kenderstest

From this website here comes a host of interesting data. (linked in title)

According to the CIA World Fact Book there are "271 nations, dependent areas, and other entities" on their website.

The link in the title has "207 nations, dependent areas, and other entities"* listed on it, most of them with the rules about citizenship regarding those countries.
(*207 is the number arrived at by seperating entities such as St. Kitts-Nevis)

Here is a list of countries that permits automatic citizenship be granted on the basis of simply being born "within the jurisdiction" of the country in question:

The U.S.
Antigua
Barbada
Argentina
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada***
Central African Republic
Chile
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
France
Gambia
Grenada
Guatamala
Guinea Bissau
Guyana
Honduras
India (if citizenship is applied for after age 18)
Ireland
Jamaica
Lesotho
Mauritius
Mexico
Nepal
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru (can register at age 18)
St. Kitts
Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent
Grenadines
Samoa
Trinidad
Tobago
Tuvalu
Uruguay
Vanatau (eligible to apply at 18)
Venezuela
Zambia (until 21, must apply after that)


Canadian law specifically states: "Exceptions to this law include...children of parents who were not legal citizens in Canada at the time of birth."

I want you to notice that Canada is the ONLY country that specifically makes an exception to "illegal aliens".

That is 51 countries out of 207 on this list......a smidge under 25%.

That means that 75% of the WORLD does NOT simply hand you citizenship for being born within their jurisdiction.

We are in the minority on this issue.

It is time to join up with the rest of the world and state:

"You are not a citizen just because you are born here."

Article eleven of the Mexican Constitution states:

Article 11. Everyone has the right to enter and leave the Republic, to travel through its territory and to change his residence without necessity of a letter of security, passport, safe-conduct or any other similar requirement. The exercise of this right shall be subordinated to the powers of the judiciary, in cases of civil or criminal liability, and to those of the administrative authorities insofar as concerns the limitations imposed by the laws regarding emigration, immigration and public health of the country, or in regard to undesirable aliens resident in the country

Pay attention to that bit.

"Everyone has the RIGHT to enter and leave the Republic, to travel through its territory and to change his residence without necessity of a letter of security, passport, safe-conduct or any other similar requirement."

This is the reasoning behind the Mexican governments failure to secure their side of the border between the United States and Mexico, which is one of the requirements, I must point out, of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

At the same time, the Mexican government has secured its southern border with Guatamala and Belize, taking the hypocritical stance that the Rights guaranteed to the citizens of Mexico under the Mexican Constitution do not apply to people that aren't citizens of Mexico.

I am sure that Senor Fox agrees with the ACLU, the american left and other socialist groups that state that the rights that American Citizens enjoy under the American Constitution apply to the criminal aliens that have broken into our country and flouted our laws.

If the rights of the Mexican constitution only apply to citizens of Mexico, why do the rights of the American constitution apply to the citizens of Mexico and other countries after they have broken into the U.S.?

For the Mexican government to maintain such a hypocritical policy is absurd.

For Bush to cave to the demands of a government that holds the rule of law in the highest esteem only when it benefits their citizenry is beyond outrageous.

Then again, the Mexican government is only doing what our government should be doing...watching out for its own citizens first and foremost.

Bush is the best President Mexico ever had.

On this, the anniversary of Terri's death, the question remains.

Not the question of who had the right to starve her to death.

That has never been the question that those one the right side of the aisle, and this argument, had foremost in our minds.

Rather, the question we had, that was steadfastly ignored by those in the MSM and the pro-death camps, was this:

Was It The Right Thing To Do?

Those of us on the "right" side of this issue yell loudly that the answer is a resounding NO.

Our opponents, those people firmly in the socialist death camp, continue to ignore the question, placing the debate in the arena of "freedom of choice" and "quality of life".

Not once has any of the black hearted lovers of death ever said "Starving people to death is wrong."

This is the crux of this debate.

"We", those of us that fought to keep Terri alive, are disgusted to think that starving people to death would be considered acceptable behavior.

To our enemies, it is simply "freedom."

Linked at Stop The ACLU

It is time for a little review of the history of the geographical area known as the Southwest of the United States and more specifically, California.

All claims of "aztlan" made by the violent groups that would try to steal our country from us come from archeological evidence regarding native tribes.....

Mexico, as a nation, was formed in 1810....before that it was a Spanish Territory.

Before that it was Aztec, and the Aztecs conquered the territory from Chichimeca, who took it from the Toltec.

The Aztec Empire
In the 12th century the Toltec were vanquished and dispersed by the Chichimeca, who took over the Toltec civilization. A century later seven allied Nahuatlan tribes entered the valley from the north, probably coming from areas now in New Mexico and Arizona. In 1325 the Aztec, or Mexica, the leading tribe, founded a settlement named Tenochtitlán in an area surrounded by marshes in Texcoco, one of the valley lakes. As the settlement grew, its military strength was increased by the construction of causeways that dammed the waters of the surrounding marshes and made the town a virtually impregnable island fortress. Under Itzcoatl, the first Aztec emperor (1360?–1440), the Aztec extended their influence through the entire Valley of Mexico, becoming the preeminent power in central and southern Mexico by the 15th century. Their civilization, based on that of the Toltec and Chichimeca, was highly developed, both intellectually and artistically. The Aztec economy was dependent

The Spaniard Cortez, of course, conquered the entire empire because Montezuma thought (naively, stupidly and most comically), that he was the God Quetzalcoatl (the Plumed Serpent). If that isn't comedy nothing is.

When the Spaniards conquered what would become Mexico, they made rare forays into what is California, New Mexico and Arizona, and when Spain handed California over in 1821 California didn't hear about it until 1822, and when they did they switched flags and went on with things as normal.

In fact, Mexico didn't even send a governor to California until 1825, they cared so little about it, and in the 24 years that Mexico was in charge of California they spent a great deal of time getting chased out of town by the "Californios", the upper crust of the Spanish and Castillan elite that continued to live and run California after Spain surrendered.

When the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the war with Mexico, they ceded land in exchange for an end to hostilities and 15 million dollars in payments for damage.

That 15 million must look like small change now.

The fact of the matter is that Mexico has never been able to govern itself, much less even more territory, and has an embedded culture of corruption. The vast majority of the citizenry is "Mestizo", a mix of native and spanish, and their claims to any land through archeology rings hollow, as it is law, not buried trinkets and broken pottery that decides who owns what.

Before the Mexican war settlers from America were settling in Texas, a part of Mexico, although a disputed part. The fact of the matter is that land you cannot control you do not own, and that is the crux of the entire criminal alien situation.
If we cannot control our land, and enforce our laws, we won't own this land.

Roger D. McGrath's article on this very subject is well worth the price.

[By the Louisiana Purchase, Texas had become a part of the United States; but in 1819 it had been ceded to Spain in the negotiations for Florida. Two years later Mexico, including Texas, had become independent, and the United States made two unsuccessful attempts to purchase Texas from Mexico. The settlement of Texas by immigrants from the United States finally led to the secession of Texas and its annexation by the United States, with the result that the Mexican War broke out in May, 1846. It was closed by this treaty, by which the United States gained not only Texas but New Mexico and Upper California.]

This brings up a very valid point. If we do NOT control our lands, enforce our laws and secure our border we will lose it.

What remains to be seen is will we lose it by inaction, corruption and political cowardice?

Or will we lose it in bloodshed?

The former is a distinct possibility, the latter won't happen.

If the former comes to pass I will be at a loss for words. If the latter comes to pass many, many people will die, martial law will be imposed and Mexico itself will become a part of the United States.

We cannot afford the latter, so we had better speak up and make sure the former doesn't happen either.

source, source 2,

According to a story in NewsMax the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) is planning a day that latinos refuse to work, shop and go to school to send a stern message to Washington.

Good.

I hope they get fired in droves.

What about the massage that is getting sent to Washington by THE LEGAL CITIZENS of the United States of America?

You know, the message from those that VOTE????

The message that we want our laws enforced, and we don't want our government to reward those that break the law? That message?

Remember that message?

Let them refuse to work...and report everyone that doesn't work to ICE. Sure, there'll be some folks that don't work on May 1st that are legal citizens, but I think it is teh responsibility of employers to make certain that their employees are legal citizens and allowed to wokr here.

While we're at it ICE should attend those rallies and start rounding up the criminals they find protesting.

To all of you that don't have a logical leg to stand on and scream racist at those of us that want our laws enforced I say....well, you know what I say to you for that:

Besi Mu Culo, pendejo.

From a NumbersUSA action alert:

Give your Senators a last chance to not blow it today on amnesty votes.

PHONE YOUR 2 SENATORS AND TELL THEM THAT A VOTE FOR THE JUDICIARY BILL ON THE SENATE FLOOR WILL SADDLE THEM WITH A GIANT AMNESTY RECORD THE REST OF THEIR CAREERS.

What happens later today is anybody's guess, but many are guessing that the Kennedy/Specter Judiciary bill (with amnesty and 30 million more permanent immigrants the next decade) will come up for a first vote today. The idea will be to add it as an amendment to Majority Leader Frist's less damaging immigration bill. (We also oppose Frist's bill because its enforcement provisions are tied to doubling annual legal immigration.)

ALL PHONE NUMBERS FOR YOUR TWO SENATORS ARE HERE.

Very clearly state your objection to nearly everything about the Judiciary Committee bill and urge that the Senator vote NO on it.

Your phone calls the last two days helped postpone debate until Wednesday evening and helped postpone votes until later today. Nearly all delay will tend to help our side.

These Senators' most vulnerable point is to accuse them of supporting a blanket amnesty. None of them will own up to that even if they support the Judiciary bill that would legalize 12-20 million illegal aliens, let them stay here forever and put them on a path to U.S. citizenship.

Just keep making the amnesty explanation and charge.

See articles below for some wonderful extra information, poll data and arguments to help you with your call.

The Carnival of the Clueless is Up at Rick Morans one of a kind, original, unaldulterated Right Wing NutHouse.

A good friend reminded me of this old saying and I must say it bears keeping in mind, folks.

Revolution is increasingly appearing to be our only way out of the ever devolving socialist quagmire we have fallen into, and I may very well be arrested as a terrorist or worse for saying so, but there ya' go.

Someone has to say it.

Our government is selling us out at the threat of violence by factions of criminal aliens, and it is only this threat of a major uprising, whether real or perceived, that is making our elected officials kowtow to interests that would reward law breakers at the expense of American citizens.

Your rights are being trampled by the open borders lobby, MEChA, the Brown Berets and every other damned socialist group out there.

They protest in huge numbers, often becomeing violent, which causes peaceful, law abiding American Citizens to stay away from these protests.

These people, the protesters, are also not working.....people that have jobs don't have the time to go protest, as they would lose their jobs were they to walk out to demand that our government do something as simple as enforce our laws.

You aren't supposed to have to march in the streets to make your government enforce the laws. Instead of enforcing those laws they are rewriting them to cover up and remedy their malfeasance from not enforcing them the first time around. Instead of enforcing those laws they are making new ones that take away the consequences of breaking those laws.

Instead of enforcing those laws they are selling out our sovereignty to low wage labor and socialism, open borders and big business.

Once, our children would get jobs in the local fast food place when they were young, entering the work force and learning how to be a productive citizen. In many major cities that no longer happens. Those jobs have been taken up by middle age immigrants, most often criminal immigrants, that don't see them as a stepping stone to another job but rather as a career.

These immigrants bundle together with many families to one house, contributing to over crowding of our schools and send BILLIONS of dollars back home to their countries, billions that is then out of our economy.

The tension in some parts of this country is almost palpable, and most of it is racially charged.

Recently economists in the New York Times and another lib rag debunked the myth that cheap criminal labor is needed for this country to thrive. source. Add in the fact that 80% of this country DEMANDS that our government do something about illegal immigration, and handing out amnesty is not what they had in mind, and you can see the recipe for disaster that is brewing. This country is a country of laws, and our laws are not being followed, and indeed are being rewritten to reward those that break our laws.

Don't let the pressure up folks.

Keep calling your represenatives.

Swamp their offices with your faxes and emails, calls and letters.

Make your voices heard, people, for if you don't make them heard now, peacefully, I promise you that someday we will have to make them heard the old fashioned way....with a bang.

Really?

We call, fax, email and write letters to our "elected representatives" those alleged "stalwart defenders of democracy", and for what?

Millions of criminal aliens march to demand non-existent rights and our calls, letter, emails and faxes go unheeded.

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee approved sweeping election-year legislation Monday that clears the way for 11 million illegal aliens to seek U.S. citizenship, a victory for demonstrators who had spilled into the streets by the hundreds of thousands demanding better treatment for immigrants.
With a bipartisan coalition in control, the committee also voted down proposed criminal penalties on immigrants found to be in the country illegally. It approved a new temporary program allowing entry for 1.5 million workers seeking jobs in the agriculture industry.

Why are we fighting?

Have we lost already?

Is our voice so small, so insignificant, that only by marching in the thousands and threatening violence will we be listened to and our needs met?

Is threatening violence the only way to have our laws enforced?

Have we sunk to the level of needing to water that Tree of Liberty with the blood of patriots and tyrants?

It seems that is about where we are at, and I will probably be labeled a "terrorist" or worse (democrat or socialist comes to mind) for saying what is on the minds of many of my countrymen, but the truth remains that our government has become corrupted, surrendering to blackmail and threats of violence at the expense of the lawful citizens of these United States.

The de-criminalization of millions of criminals at the stroke of a pen is treason, and surrendering our sovereignty and erasing our border while rewarding those that break the law should have millions of us marching in the streets.

It probably won't though.

We have had our death certificate signed by those in D.C. today who will allow millions of criminals to become citizens, bringing unchecked immigration to our country or millions more that will be more of a drain on our social services.

This is only the beginning, people, and in five years time when there are 30 million more immigrants here refusing to assimilate and using our ever more limited resources, what will we do then?

We don't have, apparently, the balls to fight 12 million of them now, what makes you think we will be able to fight 40 million of them in 5 years?

God save the Republic, because D.C. won't.

So you caved to the millions of criminal aliens and gave them amnesty?

You are rewarding lawbreakers because you lack the balls to enforce our laws and the intestinal fortitude and patriotism to be an American first and a pandering politician second?

You are selling out your countrymen and our wishes because of what?

Do you think we can't find and deport these lawbreakers?

Do you not have the courage to stand by your fellow countrymen and risk the lies of racists being thrown at you and enforce our laws?

Are you so cowardly that it is easier to cave to corruption and criminal blackmail than to do the right thing?

Have you fallen so far that you do not see the scourge you have unleashed upon our country with your spineless acquiescence to these criminals that have invaded our country?

Have you no shame?

I would like to say that we will remember this come november, but little you care for that.....you just got 12 million more votes in your corner.

I would like to say that we'll see you at the ballot box, bitch, and then we'll see who is running this country, but I am not sure that after today that is even possible anymore.

I want to remind you of some profound words from the early history of our country:

That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.....But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --

You may continue to sit in Washington D.C. and believe that we, the citizens of the United States of America, the rightful and lawful rulers of this country, will continue to allow you to cower to the forces of foreign governments and criminal invaders, but you would be mistaken.

It is seen as a sign of weakness on your part, by our enemies abroad, and your citizens at home, that you are so fearful of these invaders and the violence they have threatened that you have surrendered our sovereignty in place of showing the courage we expect and demand of the people that we choose to lead us.

You are cowards, and the time is quickly approaching where we will rise up and remove you from office and replace you with Patriots that aren't afraid of doing their duty to their country.

The time is quickly approaching where we will rise up as one and say "ENOUGH!!!! The law is the law and it must be followed!!!!"

You have sold out our safety and your citizens, and you are traitors to this country, treasonous to the bone, and your impeachement and removal from office should be the start of your troubles.

We will NOT forget.

We will NOT forgive.

We will NOT surrender.

You have declared war on the citizenry of the United States of America.

May God have mercy on your soul.

Make no mistake about it, people, we are at war.

Go over to Euphoric Reality and have a look at the picture of what the students at Montebello High School yesterday.

U.S. Flag Laws and Regulations, Sec. 3, F states:

When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United States flag's right.

and Section G:

When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace.

Section 4a:

The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.

Section 8:

No person shall display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at any place within the United States or any Territory or possession thereof;

(I am wondering how these students got access to the flagpole in the first place....when I was in highschool we couldn't have done this without the schools help)

So as you can see it is fitting that the students at Montebello High School displayed the U.S. Flag below the mexican flag and upside down.

We are at war, and we are in dire distress and in extreme danger to our life and property.

Twelve MILLION criminals have invaded our country, and are now demanding rewards for doing so.

Twelve million people have broken our laws, and are demanding that those laws be struck to give them special consideration.

Twelve million people have said, in one voice, "Your laws don't matter."

As I said, we are at war.

We are at war with an army of criminals, and there are more of them than the 12 million that is estimated to already be here.

Our enemies are not simply the criminals that flout our laws and take our jobs. They are also the children of these criminals. Our enemies are in our schools, teaching these children that to disobeying our laws is acceptable.

Our enemies are in our government, contemplating rewarding these criminals because their malfeasance and lack of will and ability to enforce our laws have allowed an unprecedented invasion of epic proportions to occur, and they lack the spine, intestinal fortitude and patriotism to stand strong and proclaim that we are a nation of laws that must be adhered to else we risk the loss of our Freedom and our Republic.

Our enemies are ourselves, and our apathy, our laziness. We have allowed this to happen. Multiculturalism and political correctness have brought us to a point where our greatest fear is to be called "racist", when our biggest fear should be the loss of our freedoms, the loss of our greatness and the loss of our nations soul.

Our nation was founded on the rule of law, and when those laws are not adhered to, when those laws are ignored and flouted, unenforced and forgotten we lapse into a society that welcomes corruption and "might makes right", a society not unlike present day mexico.

In mexico a small and powerful elite rule over millions of peasants, making rules as they see fit and corruption in mexico is both legendary and an accepted norm of "mexican culture". In mexico one can easily buy their way out of a speeding ticket at the roadside because their society expects their police to be corrupt, and bribes are an expected part of daily life. Poverty in mexico is the norm, and the shacks on hillsides made of plywood and cardboard are not an abberation, but a fact of life in every major city in mexico.

In California, at the southern border, one can stand and look into mexico and see those shacks, perched on the hills like so many childhood forts. The striking difference at the border at night, where one can easily find where mexico ends and the U.S. begins because of the lights is a testament to the greatness of the United States of America and our system of laws and an indictment of the mexican way of life.

One finds no such disparity at the Canadian border.

This is the culture they are importing to us.

Is this the culture we want here in the U.S.?

We are at war people, and for those of you in heavily "latino" areas it is about to get ugly, and physical, so bar the door, lock and load and remember the alamo!!!!

CatHouse Chat has more

What the hell do you think you're doing?

Really?

Do you have any clue what it is that you are marching in favor of here?

In case your ignorant little heads are so damned twisted by the leftist rhetoric that gets pounded in your heads by the "education" you are receiving at the hands of the socialist twits running education these days let me surprise you and enlighten you by telling you that you are NOT marching for "immigrant rights".

You are marching in favor of our government ignoring the laws we hold dear and in favor of rewarding criminals that flout those laws with utter impunity.

Immigrants already have rights in this country. They have the same rights that others have, as long as they adhere to the same rules that the rest of us must follow.

These rules are called "laws", and these laws state that there are procedures to follow if a person that is not legally a citizen of this country wishes to come to this country to live and work.

Those that don't follow these laws are called "law breakers", i.e. "criminals", and when someone breaks the law and become a "criminal" there are "consequences" for those actions.

In the case of people that sneak into this country the consequences are "deportation", an action whereby the offender is taken out of the country and returned to their country of origin.

This action does not happen enough.

In the case of employers that hire those people that are in the country illegally heavy fines are supposed to be imposed, to force employers to follow the law and make certain that legal citizens of our country get the jobs that are there for them and not the criminals that sneak into this country.

This does not happen enough.

The law also states that children must be in school. Part of this is to give you an education and prepare you to take that job that is now being taken by the aforementioned criminal alien, but part of that is that while you are in school, that school distict is responsible for your well being and safety, and when you disregard the instructions of those that are supposed to be responsible for your safety you endanger yourself, those in your community and place your education in danger, for if something were to happen to you while you are out "protesting" the school is liable, and your stupid parents could sue the district for a lot of money.

Given todays idiotic climate, judicially speaking, they'd win too.

How can I call your parents stupid? Simple.

Follow home a stupid kid and what do you find?

Stupid parents.

Simply by the fact that you are protesting against law and order shows your stupidity, and that fact that some of you walked on FREEWAYS to protest proves beyond a doubt that the level of stupid shown to the world the last few days by your "protests" is a level that the human race has not seen since the days when mercury was taken as a "medicine".

Your ignorance of the facts surrounding criminal aliens, coupled with your flouting the laws of the land and placing yourself in danger, along with several thousand motorists, should be a source of utter embarrassment for those that purport to "teach" you.

You have done a grave disservice to yourselves, America, your teachers and your families, and have shown a level of stupidity that is both astounding and terrifying, and the fact that you do not understand how ignorant you have proven yourselves to be would shame you tremendously if you only could understand how absolutely stupid you have acted.

How about Criminals Wrong?

Let's get one thing straight from the get go here, folks. This is a nation of Laws, and we have Laws to codify procedures and policies into a unified code of rights and responsibilities to help in keeping order and to make life equatable for all.

"Equality before the law" does not mean that equal treatment trumps the law, but rather that all are equal in the eyes of the law.

There are laws in place for those that wish to come to the United States, whether they wish to visit or seek employment, there are laws in place for those reasons, and when those laws aren't followed by all it is unfair to those that do follow the laws, as they are placed under a different set of rules than those that don't follow the laws, and that creates inequality before the law, which is the antithesis of the system to which our country adheres.

The invasion of over 10 million criminals that have flouted our laws is a travesty of the highest order, and our governments refusal to stem this flow of criminals is an unconsionable act of betrayal on the order of treason in the highest regard. The "sanctuary policies" of many major cities that prohibit our police forces from capturing and handing over criminal aliens to the federal authorities are unconstitutional, as they give unequal protection to an entire class of criminals, protections that law-abiding, legal citizens do not enjoy.

If the hordes of people that stream across our unprotected southern border every single day were in uniform and armed our government, one would hope, would be standing strong, ready to repel the invasion of a hostile force, but instead our government undermans the border and turns a blind eye to the millions of people in this country working illegally, placing undue burdens on our infrastructure and education and healthcare systems.

Thousands of people are protesting today due to several bills in the government that may get passed soon. Millions of AMERICAN CITIZENS should be out to counter these criminal aliens and their supporters, but probably won't go out to do that, for several reasons.

One is the vast majority of Americans are leaving it to someone else to do. Another reason is that most Americans, I believe, either think that the government simply will be forced to do something about the flood of criminal aliens or that, more likely, it is a lost cause. I know several people that refuse to go because of the very real possibility of violence occurring. The Brown Berets, MEChA and other latino nationalist groups are notoriously violent and unbelievably racist, and it is a dangerous thing to go to a protest to exercise your first amendment rights when you are outnumbered by angry violent groups of people that will attack you when you counter them with the truth of the situation.

The truth of the situation is this:

People that sneak into this country are criminals, and the American people simply want our laws enforced. We don't care where you come from, what color your skin is or what language you speak when you get here, we only ask that you come here legally and assimilate.

Become an American.

Not a "mexican-american", or a "french-american" or any other hyphenated american, but simply an American, with a love of Freedom, a desire to live in peace and a willingness to work hard for what you desire and accepting of the personal responsibility that goes along with that Freedom.

Realize that the reason you come here is because this is the greatest country on the planet right now, and living here is a privilege, even for a citizen that is born here, and it carries with it great responsibility.

We are only as strong as our weakest link, and if our weakest link is a class of people that won't assimilate and don't work towards furthering the greatness that this experiment in self governance has carried forth for almost 230 years, then we must remove that part of the chain, for that is no longer part of a chain that links us to the past and anchors us in Freedom, but becomes the heavy chain around our neck that will eventually choke the life from us and drag us down to the depths of history, leaving us as nothing more than yet another history lesson that men cannot govern themselves and must be under the oppresive and heavy hand of an elite few that knows what is best for all of us.

That is not the America I believe in.

I hope it isn't the America you believe in either.

This country, the United States of America, was founded on the rule of Law. Man's Law, ordained by Our Creator that all men are created free and equal and are imbued with the God Given Rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Somewhere along the way this ideal got all cocked up. The gears got gummed up with over-thinking, you see, when someone decided that "created equal" actually meant "equal, regardless".
Regardless of circumstances.
Regardless of ability.
Regardless of character.
Regardless of ambition.
Regardless.

Once, when this country was young, and greatness blew upon the winds, a man could rise from poverty and obscurity, relying on his intelligence and drive, ambition and luck, creating the opportunities and capitalizing on the events around him to rise above his fellow man and achieve greatness.

Sometimes these men had this greatness thrust upon them, and they rose to the challenge to make a mark on history and changed the world. George Washington and Abe Lincoln spring to mind.

Others took the opportunity of living in a great and free country to pursue their dreams, taking the ideal of "The American Way" completely to heart and set out to change the world while seeking their fortune, and in the process changed the face of humanity and secured for themselves and their descendents a prosperity that would almost assuredly secure their well being for untold generations to come. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford fall into this catagory.

But as I said, something happened along the way that messed things up.

We succeeded.

We showed the world that Free Men could create a country of amazing prosperity and security, rising to heights of personal success that is almost mythical in proportion. A man born in a log cabin, teaching himself to read by firelight becomes the President of a great country, freeing an enslaved people and holding together a country that was, at the time, a fragile collection of states with vastly different ideas on the treatment of it's inhabitants, only to be cut down in his prime by an assassin.

Another man rises from the dawn of the industrial age with an idea that we can each own a automobile that will allow us more freedom to travel, making it common for people to cover the vast distances of this huge country, equalizing the executive of the company with the mansion on Nob Hill with the factory worker living in the clapboard house, who both now have the ability to go with a freedom and speed unseen before we had cars made on assembly lines.

But it is this prosperity that has fooled so many people. We have made it look so easy. Millions do it. We have more than 1 car for every person in the country, and home ownership is a standard of our society. You live where, and how, you choose to and can afford to do so. Some people choose a smaller house and a better car. Some people choose a cheaper car and a bigger house. Some can afford both, some neither, but all have the same opportunity to get exactly what it is they want, within boundries.

And it is the boundries that have caused the problems we see today. It is these naturally occuring boundries, attributable to intelligence, ambition and, yes, even a quality as nebulous as luck that have led to the disparity of society, not only here in the U.S. but around the world.

Human nature is a funny thing. Take, for instance, over population. In societies that population is a problem, most notably "Third World" countries, under-developed resources, coupled with an astounding birthrate, create an ever increasing strain on survival resources, such as food and water. This leads to a higher mortality rate, which causes the human animal to procreate at a faster and more furious rate as it fears for its extinction and attempts to keep this from happenening. (never mind the fact that in poor societies with a lack of work and food there isn't much else to do except try to find food and procreate)

Even here in the U.S. we see this phenomenon, albeit on a smaller scale, as most people in the U.S., especially American citizens, typically keep the number of their offspring to a number they can afford to feed and clothe. People that immigrate from the aformentioned "Third World" countries still seem to breed like, well, rabbits.

As I said, this is where our problem lies.

We have worked hard for this standard of living, and we have sacrificed much, but the rewards of that sacrifice far outweigh the costs. We treat the world as equals, seeing the possibility of greatness in all people, explaining to them that they too can have this freedom, this quality of life, but that with it comes a price, as nothing is free.

That price is hard work and personal responsibility.

Along with the freedom to succeed in mythical proportions comes the possibility to fail in legendary fashion.

And that possibility of failure is where people have forgotten that all important phrase "created equal".

To have the freedom to succeed, there must be the possibility of failure, and the higher one can fly the lower one can fall.

This is the greatness of The American Way. It is also the one thing that scares people the most. Many people, most notably europeans and the american left, see this disparity and say "that's not fair", and "why should he have more and he have less when there is enough for everyone?"

The short answer is this; "It's the natural order of things."

To a group that is famous for worshipping the "natural order" and defending nature from the onslaught of man, the people that espouse a socialist viewpoint go against the very nature of man the animal. In the wild it is the fastest cat that eats first and eats best, and the biggest dog that gets the choicest part of the kill.

It's the natural order of things.

So it should be in the human order of things too.

Of course, we have something many animals lack, and that is compassion. We try not to let our fellow humans starve to death or die in the streets of cold, but compassion only goes so far. Laziness should be it's own reward. So should hard work. If I catch dinnner while you sit in the shade and watch me get winded running across the veldt and expect to sit beside me and eat you had better expect that you will get second pick, at best, and not without getting growled at and maybe snapped at a few times. Especially if you are sitting there because you are lazy.

In nature an animal gets what they earn, and earns the right to keep what they get only by fighting for it. Can we expect any less from the human animal?

Imagine this:

You work for a large company, for example, Weyco, and that company tells you that you cannot smoke, even on your own time, in the privacy of your own home, and if you do you will be fired.

It happened.

Now let's look at the new "Wal-Mart Law" in Maryland, that mandates that employers pay 8% of their payroll to healthcare costs or pay the difference to the states fund for healthcare for the poor.

You have a group of employees that you are now forced, by law, to pay for their healthcare, and they keep on dragging their fat, lazy asses in and smoking on their breaks, sitting out front sucking down soda-pops and scarfing nacho cheese doritos by the big economy sized bag that you sell them, at an employee discount.

It occurs to you that if they didn't smoke they would be be healthier, using less in healthcare benefits, taking less sick days and maybe even working harder and faster since they wouldn't get winded waddling down the aisle to misdirect some schlub that couldn't find butter flavored crisco.

So now, with precedent set by a company such as Weyco, you tell your fat, lazy employees that they can no longer smoke, and testing will be implemented to make certain of that.

But why stop there?

A diet low in fat and high in fiber is healthy for you, right? So you hire yourself a private force of "compliance officers" and make a stipulation of employment be random checks of employee houses to make sure that healthy diets are being adhered to by your soon to be slimmer employees.

But why stop there?

Excercise is healthy, right?

So you put in a gym, hiring someone to run it, and mandate that part of the workday will be a certain amount of time on a treadmill or other cardio fitness regime.

But why stop there?

Sleep is very important to good health and a well rested worker is a productive worker, right?

So you make sure that your employees are outfitted with tracking devices that monitor their vital signs, hooked to computer programs that notify you when an employee appears to be up for too long, or comes into work with out the required eight hours of rest.

But why stop there?

Nobody wants to shop at a store with sweaty, smelly employees, so you mandate showertime too. Right after that treadmill time.

Hey, they're your employees, and your companies success depends on your employees being the best they can be, so you have every right to monitor their lifestyle and dictate their behavior.

Every right.

It's your money paying for their lifestyle choices.

Shouldn't those lifestyle choices get you the most for your money?

Don't you have a right to make certain that your companies bottom line is protected from needless waste and the bad choices of your employess?

After all, you are paying for them, so in essence, you own them.

And since you own them, much like a car, you get to decide what gas goes in, how fast they go and how many times a week they get cleaned out.

And much like a car, when they no longer perform you can trade them in for a younger, faster, sleeker car, or one that gets better mileage and is more dependable.

The bottom line is since you are paying for them, you own them, and since you own them, they have no rights anymore, and since they have no rights anymore they can't complain.

You have 'em by the short hairs.

Take advantage of it while it lasts.

Enjoy it.

Because once someone remembers the Thirteenth Amendment your free ride is over.


Ogre has some thoughts along these lines

Crossposted from Stop The ACLU

Update: Now the group adds insult to ingratitude. Not only are they ungrateful, they place the blame for their kidnapping on the very coalition that rescued them. Unbelievable!

"We believe the illegal occupation of Iraq by multinational forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq today. The occupation must end," the co-chairman of CPT Doug Pritchard told a news conference in Toronto.

Via NY Times

Three Western peace workers who were held hostage in Iraq for four months were freed in a military operation today, two weeks after their American colleague was killed in captivity.

The three men - James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, both from Canada; and Norman Kember, 74, of Britain - had been kidnapped last November along with the American man, Tom Fox, in Baghdad.

Mr. Fox's body was found this month. He had apparently been tortured by his captors before being shot multiple times in the head and dumped on a trash heap next to a railway line in western Baghdad.

"Our hearts are filled with joy today as we heard that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released in Baghdad," said a statement from the group they were working with, the Christian Peacemaker Teams. "Together we have endured uncertainty, hope, fear, grief and now joy during the four months since they were abducted in Baghdad."

The delegation coordinator for the group, Claire Evans, said by telephone from Chicago that Mr. Loney, a 41-year old Canadian, had contacted his family this morning from the Green Zone, the fortified compound in Baghdad where some American military forces, Iraqi government offices and the American embassy are located.

"He said that they were all in reasonable health," she said, adding that the three men were undergoing medical checks.

The men were freed by multinational forces in a military operation. In London, the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said that the mission included British forces.

Good news indeed. One would think that the military that saved these people would recieve a huge thank you, but their press release doesn't even mention the rescue. They do take the time for mentioning how much they love the enemy however.

Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families.

That in itself can be viewed as an admiral conviction to their faith, even if misguided, but in conjuction with absolutely no gratitude towards the brave souls that rescued them it comes across more like spit in the face.

Michelle Malkin's readers notes that the CPT statement refers to the hostages' "release" instead of their rescue. Lets make it clear for these folks...your activists were not "released" by some kind hearted effort of the terrorists. You were rescued by a military coalition. How ironic it is that you were saved by an organization you protest. If you have the faith to love your enemies, the least you can do is show some freakin gratitude towards the brave people that rescued you from death. These ungrateful pacifist make me sick.

Others: Euphoric Reality

Two thousand eight hundred and some odd miles.

That is about how far it is from Rockmart, Georgia to King City, Oregon. If you put that into Google maps you get less miles, but our route took us to visit a couple of people along the way, missing a couple of more (sorry Kit), and figuring out a few things along the way.

This country is truly huge. Freakin' huge. Don't believe me? Try driving it......at 55 MPH.....the countryside will crawl by at an agonizingly tedious rate. Even doing 70 seems slow when on the Kansas highway......

I happen to know this about Kansas because I just drove across it. And Nebraska. And a mess of other states. I was helping a friend help his mom move. We rented a twenty four foot truck, diesel, automatic, which means, to those of you that know trucks, that we had a truck that had the amazing abilities of being able to make lots of noise while having no real power to get up to speed.

We lovingly nicknamed it "Howard the Truck, Dean of the Democratic Highway."

As I said, Kansas is boring. So was Nebraska. In Hebron, Nebraska, we were forced to get a room, because at 2 A.M. there is nowhere to buy more fuel. In Arkansas we had some barbeque that was a little too vinegary, but the company couldn't be beat. In Twin Falls, Idaho, the view of the gorge next to the IHOP is almost indescribable.

But nothing tops Oregon.

I was fine when we reached Oregon.

I knew that Oregon was full of tree-hugging-patchouli-reeking-enviro-mental-damned-hippies. I expected this. I knew they had passed authanasia laws, and that you could put on a sex show on your front lawn, legally and nothing could come of it. I had forgotten that Oregon was the state that wanted to put GPS units in all of the cars for registration purposes, meaning that the more you drive the more you pay. But nothing has preparedme for the fact that when it comes to fuel for vehicles that Oregon is the most oppresive and socialist state I could imagine.

Apparently us mortal folks aren't supposed to pump our own fuel in Oregon. Someone tried to tell me that this was because "some people get trained to use the vapor recovery nozzles correctly" and that means better air quality, but that would mean that California, (and other states that don't mandate "professional fuel technicians" be the only ones to pump gas) is allowing an entire state full of unqualified fuel pumping morons to befoul the air of our great country, and I don't see that as the case. I think it was someone's way to "create jobs". Think about it.

It's just like when the french decided that the way to make more jobs was to force people to work less....if we make a law that states someone MUST be hired to fulfill a certain duty then we are creating jobs....

That pissed me off to no end.

But what really got me angry, the thing that made me really REALLY MAD, was when we got into Oregon and were told "Without a PUC permit diesel is 24 cents more PER GALLON!!!!!!!!

Oregonians look at it like this; If you are driving a diesel you are befouling the air, if you are befouling the air with a diesel you had better be working, as diesels pollute too much for normal people to drive them, so if you want to drive a diesel powered vehicle and you are not using it to make money it is going to cost you significantly more money to drive. If you are using it to make money than you need to get a PUC permit, that way we know who to expect a tax return from and if you are buying fuel and not filing taxes than we can take a harder look at you and audit you but don't you dare try to make any money and think for a moment that we won't try to crawl in your ass and find every last damned dime we feel we are entitled to steal from you.

See, if you are driving a diesel in Oregon, and you are using it to make money with, you must decide if it is going to cost you more in actual taxes paid on income, or if you are going to pay more in the extra fuel tax if you aren't registered with the Oregon PUC.

In the meantime, people that move in from out of state, using a diesel powered truck are forced to pay an additional 10% tax on fuel. But that's OK......since it was diessel fuel there wasn't a state mandated fuel pumper standing there to fuel up the truck at the truck stop. Maybe diesel fuel is only bad when it burns and you don't need to be specially trained to pump it, unlike regular fuel.

Either way, Oregon Sucks!!!!

Everything from the Bay Area in Northern California to the Canadian border, from the Sierra Nevada range and the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean needs to be fumigated!!!

Geographically speaking, that entire area should be quarantined and sprayed for Liberals. It is infested. And If nothing is doen I am afraid that the infestation will spread. If we fumigate now, we can avoid amputation later.

This news was all over blogs yesterday. Looks like it caught the eye of those in power. Let's hope that Abdul Rahman is a free man soon. Keep this story in mind when others claim Islam is a religion of peace. (MY ASS it is).

President Bush said Wednesday that he is "deeply troubled" that an Afghan man is being tried for converting to Christianity.

Abdul Rahman, 41, faces a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago. He has been charged with rejecting Islam, a crime under this country's Islamic laws. Bush said in a speech that a young democracy is growing in Afghanistan, but he's concerned about the case.

"We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom," Bush said. "I'm troubled when I hear, deeply troubled when I hear, the fact that a person who converted away from Islam may be held to account. That's not the universal application of the values that I talked about. I look forward to working with the government of that country to make sure that people are protected in their capacity to worship."
Rahman's trial started last week, but a state prosecutor said Wednesday that he may be mentally unfit to stand trial. Moayuddin Baluch, a religious adviser to President Hamid Karzai, said Rahman would undergo a psychological examination and the case will be dropped if he's found mentally unfit.

It is now officially, 1385 on the Afghan Calendar. The new year was rung in with great news for those that believe in freedom, justice, and liberty overall.

The Afghan Parliament announced a few days ago that they were through with Taliban Puppet Hamid Karzai’s delays. After three months of begging, pleading, bribes, and crying by the US State Department and US Ambassador, the Parliament will announce the new cabinet within four days. Karzai was warned by Prime Minister Yunis Qanooni that if he delays again, or interferes, it will be regarded as a “direct insult to the elected Parliament” which in Afghan language means that the Parliament could then force a “NO CONFIDENCE” vote against Karzai, and hold him accountable for treason under the new Constitution. The statements aired on Tolo TV, Ariana TV and other channels. Not a single western journalist has reported it or picked up on it. You would think Barkie would have given it a shot, lol..

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First and foremost... GO SIGN THE PETITION!!!! Thank you!

I'm sure our readers are already well aware of the news out of Afghanistan about a man, Abdul Rahman, who is on trial for his life for converting to Christianity. Doug from Below the Beltway, asks "And these are the people we helped liberate?" and quotes a VOA News article:

On Thursday the prosecution told the court Rahman has rejected numerous offers to embrace Islam.

Prosecuting attorney Abdul Wasi told the judge that the punishment should fit the crime.

He says Rahman is a traitor to Islam and is like a cancer inside Afghanistan. Under Islamic law and under the Afghan constitution, he says, the defendant should be executed.

Excuse me, but how is this substantially different from the restrictions and tyranny of the Taliban?

ABC News (on page two) quotes the judge who is apparently presiding over this case -

The post-Taliban constitution recognizes Islam as Afghanistan's religion, and decrees that Islam's Sharia law applies when a case is not covered by specific legislation. The prosecutor says under Sharia law, Abdul Rahman must die.

The judge, however, holds hopes for a solution.

"We will ask him if he has changed his mind about being a Christian," Mawlazezadah says. "If he has, we will forgive him, because Islam is a religion of tolerance."

This is not tolerance, this is INTOLERANCE. So much for the so-called "Religion of Peace"! I can just imagine the outcry and rage of everyone if we swapped religions: if this man were on trial for his life because he converted to Islam from Christianity, and if the judge then called Christianity a "religion of tolerance." Pfft! Hypocrites!

Over the weekend, Michelle Malkin noted that this story is not getting much media attention, even from our Christian President, and posted the charges Rahman is facing:

"Yes that's true, a man has converted to Christianity. He's being tried in one of our courts," Supreme Court judge Ansarullah Mawlavizada said, adding that his trial began early last week.

He said the man could face the death penalty if he refused to revert to Islam as Sharia law proposes capital punishment for any Muslim who converts to another religion. Afghanistan's constitution states: "No law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam."

Barbaric. Absolutely barbaric! This is not freedom, this is not liberty, this is not tolerance!

Michelle followed up yesterday, giving ABC due credit for reporting on the story, and also posting the addresses for the Embassy of Afghanistan and the State Department. I would strongly urge that we all follow her suggestion and write, politely but passionately, to express our deep concern and revulsion for this perversion of "justice":

Write the embassy of Afghanistan:

Ambassador Said T. Jawad
Embassy of Afghanistan
2341 Wyoming Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
info@embassyofafghanistan.org

Contact the State Department:

U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Main Switchboard:
202-647-4000

Following those addresses, she adds much more information, so you ought to go over and read what she has posted.

(Crossposted at CatHouse Chat)

Throughout much of last week, hundreds of thousands of students in France were angrily protesting.

They have been joined by the major French labor unions, which are threatening a general strike.

And what is this all about?

It is all about a new law in France that allows a company to fire a person under the age of 26, without cause, within two years of being hired.

Wow. Imagine that. You might get fired from your first job.

It's not working for France...the poor performance of the workers (who have no incentive to be good workers) is taking a toll on France's ability to be a Global competitor. So, the leaders over there decide it's ok to...OMG...FIRE these lazy performers and this sparks massive protests and work stoppages. It's a different place, France, and much of Europe for that matter.

As it happens, the whole point of the law was to encourage companies to hire young people. The unemployment rate among young people in France is 23 percent. And in many suburbs, it is double that. Meanwhile, French companies are understandably loath to hire 22-year-olds when they cannot fire them except "for cause," which under union rules means something like committing mass murder in the workplace.

What these massive demonstrations reveal is the narcissism, laziness and irresponsibility inculcated by socialist societies.

Enough generations of socialist policies have now passed for us to judge their effects. They are bleak. Socialism undermines the character of a nation and of its citizens. In simpler words, socialism makes people worse.

Socialism destroys people's natural desire to do BETTER. To be all they can be. It creates laziness and lax. There is NO incentive to anything except exist. How boring it that? Since when is maintaining employment a right? It's very foreign to Americans.

These young people in France really believe that they should be able to be hired at their tender ages and that a company must not be allowed to fire them from their first day at work (except "for cause," which, as we are learning in America, is increasingly difficult to establish). In America, most of us would call the French young people's attitudes "spoiled."

Socialism teaches its citizens to expect everything, even if they contribute nothing.

Socialism teaches its citizens that they have a plethora of rights and few corresponding obligations -- except to be taxed.

Yes they are VERY spoiled. But worse than that, they are living in a world where a job is an entitlement. This is bad policy for the entire nation. America cannot go down this route. People will not be innovative when there is no reward for it. People will not produce more products when there is no reward for that. AND these people don't care that they are taxed upwards of 50% of their income...to support "free healthcare" (which is far from free duh!) and they don't mind paying for their fellow countrymen to be lazy, to not work. What a progressive place France really is huh??

And that is why the citizens of less socialist -- and more religious -- America give more charity per capita and per income than do citizens of socialist countries. That is why Americans volunteer time for the needy so much more than citizens of socialist countries do. That is why citizens of conservative states in America give more charity than citizens of liberal states do. The more Left one identifies oneself on the political spectrum, the more that person is likely to believe that the state, not fellow citizens, should take care of the poor and the needy.

It's a political mindset. We are all entitled to have our opinions, be them left or right. Problem is when the opinions garner votes, and we tilt too far left, we will become France. A huge mess of high unemployment, a healthcare system lacking in resources and funds; a lack of an ability to defend itself so it's forced to kiss the stained asses of terrorist-loving states. Yes...this is France.

The socialist idea sounded altruistic to those who began it, and it sounds altruistic to the naive who believe in it today. In practice, however, it creates self-centered individuals and a narcissistic society. So while it may have begun as a way to help others, it has come to mean a way of evading responsibility for oneself and for others.

So true. France is going to have to change it's ways or fade into history as a "Once Great..."
There will be many more protests from the generation of lazy, selfish young people who will someday grow up; some of these kids might see socialism for what it is and try to make a change. There will be many protests. But the question will come down to this: Does France exist for the individual or for the nation as a whole? And the answer will not be socialism.

Here is what American youth get to look forward too...let's here it for capitalism!

Hmm Teddy is in the news a lot today; AND this article speaks a MILLION words about where this liberal mindset is at.

Wow. Read the whole article...

With all this in mind, it is none too surprising that the current iteration of Kennedys, in their long slide down from Camelot, have now embraced defeatist war critic John Murtha by giving him the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award--which transforms the spirit of the prize into something like the Joseph P. Kennedy medal for isolationism, appeasement, bad judgment, and very bad faith.

A history lesson might be in line here, as the Kennedy story is somewhat complex: Before Ted there was Jack, a defense hawk and war hero, before Jack, there was Joe. Joe, of course, was a whole other story, an isolationist and an appeaser, a fan and facilitator of the Munich agreement, a man who avoided service in World War I, and earned the scorn of the British during the Blitz by leaving the embassy to spend nights out of town (and the range of the Luftwaffe) during the later unpleasantness. Historians claim that by the start of the war, the elder Kennedy had so damaged the family name that only the wartime heroics of his two older sons made it once again viable. In his first speech as a congressman, in l947, Jack Kennedy ripped into the Munich agreement as a catastrophic mistake that must not be repeated, and spent his political life preaching Churchillian vigilance.

VP Cheney speaks again and he's SO good at rebuffing those bumbling big-in-their-own-britches buffaloons.

Sen. Ted Kennedy is the last person to listen to in matters of national security, Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday.

Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," Cheney responded to host Bob Schieffer's remark that Kennedy, D-Mass., had said on the third anniversary of the Iraq war: "It is clearer than ever that Iraq was a war that we never should have fought. The administration has been dangerously incompetent and its Iraq policy is not worthy of the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.

"President Bush continues to see the war through the same rose colored glasses he's always used. He assures the American people we are winning while the lives of our troops hang so perilously on the precipice of a new disaster."

Said Cheney: "I would not listen to Ted Kennedy for guidance and leadership on how we ought to manage national security. I think what Senator Kennedy reflects is sort of the pre-9/11 mentality about how we ought to deal with that part of the world. We used to operate on the assumption before 9/11 that a terrorist attack, a criminal act, was a law enforcement problem.

Heh.

"I think we are going to succeed in Iraq. I think the evidence is overwhelming. I think Ted Kennedy been wrong from the very beginning, he's the last man I'd go to for guidance as to how we should conduct national security policy."

Commentor Timmah brings to my attention a story about a Texas woman who had her ventilator removed...and this story is making it's way across the lefty blogs as a comparison to Terri's fight. They are not even remotely similar and it's typical of the left to leave out basic facts. To yell and scream about these things is good. To bring them out in center for attention is good too. But to use ability to pay or race or immigration status as an excuse for removing the vent is wrong. Get the facts straight folks before you all fly off the handle and land assdown looking like idiOts.

A family has gathered to mourn a woman gone too soon. Tirhas Habtegiris was an East African immigrant and only 27 when she died Monday afternoon. She'd been on a respirator at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano for 25 days. "They handed me this letter on December 1st. and they said, we're going to give you 10 days so on the 11th day, we're going to pull it out," said her brother Daniel Salvi.

First of all anyone on a vent cannot speak. They have a huge tube in their throat which makes speech impossible. These tubes are uncomfortable and patients who require them are almost always sedated because they often try to pull them out themselves.

The statement from the hospital:

Ms. Habtegiris was not conscious at the time of her death and was not consistently conscious after the first few hours in the hospital. The medical record reflects that she was given morphine for severe pain shortly after arriving in the Emergency Department, and she was further sedated when she required mechanical ventilation shortly after admission to the hospital. From that point forward, she was never again able to speak because of the tube in her windpipe (trachea), and she was never able to meaningfully communicate by other means because she required ongoing narcotics for pain and sedatives for anxiety and agitation.

As I thought. As is typical for patients on vents.

Even though her body was being ravaged by cancer, this family says Tirhas still responded and was conscious. She was waiting one person. "She wanted to get her mom over here or to get to her mom so she could die in her mom's arms," says her cousin Meri Tesfay.

She may have made this wish known prior to being placed on the vent. If so, her family should have made arrangements for her mother to get here in time. This woman had been DX with the cancer for a while at the time of admission to the hospital. The terminal status had been known as well. They had time. And if you read the statements from the medical records the hospital has released we see they actually tried to help the family with getting her mother to the US.

Ms. Habtegiris was already sedated for her comfort as noted above. Her grieving family no doubt did not want to see her removed from the mechanical ventilator and perhaps this caused them to perceive that their loved one was suffering when she was not. However, both medical professionals and the hospital chaplain (who tried to help the family cope with their grief) noted that Ms. Habtegiris died peacefully. The statement that she "suffocated" for 16 minutes is false.

In my own experiences with patients who are removed from vents, they are almost always sedated to the point where one would never know they even needed to be on the vent. There is no grasping for air, no dramatic last moments so many would like us all to believe. Morphine is the drug of choice for these situations. For pain.
Morphine has a side effect though: It reduces respiratory function.

It was medically inappropriate, on scientific grounds alone, for Baylor to go along with the family’s request to maintain the ventilator indefinitely for Ms. Habtegiris (whose lungs filled each day with more and more cancer), to provide CPR at the moment of death, or to provide a lung transplant. More importantly, it is outside the ethical standard of care of both physicians and nurses to keep a suffering patient alive merely because of others' belief that it is never appropriate to stop any medical treatment.

It's absurd to even consider performing CPR on a patient who has lung cancer. It would kill them. It wouldn't help.
And lung translplants don't work when we have cancer in every other part of our bodies. The vent was keeping this woman alive, for sure, but it wouldn't have kept her alive for long. Her cancer had most likely spread to her brain, where the functions of life are controlled. She would have been truly brain dead but kept alive via ventilations from a machine. How's that for quality of life? The sad facts here are she had cancer, which was spreading more and more every day. The ventilator cannot stop this. If anything, it keeps the cancer alive and not her.

Her family feels caught in America's health insurance crisis.
"And it's kind of a shock to me too to experience this in this country. It's the richest country in the world. Very sad," Salvi said.

No this is not the case here. When I first read the article Timmah sent in comments I was pissed off. A simple Google of this story shows a lot more was involved here. Funding issues? I was surprised to see that brought up. Being America, the land of entitlements and free healthcare for the poor, I was shocked that this was an excuse. ALL people get care, no matter the ability to pay.

The medical record reflects that the hospital never raised payment issues with the family. As is routine for all patients without private insurance who might qualify for public assistance, the family was given contact information to apply for Medicaid. The medical record clearly reflects Medicaid would pay for the patient's hospital care.

Medicare will pick up these costs no matter what. No matter what the political spectrum we each have, the fact is America will pay for the healthcare of everyone. No matter what their immigration status or ability to pay.
So using payment sources or the lack of, doesn't gel here. It doesn't matter. Her care was paid for. Period.

What's wrong with this?? Read it and decide what is missing.

(CNSNews.com) - The Republican Party has wondered what's taking Democrats so long to unveil their election-year agenda. Amid press reports that it will happen any day now, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday offered what amounts to a draft version.

--SNIP--
In a speech to the Communications Workers of America on Tuesday, Pelosi mentioned Democrats' opposition to outsourcing. She said Democrats will end tax subsidies for companies that send jobs overseas.

She also said Democrats support the "right of all Americans to organize," a sentiment that goes over well with labor unions such as the CWA.

To protect workers who want to join unions, Pelosi said Democrats are "fighting" to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) in the House and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate. "The bill will guarantee that when a majority of workers in a company want a union, they will get a union," Pelosi said.

Ok...unions and jobs.

Democrats also support an increase in the minimum wage. Pelosi, describing the income of corporate American CEOs as "immoral," used Wal-Mart to make her point:

"I was told that an entry level person at Wal-Mart, who works his or her entire career at Wal-Mart, would make as much as the CEO makes in two weeks. A lifetime of work versus two weeks in the executive suite -- this is not America, this is not fairness, this is not the basis of a strong middle class that is essential for our democracy. We must change that in our country," she said.

Yeah so?? Workers are not supposed to make as much as business owners. It's not about being fair dipshit. It's about earning what you need to live on...if the workers want to be rich like Wal Mart owners they have the oppurtunity. Get an education and start their own business. THAT's the American way. No handouts.

Pelosi also mentioned the Democrats' "Innovation Agenda" to maintain America's leadership role in the global economy.

America lags behind other countries that have universal broadband deployment, Pelosi said; but the Democrats' agenda "guarantees" that every American will have affordable access to broadband within five years.

Ah huh...internet access for all...

Democrats support "energy independence" within ten years; health care for all American within five years; and "dignified retirement" (no privatization of Social Security) through an "AmeriSave" plan.

sHillary Care....ah huh....


NOTHING about terrorism. Nothing. Nothing about keeping America safe. Not a word about maintaining American values- nothing about family, children, religion...thats so Democrat now isn't it??

Oh for the love of GAWD when will John, no Jean Francois Kerrie JUST stop???

Here we go again. A baby in the UK is deemed worthy of life for right now. I find it odd that little Charlotte's life wasn't as valuable as this child- who has a much worse condition. The condition isn't going to cause death and it isn't going to mean he spends the rest of his life in pain and discomfort.

The parents of a severely disabled baby boy at the centre of a right-to-life case have thanked the judge for ruling that he should be kept alive.

They were fighting a hospital's bid to turn off the ventilator that keeps the child, known only as Baby MB, alive.

Maybe the judges over in Britain aren't as barbaric as I thought. Obviously there are some who can see through the lies and tall tales - the creeds of the culture of death.

The 19-month-old boy has genetic condition spinal muscular atrophy - which leads to almost total paralysis.

The judge said he felt the child gained enough pleasure from life to outweigh the medical evidence of his condition.

Lots of people live with total paralysis. LOTS. And they live life with dignity and are able to participate in many things. (Think...Christopher Reeves) Just because has this condition doesn't mean they should die.

In an exclusive BBC interview the child's mother said: "I really thank the judge for coming to that decision."

His father said Mr Justice Holman was right to rule the ventilator that keeps the baby alive should not be switched off.

During the case at the High Court in London, Baby MB's mother described how he responded to certain cartoons, such as Shrek and Finding Nemo - but did not appear to like the news or Eastenders.

Responses such as these indicate the baby can see and hear, obviously. This child is not "suffering" from a brain disorder (AKA brain dead...)

But a total of 14 medics, including two independent doctors called by the parents, told the hearing his quality of life was so poor he should be allowed to die.

Doctors argued the invasive ventilation which is keeping the child alive is likely to be uncomfortable, with one saying he felt the child had an "intolerable life".

Baby MB, from the north of England, cannot breathe unaided and is almost totally paralysed. He also cannot chew or swallow.

He suffers from the most severe form of spinal muscular atrophy and has lived in a high dependency unit in hospital since he was seven weeks old.

His parents want him to have a tracheotomy ,which could make long-term ventilation easier, so he is able to leave his hospital bedroom and explore the grounds, albeit with the assistance of medical staff.

The inital ventilation will be uncomfortable, but that eases with time. Not being able to eat, to chew and swallow is typical of those who are paralyzed. It isn't a reason to allow him to die. High dependency unit?? Guess that's the kind of place I work as we deal with some children with this DX. It's completely managable and these kids grow up to be happy, cooperative members of society.

Giving his judgement, Mr Justice Holman did not dispute the medical evidence, and said Baby MB would not experience simple childhood pleasures, such as taking his first steps or the "rough and tumble" of playing with other children.

But the judge said he was not unconscious and was capable of bonding with his family.

He said Baby MB could probably see, hear and feel - taking pleasure from the eight or nine hours his family spend with him each day.

Justice Holman said: "It must be assumed that he processes all of those sights and sounds like any child of his age and gains pleasure from them."

I want to meet this judge. He is wise and smart and doesn't succomb to the Death Culture's claws. I respect this- when a person can see through the crap.

He added: "No court has yet been asked to approve, against the will of parents, the withdrawal of life support with the inevitable and immediate death of a conscious child with sensory awareness and cognition, and no significant evidence of brain damage."

WOW. I wonder how the COD is reacting to this.

Somehow, I don't think so!

Kender called me from the Atlanta area, where he's helping a friend move and asked me to check into a rumor he'd heard about snow in San Francisco, so I checked it out.

Heh. "In recent days, average Bay Area temperatures have been about 15 degrees below normal, said Jan Null, a noted local meteorological consultant."

Do you get the impression that God is up in His heaven, laughing Himself silly at the pretensions of all those global warming moonbats?

Yeah, me, too!

Crossposted From Stop The ACLU

Word on the liberal blogs are spreading this press release of the ACLU.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania today released new evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting investigations into a political organizations based solely on its anti-war views.

Two documents released today reveal that the FBI investigated gatherings of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice just because the organization opposed the war in Iraq. Although previously disclosed documents show that the FBI is retaining files on anti-war groups, these documents are the first to show conclusively that the rationale for FBI targeting is the group's opposition to the war.

“It makes no sense that the FBI would be spying on peace activists handing out flyers,” said Jim Kleissler, Executive Director of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice. “Our members were simply offering leaflets to passersby, legally and peacefully, and now they’re being investigated by a counter–terrorism unit. Something is seriously wrong in how our government determines who and what constitutes terrorism when peace activists find themselves targeted.”

According to the documents released today, the FBI initiated a classified investigation into the activities of the Thomas Merton Center, noting in a November 2002 memo that the center “holds daily leaflet distribution activities in downtown Pittsburgh and is currently focused on its opposition to the potential war on Iraq.” The synopsis of the document is provided to “report results of investigation on Pittsburgh anti-war activities.” The FBI memo points out that the Merton Center “is a left-wing organization advocating, among many political causes, pacifism.”

Indeed, the ACLU's allegations make no sense. I find it hard to believe that the FBI would waste their time investigating a group for simply offering leaflets. Of course the ACLU and liberal blogs are only telling one side of the story. The FBI counters that an agent checked out the group on a tip that a wanted individual was a member.

The FBI's Press Release on this:

Recent statements by officials of the American Civil Liberties Union including those carried by the news media ("FBI Watched Activist Groups," The New York Times, 12/20/2005; "FBI Papers Show Terror Inquiries into PETA, Other Groups," Washington Post (12/20/2005) are misleading and imply that the FBI has engaged in unauthorized or otherwise inappropriate investigative activity. The FBI does not investigate any public interest or advocacy group based on the group's lawful activities or political beliefs. Investigations and interviews of individuals conducted as part of a criminal and/or terrorism investigation are always predicated on specific information about a potential criminal act or terrorist threat, and, they are conducted in strict conformance with federal law, Department of Justice investigative guidelines and FBI policies. FBI Agents are obliged to respond to all threats of violence under FBI jurisdiction and take an oath to conduct such investigations within the bounds of the Constitution, while respecting the dignity and civil liberties of the public.

As the present Freedom of Information Act releases have shown, the FBI collects a vast amount of information—lawfully and appropriately—including public source material, which is then later indexed and is retrievable. The existence of a file naming an individual or organization does not, in itself, indicate that the FBI has in the past or is presently investigating that individual or group. FBI files are composed of any record or communication regarding an individual or organization that may have been indexed under that individual's or organization's name in the Central Records System; these records would include any communications that individual or organization may have had with the FBI. This would include requests for information, as well as coordination of meetings or reports by other individuals about the individual or organization.

We will let you decide who to trust on this one, but you should at least hear both sides of the story.

The UE is at it again: Threatening us with sanctions - over tax issues. Why should American business have to support the land of the freeloaders??

The European Union advised the World Trade Organization on Tuesday that it would reintroduce trade sanctions against the United States in two months unless Washington complies with a WTO ruling condemning tax breaks for U.S. companies operating overseas.

The 25-nation EU said, however, that it is still offering the United States ways to end the long-standing dispute without having to incur sanctions on lists of targeted products, including everything from textiles and foodstuffs to automotive parts and steel.

The announcement comes 30 days after a WTO panel upheld a decision condemning the tax breaks, affirming previous judgments that the so- called Foreign Sales Corporation, or FSC, law breached global trade rules by giving illegal subsidies to some U.S. businesses.

Tax breaks? I don't think so. These are not taxes. These are subsidies that support a way of life that is foreign to Americans; it's like a MAJOR nationwide UNION vs. America.

Oh wait. Europe is a UNION. LOL.

Hmm maybe the Iranian people will finally start to take back their country. That would be really neat to see happen. Unfortunately, the hardline government works overtime to squash any form of freedom.

TEHRAN -- Iran's clerical and business establishments, deeply concerned by what they see as reckless spending and needlessly aggressive foreign policies, are increasingly turning against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Within this context, many see the president's long-running confrontation with the United States and Europe over Tehran's nuclear program as an attempt to demonize the West and distract the Iranian public from pressing domestic problems.

A lot of pressure is being put upon Iran, from the inside and out, to change. But there isn't enough support from Muslims. They need to break free of the religion-based bulloney that separates them from the rest of the world.

A relatively small group of extremists "at the top of the government around the president" are seeking to benefit from a crisis with the West, because "that way they will be able once again to blame the West for all of their problems," said Mousa Ghaninejad, the editor of Iran's best-selling economics daily newspaper, Dunya Al-Eqtisad.

We shall see what happens. If Iran doesn't clean up it's act, they may find themselves in a situation much like Iraq. I would hate to see the US use war to end the regime running Iraq.
I would rather see a big bang like the kind produced by a nuclear explosion. Take care of the problem with one swipe.

GM Roper of GM's Corner is fighting cancer. A group of bloggers silently known as the South Park Republicans have joined GM in his fight. to raise money in order to fight cancer. Over the next few weeks, the Liberal Church will be travelling from blog to blog and all donations made will go to aid St. Jude in their fight against cancer. If you would like to donate by snail mail, St. Jude makes it available to do that. Cancer can be a very costly battle and your help is greatly appreciated. Please add a "Fight On" ribbon to your blog. Donations can be made by clicking on St. Jude's while the plate is passed. Find the participants of "Fight On". South Park Republicans

First Church of Democrats
Bringing liberals closer to God since 2006
proudly talking liberalism in the bible belt

Worship songs play -
"Bordering on Insecurity" - Choir
"It's Rich Man's War" - Choir
"Somewhere over at Rainbow Coalition" - Jessica Jackstone

Welcome to the Liberal church! I'm Michael Moron, director of excellent learning films such as 'Roger and Me' and Sci-fi documentaries like 'Farenheit 911'. I'm also an expert on foriegn policy since I am a film maker. That's the great thing about working in Hollywood, you become the best among experts. For example, Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon starred in 'Dead Man Walking'. Who better to save the people in New Orleans than Sean Penn? Who better to speak out against the death penalty than Susan Sarandon? Who better to talk about what goes on in the West Wing than Geena Davis and Martin Sheen? Who better to trust on the happenings of Iraq than me?

In other announcements, our missionaries in Afghanistan and Iraq have successfully committed 4,444 acts of protest against Bush's Islamic Holocaust. It was a decent week as there were 63 more successful protests! Almost 10 a day. Please keep the insurgents in your prayers and please donate when the plate is passed around.

The "Iraqinam Sixties Protest" is visiting Kender of 'Kender's Musings' and well, we just are here. In fact, we travelled so far, we don't even know where we are at. It's almost like the sixties all over again...

In other announcements, we have Nelson Mandela, Ghandi, and other Civil Rights leaders running for mayor in New Orleans. Well Kimberly Butler says she's all of them. Some call her a kook, but she's just one march short from Selma, Alabama to infinite wisdom.

Let us bow our head and make a tax payment. Oh Holy Spirit Che Guevara, give us the strength to open up other people's wallets and give to the less fortunate. Rid our fields of the capitalist pig greed that George H(itler) W(armonger) Bush inflicts on us! O Holy Spirit Che Guevara, we adore you!

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

While the taxplate gets passed around, Mr Jay Benning will be singing a song full of rock and roll praise that he wrote!

Click on the Tax Plate (St. Jude)
♪♫ 'Bush's crooked cross, looks like a swastika' ♫
♫ 'for his war crimes, send him to Attica'♫♪
♪♫ 'If you got oil, watch yo back' ♫
♫'he leaves are ports open while he attacks'♫♪
♪♫ 'Al Qaida fights for a great cause'♫
♫ 'striking the Pentagon and the capitalist terrorist'♫♪
♪♫ 'America was on Osama's war list'♫
♫ 'Great victory for Islam will come'♫♪
♫ 'When George Hitler is done!'♫♪

Thank you Deacon Benning!! Wow, that was exciting and original. I have never heard anybody compare George Hitler Warmonger Bush to Hitler. That really made me think about history. I am almost inspired to actually look up my history, but since I don't like Bush, I'll take your word for it.

I just finished watching 'Jarhead' and for those of you haven't seen it, well, it's a must see! Jake Gyllenhal gives you a preview of his performance in 'Brokeback Mountain'. First he spends night after long night with other men, while his woman is home alone. He gets called names that I'm certain Heath Ledger said to him on more hot private nights. There's a scene where he gets lubed up with oil, even the horse is lubed up. Men crying with each other. Well, 'Jarhead' is just like 'Brokeback Mountain' except with different types of explosions. This was a stunning performance!

But my favorite scene was cut from the original movie. You have to go to the deleted scenes on the DVD to view this. The scene is called "The Build Up To War". Swoff (Jake Gyllenhal) is looking through his sniper rifle when a televised Daddy Bush finds himself in the crosshairs*. Oh how that would be anybody's wet dream. *(Actually in there)

Is there any reason why Jake Gyllenhal shouldn't have won an Oscar? Is there any real reason, other than homophobia, why 'Brokeback Mountain' didn't win more Awards? I'm sick and tired, as I'm sure the rest of you are, of ultra conservative Hollywood. They are constantly shoving their world views down our throats. Movies such as 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Road to Perdition' that promote gun violence. Movies like 'Crash' promote careless driving and then wins an Oscar. If they were all just wearing a seatbelt, everything would have been fine, but no, Crash would not do that.

But I'm not going to go on and on about the best picture of the year not getting the Oscar, but I am going to talk about Iran. I am going to do a documentary on Iran so I am the most qualified person to discuss it.

George Hitler Warmonger Bush is lying to the nation and to the world again. He's telling the world that Iran is dangerous. He knows nobody will believe him if he says 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' so he's changed the words. This time he's gone more dramatic by saying 'Nuclear'. Well that's what he meant when he attacked Iraq unilaterally and now he's trying to lie and mislead the world again.

Iran is a nation of peace. They only want to keep Americans out of their oil fields, out of their wombs, out of their lives. George Hitler Warmonger Bush needs to keep his fanatical religion and imperialistic world views out of Iraq! Trust me, I'm doing a documentary on it to prove George Hitler Warmonger Bush is lying.

I had lunch with the Iranian President and he was so nice. He didn't even get mad at me like most people do because I ate 'so much'. If you think I eat so much, why have me over for dinner? By the way, how do some of you people eat so little?

In this documentary, I reveal how some nations get along so well with other peace loving nations. Did you know Iran has good relations with other peaceful countries such as Venezuela, China, North Korea, and Cuba? But Iran has to be able to defend theirself in a world with George Hitler Warmonger Bush in it.

My documentary will also reveal how Dubai Ports World was giving George Hitler Warmonger Bush special deals on gasoline and secretly sharing oil profits. George Hitler Warmonger Bush wanted to allow the United Arab Emirate into our country so they can blow up all the bicycles and ignite fear into people so that we will start a war with France.

Yes, that was George Hitler Warmonger Bush's idea. Once the UAE attacked our country, Bush was going to pass the Super Patriot Act, which is still sitting on his desk by the way, that denied every last one of your freedoms. Bush was going to shut down the ports, borders, airports, and even grocery stores in neighborhoods with high Arabic and/or Muslim influences. Yes, neighborhoods with high minority populations!

The real reason Hitler Warmonger was going to shut down the grocery stores in nieghborhoods with mostly minorities was because he wanted to starve minorities until they decided to sign up for the military so they could be sent to war and die for oil. Yes folks, believe me, I have a camera and I know how to cut and edit!

Bush's dream war is to have the United States military completely filled with minorites and all the high ranking officers to be white, just like the plantations were ran. Then he would send our minorities to countries without white people like China, North Korea, Iraq, Cuba, and of course Venezuela.

Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, brave people. We need to stand up for him when he goes to war with the United States. Guayana is allowing the CIA to hide in the jungles along the Venezuela border. If Hugo needs to take control of the jungles of Guyana, then we need to stand by him 100%! He needs to be able to protect his country from George Hitler Warmonger Bush!

Let us bow our heads and don't forget your tax payment. Holy Spirit Che Guevara, please give us the power to create a more secure government, one that gives us an division of government that is bigger and better than before. One that will protect us from Hitler Warmonger's evil friends in the UAE. Please, oh lord, let Democrats win so we can bring the war on terrorism back to where it belongs, here at home, within our borders. We ask this in your name Holy Spirit Che Guevara.

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.

You may come forward now and seek redemption by clicking on the link that says St. Jude.
Last Weeks Sermon (VII)

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