KATIF Why should the architects of the Gush Katif expulsion sleep soundly in their homes when they have made 10,000 innocent people, mostly children, homeless? They deserve not a moment's peace so long as even one of their victims remains without a just and complete compensation for his misery.

And that is why the refugees will get out of their caravans and hotels and set up tent residences opposite the homes of the architects of their expulsion. They will begin by moving a few dozen families to Sde Eliahu where the government's expulsion director, Yonathan Bassi lives. They will make his home a prison, just as theirs are.

Then the tent villages will spread to the homes of every bureaucrat, politician, army and police officer responsible for Gush Katif and Northern Samaria's abandonment. It is a small country and finding the addresses will be no problem. Every night, those responsible for the tragedy will be awoken from their sleep. Every morning their children will be reminded of what their fathers caused the children of Gush Katif.

It will be a long struggle with lots of police harassment, but it will be far more dignified than sleeping helplessly in hotels and caravans. And it will make the government a great deal more reluctant to try "disengaging" Jews again.

The refugees will take their children out of school and prepare for a long struggle. It may be many months, perhaps years, until the government relents. That will require supplies and lots of them. I will empty my wallet for this and join the refugees in their tents. And I won't be alone.

However, if Gush Katif refuses to fight back, they will get nothing from me. And I won't be alone.

Nobody admires a beggar for long.end Next, the political front. In barely a month, the country will commemorate the tenth anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's murder. Those responsible for the murder are equally responsible for the withdrawal from Gush Katif and Northern Samaria. And they will be be at the forefront of the "roadmap" which will see all of Yesha and half of Jerusalem emptied of Jews.

Nothing terrifies this gang so much as the truth of the Rabin murder being exposed. We are going to be at Rabin's two memorial services, in Rabin Square and Mt. Herzl, this year to make sure it happens. The movement is growing with Nadia Matar committing the Women In Green to join in.

Now it's your turn. Don't ignore this opportunity. Show up in force at Rabin's Memorial Services this year. Drive the truth to the surface! If you are interested in helping out in any way, call David 052 6694999. Long Distance; 011 972 526694999.Or write me and tell me how you'd like to help.Available at chamish@netvision.net.ilare my English books; Shabtai Tzvi, Labor Zionism And The Holocaust; Save Israel!; Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin; Israel Betrayed; The Last Days of Israel;

by Barry Chamish

Katrina Exodus Could Change Political Mix

2005-09-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

Population shifts caused by the exodus of hurricane victims from the Gulf Coast could have ripple effects for years to come in Louisiana political races and perhaps beyond.

How big depends on how many people stay away, which ones stay away and where they end up putting down roots.

The early thinking is that the evacuees least likely to return to their homes in Louisiana may be the poorest — and thus, Democrats for the most part. That would hurt the party in a state where Republicans already were making inroads.

If the lion's share of those leaving settle in Texas, that could work to the advantage of Democrats in President Bush's home state.

"I'm believing that the greatest displacement occurs among those who are traditionally Democratic voters," said Elliott Stonecipher, an independent political consultant from Shreveport, La.

"Based on sheer demographics, those who are Republican voters have the wherewithal and, we believe, the will to go home and rebuild," he said.
Stonecipher sees the New Orleans area losing Democratic voters and a political network that was of great benefit to Sen. Mary Landrieu and other Democrats.

"On Election Day there is a well-oiled machine that knows how to turn those votes out from specific neighborhoods and in specific ways," Stonecipher said.
Landrieu was elected in a 2002 runoff by a 52-48 margin, a difference of just 42,000 votes. New Orleans was the base of her support.

"If that's compromised, that could be a problem for her," said John Maginnis, who publishes a political newsletter in Louisiana.

Landrieu is not up for re-election until 2008. Kathleen Blanco, the Democratic governor, who also won by a 52-48 margin, faces re-election in 2007.

Ray Nagin, the Democratic mayor of New Orleans, is up for re-election in February. No one knows if the city could even hold an election by then.

Overall, said Maginnis, Republicans have made gains in Louisiana in recent years and "the effects of the storm aftermath probably will help them." President Bush carried the state in 2000 and 2004; Democrat Bill Clinton did so in the previous two presidential elections.
Still, demographic shifts within the state could work to the Democrats' advantage in some cases, Maginnis said.

For example, if the sizable evacuee population now in Baton Rouge, the capital, decides to settle in, that could make the 6th Congressional District, a politically competitive one now held by GOP Rep. Richard Baker, more Democratic.

In Texas, which stands to gain the largest number of evacuees, analysts do not expect much impact on statewide races. But local races — for everything from school boards to legislative seats and perhaps even congressional districts — could be affected.

The place to watch is Houston, which has taken in the most evacuees, at least temporarily.
Richard Murray, director of the Center for Public Policy at the University of Houston, said Republicans hold every elective office in Harris County, which takes in most of Houston, but do not win by much.

"This could accelerate the tipping of the county, which was expected to happen in the next four to six years," he said.

While politics is taking a back seat for now to the urgent needs of the hurricane victims, "my Democratic friends are smiling," Murray said.

Bob Stein, professor of political science at Rice University in Houston, said the political impact on Texas depends in large part on how concentrated or widely dispersed the evacuees are.
He noted that sprawling Houston is one of the nation's least segregated big cities because it has no zoning laws, so hurricane victims could well be broadly scattered, diluting their impact in any particular race.

In any event, though, with Texas' Hispanic population surging and its black population growing faster than the white population, demographic shifts already are pushing the state toward the Democrats. Katrina could help hasten the trend.

"Our politics may be Republican," Stein said, "but that's just a temporary condition."

The thought is echoed by David Bositis, a senior political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank focused on black issues. He said adding a substantial number of blacks to the state could "potentially make Texas more competitive in the not-too-distant future."

As for Louisiana, Bositis said, "If proportionally more whites come back than blacks, it'll make Louisiana somewhat whiter, which would statewide be to the advantage of the Republicans." But he, like other political analysts, said it will take time to see where evacuees end up settling and how many ultimately return home.

NANCY BENAC, AP

Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

The U.S. States is vulnerable! There seems to be a lot of different places we could shift responsibility to for the horrific planning and response by local, state and federal authorities. But this is not the time to blame or play politics about who should've and could've.

As a nation, we need to remain focus of how we can help millions of people piece back their lives. It will be a tough road ahead. America must learn the lessons of this tragedy! If we don't, the War on Terrorism will visit us again and we will be in a lot worse condition than we are today.

My father always said, "some things happen for a reason." Even with all of the pain and hurt along the Gulf Coast, this will hopefully turn out to be a blessing for the United States. If September 11, 2001, was a wake-up call, then Katrina must kick us out of BED! America better wake up and get its Homeland Security Act together!

http://www.purepolitics.com/Hurricanekatrina2005.htm

Iraqis Fail to Agree on Constitution

2005-08-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.purepolitics.com/indexinternational.htm

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi leaders failed to meet a key deadline Monday to finish a new constitution, stalling over the same fundamental issues of power-sharing — including federalism, oil wealth and Islam's impact on women — that have bedeviled the country since
Saddam Hussein' s ouster.

Does this matter in the big picture of war on terror?

Jane Fonda Resumes Old Role: Anti-War Activist

2005-07-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

Jane Fonda says she can't take it anymore. She's planning a bus tour to oppose the Iraq War. The bus will be fueled by vegetable oil. Fonda made the announcement in Santa Fe on her book tour.

Prompted by a question from the audience, Fonda said war veterans that she has met on a nationwide book tour have encouraged her to break her silence on the Iraq war. "I've decided I'm coming out," she said.
Hundreds of people in the audience cheered loudly when Fonda announced her intentions to join the anti-Iraq war movement.

What do you think?

Senators Call for Congressional Plame Investigation

2005-07-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

The United States Congress has a constitutional responsibility to provide oversight of the executive branch, whether a law has been broken or not. It is time for Congress to fulfill that constitutional responsibility in this matter by initiating a thorough investigation.
We recognize that a criminal investigation is underway and that a special prosecutor continues to present testimony before a grand jury. These actions in no way preclude Congress’ responsibility to provide oversight. We urge you to exercise your authority as Congressional leaders by requesting the appropriate committees to begin oversight hearings and an investigation immediately.
What do you think?

Are White Republicans Ready for Black Republicans?

2005-07-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Are White Republicans Ready for Black Republicans?

By Nelson "Joseph" Taylor

There is an obstacle the GOP has to seriously overcome despite the fact that the DNC takes full political advantage of it. That obstacle is the separation of African Americans from their, natural political affiliation with the GOP. President Bush has taken the lead in being historically inclusive and many republicans have privately (with little fanfare) taken up the cause by demanding that, black republicans have open access to the GOP political structure and leadership.

I felt overjoyed by the responsiveness of dozens of my fellow young republicans who warmed up to my wife and me with an incredible sincerity in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, too many republicans are stuck on stupid and are resistant to change. Words can¹t explain how unwelcoming the looks, behavior and lack of engagement from some fellow republicans left my wife and I discouraged at times during the convention (despite my initiating with them).

If I had a weaker constitution or a lack of self-confidence I would¹ve allowed my discouragement to fester into a social/political retreat. But, I¹m just not that guy; so, I won¹t give up and won¹t stop working with my white brothers and sisters because I know they'll eventually realize that African Americans want the same things they want and that there is no need to be so standoffish. There are two kinds of white republicans that are going to destroy the GOP if we let them. They are the so called ³Country Club² republicans and the ³fascists² or ³Right Wing Socialists² who hide among us. I am a proud capitalist pig and advocate the use of Country Clubs (even the ones not open to black folk it¹s a freedom of association thing).

The problem is that, the republican cats that would frequent a Country Club which, openly rejected qualified black applicants on the basis of race tend to bring that snobbery into the political game and our economy. The hard leftists sometimes find their political rhetoric about my GOP being validated by Country Club republicans actions and they tout this validation at every opportunity while of course, ignoring the rampant bigotry of the left. The right wing socialists on the other hand are far more serious. They would legislate from the bench just as quickly as an ACLU democrat would so long as; the ruling was something they wanted. Right wing socialism is simply ³authoritarianism² that like its leftwing cousin it too assumes that we the individual are too stupid to handle freedom responsibly. Just as the lefty socialist wants to heavily regulate and centralize the free market economy in America, the right leaning socialists want to heavily regulate social behavior.

The primary redeeming value of the Republican Party is that they want the States to vote individually on the issues. This is far more acceptable because the people in individual States know what¹s best for them and should be given the opportunity to govern themselves through representative government. Any other option puts us in a place where an elite is dictating to a proletariat and since my ancestors have already done the slavery thing there is, no need for me to experience it (yes, socialism is slavery). The knee jerk response to my previous arguments from the left and right will be devoid of the following liberal (yes I meant liberal) attributes: Decentralizing government Protection of individual rights Fully advocating a capitalist system without regret Protection of individual private property rights Protecting the right to freely associate with whomever one chooses Spiritually, I am sick and tired of the far left dividing and conquering America via our social, economic and ethnic differences. Regardless of whatever differences I may face with my fellow republicans I know for sure that the leftist democrat response will be what it has been toward young black leaders banging on the door of the powerful elite nigger take your place at the back of the political bus, do not pass go, do not forget to collect your welfare/unemployment check and thank you for flying perpetual poverty airlines. The left¹s idea of economic empowerment is government handouts and very limited access to the economic power centers of America.

We can and should put these elitist, marxist, bigots on notice that, their nonsense isn¹t welcomed in my Country. I have no doubt that, the lefts greatest fear is that, black folk will leave the DNC plantation en masse. The lefts second greatest fear is black and white cooperation via a GOP political insurgency. We should feed on these fears; make them a reality thus, leaving the elitist black democrats and their white marxist handlers looking over their political shoulders.

Nelson "Joseph" Taylor

Bush Selects...for Supreme Court

2005-07-19T14:56:00.000-07:00

Blasts in London

2005-07-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

Four blasts rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday, sending bloodied victims fleeing in the worst attack on London since World War II. At least 40 people were killed, U.S. officials said, and more than 390 wounded in the terror attacks.

4th of July Tribute

2005-07-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhism or Atheist the following prayer from an unknown confederate solider is a fitting tribute to the 4th of July.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for-but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I among all men, am most richly blessed.

Justice O'Connor Retires

2005-07-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

- Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court and a swing vote on abortion as well as other contentious issues, announced her retirement Friday. A bruising Senate confirmation struggle loomed as President Bush pledged to name a successor quickly.

Who should President Bush select? Which side will produce the best ads about the open Supreme Court seat?

GOP Backs Non-Destructive Cell Research

2005-06-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

Embryonic stem cell research that doesn't destroy budding human life? Right now, it's possible only in theory, or on animals. But those alternatives to the most promising stem cell science are enough to win the attention of anti-abortion Republicans and
President Bush.

What do you think?

McCain weighs in on Guantanamo debate

2005-06-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

Arguing that "even Adolf Eichmann got a trial,'' Republican Sen. John McCain said Sunday that the Bush administration must establish a system to try and perhaps free suspected terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - even if they turn around and attack the United States.

"Some of these guys are terrible, terrible killers and the worst kind of scum of humanity,'' the Arizona senator said on NBC News' "Meet the Press" of the 520 men from dozens of nations who have been swept up around the globe in the war on terror.

But, "they deserve to have some adjudication of their cases,'' he said, despite a "fear that, if you release them, they'll go back and fight against us. Balance that against what it's doing to our reputation throughout the world and whether it's enhancing recruiting for people to join al-Qaida and do bad things to the United States of America.''

Do you agree with Senator McCain?

Social Security Reformers Grab A Political Porcupine

2005-06-11T20:15:00.000-07:00

It shouldn't be this painful to debate Social Security reform.
Members of Congress have discovered that whoever is willing to talk about the retirement program's shortcomings gets jabbed with unfair accusations - plotting its demise, scheming to cheat seniors, or conspiring to raise taxes.
The only safe position seems to be hands off, which is unfortunate because changes really must be made.
Consider Republican Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite. Her district - Hernando, Citrus and Sumter and parts of Polk, Pasco, Marion, Levy and Lake counties - has more Social Security recipients than any other congressional district in the country. She understands how vital Social Security is to the people who elected her, but she wants to find ways to strengthen the program for the next generation.

Her willingness to consider a few limited options has drawn vicious attacks. Her district was hit with six rounds of ``scare calls'' telling voters that ``Brown- Waite is going to take away your Social Security.''
Meanwhile President Bush continues his effort to convince the nation that retirement reform is essential and nothing to be afraid of.
``My strategy is pretty simple,'' he recently told the Association of Builders and Contractors. ``Explain the problem to the American people, and keep explaining it and explaining it.''
But the more he explains, the more polls show Americans don't like what they're hearing.
What is hard for members of Congress to talk about is the responsibility that comes with the right to a secure retirement. Someone has to pay for it. Under the present system, in about 12 years payroll taxes will be insufficient to pay seniors what they expect. There is a trust fund, but it has been spent and represents a debt the country owes itself.
While Bush's proposal, which includes new private investment accounts for younger workers, isn't going anywhere, his willingness to take the lead has led to progress elsewhere. The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Bill Thomas, is working on a retirement reform bill that includes Social Security as well as pensions, many of which also are underfunded.
The California Republican says, ``If you're going to do it, my goal is to do it right.''
He's not ready to say exactly what is the right way to grab this prickly creature. Whatever is included in his bill, you can be bet it will come with a warning: Handle with care. But voters should understand, it must be handled.

from Tampa Tribune

Court's ruling on marijuana reeks of 'reefer madness'

2005-06-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Diane Monson has suffered for years from degenerative spine disease and painful muscle spasms. Three years ago, federal agents barged into her house, seized and destroyed the six marijuana plants Monson was growing at her doctor's suggestion. Monson, an accountant who lives in Oroville, Calif., had been getting relief from the active ingredient in marijuana that no ordinary drug had been able to provide.

It was all legal under the laws of California, one of 10 states that since 1996 have authorized patients to grow or obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's recommendation. But the high court ruled that Congress' blanket ban on marijuana trumps the states' compassionate desire to create a limited exception for medicinal reasons.

Monson and Angel Raich are the latest collateral damage in Washington's indiscriminate war on drugs. Raich, an Oakland mother of two, is subject to severe, debilitating pain from an inoperable brain tumor and more than a dozen other ailments. Her desperate measures, seeking relief in using marijuana grown for her at no cost by her two caregivers, caused her to join Monson's court case three years ago - and now could make her also liable to federal prosecution.
The Court's 6-3 decision was a stretched interpretation of the clause in the Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.
Under Monday's ruling, growing marijuana at home for medicinal purposes, with no money changing hands, is somehow now a form of interstate commerce. It makes you wonder what the majority was smoking.

As Justice Clarence Thomas' name said in his dissenting opinion, "If Congress can regulate this ... under the commerce clause, then it can regulate virtually anything."
That warning ought to be a rallying cry for conservative members of Congress elected under the banner of small government and respect for states rights.

Justice John Paul Stevens', writing for the court's majority, told Monson, Raich and anyone in a similar fix that their recourse is to get Congress to change the 1970 federal law that bans possession or distribution of marijuana.

Given the "reefer madness" in Washington that has led to an overemphasis on marijuana prosecutions in the war on drugs, the prospects for early congressional action seem remote. In the meantime, surely federal prosecutors and drug-control agents have better things to do than to swoop down on critically ill people who are abiding by state law and haul them off to court.

USA Today

The Mysteries of Watergate

2005-06-02T03:56:00.000-07:00

The remarkable thing about the revelation of the identity of the Watergate-era tipster known as "Deep Throat" is that nothing about the news seems particularly remarkable.
In hindsight, we should have known that Washington Post writer Bob Woodward's source for the investigative reports he and Carl Bernstein wrote about Nixon-era corruption would not be an idealist who sought to expose a corrupt presidency. Rather, like so many of Woodward's sources over the years, W. Mark Felt was a consummate Washingtion insider. Far from being someone who feared for the Republic, Felt was a protege of longtime Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover.
Felt certainly couldn't have been all that worried about Nixonian skullduggery, as the tipster himself would eventually be convicted of authorizing federal agents to illegally break into the homes of suspected anti-Vietnam War radicals.
Indeed, it appears that "Deep Throat" was less concerned about defending democracy than about getting back at then-President Richard Nixon for refusing him the directorship after Hoover's death in May 1972.
So Watergate ends up as another story of powerful men undercutting one another in a squabble over turf and bruised egos.
But, of course, it was more important than that. Despite the fact that Felt comes off as something less than a hero, he remains a necessary player in a national drama that had a happy ending: a dishonest and dishonorable president was exposed and forced from office.
Perhaps that is why there is so much fascination with Watergate. It reminds us that the American experiment really can yield positive results, especially when the Fourth Estate prods Congress to police an out-of-control Executive Branch.
Considering the current circumstances of the nation, when Woodward and so many other members of the Washington press corps act as little more than stenographers to power, this week's renewed attention to the Watergate story ought to inspire an aching nostalgia in Americans who still take their citizenship seriously. It is inspiring to think that the system did once work; but it is painful to recognize the reality that Richard Nixon would never have been forced from office by today's major media organizations or today's Congress. And it is agonizing to think of how the far more serious crimes of presidents who succeeded Nixon -- especially, though certainly not exclusively, those of the current occupant of the White House -- go essentially unchallenged, even as more credible and patriotic Deep Throats than Mr. Felt have emerged.

Ultimately, now that Deep Throat has been revealed as just another cynical Washington insider playing the system for all it was worth, one Watergate mystery remains. And it turns out to be a far more perplexing and troublesome one than that of some back-alley tipster's identity.
What remains is the mystery of how America, a country that proved her ability to depose a petty crook from power in the 1970s, has drifted so far from her ethical moorings. At the most fundamental level, it is not so difficult to unravel this mystery. A simple calculation of the roles of big media and big money campaign contributions provides most if not all of the explanation that is needed. But that calculus points to the lingering quandry of our time: Will we ever muster enough outrage at a stenographic media and a compliant Congress to steer America back to that place where lawless presidents are held accountable for their lies and the deadly consequences of their misdeeds?

John Nichols

At 25, CNN needs 'Mouth of the South'

2005-05-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

Twenty five years ago next week, on June 1, 1980, CNN became the first and only 24-hour cable news network. It was the brainchild of loud spoken Atlanta tycoon Ted Turner, often affectionately but sometimes disparagingly called "The Mouth of the South."
Know-it-all TV biggies and critics quickly wrote off CNN and labeled it the "Chicken Noodle Network." But with the brilliant Turner calling the shots and more than 300 highly professional staffers reporting news and commentary from around the world around the clock, the public tuned in.
For 15 years, CNN was king of the hill for news junkies. But in 1996, a downhill slide started when Turner sold his company for $7.5 billion to Time Warner. Officially, he was still CNN's overseer, but young Time Warner hotshots moved in on the decision-making. When Time Warner merged with AOL, things got worse.
During this time, media mogul Rupert Murdoch started Fox News network as a CNN competitor. His lieutenant Roger Ailes skillfully guided Fox to the top.
Now, these latest Neilson ratings show Fox with this huge lead over CNN:
• In prime time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), Fox has 1.6 million average nightly viewers, to 808,000 for CNN.
• In average 24-hour, seven-day viewing, Fox also nearly doubles CNN, 883,000 to 471,000.
Two reasons that trend is likely to continue: Judy Woodruff, longtime popular host of Inside Politics, is retiring on June 3. Lou Dobbs, featured in the 6-7 p.m. slot, is turning us off with his highly personal nightly editorial crusades against "outsourcing" of jobs at the expense of reporting news.
CNN needs fixing. Time Warner should try to talk Turner (he's only 66) into getting back in the saddle again to see whether he can ride his misguided horse back to the front.

From USA Today.com

Proposed Military Base Closings in your commuinties?

2005-05-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON — A list of military facilities the Defense Department recommended for closure Friday:

Alabama:
Abbott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Tuskegee
Anderson U.S. Army Reserve Center, Troy
Armed Forces Reserve Center, Mobile
BG William P. Screws U.S. Army Reserve Center, Montgomery
Fort Ganey Army National Guard Reserve Center, Mobile
Fort Hanna Army National Guard Reserve Center, Birmingham
Gary U.S. Army Reserve Center, Enterprise
Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Montgomery
Navy Reserve Center, Tuscaloosa
The Adjutant General Building, AL Army National Guard, Montgomery
Wright U.S. Army Reserve Center

Alaska:
Kulis Air Guard Station

Arizona:
Air Force Research Lab, Mesa
Allen Hall Armed Forces Reserve Center, Tucson

Arkansas:
El Dorado Armed Forces Reserve Center
Stone U.S. Army Reserve Center, Pine Bluff

California:
Armed Forces Reserve Center Bell
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Oakland
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Bernardino
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Diego
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Seaside
Naval Support Activity Corona
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Detachment Concord
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Encino
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Los Angeles
Onizuka Air Force Station
Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant

Connecticut:
Sgt. Libby U.S. Army Reserve Center, New Haven
Submarine Base New London
Turner U.S. Army Reserve Center, Fairfield
U.S. Army Reserve Center Maintenance Support Facility, Middletown

Delaware:
Kirkwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Newark

Florida:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Orlando
Navy Reserve Center, St. Petersburg

Georgia:
Fort Gillem
Fort McPherson
Inspector/Instructor, Rome
Naval Air Station Atlanta
Naval Supply Corps School, Athens
U.S. Army Reserve Center, Columbus

Hawaii:
Army Reserve Center, Hilo

Idaho:
Navy Reserve Center, Pocatello

Illinois:
Armed Forces Reserve Center, Carbondale
Navy Reserve Center, Forest Park

Indiana:
Navy Marine Corps Reserve Center, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Bunker Hill
Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Indianapolis
Navy Reserve Center, Evansville
Newport Chemical Depot
U.S. Army Reserve Center, Lafayette
U.S. Army Reserve Center, Seston

Iowa:
Navy Reserve Center, Cedar Rapids
Navy Reserve Center, Sioux City
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Dubuque

Kansas:
Kansas Army Ammunition Plant

Kentucky:
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Paducah
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Lexington
Navy Reserve Center, Lexington
U.S. Army Reserve Center, Louisville
U.S. Army Reserve Center, Maysville

Louisiana:
Baton Rouge Army National Guard Reserve Center
Naval Support Activity, New Orleans
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Baton Rouge
Roberts U.S. Army Reserve Center, Baton Rouge

Maine:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Limestone
Naval Reserve Center, Bangor
Naval Shipyard Portsmouth, Kittery

Maryland:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Patuxent River
Navy Reserve Center, Adelphi
Pfc. Flair U.S. Army Reserve Center, Frederick

Massachusetts:
Malony U.S. Army Reserve Center
Otis Air Guard Base
Westover U.S. Army Reserve Center, Citopee

Michigan:
Navy Reserve Center Marquette
Parisian U.S. Army Reserve Center, Lansing
Selfridge Army Activity
W.K. Kellogg Airport Air Guard Station

Minnesota:
Navy Reserve Center Duluth

Mississippi:
Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant
Naval Station, Pascagoula
U.S. Army Reserve Center, Vicksburg

Missouri:
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Jefferson Barracks
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Kansas City
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, St. Louis
Marine Corps Support Center, Kansas City
Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Kansas City
Navy Reserve Center, Cape Girardeau

Montana:
Galt Hall U.S. Army Reserve Center, Great Falls

Nebraska:
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Columbus
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Grand Island
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Kearny
Naval Recruiting District Headquarters, Omaha
Navy Reserve Center, Lincoln

Nevada:
Hawthorne Army Depot

New Hampshire:
Doble U.S. Army Reserve Center, Portsmouth

New Jersey:
Fort Monmouth
Inspector/Instructor Center, West Trenton
Kilmer U.S. Army Reserve Center, Edison
SFC Nelson V. Brittin U.S. Army Reserve Center

New Mexico:
Cannon Air Force Base
Jenkins Armed Forces Reserve Center, Albuquerque

New York:
Armed Forces Reserve Center, Amityville
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Niagara Falls
Carpenter U.S. Army Reserve Center, Poughkeepsie
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Rome
Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Buffalo
Navy Reserve Center Glenn Falls
Navy Reserve Center Horsehead
Navy Reserve Center Watertown
Niagara Falls International Airport Air Guard Station

North Carolina:
Navy Reserve Center, Asheville
Niven U.S. Army Reserve Center, Albemarle

Ohio:
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Mansfield
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Westerville
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Dayton
Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport Air Guard Station
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Akron
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Cleveland
Parrott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Kenton
U.S. Army Reserve Center, Whitehall

Oklahoma:
Armed Forces Reserve Center Broken Arrow
Armed Forces Reserve Center Muskogee
Army National Guard Reserve Center Tishomingo
Krowse U.S. Army Reserve Center, Oklahoma City
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Tulsa
Oklahoma City (95th)

Oregon:
Navy Reserve Center Central Point
Umatilla Army Depot

Pennsylvania:
Bristol
Engineering Field Activity Northeast
Kelly Support Center
Naval Air Station Willow Grove
Navy Crane Center Lester
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Reading
North Penn U.S. Army Reserve Center, Norristown
Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station
Serrenti U.S. Army Reserve Center, Scranton
U.S. Army Reserve Center Bloomsburg
U.S. Army Reserve Center Lewisburg
U.S. Army Reserve Center Williamsport
W. Reese U.S. Army Reserve Center/OMS, Chester

Puerto Rico:
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Humacao
Lavergne U.S. Army Reserve Center, Bayamon

Rhode Island:
Harwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Providence
USARC Bristol

South Carolina:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Charleston
South Naval Facilities Engineering Command

South Dakota:
Ellsworth Air Force Base

Tennessee:
U.S. Army Reserve Area Maintenance Support Facility, Kingsport

Texas:
Army National Guard Reserve Center No. 2, Dallas
Army National Guard Reserve Center (Hondo Pass), El Paso
Army National Guard Reserve Center, California Crossing
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Ellington
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Lufkin
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Marshall
Army National Guard Reserve Center, New Braunfels
Brooks City Base
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Antonio
Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant
Naval Station, Ingleside
Navy Reserve Center, Lubbock
Navy Reserve Center, Orange
Red River Army Depot
U.S. Army Reserve Center No. 2, Houston

Utah:
Deseret Chemical Depot

Virginia:
Fort Monroe

Washington:
1LT Richard H. Walker U.S. Army Reserve Center
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Everett
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Tacoma
U.S. Army Reserve Center, Fort Lawton
Vancouver Barracks

West Virginia:
Bias U.S. Army Reserve Center, Huntington
Fairmont U.S. Army Reserve Center
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Moundsville

Wisconsin:
Gen. Mitchell International Airport ARS
Navy Reserve Center, La Crosse
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Madison
Olson U.S. Army Reserve Center, Madison
U.S. Army Reserve Center, O'Connell

Wyoming:
Army Aviation Support Facility, Cheyenne
Army National Guard Reserve Center, Thermopolis

What are you going to do about the Proposed Military Base Closings in your commuinties?

UK Election 2005

2005-05-05T05:27:00.000-07:00

Will Blair win the Election?

Cardinal Ratzinger Elected Pope

2005-04-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Cardinal Ratzinger Elected Pope
The successor to John Paul II has been elected, Vatican Radio announced Tuesday evening. Bells chimed at St. Peter's Basilica and tens of thousands of flag-waving pilgrims filled the square, chanting: "Viva il Papa!" or "Long live the pope!"

Was he the right choice for the Catholic Church?

Prince Charles Marries Again!

2005-04-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

Are you watching the coverage of this event?

Pope John Paul II Dies at 84

2005-04-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

God Bless His Soul.

Pope John Paul II's condition is "very grave"

2005-04-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

Pope John Paul II's condition is "very grave" and has taken a turn for the worse, with his kidneys not functioning properly and his breath shallow. The 84-year-old pontiff suffers from physical problems associated with his age and with Parkinson's disease and is said to be aware he is near death.

Congress Announces Deal in Schiavo Case

2005-03-19T20:31:00.000-08:00

As a deal in Congress was worked out to have federal courts decide Terri Schiavo's fate, emotions swelled outside the brain-damaged woman's hospice room Saturday, with protesters arrested after they symbolically tried to smuggle in bread and water on her second day without a feeding tube.

What do you think? Has Congress gone to far?

Terroist Attacks on U.S. Transit

2005-03-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

We have received word that the top U.S. Transit Agencies in the U.S. were called to Washington, D.C. two weeks ago to discuss classified Homeland Security data. Supposedly the Intelligence Community has lost track of key al Qaida operatives in the U.S. These operatives were reportedly preparing attacks on U.S. Transit. Why hasn't the main stream media reported on this issue?

Bin Laden

2005-02-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

Bin Laden Enlisting Al-Zarqawi for Attacks - Do you believe Bin Laden is still planning another attack on U.S? Has the U.S. done enough?

Bush Inaugural Speech

2005-01-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

What is your take on the Inaugural Speech?

Bush Inaugural

2005-01-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

Will you watch the Bush Inaugural?

Gonzales Promises Non-Torture Policy

2005-01-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON - Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales is promising senators that he will abide by treaties prohibiting the torture of prisoners, despite deriding the restraints as relics in 2002.

White House counsel Gonzales, in line to become the first Hispanic attorney general, had a hand in much of the White House's post-Sept. 11 terrorism policies as President Bush's top lawyer.

Will he back up his promises?

Bush Cabinet members had enough of bush!

2004-12-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

Do you find it odd that Bush cabinet members are all leaving? I don't!

PurePolitics.com's 2004 Person of the Year: The National Republican Party

2004-12-28T18:55:00.000-08:00

The U.S. National Republican Party has been selected by our visitors and editorial oversight committee as PurePolitics.com's 2004 Person of the Year.

The Year 2004 was a year very historic year in the realm of U.S. politics and global international affairs. During 2004, we had the War on Iraq, Death of Ronald Reagan and Arafat, 9/11 Report, Afghanistan Election, Civil War in Sudan, major hurricanes, election 2004, and the morality split in America.
The National Republican Party made a lot of history in 2004. More than 12 hours after the last polls closed on Nov. 2, 2004, Sen. John Kerry conceded the election and President George W. Bush laid claim to his second term in office. From state capitals to Capitol Hill, Republicans made gains. In the House and Senate, Republicans added to their majorities by consolidating their hold on the South. All 11 state ballot initiatives to ban same-sex marriage passed easily.

http://purepolitics.com./2004personoftheyear.htm

Help for the Victims in Asia

2004-12-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

With the death toll in southeast Asia still on the rise, groups like the Red Cross are figuring out how they can help.
Local Red Cross leaders said most of the volunteer manpower will come from Asian countries, and the best thing people can do here in the United States is to contribute money. Asian chapters of the Red Cross will use that money to buy food and clothing from nearby countries, instead of shipping them from the U.S.
Some Americans will still volunteer their time and efforts to help with recovery. Those who have done it before said it is not for the faint of heart. Former disaster worker Steve Lente said, "Get rid of the ideals. I mean you're gonna go over and you're gonna be a grunt. You need to dig, you need to haul stuff, you need to do whatever it takes, and forget whatever it is you're going over for except just to help."
If you want to contribute money to the relief effort, you can send a check to the local Red Cross, and make sure International Response Fund is written on the check.

Bush and Kerry

2004-09-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Does Bush and Kerry Flip Flop on their issues?

9/11

2004-09-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Where were you 3 years ago?