One idiot’s opinion about the current crisis in Gaza
Once again when in time of crisis we can depend on Hollywood celebrities, those unsung heroes, to lend a totally nonsensical viewpoint to a major issue facing the world. Today’s contender: Roseanne Barr who bravely declares that Israel is “A Nazi state.”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733139909&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
First of all I think she needs a history lesson. Call me crazy but doesn’t this seem just a little contradictory? I ain’t got no fancified history degree but from what I understand the Nazis were dedicated to eliminating the Jews. You know, those people who live in Israel. So unless they are suicidal I think it would be inaccurate to describe the Israelis as Nazis.
Rosanne goes on to “ liken Hamas to “street gangs” in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts, saying that Israel’s military campaign is the “equivalent to Los Angeles attacking and launching war on the people of Watts to kill ‘the Bloods’ and ‘the Crips.’”
Just to inject a little reality into her nonsense the terrorists are what passes for government in the Gaza strip. The Bloods and Crips are street gangs which the US government as well as the California and local Watts governments are actively trying to wipe out. Though they both may represent lawlessness and terror in their respective corners of the world the comparison is ridiculous. Israel is at war with a terrorist organization that has seized control of the Gaza Strip and overthrown an elected government. Gangs may make like tough for the residents of Watts but the certainly don’t control every aspect of life for them and their primary goal is not the destruction of a neighboring community. Moreover if they did have some kind of armed overthrow of the local government I would have to assume that the US government would indeed step in and seize back control of the region.
Much to the chagrin of pro-Palestinians everywhere the IDF is not targeting innocent civilians. in fact they repeatedly distribute flyers informing residents of the Gaza Strip of ways turn in their captors (yes the citizens of the Gaza Strip are being held hostage by terrorists) and ways to avoid being accidentally injured or killed by IDF forces.
Just for the record Roseanne Barr is Jewish. Seriously she is. Apparently she has converted to Christianity which is all well and good but way to sell out your people on the way out the door Roseanne.
The Obama administration: A laugh a minute
Feinstein furious over Panetta pick
“I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director,’’ Feinstein said.
“I know nothing about this, other than what I’ve read,” said Senator Feinstein, who will chair the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the 111th Congress. “My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.”
What Conservatives Must Now Do
I have my own views on this which I hope to share with you eventually, but I guess you’ll just have to “settle” for some thoughts from the American Spectator in the meantime.
What Conservatives Must Now Do
As we close out a disastrous 2008, a year in which Western Civilization essentially suffered a nervous breakdown, conservatives now must turn to two fundamental goals. First, we must stop the destructive policy initiatives of the Obama Administration and the liberal left now ruling in Washington (first prediction for 2009: the loony, far left Congress will consistently make the ultraliberal Obama Administration look moderate by comparison). Secondly, we must lay the foundation for our political comeback. Here is what we must do to achieve these goals:
Something to think about
I have not offered an “official” endorsement in this race and have followed it only somewhat. The following is offered here only for informational purposes and not to personally attack or advocate any particular candidate. Whoever “wins” this job has his work cut out for him and will have my full support. The key is that the incumbant is kicked to the curb, for that is one piece of “change” the GOP desperately needs.
The Case Against Michael Steele
Steele’s well-documented role with the Republican Leadership Council and association with co-founder Christie Todd Whitman is perhaps the most egregious political error he’s made. Any conservative who partners with the liberal Whitman must be viewed skeptically. Steele claims he was trying to broaden the party’s base by appealing to moderates. “We have to elect moderates in the party,” he told CBN’s David Brody.
CAR ACCIDENT IN TEXAS… PRICELESS !!
Projections predictions and outright guesses for 2009
OK here goes. Odd numbered years are a bit tough since there’s not a whole heck of a lot going on election wise.
1. After a very rough start the economy will begin to recover midway through 2009. Although no one will be able to explain why everyone will attempt to take credit. Obama will garner most of the credit and conservatives will gnash what is left of their gnashed teeth in anger.
2. 6 teams will finish the NCAA football regular season undefeated and 4 of them will have nothing to show for it. The NCAA will finally cave in and develop a playoff system wherein Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and USC play every year in a two round playoff to determine the national champion.
3. Illinois governor Blogoyocihinskiwicz will be convicted of attempting to sell Obama’s vacated senatorial seat and be sent to prison only to pardon himself after everyone realizes that they forgot to throw him out of office. Massive amounts of money will mysteriously appear in various offshore accounts.
4. “Guns N’ Roses” will record another album, release it and then pull it off the shelves when they notice that no one cares.
5. Despite being awarded an astronomical amount of money from taxpayers GM and Chrysler will still have massive layoffs.
6. After electing a pro wrestler for governor and a comedian for senate Minnesota will follow up by electing a transvestite midget porn star for attorney general.
7. Scientists will make an amazing breakthrough in cancer research.
8. India and Pakistan will go to war. The rest of the world will get smart and stay out of it. It will be damn near impossible to get any sort of tech support help over the phone temporarily. Shortly thereafter unemployment in the US will go down nearly 1% and Americans will rejoice at being able to understand what the hell tech support operators are actually saying.
9. Gas will go up to just over $2.00 a gallon.
10. OJ will still be in prison.
11. Caroline Kennedy will be appointed to replace Hillary in the senate. Sure she’s completely inexperienced but that didn’t stop Hillary from getting elected.
12. Despite the state of this state the people of the fine state of New Jersey will re-elect Jim Corzine.
Line rider
There have been few Sunday Timewasters of late so I thought I would throw one out that I picked up from some students. It’s like golf. You’ll be stymied at first but all at once you’ll find you enjoy the hell out of it.
In case you were wondering, here is an extreme case of line riding:
The Israeli’s advance into Gaza
Here is a roundup of some of the news about the current Israeli ground offensive into Gaza.
A picture slideshow of the operation
IDF battling Hamas terrorists in Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun
Israeli troops and tanks slice deep into Gaza
The president-elect’s silence on the Gaza crisis is undermining his reputation in the Middle East
Israeli forces slice Gaza in two
Gaza conflict: Reaction in quotes
Hamas: We’re using PA arms to battle IDF
For Israel, Chance to Strike Before an Ally Departs
Cut oil sales to Israel’s backers-Iranian commander
Truce entails end of terror, projectile fire, disarming Hamas
The True Roots of Palestinian Nationalism and Islamic Jihad
Eric’s Bold 2009 Predictions
Sometimes I look back at my past predictions and wonder why I am not working as a financial planner or psychic. My brilliance is eerie. My prediction that the Cubs wouldn’t win the World Series? Who knew! And how about the bit about a contentious presidential race? Weird.
Okay, so maybe I wasn’t that good. But being mostly wrong never deters me from making the next round of predictions 52 weeks later. So without further rambling. . .
On the economy: Thrift is in and ostentatiousness is out. When I stood in line at the Starbucks the other day, the guy with the Dolce and Gabana sunglasses just looked like a dork. I know I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Be prepared to be overwhelmed by value meals, rebates, and coupon deals. Women will be at the head of this thriftiness. Guys might just drink cheaper beer.
On the same note, look for simplicity in business. Complex deals, accounting practices, acqusitions, buyouts, etc. will be shunned in favor of the simple or thrifty. Woe to those corporate officers who defy this credo as more CEO’s stand to go to jail for simply presiding over a failed corporation.
As stated by everyone else but me (call me the echo chamber) Obama will be praised when economic indicators are good and Bush will be vilified when they are bad. Bush needs to be prepared to be blamed at every turn.
In technology: The digital television conversion will be so small potatoes that almost every American will wonder why the hell the media has been mentioning it on newscasts for the past six months.
Online video and game ordering through your Wii or PS3 will become all the rage. Soon, you will be able to watch movies that have just been released to DVD for $1. And you won’t have to take the movie back. Ever.
Apple will end its exclusivity agreement with AT&T and make the iPhone available to all. In two years, I will get one and hook it into my T-mobile account.
Speaking of Apple, ground to pieces by Mac and its own Vista operating systems nightmare, Microsoft will roar back in the summer with its latest system.
In Politics: The Republicans will temporarily split for the next two years. There will be those that want to get along with an Obama administration (McCain) and those that obstruct much of his agenda. Things won’t soon get better for the GOP and despite predictions last year, the Republicans won’t make substantial gains come 2010.
In Obama’s first State of the Union Address, Dems will practically wet themselves. Several members on the Democratic side will cry. Just like they did for Obama’s election, and inauguration, and first speech from the White House, and first press briefing and first ride in Air Force One. . .
Despite the mantras of 2008, there will be no real “change.” Dems will have to waken to the sobering effects of this thing called “leadership.” There will be no stability in the Middle East, the “good war” in Afghanistan is going to continue to plod along with no real results, Pakistan will be no help, Iran will be as bellicose as ever and on several occasions, Ahmadinejad will call out Obama by insulting his race or religion, Iraq will be just fine with a smattering of car bombings and skirmishes. Ultimately, it will continue to march into the 21st century by exploiting more oil wealth. Obama will be praised for his leadership in Iraq. Everyone, including Obama will know the truth.
All of those nifty campaign promises are just empty rhetoric. Health care, the new energy economy, investing in education, and middle class tax “relief” are already in the shredder. Because of this, there will be a degree of disharmony between Obama and loudmouths in his own party.
In Sports: The Florida Gators will win the “national title” as will the Utah Utes. College football will still be a joke. And I will watch it as always. In 50 years our grandkids will laugh at our generation for such a ridiculous system.
The Carolina Panthers will win their first Super Bowl by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In March UConn, Duke, Carolina, and Texas will ride #1 seeds into the tourney. Of course Carolina will win (the easiest prediction of all).
In June, the Lakers will defeat the Celtics in the NBA championship.
The Yankees will win the World Series.
Next?
Suddenly Seymour Saturday
Ellen Green really belts it out in this nerdy duet from “Little Shop Of Horrors”. Ordinarily there’s a reason “Off Broadway” shows are “Off Broadway”, but this musical adaptation of the Roger Corman film (featuring a young Jack Nicholson) continues to please.
The Beast really enjoys the “Greek Chorus” as played by the three black backup singers.
Special bonus video: “Sixteen Tons” from “Joe Vs The Volcano” (in memoriam of the Beast’s first purchase of a compact putrescent light bulb and his contemplation of the soulless actinic illumination thereof - thanks for banning incandescent bulbs, Dems - now we will all be Joe).
This could be interesting - Burris should be seated
Watching a bunch of white Democrats refusing to seat and denying entry to a legally appointed, sole black member of the United States Senate should be interesting. If I was Burris, I’d make every effort to enter the chambers as is the right of every Senator and make them deny entry. That should be immediately followed by a press conference and maybe he can throw in the line “don’t lynch me” a couple more times like he did at his appointment press conference.
I love to see the degeneracy, hypocrisy, scandal, and corruption of the Democratic Party played out on the national stage as much as possible. With that in mind I do appreciate Blagovitch showing that he has a pair by continueing to carry out his powers and privileges as a sitting governor and not being intimidated by the party bosses who are certainly no more “clean” or morally upright than he is.
Democrats have “Plan” if Burris shows up
The aide familiar with Senate Democratic leaders’ plans said if Burris tries to enter the Senate chamber, the Senate doorkeeper will stop Burris. If Burris were to persist, either trying to force his way onto the Senate floor or refusing to leave and causing a scene, U.S. Capitol Police would stop him, said the aide.
“They (police) probably won’t arrest him” but they would call the sergeant-at-arms,” the aide said.
When asked about what would happen if he shows up and tries to be seated, Burris told the Chicago Tribune that he’s, “not going to create a scene in Washington.” He added, “We hope it’s negotiated out prior to my going to Washington.”
What makes the East Coast so weird anyway?
We’ve got our own little piece of snobby, California-lite liberaldom here in Colorado. It’s called Boulder and though I have met some decent folk there they are definitely a minority. I wouldn’t live there for anything. Not a chance. While we often laugh and poke fun at the idiocy that often emanates from the various crevasses and pits of the nation they really can’t be ignored. They challenge basic concepts like marriage and are laying the ground for things like carbon and consumption taxes and rigorous regulation of every aspect of your daily life. This is just another step in that direction and that day is coming. Mark my words.
Undoubtedly some day I’ll be sitting around with the missus in my loincloth stoking the illegal fire with wild animal dung telling the disbelieving grandchildren about the distant past when we actually possessed something known as “motorized transportation” and “electricity”. They will wag their heads in shock and horror at the thought that we once spewed poison in the air and fed such ancient monstrosities upon carbon based fuels.
A Global Warming Howler for the New Year
Pursuant to Assembly Bill 1229, a sticker displaying a rank comparing “the emissions of global warming gases from the vehicle with the average projected emissions of global warming gases from all vehicles of the same model year sold in the state” must be affixed to all motor vehicles henceforth sold in the state. These so-called “Global Warming Scores” range from 1 to 10, with 1 representing a vehicle selfishly emitting an excess of 520 “CO2 - equivalent Grams per mile” and 10 given to those altruistically checking in at under 200.Okay, so CO2 grams emitted per mile would appear a tangible, albeit excruciatingly inconsequentially silly, measure. But just what is a “CO2 - equivalent?”
Obama mug shots
This is really too easy, but kind of funny as well. Thanks to the website The Smoking Gun we have a few fun booking photos of some fine upstanding citizens after their arrests while wearing an “Obama” shirt. Obviously for wanting “Change” or for shouting “Yes We Can” to the point of it becoming a noise violation of some sort.
Randy Celebrates Obama
Eleven Fearless Predictions for 2009
We’ll see if these turn out any better than my previous efforts.
1. In April, the greatest field of Best Picture nominees in years will see Milk win the top award over Slumdog Millionaire, Dark Knight, The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, and Gran Torino.
2. Sean Penn will take home the Oscar for his portrayal of Harvey Milk.
3. Based on revelations in the Blogojevich trial and congressmen who are upset with his demeanor, Rahm Emmanuel will resign from the Obama White House.
4. Several successful Indian startups will mark the emergence of Indian tech.
5. John Cornyn will emerge as a top Republican spokesman, right behind Mitch McConnell and Newt Gingrich.
6. The story of the economy will become a firestorm of political public relations. The inevitable hardships will be alternately blamed on “the FDR policies of Obama” or on “the mess Bush left us,” and the equally inevitable rebounds will be fiercely fought over by the two parties. Both parties will know that their electoral future relies on winning this debate. The media will do a terrible job of sorting out the truth.
7. Hillary Clinton’s State Department will emerge as a quiet but persistent rival with the White House over US policy making. Hillary will entrench herself as a thorn in Obama’s side.
8. Obama will convince the liberal interest groups to hold off on most of their demands for 2009. Among other things, this will push the tax raises, the card-check bill, and the Freedom of Choice act to 2010.
9. From Texas, George W. Bush will be quiet and supportive of his successor. He will be a stark contrast to Bill Clinton, whose disgracefully post-presidency gallivanting about included swipes at Bush and the Republicans, both to American audiences and foreign ones.
10. In time for Christmas ‘09, Apple will release the iPhone III, which will steal all the best aspects of the Blackberry Storm, like video capability, replaceable battery, cut and paste ability, and touch-and-click screen.
11. Ariel Sharon will die, reminding people that he was still alive.
Long John Silver’s Begs CAIR for Forgiveness After Christian Toy Found in Kid’s Meal
“God Forbid.”
Is anyone as tired of the hypersensitivity, the pandering to the “Religion of Peace”, and the political correctness in this country as I am? We have become a nation of cowards who wince at the slightest wisp of “controversy” and buckle at a single complaint. Based on this I would strongly suggest our Islamic friends avoid Chic Fil A at all costs.
They should have sent them a Christmas ham as an apology. It makes you wonder what happens to Christians who make religious complaints in Muslim countries.
CAIR-MN Welcomes Long John Silver’s Apology to Muslim
In addition to a written apology, the company will send the family a gift certificate to any Yum! Brands location and a replacement, non-religious toy for their 3-year-old child.
“We commend Long John Silvers for its prompt and professional handling of this case,” said CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Taneeza Islam. “This positive outcome highlights both the desire of the company to respond to customer concerns and the inappropriateness of distributing religious material in a commercial setting.”
CAIR, America’s largest Islamic civil liberties and advocacy group has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Perhaps an alternative toy for Islamic complainers should be kept stocked for such occasions:
Your tax dollars at work
There are many issues and concepts that could be addressed here. The reasons for “white flight”, the subsidization and exportation of poverty and crime with your tax dollars, the achilles heel of true multiculturalism, the obvious failings of the welfare state, an American sub-culture in collapse and an educational system that is a disaster etc. But I will let you draw your own conclusions without a word of comment from yours truly.
Influx of black renters raises tension in Bay Area
ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) - As more and more black renters began moving into this mostly white San Francisco Bay Area suburb a few years ago, neighbors started complaining about loud parties, mean pit bulls, blaring car radios, prostitution, drug dealing and muggings of schoolchildren.
In 2006, as the influx reached its peak, the police department formed a special crime-fighting unit to deal with the complaints, and authorities began cracking down on tenants in federally subsidized housing…
Longtime homeowners complained that the new arrivals brought crime and other troubles. In 2006, violent crime in Antioch shot up about 19 percent from the year before, while property crime went down slightly.
“In some neighborhoods, it was complete madness,” said longtime resident David Gilbert, a black retiree who organized the United Citizens of Better Neighborhoods watch group. “They were under siege.”…
Joseph Villarreal, the housing authority chief, said the problems in Antioch mirror tensions seen nationally when poor renters move into neighborhoods they can afford only with government help.
“One of the goals of the programs is to de-concentrate poverty,” Villarreal said. “There are just some people who don’t want to spend public money that way.”
Hamas Press Release Concerning the Killing of Four Israelis
From Hamas’ Al-Qassam website (autotranslated):
The Brigades of the Martyr Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, the military wing of the “Hamas” movement bombed on Monday (29/12) the port of Ashdod with “Grad” rockets and the settlement of Nahal Oz with three mortar shells. The Zionist enemy admitted the deaths of four rapists, including an officer, and injuries to more than 20 others wounded by the Qassam rockets.
The group said in its “The Mujahduha bombed the Ashdod port, which lies 40 km north of the Gaza Strip, Grad rockets at 9:15 “which led to the death of Zionist rapists and injuring more than 20 others, three of them seriously.
The Mujahduha battalions have also shelled the settlement of Nahal Oz with three mortar shells at 9:40 and the Zionist enemy admitted the killing of two soldiers, one officer and wounding four others.
The statement said “We declare jihad on the work of shelling Zionist settlements with Grad rockets and mortar shells, which resulted in the recognition of the Zionist enemy of the killing of four rapists and wounding more than 20 others, three of them seriously.
The group said the bombing was a response to the continued Zionist aggression against our people in Gaza and the West Bank, in response to the Zionist massacre in Gaza, which led to the deaths of more than 350 people and injured hundreds, and on the continuing unjust siege on our people.
In reality, one of the “rapist” victims was a 39-year old mother of four, another was an Israeli Arab and a third was a 58-year old man sitting at home. Only one of these attacks hit a military target, and a career officer was killed - who was a Druse.
Sporting fun
Colorado Avalanche Kills 2 Snowmobilers - headline, Associated Press, Dec. 28
Apparently coach Tony Granato couldn’t be reached for comment
Dolphins Found Dead at New Jersey Shore - headline, FoxNews, Dec. 26
Somehow they still managed to beat the Jets and make the playoffs
Dolphins’ Chad Pennington Gets shot to show Jets fans what they’re missing - headline, Palm Beach Post, Dec. 27
Plaxico Buress did the same thing. I wouldn’t recommend it.
The only legitimate argument against Rick Warren to date
Of course it comes from Christopher Hitchens.
A few weeks ago, DFV said of Hitchens that “there are precious few men in public affairs today who more zealously seek the truth than Mr. Hitchens, and none I’m aware of who possess his intellect and knowledge.”
I don’t know about the “seek the truth” part. I do know there are few who more zealously seek to be critical of people of faith. To him, all pastors and religious leaders are charlatans and the faithful are ignorant. But his logic on a variety of topics is unflappable and his use of the written word is in the stratosphere of Victor Davis Hanson and George Will.
So far, the only criticisms against Warren giving the inauguration invocation have been from the left. They are upset that Warren doesn’t embrace the radical homosexual agenda and so this pastor must be unfit to offer a prayer to the Almighty. *yawn* But Hitchens gives us a reason to legitimately question Warren.
In one of those Pelosi/Sean Penn moments, Warren travelled to Syria to meet with Bashar Assad in 2006. Now generally, elites like Hollywood leftists or businessmen or legislators don’t travel abroad unless it advances some agenda of theirs. So the first thing that popped into my mind was that Pastor Warren wants to tell the flock he was on the road to Damascus like Saul of Tarsus (Paul). Hitchens thought the same thing:
“Syria,” he told his viewers back home by video, is “a moderate country, and the official government rule and position is to not allow extremism of any kind.” This is a highly original way to describe a regime that is joined at the hip with the Iranian theocracy, that is the patron of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and that is the official and unabashed host of the fugitive Hamas leadership whose military wing directs massacre operations from Damascus itself. . .
. . .I can absolutely see what Warren hoped to get out of this sordid little trip, the evidence of which he vainly tried to conceal when it threatened to become embarrassing. He wanted to be on video for his open-mouthed followers as he posed “on the road to Damascus.” And he didn’t care what deals he had to make, with Baath and Toothbrush Central Command, in order to bring off such a fundraising coup. But now it’s the sandals of Obama that are being exploited by the same tub-thumper, and one has not merely a right but a duty to object to having as an inaugural auxiliary a man who is a pushover for anti-Semitism, Islamic sectarianism, “rapture” theology, fascist dictatorship, 10th-rate media trade-offs, and last-minute panicky self-censorship all at the same time.
It always bothers me when people cozy up to dictators and proclaim that “all is well” when the exact opposite is true. When Nancy Pelosi acts as a pseudo foreign minister in the Middle East or when Sean Penn snaps photos of poor children in Iraq there is something disgraceful at play. And when Rick Warren says that Syria is a moderate nation and oh by the way, turn to the Book of Acts for today’s message from God, there is also something disgraceful at work.
Its okay for Warren to pastor a mega-church and be a best selling author. But if in the pursuit of those ends he ignores the crimes of brutal gangsters posing as heads of state, he endangers the mission of that work and undermines his own credibility.
Late Christmas Present for Some Colorado Teens
On a difficult on-ramp near Denver today, a Coors beer truck tipped over sending several kegs rolling down an adjacent streetand scattering scores of cans of Keystone Light.
Never ones to miss an opportunity, a few teenagers nearby couldn’t believe their good fortune… until they got close enough to realize that it was Keystone Light. Still, beggars can’t be choosers.
From the Bibi report…
I like it when Netanyahu gets a bit biblical…
Netanyahu on the current Israeli/Hamas war
In a special session called in the wake of the IDF operation in Gaza and the situation in southern Israel, Netanyahu called upon the citizenry of Israel, Jews and Arabs alike, to stand united behind the IDF’s actions in the south. He likewise called for a change in policy that would restore Israel’s deterrence. “For three transgressions of Gaza, I will turn away but for the fourth, I will not”, Netanyahu opened his address in the plenum session of the Knesset quoting from the Prophet Amos.
“For firing upon civilians, for taking cover behind civilians, for causing suffering to our citizens, and for causing suffering to their citizens, we will strike back at the terror in double measure , said Netanyahu and enumerated the crimes of the Hamas: “for destroying our communities, for destroying hope, we will pay them back with an iron hand, the hand of the Jewish people, as the Prophet Amos said: “I will send fire in the walls of Gaza.”
Hooray for Israel or, if you prefer, it’s about time…
A year’s intel gathering yields ‘alpha hits’
More than 170 targets were hit by IAF aircraft throughout the day. At least 230 Gazans were killed and over 780 were wounded, according to Palestinian sources. Officials said at least 15 civilians were among the dead.
The IDF released a list of some of the targets hit: the Hamas headquarters and training camp in Tel Zatar; the “Palestinian Prisoner Tower” in Gaza City that was turned into a Hamas operations center and armory; the Hamas police academy, which was bombed during a graduation ceremony, killing 70-80 people; training camps in southern and central Gaza; the former office of Yasser Arafat in Gaza City that is now used by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh; and the Izzadin Kassam Brigades headquarters in the northern Gaza Strip.
Update: The Israeli assault on Hamas continues. I can only wonder what the response from the US would be if bloodthirsty terrorists calling for its extermination had launched thousands of rocket attacks from just over the border in Mexico. Would the world be wringing it’s hands and whining about “disproportionate response” and assorted nonsense? And would we care if they did? The answer is no. Israel is a modern, sovereign, civilized state that has every right to punish and destroy those who so eagerly seek it’s own destruction. There can be no peace in the Middle East until the Arabs decide that Israel has the right to exist, and the right to protect itself. Israel has said that they will not allow another Hezbollah type terrorist state to be established on their border. And I support their effort to prevent that from happening. I do not necessarily cheerlead war. In fact, I hate the suffering, loss and misery that war causes. But I do cheerlead necessary and just wars and the destruction of the cult of Islamic jihadism wherever it rears it’s ugly head.
Defiant Hamas hits Israel with dozens of rockets
Intensified rocket strikes by Gaza militants, which triggered the Israeli offensive, have revealed the expanding range of missiles that are making larger cities farther inside Israel vulnerable.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian militants sent a deadly barrage of missiles flying deep into Israel on Monday, demonstrating that Hamas still had firepower three days into Israel’s punishing air offensive in Gaza. Three Israelis were killed and two seriously wounded. Palestinian health officials put the three-day death toll in Gaza at 364; the U.N. said the total included at least 62 civilians.
In Monday’s attacks, Israel focused its bombing on the houses of Hamas field operatives in a campaign meant to tear at the roots of the extremist group ruling Gaza. Israel’s defense minister promised a “war to the bitter end against Hamas” and allied militants.
Bloody Holiday: Two Shark Attacks In Australia, One Snorkler Dead.
4-5 Meter shark grabs 51 year old dad. “…disappeared in “a swirl of blood.”
This four-meter white shark chased two kaykers to a runabout, then circled it for ten minutes.
It’s been a rough weekend in Australian waters.
This month has been the second highest for shark sightings in Australia since aerial patrols began in 2005, and has already matched the entire year of 2007 - 2008. In the past week there have been ten sightings off metropolitan beaches, including five the day after Christmas.
With so many big fish coming so close to beaches an attack was inevitable, but nobody expected two in one weekend.
“Shark Season” has definitely begun.
My version of “Little Bunny Fu Fu”
I have been working on a children’s story book off and on for quite a while. I plan for it to contain about ten stories and then also some “bonus” material in the form of some fun/silly songs, poems etc. at the end. The stories are all originals but some of the additional material is just my take and revisions of otherwise well known compositions. I plan to probably go through the print on demand company lulu.com. The book is tentatively titled “Tell Me A Story…” Ten wonderful stories your child will cherish (or something like that).
I have my own “focus group” consisting of my three daughters (ages 5, 9 and 11) so I can usually tell by their feedback if a story is any good or not. Anyway, here is my version of the old favorite silly sing-a-long story “Little Bunny Fu Fu”. You have to kind of sing it to really get the full effect. It also has a way of sticking in our head all day so consider yourself forewarned. The jury is still out on how good these “revised” renditions are…
The Man Who Invented Christmas
Most people today don’t know the debt they owe to Charles Dickens for creating the modern Christmas. It was Dickens’ short novel A Christmas Carol that changed the way Western Civilization celebrates Christmas forever.
Have you ever wondered why Christmas carolers are so often portrayed in Victorian dress, with top hats on the men and bonnets on the women? Ever wonder where the idea of Christmas carolers came from at all? Or why so many of our Christmas songs use language like “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” or “I love Thee, Lord Jesus” or “Joyful, all ye nations rise”?
It is largely because Charles Dickens indelibly impressed upon Western society a vision of Christmas that maintains to this day. Following his hauntingly moving tale of Christian charity and personal redemption in 1843, Christmas would never be the same.
NRO’s Rich Lowry reviews Les Standiford’s new book The Man Who Invented Christmas, noting that our current conceptions about the holiday haven’t always been so.
Under Oliver Cromwell in the mid-1600s, as Standiford recounts, the Puritan Parliament decreed that the day be devoted to fasting and repentance. In America, the colony of Massachusetts outlawed the holiday. Long before retailers eschewed the phrase “Merry Christmas” and the American Civil Liberties Union launched its lawsuits, Christians waged their own “War on Christmas.”
In fact, from 1649-1660 the Puritans banned Christmas in England altogether. Not until Dickens’ time did caroling become a widespread practice. And Christmas as the premier Christian holiday stems directly from this era. Consider that many of our best loved Christmas carols come straight from the time period immediately following the publication of A Christmas Carol:
Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel (1851), I Saw Three Ships (c. 1850), Oh Holy Night (1855), It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (1859), We Three Kings (1863), What Child Is This? (1865), Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem (1868), and Away in a Manger (1885).
The obvious link between a 19th century British novelist and the practices of millions of modern Americans signals that A Christmas Carol has likely been overlooked as a literary classic, and why it will become a part of my school’s curriculum next year.
Today is the first day of Kwanzaa
And I have been waiting all year to post this picture.
I normally attempt to refrain from posting Ann Coulter stuff but this was too good to pass up. She does have her moments.
Kwanzaa was the result of a ’60s psychosis grafted onto the black community. Liberals have become so mesmerized by multicultural nonsense that they have forgotten the real history of Kwanzaa and Karenga’s United Slaves — the violence, the Marxism, the insanity. Most absurdly, for leftists anyway, is that they have forgotten the FBI’s tacit encouragement of this murderous black nationalist cult founded by the father of Kwanzaa.
Now the “holiday” concocted by an FBI dupe is honored in a presidential proclamation and public schools across the nation. In Oregon public schools this year, Kwanzaa — but not Christmas — appeared on the official calendar.
Bush called Kwanzaa a holiday that promotes “unity” and “faith.” Faith in what? Liberals’ unbounded capacity to respect any faith but Christianity?
Dave’s Quote(s) of the Day - Bobby Jindal
“People need to look at the history of Ronald Reagan when he lost his first attempt at the Presidency. He didn’t go back and say, ‘Let’s water down the conservatism. Let’s dilute what we’re saying. He made it even stronger. He made it even sharper. There’s a lesson there for potential candidates.”
“We need to be principled in our conservatism. We need to be unabashed, unafraid. We won’t always be popular with editorial writers and a lot of the members of the national media, and that’s okay. At the end of the day, it’s more important that we stick to our principles. ”
These two quotes have one thing in common. They are both by current Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal. I believe Jindal is “our Obama”. At least our answer to him and what he represents. Is it too early to look forward to 2012? I am an early “fan” of Bobby Jindal and though he has said he is not interested in running in 2012 I think he may be pulling “an Obama” who assured us just a couple of years ago he wasn’t going to run for the presidency. The era of the “old, white guy” as the candidate for the GOP (Dole, McCain, potentially Thompson etc.) needs to come to an end. Palin had the principle and the fire in the belly that is needed, but you have to be able to handle yourself in the meat grinder of modern day politics and excel when it comes to interacting with the media. She was unfortunately a disaster in that respect. I would like to see her in the Senate though. If for no other reason it would drive the Left bananas.
It is time for a new breed of uncompromising, unapologetic candidates on the federal level. The days of the RINO, surrender and capitulation to the Democratic and liberal agendas, and “reaching across the aisle” crap absolutely must be at an end or it will indeed be all over and we will be living in a de facto one party state with just a token opposition ran by the country club elite. Obamanism is not attractive enough for me to sit quietly by as that takes place. The “Reagan wing” of the Party must not allow itself a slow, self inflicted death by capitulation to the powers that be.
Who’da thought? “God will punish Rick Warren”
In matters of faith on this site, I take a precarious role. On one hand, I am often a vigorous defender of Protestantism and the Christian faith and I side with fellow believer and buddy Dave. On the other hand, in my old age (37) I have grown somewhat tired of some blaring inconsistencies in the way believers exercise their faith and therefore find myself in agreement with the self-professed secularist, Damien.
Today I take the role of the critic and for good reason. It appears that since Rick Warren is giving the invocation at Obama’s inauguration, he is now doomed to hell. Or punishment. Or some undisclosed wrath from God that this guy thinks is coming:
Southern Baptist Pastor Wiley Drake bashed Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren this week, saying “God will punish” Warren for agreeing to give the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration next month.
“I pray He is kind to you in this punishment that is coming,” Drake wrote in a widely-released e-mail. In it, the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park pastor criticizes Warren’s “recent plan to invoke the presence of almighty God on this evil illegal alien,” a reference to Obama.
Drake, who made last November’s ballot as a vice-presidential candidate for the American Independent party, is a party to a lawsuit claiming Obama was born outside of the U.S., and is therefore ineligible to serve as president. Obama has a Hawaiian birth certificate, which Hawaiian officials have said is genuine. Drake said Warren, also a Southern Baptist minister, is “hurting our denomination, and the Lord’s work.” He continued: “God will deal with you on this … God will not wink at this.”
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing the faith here. Just this ass clown and the morons that follow him. He has positioned himself with silly rhetoric in a way that is inconsistent with the faith. Like the overwhelmingly radical fringe we now call the homosexual community, he decries harmless acts of reconciliation and union as an affront to their political and social agenda. And in the process, he only shows that he cares not about spiritual matters but political ones. Pretending to know God’s will and future punishments for praying for a political foe is the height of arrogance and stupidity.
A Great Journalist Signs Off
Following Peter Jennings’ death in 2005, I advised ABC News to hire Brit Hume to replace him as host of the network’s nightly news cast. In 2006, when CBS was groping about for someone to permanently replace Dan Rather, I again suggested that Hume would be a bold and brilliant choice.
In both cases, the unanimous opinion in response was that my idea was quaint but foolish. In both cases, the networks chose to go a different direction. And in both cases, I was absolutely right.
This week, Brit Hume signed off as host of Fox’s Special Report. With the possible exception of Roger Ailes, I don’t think anyone has done more to establish Fox’s bona fides in political news. In my opinion, he was the best newsman in the business. Here is his farewell.
Nostradamus Need Not Worry
*** “Democrats will sober up and quit playing with the unrealistic and inexperience of Barack Obama.”
*** “Rudy Giuliani will clinch the Republican nomination on Super Tuesday and will win a squeaker against Hillary Clinton in the general election….”
*** “At the end of his speech [at the Democratic Convention in Denver], and to continuous and deafening applause, [Barack] Obama will enthusiastically laud ‘the next president of the United States, Hillary Clinton!’”
The nature of predictions is that the predictor tries to forecast events that are not readily obvious. So it should be unsurprising that even the wisest among us will be wrong more often than not.
The annual predictions posts have been a tradition at ConClub, dating back four years now. Whether it be politics, economics, sports, society, entertainment, medicine, science, or any other subject, we strive to offer our prophesies, for entertainment as much as elucidation. We have archived all past predictions, so accountably isn’t lacking in the least.
My hope is that over the next two weeks or so, all contributors to this blog will offer their best guesses. Be they grandiose or succinct; serious, fun, or a mixture of both, ConClub always has much to offer as Grandfather Time makes way for Baby New Year.
The above predictions, by the way, were the work, respectively, of E, Dave, and Yours Truly one year ago. A year turns out to be a long time.
Christmas Night, 1776 by Newt Gingrich
On Christmas Day, 1776, nearly all thought the Revolution was lost, except for a valiant few who still believed in “The Cause.” We owe our liberty today to those valiant few.
Led by George Washington, most of his army, dressed in rags and barefoot, faced a winter gale of rain, sleet, ice and snow. This band of patriots braved a midnight river crossing and a nine mile march over frozen roads to win a spectacular victory at Trenton, New Jersey, the following morning. Those were indeed times, as Thomas Paine would write, that “try men’s souls.”
In a season that has become too commercialized and — worse yet — had much of its religious meaning driven from the public square, Washington’s Christmas crossing is a story that should be remembered and celebrated, this Christmas and every Christmas…
The Real Meaning of Christmas
In case everyone forgot. It’s not all about presents and Santa. Could you even put this in a cartoon anymore?
From the bottom of my heart all of the best to all of you and your families this Christmas. Peace on Earth and goodwill to man.
Dave’s Quote of the Day
“The Roman Republic fell, not because of the ambition of Caesar or Augustus, but because it had already long ceased to be in any real sense a republic at all. When the sturdy Roman plebeian, who lived by his own labor, who voted without reward according to his own convictions, and who with his fellows formed in war the terrible Roman legion, had been changed into an idle creature who craved nothing in life save the gratification of a thirst for vapid excitement, who was fed by the state, and who directly or indirectly sold his vote to the highest bidder, then the end of the republic was at hand, and nothing could save it. The laws were the same as they had been, but the people behind the laws had changed, and so the laws counted for nothing.”
- Teddy Roosevelt