Life In North Korea

This is what life in a communist dictatorship is like where the government controls everything. Many thanks to Gayle for posting the link to this highly informative documentary. It is a bit long but worth every minute in order to better understand what that evil regime really is.

McCain In Meridian Mississippi

Wow, he has quite a family legacy and personal history that so contrasts with Obama or Hillary that the moonbats won't be able to touch him without proving their hatred of what makes America great. Mary Katherine has the text of his speech posted and it is a must read. My respect for the man grows everyday especially after reading speeches like this, I hope I can find video of it to post.

Totally Awesome Bionics For Amputees

Thanks to Allahpundit for the post,not quite terminator but close.

Obama In '95

Nice Deb posting at Ace of Spades uncovers another damning interview with his hopeness after he attended the Million Man March , yep he is an unreconstructed straight up socialist that is no different than his pastor Jeremiah Wright. He may have a thin paper trail but it is as slick and deadly as black ice on the freeway, beware the audacity of slick rhetoric covering the real thing. Here is a clip of what Deb uncovered.

“The right wing, the Christian right, has done a good job of building these organizations of accountability, much better than the left or progressive forces have. But it’s always easier to organize around intolerance, narrow-mindedness, and false nostalgia. And they also have hijacked the higher moral ground with this language of family values and moral responsibility.

I would suggest that his pastor and the moonbats that have the narrow intolerant views of their socialist mentors and the false nostalgia for the big government programs of the New Deal. I would add that the gay agenda, abortion on demand and surrendering to islamo-fascism is hardly the moral high ground or supportive of family values as Obama supports ending DOMA and even partial-birth abortion while opposing born alive legislation to protect babies that survive abortion. Yep he is one real cool dude, NOT.

Barnyard War Porn: What Fallujah Was Like

Warning graphic violence of our Marines dealing with Al Qaeda, way cool. Fallujah is quiet now so this is probably from last year and a good picture of what it was like.

I know I am more than a little nuts but I wish I could be there.

Resisting Evil

As China prepares to host the 2008 Olympic Games, it is time to examine China's horrendous human rights record. The repressive Chinese regime intends to use the Olympic Games as propaganda, as a means of gaining worldwide recognition and legitimacy. It is also a perfect opportunity to showcase Chinese attrocities.

Darfur:

Since 2003, between 200 000 and 400 000 thousands black Africans have been murdered by the state-sponsored Arab janjaweed militiamen in Darfur. Thousands have been slaughtered or raped, villages have been razed and horrible war crimes have been committed. A strong UN force is needed to stop the genocide in Darfur. The Sudanese President has repeatedly refused to allow an international force into Darfur, preposterously claiming that it is an attempt to recolonize the country. He has been able to get away with this largely because China, a permanent member of the Security Council, continues to protect him with the threat of using its veto. China, in an attempt to fuel its booming economy, is desperate for new sources of resources. China is trying to diversify its oil sources beyond the crisis- prone Middle East, and Africa is one obvious alternative. Already, 7 percent of China's imported oil comes from Sudan.

Sending international forces to protect Darfur, over the protest of Sudan's government, conjures up fears in Beijing of a UN force intervening in Tibet. China's continued support for the Sudanese president and refusal to condemn the ethnic cleansing in Darfur is one of the primary obstacles in ending the wanton slaughter.


Organ Harvesting:

In 2006, a report emerged that China was harvesting organs- lungs, hearts, kidneys, livers, etc.- from healthy prisoners, and Falun Gong sect members, and selling them at exorbitant prices to keep its lucrative organ market operating. Some dismissed this as slander. In response, the Canadian government appointed two respected attorneys, David Matas and David Kilgour, to investigate the allegations. On May 8, 2006, their submitted report confirmed the worst: that thousands of healthy prisoners were being slaughtered in order to harvest their organs.

Rabbi David Druckman, the Chief Rabbi of the northern city of Kiryat Motzkin and an outspoken opponent of Land of Israel withdrawals, says Jews must take the lead in condemning China for its murder of prisoners of conscience in order to harvest their organs.

"The atrocity is so great," Rabbi Druckman says on a recently released video, "that there are simply no words to express it. From a certain standpoint it is even worse than what the Nazis did... to cut organs from people under the cover of medical help for other people is simply astonishing and shocking from every human vantage point."

"It is especially incumbent upon us as Jews to lead the campaign that expresses total disgust at this phenomenon," Rabbi Druckman says. "Especially us, the Jewish Nation, that suffered the crimes of the Nazis, may their names be blotted out, and those of the Communists under Stalin - who can stand by and comprehend the world's silence at all this?"


Burma:

Burma has one of the worst human rights records in the world. According to one report, "The Burmese military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples" in the country's northeast. It is ruled by a brutal military junta and the people suffer tremendous repression. The international community has threatened to sanction the oil-rich kingdom but to no avail as the West has little leverage over Burma. But China does. China is the country's biggest investor, major consumer of its resources, and primary arms supplier, and thousands of Chinese laborers have flowed into the country. Because of Chinese economic interests in Burma, China supports a regime that oppresses its own people and has killed tens of pro-democracy protesters.

Tibet:

In 1949-1950, Chinese troops were sent in to occupy Tibet. In the following years, the Chinese set out to destroy and eradicate Tibetan culture and history. 1.2 million Tibetans, one-fifth of the country's population, died as a result of China's policies; many more languished in prisons and labor camps; and more than 6000 monasteries, temples and other cultural and historic buildings were destroyed and their contents pillaged. There has been a huge influx of ethnic Han Chinese into Tibet and in certain regions, Chinese outnumber Tibetans two to one. This population shift is an attempt by the Chinese to weaken Tibet's autonomy and identity and to erase Tibetan culture. Unarmed demonstrators have been shot without warning by Chinese police on five occasions between 1987 and 1989. Amnesty International believes that at least 200 civilians were killed by the security forces during demonstrations in this period. There are also reports of detainees being summarily executed. Chinese has replaced Tibetan as Tibet's official language. Tibetan speakers find it increasingly hard to find employment in Tibetan. Religious practice was forcibly suppressed until 1979, and up to 6,000 monasteries and shrines have been destroyed. Resettlement of Chinese migrants has placed Tibetans in the minority in many areas, including Lhasa, causing chronic unemployment among Tibetans. In 1990, the Chinese admitted that there were 44,000 Chinese in Lhasa and around 80,000 in the whole of the TAR. But independent observers believe the figure is in fact far higher. In the east Tibetan border provinces of Kham and Amdo, the Chinese outnumber Tibetans many times over. China is currently violently suppressing Tibetan protester.

***

China's human right abuses are really not surpising given China's atheist Communist ideology. Communism is doctrinally opposed to G-d and religion. [Consider China's campaign of repression against Tibetan and Burmese Buddhists or of Chinese Christians.] Communism believes that everything can be reduced to economic worth, therefore a human being has a purely economic value, and an undesirable such as a Falun Gong adherent, a Tibetan monk or a political dissident, has thousands of dollars worth of organs to be harvested. According to their perverted philosphy, humans have no inherent value and are disposable should an individual oppose the policies of the Chinese government.

Such was the belief on many ancient societies. The Greeks used to dispose of unwanted or weak babies by leaving them to die on abandonned mountains or forests. Thousands endured horrific conditions in Egyptian, Greek or Roman slavery. And along came the Jews with a new system of morality. This system was based on the Torah, which gives humans spiritual value due to their creation in the image of G-d. The sanctity of human life is inviolable because it is divine in origin.

Jews are commanded to disseminate the Universal Noahide Laws around the world. One is them is the prohibition against murder, which many have unfortunately forgotten. It is a religious duty for every Jew, and Noahide, to oppose China's evil human rights abuses.

Rabbi Druckman says: "When there is evil in the world, every person with a human conscience, and every person with intelligence, must protest against it... Jewish Law requires of us to spread values of faith in the Creator and of maintaining the human image throughout the world. The same Torah that tells us to keep the Sabbath and to eat only Kosher food, also requires that we influence all of mankind - as is written, 'From Zion shall go forth Torah and the word of G-d from Jerusalem.'"

"We must also do whatever will result in a sharp condemnation of these animals that are doing these things in China. This will help raise the standard of the entire human race in the world, and the more the world improves and becomes more gentle, this will bring us closer to the Redemption and the arrival of the Just Redeemer."

As the Olympic torch travels around the world, let us light a different type of torch. Let us light a torch of human rights, of being "a light unto the nations". Let us illuminate the world with the timeless and eternal wisdom of the Torah. May the day come when nations shall not lift up swords against other nations, neither shall they learn war anymore. Amen.

Cross-posted from For Zion's Sake

Now That Is Some Sharpshooting

Via Ace, now I am a darn good marksman but this is superb.

Amazing Video Of The Day

Via Allahpundit who doesn't believe it.

Sunday Morning Must Read

John McCain recently caught some flack from the Democrats for suggesting that Iran is helping Al Qaeda in Iraq because Iran is Shia and AQ is Sunni and they don't work together but that is a false assumption when they have a mutual enemy. Amir Taheri takes an extended look at the connections between Tehran and Sunni extremist groups most notably Hezbollah and Hamas in this must read report today.

But to understand the problem with extremists, it is important to set aside the Sunni-Shiite divide and focus on their common hatred of America. Theology is useless here. What we are dealing with is politics.

For Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, the slogan "Death to America" was as important as the traditional device of Islam "Allah Is The Greatest" – hence his insistence that it be chanted at all public meetings and repeated after each session of the daily prayers. And to that end, Khomeinists have worked with anyone, including brother-enemy Sunnis or even Marxist atheists.

Sounds to me like the Democrats have no idea who our enemies are other than the evil Bush administration.

Islam: What The West Needs To Know

Thanks to Dr Spencer for the link to this documentary, it is 90 minutes long so plan the time to watch it soon before the religion of perpetual outrage has it taken down.

While I have not read Dr Spencer's books I have read Serge Trifkovic's "The Sword of the Prophet" and highly recommend it for a better understanding of islam.

Fitna: Updated

Michelle has it posted and I had to dig for the code but here it is, the Dutch film by Geert Wilders that has the muslims' panties in a wad.

Its good but nothing anybody with half a brain doesn't already know about islam.
Update: Liveleak's servers are being hammered pretty hard by demand for this video so if there are problems loading it that is why.
Update 2: Liveleak has caved into threats of violence proving Wilder's point about islam but Rusty has his own copy and you can still view it here. Michelle also has links to where it can still be viewed.
***This will stay up top for a while so scroll down for newer posts***

Contact Liveleak For Surrendering To The Enemy

I did and simply suggested they read Samuel Adams' famous quote on my right sidebar. They can be contacted here. Islam means submission, well Lan Astaslem, I will not submit/surrender.

Massive US Oil Field Set To Start Pumping

Hugh Hewitt mentioned it on his show today and a quick search led me to the article that reports on a massive oil field in No Dakota that could yield between 200-500 Billion barrels of sweet crude. This is not the Green River oil shale formation that holds about the same amount but is much more difficult to process. Plus we have new finds in the Arctic and new technology is improving yields in old fields, we have plenty of oil to do without OPEC for good and leave that money in the US instead of financing the oil shieks of the Middle-East or kleptocrats like Chavez.

In the next 30 days the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) will release a new report giving an accurate resource assessment of the Bakken Oil Formation that covers North Dakota and portions of South Dakota and Montana. With new horizontal drilling technology it is believed that from 175 to 500 billion barrels of recoverable oil are held in this 200,000 square mile reserve that was initially discovered in 1951. The USGS did an initial study back in 1999 that estimated 400 billion recoverable barrels were present but with prices bottoming out at $10 a barrel back then the report was dismissed because of the higher cost of horizontal drilling techniques that would be needed, estimated at $20-$40 a barrel.

It was not until 2007, when EOG Resources of Texas started a frenzy when they drilled a single well in Parshal N.D. that is expected to yield 700,000 barrels of oil that real excitement and money started to flow in North Dakota. Marathon Oil is investing $1.5 billion and drilling 300 new wells in what is expected to be one of the greatest booms in Oil discovery since Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938.

Taking The Fight To The Mehdi Army

I learned long ago not to trust MSM reporting on the war in Iraq since they along with the moonbat Democrats are deeply invested in our defeat there so I wait to see what Bill Roggio reports in the Long War Journal. Times Online reported that the Sadrists had taken over checkpoints in Sadre City which is not true, they are getting their asses kicked with over 70 KIA and hundreds wounded and/or captured there alone by the ISF with some air support by American forces. There are similar numbers being reported from Basrah and other areas where fighting has broken out between the ISF and Iranian backed terror groups. This is a great opportunity for PM Maliki to reaffirm that his gov't is capable of overseeing the security of his country and that the rule of law not thug gangs are in control.
Here's a clip from Bill's dispatch today but go read the whole thing.

Fighting in Basrah, Baghdad, and throughout much of the South continues as Iraqi security Forces and Multinational Forces Iraq press the fight against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed terror groups. The Iraqi Army has moved additional forces to Basrah as the US and Iraqi military have conducted significant engagements in Shia areas of Baghdad. The Mahdi Army has taken significant casualties. The US military has denied the Mahdi Army has taken control of checkpoints in Baghdad.

Several hundred Iraqis are reported to have been killed during the fighting since the operation began on March 25. A large majority of them are Mahdi Army fighters, according to the press reports. The US and Iraqi military have killed more than 70 Mahdi Army fighters in Shia neighborhood in Baghdad alone over the past three days.

John And Mitt On The Trail

Mitt joined John McCain on the campaign trail today for fundraisers in Utah and Colorado in an effort to bring the Party together in what sounds like a very jovial affair. I know this will increase speculation about Mitt being on the ticket but Mitt had said he would be hitting the trail with John when he stepped down a CPAC last month. I for one believe Mitt would be a strong addition as VEEP but McCain should hold off at least till the Convention in choosing his running mate. Right now McCain just needs to work on building a warchest and Mitt is just the man to help with his extensive connections in the business world.

Is Liberalism A Dying Force

JR Dunn thinks so and outlines it in a must read essay at the American Thinker, even with all the recent troubles for the GOP it seems the Democrats are completely coming apart at the seams.

2008 marks the end of liberalism as a governing force in the same way that 1968 marked the end of liberalism as a political doctrine.

American liberals spent the '60s seeing their programs and policies collapse one after the other. The War on Crime, the War on Poverty, civil rights legislation, Vietnam, all were either unmitigated disasters or textbook examples of the law of unintended consequences. The Democrats went into the 1968 presidential election as crippled as any political party in American history, choked with failure, bereft of ideas, and facing a general uprising from their own younger elements.
The Democrats' 1968 Chicago convention marked the end of FDR-style liberalism. Media coverage revealed American liberals as incapable of controlling their own constituency, much less directing a country. As delegates cowered within the convention center, Movement rioters ran wild throughout the downtown area, fighting knock-down, drag-out battles with the police. Not a single liberal figure made any serious attempt to confront, control, or even communicate with the rioters. Little more than a decade after declaring itself the "American civic creed", liberalism was on the ropes.

And the moonbats are planning the same thing for Denver this year, hee.

Jason Mattera Confronts Winter Soldier II Participants

Teaming up with Hot Air Jason asked the participants if they would sign a sworn affidavit detailing the atrocities they supposedly carried out in Iraq and of course they spun.

Obligatory Comment On Pregnant Dude

For one I don't care if some demented chick or dude lops of their equipment and injects themselves with tons of hormones or not, they are still the same freakin' sex they were born as. It is not a dude that is pregnant but a girl that spent tons of money to have her chest chopped off to look like a dude's and shot up testosterone to grow some facial hair. I don't give a flying rat's ass what the MSM wants to call her she is still a female if she was born with all the female reproductive plumbing and it damn sure ain't man and wife in the eyes of God but just another dyke and her lesbo lover. This is NOT a story about a pregnant man but a story about a very screwed up woman that savaged her God given body to later want to have what only that God given FEMALE body can give, a new life. I really don't give a crap but don't try to tell me she is a he and then say he is pregnant, biology just doesn't work that way despite what the moonbats want us to believe about the whole GLBT thing whatever the f**k it is.

Democrats: The Party Of Racists

Via Gateway Pundit and the Lincoln Heritage Institute is this open letter to the Democrats from Lt Col Frances Rice, a black woman, that rips them several new assholes.

An Open Letter to the Democratic Party
By Lt. Colonel Frances Rice,U.S. Army Retired: Contributor to the LHI

"We, African American citizens of the United States, declare and assert:

Whereas in the early 1600's 20 African men and women were landed in Virginia from a Dutch ship as slaves and from that tiny seed grew the poisoned fruit of plantation slavery which shaped the course of American development,

Whereas reconciliation and healing always begin with an apology and an effort to repay those who have been wronged,

Whereas the Democratic Party has never apologized for their horrific atrocities and racist practices committed against African Americans during the past two hundred years, nor for the residual impact that those atrocities and practices and current soft bigotry of low expectations are having on us today,

Whereas the Democratic Party fought to expand slavery and, after the Civil War, established Jim Crow Laws, Black Codes and other repressive legislation that were designed to disenfranchise African Americans,

Whereas the Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist arm of the Democratic Party, and their primary goal was to intimidate and terrorize African American voters, Republicans who moved South to protect African Americans and any other whites who supported them,

Whereas, according to leading historians (both black and white), the horrific atrocities committed against African Americans during slavery and Reconstruction were financed, sponsored, and promoted by the Democratic Party and their Ku Klux Klan supporters,

Whereas from 1870 to 1930, in an effort to deny African Americans their civil rights and to keep African Americans from voting Republican, thousands of African Americans were shot, beaten, lynched, mutilated, and burned to death by Ku Klux Klan terrorists from the Democratic Party,

Whereas Democratic Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman rejected anti-lynching laws and efforts to establish a permanent Civil Rights Commission,

Whereas the Democratic party has used racist demagoguery to deceive African Americans about the history of the Republican Party that: (a) started as the anti-slavery party in 1854, (b) fought to free African Americans from slavery, (c) designed Reconstruction, a ten-year period of unprecedented political power for African Americans, (d) passed the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U. S. Constitution granting African Americans freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote, (e) passed the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 granting African Americans protection from the Black Codes and prohibiting racial discrimination in public accommodations, (f) passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 granting African Americans protection from the Jim Crow laws, (g) established Affirmative Action programs to help African Americans proper with Republican President Richard Nixon's 1969 Philadelphia Plan that set the first goals and timetables and his 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act that made Affirmative Action Programs the law of our nation, and (h) never sponsored or launched a program, passed laws, or engaged in practices that resulted in the death of millions of African Americans,

Whereas Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka (a 1954 decision by Chief Justice Earl Warren who was appointed by Republican President Dwight Eisenhower) was a landmark civil rights case that was designed to overturn the racist practices that were established by the Democratic Party,

Whereas after Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt received the vote of African Americans, he banned African American newspapers from the military shortly after taking office because he was convinced the newspapers were communists,

Whereas Democratic President John F. Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil Rights Law, opposed the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and was later criticized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for ignoring civil rights issues.

Whereas Democratic President John F. Kennedy authorized the FBI (supervised by his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy) to investigate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on suspicion of being a communist,

Whereas Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, made a 14-hour filibuster speech in the Senate in June 1964 in an unsuccessful effort to block passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and was heralded in April 2004 by Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd as a senator who would have been a great leader during the Civil War,

Whereas when the 1964 Civil Rights Act came up for vote, Senator Al Gore, Sr. and the rest of the Southern Democrats voted against the bill,

Whereas in the House of Representatives only 61 percent of the Democrats voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act as compared to 80 percent of Republicans, and in the Senate only 69 percent of the Democrats voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act, compared to 82 percent of the Republicans,

Whereas Democratic President Bill Clinton sent troops to Europe to protect the citizens of Bosnia and Kosovo while allowing an estimated 800,000 black Rwandans to be massacred in Africa, vetoed the welfare reform law twice before signing it, and refused to comply with a court order to have shipping companies develop an Affirmative Action Plan,

Whereas Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore created harmful racial division when he falsely claimed that the 2000 presidential election was "stolen" from him and that African Americans in Florida were disenfranchised, even though a second recount of Florida votes by the "Miami Herald" and a consortium of major news organizations confirmed that he lost the election, and a ruling by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission declared that African Americans were not denied the right to vote,

Whereas the Democratic Party's soft bigotry of low expectations and social promotions have consigned African Americans to economic bondage and created a culture of dependency on government social programs,

Whereas the Democratic Party's use of deception and fear to block welfare reform, the faith-based initiative and school choice that would help African Americans prosper is consistent with the Democratic Party's heritage of racism that included sanctioning of slavery and kukluxery, a perversion of moral sentiment among leaders of the Democratic Party whose racist legacy bode ill until this generation of African Americans,

Now, therefore, for the above and other documented atrocities and accumulated wrongs inflicted upon African Americans, we demand a formal written apology and other appropriate remuneration from the leadership of the Democratic party.

Of course anybody with half a brain that has studied American history would already know this but alas nobody teaches American history anymore.

Misreporting Iraq

Confederate Yankee Bob Owens has a couple great posts, here and here, that completely obliterate a couple stories that the MSM and moonbat lefty blogs are pounding as proof all is failed in Iraq so we should retreat in defeat. One was that some of the Sunni Sons of Iraq were threatening to go on strike because they weren't being paid but that was resolved a couple weeks before the British press ran the story. The other was the slight uptick in violence by the Iranian backed Mahdi militias in the south, well Maliki gave them 72 hours to disarm and go home or get crushed and he has the forces in place to do just that.
Meanwhile a new friend of the Barnyard, Eric at the Tygrrrr Express has an excellent post about a soldier that served two combat tours in Iraq only to begunned down in Chicago outside a Cubs game. The upside is that great heart still beats as a transplant saving a life even as his was lost.

Barnyard American Idol Rundown

I an known to criticize those that spend more time on American Idol than real issues but I have become somewhat of a fan. I think they find some really good voices in their search so here is my opinopn of those left.
Ramielle: that little gal has one heck of a set of pipes, a truely musical voice with great range and passion.
Jason: the coffee house crooner needs to stay there.
Syesha:another great musical voice that has its niche but it is a very crowded one.
Chikezie: the guy has alot of talent and a great voice but needs to refine it some.
Brooke: my favorite has the voice and looks to go far.
Michael: lots of talent and a big voice that could go far.
Karly: another outstanding musical voice with lots of power though I think ladies with major tattoos look like tramps, she has some serious pipes.
David A: This kid can really sing and with some serious training will go very far as long as he avoids pop music.
Kristy Lee: my other favorite because I have a thing for hot blondes with a country voice, her version of Lee Greenwood's hit brought tears to this old goat.
David C: the guy is experienced and very good and destined to do well in the popmarket.
I boot Chikezie and Jason.

Junior Patriot Gets His Wish

The little guy is just five and has leukemia so the Make-a-Wish foundation granted his wish to be an Army soldier, a big high five to the folks at Fort Hood for making a very special day for a sick child.

FORT HOOD – Five-year-old Gaven Cox was given one wish to do anything he wanted.

Instead of asking to go to Sea World or to meet Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Gaven modestly asked for some McDonald's food. The child's parents laughed and told him to make another choice.

"He told us he wanted to be an Army soldier," said Melissa Heminger, Gaven's mom. "I was a little bit surprised that he asked for McDonald's, but in reality, he wanted to be a soldier since he was 3."

Gaven, who is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, was granted one wish by the Make-A-Wish-Foundation.

Heminger said Gaven's stepfather was a former soldier and his Army medals fascinated Gaven.

A Jewish State

There are over a hundred nations of Christian background, slightly less Muslim nations, and only one extremely small Jewish nation sitting on a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean. While nobody seems to have a problem that the Queen of England, its head of state, is also the head of the Church of England, or that non-Muslims are forbidden from publicly worshipping in Saudi Arabia, the world nods in agreement that the idea of a Jewish state, a democratic, free state of Jews built on Jewish principles (hopefully), is something primitive, wrong or artificial. (As if a state of French people in France or Chinese in China is offensive!) Many believe it to be charitable for another leader or country to acknowledge Israel's right to exist, as if Israel's right to exist is suspended in mid-air until someone allows us to live. Nobody challenges the rights of Canada, Chad or Australia to exist but to the self-righteous liberals of the world, a Jewish state is intolerant and racist. One need not look far to hear calls for the dismantling of Israel, branding the state as illegitimate, born in sin. Such calls are not only dangerous, but they are plain anti-semitic, to deny Jews the right of self-determination which is extended to all peoples. It is also genocidal in nature because by marking the Jews in Israel as squatters, they give liscence to Arab excesses and murder in the attempt to "liberate" their land.


The Jewish people arose in the Land of Israel and since the time of the Conquest by Joshua, Jews have maintained a constant presence there. In 70 CE, the Roman armies of Titus and Hadrian marched through Judea, massacred its people, enslaved and exiled the remnants, razed Jerusalem and burnt the Holy Temple, rebuilt on its site a pagan city, and renamed the land Palastina. Millions of Jews, of Zionists, slaughtered, and the survivors were scattered to the four corners of the globe for two millenium. During these bitter years, the Jewish people suffered intense persecution, humilation, oppression, pogroms, Crusades, Inquistions, forced conversions and Holocausts. Thousands of Jews gave their lives in order to remain Jewish, as Muslim and Christian mobds demanded that they accept the truth of the revelations of Jesus or Muhammad. The Jews endured ridicule and ostracism, being a minority in hostile lands. It is little over 60 years ago when the Jews were taken from all over Europe (and the Jews of North Africa were only saved miraculously) and killed by the Nazis. The Jewish nation was weak, dispersed and defenseless. As the Jews suffocated and burned in Auschwitz, the world sat silently. The Pope turned a blind eye as all of the Jews of Rome were rounded up from beneath his very window. The message was painfully clear: never again to be a minority. We must be the masters in our own house.

From these ashes of the horrid destruction that engulfed the Jewish people 60 years ago, the nation regathered in its ancient homeland and reestablished itself. Jews had been living there since biblical times, and in the previous two centuries, settlements and aliyah flourished. Land that had been desolate and malaria-infested under the Arabs for hundreds of years suddenly bloomed when its rightful owners returned to reclaim it. Jerusalem, the ancient and eternal capital of Israel, which had been a backwater outpost in the Ottoman Empite, had a thriving Jewish population. In 1948, the state of Israel was declared and it quickly accepted 600 000 Holocaust surivors and close to a million Jews from Arab lands who were expelled from lands which they had lived in for millenium. The state grew and in 1967, following Arab threats and belligerence, Israel liberated Judea and Samaria, Sinai and the Golan and the Jews were finally reunited with their ancient and eternal capital Jerusalem, which was forbidden to Jews under Jordanian rule. The Israeli army ran towards the Kotel and towards the Temple Mount, which has been used as a garbage dump by the Arabs, and the tears of the soldiers poured over the holy stones. The Jewish people had come home.

Some people naively argue today that since most countries guarantee Jews equal rights for the moment, we should waltz right back into exile. Little do they know that anti-Semitic acts are quite common in Europe, Canada and even the United States as synagogues are firebombed, Jewish schools and cemetaries vandalized, and Jews beaten up regularly. Anti-semitism is far from gone and is on a frightening increase. Nonetheless, even without anti-semitism or Jew-hatred, Israel is essential. The Jews are entitled, as are the Swiss, the Italians and the Cambodians, to self-rule, to have a country of their own in which to practice their faith freely, to develop their culture and to shape their own destiny.


Israel has always been at the center of Jewish conscious. Jews pray three times a day that "our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy". We have ended every Passover seder with the words, "Next Year in Jerusalem!". The Land of Israel is the heart of the nation (Or Ne’erav 5:4). All of the Jewish pilgrimage festivals are based on the agricultural cycle of Israel. "See how dear the Land of Israel is before the Holy One Blessed Be He, that most of the commandments are determined there" (Batei Midrashot 1). Judaism in exile is unnatural, existing like a spirit without a body. Only in Israel is Judaism healthy, natural, complete and uncompartmentalized. The Jewish communities in the Diaspora are shrinking, plagued by a 50% assimilation and intermarriage rate. The American Jew is quickly vanishing, through assimilation, country clubs, pork chops, intermarriage and public schools. Israel is the only Jewish community that is thriving and flourishing because it is where Judaism belongs. "There is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel And no wisdom like the wisdom of the Land of Israel." (Sifri, Ekev) Just as the Swede is connected to Sweden, so to is the Jew connected with his heart and soul in Israel. "The Land of Israel is our inheritance from our forefathers" (Baba Batra 119:B) It belongs to us by virtue of inheritance, by Divine promise, by our never ending love-affair with this land. It is in Israel that the Jew is meant to create a holy society, to be able to practice the mitzvot freely, which is impossible in exile. Our Jewish destiny is to become a "light unto the nations", to teach the world of the Truth of HaShem, that there is none but Him, which cannot be done living in the humilation and enslavement of exile.


G-d said: The Land is Mine, and the People of Israel is Mine. I will give My Land to My People (Tanchumah, Bamidbar 34). Who dares fight against the Master of the Universe?

Cross-posted from For Zion's Sake

Muslims Coming to Christ

Chuck Colson notes the astounding numbers of Muslims that are converting to Christianity and it is a surprising number though it is not really hard to understand. When people realize the islam is a pseudo-religion and that Mohammed was nothing but a semi-literate desert pirate that excused his sex and blood lust with religious sounding decrees and that Christ lived and died to atone for sins not of his own but ours the choice is clear. I guess Truth and Light will always defeat lies and darkness and the Good News will be heard no matter how strenuously it is repressed. Qatar has just opened its first Catholic Diocese to packed pews and the Vatican is in negotiations with Saudi Arabia to do the same.

In Sudan, as many as five million Muslims have accepted Christ since the early 1990s, despite horrific persecution of Christians by the Sudanese government. What is behind the mass conversions? According to a Sudanese evangelical leader, “People have seen real Islam, and they want Jesus instead.”

In Iraq, “More than 5,000 Muslim converts to Christianity have been identified since the end of major combat operations,” says Islam Watch. And just a few days ago, the first-ever Roman Catholic church was consecrated in Qatar, a Sunni Muslim state where the Wahhabi brand of Islam is practiced. This was the first time Christians in Qatar have been allowed to practice their faith openly. Ten thousand people attended the opening mass.

All I can say is Hallejuhah and go read the whole thing! The True Word of God shall live on.
I had to snag this from Rachel Lucas and it seems to fit.

New Jihad Watch

Needless to say that the Barnyard is a fan of Dr Spencer.

Yeah We Know Hillary Is A Liar

I know I have heard Hillary tell her tale about flying into Tuzla AFB in Bosnia and having to dodge sniper fire while a greeting ceremony on the tarmac was cancelled more than a couple times, both lies as the press was there and reported it.

Video shamelessly lifted from Hot Air.

A Market Reopens

Mike Totten has a new photo essay posted on the reopening of the market in the small town of Karmah between Fallujah and Baghdad that was once an AQI strategic stronghold. Since the MSM moonbats are braying about the grim milestone of the 4,000th death in Iraq among our armed forces I figured I would highlight a good story on what those soldiers that gave it all accomplished.
Things are getting much better though the terrorists I am sure will try to escalate things in an attempt to sway public opinion before upcoming elections there and here. They are losing Iraq and they know it as is evidenced by the desperate pleas for help from OBL and Zawahiri in the last few days to start a war with Israel to fire up their radical base. They are still capable of reaking havoc like the string of attacks yesterday that Gen Petraeus blamed on Iranian supplied gangs. Bill Roggio is at the scene of the big truck bomb that penetrated an Iraqi Combat Outpost and killed thirteen and has pictures and commentary on the COP and the overall fight to finally clear and hold Mosul.

Monday Must Read

WaPo actually has a very interesting story about an ex-AQ jihadi that spent some time in our resort prison down in Cuba. He has some rather interesting revelations about Bin Laden basically calling him a coward and fraud.

"Bin Laden was convinced the Americans would come down and fight. We spent five weeks like that, manning our positions in case the Americans landed," he said.

As the airstrikes moved closer, and with the United States' Afghan allies advancing, bin Laden decided to retreat and left one morning. His aides told 300 Arab fighters to make their way to Pakistan and surrender to their embassies.

Pakistani authorities stopped the fighters near the border and handed them over to the U.S. military, which sent them to Guantanamo Bay.

Hubayshi remains bitter about what he considers bin Laden's betrayal: calling the fighters to Tora Bora and then abandoning them there. "The whole way to Cuba, I prayed the plane would fall," he said. "There was no dignity in what he made us do."

Its Wild Out There

I have a big bird feeder right off my patio that I keeped stocked with sunflower and thistle so I have a very healthy songbird environment in my yard. Anyway I happened to be watching today as a chicken hawk aka, Cooper's Hawk swept in and took a goldfinch. Pretty cool as that was natural predation unlike stray/outdoor cats, I havaheart trap them or shoot them. I love cats but I really wish people wouldn't let them roam free, outdoor cats have a life span of only a very few years while an indoor cat can provide many years of the joy of having a cat or cats can bring. I have raised a couple great cats from kittens and my buddy Holecat had to be put down at 18 while Speckles, 4 yrs younger, is on course to outlast him and both have been house cats. Heck the couple times Holecat did shoot the door gap he got roughed up pretty good and stopped trying.

Spring is in full bloom out here in in the Sacramento Valley with all the orchards dressed in their whites and pinks and the wildflowers starting to pop on a beautiful Easter Sunday. Today my prayers go out to all those in the Midwest that have been hammered by flooding and late snowstorms.

Very Interesting

It looks like we, as in NATO forces in Afganistan, are fixing to raise hellfire on the jihadis along the tribal belts as they emerge after a very harsh winter. AJ Strata has a great round up of news from the other front in the GWOT posted. If you don't already know about the Strata-Sphere I highly recommend it, one of the best blogs I have run across.

al-Qaeda’s mindless blood lust is causing them to wear out their welcome in the region from which they were born. The fact is the restless tribal areas ranging between Afghanistan and Pakistan are having their own “Awakening” as the Iraqis did a year ago. And who could blame them when they have to experience the cruelty of al-Qaeda close up. Injured children will pretty much always create an anger and hate for those responsible that transcends all other considerations. A force the SurrenderMedia in the West has failed to appreciate.

Oh but the surrender media loves it when it is our forces that have collateral damage and a child is killed, nevermind that those savage bastards use women and children as human shields and send them as suicide bombers to kill the innocent.

Palestinians Do Not Desire Peace

They only want the destruction of Israel and several generations of their children have been raised in that intolerant poisonous atmosphere. Richard Baehr has a must read essay posted in the American Thinker that takes a look at what they really want and no amount of money or coercion from the West is going to change that.

The latest survey on Palestinian attitudes should throw a glass of very cold water on the large class of Middle East peace processors, both here and in the region, assuming that they are conscious. As reported by the New York Times no less, it turns out that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank support violence against Israel and want an end to any talks with Israel. The kind of violence the Palestinians support includes the cold-blooded slaughter of 8 children in Jerusalem , when a gunman fired hundreds of rounds at yeshiva students in a study hall, and the firing of rockets from Gaza at Israeli cities.

And of course Barack Obama sides with palestinians and a state that has never existed in all of history. Heck his "church" has even posted the Hamas manifesto on its website on its pastor's page. And do check out Pamela's expose linked in the post below.

Obama's Ties To Palestinian Terror Groups: Updated

Pamela Gellar at Atlas Shrugs has the scoop in a must read post this morning as if things couldn't get worse for his hopeness. Barack has a long history of associating with some very unsavory people no wonder he wants to have tea and crumpets with Ahmedinejad and Hamas, he supports them.
Update: Gateway Pundit and Debbie Schlussel have more.
Update2: Even more in the StrataSphere.

Hillarious

Friday Bump: I had to bump this for those that might have missed it.
Via Allahpundit, mild content warning, anime` Dem debate.

Jackie And Dunlap On Reverend Wright

I don't know how I missed this one but it is one of the Red State boy's best, enjoy and swallow first.

And on the Spitzer hooker scandal they are at their best, LMAO!

Recreate '68

Well the moonbats of the assorted anti-war, communist, anarchist and other clowns of the hate America crowd are planning on recreating the riots and violence of the '68 Chicago DNC Convention in Denver this year. I quote one of the organizers here from Rocky Mountain News.

Denver could face a "dangerous situation" on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, war protesters said Thursday, after losing a coveted permit for Civic Center to the convention host committee.

"When things blow up because the police have to enforce a permit that the Democrats got, don’t blame us for that," said Glenn Spagnuolo, an organizer for the Re-create 68 Alliance.

"Blame the Democrats for trying to silence dissent in the city of Denver."

Note the nutbags are already startng to lay the blame on the police and lawful permit holders if things get out of hand. As if things couldn't get worse for the Democrats in a year they were supposed to win everything and are on the brink of nominating a power mad corrupt ice queen or a neophyte lying race baiter. I see some are even talking about Al Gore stepping in to save the day and taking Obama as his VP but Al has won no delegates or even a single vote since he did not run. I seriously doubt that prediction as Al would have to divest himself of the lucrative multi million dollar scam he is running and actually debate his highly flawed global warming thesis instead it will come down to a heated and divisive convention battle. That combined with pictures of Denver burning in the riots the moonbats are planning will shred the Democrats chances at taking the Whitehouse in November and may also help the GOP in the down ticket races as well. Warm up the popcorn popper and stock the fridge with beer as this summer is going to be fun to watch as the Democrats implode.
Jim at Gateway Pundit and Michelle Malkin have lots more on the festivities the moonbats have planned for us.

Some Convenient Facts About Iraq

Col. Oliver North and his team have made nine trips to Iraq since the initial invasion and reports on some of the good facts that the MSM won't.

Hey Ladies

I have many favorite female bloggers so I would like to post these interviews with several of my favorites that Right Wing News put together including Michelle, Amanda, Mary Kat, Ann A, LaShawn, Pamela and several more, found here and here. The Barnyard has several blogger buddies that are ladies so I have to wonder what they think, in regards to the questions asked. While several of those ladies are very attractive I don't read them for that, I read them because I like what they have to say.

Very Interesting Reading

Michael Totten again has a must read article in Commentary on Kosovo's independence and its relationship and similarity to Israel eventhough it is a Muslim majority region in the Balkans. They are Sufi Muslims which are the ideological opposite of the wahhabis that drive islamic terrorism around the world or the mad mullahs of Tehran. The Kosovars have more in common with Israel than most would believe but go read Michael's excellent piece to find out.

Many in Kosovo are well aware that they have more in common with Israel than with the West Bank and Gaza. "Kosovars used to identify with the Palestinians because we Albanians are Muslims and Christians and we saw Serbia and Israel both as usurpers of land," a prominent Kosovar recent told journalist Stephen Schwartz. "Then we looked at a map and woke up. Israelis have a population of six million, their backs to the sea, and 300 million Arab enemies. Albanians have a total population of eight million, our backs to the sea, and 200 million Slav enemies. So why should we identify with the Arabs?"

Mac-Daddy Obama

Via Jawa Report, ouch this is going to leave a mark Pastor Manning smacks Obama and his supporters around a bit. I have worshipped in one of the most famous black churches there is, the 14th Street Babtist in Birmingham where a couple little girls died in a bombing in the '60s and this is more typical of a black preacher than Jeremiah Wright it is a must see so take a few minutes and have a listen. He exorts black men and women to stand up because they are people of God not because they are black and deserving of handouts and he decries affirmative action and welfare.

He also blasts the Obama girl's big tits but that is something else.

Latest Ben Laden Video

Rusty has the scoop and says its all several years old and poorly done for the anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. Is this an indicater the OBL, Adam Gadahn and Zawahiri have all been eaten by hellfire? One can hope so, as it seems if they were still around they would have put out some slickly produced propaganda video instead of a voice over railing about the Danish cartoons.

Moonbats On Parade

You know, peace, love, assasination and Pinkos

Michelle has a round up of all the events the moonbats had planned for today in DC, it is quite an extensive list that would require hundreds of thousands of protesters to accomplish. John Lilyea was there and judging from his pictures and video they weren't very successful, just the usual collection of clowns with their cute signs and colorful costumes, hardly recreate '68 or even earlier protests in '06. It looks like they got a few thousand at best if that and spread very thin at multiple venues. Heck they can't get enough folks with just the ant-war message so they had to add the global warming koolaid drinkers to bolster their numbers, hah.

Update: Zombie has pics and video from the protest in San Fran and they only got a few hundred in the socialist republic by the bay but momma Sheehan was there.

A Willing Suspension Of Disbelief

Remember when Madame Hillary uttered those words to Gen. Petraeus last September well now she is calling him "an extaordinary leader and great advocate of our military" and would consult him and other military leaders about the best way to start withdrawing from Iraq within sixty days of taking office. Here is some advice for you Hillary that makes perfect sense for the best way to withdraw, win the damn war first and not retreat in defeat. Why don't you and Barack just withdraw from your run for POTUS and let the adult in this race win the war?

More Inconvenient Truths For Al Gore And His Socialist Sycophants

Anybody that has read this blog for very long knows that I believe the whole global warming thing is nothing but a socialist scam designed to control the masses and enrich a few elitists. More evidence has come out that the oceans, the greatest drivers of climate, have cooled over the last few years. The alarmists seem to think there is some static mean temperature that man has warped by pumping plant food into the atmosphere, CO2, when actual data shows quite the opposite and that runaway global warming is impossible. Man cannot stop or influence climate change any more than we can stop the earth from spinning or prevent the sun from going through phases. But Al did invent the internet that I bet he would love to start censoring now that he is multi millionaire con man.

Newt Smacks Obama With A Clue By Four

Link: sevenload.com

Supreme Court And Gun Rights

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the DC gun ban case today and appears to be siding with the correct ruling that the 2nd Amendment does indeed hold the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. If they overturn DC's ban as unconstitutional which it is it will have far reaching implications across the US and hand the gun grabbers a stinging defeat, yee-haw. I am an avid gun rights proponent so this is great news especially since I live in one of the grabbiest of states. SCOTUSblog has a summary, analysis and round up for those interested in the Heller case.
I don't have a problem with background or sanity checks or a waiting period for handguns, heck I had to go through those to get my contractors license, nor do I think we should be able to own fully automatic machineguns like Uzis. If gun bans worked DC would have the lowest murder/crime rate in the nation instead of the highest instead States that allow concealed carry of hand guns have the lowest rates. It is pretty damn simple that when you disarm the lawful the unlawful will have a free reign, the police can't be everywhere at once and can't protect you from criminals intent on their crimes.
Update: More here at Voloch

Obama's Race Speech

I didn't listen to it but I did read the transcript and it did nothing to change my mind about him and only affirmed the fact that he is a far left radical socialist albeit a fine orator. His books and the people he has CHOSEN to associate with paint a man with deeply flawed judgement and completely unfit to be President. Black liberation theology is based in marxism more than it is in the Bible and his decades long patronage of this church only confirms his views as a big government socialist.
Update: Here is what Ken Blackwell, a black man, had to say.

In contrast to Liberation Theology, the Christian orthodoxy teaches about the nature of God, the nature of man, the relationship between the two in this life, and about the hereafter. Liberation Theology, on the other hand, is a belief system about political agendas, socialistic economic policy, and redistribution of wealth.

Proponents of Liberation Theology, like Rev. Wright, teach that God commands us to form a government that will supervise our economy to create government-subsidized jobs under central-government planning; guarantee healthcare and education by having government control both; and achieve 'economic equality' by redistributing wealth through massive taxes on the affluent and massive government entitlements for the poor. And it advocates replacing governments that do not embrace this socialistic agenda

Hattip: Matt Lewis.

What The Heck

Happy St. Paddy's Day all, since I have been posting music videos today here is one of my favorite toe-tappers by Nickel Creek with some spectacular shots of the California coast, not to different from Ireland's. I get sick of politics too.

Some Really Awesome Guitar Music:Updated

Via LGF is this clip of Erik Mongrain, I love acoustic guitar and this unreal good.

More Erik Mongrain here.
Reminds me of Bob Culbertson and his Chapman stick, I have listened to the CD where this came from many many times.


Well I guess this music Monday so for St Paddy's Day here is some Irish toe tappin' for ya via Cap'n Ed.

The Face Behind the Mask

by Dina Coopersmith

How do we find God when His face is hidden?

Purim teaches us how to relate to God in a time when seas don't split, when bushes don't burn, when plagues don't befall our enemies.

The story of Purim occurred after the destruction of the First Temple, when the era of prophecy was coming to a close. People no longer saw open miracles. It was a time of concealment.

Where do we find "Esther" in the Torah? In the verse: "And I will hide (astir) my face from them on that day." (Talmud - Chulin 139b)

Rashi: "In the days of Esther there will be hester panim (hiddeness of God's face)."

GOD'S GUIDING HAND

Have you ever felt God clearly in your life? A time when you felt a force greater than yourself somehow shaping and leading events?

I remember a time when I felt that guiding force. I had just met the man who was to be my husband. But I didn't know it then. To make a long story short, we broke up because our lives seemed to be heading in different directions.

Shortly thereafter, I was called by a total stranger, out of the blue, and offered a job in a position completely outside my realm of expertise. I took the job simply because it aroused my curiosity.

To this day I don't know why I was called for this interview. But as a result of that job, I met up again with my ex-date. I also ended up changing my choice of career, some of my attitudes, and even one or two character traits. And two years after our initial meeting, I married my husband and embarked on a future with him that would never have been in my script, had my life gone according to my "plan."

We are not in full control even though we often imagine that we are.

Judaism posits that God shapes every single event in our lives with direct supervision. Nothing is pure chance. Our circumstances are not coincidences. Everything is directed.

AMALEK, THE NATION OF CHANCE

Others do not share this view.

Amalek was a nation that first battled against Israel on their way out of Egypt.

Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you left Egypt, that he chanced upon you on the way. (Deut. 25:17-18)

In the Torah, Amalek is described in Hebrew as a nation who karcha ("chanced"). This word comes from the root mikre, meaning "happenstance or coincidence." Thus we learn that the belief in chance is Amalek's essence.

How else could they have disregarded all the miracles that the Jews had experienced -- the Ten Plagues and the Exodus, culminating in the splitting of the Red Sea -- and have still dared to fight against those same Jews?! They must have said: "Mere coincidence!"

Haman, a descendent of Amalek, decided to get rid of the Jewish people of Persia. He cast "lots" (purim in Hebrew) to determine a date in which to kill them. He wanted it to be a random event.

The Jews, on the other hand, use lots to allow for Divine intervention to be revealed. Upon entering the Land of Israel in the days of Joshua, the division of land among the tribes was done by lottery. This allowed God's will to express itself without human choices getting involved in such an important endeavor.

When Mordechai sends a message to Queen Esther, telling her about Haman's plan, the text reads kol asher karahu -- "everything that happened." As the Midrash explains:

Mordechai called for Hatach and said, "Go tell her (Esther): 'The grandson of karahu, ("chance,") has come upon you!' As it says in the Torah: 'Who chanced upon you on the way.'" (Midrash - Esther Rabah 8:5)

That nation we know from our national past as believing in meaningless and randomness has again reared its ugly head.

PURIM STORY: ANTITHESIS OF CHANCE

Each event in the Megillah is natural and possible, and seems to be orchestrated entirely by human beings and their choices:

1) A king gets drunk and decides to call for his wife to appear before the guests. That could happen.

2) The wife, Vashti, refuses to appear before the king. The king decides to kill her. Esther is chosen queen. That's possible.

3) Haman chooses to kill Mordechai and ask permission from king. Could Be.

4) The king has insomnia one night and remembers an old favor he needs to repay to Mordechai. Possible.
But when ALL of these incidents happen to coincide, when ALL the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle come together in one huge "coincidence," they form nothing short of a miracle.

It may be hidden, but a directing force becomes obvious all the same.

Each event which Haman thought he controlled, turned out to bring about his downfall. His suggestion to kill Vashti, the queen, caused the positioning of Esther as redeemer. His suggestion to use the kings robes and horse -- born of his desire to honor himself by parading around on the king's horse -- became the perfect reward for Mordechai's deed. And the hand-built gallows he intended for Mordechai were those used for his own hanging.

Throughout the Megillah story, God directs events and takes advantage of people's free will choices to form a tapestry of purpose and destiny -- the redemption of the Jewish people.

THE ERA OF HIDDENESS

Throughout the entire story of Purim, the name of God isn't mentioned. It is an era of hiddeness of God's face (hester panim). But more than ever, it is clear how God is running the show. There are simply too many "coincidences." The links fit together too well.

Another point to keep in mind: The Megillah spans a nine-year period. When it is compressed into one book and we read it in half an hour, we see with perspective and hindsight how every painful event was working towards a purposeful end. However, when we're in the midst of a difficult situation, we tend to see only the darkness and confusion.

The particular message of the day, then, is to understand God's guiding hand in history and in the mundane affairs of this world.

Olam, "world," comes from the root ne'elam, "hidden." God's name doesn't appear. But when all is said and done, His presence is recognized everywhere. He is not concealed. He only appears to be. It is up to us to find Him in every event of our lives.

We need only read between the lines.
***

The Rabbis teach that during the Messianic Era "even though all recollection of pain and trauma will eventually become irrelevant, the days of Purim will never cease..." (Hilchot Megila, 2:18) What does this mean? This means that the message of Purim, that G-d is always there, even when He is hidden and not apparent, will become clear during the time of the Moshiach. May we merit that day very soon, Amen.

Cross-posted from For Zion's Sake
(ed. goat, Bar you crossposted it to here, I fixed it for you)

Report From Israel

The Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb just returned from a trip there and has posted some observations that are quite enlightening and must reading on the palestinian problems and looming Iran.

Israeli politics are not polarized, they're paralyzed. We spoke with members of both the governing party, Kadima, and the opposition Likud. They all agree that disengagement has been a failure, in Lebanon, in Gaza, and to a lesser extent in the West Bank, yet no one has any real idea about how the country can move forward. The Palestinian Authority is incapable of delivering security, though surprisingly many of the politicians we spoke with think Abbas would if he could.

Twenty Years Ago Today

Saddam Hussein gassed 5,000 Kurds in Halabja. Any moonbat thats thinks we shouldn't have taken out this sadistic madman is just as sadistic and mad as he was. Gateway Pundit has more along with pictures.
On a sidenote Jim also has pictures and video from Tacoma where pro-troops counter-protesters outnumbered the moonbats that had planned to forcefully take over a recruiting station there. The moonbats had to retreat to the other side of the street and left after a couple hours, sweet.

Obama Can Run But He Can't Hide: Updated

Obama has now purged his website of all references to his spiritual advisor and pastor of 20 odd years that he was praising effusively last summer but he got caught and Charles Johnson at LGF has preserved the screencaps for eternity. He also had a video link to Obama singing the inflammatory Rev. Wright's praises that has already been taken down from UTube. Obama is going to find that he can't scrub the internet clean and this stink is going to stick with him like skunk spray on a dog. To top it off his "church" is trying to blame everybody else for pointing out what the Rev. has had to say, yep us whiteys are racists for pointing out his racist hate-mongering. A segregated black power church is blaming white folks for their being separatists. I am sure that Trinity United has done some good things for their community but that does not excuse them for Jeremiah Wright's profane hate filled anti-American rants from the pulpit.
Here is Juan Williams this morning on Fox via Allahpundit.

Link: sevenload.com
Jawa Report found Obama's speech praising Wright so here it is.

Link: sevenload.com
Update: OMG ! The rest of this speech is here and it is no different than Wright's sermons minus the profanity, he goes on and on about the LA riots and New Orleans after Katrina mixed with socialist victimology boilerplate and religious imagery, yeesh. Do read the extended analysis by Warner Huston at Newsbusters that dug this speech up from June 5th of last year to black clergy at Hampton University

Johnny Mac Is In Iraq

While the Democrat candidates are having an identity politics flame war and generally acting like spoiled children John McCain is traveling the Middle-East and Europe and meeting with prominent leaders and being Presidential.
In other news from this morning we delivered some hellfire to another jihadi safe house in Waziristan killing up to twenty terrorists. I guess those "safe" houses aren't quite so safe anymore, boomyah, the Reaper strikes again.

The Eagles Gather

John Lilyea has lots of pictures and video posted from the pro-troops rally in DC yesterday. Wow, such a contrast to the wretched clowns of Code Pinko. Heres to the Eagles Up, Move America Forward and Gathering of Eagles, you guys rock!

Heavy Metal+Terrorists Going Boom=Barnyard War Porn

Via Jawa Report, again this is not for you sicko perverts looking for sex with animals, its what I would like to do to you sick freakos that get off on that. Anyway enjoy a bunch of jihadis getting wasted and that doesn't mean drunk, it means killed dead.

Meanwhile, Bill Roggio reports on an Al Qaeda bigwig captured back in August that has been transferred to Gitmo. Hmm, I wonder if the recent top level safe houses in Pakistan that recently ate some Hellfire missles had anything to do with actionable intel he gave up.

On This Day March 15, 1973

John McCain and other POWs were released from the "Hanoi Hilton", thanks to Gateway Pundit for bringing it up and highlighting it. I have some problems with some of McCain's policy positions but he is a great American and genuine war hero that is truely proud of and dearly loves his country. The bulldog tenacity of spirit and honor that kept him alive then is still evident today.

John McCain's capture and imprisonment began on October 26, 1967. He was flying his twenty-third bombing mission over North Vietnam, when his A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a Soviet-made SA-2 anti-aircraft missile over Hanoi. McCain fractured both arms and a leg, and then nearly drowned when he parachuted into Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi. After he regained consciousness, a mob gathered around, spat on him, kicked him, and stripped him of his clothes. Others crushed his shoulder with the butt of a rifle and bayoneted him in his left foot and abdominal area; he was then transported to Hanoi's main Hoa Loa Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by American POWs.

Although McCain was badly wounded, his captors refused to give him medical care unless he gave them military information, beating and interrogating him. Only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a top admiral did they give him medical care and announced his capture. His status as a POW made the front pages of The New York Times and The Washington Post.

McCain spent six weeks in the Hoa Loa hospital, receiving marginal care.[34] Now having lost 50 pounds, in a chest cast, and with his hair turned white,[34] McCain was sent to a different camp on the outskirts of Hanoi in December 1967, into a cell with two other Americans who did not expect him to live a week; they nursed McCain and kept him alive. In March 1968, McCain was put into solitary confinement, where he would remain for two years.

In July 1968, McCain's father was named commander of all U.S. forces in the Vietnam theater. McCain was immediately offered a chance to return home early: The North Vietnamese wanted a worldwide propaganda coup by appearing merciful, and also wanted to show other POWs that elites like McCain were willing to be treated preferentially. McCain turned down the offer of repatriation; he would only accept the offer if every man taken in before him was released as well. McCain's refusal to be released was even remarked upon by North Vietnamese senior negotiator Le Duc Tho to U.S. envoy Averell Harriman during the ongoing Paris Peace Talks.

In August of 1968, a program of severe torture methods began on McCain, using rope bindings into painful positions, and beatings every two hours, at the same time as he was suffering from dysentery.

McCain refused to meet with various anti-war peace groups coming to Hanoi, not wanting to give either them or the North Vietnamese a propaganda victory based on his connection to his father.

Altogether, McCain was held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years. The Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973, ending direct U.S. involvement in the war, but the Operation Homecoming arrangements for POWs took longer; McCain was finally released from captivity on March 15, 1973.

Saturday Silly

Via Allahpundit is this cute video as a break from torrid politics.

Pretty slick training, eh.

WSII Updates: Updated

Of course Michelle is covering it but for some blogging, pictures and video from the scene you can go here and here. Here is Move America Forward's new ad on the war on recruiters.

Update: John Lilyea has some excellent coverage of what is happening and even stopped by the Barnyard for a couple visits after I linked him above so I am going to urge my readers to stop by his place to thank him for putting up with the moonbats. There is nothing really new or damning that we have not heard before coming out, yet.

Identity Socialism

With Hillary or Barack as the leaders for the Democratic nomination for POTUS the identity politics of the Democrats has been brought front and center into the full view of America. I don't care that Hillary is a woman or that Barack is of mixed race, I don't support them because of their policy positions as left wing socialists. In light of this James Lewis has penned an important essay for American Thinker that examines this exact topic and the price of it for the Democrats and America as a whole. Why do the Democrats still play this regressive game? Well because it works and keeps their constituencies on the plantation of socialism by painting them as victims unlike the GOP that believes in the individual's ability to succeed and personal liberty unfettered by socialist handcuffs. Read the whole thing but here is a clip.

So this is a perpetual money machine for the race-and-gender dividers. Now we are stuck in the mess to the point that the Left celebrates race and gender "loyalty" before American loyalty. So Justice Clarence Thomas is despised because he's a "race traitor" -- a Nazi term if ever there were one. Condi Rice is no doubt a race and gender traitor to some on the Left. That is also why the Democrats cannot put the well-being of the country over self. Their whole identity is tied up with the internationalist Left and with their race/gender/ethnic group/sexual preference games.

Obama Won't Distance Himself From Wright: Updated

(picture courtesy of Michelle Malkin)

Wow, that's all I can say, simply wow, Obama chose this "church" largely because he believed what Wright had to say twenty years ago and has patronized it since and is raising his daughters in this poisonous atmosphere. He and his wife freely chose to attend and listen to this madman's vitriolic racist rants hundreds of times and refer to Wright as their spiritual adviser and mentor. Amanda Carpenter points to an interview where Obama was asked about his pastors words and this is what he had to say.

Q: I don't know if you've seen it, but it's all over the wire today (from an ABC News story), a statement that your pastor (the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's South Side) made in a sermon in 2003 that instead of singing "God Bless America," black people should sing a song essentially saying "God Damn America

A: I haven't seen the line. This is a pastor who is on the brink of retirement who in the past has made some controversial statements. I profoundly disagree with some of these statements.
Q: What about this particular statement?

A: Obviously, I disagree with that. Here is what happens when you just cherry-pick statements from a guy who had a 40-year career as a pastor. There are times when people say things that are just wrong. But I think it's important to judge me on what I've said in the past and what I believe.

Well now if he so strongly disagrees with that rhetoric then why did he listen to it for twenty years? Why is he Obama's spiritual outreach director on the campaign?Just what do you believe Barack? Captain Ed also points to a profile of Wright back in '07 that paints a rather fawning picture of their close relationship and guess who is also a congregant of this "church", Oprah Winfrey.

Obama says that rather than advising him on strategy, Wright helps keep his priorities straight and his moral compass calibrated.
“What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice,” Obama said. “He’s much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I’m not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that’s involved in national politics.”

"Hype and hoopla", hell that's all Obama's campaign has been and is far different than the "crazy old uncle" defense that he has used recently. As I saw somewhere else, you don't get to choose your relatives, you do choose your pastor and spiritual advisor. Obama can't run from this guy, not with a twenty year record of close relations.

Update: More on that point from the American Thinker.

AllahPundit has BHO trying to run on HuffPo, "never heard him make those kinds of remarks"