Fashion Crimes

This week, I returned to work after a wonderful 17 days off. Now that I am back in action, I am already noticing funny things about the young students I teach. I am always shaking my head at the fashions I see at my school. Here are some trends I have noticed so far.

First, the cold weather has brought out the coats. What I find amusing are the arctic-like parkas that the black female students tend to wear. You will recognize these coats by their fur-lined hoods. Sacramento may get cold on occasion, but never cold enough to justify a fur-lined hood for goodness' sake. And yes, with few exceptions, the wearers of these jackets tend to be black females.

Then on the flip side, I see kids of both sexes and all races coming to school on these 30 and 40 degree mornings wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Uh, news flash genius: summer is over. Sacramento might get hot, but not in November. I remember this phenomenon from my childhood as well. Some kids think they will be considered wimps and will be presumably made fun of if they wear warm clothes in cold weather or use an umbrella when it is raining. Meanwhile, their worst fear is realized as I look at them thinking to myself how ridiculous they are to be wearing beachwear as they leave footprints in the frost.

Next, 1976 is back folks, and it is my white male students who are committing this travesty. They are growing their hair long again. God help me, I detest the fashions of the 1970s in every way I can think of; look at the cover of Lynyrd Skynrd's 1977 album Street Survivors and you will see what I mean. It kills me to see these 8th grade boys - almost all of them white - with their unkempt, limp, greasy-looking hair falling all over their face and ears, especially since I taught many of them as 6th graders when they had these cute boy cuts that actually looked decent. Like the old quote goes, the only thing worse than having no taste is having no shame.

Then there are the annual favorites, such as the saggy jeans, hooded sweatshirt with hood on... all the time, and the $200 pair of Jordans surrounding the feet of the chronically unprepared student yet tells me he can't afford to buy pencils and eats a taxpayer-subsidized lunch at the cafeteria every day... Sigh.

One final note about that: seeing as how my students seem to scoff at anything more than two years old as being outdated and therefore lame, I am amused that they are still so hot to trot about anything Jordan - don't they realize he retired from basketball almost a decade ago?

Good Day to You, Sir

Did you know there is a war on?

One aspect of our war on Islamic terrorism that I think gets too often overlooked is the plethora of individual stories of bravery and sacrifice that happen every day in this war. I came across the this website this morning that features a few stories every week about medal recipients and what they did to earn those medals. Here is but one example:

Marine Corps Sergeant Major Bradley A. Kasal

Sgt. Maj. Kasal was assisting one of his platoons in Fallujah on Nov. 14, 2004, when heavy gunfire broke out in an Iraqi home known as the “House of Hell.” Marines quickly began exiting the building as Kasal rushed in to assess the situation and help. Kasal was hit multiple times as he grabbed a wounded Marine stranded in the line of fire. Once they were in a more sheltered area, they realized that they only had enough bandages to help one of them. Kasal gave all his medical supplies to the other Marine instead of trying to divide the supplies. The insurgents continued their heavy assault, and threw a hand grenade within a few feet of the Marines to force them to come out from under cover. Kasal reacted quickly, and used his own severely injured body to protect the other Marine from shrapnel. Despite losing about 60 percent of his blood from more than 40 shrapnel wounds and seven gunshot wounds, Kasal survived. On May 1, 2006, Kasal was awarded the Navy Cross. Defend America |

Good Day to You, Sergeant Major

Mr. Adams goes to Amherst

Mike Adams, conservative professor extraordinaire from UNC-Wilmington, recently traveled to Amherst, Massachusetts to give a speech at what he dubbed "Planet U-Mass." The results were a train wreck of spoiled, immature protestors showing off their supposed tolerance by intolerantly disrupting Adams' speech.

For the full story, read Professor Adams' Townhall column, in which he describes what he at first thought was just a bad dream. Be sure to click on the linked text in the column. You will be taken to video of the train wreck that is available on YouTube.

Good Day to You, Sir

Another benchmark on our march to obscurity

An article just came out listing the latest government figures for childbirth, and it isn't pretty. For every ten births in the United States last year, almost four of them were to an unwed mother. The overall rate for out-of-wedlock births in our country for 2005 was 37%. Unfortunately, the article did not give a racial breakdown, because it is well known that the rate is much higher for certain sub-groups.

My wife and I often observe that our children are a minority: they live with and are being raised by both parents who are married to each other and also have never been previously married. That used to be the norm; now it is quickly becoming the exception. You can't tell me that this massive demographic shift doesn't take its toll on this country's children. Children thirst for stability. When there aren't two parents at home in a committed relationship, the stress on that child can be severe.

As a teacher, when I make phone calls home, I usually have to look up the student's information to look up the number and the name of the parent(s). It has gotten to the point where I am surprised when there are two parents listed, both with the same last name as their child; I don't see it very often. Most of the time, only the mother is listed, and the mother usually has a different last name than the student. Even when a father is listed, the mother and father have a different last name than the student, telling me that the mother divorced or left the biological father and married a new guy.

Are there exceptions to all of this? Can a child have a stable and loving home even in the face of illegitimacy and divorce? Of course. Can a child have a miserable life being raised by both biological parents? Of course. But that is the point; those examples are exceptions. The standard that works best is and shall ever more be, two married biological parents who are committed to each other and to their children. The less stable the household, the more social pathology one sees emanating from the people in those households; from both adults and children.

Some people get defensive when I point this out, but I know the truth can hurt even though it is still the truth. Until this country re-embraces the concept of morality and commitment in the raising of our children, we will continue this downward slide toward barbarism.

Good Day to You, Sir

RIP: The most overrated director in Hollywood

Robert Altman died yesterday. He directed such movies as M.A.S.H., Nashville, Popeye, The Player, Gosford Park, and most recently, A Prairie Home Companion.

I have often referred to Robert Altman as being the most overrated Hollywood director ever. I couldn't stand his methods of filmmaking. He would have the actors just bustle around and improvise their dialogue, talking over each other. I know what Altman was trying to do; he was trying to make the actions of the actors more authentic. Unfortunately, the end result was usually a muddled confusing mess. Over the years, I have given his movies chance after chance, and each time I would get burned. I have seen M.A.S.H., Popeye, Shortcuts, The Gingerbread Man, and the final straw was Dr. T & the Women. After I suffered through Dr. T, I swore that I would never again waste my time on a Robert Altman film, and I stuck to that promise to his end.

In addition to his abysmal movies, Altman's politics sucked as well. He was your typical preening leftist. In 2004, he was one of those actors who swore that if George W. Bush was reelected, he would leave the United States, in this case promising to move to Europe. After Bush won, did Altman move as promised? Of course not; as in the other examples, like Alec Baldwin, these Hollywood types were so convinced that Kerry was going to win, that they had no problem making these ridiculous assertions that they were going to leave the country in the event of a Bush victory. The joke was on the Hollywood types - including Robert Altman - when their boy Kerry got his head handed to him by the voters of Middle America.

I know it is considered uncouth to speak ill of the dead, but I didn't find many redeeming qualities about Robert Altman. I just wish I could have my money back for the many times I foolishly gave his movies a chance.

Good Day to You, Sir

The Democrats feel a draft

Remember when Bush was running for reelection, and the Democrats were trying to get America's young voters to vote for them by scaring the young 'uns into believing the Republicans were going to bring back the draft? The funny thing is that it was the Democrats who put the bills in the hopper on Capitol Hill to bring back the draft. Specifically, the big mover and shaker on this was Charlie Rangel (D-NY). It was a totally cynical charade however; Rangel ended up voting against his own bill.

Rangel is back ladies and gentlemen. He is trying once again to bring back the draft. Let's see if he and the Democrats try to blame the Republicans for it like last time.

Hat tip to Cox & Forkum (see blogroll) for one of my favorite all-time political cartoons.

Good Day to You, Sir

God's Country

Ahhh... nothing like sharing the first fire of the season with your son, especially when your son is wearing his fireman hat just in case things get out of control!

Good Day to You, Sir

Boy, do we have some problems to fix!

My wife and I recently rented a PBS documentary called Raising Cain: Boys in Focus. The documentary explores the secret lives of boys and some of the misconceptions society has about them. As the parents of a 2 1/2 year old boy, and a 7 month old girl who will grow up dealing with boys, we found this documentary to be informative and fascinating.

Raising Cain was hosted by child psychologist Michael Thompson, Ph.D. Dr. Thompson covered the gamut of boys' lives; from birth, to babies, to elementary, to high school. He also looked at the lives of boys who live in the inner city and boys who live in the ritzy suburbs. The most tragic episodes were - not surprisingly - the ordeal of inner-city boys. Dr. Thompson focused on the tragic results of inner-city boys who essentially raise themselves. Since there is rarely any father in the home, these boys have to figure out on their own what it means to be a man - either from themselves, or worse, their peers. The end result is a bunch of hyper-masculine wolves who prey on anyone weaker than themselves. One of the biggest reasons they prey on others is to keep from becoming prey themselves. You all know the intimidating swagger and non-stop cursing that many inner-city boys adopt. Dr. Thompson calls this the "mask of masculinity." These boys act in a manner that they think is an authentic representation of how men are supposed to act, when in actuality, their behavior is a distorted and perverted version of the real thing. Dr. Thompson juxtaposes the behavior of some fatherless inner-city boys, with another boy whose father, although divorced from his mother, is still very involved in the boy's life. The father's involvement makes all the difference in the world. I was particularly touched when Dr. Thompson pointed out a scene when the father hugs and kisses his boy, and described that tender moment as something a father can teach his son that a boy's peers cannot or will not; that you can be masculine while also being affectionate. I hug and kiss my son all the time, and while I know that is important to do, I don't think I truly appreciated how much until the lack of that affection was illustrated during the profiles of these inner-city boys who, deep down, are starved for a father's attention and affection. The wonderful thing, is that throughout the documentary, Dr. Thompson pointed out the importance of the role of the father, no matter what the socio-economic status.

Another thing Dr. Thompson talked about that I appreciated was the role that fantasy violence plays in the life of a young boy. Nowadays, many parents and school officials get the vapors when little boys play war, or draw violent pictures, or write stories with violent content, or even play tag and dodgeball. Dr. Thompson correctly points out that play violence is not real violence, and to retard a boy's predilection to participate in play violence does nothing but make the boy feel like there is something wrong with him or dirty about him. If some of these oversensitive teachers and parents could have observed me when I was a kid, they would have lumped me in with the Columbine killers. I drew pictures of guillotines and people being hanged, my friends and I played Vietnam War at recess, and when one of us was "wounded", the "wounded" kid would beg his playmates to shoot him and put him out of his misery; the playmates would happily oblige. We conducted intricate war games in the woods where we would deck ourselves out with camo uniforms, carry toy guns, and set up ambushes. Yep, I was a regular psychopath. It was refreshing to hear Dr. Thompson point out to teachers, students, and the viewers that some high school boys doing a risque skit involving the Seven Dwarves getting a little too friendly with Snow White does not mean that those boys will grow up to be gang rapists, and for some of the teachers and parents to insinuate that belief does nothing but alienate boys from the school culture that much more. As badly as boys are performing in school in comparison to girls, we cannot afford to alienate boys from school much more than we already have.

Good Day to You, Sir

RIP: Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman, economic genius and Nobel Prize winner, died today at the age of 94. Friedman's most famous tome was Free to Choose, a manifesto for free-market economics that has influenced millions of people, including myself, in the way they look at the economic relationship between the people and the government. Friedman established himself as the anti-Keynes, calling for minimal government interference in economic affairs, as opposed to the Keynes/New Deal school of thought which called for massive government intervention in the economy.

Without the works of Milton Friedman, and the people who followed in his footsteps, such as two of my favorite economists, Drs. Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams, resistance to big government over the last few decades would not be nearly as strong as it has been.

Thank you Milton Friedman, for providing us with the ammunition to stand up to the fans of big government. As bad as government spending is today, without your contributions, I shudder to think what our country would look like had you not arrived on the scene.

Good Day to You, Sir

How the Grinch stole the JROTC

Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) is an elective at secondary schools across the nation. It is a wonderful opportunity for young people to be exposed to the benefits of discipline and organization, and there is no commitment to join the military after graduation from high school. I taught at what could be considered an "inner-city" high school for a year, and their JROTC program was one of the school's shining lights. The students who joined were truly the cream of the school, and some others who joined definitely were not, but quickly improved their attitude.

The Grinches of the San Francisco board of education voted 4-2 yesterday to ban JROTC from San Francisco school campuses. The board's stated reason for doing so was because of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which is ironic because homosexual students are not barred from participating in JROTC. But the whole discrimination-against-gays angle is just window dressing. We all know the real reason JROTC was banned in San Francisco: they downright hate the military and everything it stands for. They hate the masculinity, the aggression, the strict adherence to honor and values - the very things that are anathema to the huggy-huggy, kumbaya political left. I have also noticed that San Francisco re-named their famous Army Street. Now it is labeled on maps as Cesar Chavez Street. Deep down, people like these bozos in San Francisco actually believe that if we simply got rid of our military, there would be no more wars in the world, and everyone would just get along. How serene it must be to live in their world. Luckily for these leftist loons, there are people who are willing to make it possible to live in that world of theirs. I can't confirm if George Orwell really said this, but there is a famous quote often attributed to him that says, "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." What will forever tick me off about people like these morons on the San Francisco board of (mis) education (and millions of other Americans like them) is that their putrid actions like the one yesterday are made possible because of the sacrifices of those "rough men (and women)" that they so despise.

Good Day to You, Sir

The GOP isn't done being idiotic

Say hello to the new minority whip: Trent Lott (R-Helmet Hair).

The least of my concerns about this guy are the ill-advised comments he made at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party. I don't like Trent Lott because he is another one of these wishy-washy, non-confrontational pushovers who, when he was the Senate Majority Leader, seemed to do anything he could to make the Democrats think he was "cool." This usually involved letting the Democrats have anything they wanted.

So, now we have Mel Martinez as RNC Chair, and now Trent Lott as Minority Whip. I bet the Republicans would love to have Neville Chamberlain as their Minority Leader, but he's dead.

Good Day to You, Sir

The GOP lives up to its reputation

Here they had a chance to make a splash, and then in an all-too-typical move, the Republicans once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by nominating the wishy-washy Mel Martinez to the position of Chairman of the Republican National Committee. If you remember, I recently posted that Michael Steele of Maryland was being considered for the job. This was just too much so I fired off the following (rambling) letter to the RNC:

To Whom it May Concern:

Please tell me you're not serious. Please tell me its all a big
practical joke and that you are all going to jump up and say, "Just
kidding!" Please tell me you learned something, anything, from last
Tuesday's smackdown at the hands of the Democrats.

I just read that you plan to install Senator Mel Martinez of Florida as
the new Chair of the RNC. Again, have you learned nothing from last
week's election? Senator Martinez is a nice guy and all, but he has no
business being the Chair of the RNC. Aside from being an incompetent
campaigner, he should not be splitting his duties between being a
full-time Senator and the RNC Chair. That has conflict of interest
written all over it.

I have been a registered Republican for most of my life - I flirted with
the Libertarian party for a couple of years - and I am beginning to
wonder if I goofed by switching back to the GOP in time for the 2004
election when I thought it was so important that President Bush defeat
John Kerry. What has President Bush given me? Democrat-lite, that's
what. If I wanted to vote for a Democrat, I would have voted for a
Democrat. President Bush has not vetoed a single spending bill, he has
caved in, big time, to the open borders crowd, and what do you geniuses
do? You nominate a guy for RNC Chair who thinks the same way. Are you
aware of why you lost this election, aside from the corruption of
dummies like Cunningham, Ney, Pombo, and Foley? It is because you have
abandoned the likes of me, the kind of Republican who keeps you in
office. The Republican candidates may have lost their seats hand over
fist, but you will notice that traditional conservative ideas cleaned
up. All the defense of marriage amendments passed, with the exception
of Arizona, a liberal state like Michigan repudiated affirmative action,
and speaking of Arizona, they voted to cut off certain government
services from illegal aliens. All you have to do is come home to the
conservative ideas we are known for, and we will dominate once again.
If you continue to abandon me and millions of other like-minded
Republican voters, by supporting higher spending and illegal alien
amnesty, and if you show that support by nominating an advocate of those
policies like Mel Martinez, then you can kiss my Republican vote
goodbye. Will I vote for the Democrats? Hell no, but I won't vote for
you either.

I am sick and tired of you squishy jellyfish giving in time and again to
the Democrats, and then patting yourselves on the back because of how
gentlemenly you were. Have you forgotten everything Ronald Reagan
taught you? Stand up to the Democrats! Don't offer yourselves up as a
lighter version of them. Don't install Mel Martinez as the new RNC
Chair.

I can't tell you how excited I was when I heard that Michael Steele of
Maryland was being considered for the job. He is fresh, exciting,
"steele" willed, and did a heck of job running against an establishment
candidate in a very Democrat state. Bottom line, Mr. Steele is not
afraid to stand up to the Democrats. That is exactly what we need.

In the name of all that is good and holy, please re-consider Michael
Steele and do not install Mel Martinez as the next Chair of the
Republican National Committee. Your vote from me and from millions
of other Republicans will depend on the decision you are about to make.

Thank you,
Chanman
Sacramento, California
Registered Republican

Not my best effort, but my brain is a little hazy from being up all night with a teething six-month old. Apparently, the final decision won't be made until all the state party chairmen meet in January. During that time, we can do our part by bombarding the RNC with correspondence expressing our displeasure with their business-as-usual crap. If you care to opine, write to them at

info@gop.com

Good Day to You, Sir

A Fitting story for this Veterans Day

A U.S. Marine, Corporal Jason Dunham, has been awarded our nation's highest honor for his heroic act performed in combat in Iraq. Corporal Dunham will receive a posthumous Medal of Honor for throwing his body on an enemy hand grenade in a successful attempt to save his buddies. God bless Corporal Dunham for his ultimate sacrifice. This is the second Medal of Honor to come out of the Iraq war. The first one, also posthumous, was awarded to Sergeant First Class Paul Smith of the U.S. Army. Right at the beginning of the War in 2003, he did an Audie Murphy and jumped on the top of an armored personnel carrier and used its mounted machine gun to break up an enemy attack. He killed around 50 enemy before he was mortally wounded.

Although it seems like something impossible to comprehend, the act of smothering a hand grenade with one's body is not unheard of, and it seems to be a Marine thing. Several Marines on Iwo Jima and elsewhere in the World War II Pacific Theater were awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing themselves by smothering a Japanese hand grenade with their bodies so that not everyone in the vicinity would perish. This act is pretty much a guaranteed Medal of Honor, because your chance of surviving such an act is pretty much nil. I have read of one Marine who pulled two enemy hand grenades under him and actually survived - how, I have no idea!

On Thursday, I did my part to introduce my mostly pampered, mostly clueless students to the sacrifices some of our Veterans have made in our country's history. I showed the D-Day Airborne drop scene at the beginning of the second episode of Band of Brothers. This scene has all the intensity, but almost none of the violence and language that makes the D-Day scene from Saving Private Ryan so inappropriate to show kids of middle school age. I could tell that the scene I showed hit home with many of my students, and left some of them astonished. They had no idea of what some people in combat have been through, and I emphasized to my students that it was all done for them, so they could play their video games, listen to their hip-hop, and tool around in the mall.

I am a veteran, but I am not a combat veteran. The closest I ever came to seeing combat was spending six months in Macedonia in 1994 during the war in the former Yugoslavia. Twice, I went out to the border near Serbia with a loaded weapon, but that is the extent of it. I always stand in awe of the people I know who have actually been in the world of which very few people have experienced: the situation where people are trying to kill you, and you are trying to kill them. It has to be the most surreal feeling in the world, and it is one that I will always wonder about, but at the same time, be glad that I never had to experience.

To all our veterans, whether they have seen combat or not, I thank them on this day when we honor their service and their sacrifices.

Good Day to You, Sir.

Heck of a consolation prize

Here I was feeling bad for Michael Steele after he lost his bid for Maryland senator, and today I found out that the Republican National Committee has offered the job of chairman to Steele.

Word is that he is also being considered by the Bush administration to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Personally, I would take the RNC job. Of course, I don't even think HUD should exist anyway as it is extra-constitutional, but I digress.

Good Day to You, Sir

Rumsfeld Resigns

Donald Rumsfeld resigned today as Secretary of Defense. I really don't care one way or another; I just wanted to make the observation that people (usually lefties) who don't like the guy always call him "Rummy." I am unclear as to why they consider that so insulting, our humorous for that matter. I think it is a rather lame attempt at corrupting his name in an attempt to denigrate him.

There, I have always wanted to get that off my chest... and now I have.

Good Day to You, Sir

It's going to be an interesting two years

*Update 9:20pm - The Democrat majority in the House is now up to +6

I am watching election returns on Fox News. As of this writing at 8:32pm, the Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives and hold a +1 majority. The Republicans still control the Senate, but the Democrats need only 3 more seats to take over there too.

If Nancy Pelosi could move her face, I am sure she would be smiling right now, as come January, she will be Madame Speaker Pelosi.

The one race that has me the most dejected is the race for the open Senate seat in Maryland, pitting Michael Steele (R) against Ben Cardin (D). Michael Steele, whose previous gig was as Maryland's lieutenant governor, is black. During his whole campaign, Democrats and other assorted lefties have called him an Uncle Tom, an Oreo (black on the outside, white on the inside), a lawn jockey, Step 'n Fetchit, and every other subservient black stereotype one can think of. Remember this? Through it all, Steele has shown wit, poise, and patience. Right now, Fox News is calling the race in Cardin's favor. It's a shame.

Now that the Kleptocrats have taken the House, I expect all sorts of nuttiness to begin emanating from Capitol Hill: Impeachment hearings, slave reparation hearings, Fairness Doctrine hearings, and the work will begin to leave our troops and ultimately, the Iraqi people, high and dry. The Dems are like a bunch of kids in a candy store. If they also end up taking the Senate, color me surprised if Impeachment proceedings against President Bush don't begin right quick.

About the only silver lining I can see in all this is that perhaps this will give these Republicans who were lucky enough to keep their jobs the eye-opening that they need to realize that they have not been dancing with the one that brung 'em to the dance. Perhaps this will be the lighting of a fire that will burn brightly in the 2008 election and bring both Republican politicians and Republican voters back into the conservative fold.

Good Day to You, Sir

Saddam's expiration date is drawing nigh

Saddam Hussein was pronounced guilty and sentenced to death today for the murder of 148 Iraqis in 1982. This is but a fraction of the people he has killed, but you gotta start somewhere. By the time he would be found guilty of the rest of his crimes, hopefully he will have shuffled off this mortal coil (with some assistance by an executioner of course).

Saddam's reaction to his sentence was to yell, "Long live Iraq! Long live the Iraqi people! Down with the traitors!"

Long live the Iraqi people? Sure Saddam, I assume you don't include the several hundred thousand Iraqi people you had killed by being shot, gassed, tortured to death, shredded, thrown off buildings, blown up, and Lord knows what else during your tenure as dictator of Iraq.

The sooner they kill this guy the better. To show you how frightened the Iraqi people are of him, one of the main reasons cited by intelligence officials for why many Iraqi people haven't gotten on board with the whole idea of the liberation and attempted democratizing of Iraq, is that - honest to pete - many Iraqis fear that Saddam could somehow be put back in power, and if that happened, the people who betrayed him would pay dearly for it. Once Saddam is dead, perhaps that will embolden the Iraqi people to take that leap of faith that is so desperately needed.

Good Day to You, Sir

A View of Islamic terrorism from the inside

Have you ever heard of Walid Shoebat? He is a former PLO terrorist who saw the light and became not only a Zionist but an evangelical Christian. He wrote a book called Why I Left Jihad. The Root of Terrorism and the Return of Radical Islam. I just read a symposium interview that included Shoebat as a panelist, and what he had to say truly fascinated me. I feel the same way about the inside perspective of communist-turned-conservative author, David Horowitz. Here are some of the gems that Shoebat spoke in the interview:

...Ever since I left radical Islam, I have consistently run into westerners who are oblivious to the mind-set of radical Islamists, and being on both sides of the fence, I have felt like I am Captain Spock of Star Trek -- always having to explain to Captain Kirk how the aliens thought. Yet the first problem I encountered when speaking to westerners is that they always think that the Muslim world has the same aspirations as they do, seeking liberty, equality, modernization, democracy, and the good life.

...When I was a terrorist the world labelled us as freedom fighters. When I was a “freedom fighter”, I was free to say that “Jews are shylocks, Israel is a racist state, Jews run the Congress and the media…”. In those days, I hated Jews, but when the day came that I changed my mind and loved everyone, I was labelled as a racist.

And my favorite:

...The other dangerous trend is that all fundamentalists are being lumped as fanatics. At the BBC in England during one interview the interviewer stated to me that “the problem with today’s world is fundamentalism” to which I responded “Christian fundamentalists give the world a headache, I confess, but Muslim fundamentalists will whack your head right off your shoulders, sir” I was quickly thanked and escorted out of the BBC.

If you would like to read the entire symposium, click here.

Good Day to You, Sir

How do you spell Schizophrenia? I-r-a-q W-M-D

I have posted before about how, despite common belief, weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq on numerous occasions. Now we have no less an authority than the New York Times* unwittingly (it seems) agreeing that Saddam Hussein was actively trying to develop nuclear weapons. The United States government is in possession of literally millions of documents from the Saddam regime that were captured after our invasion in March 2003. Only a small fraction of those documents have been translated and analyzed.

Some of those documents were recently posted on a U.S. government website in order to show the public that Saddam was working on a WMD program. What was in some of those documents? Check out this tidbit from the NYT article:

The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed information on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering explosives, as well as the radioactive cores of atom bombs.

Plenty of people - including the New York Times - got their panties in a bunch about these documents being posted for the public to see because of the information that was made available. In the words of one former government official that the Times found to bash the Bush Administration:

“For the U.S. to toss a match into this flammable area is very irresponsible,” said A. Bryan Siebert, a former director of classification at the federal Department of Energy, which runs the nation’s nuclear arms program. “There’s a lot of things about nuclear weapons that are secret and should remain so.”

Isn't that exactly the point?! Did the Times and indignant lefties out there (redundant) forget where these documents came from? The documents were in possession of the Saddam government! The Saddam government was in possession of this information that is "secret and should remain so." Lord only knows how long it would have taken Saddam and his cronies to put that nuclear information to use had we not gone in and kicked him out of power, and by some accounts, it was only a matter of months.

The funny thing is that the Times obviously printed this article in an attempt to zing President Bush again - Look at this dummy of a president posting sensitive nuclear information on the internet! In their throes of BDS**, I don't know if they realize that they alerted the American people to the fact that Saddam was in possession of this very information that would make it that much easier to build a nuclear weapon. This fact strengthens the Bush administration's argument for invading Iraq in the first place. We would never have known about these nuclear documents had we not invaded.

*New York Times' website requires you to register. If you don't feel like doing that, check out this article instead.

**Bush Derangement Syndrome

Good Day to You, Sir

The soldiers give Kerry their opinion

This image is making the rounds on the Internet like a wildfire! Not much to add to this. Obviously, many of our "uneducated" troops keep track of the news, even though they are "stuck" in Iraq. Kudos to them for illustrating how much of an arrogant, elitist fool John Kerry truly is.

Good Day to You, Sir