Right to the End

Economic Fallacies

2011-08-24T09:26:00.001-05:00

I believe there are so many fallacies, failed theories, and erroneous planning in the world of Economics because of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. The great thinkers, planners, and mathematicians fail to account for the human factor and, in particular, how human beings react to their changing surroundings.

We are not robots. We will not do what you say. We may act one way today but a different way tomorrow. We do not know our futures, and therefore neither do you. We will not respond to incentives the way you think we will. We will not respond to all incentives. We all will not respond to incentives the same way.

Economics fails not because it’s a faulty science but because our "leaders" see it as a means of controlling us, our wealth, and our potential to produce. Regardless of the merits of their intentions, Economics cannot be used to control or predict; it can only be used to measure and explain. As Adam Smith tried in vain to tell us...the greatest amount of wealth will not be created by organizing people toward a common goal but by leaving them alone to work towards their own individual goals.

Of the hundreds of examples of planned economies in the past 3000 years, none of them have matched the level of production of the Invisible Hand, which has sadly been seen rarely, such as in parts of American history, tiny pockets of Europe, and in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and only a few other places.

We are doomed to produce less than our potential because we let our “leaders” tell us what to do. The stronger they get, the more power they have, and the more parts of the economy they control…the poorer we will be.

Crossroads

2011-08-23T07:33:00.001-05:00

We are at an ideological crossroads in American history. It is coming down to this…Do you want a government that leaves you alone to succeed or fail on your own merits, hard work, and ingenuity or one that takes things from other people against their will to give to you?

A growing number of Americans have discovered that if they combine their voting power together, they can use the government as their hired thugs: to steal money, property, food, and other unearned resources from a shrinking class of “Haves”.

But with fewer and fewer people working to actually produce the “stuff” we all need or want and instead just using government force to steal from everybody else, we WILL run out of enough producers to make the stuff in the first place.

I’d like to congratulate the Democrat party. Sometime in the 1950s, they were hijacked by ideological socialists hell-bent on destroying the American economy and American culture. They are about 90% complete.

Blaming Republicans for Democrat Destruction of the Economy

2011-08-21T10:25:00.001-05:00

Obama has been in office for 31 months.

For 24 of those months, the Democrats controlled all three major parts of the government (Executive, Senate, and House).

For the final 7 months, the Democrats have controlled 2/3 of the government.

So the Republicans have controlled about 7.5% of the federal government during Obama’s time in office, but they get all the blame for the problems in the economy?

There is nobody, I repeat NOBODY, with a brain, outside of Obama’s koolaide-drinking hardcore blind base, that thinks the Republicans are responsible for any problem whatsoever around us.

To all you Democrats that are out there running around trying to blame all these problems on the Republicans…you look really, really stupid.

Why would U.S. allies ever trust President Ron Paul?

2011-08-14T12:10:00.003-05:00

Don’t get me wrong, Ron Paul is a great GOP presidential candidate and masterfully explains Austrian economic theory better than I’ve heard from any politician. His eagerness and will to abolish the Federal Reserve and return us to the Gold Standard are two great tactics for restoring America’s diminishing prosperity and superpower status.

His foreign policy positions, however, leave much to be desired. It demonstrates an extreme naiveté, announcing to the political world on a giant marquee that he formed his political opinion on international politics during the Vietnam War and has yet to adjust to the radically changing world since then.

U.S. foreign policy in southeast Asia at the time was based on the Domino Theory, which demanded that we support any opposition to communism because once a country fell, others in the region would also fall to communism, like dominos. This would theoretically lead to millions of political executions, thousands of political prisons, skyrocketing poverty, and mass starvation. Liberals mocked it, Ron Paul opposed it then and now, and the mainstream media deemed it ridiculous.

But it was true.

EVERYTHING the Domino Theory predicted came to fruition. One after another, southeast Asian nations fell to communism, a half-century of prosperity vanished, tens of millions of people were killed on battlefields or executed, and millions more would starve over the following 30 years.

Ron Paul was wrong then, and he’s wrong now.

South Vietnam was an ally of ours. They were invaded by a ruthless, well-armed, and well-funded communist neighbor to their north, and they asked for our help. If Ron Paul thinks we should turn our back on our allies every time they are in trouble, we’re not going to have many allies left. Why would they trust us? Or a better question is, Why would they trust President Ron Paul?

Obama's Job is Done

2011-08-06T04:55:00.003-05:00

The Budget Battle: What’s at Stake

2011-08-03T09:15:00.001-05:00

I know most people aren’t paying attention at all to the current debate over the federal government budget, simply because they are clueless as to what’s at stake. They have lived their lives in relative comfort, all their basic needs being met just by working a steady job, taking out a few loans when they want something they don’t have the cash for, and just relying on the wise politicians to keep everything going.

Those days are over.

Let me be more blunt. Your standard of living has just peaked sometime in the past 5 years. For the rest of your life, you will not have as much “stuff” as you have now.

Watch this cute video about where we’ve been and where we’re going:

It’s really not that complicated. The federal government spends a WHOLE LOT more than it actually takes in. Regardless of all the naysaying you hear from the media and politicians, almost ALL government spending is simply giving money or free stuff to people. A LOT of people. But as the spending gets bigger and bigger every year and the money brought in stays almost the same (mostly because of the recession), we are approaching a breaking point.

This CANNOT go on forever. It’s like renting an apartment that costs twice as much as your actual monthly take-home pay. Since you can’t afford it, you just put the rest on credit cards. You pay only the minimums every month and just apply for more credit cards. Every couple of months you get a new card, max it out, and add its monthly minimum payment to your big stack of bills. Eventually, you will reach a point when, even while paying only the minimums, your monthly credit card bills are bigger than your paycheck. Credit card companies will want their money, and they will get it, one way or another. You can only refinance so many times. The banks will want their money back. You can’t go on stealing from them forever. Game over. You lose.

Now at the federal government level, this problem is a lot bigger with much more dire consequences. You see, most of this debt isn’t held by credit card companies with sensitive PR departments. It’s held by foreign countries. With militaries. And no sense of humor.

When the government reaches a point that it can no longer pay back the trillions of dollars that it has borrowed from China, what do you think is going to happen? You think they can just print more and China will take it as payment? Not likely. If they just print more, the money becomes worthless. China gave us the trillions of dollars back when the dollar could buy 2 apples. They are NOT going to take the same trillions of dollars back when it takes 5 dollars to buy one apple. No way, no how.

Instead China will demand the apples, not the money that can’t buy apples anymore. Or maybe some money from another country that still has the ability to buy apples. They aren’t likely to “negotiate” either. That’s a lot of apples. And they have a lot of mouths to feed. And they don’t have a sense of humor. This is where their military comes in. They will use it to demand what’s due to them. And the ENTIRE WORLD will back them. You can’t just take money from somebody, promise to give it back, then only give back a little bit of it and expect them to go away happy.

And that’s only the half of it.

Remember all that money the government has been borrowing from China to give away to the American people or to buy stuff to give to the American people? Well, when China figures out our government can’t pay them back anymore, they’re going to stop loaning the USA the money. No money = no freebies to the American people. And that’s a LOT of American people that are going to stop getting their freebies. And, of course, the biggest problem here is that they have been receiving their freebies for so long and they have been given so many promises by politicians, they believe they have earned these freebies and have a right to them. Just like in Greece, when you take away peoples’ free stuff, they get very, very, very angry.

And nobody will be there to bail us out. I promise you.

Because of the nature of financial dealings, both of these problems – China and the pissed-off entitled Americans – are going to occur at roughly the same time, with horrible consequences.

1) China will launch a large-scale war and invade the United States.

2) The entitled Americans will ignite a civil war.

These two things are inevitable. And they will happen within the next thirty years.

There is one, EXACTLY 1…let me repeat, there is ONLY ONE way to prevent the destruction of the United States. There are NO OTHER FEASIBLE SOLUTIONS:

We must reduce the size of the federal government to LESS THAN ONE-THIRD of its current size.

There is absolutely no other way. I don’t care about all the lies you hear in the media. There is no other way. Your country will cease to exist within 30 years and tens of millions of people will die if this doesn’t happen.

Why won’t the Republicans accept a tax increase on the richest Americans to help solve the debt crisis?

2011-07-29T10:03:00.001-05:00

The is probably the most common question I read from Democrats who claim they want to compromise with Republicans.

The answer is pretty simple: Because Republicans refuse to kill any chance of an economic recovery and increase unemployment just so the Democrats can continue their unfathomable social program expansions and trillions of dollars in free handouts to their special interest groups.

The Republicans believe it is because of these Democrats’ issues that got us into this predicament to begin with! It’s absolutely, 100%, completely ABSURD to continue on such a destructive path!

It’s like a crack addict losing his job, car, house, and all his money then becoming confused and belligerent because his brother won’t give him $20 to buy another crack rock.

Sen. McCain Says Al-Qaeda Wouldn’t be as Bad as Qaddafi if They Ran Libya

2011-03-31T05:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday on PBS, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said this:

“I am a little bit aggravated by this hype that somehow Al Qaeda is going to take over this organization. There is no evidence...And in addition to that, you know, you have got to go a long way to be worse than Qaddafi”

According to the media, Geraldine Ferraro was remembered for…

2011-03-27T15:22:00.001-05:00

…breaking barriers by becoming the first female VP candidate on a major party ticket.

I was in elementary school when she ran, but some of us remember her for something far more important: losing an election by the biggest landslide in nearly 50 years. Lucky for everybody on the planet, the Democrats lost and Reagan won…the economy took off, the Berlin wall came down, we won the Cold War, and the world would go on to see its greatest victory for liberty and largest economic expansion in history.

It’s a good thing Ferraro didn’t break any bigger barriers.

Now where’s Ronald Reagan when you need him…

Poverty levels expected to hit 15%

2010-09-12T06:40:00.006-05:00

A recent article says that poverty levels in the U.S. are expected to reach 15% in an upcoming report, the highest in nearly 50 years. Obama has been saying more often lately that the key to reducing poverty is creating jobs. He is correct! But temporary stimulus jobs created by the government shifting money around in the economy is NOT the way to do it!!

John Maynard Keynes has been proven time and time again to be WRONG! His theory of massive government deficit spending to try to reduce the effects of recessions has one again become a catastrophic failure!

The only jobs that can bring us out of a recession and reduce poverty must be a result of long-term investment into capital projects that raise levels of production. Businesses at all levels of the supply chain must be convinced that the orders coming down the chain are NOT temporary but recurring sales.

Business leaders do not make long-term decisions like full-time hiring, expansion, inventory level increases, etc., just because there was a blip in the sales this month. These ridiculous infrastructure projects of FDR's and Obama's have NO effect on long-term job creation.

Full-time jobs are created by employers who have confidence that their sales are up PERMANENTLY. Sure, companies that receive part of a $700 billion stimulus package are going to be thrilled, but they will NOT use this to create jobs. That would be insane. They'll use it to pay down debt, fix some delayed maintenance issues, maybe repave the parking lot, or put it in the bank.

You want to create jobs across the board? Reduce or eliminate the corporate income tax, personal income tax, sales tax, or any of these other taxes that serve no purpose other than to shift wealth out of the private sector and into the hands of government bureaucrats.

I'm sick and tired of public school teachers whining about there not being enough money in the schools. It's all a bunch of bull! I've had it with them guilting everybody into agreeing to yet ANOTHER increase in their property taxes this year. Nearly everyone in the private sector has been affected negatively by this recession: lost jobs, salary cuts, benefit cuts, salary freezes, hours cut, etc. When's the last time a TEACHER suffered from any of these things? Ha!

I'd like to see one of these greedy teachers explain to little Sally the REAL reason why her parents both lost their jobs this year: "Sorry sweetie, I know your parents are unemployed, you won't have a Christmas, you've lost your health insurance, your grandmother is moving into the Projects, and you're about to lose your house and all, but I really need to retire with a full pension and free health care before I turn 47."

"Burning of John Maynard Keynes Book Causes Uproar" by Jeff Berwick.

2010-09-10T05:41:00.001-05:00

The central banking and political world are up in arms about a planned John Maynard Keynes book burning.

The burning was announced by Jeff Berwick, Chief Editor of The Dollar Vigilante, to take place on December 23, the anniversary of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

Top central bankers in the United States warned that flimsy economic theories would be in danger if the burning of a copy of John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest & Money went ahead.

"What is most dangerous," stated one central banker, "is if this causes people to even logically think for more than a few moments about economics then this entire structure we've built could begin to collapse. We've done a great job for a long time telling the average man on the street that economics is too difficult to understand."

More...

“The Sound of Music” in Central Station, Antwerp, Belgium

2009-04-12T09:07:00.001-05:00

This is one of the greatest live performances ever! Julie Andrews would be proud!

Local Communities Return to the Depression-Era Tactic of Printing Their Own Money

2009-04-06T06:37:00.004-05:00

According to USA Today, About a dozen communities around the country are now printing and issuing their own currency, like the Detroit Cheers, Ithaca Hours, and Massachusetts Berkshares.

Although this practice did become widespread during the Great Depression, it was NOT because of bank closings, as the article mentions. Under the governship of Benjamin Strong before his untimely death before the Depression in 1928, the Federal Reserve of New York justifiably wielded its power to head off runs on banks by printing MORE currency and loaning more money to commercial banks and bank associations. This put a lot more currency in the hands of banks that customers thought were on the verge of collapsing.

Because of the nature of the industry, banks had access to only 5-10% of the cash needed to fulfill the withdrawal demands of every customer desposit. When customers got wind of a bank’s potential failure, they would rush to the bank to withdraw their own money. If the bank complied with every request, they were forced to seek emergency funds and loans from the Federal Reserve, other banks, or bank associations. So a bank run that wasn’t headed off could cause a domino effect. Strong's policy to supply the banks with a little more cash during bank runs saved dozens of bank closings during the 1920’s and actually delayed the Depression by at least 2 years.

After his death in 1928, the Federal Reserve, under EUROPEAN PRESSURE, was more scared about tiny fluctuations in inflation (that these emergency distributions of cash to banks caused) than they were about the closings of banks and the public's loss of confidence in the banking system. So when bank closings began in mid-1929, and in particular the collapse of the Bank of United States in New York in 1930, the Federal Reserve began REDUCING the printing of currency and loans to banks. This caused even more bank closings, eventually reaching into the thousands by 1933, costing Herbert Hoover the 1932 Presidential election.

So the Federal Reserve, under new direction and new policy at the beginning of the Depression was the REAL CULPRIT of the Depression, NOT PRIVATE BANKS. They simply didn't do their job and caused the largest economic failure in world history.

In response to a lack of federal notes, communities all over the United States started issuing their own currency. They saved a lot of local banks, local businesses, and jobs. But the Federal Government had created such a catastrophe; local banks and communities could only ride it out. And they would have helped end the Depression by 1936 if Roosevelt hadn't bankrupted the country with the "New Deal", precisely the formula that Obama is ruining the country with today.

Read the original article here: Communities print own currencies to keep cash flowing - USATODAY.com

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal Lies about AIG Bonuses to Further Inflame the Lynch Mobs

2009-03-22T08:58:00.001-05:00

As if the irrational, irresponsible, illogical, and gullible public needed more fuel on the fire of their unjust outrage over AIG’s 400-employee bonus program, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal tells anyone that will listen—so far, this includes CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press—that AIG understated the total of its March bonuses by $53 million.

As it turns out, Blumenthal, and everyone working in the Connecticut Attorney General’s office, missed one small detail: they included in their 2009 total the bonuses AIG distributed to employees and openly reported to the Treasury Department in 2008!

Obama Takes First "Steps" to Remove Class from White House

2008-11-30T09:53:00.001-06:00

When President-Elect Barack Obama arrived at the White House for the first time after the election, nobody really knew what to expect from him or his wife, Michelle. But after seeing Obama walk with President Bush to their first presidential meeting, it's painfully obvious that Bush will take the last remnants of class with him. As you can see from the video below, Bush demonstrates sophistication and a little grace, while Obama simply looks like a street thug in a suit.

How utterly embarrassing to the United States, democracy, and the electorate.

Jimmy Carter Encounters First Leftist Maniacal Dictator Ever that Won't be his Friend

2008-11-22T07:26:00.001-06:00

After taking over the Oval Office in 1977 during bad and worsening times, former President Jimmy Carter succeeded in making everything far worse and lost his 1980 re-election bid in a landslide to Ronald Reagan. Lately he's been reviving his political career by befriending every leftist, murderous, tyrannical dictator in the world and validating their sham elections while never missing an opportunity while traveling to all of the countries of our sworn enemies to denounce every domestic and foreign U.S. policy in existence.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, one of the worst national leaders in world history, has led an ethnic cleansing of Zimbabwe's economic infrastructure over the past 15 years that has resulted in annual inflation rates exceeding 10,000%, mass starvation, cholera outbreaks, record joblessness, and record crime rates. One would think that the recent history of these two men would create an instant child-like bond. But no, Mugabe doesn't trust Carter and has refused him and communist Kofi Annan access to Zimbabwe while on a mission to "address the humanitarian crisis", which is a cleverly written expression by the group's public relations team that hides its more likely intentions: to shore up Mugabe's political base and re-organize the effort to both literally and physically stamp out all political opponents, women's rights groups, and free market proponents.

Stock Market Suffers Record Losses Since Obama Victory

2008-11-07T05:57:00.001-06:00

In the two days of trading on the NYSE since the presidential election, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has lost a record-breaking 929.49 points. After the Dow closed at 9625.28 on Election Day, Barack Obama was declared the winner of the 2008 Presidential Election just a few hours later. The Dow responded by closing at 9139.27 (486.01 point loss) on Wednesday, then 8695.79 (443.48 point loss) on Thursday. As of today, November 7, 2008, The Dow has not had a bigger two-day point loss in its 80-year history.

How does the percentage loss compare with historical losses? It's almost as bad. The 9.657% decline is the 13th worst in history and the worst since the market crash of Oct. '87. In fact, as you can see below, excluding the week of Black Monday, the Dow's 2-day losses were the worst since the Great Depression.

	Date	2-day point change	2-day % change
1)	10/19/1987	-616.35	-26.171%
2)	10/29/1929	-71.15	-23.621%
3)	10/20/1987	-405.72	-18.058%
4)	11/6/1929	-41.38	-15.129%
5)	7/21/1933	-14.87	-14.356%
6)	10/28/1929	-38.83	-12.966%
7)	10/10/1932	-7.81	-11.783%
8)	7/20/1933	-12.41	-11.420%
9)	5/14/1940	-16.50	-11.397%
10)	11/12/1929	-26.79	-11.326%
11)	5/31/1932	-5.25	-10.502%
12)	11/13/1929	-21.70	-9.846%
13)	11/6/2008	-929.49	-9.657%

Source: Yahoo! Finance

It's curious that the Obama supporters have been claiming that only Obama can "fix" the economy when the stock market, the backbone of the U.S. economy, is clearly preparing for the complete opposite. I wish that only the Obama voters would get what they deserve, but unfortunately, as demonstrated on Wall Street this week, they're going to drag the rest of us down with them.

For all of you greedy baby-boomers out there that were so worried about your retirement savings under Bush and have been clamoring for "change"? Don't come running to the rest of us to bail you out when your president of "change" wipes out the rest of your retirement by destroying confidence, taxing you up the wazoo, and saving Social Security by raiding your 401k's and IRA's!

Obama's election victory hasn't even been validated by Congress yet, and history is already looking poorly upon his administration. In the 2012 election, when the GOP gets an easy victory over Obama, the only question will be which president did more damage to the U.S. economy: Barack Obama or Jimmy Carter?

What makes up the price of a gallon of gas?

2008-05-24T08:39:00.001-05:00

From USAToday.com...

Consider the game of chicken that plays out every day across Pennsylvania State Highway 441. In Marietta, where the road hugs the Susquehanna River, a Rutter's Farm Store gas station stands on one side, a Sheetz gas station on the other.

Kelly Bosley, who manages Rutter's, doesn't even have to look across the highway to know when Sheetz changes its price for a gallon of gas. When Sheetz raises prices, her own pumps are busy. When Sheetz lowers prices, she has not a car in sight.

She calls Rutter's headquarters to report the competition's new price and wait for instructions.

"I call a lot of times and say, 'They went down, hurry up! Hurry up! Call me! Call me!' Or it could be where theirs goes up, and I'll say, 'Take your time! You know, I like being busy.' But I have no control over that."

You think you feel helpless at the pump?

More:
What makes up the price of a gallon of gas? - USATODAY.com

Illegal Aliens vs. Fundamentalist Mormons

2008-04-20T07:11:00.001-05:00

Without getting into all of the Constitutional Amendments that have been violated by Texas authorities in the FLDS situation, I've noticed something peculiar about how efficiently CPS and local law enforcement were able to take 400+ children into custody. Haven't government officials in nearly every state been telling us for years that they don't have the resources to handle a potential deportation of illegal aliens and they fear the moral dilemma of ripping families apart? How strange now that Texas was able to whip up the resources to arrest innocent children, predicated on a phone call that may actually have been a hoax, and that they suddenly have no problem with ripping families apart?

One wonders that if these FLDS members had been either illegal aliens or anything other than Mormon, would this have ever happened?

Why is Mitt Romney endorsing John McCain?

2008-02-14T21:44:00.001-06:00

Let me say that I have been a big supporter of Mitt Romney for years. He's one of the best things going for conservative Republicans in a time when we desperately need something or someone to pull us through this Bush-led coup d'etat of the GOP. Bush and his socialist wing of the party are slowly destroying any principles that the GOP has ever stood for. McCain has more than aided the destruction - he's transparently befriended the mortal enemies of the party.

So while Romney has become more conservative with each passing year and is actively courting a slowly diminishing conservative bloc, why is he bothering to endorse a man with whom he has such obvious differences with? I think a deal was made, and I have a theory as to what it might be.

Think back to Super Tuesday. McCain swept the field and emerged as the clear front-runner. Long-time GOPers and the entire Huckabee campaign staff were asking Romney to step aside for various reasons, but they were all pointing toward consolidated support for McCain. But Romney refused and said he would remain in the race. Only two days later, with the GOP delegate count remaining the same, Romney did a 180 and announced he was suspending his campaign. Why the change of heart?

My best guess is that McCain and Romney made a deal. McCain will be 72 years old next January when the next President takes office. If McCain becomes our next president, after 4 years of failing health, anger management problems, and an awkward public personality, McCain will be a terrible candidate to run for re-election in 2012. I think McCain and Romney made a deal that includes:

Romney must suspend his 2008 campaign for President
Romney will endorse McCain publicly
In 2012, McCain would not seek re-election
Romney will seek the 2012 GOP nomination with a crucial endorsement from President John McCain

Others are speculating that Romney may end up on the McCain ticket, but I doubt it. McCain desperately needs to court Conservatives and the South, both of which Romney has not been a clear favorite. More obvious VP candidates include Mike Huckabee, SC Senator Lindsey Graham, and Florida Governor Charlie Crist. McCain's already received Graham and Crist endorsements, but I strongly believe that Lindsey Graham (an Air Force Colonel and Judge Advocate and an actual Iraq War Vet) has already made a deal with McCain to receive an appointment as U.S. Attorney General. If Huckabee can work out a deal with McCain to leave the race, he will clearly be the favorite for VP.

Obama Volunteer Office Displays Che Flag

2008-02-12T22:20:00.001-06:00

In an appalling pronouncement of Marxism rarely seen from a mainstream political party, an office of eager volunteers for Barack Obama's campaign in Houston, TX shamelessly hung a Cuban flag depicting Fidel Castro's notorious psychopathic executioner, Che Guevara.

Watch this video from MyFox Houston to see for yourself.

Undocumented Boomers Headed to Mexico!

2008-02-10T04:30:00.001-06:00

An Open Letter To Mexican President Felipe Calderon

Dear President Calderon:

As you are no doubt aware, America the Great is quickly becoming America the Gray. The so-called "boomer" generation, comprised of approximately 40 million Americans, will soon reach retirement age.

As they age, America's boomers yearn for a less frantic pace---and a lifestyle that allows one to pause and smell the roses now and again.

In other words, boomers are looking for the "Good Life" which is supposed to accrue to those who work 45 years, pay ungodly amounts in taxes, raise a family, put children through college, and baby-sit the grandchildren.

More...

Bush Tells Musharraf, "Do as I say, not as I do."

2007-11-07T16:50:00.000-06:00

In one of the most brazen displays of hypocrisy in Bush's tumultuous years as President and head of the U.S. military (aka, "Commander-in-Chief"), he phoned Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf today to tell him, "You can't be the president and the head of the military at the same time."

Wow.

Recipe: Instant Oatmeal Muffins

2007-04-26T09:35:00.000-05:00

I came up with this very easy recipe after testing some recommendations from around the Web. This is the easiest recipe I've seen for producing store-quality muffins.

You need:

3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup veg. oil
1 cup flour
3 packets of single-serve instant oatmeal (any flavor)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon, nutmeg, or some combination of the two
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp white or brown sugar
(Optional) 1 cup of dried fruit or nuts, such as raisins, currants, chopped apple, dates, and walnuts. Fruit or nuts related to the selected oatmeal flavor work best.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F
Grease muffin pan or line with paper cups
Combine dried fruit/nuts, milk, 1/3 cup sugar, and oil
In a separate bowl, mx together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, cinnamon/nutmeg, allspice and salt
Combine bowls and stir just enough to mix well
Spoon evenly into muffin cups
Using the remaining 1 tbsp white or brown sugar, sprinkle 1/4 tsp over the top of each muffin batter
Bake for 20 minutes

I wouldn't mix and match oatmeal flavors, but you can probably use any instant oatmeal on the market. Creativity is key here.

70-Year-Old Marines: 1Costa Rican Punks: 0

2007-02-28T09:52:00.001-06:00

This is a classic tale of a retired U.S. Marine on a simple vacation cruise to Costa Rica. While getting off a tour bus, his group is held up by three armed muggers. After a brief struggle, our hero kills one of the assailants with his bare hands and the other two flee. True to his roots, the old Marine seeks no glory or reward, remaining anonymous.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2007/02/70_year_old_vet.html

Kids More Narcissistic Than Ever

2007-02-27T09:35:00.000-06:00

Gee, we never saw this coming. When every public school in the country repeatedly re-enforces the "you are the most important person in the whole world" mantra, why should we be surprised when the kids start believing it?

Study: College students more narcissistic

It's yet another example of public schools circumventing the oldest tenets of Christianity with dire consequences. I can't decide whether I should revel in all those chickens coming home to roost or to shout in hopeless frustration with a completely broken system beholden to teachers' unions that are blatantly more concerned with wages, benefits, vacation days, and pensions than the success of the system. It is written in stone that the needs and agenda of a labor union are ALWAYS at odds with producing a quality product. Yet in this country we continue to let the fox guard, manage, feed, and maintain the henhouse. No one should be surprised when a few chickens go missing.

Imagine a World Without America

2007-02-23T08:56:00.000-06:00

From 18DoughtyStreet.com:

Global Warming vs. Winter Weather

2007-02-15T09:27:00.000-06:00

Fox News' Brit Hume, reports:

A House sub-committee hearing on climate change and the warming of the planet was called off today because of the snow and ice storm that hit Washingon. And in St. Louise a scheduled showing of Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth", a movie on global warming, was cancelled by Maryville Unversity because of the harsh winter weather.

Hillary "sings" the National Anthem

2007-02-02T21:34:00.000-06:00

Eek.

Hillary

2007-01-12T16:54:00.000-06:00

If the politics thing doesn't work out, she definitely has a future as a "Before" model.

Silly String, The Trip Wire Detector

2006-12-12T13:41:00.000-06:00

After some clever soldiers of the British SAS discovered that silly string can be sprayed into booby-trapped rooms to detect trip wires, Army Spc. Todd Shriver asked his mother, Marcelle Shriver, to send more to Iraq. Since then, she has been collecting cases of the stuff through St. Luke's Church in Stratford, NJ.

If you'd like to help, please send donations to:

St. Luke's Church
55 Warwick Rd.
Stratford, NJ 08084

For more information:

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usgoo1208,0,1816870.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061206/ap_on_re_us...

http://www.incrediblegifts.com/sistpastpacr.html#troops

http://www.epartyunlimited.com/sillystring.html

More Terrorized Iraqi Children

2006-11-20T13:28:00.001-06:00

I don't know how these Kirkuk, Iraq children can stand being terrorized "in the dead of night," according to Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). These pictures show them being "terrorized" by apparent unauthorized torture devices constructed from Humvee spare parts by Task Force 2-116 Armor.

Bin Laden Myths

2006-09-23T07:01:00.000-05:00

Early news reports this morning are suggesting that the Saudi Secret Service and French Secret Service both believe that Osama bin Laden died in August in Pakistan of tyhpoid. Whether this story is true or not has yet to be determined, but this does remind us of other bin Laden rumours we've all heard over the past decade.

Hugh Hewitt had Lawrence Wright, the author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, on this past week, and he had some interesting things to say about bin Laden and the history of al Queda. He mentioned two myths that the media has erroneously propagated:

Bin Laden is 6'4". Wright says this is ridiculous, and bin Laden's true height is actually around 6'0"-6'1".
Bin Laden has kidney failure and requires dialysis. Nobody's sure where this originated, but it is false.

More Violence and Murder from the Religion of Peace

2006-09-17T09:29:00.000-05:00

Muslims around the world responded with violent protests and murder after the Pope's remarks last week implied that Islam encourages violence and murder. Hmm...

Matt Lauer Grills Bush on Post-9/11 Interrogation Techniques

2006-09-13T06:30:00.000-05:00

This is an interesting video. Matt Lauer attempts to trap Bush and get him to admit to the authorization of illegal interrogation techniques, but Bush does a good job defending our methods. He tried to remind Lauer about how the safety of your family is more important than the intricacies of the legality of techniques used in prisons outside of the U.S., but like any good liberal, Lauer didn't like that answer. He preferred to hear about how we're sacrificing the safety of Americans to make sure that the bad guys are not put into situations where they feel like they are drowning.

Can you spot the terrorists?

2006-09-10T16:54:00.000-05:00

"In this room are three terrorists..." claims The History Channel narrator from this documentary showing a room full of young Muslim men studying to be good jihadists in 1999.

My wife and I found this video side-splittingly hilarious. If you know why, then you are one of the few that understand what we're facing.

The numbers behind the Islamofascist terrorist attacks

2006-09-10T07:39:00.000-05:00

TheReligionOfPeace.com is a great web site to shed the truth on the Islamofascist War. They are keeping tallies of all Islamofascist terrorist attacks around the world since 9/11. To date, there have been 5774 separate attacks in 54 countries that killed 28,981 and wounded another 56,154. I guarantee that you have never heard of the vast majority of these. After all, they would only make Bush look right and the democrats look very, very wrong.

Still think Bush's "unjust war" in the Middle East is the cause of the modern jihad? Most of those 54 countries have never had a single troop in Iraq or Afghanistan and have not aided the U.S. military's interests in the region.

Flipsyde: Happy Birthday

2006-09-05T16:03:00.000-05:00

I don't normally promote any type of rap, especially in video form, but Flipsyde has produced a song and video for the ages with a very special message. Use the Amazon button on the right to purchase the CD or check out the video below:

Still Seeking the Perfect Gift after 10 Years

2006-05-05T06:45:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago today, 24 hours after my college graduation ceremony, my wife ("M") and I were married in the beautiful home of a local Methodist minister. Eleven hamsters, nine cats, one bird, and two children later, I couldn't be happier. Contrary to the beliefs of the anti-marriage folks who continually crack juvenile jokes about the ball-and-chain, warden, gatekeeper, or whatever the latest anti-marriage-derogatory-term-to-make-myself-
feel-better-about-not-maturing-before-35 term may be, a successful marriage really does get better each year.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but M has grown fantastically more attractive to me: emotionally, physically, intellectually, spiritually, and culturally. In an age of diminishing values, cultural apathy, and rising selfishness (thanks to the public schools), there she is, holding the line where we know God's truth to lie, that unmarked border between "right" and "wrong".

We have both grown together over the years, as we have each moved further to the right--her pulling me over socially and me pulling her over on economic issues. We are a perfect team. She's the right-brain, emotional, intuitive, caring, selfless mother and wife, and I'm the left-brain, logical, problem-solving family man. If we sound 100% stereotypically traditional, we're not. I do the cooking, lawn care, and maintenance. She does the painting, hiring, and planning. As for the little ones, she does the teaching, signing up for activities, and taxiing. I read to them occasionally, and...did I mention I do the cooking? We're as near a perfect team as you could imagine.

Obviously she's much better at the child rearing thing than I am. It doesn't come naturally to me. I keep wanting to sit down with them and logically explain why their bodies really need them to eat a balance of meats, vegetables, and breads; or why they shouldn't jump in the puddles; or why they shouldn't dart out into the parking lot when leaving a store. Surely most parents are out there laughing right now. Yes, M figured it out quite early. The reasons why to do certain things aren't nearly as important and effective as a quick "Don't do that!" or "Get back here right now!"

It's very difficult for an unimaginative, left-brainer like me to tell his wife how much he loves and appreciates her. The best I can usually come up with is the tired old balloons, candy, and cards you see on TV. There just doesn't seen to be a method as special as the intended recipient. This is the typical anniversary quandary. What can I do or give that matches how I feel about her? Words, gifts, and letters fail. But let me just say that for the rest of our lives as our love and devotion grow yearly, so will my continued effort to seek out that perfect answer to all that she's given me.

One Enzo Down, 398 to go!

2006-02-24T06:29:00.000-06:00

If you're not familiar with the Ferrari Enzo, it's one of the most famous production cars in history. First showcased at the 2002 Paris Auto Show, the entire production run of 399 was sold out almost immediately for a mere $670,000 each! Chump change.

Until the recent debut of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 (1001 HP from a quad-turbo W16 engine) the Enzo was the fastest production car ever to be built. If you ever have a chance of seeing one, congratulate yourself. It doesn't happen. The owners very rarely show these cars to the public, much less driven them on the street. On the street? That brings up an interesting philosophical debate that I'll leave for other blogs: Can you get insurance on a $670,000 car, and would anyone rich enough to purchase one actually buy the insurance?

Darwin Award winners come in many shapes and sizes, some very wealthy. Let me nominate a 2006 candidate...Swedish mobster Stefan Eriksson. You see, Mr. Eriksson thought it would be a lot of fun to try out his 660-HP super-exotic Enzo by racing a nearly-as-fast Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. On the street!

With only 617 HP and and an extra 700 lbs, and although undoutedly more comfortable as a daily driver, the 200-MPH SLR is no match for the 220-MPH Enzo...in the hands of a competent driver, which is exactly what Mr. Eriksson found out recently.

After topping out over 200 MPH, according to witnesses, the Ferrari skidded out of control and slammed side-ways into a slightly less-expensive telephone pole (which, sadly to say, did not survive the crash). The car split in half, was completely destroyed, but Mr. Eriksson was saved! Woohoo!

As strange as the crash was, the story told to police was even more bizarre. Apparently, according to Mr. Eriksson, he wasn't even driving his own $670,000 Ferrari at 200 mph on the street. Oh no, he was just a passenger. The even less competent, real driver was actually a mysterious German named Dietrich...no last name.

Here's the big shocker: Mr. Eriksson's blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit at .09. Check out the pictures.

Emily

2006-02-18T21:16:00.000-06:00

While the rest of us are meandering around in relatively cushy lives complaining non-stop about trivial matters (gas prices are up 20% in 5 years, the market has only increased by 10% over the past 18 months, and the timing of the traffic light closest to your office seems to always be against you when you're late), there are a scattering of very young angels hidden among us that we rarely acknowledge. How much we could learn from them!

Meet Emily. She's a darling 9-year-old whose best friend is a cat named Pippy. She loves America, Christmas, Disney princesses, and Jesus. She's much like my own 6-year-old daughter. Except for one thing: Emily has cancer.

While I'm obsessing over my son's delayed potty-training, my cat's incurable vomitting habbit, and way too many door dings on my beloved car, Emily's attending regular testing and treament sessions. Her parents are experiencing anxiety the likes of which only the unluckiest of us parents every encounter. They're pulling their hair out, can't sleep at night, and are in a permanent state of worry over the future of their little angel.

But Emily takes this all in stride. Such youth and innocence. She probably thinks this is a perfectly normal part of life, something everyone endures. She doesn't even seem bothered that she was dealt such a poor hand. The rest of us are running around with a three-of-a-kind, two pairs, flush, or a full house and envious of the 5-of-a-kind the guy down the street was dealt. Emily's stuck with a 9-high and is putting on what the rest of us would call a "poker face". But for Emily, it's not a show. Her faith in God assures her that everything will be ok. She might not get the 4-0f-a-kind, but she doesn't care. Because she knows that what's important is to just make it to the next hand. And with God's grace...she will.

God bless you Emily.

Gas Prices vs. Home Values

2006-01-08T19:40:00.000-06:00

If you remember back in the summer, gas prices increased by about 35% nationwide in the month of August, mostly because of Hurricane Katrina. This was almost unheard of in U.S. history. All the politicians were running around like headless chicken trying to "fix the problem" and satisfy their constituents. As they were busy writing up emergency legislation, discussing price controls, and calling heads of oil companies in front of Congress for price gouging investigations, the prices had already started dropping, all without any government intervention. Millions of dollars of government money was spent trying to figure out how to "solve the problem". And before any government policy shifts could get off the ground, the problem was solving itself.

No, gas prices never returned to 2004 levels, but they are a lot lower now than they were.

The U.S. House of Representatives, the N.Y. Times, and Bill O'Reilly were absolutely hysterical in their wild accusations of price gouging by oil companies...only because prices went up. They had no proof whatsoever, but they were already on the witch-hunt, calling for CEO resignations and emergency law passage. And as prices trickled down, did you hear anything from them? Were they calling for investigations into why prices were dropping?

It's funny how some people go ballistic over a price increase over one commodity, but you don't hear a peep of concern over the much faster growing prices in other commodities, like real estate.

Between 1940 and 2000, the average home value in the U.S. increased by a factor of 40.7.

Between 1940 and 2000, average gas prices increased by a factor of only 8.3.

So real estate prices are increasing nearly 5 times as fast as gasoline prices. Hmm. How could this be? How could it be that so many people are so upset over gas prices, when real estate prices are increasing so much faster?

It's all about what people have a stake in. All the House members, the editorial staff at the N.Y. Times, and Bill O'Reilly all own homes. But very few of them own shares of oil companies. So in essence, they aren't upset that gas prices are going up; they're upset that somebody else is profiting from the higher prices.

I'd like to see a report on how much a full-page ad in the N.Y. Times or a 30-second spot on TV has increased since 1940. Wouldn't you? Hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Michael Yon: Gates of Fire

2005-08-29T09:36:00.000-05:00

Michael Yon has already become known as one of the best, if not the best, war correspondent in Iraq this year. His blog is a must-read for anyone seeking the truth about what's going on over there. Time after time, Michael's semi-professional blog puts the MSM to shame. His latest post, "Gates of Fire" is the best war blog post I've read yet.

Follow Michael as he tags along with his Deuce4 imbedded unit in Mosul and comes face to face with the enemy. The action gets so intense, Michael--with special forces combat experience--even picks up an automatic weapon of a fallen soldier and opens fire on the enemy, trying to save the pinned-down life of the battalion commander (LTC).

Please read "Gates of Fire" and donate to Michael. This is the best way to encourage war coverage that's far superior to your local newspaper or TV.

Putting Politics Before Humanity

2005-08-16T15:15:00.000-05:00

Don't think for a minute that the American Left is in a constant state of protest againt Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. because they are utterly concerned with the gravest of humanitarian circumstances (see Zimbabwe, Cuba, Sudan, Niger, N. Korea, India...). No, their opposition stems from their lifelong dedication to the denial of any rightousness of the American Right or justification of its ideals and methodologies. To the Left, President Bush is the iconic reminder of all that is evil about the Right. Long before Mr. Bush met with his presidential exploratory committee in the mid-90's, before Iraq Invasion Part 2, before Afghanistan, before 9/11, before World Trade Center Part 1 (1993), and even before Slick Willy turned the prestigious presidential dwelling into his personal frat-house/brothel, the scene was set. Whomever the Right put in the White House and regardless of what evil they were doomed to confront in the 20th century, the Left had already positioned itself in opposition.

You see, the "American" Left is preeminently anti-Right rather than pro-America. After all "American" ideals such as equality, perseverence, opportunity, and the willingness to confront evil anywhere it exists, regardless of whom it directly threatens, are of no real concern to the Left. They'd just as well see America collapse than terrorism defeated. For nearly 100 years, this irrational discontent for American righteousness has plagued the Left, but it has become even more apparent recently that they are putting politics before everything, including that one endeavor which may be the most significant for the survival of human society: humanitarianism.

Christopher Hitchens, a left-leaning idealogue, explains the Left's weaknesses and utter hypocrisy in his recent Letter to the Left.

Mark Steyn: "The more the Islamists step on our toes, the more we waltz them gaily round the room."

2005-07-25T06:39:00.000-05:00

From The Australian:

WITH hindsight, the defining encounter of the age was not between Mohammed Atta's jet and the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, but that between Mohammed Atta and Johnelle Bryant a year earlier. Bryant is an official with the US Department of Agriculture in Florida, and the late Atta had gone to see her about getting a $US650,000 government loan to convert a plane into the world's largest crop-duster. A novel idea.

The meeting got off to a rocky start when Atta refused to deal with Bryant because she was but a woman. But, after this unpleasantness had been smoothed out, things went swimmingly. When it was explained to him that, alas, he wouldn't get the 650 grand in cash that day, Atta threatened to cut Bryant's throat. He then pointed to a picture behind her desk showing an aerial view of downtown Washington - the White House, the Pentagon et al - and asked: "How would America like it if another country destroyed that city and some of the monuments in it?"

Fortunately, Bryant's been on the training course and knows an opportunity for multicultural outreach when she sees one. "I felt that he was trying to make the cultural leap from the country that he came from," she recalled. "I was attempting, in every manner I could, to help him make his relocation into our country as easy for him as I could." Read more.

Chinese General Threatens U.S. with Nuclear Weapons over Taiwan

2005-07-16T08:09:00.000-05:00

Chinese Major General (a two-star general to the amateurs) Zhu Chenghu warned the U.S. today that if it intervenes in China's pending military invasion and overthrow of sovereign neighbor Taiwan, China will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against the United States.

The U.S. State Department has already dismissed the comments as "highly irresponsible" and doesn't consider them to be the policy of the Chinese government.

Ironically, this weekend China is joining in discussions with five other nations about disarming North Korea of its nuclear weapons cache. Even though China has been running the puppet government of North Korea, led by our favorite maniacal dictator Kim Jung Il, for some time now, could North Korea be next on China's "Hostile Takeover Short List"? How better to clear the way to invade a nuclear nation than to use the international community to disarm them first?

Just a little information to put China's world domination ambitions into perspective...according to GlobalSecurity.org, China has less than 400 nuclear warheads that could hit U.S. territory soil, versus the United States' 6400 that could hit Chinese mainland. Even if you believe a supposedly secret document smuggled out of the Chinese government, China boasts over 2300 warheads, but they still only have a few dozen ICBM's and submarines with the range to deliver them to U.S. soil.

If China hit the U.S. with nuclear weapons, WW3 would be over in less than a week. Several million Americans would be dead and parts of the West Coast, Hawaii, and a few islands would be uninhabitable for a long time, but China and her 1.35 billion peasants would be annihilated.

Is the takeover of Taiwan and another notch on your communism headboard really worth it, China?

VIDEO: 1999 ABC News Report on Iraq-Terrorism Link

2005-07-16T01:15:00.000-05:00

I'm getting even more annoyed than usual at the liberal talking points lately. They keep repeating this line that "Saddam had no ties to terrorism" as part of their standard We-Hate-Bush-And-Blame-America-For-Everything rhetoric. Alan Colmes repeats this garbage fairly regularly and this is exactly what Ron Reagan was trying to put out before Christopher Hitchens put him in his place rather severely the other night.

Saddam had a long history of supporting terrorism and harboring international terrorists, including Abu Nidal and Abu Abbas. But in their effort to discredit Bush and the war effort, liberals have suddenly developed post-9/11 amnesia about Iraq's historical ties to terrorism.

View the Video

The video report details some of Saddam's known ties to terrorism at the time, including Osama bin Laden's attempt to seek assylum in Iraq following the 1998 al-Queda bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as well as tracing bin Laden's effort to locate weapons-grade uranium.

Audio: The War Room radio show out of Pittsburgh also has a spliced audio version of the report.

VIDEO: American Soldier Survives Sniper

2005-07-16T00:37:00.000-05:00

Army Medic PFC Stephen Tschiderer of the 101st “Saber” Cavalry Division, attached to 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, was shot by an insurgent sniper from 75 meters on June 2, 2005 and lived to tell about it. Tschiderer was knocked to the ground and immediately got back up, took cover, and located the sniper's position. After calling in support, the area was cordoned off and the two combatants were captured. Tschiderer even treated the wounds of the sniper who had just tried to take his life.

Soldiers at the scene recovered the video below that the insurgents took of their act. Listen closely and you will hear the common "Allah Akbar" chant.

Links:
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-976420.php
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161507,00.html

Christopher Hitchens Scores a 1st Round TKO Against Ron Reagan

2005-07-13T22:21:00.000-05:00

On Thursday (7/7/05) night on MSNBC's Connected: Coast to Coast, host Ron Reagan got his rhetorical derriere handed to him by Vanity Fair's Christopher Hitchens about the reason we went to war in Iraq in the first place. Like all good liberals, Ron Reagan can't think for himself so he simply repeats DNC talking points about the Iraq War daily.

The video below is from The Political Teen.

The entire transcript below was taken from Radio Blogger.

Ron Reagan: Christopher, I'm not sure that I buy the idea that these attacks are a sign that we're actually winning the war on terror. I mean, how many more victories like this do we really want to endure?

Christopher Hitchens: Well, it depends on how you think it started, sir. I mean, these movements had taken over Afghanistan, had very nearly taken over Algeria, in a extremely bloody war which actually was eventually won by Algerian society. They had sent death squads to try and kill my friend Salman Rushdie, for the offense of writing a novel in England. They had sent death squads to Austria and Germany, the Iranians had, for example, to try and kill Kurdish Muslim leaders there. If you make the mistake that I thought I heard you making just before we came on the air, of attributing rationality or a motive to this, and to say that it's about anything but itself, you make a great mistake, and you end up where you ended up, saying that the cause of terrorism is fighting against it, the root cause, I mean. Now, you even said, extraordinarily to me, that there was no terrorist problem in Iraq before 2003. Do you know nothing about the subject at all? Do you wonder how Mr. Zarqawi got there under the rule of Saddam Hussein? Have you ever heard of Abu Nidal?

Ron Reagan: Well, I'm following the lead of the 9/11 Commission, which...

Christopher Hitchens: Have you ever heard of Abu Nidal, the most wanted man in the world, who was sheltered in Baghdad? The man who pushed Leon Klinghoffer off the boat, was sheltered by Saddam Hussein. The man who blew up the World Trade Center in 1993 was sheltered by Saddam Hussein, and you have the nerve to say that terrorism is caused by resisting it? And by deposing governments that endorse it?

Ron Reagan: No, actually, I didn't say that, Christopher.

Christopher Hitchens: At this stage, after what happened in London yesterday?

Ron Reagan: What I did say, though, was that Iraq was not a center of terrorism before we went in there, but it might be now.

Christopher Hitchens: How can you know so little about...

Ron Reagan: You can make the claim that you just made about any other country in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.

Christopher Hitchens: Absolutely nonsense.

Ron Reagan: So do you think we ought to invade Saudi Arabia, where most of the hijackers from 9/11 came from, following your logic, Christopher?

Christopher Hitchens: Uh, no. Excuse me. The hijackers may have been Saudi and Yemeni, but they were not envoys of the Saudi Arabian government, even when you said the worst...

Ron Reagan: Zarqawi is not an envoy of Saddam Hussein, either.

Christopher Hitchens: Excuse me. When I went to interview Abu Nidal, then the most wanted terrorist in the world, in Baghdad, he was operating out of an Iraqi government office. He was an arm of the Iraqi State, while being the most wanted man in the world. The same is true of the shelter and safe house offered by the Iraqi government, to the murderers of Leon Klinghoffer, and to Mr. Yassin, who mixed the chemicals for the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. How can you know so little about this, and be occupying a chair at the time that you do?

Ron Reagan: I guess because I listen to the 9/11 Commission, and read their report, and they said that Saddam Hussein was not exporting terror. I suppose that's how, Christopher.

Christopher Hitchens: Well, then they were wrong, weren't they?

Ron Reagan: No, maybe they just needed to listen to you, Christopher.

Christopher Hitchens: Well, I'm not sure that they actually did say that. What they did say was they didn't know of any actual operational connection...

Ron Reagan: That's right. No substantive operational connection.

Christopher Hitchens: ...which was the Iraqi Baath Party and...excuse me...and Al Qaeda. A direct operational connection. Now, that's because they don't know. They don't say there isn't one. They say they couldn't find one. But I just gave you the number, I would have thought, rather suggestive examples.

The Misguided Live8 Crowd

2005-07-05T09:14:00.000-05:00

What rocks is capitalism... yeah, yeah, yeah
By Mark Steyn
Telegraph Newspaper Online Opinion

'To sneer at such events," cautioned The Sunday Telegraph apropos Live8, "demeans the generosity which they embody".

Oh, dear. If you can't sneer at rock stars in the Telegraph, where can you? None the less, if not exactly a full-blown sneer, I did feel a faint early Sir Cliff-like curl of the lip coming on during the opening moments of Saturday's festivities, when Sir Paul McCartney stepped onstage. Read more.

Still Praying for Matt and Scott

2005-04-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

A PFC when he was captured on April 9, 2004, Keith "Matt" Maupin was promoted to Sergeant in absentia on April 1, 2005. A native of Batavia, OH, Maupin is the only man or woman that the U.S. military lists as "captured" since the Iraq war began. No conclusive evidence has surfaced about his fate.

Navy LCDR Michael "Scott" Speicher was flying his F/A-18 over Iraq on January 18, 1991 when his plane was shot down by an Iraqi SAM. He was listed as KIA, but is now listed as MIA/Captured. Two sets of "MSS" initials have been found carved into the walls of Iraqi prisons, the most recent in late 2003. Speicher was later promoted to Commander and then Captain (equivalent to an Army Colonel) in absentia in 2002. The U.S. Navy announced on April 4 that a panel has been assigned to review Speicher's status. All indications are that it will be changed to KIA.

These are the only two men suspected of still being held captive in Iraq. Until proven otherwise, I'm going to assume they are still alive. Please join America in praying for the safe return of these two precious lives.

Experts Predict Bad Wildfire Season in Western United States...Again

2005-04-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

Suprise, Surprise, "experts" have predicted that the 2005 wildfire season will be bad in the West. In this April 4, 2005 AP story, the named culprit in the Northwest is unusually low snowfall. And in the Southwest, the suspect is record rainfall. Yes, record high rainfall is now a predictor of a really bad wildfire season. I remember way back when record low rainfall was the best indicator of a bad wildfire season, say in 2003 when this UPI story warned of a bad, upcoming fire season because of a lingering drought.

If these doomsday predictions sound familiar, there's a good reason. Some hasty internet research revealed the following wildfire season projections for 1999-2004:

In 2004, TheDenverChannel.com predicted a bad wildfire season because of "unseasonably warm and dry" air with "little moisture in the forecast."
In 2003, besides the UPI story mentioned above, Jim Mann of the Daily Inter Lake reported in this August 28 article that a windy, dry cold front was going to make a bad fire season.
In 2002, Christopher Thorne of the AP reported that the upcoming fire season was going to be worse because of "below-normal rainfall" and lack of federal funding. Arizona Governor Jane Hull warned of a "very, very bad [fire] season" and seemed to blame the recent rash of Phoenix-area fires on children playing with matches, even though no scenario like that was ever suspected. Not to be outdone, an NPR affiliate predicted a "very bad fire season" because of "ultry dry conditions" in parts of the West.
In 2001, Reuters reported that officials at the National Interagency Fire Center predicted a "potential record-breaking fire season" because of "bone-dry conditions, coupled with thick underbrush." In this May 12, 2001 article, Douglas Jehl of The New York Times reports that a "drought in the West [was] raising fears of another bad fire season." Red Cross staff writer Stephania Kriner predicted a dangerous U.S. fire season because of "lingering drought, below-normal snow pack and ice storms that felled trees in several states." She reported that Red Cross spokesperson Bob Hall claimed that the conditions were ideal for fires because...get this...there was "snow on the ground but [with] little moisture in it."
In 2000, Paul Fattig of the Jackson County, Oregon Mail Tribune wrote that a representative of the Oregon Department of Forestry predicted a bad fire season and said that a wildfire could be sparked by "Memorial Day weekend, which marks the traditional beginning of camping season and related outdoor activities." Other culprits, according to the spokesman were campfires, barbecues, and dried grass in residential areas. CBS News blamed the bad fire season on federal budget cuts, "dryer than dry drought spawned by La Nina," and a weather system that diverted moisture away from the West by redirecting the jet stream.
In 1999, in an op-ed piece in the L.A. Times a bad fire season was forecast because of "excess wood levels in the nation's forests" because of "a century of U.S. Forest Service mismanagement."

This is getting old. Basically there are two ways to look at it:

This is a major case of the "boy who cried wolf". The extraordinary need to make doomsday predictions to advance a Global Warming agenda is wearing thin.
The same folks that brought you Global Warming theory (read: enviro-fascists) have effectively shut down tree-cutting and undergrowth cleanup efforts that, in the past, reduced the likelihood of massive, out-of-control wildfires.

Take your pick.

Muslim Scholar's Koran Analysis Reveals U.S. Destruction in 2007

2005-04-01T09:54:00.000-06:00

Relatively unknown Palestinian scholar Ziad Silwadi's recent research of the Islamic holy book Koran (aka "Qur'an") has revealed that the United States will be hit by a massive tsunami in 2007, larger than the December 24, 2004 disaster that devastated Southeast Asia. Thankfully, Silwadi confirms that the world would be worse off with the complete destruction of the USA, and he personally prefers that the U.S. simply lose its superpower status.

Our favorite Islamist explained that the reason for this destruction at the hands of Allah was centuries of heavy-handedness toward the world but particularly black slaves and Indians (the feather variety, not dots). Oddly, no mention of the judicial execution of an innocent woman via starvation/dehydration.

Mr. Silwadi gets an F for his understanding of American history. But that's not really his strongest subject. He is, after all, a self-proclaimed Muslim "scholar".

Lucky for me, I live safely buffered between America's two largest mountain ranges.

I don't care to go into detail about the idiotic interpretations, so you can read it all here.

Schiavo Attorney Lies About Reason for Autopsy

2005-03-29T09:28:00.001-06:00

George Felos is securing his future as an attorney that will say and do anything to win one for his client. Of the dozens of lies Felos has been spewing over the past few years, last night's may have been the ultimate whopper.

In a news conference on live national television, Felos stated that he spoke with the medical examiner to arrange an autopsy:

"We didn't think it was appropriate to talk about an autopsy prior to Mrs. Schiavo's death, but because claims have been made by, I guess, opponents of carrying out her wishes that there was some motive behind the cremation of Mrs. Schiavo we felt it was necessary to make that announcement today."

And of course, the lapdog known as Reuters is lapping this right up:

"The husband of brain-damaged Florida woman Terri Schiavo has ordered an autopsy after she dies to silence allegations his plan to cremate her body is aimed at hiding something, his lawyer said on Monday."

But this is all yet another big, fat lie. Not once did Reuters or the AP mention that the autopsy isn't voluntary at all. Florida law, in fact, requires an autopsy to be performed because the body will be cremated!

Florida Statute Chapter 406, Section 11, Part 1 clearly states, "(1) In any of the following circumstances involving the death of a human being, the medical examiner of the district in which the death occurred or the body was found shall determine the cause of death and shall, for that purpose, make or have performed such examinations, investigations, and autopsies as he or she shall deem necessary or as shall be requested by the state attorney:...(c) When a body is to be cremated, dissected, or buried at sea."

So, no doubt, the public will be duped again by a crafty lawyer. I'm sure most people who saw and read the news coverage will be too busy to do any research and will believe that Michael Schiavo is trying to exonerate himself from any accusations by "volunteering" Terri's body for an unnecessary autopsy. How good the all-American husband must be to get to the bottom of all this, right? He has nothing to hide, right? We'll see.

Gun-Free Zones: The Most Dangerous Places in America

2005-03-13T08:25:00.000-06:00

Two more shooting rampages in the past week that began at a Wisconsin hotel church service and an Atlanta courthouse will no doubt bring the gun control fanatics out of the woodwork again to preach to us about the indiscriminate danger of firearms, need for expansion of gun control laws, and the unnecessary insanity the 2nd Amendment brings to our lives. But every time something like this happens, these hypocritical freaks "shoot" themselves in the foot.

Schools, universities, fast food restaurants, post offices, hotels, shopping malls, banks, courthouses. These are the locations of all of the worst shooting rampages in this country in the past two decades. What else do they have in common? Either by established rules or by law, these are all gun-free zones. Yes, these cordoned areas that are liberal utopian wonderlands where everyone is happy to roam free of the worry of gun violence have all been subjected to the worst gun violence imaginable. If you have to ask why, then you have obviously been far outside of the gun control debate for far too long.

Each time these incidents occur, firearm ownership advocates are proven right. We have proclaimed since the beginning of the founding of this nation that the safest and most worry-free lifestyle is one surrounded by firearms. The liberals can give up their only means of self-defense if they want, but political ideologies take a backseat to my family's safety. If you've ever read or heard the typical gun advocates' proclamation that they would continue to arm themselves even if the gun controllers had their way, you can count me in that group as well. To a gun-wielding conservative, the only difference between guns being legal and illegal is the number of people that know about the gun in the top of the closet.

Liberals can try all they want to disarm me and make my family as vulnerable as possible, but this is one man that loves his family a little too much for that.

F-16 Accidental School Shooting Blamed on Pilot Error

2004-12-17T10:10:00.000-06:00

It turns out that the accidental straffing of a New Jersey elementary school by an Air National Guard F-16 we wrote about in early November was the result of pilot error. Major Roberto Balzano, was attempting to use the onboard laser targeting pod on a ground target at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range, but when he pressed the trigger, he forgot he'd left the air-to-ground machine gun mode turned on. Let's try to be a little more careful about selected modes next time, Major.

See: Pilot Error Blamed in N.J. School Shooting

Sgt. Rafael Peralta, American Hero

2004-11-23T09:35:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a former Mexican national who was granted citizenship after joining the military, was on a brief mission as platoon scout in Fallujah, Iraq. He came across a Marine first assult team, about to secure a suspected insurgent house. Not even assigned to the dangerous assault mission, Peralta volunteered his assistance. He was one of the first to enter the house and immediately was wounded in the face by a rifle shot near the front door. As Peralta and other Marines were seeking cover in the house, the enemy rolled a frag grenade into the room. As some of the Marines fled for their lives, trying to break their way through a locked door, Peralta cradled the grenade to minimize the injuries to his new friends. He was killed instantly, but Marines are certain he saved several other lives.

Peralta was 25 years old and assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2004/nr20041116-1544.html
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Nov/17/br/br02p.html
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Nov/20/ln/ln10p.html
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Nov/18/ln/ln03p.html
http://www.starbulletin.com/2004/11/18/news
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20041121-9999-1m21peralta.html

Updated list of coalition deaths

Canadians and French Show Support for International Terrorists

2004-11-12T10:56:00.000-06:00

As the civilized world quietly rejoiced this morning during the burial of Arafat--author of international terrorism, suicide bombings, plane hijackings, the slaughtering of Olympic athletes, and more--the flags of the once-great nations of Canada and France were hoisted high and unmolested in the chaotic scene of thousands of Palestinians at the burial site in Arafat's Ramallah compound in the West Bank. The time has long passed that we can rely on our neighbors and old allies to identify and fight evil. The number of countries on the side of Good is getting smaller by the day. Fence-sitters like France will have the same fate as their non-combative neutralities in WWII: complete domination by the forces of evil, right up until we arrive and save them. Again.

F-16 Accidentally Strafes New Jersey School

2004-11-09T09:35:00.000-06:00

An Air National Guard F-16 accidentally strafed the Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School at around 11:00 pm on Nov. 3 with 25 rounds from its M-61A1 20mm cannon for which an F-16 typically carries 500 rounds. According to available information, the pilot missed an intended target at a military firing range by some 3 1/2 miles! Coincindentally an ANG F-16 from a different squadron crashed in this very area in January, 2002.

In my hometown in SC, there was speculation that the then-open U.S. Air Force base in Myrtle Beach regularly ran A-10 attack simulations on my rural high school. An A-10 is significantly more deadly to ground targets than an F-16, but I don't recall any live-fire incidents in the area.

As sick as it sounds, there's something funny about an F-16 accidentally strafing a school on American soil. I don't think my disturbing chuckles are because New Jersey is a blue state. Is it?

Read the entire story.

Could Yasser Arafat be dying of Aids from homosexual relationships?

2004-11-07T08:46:00.000-06:00

According to the latest buzz in the blogosphere, CIA, KGB, and former White House speechwriter David Frum ("Axis of Evil") in an article at National Review Online, Arafat has been living a secret life as a homosexual and is likely dying of AIDS-induced liver failure. Arafat's reported gay encounters first began with a teacher when he was a teenager and continued until very recently with bodyguards.

The evidence:

Low blood platelet count, pointing to weak immune system. Most causes other than HIV have been ruled out.
Considerable recent weight loss, very common in latter AIDS stages
Hopital d'Instruction des Armees de Percy, Arafat's hospital, is well-known for AIDS/HIV treatment
Possible recent dementia, an attribute common in late stages of AIDS
Evidence of kaposis sarcoma, a type of malignant tumor sometimes associated with homosexuals and AIDS

No doubt this would be one of the biggest scandals in the history of the Arab world. According to contemporary Islamic teaching, homosexuality is one of the worst acts under Allah. Whatever credibility Arafat has retained in the Arab world over the past 20 years, it will mostly be lost if this turns out to be true. Of course, if this information becomes public:

1) Palestinian and other Arab leadership will disregard it as slanderous myth spread by Israelis

2) They will claim that it's part of some elaborate Mossad assassination conspiracy (i.e. Israel gave him AIDS)

This whole situation has the traits of endless conspiracy theories since we will never be told the whole truth. It's in the best interest of insiders who do know the whole truth to keep in under wraps because of such historical implications. Frankly, your best bet for figuring out the truth is to read as many blogs as possible and draw your own conclusions.

Other Sources:
http://www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/2004/10/arafat_watch.php
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Diplomacy/4348.htm
http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/11/110104arafat.htm
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41286

Bush is Smarter than Kerry

2004-10-26T09:24:00.000-05:00

We've been hearing for years from the left about how dumb G.W. Bush is, commonly referring to him as "the chimp." Although always disregarded by Bush supporters, we have never been able to point to objective ratings to show that Bush isn't the buffoon they claim.

Finally, VDare.com has extensively studied the historical test scores of the two primary presidential candidates and extrapolated their IQ's:

Bush - 123
Kerry - 120

Read This Just In—Kerry's IQ Likely Lower than Bush's.

The Washington Times Tells the Hidden Truth About Kerry's Tax Hike Plan

2004-10-21T17:14:00.000-05:00

By Donald Lambro
The Washington Times

John Kerry promised in the second presidential debate not to raise taxes on people making less than $200,000 a year, but critics of his revenue-raising plan said yesterday that it would hit people who earn less and further complicate the income tax code.

One critic notes that the Democratic candidate's promised tax increases probably would fall on many of his supporters "who believe they are middle class."

Mr. Kerry's campaign Web site states that he would "restore [sic] the top two tax brackets to their levels under President Clinton," which were set at 39.6 percent and 36 percent respectively until President Bush cut all the marginal tax rates in 2001 — lowering the two highest to 35 percent and 33 percent.

The lower of these two top tax brackets applies to single people who earn at least $143,500 and married couples filing jointly who have a combined income of $174,700 or more. Thus, a two-earner married couple filing jointly, each making $87,350 a year, could be taxed under the higher tax rate that Mr. Kerry proposes if he applied it to the income brackets that are currently in the income tax schedule used by the Internal Revenue Service.

Read the rest of the story.

Possible Opening: U.S. President"Traitors Need Not Apply"

2004-10-17T18:16:00.000-05:00

The BBC reports that Brazilian UN peacekeeper General Augusto Heleno said in a recent press conference that the recent upsurge in violence in Haiti can be directly attributed to John Kerry's comments earlier this year that as U.S. President, he would have sent American troops to protect corrupt former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Kerry's comments were in response to Bush's February decision to eliminate all U.S. support for the former president, including military aide. Heleno says that Kerry's possible U.S. presidency has given hope to Aristide supporters, who otherwise would have no reason to think Aristide may return.

Along with recently calling interim Iraqi president Allawi a liar and delusional, labeling the rest of the coalition "window dressing," and insulting Italian coalition troops fighting in Iraq -- saying that the Iraqi military was so bad that even the Italians could have defeated them -- John Kerry is demonstrating to America his idea of "diplomacy," an area in which he so regularly criticizes Bush as being incompetent. With the recent promise of the French and Germans that they would not be sending troops to Iraq regardless of who is or will be president, Kerry's claims of superior diplomatic talent are falling very, very flat.

Remember this is the same diplomacy giant that secretly met with North Vietnamese officials in Paris -- while the war was still going on -- then lobbied Congress for the terms the Communists gave him.

We need a president whose diplomatic efforts have American interests in mind, not those of our enemies. In other words:

Possible Opening: U.S. President
"Traitors Need Not Apply"

SixHertz's live blog of final debate

2004-10-15T09:20:00.000-05:00

There are a lot of live debate blogs out there, but this one has to be the funniest. These guys are like the Mystery Science Theater of debates.

Check out SixHertz House of Pain

Bush extends Electoral College lead: 291-228

2004-10-13T13:41:00.000-05:00

According to Electoral-Vote.com, Bush has extended his lead over Kerry to 291-228. Only New Hampshire and New Jersey are too close to call.

BREAKING NEWS: John Kerry Calls the Debate Audience 'Losers'

2004-10-13T08:42:00.000-05:00

One of the most remarkable things happened at the 2nd Presidential debate the other night. Our favorite elitist of them all called the entire live audience a bunch of losers. Did you catch it? I did. So did my wife. We were stunned. Even offended. And that's pretty hard for me. Even more amazing, none of the media is talking about it.

The scenario...

After being tossed a softball by an audience member asking Kerry to look into the camera and pledge not to raise taxes on everyone making under $200,000 (wow, where did that number come from!), Kerry babbled on and on about child-care credits, tuition credits, health care, the energy bill, etc.

Then after promising to raise taxes for everyone making over $200,000, Kerry said:

And looking around here, at this group here, I suspect there are only three people here who are going to be affected: the president, me, and, Charlie, I'm sorry, you too (FoxNews.com).

How typical a Kerryism. There are ultimately four ways to get rich: earn it, inherit it, steal it, and marry into it. Kerry falls into the last category. I suppose someone who's never worked a real job in his life, but sits in luxury after two marriages to extremely wealthy woman, is an expert at spotting those who are earning their wealth? Did John Kerry really think of that entire audience as incapable of success? How would he possibly know there were no rich folks in the room?

He didn't. You see, John Kerry and the Democrats have found a weakness in the American people: class warfare. The simple-minded thrive on the notion that the wealthy never earned their way, that the only reason that everyone isn't rich is because of some vast conspiracy by the rich to keep them down. Kerry and the Democrats play into that. And it earns them a lot of votes.

Think about it. Why would Kerry care what 1% of the country thinks? He doesn't need their votes. The other 99% is much more attractive. Simple statistics. Appeal to the largest demographics, and if you can create some sort of battle-bond among them and pit them against that other minority, you're bound to win.

Remember that Kerry doesn't need to appeal to all rich people to raise significant campaign funds. He only needs that small portion of the guilty, socialist rich -- people like George Soros, who can funnel hundreds of $millions into the political race through web sites, newspaper ads, and tv ads. One Soros is worth ten Ken Lays.

Is this the kind of president we want? A man who can't even conceive how common Americans could ever get rich? With his planned tax hikes, it's not surprising. How American is it to raise taxes only for the successful? Hasn't Kerry heard the old saying about taxing those activities you wish to discourage and not taxing those activities you wish to encourage? Kerry's tax plan is the parental equivalent of only giving a weekly allowance to a child that gets bad grades and doesn't do his chores.

The final debate is tonight. You better believe I'll be watching closely for more elitist screw-ups.

Bush takes Electoral College lead: 274-260

2004-10-12T23:25:00.000-05:00

Electoral-Vote.com reports that Bush has just taken his first EC lead in several weeks. Even more important for Bush is his increasing number of strong EC votes.

Totals: Bush (274) - Kerry (260)
Strong: Bush (148) - Kerry (91)
Weak: Kerry (91) - Bush (70)
Barely: Kerry (74) - Bush (56)
Tied: 4

Urban Legends: Bush Wants to Reinstate the Draft

2004-10-10T21:58:00.000-05:00

Everywhere I look, I hear mention of this rumor about President Bush wanting to reinstate the draft. Liberal talk radio, forums, blogs, televised debates, pundit interviews. You name it, and chances are, this rumor has been repeated.

The National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES) reported recently that 51% of 18 to 29-year-olds believes this rumor, compared to only 8% of those thinking the same about Kerry, and 7% thinking both will! ¹

Both Kerry and Bush have repeatedly denied any intention of bringing back a draft, most recently in the Oct. 8, 2004 debate at Washington Univ. in St. Louis. "I hear there's rumors on the Internets (sic) that we're going to have a draft. We're not going to have a draft, period...Now, forget all this talk about a draft. We're not going to have a draft so long as I am the president," remarked Bush during the debate. ²

How did we get to this point? A little history...

House of Representatives

On January 7, 2003, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) introduced H.R. 163, named "Universal National Service Act of 2003." Its official title was "To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes."

The cosponsors were all Democrats: Rep Neil Abercrombie (HI), Rep Corrine Brown (FL), Rep Donna Christensen (VI), Rep Wm. Lacy Clay (MO), Rep John Conyers (MI), Rep Elijah Cummings (MD), Rep Alcee Hastings (FL), Rep Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL), Rep Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX), Rep John Lewis (GA), Rep Jim McDermott (WA), Rep James Moran (VA), Rep Pete Stark (CA), Rep Nydia Velazquez (NY), Rep Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) (withdrawn - 6/21/2004). The bill failed on October 5, 2004 by a vote of 402-2. The only representatives who voted for the bill to bring back the draft: Pete Stark (D-CA) and John Murtha (D-PA). ³

Senate

Also on January 7, 2003, Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC) submitted S.89, comparably named "Universal National Service Act of 2003" and officially titled "A bill to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes." The bill had no cosponsors. It's currently still awaiting approval in the Committee on Armed Services before it can be voted on in the Senate. ⁴

Both the Senate and House versions of the bill were introduced by Democrats, not because they wanted to reinstate the draft, but to make an anti-war statement. This is obviously a terrible use of taxpayer dollars. Senators and Representatives should never introduce bills with the intention of voting against them, just to make a political statement. This is juvenile and unprofessional. You are encouraged to send emails or letters to the Senator and Representatives mentioned to voice your disgust with such selfish, partisan, political tactics.

Email Hoax

The introduction of these two bogus bills triggered a slew of email hoaxes convincing people a draft was eminent. These emails were obviously intended to scare voters into opposing President Bush, going so far as to claim the fictitious draft was set to "begin as early as Spring 2005 -- just after the 2004 presidential election" and the Bush Administration "is quietly trying to get these bills passed now." ^5,6

This is, of course, false, but it doesn't stop gullible internet newbies from propagating a lie. You know the type. They've only found the internet in the past 5 years. They receive these email hoaxes all the time, but instead of deleting them like the rest of us, they read them carefully and believe them. These things look official. They're written like official news stories. They are formatted perfectly and have no editing or spelling errors. They even have references to some web links, most of which don't exist. But it doesn't matter. The lie is out there.

Even as recently as October 8, CNSNews.com reports that Democrat Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe is repeating this lie, "'I know it's controversial to say it, but don't think for one second that if George Bush gets re-elected and we have another conflict in some other theater of the world, we're going to have to reinstitute the draft.'" ⁷

An official response debunking the hoax can be found on the U.S. Selective Service System web site.

Sources

¹ NAES 04 Press Release: October 8, 2004, National Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
² Transcript & Video: Debate #2, FoxNews.com.
³ H.R. 163, Library of Congress.
⁴ S.89, Library of Congress.
⁵ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics (Draft Fear), Snopes.com.
⁶ Urban Legends and Folklore: Congress Is Planning to Reinstate the Military Draft, UrbanLegends.About.com.
⁷ McAuliffe to College Dems: Bush Will Reinstitute Draft, CNSNews.com.

Learning Math on TV

2004-10-07T23:44:00.000-05:00

Nobody seems to have an answer to the question, "What TV show did John Edwards' father learn math from?" Considering Edwards' age, this must have been somewhere between 1955-1962, several years before Sesame Street. Gumbi? Mr. Ed? How about some Howdy Doody reruns?

Let's see...
Learning Math on TV
Christmas in Cambodia
Boston Marathon
M16/Chinese Assault Rifle
Enemy Fire
"I've been consistent on the war since the beginning."
etc.

How many on-the-spot lies does that make for the Johns? I'm losing count.