How does this involve the security of our nation?

Here's the story:

(AP) WASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department is launching a hot line for people jailed on immigration charges who believe they are victims of crime or may be U.S. citizens.

The toll free hot line — 855-448-6903 — will be staffed 24 hours a day and run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to answer questions from people held in local jails about whether they may face deportation proceedings.

The hot line is the latest move by the Obama administration to address concerns about suspected illegal immigrants held in local jails. Earlier this month, Homeland Security ended agreements that had allowed deputies at an Arizona sheriff's office to check the immigration status of local jail inmates after a Justice Department report outlined allegations of racial profiling and discrimination against Latinos.

(End of story. My comments follow.)

Now just why should a government entity tasked with insuring our national security become a de facto advocacy agency for illegal aliens? Can someone answer that one?

I mean c'mon, is there a government agency with a 24 hour hotline I can contact if I'm put in the slammer? Hell, even if I request an attorney be appointed pro bono to work on my case, I'll be subjected to a financial audit to see if I actually can't afford a lawyer.

This is being paid for with my tax dollars? WTF?

Momma; make the stupid people go away!

I had an email from "Cookie" about this. I just had to check it out. Serves me right!

Boy disciplined after waving gun-shaped pizza slice
Reported By Andy Cordan, Reporter (www.wkrn.com)

SMYRNA, Tenn. - For the rest of the semester, a Rutherford County elementary student has to eat lunch at the "silent table" for allegedly waving around a slice of pizza some say resembled a gun.

Nicholas Taylor attends David Youree Elementary School in Smyrna, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville.

School leaders say the 10-year-old threatened other students at his lunch table with a piece of pizza with bites out of it so it looked like a gun and when asked about it was initially not truthful.

Nicholas' mother LeAnn calls her son's punishment "absolutely ridiculous" saying he was just playing around and never said anything derogatory or anything about shooting anyone.

"The kid across the table from him said it looked like a gun so he picked it up and started shooting it in the air," she told Nashville's News 2 Investigates.

Taylor said she learned of the incident when the school sent her a note saying her son was threatening other students.

James Evans, spokesperson for the Rutherford County School District, said the boy isn't being punished because he had a piece of pizza shaped like a gun.

He's being punished because "some students reported he was making some threatening hand gestures, that he was shooting other kids at the table and they reported it to a teacher," according to Evans.

He continued, "The student didn't tell him the truth about it so he got silent lunch for six days."

Evans called the punishment minor but said the message is clear.

"I realize some might say we are going overboard but the principal is just trying to use an abundance of caution and send the message that we don't play about guns and it's not something we joke around about," he said.

To that, Taylor said her son knows he shouldn't play with guns.

"We don't have a gun in the house," she said. "He plays with light sabers. He's a big Star Wars fan."

In addition to lunch at the silent table, Nicholas has spent time with the school resource officer learning about gun safety.

Taylor said the school system has made it clear that if her son eats his pizza into the shape of a gun again and there is a similar occurrence, he will be suspended.

(End of story, my comments follow.)

Just how much more ridiculous does it get? Maybe I don't want an answer to that one.

Coming soon: "Up against the wall and spread 'em!"

Found this via Drudge at www.latimes.com:

TSA screenings aren't just for airports anymore
Roving security teams increasingly visit train stations, subways and other mass transit sites to deter terrorism. Critics say it's largely political theater.
By Brian Bennett, Washington Bureau

5:03 PM PST, December 20, 2011

Reporting from Charlotte, N.C.
Rick Vetter was rushing to board the Amtrak train in Charlotte, N.C., on a recent Sunday afternoon when a canine officer suddenly blocked the way.

Three federal air marshals in bulletproof vests and two officers trained to spot suspicious behavior watched closely as Seiko, a German shepherd, nosed Vetter's trousers for chemical traces of a bomb. Radiation detectors carried by the marshals scanned the 57-year-old lawyer for concealed nuclear materials.

When Seiko indicated a scent, his handler, Julian Swaringen, asked Vetter whether he had pets at home in Garner, N.C. Two mutts, Vetter replied. "You can go ahead," Swaringen said.

The Transportation Security Administration isn't just in airports anymore. TSA teams are increasingly conducting searches and screenings at train stations, subways, ferry terminals and other mass transit locations around the country.

"We are not the Airport Security Administration," said Ray Dineen, the air marshal in charge of the TSA office in Charlotte. "We take that transportation part seriously."

The TSA's 25 "viper" teams — for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response — have run more than 9,300 unannounced checkpoints and other search operations in the last year. Department of Homeland Security officials have asked Congress for funding to add 12 more teams next year.

According to budget documents, the department spent $110 million in fiscal 2011 for "surface transportation security," including the TSA's viper program, and is asking for an additional $24 million next year. That compares with more than $5 billion for aviation security.

TSA officials say they have no proof that the roving viper teams have foiled any terrorist plots or thwarted any major threat to public safety. But they argue that the random nature of the searches and the presence of armed officers serve as a deterrent and bolster public confidence.

"We have to keep them [terrorists] on edge," said Frank Cilluffo, director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington. "We're not going to have a permanent presence everywhere."

U.S. officials note that digital files recovered from Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan after he was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in May included evidence that the Al Qaeda leader had considered an attack on U.S. railways in February 2010. Over the last decade, deadly bombings have hit subways or trains in Moscow; Mumbai, India; Madrid; and London.

But critics say that without a clear threat, the TSA checkpoints are merely political theater. Privacy advocates worry that the agency is stretching legal limits on the government's right to search U.S. citizens without probable cause — and with no proof that the scattershot checkpoints help prevent attacks.

"It's a great way to make the public think you are doing something," said Fred H. Cate, a professor at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, who writes on privacy and security. "It's a little like saying, 'If we start throwing things up in the air, will they hit terrorists?' ''

Such criticism is nothing new to the TSA.

The agency came under fresh fire this month when three elderly women with medical devices complained that TSA agents had strip-searched them in separate incidents at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Lenore Zimmerman, 84, said she was ordered to pull down her pants after she refused to pass through a full body scanner because she was afraid the machine would interfere with her heart defibrillator.

TSA officials denied the women were strip-searched, but they announced plans to create a toll-free telephone number for passengers with medical conditions who require assistance in airport screening lines. TSA officials said they also are considering a proposal by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) to designate a passengers advocate at every airport.

The TSA's viper program hasn't drawn that kind of attention, although it is increasingly active.

In Tennessee in October, a viper team used radiation monitors and explosive-trace detectors to help state police inspect trucks at highway weigh stations throughout the state. Last month in Orlando, Fla., a team set up metal detectors at a Greyhound bus station and tested passengers' bags for explosive residue.

In the Carolinas this year, TSA teams have checked people at the gangplanks of cruise ships, the entrance to NASCAR races, and at ferry terminals taking tourists to the Outer Banks.

At the Charlotte train station on Dec. 11, Seiko, the bomb-sniffing dog, snuffled down a line of about 100 passengers waiting to board an eastbound train. Many were heading home after watching the Charlotte Panthers NFL team lose to the Atlanta Falcons after holding a 16-point lead.

No one seemed especially perturbed by the TSA team.

"It's probably overkill," said Karen Stone, 26, after a behavior-detection officer asked her about the Panthers game and her trip home to Raleigh.

"It's cool," said Marcus Baldwin, 21, who was heading home to Mebane, near Burlington, where he waits tables to help pay for computer technology classes. "They're doing what our tax money is paying them to do."

"I'm mostly curious," said Barbara Spencer, 75, who was heading home to Chapel Hill after watching her grandson perform in a Christmas play. She asked the officers whether a terrorist threat had required the extra security. No, they replied.

Vetter, the lawyer, had attended the game with his son, Noah. They jogged for the train after Seiko had finished his sniff, but Vetter had bigger worries on his mind. "The Panthers blew it," he said.

(End of story, my comments follow.)

There is no way, no how we should be okay with this crap.

Just what will be next in the way of random searches with no real justification? Will we see teams of TSA agents knocking on our doors, wanting to check out possible problems?

"TSA officials say they have no proof that the roving viper teams have foiled any terrorist plots or thwarted any major threat to public safety." Then where is the damned justification for the expansion of their searches?

I'm all for being proactive rather than reactive. But this is overkill and a very strong threat to our civil liberties.

It's time to stand up and start voicing our concerns, else we'll soon find an ironshod boot in our face.

Don't they have doctors there too?

Jawdropper of the day: The wife is working phone triage for her job. That translates into her giving advice to concerned parents on what to do with Johnny when he gets sick after hours and the doctor is out of reach. This can be anything from "take him to the ER" to "just give his meds a little more time to kick in". The wife has a whole list of doctors who signed onto her company's service, the listing comes complete with what hospitals to take the kid to. Pretty neat setup.

So tonight she gets a phone call, "Mom" has a tot with 104 degree fever so what should she do? Oh by the way, she's calling from Ecuador where they're vacationing for the holidays. Gee, I remember when calling to the other side of the country was considered a big deal. Ain't modern technology wonderful?

No, that list of doctors doesn't include anyone out of country. "Mom" called her Stateside doctor's office for advice. DUH!

My two cents worth was to tell "Mom" in words of one syllable or less that she has to find the local equivalent of an ER. Lottsa luck too!

As I told the wife, some people would have difficulty figuring out how to pour piss out of a boot if they couldn't call for help.

Maybe I'm just getting cranky in my old age, I dunno.

Somtime I'll have to put up a post about the call she took from India. No, I'm not kidding.

Guilty...

Of having Christmas everyday of my life.

I've three beautiful children who love me unceasingly, a loving and EXTREMELY forgiving wife, good health, no financial needs, friends who value me, life in the greatest nation in the world, membership in a religion that assures me if I keep honestly trying for real improvement that I've an even-steven chance of eternal salvation.

So it's Christmas every day for me. God bless all who read these words.

Persecution on the rise...

I guess the idea of religious freedom was great while it lasted, seems it's on the decline and most notably in the Middle East: Christianity May Be Eradicated in Iraq and Afghanistan, Says Chair of U.S. Religious Freedom Commission

Evidently the idea of immigrating away from persecution and into Western society isn't as easy as it sounds either: Christians in Imminent Danger Across the World Are Refused Refugee Status While Muslim Refugee Immigration Goes Unimpeded

I'm sure I'm not the only naive fool that thought after the USA invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, the non Muslim natives would at least be allowed to leave. You'd think we'd insure that but I guess our PC leadership under both Bush and Obama had better things to do. Noted.

I'll note that while we here in the United States aren't anywhere near to what the Christians are suffering in the Middle East, we're starting to see a lot less empathy from the government in our dealings with them. Think back to the DHS memo that listed likely sources of "right wing extremists". Chief amongst those listed were anyone focused on a single issue such as abortion. Just how many non Christian groups figure prominently in the fight against murdering the unborn?

Also think of how traditional (read Judeo/Christian) values are disregarded by the current Administration, remember the persecution perpetrated against supporters of Prop. 8 in California. Chief amongst those supporters were the Mormons (if you don't want to consider them "Christian" I suggest reading Mk 9:38-41). I could cite several other examples, but I'm sure anyone reading this blog is familiar with them and many others.

So the enviornment here in the USA is becoming more hostile also.

I wouldn't bet on any turnaround come January of 2013 either. The GOP, even if they win the election (doubtful IMHO) is more than willing to cater to the loudest voices. Those are more than likely to be secular athiests.

We've the curse of living in interesting times. Whoop-dee-dew-dah-day.

And as bad as it will be for us, pity the Jews. There will be no need for those with anti-Semitic feelings to dissemble and lie.

Stand by folks, it'll get a lot worse before it gets better.

Someone will indeed take the garbage away...

It's just a question of who?

Victor Davis Hanson gives a good preview of what may be in store for us should the present gang of thieves and liars continue running the nation: http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson122211.html

Remember how you could always look to California for a good idea of what would soon be the newest cultural fad? I think that could apply to our future expanded welfare state.

"It's all about me" from the First "Lady"

Found this via Drudge at www.realclearpolitics:
Michelle Obama: "Practical" To Put Myself Highest On My Priority List

First lady Michelle Obama tells Barbara Walters in a 20/20 special that it is "practical" for her to put her self highest on her priority list.

Obama says she found her self slipping "pretty low" on her own priority list because she was "so busy caring for everyone else."

Michelle Obama says she spends time with girlfriends and going out in her attempt to put herself higher on her priority list. Transcript below.

Barbara Walters, ABC News: "Mrs. Obama, you've recently said something that I thought was very interesting for other women to hear. You said 'you put your own self highest on your priority list.' That sounds selfish?"

Michelle Obama: "No, no, it's practical. It's something that I found I needed to do for quite some time, even before the presidency. And I found it other women, in similar situated balancing career family, trying to do it all and a lot of times we just slip pretty low on our own priority list because we're so busy caring for everyone else. And one of the things that I want to model for my girls is investing in themselves as much as they invest in others."

Walters: "So what do you do?"

Obama: "Make sure I get my exercise in so I work out as much as he works out."

Walters: "I hear more."

Obama: "I do now. He's been busier. Spending time with girlfriends. Going out. You know, pulling in people in my life who give me strength and joy."

(End of story, my comments follow.)

Wow. Now who would want to put others first before themselves? Isn't it always, "all about me"?

Some names go trailing through my mind; Mother Theresa, Clara Barton, Sophie Scholl, Joan of Arc. Those are just the ones I can think of without doing an internet search.

Yep, who in their right mind would put others before themselves?

Have we ever had such an unabashed, self-centered narcissitic twit for a First Lady? Even Shrillary would put up a caring front. It might not have been sincere but she at least implicitly acknowledged the primacy of placing others before herself.

The demise of our military captured in a photo...

Okay, I'm sure everyone has seen the pic of two women sailors kissing on a Norfolk, VA. pier after one returns from deployment. It purportedly happened after they won a lottery for the first sailor to leave ship and meet their beloved. Personally, I find it nothing more than a photo op showcasing the demise of our military. We've now gone from concern of how effective our fighting forces are to how politically and morally "avant garde" they can be. God, I'm so glad to be retired with no prospect of being called back to service!

Am I the only one that suspects a set-up by the MSM on this pic?

I mean really, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was repealed two months ago. Is this the first ship with gay crewmembers to come home since then? Is it coincidental that the first pic of two openly homosexual military members swapping spit showcases a pair of attractive lesbians rather than two hairy, burly guys (guess which one will be more acceptable in furthering acceptance of gay practices)? How were the news organizations alerted to this? Somebody had to tip them off, the "first kiss" ceremony is routine enough in naval towns not to normally garner any interest. My guess is a squadron level Public Affairs Officer tipped the newsies on this. That had to be done with a high level endorsement. So the thinking isn't focused on the successful return of a ship after it completed it's mission, it's focused on the positive feedback from having two women publicly swap spit on a pier. This isn't treating gay members of the military as equal to their heterosexual peers, it's showcasing them for special attention. So much for "equality".

The greatest military in the world has passed from history and this photo merely documents it. Our troops are now considered acceptable only as lab rats for some sociological experimentation.

The hell of it is that this was never necessary. Despite stereotypes to the contrary, sexual orientation was never that big a deal during the last few decades. What mattered more than anything else (deservedly so IMHO) was how well a military member did their stinking job.

So you could have a complete moral reprobate enjoying the esteem of his shipmates as long as he did his job and was willing to go the extra mile to insure a successful accomplishment of the mission. Ditto for anyone who was gay, hell on one boat I served aboard we had a senior enlisted man that made no secret about being light in his loafers. Nobody cared. Everybody, including himself, referred to the man as "Swishy". The man was an excellent sailor, openly gay, kept it in his pants until he was home and life went on.

A man could be a flaming alcoholic while on liberty, as long as he performed while on duty and at sea nobody gave a damn except to cover for his butt.

My point is that the military was built on merit and conventional morality be damned. It was to be expected, especially given the disdain our troops often encountered at home during and after the Viet Nam War. For a good explanation of how the military thought and perceived life at that time I recommend Rudyard Kipling's "Tommy". Some things never change.

Nevertheless, the thinking of our military was based on merit. It worked and damned well too.

In recent years thats changed. It seems the troops have become a target of opportunity for anyone with some sort of cultural agenda. Our nation is the poorer for it as the focus shifts from success of what should be the prime mission (winning wars quickly & efficiently) to performing as a sociological petri dish.

Just the opinion of a retired enlisted man.

How to use a Bible to go to jail...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Rev. Patrick Mahoney to read the Christmas Story at the Capitol Tree on Thursday, December 22, at 12:00 P.M.

The Capitol Christmas Tree is located on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol Building.

Rev. Mahoney met with Capitol Police officials telling them of his plans to sing Christmas Carols, read the Christmas story, pray for peace, justice and religious freedom, hold a small 5 inch Nativity Display and pray for political leaders at the Capitol Christmas Tree.

Police officials told him some of his activities may be prohibited or constitute an illegal demonstration.

Rev. Mahoney contacted his attorney, Jim Henderson Senior Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, who in turn called the Office of General Counsel for the Capitol Police on Tuesday, December, 21.

After talking with the Assistant General Counsel for the Capitol Police, Mr. Henderson sent Rev. Mahoney this email:

"Your use of the Bible or the ornament (Nativity Scene) would convert your activity, in the view of the Capitol Police, into a prohibited demonstration. If you failed to discontinue that activity on police direction you would be risking ticketing or arrest."

Rev. Mahoney told Capitol Police officials he would still read the Christmas Story and hold the Nativity Display on Thursday even if it meant arrest or citation.

This threat of arrest for reading from the Bible comes in the wake of national news stories reporting that the Capitol Christmas Tree has no ornaments depicting the Christmas Story, The Nativity or Jesus.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states:

"It is hard to imagine that a minister, or any American, would face possible arrest or citation for reading the Christmas Story from the Bible or holding a Nativity Display in the palm of their hand in front of the Capitol Christmas Tree on the lawn of the United States Capitol Building.

"Yet, this is what I am facing on Thursday at noon.

"Sadly, we are seeing a growing hostility toward public expressions of faith in the public square especially during the Christmas Season.

"We are now seeing that at the Capitol Christmas Tree where there are no ornaments of Christ or the Nativity and a minister is facing arrest for reading the Christmas Story from the Bible.

"I was told I could hold sheet music, an instrument or camera in my hand, but if I hold a Bible or small Nativity Scene that would be considered a 'prop' and cause me to face arrest or citation.

"I want to make to clear that every American should have the right to express their faith in the public square free from government intimidation or harassment.

"If that means spending time in jail for reading the Christmas Story from the Bible, then I consider that a small price price to pay."

(End of story. My comments follow.)

I fail to understand how what he plans to do will constitute a prohibited demonstration. Just don't get it. It seems to me to fall under the heading of freedom to speak in a public area.

If he brought a few thousand followers with him, I could understand THAT being a prohibited demonstration. If he blocked public access in some fashion THAT would be understandable.

Failing that, what the hell is the problem?

Our non Muslim friends should pay attention, they won't stop with Christians and the only group exempt from this sort of persecution would be those who follow the Pedophile Prophet.

Killer flu developed? Ehh no problemo, what could possibly go wrong?

When I first read of this I wondered if someone was pulling some chain. No such luck. Here's the story: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/alarm-as-dutch-lab-creates-highly-contagious-killer-flu-6279474.html

If you've read Stephen King's "The Stand" you know where my thinking goes. Nope, I don't see Randall Flagg appearing any time soon. But this is bad enough that he doesn't need to make a showing. Take a look around you on a normal day and envision 60% of the people you come into contact with suddenly dying. BTW, there is NO guarantee you, me, or our families will survive either. Think "Black Plague" level of mortality here.

Just one minor question here, "WHO THE HELL THOUGHT DEVELOPING THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD IDEA?" The article states that it was brought about to insure a vaccine could be developed to counter it. What kind of bassackwards logic was used here anyway?

IAW the Bible, the Tower of Babel insured the demise of civilization due to the pride & arrogance of mankind. I think we're at that point again.

Silencing of dissent...

Here is the story from www.thechurchreport.com :

Washington D.C.-- Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) president Andrea Lafferty was targeted and detained by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s security personnel this Wednesday during the closing event capping the three day closed-door conference advancing the implementation of U.N. Resolution 16/18.

“For weeks we have been asking whether the true aims of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and U.N. Resolution 16/18 would be used to apply “old fashioned techniques of peer pressure and shaming” to chill and coerce those critical of the Islamist agenda,” said Lafferty.

Hillary Clinton was as good as her word,” said Lafferty.

Lafferty was circled by several members of Secretary Clinton’s staff before being approached by a member of the security detail, demanding Lafferty follow him. When asked why she was being removed from the reception hall, the security detail announced that a phone call had identified Lafferty as a “security threat” to Secretary Clinton.

“I was shocked and angry at the pressure and shameful intimidation tactics our State Department put on, even to the point of identifying me as a threat to Hillary Clinton.”

Secretary Clinton in a June 2011 conference in Istanbul, Turkey remarked how certain comments from those concerned about Islamic fanaticism have been deemed as “incendiary” and looked to sympathize with efforts that would criminalize certain speech that is “an incitement to imminent violence.”

“This language -- “incitement to imminent violence” -- has been used time and time again to close events here in the United States concerning the impact of Islamic shariah law, detain law-abiding Christians elsewhere, and now even target and detain as security threats people from State Department events,” said Lafferty.

“The very restriction on free speech the UN Resolution was pushing is exactly what they used against me,” said Lafferty.

“I had warned previously how members of the U.S. State Department and Hillary Clinton have pointedly remarked that part of the implementation of U.N. Resolution 16/18 will be an effort to utilize “techniques of peer pressure and shaming” to silence critics of Islamic shariah,” said Lafferty. “Little did I realize how quickly Clinton and her Islamist friends were set to make examples out of law-abiding Americans.”

In response being detained unlawfully, Andrea Lafferty has written a letter to the U.S. State Department asking for both transcripts and written records of the individual who called to identify her as a “security threat” to Secretary Hillary Clinton during the closing events capping off the three-day closed door conference to discuss the implementation of UN Resolution 16/18.

“I want to know precisely who identified me as a so-called security threat,” said Lafferty. “When concerns over the tactics of “peer pressure and shaming” were precisely why Christian groups and others were so alarmed about this closed door three day conference, why would the State Department use those precise tactics to forcibly detain me?”

“Unfortunately, the December 14th incident demonstrates how some officials in our State Department have come down with a bad case of exactly what needs to be cured in non-democracies scattered across the Middle East,” said Lafferty. “Dissent and free speech critical of Islam only pose a threat to those who fear the free exchange of ideas critical to representative government -- and “threatening” to those who see dissent as something that needs to be punished or crushed.”

(End of story, my comments follow.)

Okay, I've no doubt this isn't all that unusual to have an overzealous security detail boot possible troublemakers from a public meeting. It happens.

What I find disturbing is the complicity of State Department personnel who seem to be going an extra mile in silencing possible dissenters.

It doesn't even take the involvement of a higherup to make this happen, just some cube ape acting on their assumed authority. That can happen at anytime no matter what political group is in power.

But the troubling thing is that it happens all too often lately, too many of our self-appointed ruling class (government workers of all stripes) are assuming dictatorial roles. This comes from a mindset starting at the top and seeping it's way down through the ranks.

Too damned much of it, in the most surprising circumstances.

These fools are forgetting who pays their salaries, who their real boss is.

Just my opinion.

Consequences of the "Arab Spring"...

This is just a sample of what's happening over in Egypt as the Muslim Brotherhood and their ilk come to power. The story comes via Rick of "Divine Ripples" out of the Assyrian International News Agency. It isn't something you'll see in our MSM, those fools are following the latest sexual hijinks's of whoever is "Skank of The Month". Don't look for any outrage from NOW or other feminazi organizations either, they're too busy providing cover for whoever is the most popular abortionist these days.

Here's the story:

(AINA) -- The number of Christian girls abducted and coerced into converting to Islam since the Egyptian "January 25 Revolution" has skyrocketed, according to Father Filopateer Gamil of St. Mary's Church in Giza. "More than two to three girls disappear everyday in Giza alone," he said. "The cases that are brought to public attention are few compared to what the numbers actually are."

Many Christians blame the military council for not intervening to put an end to this problem, which has escalated after the Revolution because of the "emergence of Muslim Salafists," says activist Mark Ebeid, "who believe strongly that converting a Christian Infidel is in some ways like earning a ticket to paradise -- not to mention the earthly remuneration they get from the Saudis."

Jackline Ibrahim Fakhry, 17, disappeared from a town on the outskirts of Cairo, prompting her parents to stage a sit-in until her appearance. They accused 31-year old Muslim Shokry Abdel-Fatah, who used to take lessons with her mother (a teacher) of kidnapping her. After she returned, Shokry said in a television interview that he has loved her since she was nine years old. He brought her to Alexandria where she met many sheikhs to convert, but she refused.

Nancy (14) and her cousin Christine (16) Fathy disappeared from their town in Upper Egypt. Their parents staged a sit-in in Minya until their children surfaced and accused two Muslim brothers, in their late twenties, of being behind their disappearance. The two teens appeared in Cairo, wearing burkas and claiming they had converted to Islam, which is illegal before the age of 18. Instead of being handed over to their parents, they are now in a state care home pending investigations and until they and their parents have reconciled. The two men accused of their abduction have been discharged by the court (AINA 7-4-2011).

This issue has been ongoing for over four decades. Coptic Pope Shenouda III warned against this phenomenon back in 1976, saying "There is a practice to convert Coptic girls to embrace Islam and marry them under terror to Muslim husbands."

Christian parents say their girls are underage children who disappear either due to emotional ties or to blackmail, and they do not get any assistance from the police in locating them, not even after they have been coerced into converting to Islam, which is illegal before the age of 18. Muslims claim the girls, of whatever age, flee their homes and convert to Islam of their own free will (AINA 12-23-2009).

Coptic activist Michael Saeed denies this, saying "there is no legitimate reason which prevents Muslim men from marrying women "of the Book" -- either Jewish or Christian -- without their conversion to Islam. What we have here is a Saudi Arabia funded campaign of Islamization of Christians in Egypt."

Egypt4Christ, which monitors the abduction and forced Islamization of Christian minors, published this week its latest report, which shocked many people because of the age of the targeted Christian girls, the involvement of high ranking officials as well as the Salafist leader from Alexandria, Sheikh Osama Borhammi, who is contemplating running for President in the upcoming Egyptian elections.

Egypt4Christ initiated this project when an Alexandrian priest reported that a ten-year old Coptic girl was sexually abused by a 20-year-old Muslim university student.

The investigation by Egypt4Christ, carried out under secrecy, exposed a highly organized Muslim ring centered in the Fatah Mosque in Alexandria. The investigation also uncovered a systematic "religious call" plan, where young Muslim males in high school and university are urged to approach Coptic girls in the 9-15 age group and manipulate them through sexual exploitation and blackmail. The plan, called "operation soaking lupin beans" (small dried beans, soaked until they grow in size and are then eaten raw), aims at sexually compromising Christian girls, defiling them and humiliating them in front of their parents, thereby forcing them to flee their homes, and use conversion to Islam as a "solution" for their problems.

"The architect of this idea, who diligently promotes it among the Muslim youth, is Salafi Muslim Sheikh Osama Borhammi, in collaboration with other Sheikhs," says Ms. Rasha Nour, head of Egypt4Christ. Some volunteers from the Young Female Muslims Service are also engaged, according to Nour.

The report has published the names of those involved in this Islamization ring, including names of co-operating department heads and officers of the Alexandria headquarters of State Security, the name of a legal firm supporting this ring, the location of places used to keep Christian girls, as well as complete addresses and private telephone numbers of those involved.

Magdy Khalil, political analyst and researcher in Coptic affairs also believes that abduction and forced Islamization of Coptic girls is an organized crime, carried out through an organized and pre-planned process by associations and organizations inside Egypt with domestic and Arab funding.

Recently a new organization named "Alliance for the Support of New Muslim Females" staged protests against the Coptic church, accusing it of abducting Christian-born converts to Islam. "It is a Salafist organization, without a doubt," says Michael Saeed. "It has a primary role in the Islamization of minors. The proof for this, is that any case of disappearance of a Coptic female in any province in Egypt and at any time, you find they have a complete file on it. A clear blueprint is followed, in coordination with security and legal agencies, to get the results they want."

By Mary Abdelmassih

(End of story, my comments follow.)

So where is the outrage in the Western world? What statements condemning this atrocity have come out of our State Department? Our Commander-in-Chief could give his opinion on everything else under the sun, e.g. basketball games, the action of local police in a small town, etc. what is his opinion here? Hell, he had no problem in calling for the ousting of Mubarak not too long ago, what are his thoughts on this consequence of the "Arab Spring"?

Why is the only sound that of crickets chirping?

On Leaving Iraq...

With the 20/20 clarity provided by hindsight I'll say we should have just stayed the hell out of there.

Not because of the phony WMD data (every major intelligence agency in the world believed in them), not because it was "Bush's War" (Congress gave their okey-dokey on it) and not because of any question regarding the legality of the actions.

We never wholeheartedly supported the military when they were deployed there. THAT'S WHY WE SHOULD HAVE STAYED OUT!!

Our troops were sent in with one arm tied behind their backs in the way of asinine "rules of engagement". The media did what they could to sabotage any support (remember the LA Times placing a photoshopped pic of a Marine pointing his weapon at terrified women & children? It turned out he originally held out his empty hands in reassurance. Photoshop is the liar's friend.) The entire conflict was treated like a political football during the Bush years, with the troops getting shit on left, right and straight up the middle.

Abu Gharib? Hey, it was on the level of frat hazing ala "Animal House". I mean really, how bad was it? Yes the damned fools who perpetrated that idiocy were court-martialed and rightfully so. But come on, how much true pain and suffering were inflicted?

But to hear the media and those gunning for Bush's head, you'd have thought it was on a par with Dachau.

Gitmo? Hey, wasn't our present Commander-in-Chief elected with the promise to shut the place down? Hows that going? Truth to tell, the supposedly heinous conditions suffered by the inmates are so bad, the military has brought in a dietitian because so many have become obese. Yep, another concentration camp in the making. Noted.

But all the critics would have you believe our military was taking sadistic pleasure in torturing those "poor souls".

How about Haditha? The NCIS was hellbent for leather to prosecute and convict 8 Marines based solely on the testimony given by relatives of the Iraqis killed in that incident. Thankfully, the courts-martial have seen through the bullshit and dismissed all charges.

The military of this nation is routinely treated like a sociological petri dish for all types of PC experimentation (repeal of DADT comes to mind), they're micromanaged and Monday morning quarterbacked every step of the way. Thats just in peace time. When they're sent off to war by their civilian bosses (including you and I) they're viewed as baby-killing, sadistic, torture prone mental misfits who are employed in a government workfare program. They're never left to do their job, they're harassed, criticized, denigrated, and denied the respect we would show to homeless bums panhandling for their next fix.

Our troops have been treated like shit from the get go, trying to do their damned job the best way they could and getting shit on in the process.

Now they're leaving Iraq, an Iraq with a constitution that recognizes the primacy of sharia law, an Iraq where Christians are increasingly persecuted, an Iraq that you can bet will fall into the Islamonazi orbit within six months of our departure.

Gee, I'll bet those military who served there (some of them for multiple tours) are really satisfied. They know it was worth their separation from home, their comrades' deaths and maiming, the completion disruption of their own lives.

Yep, they'll look at what they're leaving, recall how they had to operate there and under what kind of PC micromanagement and slap one another on the back with a "Well Done" on their lips.

My ass.

We've the best damned military in the world, the most professional, compassionate warriors anyone could hope to encounter. We treat them like shit.

While they've been at war we've been at the mall.

God help this nation, we really suck.

An indication of national priorities...(With an update)

Found this via Drudge:

(CNSNews.com) – Ten days before its temporary authorization is due to expire, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Tuesday moved ahead with preparations for a permanent shutdown, while expressing hope that its tenure may yet be extended.

The USCIRF’s nine commissioners adopted a resolution outlining the steps the body is obliged to take to prepare for “orderly and financially solvent closure,” saying it had been informed by the Government Services Administration of the need to do so in accordance with applicable federal laws and regulations.

The measures include preserving and archiving all commission records, determining where they will be kept, and making arrangements to transfer them once the USCIRF expires.

Since its creation under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, the USCIRF has served as an independent body advising the executive and legislative branches on promoting religious freedom around the world as a foreign policy priority – not always seeing eye-to-eye with the State Department in the process.

Its work has won praise around the world – not least of all from victims of religious persecution – and numerous religious freedom advocacy groups have voiced deep concern about its future.

The House of Representatives last September passed a bill authorizing the USCIRF for another two years, a 391-21 vote reflecting the importance members of both parties ascribe to the promotion of religious freedom.

But the measure has been held up in the Senate, the subject of a hold attributed in published reports to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

Two continuing resolutions to fund the federal government, passed by Congress in October and November, temporarily covered USCIRF authorization. The latter continuing resolution expires on Dec. 16.

In its resolution Tuesday, the USCIRF spelled out the situation it finds itself in, stating that it will shut down on Dec. 16 “in the absence of either enactment of reauthorizing legislation by the Senate and the House of Representatives that is duly signed by the President of the United States by that date, or, enactment of provisions specifically extending USCIRF's operations in another continuing resolution or other measures, should any of these be adopted by the Congress.”

The resolution was sent to President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of Congress. In a brief cover letter, the nine commissioners, who are unpaid and nominated variously by the president and congressional leaders, expressed regret at having to bring the matter to their attention.

“It remains our most fervent hope that the Commission will be reauthorized, so that it can continue its vital work in advising the President, the Congress, and the Secretary of State,” the note said.

“The Commission expresses its sincere appreciation to all those who have supported, and remain supportive of, the continuation and reauthorization of the Commission’s mandate and work.”

Earlier, USCIRF Chairman Leonard Leo urged lawmakers not to let the commission die, saying that doing so “would signal to the world that the United States is retreating from the cause of religious freedom.”

(End of story, my comments follow)

Normally the shutting down of any government agency would be considered good news. But this is an exception. I've read some of the reports from this Commission and they're pretty well onboard with the stated objective. It IS bipartisan and accurate.

If the ending of this Commission was a one of a kind act it'd be no problem. But coupled with things such as placing the topic of human rights on the back burner in negotiations with China, tacitly supporting the "Arab Spring" which has all indications of bringing hardcore Islamic fanatics to power, refusing to speak up when the Iranians were being killed in the streets for THEIR protests a few years back, makes me doubt there is ANY concern by B.O. & Co. for true freedom in this world. That would also include our own nation, I trust those bums as far as I can throw them. End of story.

Yet the demise of this Commission will be met with a yawn for the most part. IMO it's more indication that the time is fast approaching for a wakeup call of some kind. I believe whatever it is will be harsh and violent. Stand by folks, we live in interesting times.

UPDATE: Evidently they've dodged that particular bullet at the last minute. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/us-religious-freedom-commission-reauthorized-at-last-minute/

As always, our government bears watching.

Apples from heaven...

Well here's something to take our minds off the serious: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8956076/Apples-fall-from-the-sky-over-Coventry.html

I love the way things falling from the sky are always explained as a product of excessively strong winds. That might even be true for some incidents, I doubt it applies to all. My reasoning is based on the exclusive nature of what gets picked up and later dropped. That plus the lack of any report concerning high winds in any nearby areas.

For example, as the linked article notes; apples have some weight to them. If the wind is strong enough to pick them up then why not also leaves off nearby trees, branches on the ground, mulch, etc? If those winds remain so strong that only the weight of the apples is sufficent to overcome them, why are they all dropped in just one area? You'd think there'd be more of a disperesed drop over a wider area if the winds starting losing strength.

What do I think? I think something/someone felt like pelting the Coventry area with apples. Who was it? I dunno. Why was it done? I dunno. How was it done? Hellifino.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
William Shakespeare, "Hamlet", Act 1 scene 5

Maybe Shakespeare got hit with a few stray apples too. Who knows?

We ARE a soft people...

Found this via Lucianne.com at www.theatlanticwire.com:

Alabama agriculture officials are stumped over how to keep farms operating now that the state's draconian new immigration law chased away all of the low paid (however illegal) labor. The latest idea: Hire prisoners. The Associated Press reports:

The nursery and landscape industry will need as many as 4,000 workers in southern counties early in 2012 to get ready for the growing season, he said, and forestry and farming will require still more laborers. Unable to find legal residents to fill all the employment gaps, [Deputy commissioner with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Brett] Hall said the Agriculture Department is consulting with the Department of Corrections to determine whether prisoners could do some of the work.

But we thought America was experiencing an economic downturn, leaving many Americans out of work. A quick Google search reveals that Alabama is actually worse off than the rest of the country, with a 9.3 percent rate of unemployment. What's wrong with helping out on a farm? Is the pay crappy? That's actually not it:

Farmers have complained of a lack of field hands since parts of the law took effect in late September. Many have said legal residents aren't physically able or mentally tough enough to perform the work, and others won't do so because it doesn't pay enough.

Hall said the agriculture positions pay well above minimum wage, but many Americans find them too "physically taxing" to perform.

This sounds just like that comedic mockumentary that Hollywood dreamed up a few years ago, A Day Without a Mexican, except it's not that funny because it's actually happening. Also kind of sad.

(End of story, my comments follow.)

My first full time job was as a field hand chopping weeds with a hoe that had been fit with a 18" handle, the kind that Caesar Chavez successfully fought to eliminate because of it's long term effects on the backs of farm workers. He was right, use one of them for too long and you'd have a permanent curve to your spine.

That was my first job out of high school, all of my coworkers were either in high school or newly graduated like myself. Where were the illegals? Well they actually KNEW something about farming so they were working the tractors, combines, etc. Heck of a nice bunch too, always very friendly. On payday they'd go zipping into town all piled in a pickup shouting "Vino, seniorita, musica" to us as they drove by.

That was my FIRST full time job. It made me glad to join the Navy, learn a trade and not spend too many years doing grunt work.

After I'd moved down here to Texas in '98 I spent some time bouncing around jobs. As part of my work history I signed onto a temp agency. I'd take ANY job, there were jobs I'd go on where I was the only Anglo and only non Spanish speaking worker. The white foremen didn't seem to have too high a regard for me. Guess I looked like white trash scraping the bottom of the barrel for his next cheap drunk. Whatever.

What's the point of this trip down memory lane? Well IMHO if you're motivated enough to work there is NO job beneath you. Physically taxing ones (farm labor) can be done by men in their late teens and early twenties. We've certainly got enough of them, far too many on the welfare rolls and dropping out of school. Other jobs are easily done by the older (and fatter) members of our nation. Please remember, I'm speaking from personal experience.

Want to motivate the native born Americans to pick jobs formerly done by illegal aliens? Just bring the gravy train known as public assistance to a screaming halt and pay a decent wage for the physically arduous work instead of the chicken feed thrown to those on their way to joining what has been forming into our national underclass.

If we want to be a nation with a "can do" attitude, a lot of that mindset has to come from being faced with "must do" choices, i.e. "I MUST find a job of ANY sort that will feed me, pay my rent and keep clothing on my back or else I'll be hungry, homeless and damned near naked."

If it sounds harsh it's only because it is. Face it, life isn't Burger King and by always ennabling the sloth of our less fortunate we only do them and us a disservice. As proof I offer the obesity "epidemic" so prevalent amongst our "poor". Sorry, you get obese from not working off the calories you ingest, end of story there. Nobody wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and screams, "Honey, call the doctor!! I done got the fat bug!" Once again, thats the voice of my personal experience speaking (50 lbs. overweight). I didn't put on the lard overnight nor did anyone else with a gut on them.

So if we're to be a nation of hardworkers we need the necessity of hard work. Just my opinion.

No, it can't get any worse...

Cheerfully stolen from the Ignorant Redneck

On Cain bowing out and the likely future...

So goes the last best hope we had, when the dust finally settles and a GOP candidate is chosen, we'll be left with voting for the lesser of two evils. Again.

I don't blame the GOP for standing by and doing nothing, I don't blame the Democrats for continuing the same sort of dirty tricks that got B.O. put into office. I blame John & Joan Q. Public and their apathy. An informed and involved citizenry wouldn't allow the shenanigans that happen in our politics to be even thought of. Instead we have what, a bunch of couch potatoes getting their news & views spoon fed to them when not watching pro sports, American Idol or Glee.

As proof of this, I point to the fact that here in Texas the last Election Day saw a grand 5 per cent turnout of all eligible voters. This despite the fact that the state ballot contained ten measures dealing with amendments to the state's constitution. Nothing major, mostly the authorizing of whoever is in Austin to further pick your pocket. Who would want to vote on that?

When it comes to responsible citizens staying on top of things and doing their civic duty, We The People suck on toast. In the long run it will really bite us on the ass.

Believe "gay is okay" or work in another field...

WASHINGTON, December 1, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After losing at a lower court, a counseling student at a public university in Georgia who was threatened with expulsion because she express discomfort with counseling homosexuals, is pleading her case before an Appeals Court this week.

A legal complaint filed on behalf of Jennifer Keeton accuses Augusta State University of placing Keeton on academic probation after she refused to comply with faculty instructions that she must, in their words, “alter her beliefs” on homosexuality and “gender identity.”

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is representing her. The ADF’s media office told LifeSiteNews.com the court had placed a gag order on the case, forbidding either side to discuss the proceedings.

However, many of the case’s details are known from the original lawsuit.

Keeton was pursuing a master’s degree in hopes of becoming a school counselor when she told faculty and students she would have a difficult time counseling a homosexual, because of her deeply held religious beliefs. According to affidavits produced by the university, Keeton had told other students “she would refer gay people to other counselors,” reported Inside Higher Ed.

However, ASU officials said Keeton’s beliefs violate the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, which states counselors must “avoid imposing values that are inconsistent with counseling goals.” It adds, “Counselors do not condone or engage in discrimination” based on a variety of criteria, including “gender identity” and “sexual orientation…in a manner that has a negative impact on these persons.”

The school drew up a re-education plan that forced Keeton to attend “diversity sensitivity training,” go to homosexual celebrations such as the Augusta Gay Pride Parade, and complete essays discussing how remedial reading assignments about counseling homosexuals have impacted her beliefs.

Her attorney, Jeff Shafer, said on Tuesday that university officials instructed Keeton, “You don’t have to believe it. You just have to say you do.”

When she refused to comply on religious grounds, she was suspended from ASU’s Counselor Education Program. She then sued the state university for religious discrimination. Last August, federal judge James Randal Hall denied her case.

Keeton is not the only Christian to face disciplinary action for refusing to recant her strong Biblical beliefs. Julea Ward was kicked out of Eastern Michigan University’s graduate counseling program in March 2009 after she referred a homosexual client to another counselor.

The Michigan state legislature is currently considering the Julea Ward Freedom of Conscience Act, which establishes that colleges and universities in that state “shall not discipline or discriminate against a student in a counseling, social work, or psychology program because the student refuses to counsel or serve a client as to goals that conflict with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of the student, if the student refers the client to a counselor who will provide the counseling or services.”

(End of story, my comments follow.)

According to another article I read on this case, Keeton was interested in becoming affiliated with reparative therapy. So since such a therapy exists, it's safe to assume it employs licensed, degreed professionals. Professionals on the same level as this student was studying for.

Following that line of thought, why would a state university (i.e. funded by taxpayers) take it upon themselves to conduct this persecution of someone not comfortable with the homosexual life style who was aiming to get into an officially recognized field of therapy where her aversions wouldn't be an issue?

I wonder if the same line of reasoning would be followed for a Muslim man who expressed an aversion to treating women, a man who would refer females to other counselors. Would he be going to sensitivity training also? Maybe he'd be required to attend Tupperware parties or join a bunch of hens at the local Chippendales.

How about some chick who had been raped at some point in her life and refused to counsel men? Would she be told her aversion was unacceptable?

As always, some animals are more equal than others.