Happy New Year All

I don't really celebrate the new year as its just another day to me But I wish all my friends the best and brightest to come after all we have the Obamassiah coming to cure all the ills on the planet. It has been an interesting year with the election process, victory in Iraq, and the economic meltdown. It was a record year for my humble blogspot as well and I have all of y'all to thank for it. I will of course be keeping my on Obama and the Pelosi-Reid congress and their attempts to socialize and bankrupt our future but I also hope to get back to my photoblogging of historic and scenic sites around me. As I post this it will be officially the new year in America and I pray the good Lord continues to bless us into the future.

Hamas Propaganda 101

All those rockets and mortars launched into Israel are not from Hamas but from Zionist collaborators according to Hamas, yeah right. This idiot is almost as good as Baghdad Bob, from an interview with NPR via the Jawa Report is Hamas spokesdouche Ahmed Yusuf.

SIEGEL: But, wasn't the response of firing rockets into Israel…

Mr. YUSUF: There is no - actually, when we…

SIEGEL: Wasn't that guaranteed to bring on this retaliation by the Israelis?

Mr. YUSUF: No. No. This has nothing to do with firing rockets because there is no rockets fired. There are collaborators, sometimes they fire based on the Israeli asking them maybe to fire some of these home-made projectiles. They know that Hamas did their best to protect the border and not to let anybody firing rockets.

SIEGEL: But you're saying that when rockets have been fired out of Gaza, you're saying that those are being fired by Israeli collaborators whom the Israelis are arranging for them to do that, so that…

Mr. YUSUF: Actually, we all - let me try me to check if there is anybody actually - we check with those political and militant group who are really showing their commitment. And when we check, well, they - all them denied any of them been firing rockets. So, who been firing these rockets? We don't have an explanation except from those Israeli collaborators.[...]

Unfortunately, all the time they deceive the world community by claiming many things, and unfortunately, we are the people who really suffering, and this air strike they targeting everything, universities, mosques, schools, civilian home, residential areas, and also all the governmental building, which has nothing to do with these firing rockets as they keep claiming.

That's nuttier than the 9/11 truthers. Yep the Israelis are targeting all those places because the cowardly scum that makes up Hamas hides their weapons in and launches their rockets from all those places. What a f**king pig humper.

The Hamas pig humpers are proud of their human shields, like I said before, there are no innocent Gazans. Israel might as well gice Gaza the Dresden treatment since they are already damned if they do or don't.

Answering A Challenge

Some nutter named Ted, don't know if he is left or right, left this comment on a completely unrelated post and I figured I would post it and respond on the front page. I really hate conspiracy nuts.

Challenge, can anyone prove this wrong?:–

1. Constitution Article II requires USA President to be “natural born citizen”.

2. BHO’s website admits his dad was Kenyan/British, not American, citizen when BHO was born.

3. BHO is therefore not a “natural born citizen” (irrespective of Hawaiian birth or whether he may be a 14th Amendment “citizen” of USA) — as confirmed in the Senate’s own McCain qualification resolution agreed to by BHO.

4. Supreme Court has already docketed two upcoming conferences, 1/9/09 and 1/16/09 — between dates Congress counts electoral votes (1/8/09) and Presidential inauguration (1/20/09) — to address Berg Case and fashion relief on BHO’s eligibility to be President.

5. Since no facts are in dispute, Supreme Court rules on Summary Judgment to enjoin BHO’s inauguration as President.

6. Therefore, BHO is not inaugurated as President.

7. Vice President Elect Biden is inaugurated Acting President under the 20th Amendment to serve until new President is determined — the procedure for which determination to be set out by Congress and/or the Supreme Court so long as in conformance with the Constitution.

Barack Obama's mother was a natural born citizen and he was born in Hawaii so that makes him a natural born citizen regardless of his father's stature.

All the other challenges have been laughed out of court and so will 9/11 truther Phillip Berg's latest.

The only reason I see for Obama not releasing the documents is that his real father is not Barack Obama Sr. since his mother was in Washington state going to college around the time she became pregnant and not Hawaii. There are some timeline and paternity issues that could be embarrassing to his life story but none involve Obama's citizenship.

May I also remind folks that Philip Berg is a Clinton supporter that thinks Bush carried out the 9/11 attack and in no way connected to the conservative movement. The vast majority of the blogs that have pushed this story are Clintonites as the vast majority of conservative blogs have brushed it off for what it is, a bunch of hooey.

Israel Continues Its Just Assault On Gaza:Updated

Israel entered its fourth day of airraids on Hamas facilities and infrastructure in the Gaza strip with over 500 sites hit by precision munitions and about as many dead Hamas cretins. Hamas launched rockets also reached there deepest penetration into Israel striking Beersheba. Those rockets launched by Hamas are roughly aimed at population centers and not military targets with the sole purpose of killing civilians unlike Israel's precision strikes aimed at Hamas' military targets.

When Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 and the people there elected Hamas to run things they became a legitimate target if they continued or failed to stop the barrage of rockets aimed at Israel. Israel has every right to secure its borders and to protect its people from attack no matter what the international weenies might think. It is not Israel's responsibility to provide for the people of Gaza but it is the responsibility of Gazan's duly elected leaders to provide for them. When Israel pulled out they left behind industry and greenhouses that Hamas looted and destroyed despite the fact they employed and fed thousands of Gazans. The Gazans are not oppressed by Israel they are subjugated by the very people they elected to lead them, only they have the power to put an end to the perpetual state of war they find themselves in by stopping the attacks on Israel.

This young lady from Gaza knows where to place the blame, on Hamas.

Commenters at Hot Air where I got the clip point out this could be Fatah propaganda as it was released by the Palistinian Authority, could be an attempt to triangulate as both parties are known for stagecraft.

Meanwhile Israel is determined to win the propaganda war by opening a You Tube channel and posting its own videos though the Google censors pulled this one it is still at Live Leak of Hamas cretins being taken out loading missiles on a truck.

Update: This is a must read highly relevant post with thanks to the Instapundit. It is to good to pull a quote from so just go read the whole thing.

Grandma And Grandpa Palin

Sarah Palin's famously pregnant daughter, Bristol, gave birth yesterday to a healthy 7 pound 4 ounce baby boy. The Palins continued their eclectic naming with Tripp Easton, hmm, I wonder what that signifies. Anyway my congratulations to the family and I pray for and wish them all the best!

Moonbats Freak Out Over "Barack The Magic Negro"

Michelle Malkin is right when she says "oh give me a super-sized break" after eight years of moonbats calling President Bush every name in the book and making a few up on top of it. The left is suddenly demanding respect for the office of the President and that we all should get along in an atmosphere of mutual respect. I will respect the Office but I will also criticize policies I disagree with unlike the BDS demented moron moonbats

Peter Yarrow the writer of "Puff The Magic Dragon", a paen to opium/heroin and sold as a children's song, pitched a hissy fit in the Puffington Host today over the parodized use of his song to ridicule Obama. Michelle has a link and an excerpt if you want since I won't link to PuffHo. It is a legitimate parody that played on Rush Limbaugh's show that actually makes more fun of Al Sharpton than it does Obama and the term actually comes from Spike Lee and a liberal LA Times writer. The snit is because Chip Saltsman, a candidate for GOP chair, sent it out as part of a holiday package to GOP members on a CD with other parody songs.

I agree that this was rather tasteless and tactless on Saltsman's part when the GOP is struggling with minority voters that largely view the GOP as racist to begin with. Saltsman, who was never my choice for GOP chair in the first place, has now blown any chance he had at the seat as a result. I support either Ken Blackwell or Michael Steele for the seat and face of the GOP, I have no use for Anuzis, Dayton or Saltsman to represent my Party.

Here is the derided parody and you will see it is quite harmless, indeed Obama's election could put race hustlers like Sharpton and Jackson out of business because America is not inherently racist as the parody states.

Actually it is pretty lame and I think much better parodies could be made using the same song and avoiding the racial undertones since Obama did live by the sea and his followers in "honnalee", a mystical land. Damn, now I can't get that stupid song out of my head and I used to like Peter, Paul and Mary, then I grew up. Paul Philips and his daughter, McKenzie, made heroin addiction front page news when it killed them, the dragon is opium or heroin and puff is to smoke it so put it together and you have "Puff the Magic Dragon" living in a fantasy land. That is how I view Obamabots.

Finally Israel Fights Back

Hamas ended a ceasefire that never really was on Dec 18th and has continued to bombard Sderot, Ashkelon and other southern Israeli towns with rockets and mortars over 3,000 this year alone even during the supposed ceasefire. Today Israel struck back with a devastating airraid that hit about 100 Hamas security stations, training camps and weapons depots killing around 200 Hamas scum and wounding hundreds more. Three cheers and a toast to the IDF!!!

Of course the Euro weenies and the Arab street have their collective panties in a wad but screw them, Hamas brought this on themselves. If I were running Israel I would level the entire Gaza strip and bull doze the wreckage into Egypt. Hamas has no desire for peace with Israel and never has, its very charter calls for the destruction of Israel so while they exist there will not be peace. Just as Hamas says there are no innocent Israelis there are no innocent Gazans by the same logic. The Gazan palestinians are not innocent bystanders but are part and parcel to this whole mess, they made their own bed and now have to live with it. It is not Israel's or the US' fault they live in squalor it is their own fault. All they have to do is stop launching rockets into Israel and sending suicide bombers to blow up cafes and untill they do Israel has every right to defend her people from the savages with such retaliation as they deem fit.

Contentions, here, here and here, Atlas Shrugs, and here , Pajamas Media, Gateway Pundit , and here, and Hot Air all have more with plenty of more links.

Christmas In Iraq

For the first time Christmas has been declared a National holiday in Iraq and for the first time in decades Christians were able to celebrate without fear. This is fantastic news for a country that was slipping into civil war just two years ago and if the Democrats and their antiwar peaceniks allies had gotten their way it would never had happened. The vast majority of the Iraqi people know the US and President Bush are to thank for the growing peace and prosperity despite what one disgruntled Sadrist shoe chucker thinks. Christmas trees and decorations were even openly for sale on the streets of Baghdad.

Jim at Gateway Pundit has more and some pictures.

Iraq may yet become the model for all Arab countries in the Middle-East after all since Hezbullah screwed up Lebanon.

Meanwhile all the inns in Bethlehem are full of Christian pilgrims to the birthplace of Christ.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

This is by far my favorite Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and this a very good arrangement by The Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan with an upbeat folksy flavor.

Something else to be thankful for as we celebrate the birth of Christ, the turning point in the birth of our great nation. 232 years ago General George Washington marshaled his beleaguered troops across the Delaware river at night during a blizzard to attack Trenton, New Jersey in a victory that would change the course of the war.

Liberal Idiocy

Seattle, Washington has had a major snowstorm and they plow their streets with rubber edged plows and refuse to use salt because salt might pollute salt water Puget Sound. As a result they have created ice encrusted roadways that even emergency vehicles have trouble traversing with chains, pure stupidity but thats environitwits for ya. From the Seattle Times

To hear the city's spin, Seattle's road crews are making "great progress" in clearing the ice-caked streets.

But it turns out "plowed streets" in Seattle actually means "snow-packed," as in there's snow and ice left on major arterials by design.

"We're trying to create a hard-packed surface," said Alex Wiggins, chief of staff for the Seattle Department of Transportation. "It doesn't look like anything you'd find in Chicago or New York."

The city's approach means crews clear the roads enough for all-wheel and four-wheel-drive vehicles, or those with front-wheel drive cars as long as they are using chains, Wiggins said.

The icy streets are the result of Seattle's refusal to use salt, an effective ice-buster used by the state Department of Transportation and cities accustomed to dealing with heavy winter snows.

As someone who routinely drives on packed snow in the Sierra knows it quickly turns to ice. My truck is a 4x4 with extreme weather rated tires and I still have to chain up, at least they use real plows to clear the roads.

In Dodd We Trust

Ed Driscoll takes a look at what caused the financial meltdown in this episode of Silicon Graffiti, Democrat policies of course. It started long before Bush took office, sorry BDS suffering moonbats.

Sacramento Team Pulls Off Upset For State Football Championship

Grant High in the troubled Del Paso Heights neighborhood was the overwhelming underdog going in against Long Beach Poly, no. 2 nationally, and they pulled it out to win. A big congratulations to the coach and team for pulling together and playing hard for the win. It will mean a lot for that community.

If there was anyone out there who wondered if the Grant High School football team could play on the big stage, who questioned the Pacers' selection to the game or doubted their ability to compete with the state's top ranked team, the answer was revealed Saturday night.

Heavy underdogs entering the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division State Football Championship Bowl Game, the Pacers upset Long Beach Poly, ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and second nationally by ESPN Rise, 25-20 at the Home Depot Center.

Darvin McCauley scored the game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard reception from Grant quarterback Kipeli Koniseti with 1:11 to play.

The game was back and forth with Grant stopping a fourth down conversion try to end the game. Here's a little taste of what Grant was up against and what they were able to do despite the overwhelming odds.

Poly, which has also produced the likes of actress Cameron Diaz, legendary tennis player Billie Jean King, baseball player Tony Gwynn, and NFL football players Willie McGinest and Gene Washington, entered the game with more tradition and a more decorated résumé. It has 18 Southern Section championships and the claim of having sent more players to the NFL (59) than any other program in the country.

The Pacers, however, didn't care. If pressure and Poly's prominence resembled a Mike Tyson uppercut, the Pacers endured the blow, and landed a few punches of their own.

Resembling the blue-collar mentality of Del Paso Heights, Grant displayed the prolific offense that helped it cruise to its sixth Sac-Joaquin Section championship and a three-game stretch during the regular season in which it outscored its opponents 205-0.

The Pacers racked up 369 yards of offense to Poly's 243. They had 15 first downs and the Jackrabbits' eight. More importantly, the Pacers limited the Jackrabbits' running game to 79 yards.

I'll say this for Grant High "Take that, Snoop Dogg"!

Sarah Palin Is Human Events' Conservative Of The Year

I would agree and as Ann Coulter points out in her tribute column introducing her to America was the best thing McCain did. I know one thing the conservative base sure loves her and I am part of that base.

When McCain chose our beauteous Sarah as his running mate, the maverick was finally acting like a real maverick -- as opposed to the media’s definition of a “maverick” which is: “agreeing with the editorial positions of the New York Times.”

Pre-Palin it had been one race -- boring old “You kids get off my lawn!” John McCain versus the exciting, new politician Barack Obama, who threw caution to the wind and bravely ran as the Pro-Hope candidate. And then our heroic Sarah bounded out of the Alaska tundra and it became a completely different race. This left the press completely discombobulated and upset. They didn't know whether to attack Sarah for not having an abortion or go after her husband for not being a sissy.

I assume Palin was chosen because McCain had heard that she was a real conservative and he had always wanted to meet one -- no, actually because he needed a conservative on the ticket, but that he had no idea that picking her would send the left into a tailspin of wanton despair.

But if anyone on the McCain campaign chose Palin because she would drive liberals crazy, my hat is off to him!

Human Events also did an interview with our new conservative icon that can be found here.

Pretty Cool, Tweaked Nerf Chain Gun

Scary looking toy gun that shoots nerf darts gets an upgrade to 500 rounds a minute, LOL, via Ace. I would have groveled in manure for one of these as a kid but then again I could go shoot real guns whenever I wanted.

A Democrat Special Interest Group, Big Labor

Barack Obama ran on the promise of ending special interest groups influence in DC so will he push for the passage of the Orwellian named Employee Free Choice Act as a favor to the big Unions? It is hard to say because like everything else that is controversial he has been very intentionally vague. Jennifer Rubin at Contentions points to this WSJ article that says the Blagojevich scandal and his negotiations with the SEIU for a cushy job in return for a pro-labor Senate appointment may just throw a monkey wrench in the works. The SEIU has donated many millions of dollars over the years to politicians with the vast majority of those funds going to the Democrats. The SEIU is also under investigation in California for running a phony charity among other scandals. They have donated 1.8 million to Blago over his political career and gotten several favors for it in return so I am sure they were playing on the same court, a pay to play court.

But the scandal involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has put a harsh spotlight on the SEIU's methods just as it is seeking broad support for federal legislation that would make it easier for workers of all types to unionize.

Federal officials allege Mr. Blagojevich sought to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama in a scheme that potentially involved him getting a $300,000-a-year job at a group affiliated with the SEIU, in return for promising to appoint a pro-union official to the seat. The SEIU says that it doesn't believe any of its officials engaged in any wrongdoing, and the governor on Friday denied wrongdoing.

The SEIU is also the union that covers government workers and here in California they are in the process of doing to our cities and the state itself what the UAW has done to the auto industry, bankrupt them under unrealistic benefits programs and draconian work rules. I for one see no reason why government employees need to be unionized or any other worker for that matter, after all these are no longer the days when Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle".

Jennifer has much more so follow the above linkage for just how close the SEIU and Blago are and how the EFCA could become Obama's 'gays in the miltary' moment of Bill Clinton's early days in office.

Bailoutistan

Mark Steyn at his best on the auto industry/UAW bailout and more, go read the whole thing it is one of his best.

‘See the USA in your Chevrolet!” trilled Dinah Shore week after week on TV.

Can you still see the USA in your Chevrolet? Through a windscreen darkly.

General Motors now has a market valuation about a third of Bed, Bath And Beyond, and no one says your Swash 700 Elongated Biscuit Toilet Seat Bidet is too big to fail. GM has a market capitalization of just over two billion dollars. For purposes of comparison, Toyota’s market cap is one hundred billion and change (the change being bigger than the whole of GM). General Motors, like the other two geezers of the Old Three, is a vast retirement home with a small loss-making auto subsidiary. The UAW is the AARP in an Edsel: It has three times as many retirees and widows as “workers” (I use the term loosely). GM has 96,000 employees but provides health benefits to a million people.

The Culture Of Corruption

In 2006 the Democrats ran on what they called the Republican culture of corruption and they were right to an extent with the Abramoff and Cunningham scandals weighting us down, Foley and Craig were scandals but not corruption. Today the Democrats have their own problems and Blagojevich is just the tip of the iceberg threatening to sink their Titanic.

Charlie Rangel their powerful Ways and Means chairman is neck deep in all sorts of ethics problems. Kwame Kilpatrick and Elliot Spitzer had to resign in disgrace and there are many more under investigation. Kim Strassel lists just a few of them that are just now coming to the forefront as the new Congress prepares to convene under Obama who promised a cleaner government. I don't think this is what he was planning for.

Instead, Democrats now have an image problem. The real issue isn't so much Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Senate-seat auction, as it is the focus that his scandal has directed toward a wider assortment of Democratic troubles. This isn't great timing for Barack Obama, who campaigned on cleaner government.

The Blagojevich drama is titillating enough, and local Democrats' dithering over how to fill Mr. Obama's seat guarantees it will remain a storyline longer than is comfortable. But the Illinois drama has also thrust new light on the ongoing ethical controversies of House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel. At the rate the House Ethics Committee is receiving complaints -- over Mr. Rangel's real-estate problems, tax problems, his privately sponsored trips to the Caribbean, and donations to his center in New York -- this too will make headlines for a while.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune published a new story about Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who racked up $420,000 through a series of suspicious real-estate deals. Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, came under scrutiny this fall for questionable earmarking. West Virginia Rep. Alan Mollohan has been under investigation for a separate earmarking mess. And then there's Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, who has yet to answer questions about the sweetheart mortgage deal he received from Countrywide.

She points out that the GOP has largely cleaned house while the Democrats along with their friends in the MSM are trying to whitewash their corruption away. That is the main difference is that the MSM when they do report Democrat corruption they forget to label them as Democrats but if it is a Republican the headlines and talking heads scream it for weeks on end. I guess corruption is expected from the Democrats or something. Heck House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate leader Harry Reid have enough questionable ethics problems that if they were Republicans the MSM and the Democrats would be screaming for them to step down and resign.

Ace points to this post at Newsbusters about David Gregory attempting to whitewash the Democrats corruption by explaining it away as everyday political business. Here's what Gregory had to say.

"(A)t the heart of all politics is pay to play. Yes. There's a thin line between expectations and shakedown. But do any of us really believe that the people who raise huge sums of money for a particular political candidate aren't expecting something for their efforts? Do we really believe that a person who is vested with the power to give away a Senate seat isn't going to give it to the person who will somehow do him or her the most good?"

As Ace asks, would they have tried to explain away Abramoff, Enron and Foley the same way? All I can say is that as long as the GOP keeps its nose clean it has some real cards to play in 2010 and 2012 as much of the bloom will have fallen off Obama and he will no longer be fresh but rather wilted.

Taking Advantage Of A Sunny Day

We are expecting a series of winter storms over the next week or so which we desperately need after a dry spring and typically dry summer. The Sierra ski slopes will certainly have plenty of fresh powder, several feet worth for sure. I took advantage of the break in the weather to stock the woodshed and I am beat but I sure enjoy the fiery warmth it brings.

I need a new chain for my saw so does anybody know if a more aggresive chain is made for a Poulan saw than the lame versions I can get at the local Walmart or hardware store. They are more about preventing kick back than cutting wood on a production level. In 30+ years of using a chainsaw I have never experienced a kick back and doubt I ever will so I need a chain that will cut some wood fast. I have looked online and can only find the lame store brands.

Don't Let the Light Go Out

Don't let the light go out. This light has seen mighty empires comes and go. It saw the Greece rise up and conquer world, only to fade away. This light saw the Roman empire grown and collapse. It saw mighty rulers, fearless generals and mighty warriors disappear, without a trace. Yet the light remains.

Don't let the light go out. This light overcame the forces of Hellenism and hedonism. It shone through the darkness of immorality and vanity. It gave guidance and meaning to thousands of generations of Jews who resisted assimilation, who refused to forsake their Torah and their G-d. This light illuminated the secularism that blinded many and sought to lead the Jewish people astray. Philosophies, ideologies and 'isms' are relegated to the dustbin of history, yet the light remains.

Don't let the light go out. It was tended and nurtured lovingly by Jews throughout the ages, often at the risk of their lives. It was protected and treasured despite pain, despite poverty, despite hardship and persecution. Downtrodden, humiliated and weak, the light gave us strength. When there was no hope, the light promised us a better future.

Don't let the light go out. It shone brightly in Morocco and Poland, in Baghdad and Paris. It illuminated the streets of Minsk and Pinsk, Istanbul and Fez, Shanghai and Rome. Our enemies could not extinguish it. Withstanding the cross and the crescent, crusaders and mujahadeen, the light still burns. Under the windows of popes and kings, emperors and sultans, shas and dukes, the light proclaimed that we were still here.

Don't let the light go out. It was lit hidden in cellars, for fear of the Inquisitors racks. It was lit in ghettos and camps, in the shadow of the gas chambers and crematorium. It was lit in the freezing gulag's, the punishment for wishing to return home. It burnt long after Crusaders and Almohads, revolutionaries and fascists, Nazis and Communists, disappeared from the earth and will burn long after the suicide bomber, "holy warrior" and jihadist terrorist. For the miracles performed for us in those days, in this time.

Don't let the light go out. The light that was kindled at the rededication of the Second Temple, and will be kindled at the dedication of the Third Temple, may it be soon. The light that has returned home after two thousands years of exile, the light that blossoms in its holy land. The light that was shot out in Mumbai, massacred on the streets on Jerusalem, in pizzerias and cafes, synagogues and study halls. The light that is threatened by assimilation and ignorance. The light that has seen history, yet still shines. Don't let the light go out.

Chag Chanukkah Sameach!



Cross-posted from For Zion's Sake

Iraqi Ambassadeur Schools The Code Pinkos

The Code Stinkos are protesting for the release of the nutjob that threw his shoes at President Bush during a press conference in Iraq. If he had thrown his shoes at Saddam he would have been dead before he left the room unless Saddam wanted to feed him to a plastic shredder.

Samir Sumaida’ie explains to those breaindead pinko witches that it is a bigger insult to the host in Arab culture to insult their esteemed guest. The only people that take those asshat ladies seriously is our left wing dominated press. Jim Hoft has a partial trancript.

Mr. Muntader al-Zaidi is very lucky that it was Mr. Bush and Mr. Maliki and not Saddam Hussein. Because, had it been Mr. Saddam Hussein he'd be (inaudible). Number 2, in our country, I know that people have told you that showing shoes at someone is an insult. But, it is a bigger insult to the host; in our culture anyone who insults a guest is insulting the host. So in our culture we believe that what Mr al-Zeidi did was reprehensible.

This Ain't Hell has pics of the pinkos DC demonstration, the journalists far outnumbered the pinkos.

Why Keynesian Economic Theory Doesn't Work

I meant to add this video to last night's post about Obama's "New Old Deal" but I forgot. Keynesians make the argument that big government spending will stimulate the economy and as I pointed out last night that is demonstrably false as the government has no money that it does not remove from the economy to begin with, with a very few exceptions. The government does make billions on leases and royalties on public land for oil, mineral, and timbering rights by private companies. The rest comes in the form of taxes in all their dreary forms. Government cannot grow wealth it can only redistribute it which is socialism and it doesn't work. All that money Obama and the Democrats want to spend has to come from somewhere, there sure aren't enough rich people to pay for it all and the country is essentially bankrupt.

Via Larry Kudlow with more here and here.

Obama's New Old Deal

There is lots of talk of a type of "New Deal" similar to FDR's to get our struggling economy going again and Obama is reading up on Roosevelt's first 100 days for ideas. The fact is Roosevelt's meddling and Keynsian tactics worsened the Depression and prolonged it, admittedly Hoover's bungling that started it didn't help much. Obama should read Amity Shlaes' book "The Forgotten Man" to find out just how bad FDR's policies made things. The "New Deal" did not end the Depression, WWII did. A government cannot spend itself into massive debt to end a recession without making things worse and that has been proven time and time again by history. From Reason TV via InstaGlenn with a few pertinent facts.

The best way to jumpstart the economy is to slash corporate and capital gains taxes across the board to encourage new investment by private enterprise not through government spending. Every dollar the government spends has to come out of the economy first, dollars that are best left in the hands of individuals and businesses to invest as they see fit without layers of kleptocratic bureaucracies getting in the way.

America Is Bankrupt

This is a disturbing editorial in the DC Examiner and with Obama and the Democrats planning massive new spending programs it frankly scares the bejeebers out of me. We simply don't have any more money for them to spend even at 100% taxation.

The United States of America is bankrupt. Don’t believe it? Consider this: Federal obligations now exceed the collective net worth of all Americans, according to the New York-based Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Washington politicians and bureaucrats have essentially mortgaged everything We the People own so they can keep spending our tax dollars like there’s no tomorrow.
The foundation’s grim calculations are based on Sept. 30 consolidated federal statements, which showed that Americans’ total household net worth, diminished by falling stock prices and home equity, is $56.5 trillion. But rising costs for unfunded social programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security increased to $56.4 trillion – and that was before the more recent stock market crash, $700 billion bank bailout, and monster federal deficits chalked up in October and November.

“Given more recent developments, it’s clear that America now owes more than its citizens are worth,” said Foundation president David M. Walker, who has been trying to warn Americans of the coming financial tsunami for years, to no avail. So, after Uncle Sam bails out bankers, Wall Street gamblers, carmakers and over-their-head homeowners, who’ll bail out Uncle Sam?

Hattip: John Miller at the Corner.

RNC Ad Blasts Obama And Blagojevich

Meanwhile John McCain reminds us why he was such a lousy candidate by blasting the RNC. He seems more interested in protecting Obama and the Democrats than he does his own party and running mate.

It is insane to think that neither Obama nor his closest adivisors did not have contact with Blagojevich over who they would prefer to fill Obama's Senate seat, they would have been stupid not to have. The focus of this is of course on Rahm Emmanuel and David Axelrod both of whom had very close ties to Blago. I guess Chicago slime even sticks to teflon. There are reports that calls are being made for Emmanuel to resign already as Obama's Chief of Staff and the One has not even taken office yet. All I can say is I told you so, Obama is a typical Chicago machine pol and no messiah.

Life In Sderot, Israel

Sderot is best know as the Israeli city that is under a near steady barrage of qassam rockets fired randomly and indiscriminately from the Gaza strip by the terrorists of Hamas. A young lady, Laura Bialis, from LA moved there a year ago to film a documentary about the lives and music of a citizenry under stress and what she finds is quite remarkable. I guess when you live under the constant stress of possible death at any instant life becomes all the sweeter and more poignant. She found love and life in a city under siege and relates her story in this touching must read post.

Sderot is known for being a poor southern development town, for being hit by qassam rockets from Gaza for eight-years with no end in sight, and for being the “Liverpool” of Israel, having bred some of Israel’s most successful rock bands.

Among Israel’s elite and Tel Aviv society, Sderot is known as a “lousy” place… and on the surface it looks run down, unkempt, and unbeautiful. I have noted the shocked expressions of most Israelis when they hear that I have moved from West Los Angeles to Sderot. But in my year here, I have forged an unbreakable connection to this place. Maybe I’m just a small town person who’s been stuck in a big city most of my life, or maybe the artist in me felt constrained dealing with the film industry in LA. All I can report, is that I have learned more in this, my 35th year, than any other in my life.

Israel has become my top destination for an over seas visit, there is simply so much history there and from reading this post Sderot would be a must visit part of the itinerary. I pray my dreams are fulfilled and the mad mullahs' of Iran never are.

Hattip: Commentary's Rich Richman

Killer Chic: Hollywood’s Sick Obsession With Che Guevara

I know I don't understand it with the left's concern for "human rights", Che was a murderous thug unconcerned with "human rights". He only cared about power and just how well has Cuba done since, seems it is a third world thugocracy to me. From Reason TV via Instaglenn.

Now This Is Cool

Dang I guess video games do serve a purpose after all. I pointed thise out before with the use of UAV drones doing surveillance and sending hellfire into enemy hideouts but now they have remote controlled gun turrets, CROWS, on our armored war wagons run by video game addicts. The military was sceptical at first and now they can't get enough of them. They are capable of delivering highly accurate fire while the gunner sits inside the vehicle instead of manning the gun while exposed. This comes via Ace and Strategy Page.

The remote control turret changed the battlefield more than you might think. It all began three years ago, when the U.S. Army realized that new remote control gun turret designs actually worked, and suddenly they could not get enough of them. The army ordered over 9,000 CROWS (common remotely operated weapon stations), but for a while could only get 15 a month. By the end of 2006, there were about a thousand CROWS in service by the end of the year.

The main issue was that the enemy was no longer able to knock out the turret gunner, early in a firefight, and take away a lot of the vehicles firepower. Because of that, once the enemy opens fire, they are in trouble. The remote turret tends to begin delivering accurate fire right away, and is much more immune to enemy fire than a human gunner. If the vehicle is a Stryker, the enemy will soon find themselves dealing with half a dozen or so heavily armed infantry, who get out of the vehicle and come at the ambushers. Iraqis don't like that. They also don't like how some of the CROWS turret equipped vehicles will come after them. All those accurately aimed bullets coming their way, and no enemy soldiers in sight, is demoralizing.

I know I would not want to be a terrorist douchebag with a stryker coming at me spewing highly accurate .50 cal bullets from an RC turret.

Let's say we know where the scum is positioned from previous fire. A stryker or two could drop off their infantry out of sight and then move in with only the driver and RC man while laying heavy cover fire. Our dismounted troops could then circle in and mop up the remains, I like it, I like it A LOT.

Want To Close The Budget Deficit

The best way is to aggressively limit spending while at the same time freeing up domestic energy production in all its forms. The basis of any economy is access to energy in a readily available and affordable form and it doesn't take an economist to understand that basic fact. We should start counter suing all the econut green groups that deprive us of affordable energy based on their fraudulent global warming theories.

My friend at the American Petroleum Institute sent me these statistics on just how much revenue opening up previously closed areas to oil and natural gas production would bring into the government coffers as well as the hundreds of thousands of high paying jobs it would generate.

The development of America's vast domestic oil and natural gas resources that had been kept off-limits by Congress until recently could generate more than $1.7 trillion in government revenue, create thousands of new jobs and enhance the nation’s energy security by significantly boosting domestic production, a new study shows.

The ICF International study, commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API), shows that developing the offshore areas that had been subject to Congressional moratoria until recently, as well as the resources in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a small portion of currently unavailable federal lands in the Rockies, would lift U.S. crude oil production by as much as 2 million barrels per day in 2030, offsetting nearly a fifth of the nation's imports. Natural gas production could increase by 5.34 billion cubic feet per day, or the equivalent of 61 percent of the expected natural gas imports in 2030.

The study also estimates that the development of all U.S. oil and natural gas resources on federal lands could exceed $4 trillion over the life of the resources.

"This study underscores how the oil and natural gas industry can enhance America's energy security and help solve our economic problems by increasing production of our nation’s vast oil and natural gas resources," said API President and CEO Jack N. Gerard. "The U.S. oil and natural gas industry supports more than six million jobs, and more drilling for oil and natural gas will mean more energy for America, more well-paying jobs, and trillions of dollars of much-needed revenues that will help federal, state and local governments pay for critical services."

According to the ICF study, U.S. crude oil production would rise by 36% by 2030 if development is permitted in the studied areas of the Outer Continental Shelf, ANWR and the Rockies and domestic natural gas production would rise by 10%. By 2030, this activity would create 160,000 jobs.

The entire PDF report can be found here.

Why send all those jobs and dollars over seas when we can keep them right here in the US?

If We Must Have An Auto Bailout

Make Mitt Romney the Car Czar, he is the only person with the know how and ability to handle it.

The Lord's Grace On Display

I really don't know what to say since this is so profound. Yesterday an F-18 jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood after an engine failure and tragically took the family of Korean immigrant Dong Yun Yoon away from him. The pilot was able to eject safely and knowing the character of our miltary is probably devestated over it as well. What is so incredibly profound is Dong Yun Yoon's reaction, via Michelle Malkin and CNN.

A Korean immigrant who lost his wife, two children and mother-in-law when a Marine Corps jet slammed into the family’s house said Tuesday he did not blame the pilot, who ejected and survived.

“Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident,” a distraught Dong Yun Yoon told reporters gathered near the site of Monday’s crash of an F/A-18D jet in San Diego’s University City community.

“He is one of our treasures for the country,” Yoon said in accented English punctuated by long pauses while he tried to maintain his composure.

“I don’t blame him. I don’t have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could,” said Yoon, flanked by members of San Diego’s Korean community, relatives and members from the family’s church.

In today's sue happy 'what's in it for me society' this man's forgiveness and patriotism is simply profound and should serve as a lesson for us all. My prayers go out to him and the pilot.

Michelle has posted his Church's address if you wish to send a card.

Illinois Governor Arrested In Corruption Scandal

Democrat Rod Blagojevich was busted today for trying to sell Obama'a former Senate seat, among other things, for political and/or financial gain. I knew this was going to happen sooner or later when Obama's buddy, Tony Rezko, started singing after he was indicted on corruption and fraud charges. That makes four out of the last seven Illinois Governors to be busted for corruption while in office and also the last few Governors that got into legal trouble nationwide have all been Democrats. What's in the water in Illinois which seems to have replaced Louisiana as the most corrupt state?

It looks like this is one of the biggest and juiciest scandals to come down the pike in quite a few years as the charges quite extended including trying to shakedown a children's hospital for thousands before he would sign a funding bill for them. Now one is left to wonder who else will be pulled into this as Blago starts to sing a duet with Rezko. Obama has not even been sworn in yet and he already has a major scandal cloud over his head. Blago apparently wanted a cushy appointment in the Obama administration in return for Obama's choice to fill his Senate seat or Blago would appoint himself to the seat. Simply put he is in a whole monkey barrel full of trouble at this point and even his Democrat colleagues in the Illinois legislature are calling for his impeachment. His big mistake is he went after the Chicago Tribune and as the saying goes you don't attack people who buy their ink by the barrel.

Update: Mary K Ham has much more.

Wrong Message For Conservatives

There is a radio ad playing currently here that stresses all the things the GOP and conservatives in general oppose about possible upcoming legislation in an Obama administration with Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress. We need to be more than just opposed to things we need to properly express what we are for like a business friendly environment with lower taxes, a smaller limited and efficient government, individual rights as guaranteed by the Constitution, National security through secure borders and a proactive foreign policy.

It is fine to stand in opposition to Obama but we need to be far more than that if we want to regain a conservative majority. We need to be the party that brings fresh ideas to the forefront to solve the problems the people perceive as forefront. The Democrats have none but the same old tried and failed policies of the past around 70 years old to be exact going back to FDR. The thing is those policies extended the Depression. WWII ended the Depression not FDR's New Deal.

But some of my best friends are Jewish...

I get it. You are not anti-semitic. Certainly not. That is ridiculous. I'm only charging you with that to shut you up, to slander you, to ignore what you have to say. Far be it from you to hate Jews. You eat bagels and lox and once were invited to your co-worker's Passover seder. You've seen "Fiddler on the Roof" at least 4 times. You even dated a Jewish girl in college. What more proof do I need? You have nothing against Jews; we've already established that. You just hate Israel. Jews aren't a people; they're just a religious group. There's a big difference between being an anti-Zionist and an anti-semite. Of course.

Keep talking. Maybe if you say if enough, you'll succeed in convincing someone. Certainly, only a Zionist fascist would deduce that being committed to the destruction of the Jewish state would imply hatred of Jews. Seeing as the most probable way that the State of Israel would come to an end is either through a nuclear Holocaust or at the hands of genocidal invading armies, that suggestion doesn't seem so ridiculous. And the fact that the only country you want wiped off the face of the earth is Israel sets off some alarms. Anti-Zionist, if you're simply naive rather than genocidal, know that the end of the State of Israel would mean the mass murder of its over 6 million Jewish inhabitants. But you have a Jewish doctor...

Your ranting and raving over "poor Palestinians children" every time Israel defends itself is reasonable. Just like your opposition to Jews protecting their right to exist. Hey, you read Anne Frank's diary. Now that's a Jew that you can like! Why can't we all be more like her? Anti-Zionist, let's call a spade a spade. You understand the motives behind a suicide bomber blowing himself up in a cafe full of Jews, or why someone would gun down a library full of students. You explain that its because of "poverty", "racism" or "the occupation" that they lynch Jewish soldiers and dance on their corpses, displaying their bloody hands proudly to the world. And yet no sort of reaction on the part of the attacked is permissible, at least if the victim is Jewish. For a Jew to fight back would be a disproportionate response. It would be a war crime, and you would evoke every despicable sort of Nazi comparison possible.

Anti-Zionist, are you getting the picture? Do you see the error of your ways, or is your hatred much deeper engrained? You proclaim the right of self-determination for all peoples, especially the made-up entity known as the "Palestinians", except for Jews. While every little tribe and clan should be able to make its own decisions, only Jews must be condemned to constantly live as minorities, at the mercies of others. You have no problem with Jews, as long as they know their place and keep quiet. A weak Jew is your favourite. Israel is victim to your double-standards, delegitimization and demonization. You condemn as a racist apartheid state the only country in the Middle East with free elections, based on democratic principles. The most diverse country in the region is racist in your eyes. A Jew living in Judea and Samaria is a crime against humanity. A Jew praying at his most holy site, the Temple Mount, is forbidden lest the Arabs be offended. Jews have no right to a state unless they accept a Rwanda-style bi-national state, while no other people would except such a thing. Jews should just be happy with whatever they're given- they're lucky we let them live.

Still, you're not an anti-semite. Only a fool or a neocon warmongerer would accuse you of that. After all, the Jews aren't even a people. They're just a religious group. Too bad that Jews have always defined themselves as a nation, held together by common bonds of religion, faith, culture, heritage and ancestry. You are chief rabbi now, and you have decided that we are not a people. And the only Jews whose opinions count are Neturai Karta and the loony self-loathing Left. It doesn't matter that living in Israel is equivalent to keeping the entire Torah, according to Jewish law. It is immaterial that the vast majority of the world's Jews choose to express their identity through nationalism and peoplehood. You make the rules, great rebbe and pasken. And you've decided that we don't deserve a country. In fact, such a thing is racist. Never mind that the French, Chinese, Iraqi and Zulu are entitled to one. Jews can only exist as guests in somebody else's country. Their own is racist and colonialist.

Anti-Zionist, let's not pretend here. You use the same classic anti-semitic canards in a new anti-Israel wrapping. The collective guilt of the Jews over their crimes of deicide has been replaced with Israel's original sin of land-grabbing and theft, the "Nakba", or disaster. The Zionists are responsible for the world's current ills and led the US into its disastrous war in Iraq. The Mossad was behind 9/11 and just about every other man-made and natural disaster since and before then. AIPAC and the Israel lobby are pulling the strings behind the US government. Jews no longer kidnap Christian babies to use their blood for matzot; they murder Arab babies with impunity. Jews don't poison the wells but rather Israel intentionally spreads disease among the Arabs.

Save it. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably hates Jews. You hate the Jewish state vehemently. You are obsessed with Israel/Jewish/Zionist conspiracies and see the Mossad's/Jew's hands behind everything. Check on double standards. Check on disproportionate condemnations. Check on historical revisionism and denial of Jewish basic rights. You, my friend, have all the basic characteristic of the classic anti-semite. Anti-semitism has proved itself extremely resilient throughout the ages, making itself suitable for every particular time and ideology. Anti-Zionism is simply its latest reincarnation. You're not fooling anyone. Give up the act.

Cross-posted from For Zion's Sake

SCOTUS Declines To Hear Obama Birth Certificate Case

I say good since it is a non issue. MSM reports on this say it has been pushed by right wing bloggers but that is entirely false. It was pushed by Hillary Clinton supporters most notably Philip Berg who is also a 9/11 truther. I only know of one conservative blog that looked into it extensively and that was Atlas Shrugs but the vast majority of right wing blogs dismissed it as a bunch of hooey and even went out of their way to call it as much.

I mentioned it a couple times but more out of curiosity as to why Obama doesn't just end the speculation by releasing the pertinent documents instead of fighting in the courts. I believe Obama was born in Hawaii to Ann Dunham, an American citizen making him a natural born citizen. My question has to do with what is he trying to hide by not releasing the vault copy? Is his father not really Barack Obama Sr.? That information would not delegitimize from the Presidency but it would raise all sorts of questions about his basic honesty and the truthfulness of his two biographical books.

He does not look like the pictures I have seen of his supposed father or have the facial features of his Luo tribesmen and 'relatives' in Africa. He does bear an uncanny resemblance to a famous radical civil rights leader though, Malcolm X and the timelines of his mother's pregnancy have many gaps, like when she left Washington for Hawaii. Indeed being Malcolm X's bastard son would be quite an embarrasment for that paragon of virtue and that may be the reason he is not releasing the documents. Either way Obama is a natural born US citizen and eligible to be President.

Once again this is not being pushed by conservative blogs but by Hillary Clinton supporters, third party nuts like Alan Keyes and conspiracy nuts that never let a good conspiracy go away.

Congrats To The Florida Gators

They beat my Crimson Tide for the SEC Championship in a classic hard fought SEC match up, 31-20. Dang, I must say they played the better game and my vote goes to Tim Tebow for the Hiesman Trophy, he is an outstanding quarterback and a class act to boot, he has a very bright future in the NFL. He makes the plays he needs to win. Florida deserves to play for the National title and I will be rooting for them all the way.

I can be proud that Nick Saban has turned around the Tide around after it has struggled the last few years to regain it's perrenial power house status. We will be back.

Obama's Voters Are Ignorant Part II

A couple weeks ago John Ziegler commissioned a poll conducted by Zogby that showed how ignorant Obama's voters were and he received a lot of blowback from it so he challenged pollsters to conduct a similar one of McCain voters. Wilson Research took up the challenge and the results are as I expected, McCain's voters were much better informed.

The 12 "Zogby" questions were duplicated, one on the Keating scandal was added for extra balance. The results from Obama voters were virtually IDENTICAL in both polls.

Here are the highlights:

35 % of McCain voters got 10 or more of 13 questions correct.

18% of Obama voters got 10 or more of 13 questions correct.

McCain voters knew which party controls congress by a 63-27 margin.

Obama voters got the “congressional control” question wrong by 43-41.

Those that got "congressional control" correct voted 56-43 for McCain.

Those that got "congressional control" wrong voted 65-35 for Obama.

The poll also asked voters to name all the media sources from which they got information.

Those “exposed” to Fox News got "congressional control" correct 64-25 (+39)

Those “exposed” to CNN got “congressional control” correct 48-38 (+10)

Those “exposed” to Network news got “congressional control” correct 48-39 (+9)

Those “exposed” to print media got “congressional control” correct 52-37 (+15)

Those “exposed” to MSNBC got “congressional control” correct 55-35 (+20)

Those “exposed” to talk radio got “congressional control” correct 61-29 (+32)

Voters in the "South" had the best response rate on “congressional control” (+22)

Voters in the "Northeast" had the worst response rate on “congressional control” (+9)

Those “exposed” to Fox News voted 70-29 for McCain.

Those “exposed” to CNN voted 63-37 for Obama.

Those “exposed” to MSNBC voted 73-26 for Obama.

Those “exposed” to network newscasts voted 62-37 for Obama.

Those “exposed” to national newspapers voted 64-36 for Obama.

Those “exposed” to talk radio voted 61-38 for McCain.

Those that could associate Bill Ayers' name/story with Obama voted 52-48 for McCain (We added Ayers name to the "Zogby" question and it significantly increased the rate of correct response, indicating a very superficial grasp of the overall story).

Those that knew Obama had made negative comments about “coal power plants" voted 76-24 for McCain.

Those that knew Obama had his opponents knocked off the ballot in his first campaign voted 66-34 for McCain.
McCain voters did poorly (only 42% correct) on the Keating question and,in general, the voters did universally worse on questions where the negative information was about their candidate

Women under 55 did worse than they might have by guessing on four of the thirteen questions, and yet 95% of them knew that Palin was the candidate with a pregnant teenage daughter. Even 95% of those in this demographic group who didn't know “congressional control” got this question correct.

Those “exposed” to MSNBC “scored” 90% correct on the three Palin questions (including an incredible 98% on the “pregnant teenage daughter” question), while those not “exposed” to MSNBC averaged 84% correct on those three questions.

Again this is more a reflection on media bias and where those voters get their information or misinformation as the case may be than on the "intelligence" of the voters. This is quite obvious if you spend anytime in the blogosphere and look at which side follows all the nutty conspiracy theories and engages in group think talking points, the left. The right or conservative side is far better informed and engages in a wide range of topics. The left seems to think calling the right names amounts to intellectual conversation, their answer to every policy challenge is to scream racist, bigot or mysogenist rather than make a logical defense of their position. I have been enough rounds with moonbats here and elsewhere to know that is a fact.

Here is my post on the first poll by Ziegler and Zogby and here is the tell all video he did.

Democrats Will Not Get To 60 Senate Seats

Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss has won his re-election bid by almost 20% in the run off so the Dems have no chance at a veto proof majority, whew. Norm Coleman also holds a slim lead over the louse Al Franken in the Minnesota recount though the louse is going to play sore loser to the end, typical of him the loser that he is.

I think we will be able to maintain a filibuster against any of the uber-liberal policies pushed through the Pelosi House especially the mega spending plans ie. socialist health care, card check, gun control and amnesty. I also hope they can hold the line against bailing out the UAW since they are to blame for the woes in the Big three auto industry. I for one have no desire for my tax dollars to go to help pay UAW "workers" that do nothing but watch TV and work crossword puzzles while getting paid for it in some labor pool. Why should I pay for someone to make $60 and hour to do nothing when I struggle to make ends meet?

Fred Thompson On The Economy

I'll say that the Fred has grown on me a bit since he dropped out of the GOP primary race. Here he savages the DC establishment for their borrow and spend tendencies with a very heavy dose of sarcasm. This is classic Fred.

Pictures From The Cabin Trip

We were treated to a small winter storm Wednesday so it slowed the drive there down but we were greeted by a winter wonderland the next morning. You can sorta make out the cabin through the trees.
The view from the deck in the opposite direction of the picture above taken Thursday morning.

Of course these two kept us busy, they love the snow but hey they are Huskies after all.
Looking out the door.
These are of the creek about 50 feet from the deck and where we get our water. We filter it for bugs and it tastes better than anything in a bottle.

This is the front yard, the creek is in the back yard.

We ate well as we always do when we go up there, roasted fresh free range chicken for Thursday, venison tenderloins with a cranberry reduction sauce for Friday and elk burgers on Saturday. Yes Sarah Palin would be proud of us, we even had some Alaskan salmon along but didn't get to it.

Let it Shine

Today is Rosh Chodesh Kislev, the beginning of the month of Kislev, synonymous with Chanukkah, light, joy and celebration. In the month of Kislev, the Maccabees rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem which had been defiled by the Greeks. This month represents the triumph of the light of Torah, goodness and holiness over the forces of profanity, evil and hatred. During the 8 days of Chanukkah, we merit the return of the Or HaGanuz, the hidden primordial light that G-d created for the benefit of the righteous. The name of the month, Kislev, literally means 'kes'- hidden, 'lev'- 36. 36, equal to the lights of Chanukkah, stands for the 36 hours in which the divine light was on the Earth, until G-d hid it away for future. On the Rosh Chodesh of the month of lights, 5 lights of Torah have been brutally extinguished.

The Torah is a book deeply devoted to life. We are told that we should live by G-d's laws, and not die by them. We refer to G-d as the G-d of Life, the G-d who desires that the wicked not die but that they repent and live. As Jews, we cherish and appreciate life deeply. That is why the gratuitous violence going on in India pains us to our core. When the Greeks ruled Eretz Yisrael, they tried to distance Israel from the Torah and to hide the divine light. That is why we celebrate our renewed independence with candle lighting. We light the Chanukkah candles in our windows, in order to publicize the miracle. We want the light of Torah to overflow all around the world. Not surprisingly, there are Jews willing and committed to spreading such light to the most nether reaches of the globe.

The Chabad-Lubavitch movement has thousands of shlichim who give spiritual comfort and strengthen Jewish communities worldwide. Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg were two of those shlichim who moved away from their families in NY and Israel and went to live in India, an extremely remote country with a very small Jewish community, in order to provide food and hospitality to Israeli tourists there. They had little financial incentive to move so far away and to put themselves in danger, yet they chose to do so in order to bring Jews closer to Torah. These two holy people, of blessed memory, were shining examples of the light of altruism, of human kindness and decency. The Chabad center in Mumbai, India, was open to anyone who needed a place to sleep, eat, spend Shabbat or study Torah.

"Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg made the ultimate sacrifice," said Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch. "As emissaries to Mumbai, Gabi and Rivky gave up the comforts of the West in order to spread Jewish pride in a corner of the world that was a frequent stop for throngs of Israeli tourists. Their Chabad House was popular among the local community, as well as with visiting businesspeople.

"For five years, they ran a synagogue and Torah classes, and helped people dealing with drug addiction and poverty," continued the statement. "Their selfless love will live on with all the people they touched. We will continue the work they started."

These two holy lights were brutally put out, along with hundreds of innocent people, by evil and cowardly murderers, committed to a religion of hatred and violence. In a senseless act commanded by a demonic deity, Islamic terrorists snuffed out the lives of hundreds of innocent people. A religion that desires only death and destruction, which creates nothing but only maims and murders, has spawned tens of thousands of deadly attacks such as this. Whether in New York, Jerusalem, London, Bali or Mumbai, these terrorists brazenly kill innocent civilians. Such an ideology is the complete antithesis of that of the light of Chanukkah, one which cannot coexist with the peace of the Torah. This cruel Islamic belief of war and hatred must be combatted and eradicated.

The sign of Kislev is that of Sagittarius, the archer, keshet. In Judaism, the keshet represents the forces of prayer. As Yaakov said to Yosef on his death bed, "which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow" (Genesis 48:22), meaning with prayer. The power and strength of the Jewish people is our prayer, our keshet. The keshet of prayer is opposite to Yishmael, who is called a roveh kashet, an archer. Only when the Jewish people unite and use our bow and arrow, our collective prayer, can we defeat the wicked archer of Yishmael. Yishmael, as the Torah tells us, is a wild ass of a man, his hand in everything, and everyone's hand against his. He is cruel and violent, a terrorist who murders at will. Without remorse, Yishmael wipes out the lights of the Torah and kills those who uphold and cherish life. He has no guilt, no conscious, but lives only to destroy. Yishmael flies planes into skyscrapers, dances as teenagers are shot to death while learning Torah, beheads captives and dances on the bodies of his victims. He is truly a wild ass of a man, out of control and bent on world domination. Now more than ever must Am Yisrael destroy the archer by using our power of archery, to cry out to HaShem to save us.


Just as the Greeks fell away against the holiness of the Torah, so too will Yishmael not be able to succeed in snuffing out the light so callously. The Chanukkiah is displaying in public so that the light should spread and illuminate the darkness. In these trying times, may we speedily to see a new light shine upon Zion, and the darkness that plagues the world be lifted. May Hashem comfort the families of all those killed by the evil archer in Mumbai among the mourner of Zion and Jerusalem and may we this month be inaugurated upon us for goodness and for blessing, for salvation and comfort.

Cross-posted from For Zion's Sake

Happy Thanksgiving

I will awake tomorrow at the cabin located in the above picture to a dusting of snow. It will be good to get away for a few days with no modern conveniances, no electricity, no running water other than the creek, and the joys of an outhouse in sub-freezing temperatures. It makes you appreciate the things that we take for granted in modern life.

I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank You Sarah Palin

I was a big fan even before McCain tapped her for VP giving her a National stage. I have to say if she and Mitt both run in 2012 I will have a very tough choice to make.

The Iraq War Is Over And We Won

That is what Mike Yon thinks and I believe him more than any other journalist that has covered the war. He has spent far more time there deeply embedded with our troops than anybody else much of it during the very hot times of the war so he can tell the major changes that have taken place. He was back their earlier this month and writes today for Pajamas Media that areas that were incredibly dangerous as little as one year ago are now more peaceful than Barak Obama's Chicago. Mike Totten, another independant journalist I trust, is also now back in Iraq and it will be interesting to see what he has to say.

There are still pockets of terrorist scum here and there but the Iraqi troops are in the lead and cleaning them up in an increasingly efficient manner. The only thing the scum can seem to do is alienate more Iraqis by killing the innocent with the ever rarer and less effective bombings.

We will be able to start pulling our combat troops out now at a slow but steady rate as we concentrate more on training the Iraqi forces till they can stand on their own as they are increasingly able to do. As long as Obama doesn't do anything stupid we we will have another strong ally in the Middle-East and so far Obama seems to be sending the right signals by keeping Gates at DoD, and tapping Jim Jones for NSA and Clinton at State. The nutroots aren't happy so I am cautiously optimistic he won't do anything stupid.

Meanwhile Yon is headed back to Afghanistan where the war on the Af-Pak border is still hot. I am guessing he went to Iraq to pick up all his body armor and other gear he had stored there. This story is spreading around the blogosphere today about a patrol of 30 Marines getting ambushed by about 250 dug in taliban. The Marines kicked their ass killing 50+ and wounding many more while only sustaining some minor injuries. Good shooting boys, OORAH!

“The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat,” said a designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified. “Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our ‘humvees’ was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast.”

The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.

“The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they’re given the opportunity to fight,” the sniper said. “A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong.”

During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.

“I was in my own little world,” the young corporal said. “I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.”

Now that is what I call making every shot count, what a badass. I guess those villagers got a lesson in who the real strong horses are and who are just maggots.

BCS Turmoil

Holy blowout, OU is up 45-7 over TTech and the third quarter just started. Will the Sooners vault the Gators to take #2? What about Boise and Utah? Both are undefeated. My Crimson Tide will stay up top and if they beat the Gators in the SEC championship game who will they face for the National title? It definitely looks like the SEC and Big 12 have the teams to beat this year and the B12 looks like they have some sorting out to do. Texas beat Oklahoma, Tech beat Texas and now OU is up 52-7 over Tech, WTF must be going through the minds of the BCS officials.

Ouch

That had to hurt.

That is what I call a header, er face ball. There was a time when I could do the handspring throw in.

Mark Begich Takes Ted Stevens' Senate Seat

I hate to lose a Senate seat to the Democrats but Stevens needed to go away and Begich does not sound like a New England liberal Democrat. He wants to open ANWR for drilling and is a proponent of 2nd Amendment rights and may be a needed vote the GOP can peel away from Harry Reid along with other red state Dems to make up for a Collins, Snowe or McCain to maintain a filibuster. MK Ham points to this LA Times article about Begich.

Mark Begich settled in Wednesday as Alaska's newest U.S. senator-elect by doing what almost no other Democrat in Washington would ever do: declaring his support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

But this is Alaska, where Democrats are of a different stripe, Begich reminded those who haven't seen many national-level Democrats from Alaska lately.

"I think anyone who knows me knows I'm a different Democrat. I'm from Alaska. I'm a believer, a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, a supporter of drilling in ANWR. Alaskans are very liberal [in their belief that] government should not interfere in their personal life," he said.

"I'm definitely different from a New York Democrat -- you can bank on that," he said in response to a question from the New York Times.

Ted Stevens was definitely a cancer to the GOP as one of the biggest porkers in the Swamp and it certainly sounds like Begich may be a maverick on the other side of the aisle. I also understand he has a good working relationship with Gov. Palin. Hopefully the Democrats don't have the mandate or votes to pass their more radical plans. My fingers are crossed.

Sarah Palin Pardons A Turkey

I guess other Governors follow the tradition of the President in pardoning at least one turkey before Thanksgiving. The vegans and PETA types are freaking out about what is going on behind her as she takes a few questions after the pardon at a small turkey ranch. Check out the captions that roll on screen as she talks, yes MSNBC employs gutless wussies. Where the hell do they think those turkeys at Whole Foods come from?

Of course this would not bother Sarah as a life long hunter but it sure is driving the left crazy but then again everything about Sarah drives the moonbats batty. I guess they have no idea where their food comes from or like fruits and nuts they only eat fruits and nuts thus leaving me that yummy meat to eat.

My Thanksgiving Get Away

A week from today I will be headed for my favorite Sierra hang out for four days of disconnection from the outside world, the Lord knows I need it. I can barely wait.

This is the view I will see while enjoying a cigar and a cold beer.

We will be roasting a free range chicken in that 80 year old wood burning stove, yes this goat can and will survive.

Team volcano will be with us of course, Shasta(lft) and Lassen. I will have more pictures coming from the trip,

Conservatism 2.0

Much has been written in the wake of the electoral defeat Nov. 4th about the future of the GOP and the conservative movement and why we lost. We lost because Obama ran a much better campaign and was a more attractive candidate than McCain. We did not lose because the country has shifted to the left, the Democrats that took Republican seats ran as conservatives and Obama himself shifted way to the right in the general election.

Lots of the "conservative" intelligentsia are attempting to place blame on this or that wing of the Republican party and they need to STOP IT right now. Social cons, fiscal cons, and security cons need to get out of the circular firing squad formation and work together once again to rebuild the Reagan coalition that put us in power in the first place. I have a strong libertarian streak that believes government should stay the hell out of our lives as much as possible and that includes morality issues that are best left to the Church not the legislature or the courts. The government is rightly responsible for fiscal and security policies that do affect all of us and is clearly defined in the Constitution.

Glenn Reynolds and Michelle Malkin have a very interesting discussion on PajamasTV about this conservatism 2.0 and it shows that libertarians like Glenn and conservatives like Michelle still agree on far more issues than they disagree. Like Glenn I don't care if gays have civil contracts, if people smoke pot or if abortion remains legal as long as the Constitution is adhered to on the freedoms it does set down, the freedoms of the press, religion, speech, and the right to bear guns etc..

We as conservatives of course need to stand for the values of the Christian right but we also need to move beyond just that to appeal to those that are turned off by the morality chest thumpers. I am a conservative Christian and I am turned off by the likes of the Mike Huckabee types that only focus on the moral issues that really have no place in politics. Governance is not about morality, it is about fiscal and security issues first and foremost. I forget who said it but a government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it all away. I stand against that armed and ready.