Where is Obama’s outrage over Afghan “war on women?”

/in , , , , /by

As we wind down operations in Afghanistan the question is, “did we make any difference?” Sure, Osama bin Laden is dead — then again so is Saddam Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay, but al-Qaida is in control of western Iraq’s al-Anbar province. During my time in Iraq and Afghanistan, I remember the most difficult thing for many of us to stomach was the treatment of women.

The most rewarding sight for me during my two-and-a-half years in Afghanistan was watching little girls in their uniforms walking off to school. Nothing infuriated me more than reading reports about a Taliban attack against a girls’ school — funny thing, you never heard about that in any liberal media reports. How many front pages were dedicated to Abu Gharaib by the New York Times? And these liberals want us to take them seriously when they start droning on about a damn “war on women?” I have seen it with my own eyes, and it is repulsive.

So as we prepare to depart Afghanistan, and President Obama is more concerned with campaign promises and politics, I must ask, what will happen to the women of Afghanistan?

According to a report in The Guardian, a new Afghan law will allow men to attack their wives, children and sisters without fear of judicial punishment, undoing years of slow progress in tackling violence in a country blighted by so-called “honor” killings, forced marriage and vicious domestic abuse.

This is in a nation already considering the return of stoning as a punishment for adultery. Perhaps Sandra Fluke and Nancy Pelosi should visit Afghanistan to understand what a real struggle for women’s rights is — nah, that would require courage. It is an Afghan war on women.

According to The Guardian, The small but significant change to Afghanistan’s criminal prosecution code bans relatives of an accused person from testifying against them. Most violence against women in Afghanistan is within the family, so the law – passed by parliament but awaiting the signature of the president, Hamid Karzai – will effectively silence victims as well as most potential witnesses to their suffering.

The traditions of Muhammad established the level of judicial subservience facing women in Islamic countries, where they can be summarily divorced after their husband repeats “I divorce you” three times, and they have no rights in defense.

Furthermore, it takes three men to offer defense for one woman, as her voice alone means nothing. Barbaric? Absolutely, but hardly mentioned in our news.

As the Guardian reports, under the new law, prosecutors could never come to court with cases like that of Sahar Gul, a child bride whose in-laws chained her in a basement and starved, burned and whipped her when she refused to work as a prostitute for them. Women like 31-year-old Sitara, whose nose and lips were sliced off by her husband at the end of last year, could never take the stand against their attackers.

Countries that spent billions trying to improve justice and human rights are now focused largely on security, and are retreating from Afghan politics. Heather Barr, Afghanistan researcher with Human Rights Watch, said: “Opponents of women’s rights have been emboldened in the last year. They can see an opportunity right now to begin reversing women’s rights – no need to wait for 2015.”

What will become of the female Members of the Afghanistan parliament? Those who are serving in the Army and police corps who will now not even be protected from their own husbands? What does it say about our values? So what, we killed Osama bin Laden, but we find ourselves afraid to take on a 7th century ideology that degrades women in the 21st century — shame on us.

President Obama, you and your party like to give lip service to women’s rights. Let’s see what you have to say about this issue after you and the First Lady sit with your daughters in that nice taxpayer-funded movie theater in the White House and watch “Honor Diaries.” I’ve watched it with my wife and daughters. It’s horrific. After you view it Sir, join me in the real war on women. I’ll be waiting for your phone call — quite sure you can get my number from the NSA.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com. The featured image is courtesy of Davric.

BREAKING: US Female Olympian Foils Terror Attack in Sochi, Wins Gold

/in , , /by

C. Blogunov is in Sochi, Russian Federation, reporting for the People’s Cube, ensuring all sports receive equal coverage, and indulging in bad sports puns. Today we interview Betty-Mae Ferguson, daughter of Olympic legend Lamar Ferguson. In today’s extraordinary events, she made history by winning gold for the United States for the first time in the women’s biathlon 7.5 kilometer sprint, as well as breaking up what turned out to be an ill-timed terror attack when Chechen rebels opened fire on the venue.

Blogunov: Betty-Mae, let me congratulate on your gold medal and on stopping a terrorist attack by Chechen rebels when they opened fire on the competitors in your event.

Betty-Mae: Oh, yeah. Let me tell yew, I never been so mad in all my life as when I was gettin’ ready to hit five for five, and just then they started shootin’ all over the place. One of ’em had a RPK, just like Daddy uses fer dear huntin’, and he hit the stock on my rifle and messed up my fourth shot! I didn’t practice fer six years just to lose to somethin’ like that, and I had one round left in the magazine, and there was no question in my mind where it was goin’. Now he had the firepower, that’s fer sure, so I knew I had to make it count. Anyway, I took him out, and serve him right, too.

Blogunov: There’s another good shot in your family as I understand.

Betty-Mae: You mean my brother, Claude. Yeah, he’s an Army sniper. He even held the record for the longest kill in Afghanistan for a little while. We been shootin’ since we was kids.

Blogunov: But back to the story of today. What happened after you killed the man with the RPK?

Betty-Mae: Well, then I seen another man with a grenade launcher, like the one Daddy goes fishin’ with, so I changed magazines right quick and he went down next.

Blogunov: At that point, it seems from the video footage that everything changed and it really started going badly for the terrorists. Tell us about that.

Betty-Mae: I’ll never fergit it – long as I live. Them Chechens was all confused when all of a sudden up stands Olga Vilukhina wavin’ her rifle over her head, and shoutin’, “Rodina!” and something that sounded like, “Attack!” Then right next to me, Tora Berger’s up on her skis ‘n’ starts screamin’, “Til Valhall! Til Valhall!” Well, I tell yew what, I was pumped. I was up and shrieking a Rebel yell that ain’t been heard from a Ferguson since Chancellorsville. We was all on our skis ’cause we wasn’t lettin’ none of ’em git away.

Blogunov: And none survived. Now you and your father are known for coolness under pressure, but some observers say you appeared a little unhinged.

Betty-Mae: (blushing slightly) Well, we was all madder ‘n’ wet hens, let me tell yew. But, uh, I don’t like to mention nothin’ too intimate, but this time of the month is usually a bad time for me, anyway. I reckon that’ why I scalped two of ’em.

Blogunov: And then what happened after the attack had been defeated?

Betty-Mae: Hey, we was there to win, and all us been trainin’ forever for this event, so we went back to it. I reckon we all woulda had better times, but we was interrupted like you know.

Blogunov: Well, you finished the course and came in first getting gold for America for the first time in the Women’s Biathlon.

Betty-Mae: Well, God’s good and it was sech a blessin’ to win fer my country.

Blogunov: I understand two presidents called you.

Betty-Mae: Oh, yeah, our president called to congratulate me fer comin’ outta the closet with my domestic partner or some such thang. I told him he musta been thinkin’ ’bout someone else, and he hung up on me. But ol’ Mr. Putin, now that’s a diff’rent story. He invited me ‘n’ Daddy ‘n’ Mamma ‘n’ Claude on a tour of Russia, and git this, he’s gonna show us some o’ his bear wrasslin’ moves!

Blogunov: Well, you’ve certainly earned the gratitude of both nations. Your country, and I’m sure your family, are all very proud of you.

Betty-Mae Ferguson: Daddy sent me a text. Said he was holdin’ back tears o’ pride. It was real sweet o’ him.

Blogunov: Olympic blood seems to run in your family. What was it like growing up with your father who is himself an Olympic champion, who took gold twice in the Men’s quarter acre lawn mowing event in Beijing, and then again in London before retiring?

Betty-Mae: Daddy was always real modest about it, but he sure did work hard. He was doin’ yard work four hours a day, ‘cept Sundays. He was always up early workin’ out and gettin’ in shape and all. We did miss him when he was away in Athens, or Beijing, or London, but we and the rest o’ the trailer park was always so proud to see him up thar on that medal platform.

Blogunov: There was another influence. I understand his rival on the field and personal friend, Mr. Rodriguez, was often a guest in the Ferguson home.

Betty-Mae: Oh, you mean Uncle Pedro! We just love him. Him and Daddy was always talkin’ ’bout the games, and Uncle Pedro done real good when he coached the Mexican Men’s Synchronized Landscaping team to victory in London. That’s where Daddy got his last gold medal ‘fore retirin’. Anyway, I was just thrilled hearin’ ’em goin’ on about the games, and I started dreamin’ that maybe I could do somethin’ like that, too. Daddy and Momma was always encouragin’ me, and I trained real hard. We all was so happy when I qualified fer the Olympic team.

Blogunov: He also generated some controversy in London when he came out and announced that he and your mother were straight.

Betty-Mae: I remember that. Daddy didn’t mean to make nothin’ about that; it’s just who he is and what he believes.

Blogunov: We wish you well in your future, and we’ve all had “Sochi” good time watching you.

Betty-Mae: Aw, that’s a good ‘un! Thank yew, so much.

The Agenda of Racially Sensitive ‘White Guys’

/in , , /by

Over at a place called Diversity, Inc., founder and CEO Luke Visconti runs a regular column titled “Ask the White Guy.” Recent advice columns have concerned “Why is Trayvon a White-on-Black Crime?” “Can a White Man Speak with Authority on Diversity?” and “Do Blacks Need to Relax Their Natural Hair to Get Promoted?”

No kidding. There is also another white guy who profits from his presumed sensitivity to racism as he makes the rounds on college campuses, coming next to Princeton. His name is Tim Wise and he has written a book titled, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son.

Diversity, Inc., as to be expected, weighed in on Seattle Seahawks football player Richard Sherman’s claims that accusations that he displayed thug-like behavior in an interview immediately after he made a game-saving deflection is evidence of racism. But Sherman’s statement to a FOX reporter, “I’m the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like [San Francisco 49er Michael] Crabtree, that’s the result you gonna get! Don’t you ever talk about me! … Don’t you open your mouth about the best or I’m gonna shut it for you real quick!” is hardly sportsmanlike behavior.

But as usual, Diversity, Inc., seeks out racism. In this article they allow Sherman’s quotes about online comments to end the article: “mind-boggling the way the world reacted,” Sherman said. “I can’t say the world, I don’t want to generalize people like that because there are a lot of great people who didn’t react that way. But for the people who did react that way and throw the racial slurs and things like that out there, it was really sad. Especially that close to Martin Luther King Day.”

(Democrats are now studying ways to monitor “hate speech,” including online comments to which Sherman referred; this bone-headed idea came from a project for a geography class at Humboldt State University.)

Even after his team won, USA Today referred to this incident in the headline, “Seahawks’ Richard Sherman is full of smiles, not quotes, after Super Bowl win.”

Companies like Diversity, Inc. who capitalize on the fear of discrimination lawsuits continue to exploit minority communities, as such white guys like Norman Mailer and Howard Zinn did in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

In his 1957 essay, “The White Negro,” Norman Mailer advanced the idea of “Hip,” “the sophistication of the wise primitive in a giant jungle.” According to Mailer’s hipster theology, God is “located in the senses of his body, that trapped, mutilated, and nonetheless megalomaniacal God who is It. . . . not the God of the churches but the unachievable whisper of the mystery within the sex, the paradise of limitless energy and perception just beyond the next wave of the next orgasm.”

Mailer rationalized the behavior of the psychopath: “The psychopath murders—if he has the courage—out of the necessity to purge his violence, for if he cannot empty his hatred then he cannot love, his being is frozen with implacable self-hatred for his cowardice.” Mailer presented the case of two eighteen-year-old thugs beating up a candy-store keeper. Such murder is not therapeutic because it’s not murder of an equal. Still, wrote Mailer, “courage of a sort is necessary, for one murders not only a weak fifty-year-old man but an institution as well.”

Howard Zinn, the late communist history professor too saw the “Negro,” specifically, the “ghetto Negro,” as someone who could fulfill his aims of tearing down capitalist institutions. In a 1969 essay titled “Marxism and the New Left,” Mailer wrote, “Marx envisioned the industrial proletariat as the revolutionary agent because it was in need, exploited and brought together in the factory. The Negro is in need, exploited and brought together in the ghetto.” The New Left, the “loose amalgam of civil rights activists, Black Power advocates, ghetto organizers, student rebels, Vietnam protestors” would then recruit the ghetto “Negroes” to revolutionize “cities, universities, corporations.”

The respectable middle class was seen as the biggest obstacle to a communist revolution. The 1960s was the time when the black community was making its biggest inroads into the middle class and into higher education. Radicals like Zinn did not want blacks to acquire middle class status and values. Some professors argued for admission of low-achieving black students to their campuses over high-achievers. The New Left’s promotion of “smashing monogamy” and welfare dependence encouraged the decline of the black family.

Mailer gained notoriety and rationalization for his own thuggishness that included stabbing one of his wives and championing killer Jack Abbott, who would go on to murder again. That led to sales of his books. Zinn enjoyed the benefits of a tenured position in academe and sales of his books. Visconti and Price today rake in consulting and speaking fees for hammering on the distorted and depressing charges of never-ending and ever-present racism.

There were some black leaders during the Civil Rights era who objected to such stereotyping and presumptuousness.

In his speech before the 84th Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention, in 1964, Reverend Joseph H. Jackson, President of the National Baptist Convention, indirectly criticized such agitators. He advised that “Negroes must still make their own leaders.” The leaders should come from the fields of politics, civil rights, religion, and business:

“We have athletes and comedians. Let us still applaud our athletes when they achieve on the field of competition, and let us join with others and freely laugh at the jokes that our comedians give. But we must not confuse these various fields. There must not develop any dictatorship of any one field, and athletes and comedians must not make the mistake of assuming the role of political, religious, and cultural leaders. We as a race must see to it that each man serves in his field, and we must not allow the white community to pick our leaders or to tell us what Negro we should follow.”

Jackson advanced a more measured approach to ending racial injustice and cautioned against a “spirit of revenge, blind emotions, and uncontrolled temper.” Reminding his audience about how direct action led to “mob violence and vandalism,” he suggested instead using the vote and respectful debate.

Like Frederick Douglass, Jackson expressed hope that the American founders’ ideals would be fulfilled:

“America was born in a struggle and as a struggle for freedom, and for the opportunity to develop the highest resources of mankind. The Declaration of Independence and the Federal Constitution were the results of our fathers’ attempts to put on paper the ideals that inspired the birth of the nation, and those principles by which and on which the nation was erected and sustained. There have been errors, mistakes, and gross sins committed against this American venture, but this high venture has not been repudiated or negated.”

You will not see mention of Jackson in Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, widely used in high school and college classrooms. You will not likely hear mention of him at the Diversity, Inc., workshops and conferences. Students on college campuses are not likely to hear a respectful reference to him from speakers like Tim Wise. Conservative black leaders like Allen West are not treated respectfully by liberal white journalists. It seems that such “white guys” still have an agenda.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is from ANUNews.net.

“Islamophobia” in Academia

/in , , , /by

The aptly-named Hatem “Hate ‘em” Bazian’s manipulative propaganda course at UC Berkeley in “Islamophobia,” in which he forces his students to adopt his agenda of demonizing opponents of jihad terror instead of allowing them to evaluate the value of his targets’ work for themselves, recalls a similar course taught a few years back at Colgate University by Omid Safi, an Islamic supremacist pseudo-academic who is now at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I dared to challenge Safi’s smear of me as an “Islamophobe” — a propagandistic neologism designed to intimidate people into thinking that it is “hateful” and “bigoted” to oppose jihad terror: I offered to come to the class where Safi was defaming me in order to engage in discussion and debate with him and his students. Safi declined, all the while hurling the usual insults that come as natural to Islamic supremacists as breathing. Later this bent, twisted, hate-filled and diabolically insecure little man actually falsely claimed that I threatened to kill him and his family, while peddling soothing nonsense to the easy marks at the Huffington Post about respecting other people.

“Islamophobia” courses are apparently increasingly common on university campuses. Just this week I received two queries from students who are studying “Islamophobia.” One girl wrote (spelling and grammar as in the original):

Dear Jihad Watch, I am a Year 12 Student from Sydney, NSW who would greatly appreciate your kind assistance in a Personal Interest Project (PIP) for the subject of Society and Culture. My chosen topic sparks in me a deep interest although before I begin my primary research, I must ensure there is sufficient secondary information to support or disprove my own. So far, it seems lacking so I write to ask: Am on the right track and do you recommend any beneficial resources or contacts? My investigation is the “Perceptions held in Australia about Islam” where I look into both “Islamophobia” and the general reluctance to support or acknowledge Muslim adherents assimilating into Australian Culture. The PIP requires a cross-cultural comparison where two aspects of some sort must be considered, for e.g. female vs. male perceptions held about Islam. This is where my inspiration came in, due to personal experience. Growing up from a Christian, Middle-Eastern background, I witnessed most family members disapproving of Islam and it’s followers due to their experiences of conflict with the religion and it’s people in the middle east, before migrating. Although “Islamophobia” is quite instilled in Australian society, I found from informally questioning other middle-easterners that they too seemed more intolerant than the rest of Australian society. I’d like to investigate for both Middle-Eastern born Australian migrants (non Muslims) and Australian born citizens- –    What exactly are their perceptions on Islam and it’s adherents? –    How these perceptions were formed. Here, a focus will be on historical and political events and media representation, for e.g. September 11, as well personal experiences with Muslim adherents. I hypothesise that Australian- born citizens will have their perceptions formed by media influence while Middle-Eastern born Australian migrants will have perceptions largely due to personal experience with Muslims in the Middle East. Such information is attainable through primary research methodologies and there is sufficient amount of information on what Australian’s perceive Muslims. My main struggle has been finding sufficient information on Non-Muslim Middle- Easterner’s perceptions on Muslim adherents and their relationship with one another in the Middle- East, whether from a couple of decades ago to present. Although my search for secondary information continues, I am extremely hopeful that you are able to recommend resources or contacts which may enable me to carry through with this project. I highly appreciate your time taken to read this letter. Thank you.

I responded:

Thanks for writing. I do not believe in “Islamophobia.” It is a propaganda neologism designed to intimidate people into thinking that there is something wrong with resisting jihad terror. Listen to the experiences of your family and other Middle Eastern Christians, and heed them. Best of luck. RS

Just hours later I received this email from a young man in Texas (again, reproduced as written):

I go to the University of Texas at Arlington though I do not accuse you of this I am writing a paper on Islamophobia and how it is changing the usa for the worst

I wrote this back:

Sorry, I don’t believe in “Islamophobia.” It is a propagandistic neologism designed to intimidate people into thinking that there is something wrong with resisting jihad terror. Would you have written a paper about how “Naziphobia” was changing the USA for the worse in 1943? Best of luck with your paper.

But he persisted, sending me some questions. The questions are below, with the answers I sent him:

1. Do you hate Muslims and if so why?

No.

2. Do you have any prejudices if so why?

No.

3. Did this site start pre 9/11 or after?

October 2003.

4. Describe in detail your views on Muslims.

Muslims cannot be generalized. Some are wonderful people. Some are not. Just like everyone else.

5. Why do you think Islam is dangerous?

Because it has a doctrine, theology and legal system mandating warfare against and subjugation of unbelievers. Cf. Qur’an 9:29 (see also 8:39, 8:60, 2:190-193, etc.); Sahih Muslim 4294; the various teachings of the Sunni and Shi’ite madhahib about jihad — a handy reference is Reliance of the Traveller section O9. See Majid Khadduri’s book War and Peace in the Law of Islam. See also the escalating persecution of non-Muslims in Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Syria, Iraq, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.

Also because of Sharia’s institutionalized oppression of women (recently manifested in several murders of women for refusing to wear hijab — Aqsa Parvez, Amina Muse Ali, etc.), the death penalty for apostates (Mohamed Hegazy in hiding and in fear for his life in Egypt, Abdul Rahman fleeing Afghanistan to avoid a death sentence for apostasy, etc).

Instead of fighting against this oppression, people like you, by fostering the “Islamophobia” fantasy, are abetting it. No hate crime is justified. Yet Jews are the victims of hate crimes eight times more often than Muslims are in the U.S. Why aren’t you writing about anti-Semitism? Because you have bought the propaganda that “Islamophobia” is a problem, and don’t even realize how you’re being manipulated into serving an agenda that is designed to shut down all criticism of and resistance to jihad terror and Sharia oppression, so that they can advance unimpeded.

6. Do you have any Muslim friends?

Yes.

This is what passes for academic study on our rapidly-sinking campuses these days.

“U.S. Muslim prof teaches ‘Islamophobia’ course,” by Pamela Geller at WND, February 9:

The Nazi-like march of Islamic supremacists into influential positions of power in media, politics and academia sank to a new low this week (and that bar was already conspicuously low).

Canadian Muslim reformer Tarek Fatah received apanicked message from a student enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley, who along with 100 kids in his class is being forced to tweet on “Islamophobia” as a requirement in a course on that subject called “De-Constructing Islamophobia and the History of Otherness.” This “course” is taught by a notorious anti-Semitic, terror-supporting professor, Hatem Bazian.

The student reported Bazian established as part of the course requirements that students would have to open a Twitter account and tweet at least once a week about “Islamophobia.” The student commented: “I can’t help but feel this is unethical. This is his agenda, not mine.”

The student explained to Fatah:

There are 100 students in the class, all of us forced to create individual Twitter accounts. I’m not wholly clear on what our final project is yet (I find it very interesting that he excludes both the Twitter account requirement AND the final project from his official syllabus), but we have to meet with a group in San Francisco, and our class will be surveying people of color on the impact of some ads put out by Pamela Gellar [sic]. Now I’m no Pamela Gellar [sic] fan, I think she’s nuts, but I feel … between the Twitter stuff and the final project he’s basically using us as unpaid labor to work on his agenda.

The kid has already bought into the demonization, smearing and marginalization of anyone opposing jihad. What’s nuts is “asking people of color” about my Shariah awareness ads. Shariah is not a color. Jihad is not a color. What’s nuts was the Hamas-CAIR ad campaign that my ads countered. Hamas-CAIR created an ad campaign to “rebrand” jihad (“my jihad is getting to the gym every day”). That’s nuts.

Nuts is the San Francisco City Council issuing a resolution (the first of its kind) condemning our ads highlighting Muslim oppression of gays.

Nuts is a homework assignment shackling children to a fictitious narrative designed as a thought-crushing device to silence any criticism of Islam.

A more useful assignment would highlight the brutal and bloody oppression of religious minorities under the Shariah. An intellectual study of the 1,400-year jihad against the Jews as manifested in the Muslim hatred for Israel would certainly be instructive. Where is the college credit for the study of the mass annihilation of Hindus in jihadi wars?

Steven Emerson, in his book, “American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us” (Pages 214-215), quotes Bazian sermonizing at an American Muslim Alliance conference in May 1999:

In the Hadith, the Day of Judgment will never happen until you fight the Jews. They are on the west side of the river, which is the Jordan River, and you’re on the east side until the trees and stones will say, oh Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me. Come and kill him! And that’s in the Hadith about this, this is a future battle before the Day of Judgment. (More here.)

Bazian is a co-founder of an anti-Semitic, pro-jihad activist group founded at University of California’s Berkeley campus in 2001,  Students for Justice in Palestine. According to Campus Watch:

SJP’s stated goal is to promote a “just resolution of the plight of the Palestinians” and employs boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns as well as mock checkpoints and mock “apartheid walls” on campuses throughout the U.S. to promote that cause.

SJP’s theatrical and physical violence aims mainly at intimidating and marginalizing Jewish students on campus. It uses violent imagery to bypass discussion and skip right to the hate, accusing its opponents of Apartheid, Nazism and genocide. Its extremist speakers use lies and distortions to portray Israel and its supporters as absolute evil to create a hateful worldview (seeJessica Felber and Helen Freedman).

When the SJP deploys makeshift checkpoints on campuses where its members yell, “Are you Jewish?” at passing students, when it disrupts Holocaust memorials and Jewish student concerts, when it assaults and intimidates Jewish students on campus – it is making the trees and stones of the Ivy League and the Public Ivies a place of terror and danger for Jewish students.

Bazian is also the executive director of American Muslims for Palestine. Check out its web of Hamas support here. At its 2011 conference, Bazian said: “The universities – it’s gonna be the front line moving forward, the front line. Why? Because this is the next generation.”

Why would anyone take his course? He even equated the Boston jihad bombings with “Islamophobia.” Robert Spencer wrote this of Bazian last May:

The aptly-named professor Hatem Bazian some years ago called for an “intifada” in the U.S.Here, he completely ignores the fact that the Tsarnaev brothers were Muslims acting, in their own words, in the defense of Islam. … Instead, as one would expect from a charter member of the “Islamophobia” propaganda industry, he equates the Tsarnaevs’ murders, which he calls “horrific crimes,” with those who spoke accurately about what motivated those murders, whom he accuses of “crimes against our collective consciousness.”

It is amazing that moral cretins like Hatem Bazian occupy comfortable positions at respected universities in the United States, but such is the state of academia today. In a field populated with people like Omid Safi, Haroon Moghul, and Caner K. Dagli, Bazian actually comes off rather well.

This “professor” is using his position of authority to bully and harass his students by demanding that they tweet about “Islamophobia.” His “course” is yet another sign of how low American academia has sunk.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is a fictitious flag, as well as other fictitious flags, is fictitious or proposed but not adopted. This flag is named as it would be an official flag of a national or subnational entity, and probably has some visual elements that are similar to official logos or coats of arms of certain entity, such as colors or some symbol, but they are NOT official and don’t have any official recognition. It is courtesy of Applysense.

Oscar Predictions for 2014

/in , /by

The Oscar awards are around the corner, so it’s time for the annual predictions, let’s see how we do. Last year I missed one out of the top six categories, predicting Spielberg as Best Director for Lincoln, but he lost out to Ang Lee, for Life of Pi.

I have yet to see one of the nominated films (Nebraska) so I’m unable to include that movie, nor it’s best acting nominees of Bruce Dern and June Squibb, in my appraisal. As before, I’ll limit the predictions to the six major categories; Actors, Supporting Actors, Director and Best Movie. The following are based on the movies nominated other than Nebraska.

Best Supporting Actor:

This will be a close race in which Hollywood will probably lean toward the Somali newcomer (Barkhad Abdi) for his terrorist portrayal in Captain Phillips. But this is one of those roles where the actor has no background in the profession and was selected for his physical appearance and ethnicity. He was remarkably good in that role, but not a seasoned actor like Jared Leto and Bradley Cooper

Who should win: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club

Who will win: Barkhad Abdi, for Captain Phillips

Best Supporting Actress:

Jennifer Lawrence has just come off an Oscar win from last year. Julia Roberts is a Hollywood veteran and a favorite. Roberts’ performance was superb, but I’d lean to Lawrence based on pure acting.

Who should win: Jennifer Lawrence, for American Hustle

Who will win: Julia Roberts, for August: Osage County

Best Actor:

This is the tightest field of them all. It’s almost inconceivable that Tom Hanks did not even merit a nomination for his superb portrayal of Captain Phillips. I had figured him the winner when I walked out of the movie. British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, was remarkable in his role as the captured slave in 12 Years a Slave. Christian Bale and DiCaprio were both outstanding actors in their respective movies. But once I watched the performance by Matthew McConaughey, where he lost over forty pounds to play a wheeler-dealer AIDS patient, it was a no-brainer.

Who should win: Matthew McConaughey, for Dallas Buyers Club

Who will win: Matthew McConaughey, for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress:

Sandra Bullock appears to be a media favorite, but all she did was float in her space suit going into fright-spasms when she became unattached. Good, yes, but not Oscar worthy. This is a close choice between Amy Adams, who I think is one of up-and-coming replacements for Meryl Streep in the “greatness” category. And, of course, Meryl herself in another nominated role, richly deserved.

Who should win: Amy Adams, for American Hustle

Who will win: Meryl Streep, for August: OsageCounty

Best Director:

Martin Scorcese is a directing genius, but he went way over the top with overly graphic portrayals of physical and moral depravity in The Wolf of Wall Street. Some of those scenes could have easily been omitted without hurting the movie. I think it’s a toss-up between the director from the UK, Steve McQueen, and David O. Russell for American Hustle. McQueen’s product was chilling and well done. Also, no black has ever won a Best Director award. It’s a lock.

Who should win: Steve McQueen, for 12 Years a Slave

Who will win: Steve McQueen, for 12 Years a Slave.

Best Picture:

There are ten nominees, two of which are undeserving, in my opinion. (Gravity and Her) Hollywood will probably lean toward Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave. But that’s not my pick.

Who should win: American Hustle

Who will win: 12 Years a Slave

The Academy Awards Show is March 2nd. Feel free to jump in with your predictions with a comment.

The Forefathers Monument: “When Injustice Becomes Law Resistance Becomes Duty”

/in , , /by

This is wonderful tapestry carved out of granite that embodies the beauty and richness of our heritage. The Forefathers Monument is a history lesson, written not in words but in symbols and artwork as a testament to those who came before us and a beacon for those who may become lost in the future. It is the largest granite monument in the US and stands 81 feet tall. The sculptor, Hammatt Billings designed it to be nearly twice as tall. The monument was formerly called The Pilgrim Monument. The monument does not receive the special status that it deserves by residing in the center of a city square or as a focal point in the capital.

Sadly this monument if often overlooked and forgotten, as it is located at the end of a residential street in Plymouth, Massachusetts standing on a little hill amongst homes. The statue points towards the sky giving power and glory to God. Perhaps that might be a contributing factor as to why this majestic piece of history is neglected by our country, and a primary reason we should focus on this monument now more than ever to explore and restore what this statue represents.

Unfolding the richness of what this monument symbolizes would take a lot more time and attention than I can relate in this article, it wouldn’t do justice to this masterful artwork. The monument is comprised of several statues which outline the five (5) keys of knowledge that tell the story of what our nation’s pilgrims believed in and on which our country was founded.  In order to get the most out of this monument there is an order or sequence to the keys.

Standing at the center of this monument is a beautiful woman who represents Faith. She stands with one foot on Plymouth Rock, has an open Bible in her left hand that is well worn from reading while her right hand is uplifted to heaven. There is a star on her forehead which means she was given wisdom to live in this world.  She looks down as if to call people to trust in a higher power. Faith is at the center and is the tallest point on the monument there are four other statues that are beneath and circle Faith. Those statues are Morality, Law, Education and Liberty.

Morality is depicted as a woman which unseeing eyes, meaning that we are to look inward and are responsible for our own morality. She is wearing a breastplate necklace which represents that the individual followers of Christ have direct access to God and is a priest to his family.  In her left hand are the 10 Commandments which represents God’s direction for life and in her other hand is the Scroll of Revelation which states God is the Alpha and Omega and rules over all time.  On the base of Morality there are two more statuettes one that represents a prophet that hears the call from God and follows God’s commands the other is the Evangelist which is taking seed from the Bible and sowing it;  which is a common allegory for preaching the message of Christ. The pilgrims’ desire was to live in their faith, be an example and share their faith with others.

The statue representing Law is a very stern faced man with serious eyes that have vision.  In his left hand are the 10 Commandments – 6 of these deals with civil society.  *Honor your father and mother *Do not murder *Do not commit adultery *Do not steal *Do not covet *Do not bear false testimony.  His right hand is extended in mercy. The pilgrims believed that all were created equal before the law that no special privileges should be considered due to birth, wealth or social status.  Many of their laws came right from the Bible and applied Biblical principles to justice, ethics and proper restitution for wrongdoings.  Beneath the statue of Law are two more statuettes representing Justice and Mercy.  Justice has scales in her right hand which represents equal justice under the law for all, no matter their standing in society, and that the punishment should fit the crime.  There is a sword by her left side which represents that authority is given by God to the civil government to provide justice.  Mercy is a man standing with both arms at his side with his hands palms open and lifted up depicting balance and any punishment will be fair.  The Law’s pedestal is a replica of The Peace Treaty.

Education is represented by a youthful woman who is wearing a “victor’s wreath”, showing she had accomplished the task of educating her children and was victorious in passing on the ideals of liberty to the next generation. Her youthful face shows she completed this task at a young age. She has an open Bible on her lap with a finger on the page as if giving instructions, it also represents all books that speak of whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, to focus on those things that are excellent and trustworthy. Learning was highly valued among the pilgrims.  The two statuettes below her showing youth and age depict a woman holding a child’s hand which relates that teaching a child is hard work and she is holding his hand which shows love, leading him in instruction and guiding the child. Literacy was high among youth and adults. Reading the Bible and other books were the key to learning and education. Literacy rates and breadth of reading far outpace today’s standards. The other statuette is an older man depicting a wise counsel of elders and at his feet are 3 objects.  An open Bible representing a lamp unto our feet and a guide to us, behind the Bible are the 10 Commandments God’s guidance for personal behavior and the basis for civil government and then the glob taking the Great Commission to the world.  The Education’s pedestal has an engraved replica of the Mayflower Compact.

The Mayflower Compact is representative of the 4 forms of government. Individual government, which is self responsibility and self governance, next is Family government which represents love, care, provision, children, education and legacy. Then comes Church government which provides inspiration, encouragement and accountability with the last form of government being Civil government which is protection and justice. As you apply those characters to yourself, the individual, those same qualities should be made manifest in civil government, electing persons of no special eminence above the rest, let your wisdom and godliness appear.  Select capable men who fear God, trustworthy men, who hate dishonest gain. Ex 18:21 (NIV).  (Standards we have lost along the way, however they can be restored).

The final statue is Liberty which is represented by a man in his prime sitting down with a steady gaze which shows clear sight, there is a rising sun on his helmet which denotes a new day of liberty dawning. There is a slain lion with a paw on his right shoulder, his left arm shows lion skin and a foot while behind his back is the lion’s head. The slain lion represents spiritual tyranny which the pilgrims believed that they were overcoming l Peter 5:8-11 (NIV) “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith and the God of all grace, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”  The shackles of tyranny are broken represented by chains on his hand which lie broken dangling down to his left thigh and calf.  With the chain under his foot showing that tyranny is under submission.  There is a sword that is sheathed which means that they would defend their liberty and would not take an offensive position.  Knowing the best way to keep peace is to be prepared to defend self, community and nation.

There are two statuettes beneath Liberty one which represents overcoming Tyranny the other represents Peace.  The statuette representing tyranny shows a man standing with his foot on the chest of a man on the ground. The standing man has his hand raised up representing God’s strength; his foot on the chest of the other man depicts a tyrant who is kept under control which shows freedom is worth fighting for. The tyrant is trying to brace himself with his elbow to get back up which show that tyrants always will try to get back in power.  The quest to gain power is innate in man. The other statuette is Peace a woman standing with an olive branch in her right hand offering peace and there is also a cornucopia which signifies abundance because with peace there is also abundance.

The Forefathers Monument represents the embodiment of why our forefathers came to America and the values and character they possessed. Our rich Christian heritage is represented in every aspect of this historical piece of art inspiring those who gaze upon it to embrace the principles depicted on the monument. I hope this peaked your curiosity to learn more about this remarkable monument and perhaps encourage smaller replicas be made and installed all across America as a reminder of our true path.

To watch a brief YouTube of the Forefathers Monument with Kirk Cameron go to:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/glfPpsFPyYc[/youtube]

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Monument_to_the_Forefathers , ctmonuments.net/2010/08/national-monument-to-the-forefa.
historicaldigression.com/2012/01/31/forefathers-monument-in-plym…   More from historicaldigression.com
newenglandtravelplanner.com/go/ma/southshore/plymouth/sights/forefa…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glfPpsFPyYc

Hating All Infidels

/in , , /by

What does it say about Islam that both the Super Bowl in America and the winter Olympics in Russia require massive security against an attack by jihadists?

What most people in America and the West have not been able to grasp is Islam’s hatred of the infidel—the unbeliever. It has existed for fourteen centuries. On top of that is the schism within Islam between Sunnis, the majority of Muslims, and Shiites.

Because few among us have actually lived among the Muslims of the Middle East our understanding of that particular element of Islam, Arabs and Persians, is gained only by the daily headlines of the way they kill one another in those nations where the Sunnis and Shiites are locked in a war to gain or retain power.

While Islam looks and sounds like a religion, it is more a political and economic entity concerned with controlling those populations where it is dominant, largely keeping them unable to resist the despots, monarchs, and clerics in charge. Iran’s Supreme Leader, for example, is worth billions.

What the West has yet to grasp is its intent on world domination. That is why jihad—the so-called holy war—is a central pillar of faith.

The worship of Mohammed, believed by Muslims to be the final prophet who replaces the Jewish prophets and Jesus, doesn’t just permit but encourages the Islamic hatred of the infidel. It justifies any action taken against Judaism and Christianity; it includes the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and all others.

At a time when the U.S. is attempting to encourage Iran to give up its program to acquire its own nuclear weapons, those engaged in this ignore decades of deceit while the program continued and the example set by Mohammed who signed treaties when he felt his group was not strong enough to gain power and then broke them. His history is filled with attacks, taking women and children hostage, and looting until he had built a force capable of prevailing.

As one of the leading authorities on Islam, Ali Sina, has written:

“This is how Muslims have operated ever since. They offer peace and sign treaties when in their estimation the prospect of winning the war is not good. But they will break their treaties the moment they become confident of their victory.”

In the 1970s, after centuries of little to no Jihad, Muslims resumed it, launching their terrorist activities. “Jihad was never abandoned.” Sina warns that, “Unfortunately the Westerners have no understanding of the Muslim mind and here lies their vulnerability.”

This explains in part why, following 9/11, a classic terrorist attack, the U.S. response in Afghanistan should have been a limited, but devastating attack followed by withdrawal. The same applies to Iraq where the reason given was the removal of Saddam, its dictator who had previously attacked Kuwait, and the belief he had weapons of mass destruction. Instead of an attack comparable to Kuwait, his quick capture and death, America settled into Iraq thinking it could introduce democracy. Al Qaeda, the Sunnis and Shiites had other thoughts. Today they are locked into bloody battle.

The same applies to Syria where hundreds of thousands have died as various Islamist groups, generally referred to as al Qaeda these days, as they have fought for control of the nation and been resisted by Bashar Assad, the son of its former dictator. Only mentioned in passing has been the wanton killing of Syrian Christians. Today the Middle East is a no-man’s land for Christians.

Open Doors USA recently released its 2014 World Watch List, a report that ranks the 50 worst nations engaged in the persecution of Christians. What it reveals is that 82% of all the prosecution occurring worldwide is perpetrated by Muslims.

It has become a cliché that, while all Muslims are not terrorists, all the terrorists are Muslims.

As Sina bluntly says, “The Islamic terrorism has nothing to do with what the Westerners do and there is nothing that they could do to diminish it except to fight it and destroy it.” An author and founder of Faith Freedom, a movement to encourage Muslims to leave Islam, Sina says “The truth is that Islam is a sick ideology. It is an ideology of hate and it can do nothing but produce death. This is the reality that the world is unwilling to accept.”

In the Middle East the U.S. has only one ally and that is Israel, the Jewish state. While it has maintained diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia for decades since World War Two, that nation has invested billions to build mosques and spread Islam throughout Europe, America, and everywhere else in the world. They are Sunni mosques where Shiites are not welcome.

The misnamed “Arab spring” has revealed how rotten to the core Islam is. Those despots who were overthrown in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt has left the first two nations in chaos and, in Egypt, the army, recognizing who the enemy is, has declared the Muslim Brotherhood the enemy. So has the United Arab Republic.

Iran is the classic case of Islamists overthrowing the shah and instituting a nightmarish state in which Iranians have no justice system to turn to and a legislature in name only. The ayatollahs rule. If they acquire nuclear weapons, they will use them, first against Israel, and then likely against Saudi Arabia, a Sunni nation. The Iranians are Shiites.

A reading of the Qur’an would tell you what America and the West is up against. Islam is not about peace.

“Fight in the cause of God those who fight you…And slay them wherever ye catch them…And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and there prevail justice and faith in God…” (2:190-193).

“The punishment of those who wage war against God and His apostle and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land.” (5-36).

“…fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war…” (9.5)

The Qur’an is a battle plan for world conquest.

When President Obama says that al Qaeda is being defeated, he is deceiving Americans. Thus far his Middle East policies have seen Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria turn against us. American influence there is waning as the Jihad continues and spreads. In Benghazi, Libya, it cost us the life of our ambassador and three security personnel. And then the President and Secretary of State lied about it. The date of the attack was September 11, 2012.

Islam demands that infidels either convert or accept a limited role called dhimmitude. That is our fate if we do not demonstrate our power and destroy those seeking to dominate the world.

© Alan Caruba, 2014

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is courtesy of Al Jazeera – English.

Communism in America: The first Marxist President and hidden Muslims the Nation’s 230 Year History

/in , , , /by

At the 2014 South Carolina TEA Party, listen to two presentations about the first Marxist President and hidden Muslims. New Zealander Trevor Loudon warning of the ‘Enemies Within’.

Ben Smith former Navy SEAL is followed by a panel composed of those who all enlisted in the Cold Civil War that is going on in our homeland today. The assault By Communism, the assault by Socialism, the assault by Islam’s Muslim Brotherhood who are here and in the White House.

Frank de Varona, Director, Bear Witness Central, speaks in South Carolina about the first Marxist President and hidden Muslims:

Trevor Loudon at speaks at the 2014 South Carolina TEA Party, Warning of the ‘Enemies Within’:

ABOUT FRANK DE VARONA:

Frank de Varona is an educator, historian, journalist, and internationally known expert on politics,  economics, foreign affairs, and national security issues. He has written 20 books, including three on President Barack Obama. At the age of 17, he participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. After the defeat, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison and served two years. After his liberation, he came to the United States and received three college degrees.

america in decline book coverDe Varona is the author of “America in Decline”. The book discusses the reasons for the decline of America under Obama. The author presents the real Obama, who has been associated his entire life with Marxists, socialists, and radicals. The author provides an account of Obama’s connections with his racist and unpatriotic pastor, Jeremiah Wright, his friendship with the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers and with criminals such as Tony Rezco.

The author reveals the multitude of scandals that have marked Obama’s life before and after his election as president. The scandals of the purchasing of his house in Chicago, the Saudi Arabia’s financing his Harvard education, the IRS persecution of political opponents, the NSA spying on Americans, the Benghazi affair, and many others. He points out that any of these recent scandals could result in impeachment charges on the president.

The author explains that Obama is the first Marxist and hidden Muslim elected to the White House in the nation’s history. The author tells about Obama’s road towards a totalitarian socialist society and his disdain for the Judeo Christian values that made our nation great and his war against religion and Christianity. The book tells about Obama’s desire to take away the sovereignty and the wealth of the nation through U.N. laws and treaties and the eventual establishment of a one world government.

The author covers the misguided economic and foreign policies of the president who has placed our nation at risk of bankruptcy and seriously endangered our national security. The book covers the disastrous beginning of the first year of Obama´s second term. It includes chapters on the unlawful Common Core, the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood and communists in the Obama administration, the history of the Muslim Brotherhood and its goal to destroy our nation and the West, Obama’s multiple violations of the Constitution and electoral fraud in the two presidential elections.

The author discusses the volatile situation in Egypt and Syria as well as the increasing threat of al-Qaeda, China, and Russia. The book covers the government shutdown and the disastrous implementation of ObamaCare.

The author gives an account of the unlawful creation of the Federal Reserve Bank by a banking cartel and of the Bank for International Settlements, the central bank of all the private central banks which runs the world. He describes the New World Order and the powerful elite of the Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, and Council of Foreign Relations which runs the United States and the world.

Lastly, the author offers specific recommendations to rescue the nation from tyranny and the road ahead for winning the Senate in 2014 and the White House in 2016.

Buy the paperback at Amazon.com
Buy the Kindle edition

Black on Black History Month and Race

/in , , /by

Ah, another Black History Month, or should I say Annual Bash America Month. Every year the usual suspects (Democrats and liberal media) use the month to promote hate via false narratives such as young black men are routinely hunted by whites; Conservatives and Republicans hate a commercial that features a biracial couple, and so on. You know the drill. America sucks, is eternally racist and victimizes blacks.

The left’s solution: More government freebies and special concessions for blacks, higher taxes and a stronger determination to eradicate income inequality. In other words, like MLK Day, Black History Month is simply another opportunity to exploit race to further the left’s socialist/progressive agenda.

I offer a bizarre concept. Why not celebrate BHM by featuring extraordinary blacks and their contributions? For example: In 1872 Henry Brown amazingly escaped slavery by mailing himself to freedom in a box.

In the 1980s, Pillsbury Company appointed successful black business executive Herman Cain to be chairman and CEO of Godfather Pizza. Cain become the CEO of the National Restaurant Association.

Herman Cain is a black conservative which by definition means he disagrees with Obama’s agenda. This disqualifies Cain, a great role model for black youths, from being featured in a Black History Month PSA.

A black entrepreneurial magazine featured Obama on its cover as a champion of black empowerment. I thought, “Are these people delusional?” Obama’s presidency has devastated entrepreneurs, especially blacks. And yet, the black publishers chose to make race trump the truth.

Race. Race. Race. Folks, my head is flooded with thoughts on this highly emotional issue which causes rational people to behave irrationally. Emotionally enslaved to racial loyalty, Christian family and friends either ignored or twisted the Bible to support Obama, despite his anti-Christian agenda; same sex marriage, abortion, banning God from the public square and forcing Christians to betray their faith.

Void of reality, BET featured a show touting the Obama’s strong Christian faith.

Race is such an emotional issue. In a restaurant, a white waitress gave a chilly reply to my cheerful, “Good morning”. I know intelligent blacks, burdened with a black chip on their shoulders. They would have automatically assumed the waitress’s coldness was racially motivated. Later, white friends commented about the same waitress. “She waited on us yesterday. Man, was she cold.” Apparently, the waitress spread her unfriendly vibe indiscriminately.

For all intensive purposes, the GOP has surrendered its principles, values and the country to Obama due to racial intimidation. Remarkably, despite Obama’s unprecedented lies and scandals, race still prevents honest media coverage of his Administration.

Race is the Democrats and media’s most potent weapon to silence opposition to Obama’s war on the Constitution. I am a Tea Party activist. The left promotes the evil, divisive and irresponsible lie that my white Tea Party brothers and sisters call me a n***** behind my back.

Strong arguments exist on both sides about whether or not we should have Black History Month.

Racism will remain among the sins of humanity. But for the most part, you get what you give. Kindness and respect usually mirrors itself. Decent well-intentioned people find ways of working out their differences. I realize that this truth is too simplistic and individual-empowering for government social engineers, multicultural professors and race exploiters.

I pray for a day without PC police and race-exploiters; a day when Americans are allowed to interact like the crew of the star-ship Enterprise in the 60’s Star Trek TV show; various races living together without race being an issue.

Captain’s log 2014: Lloyd out.

Honoring American Sniper Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield

/in , , , /by

I write this column with a heavy heart. This month marks the one year anniversary of the tragic shooting of American Sniper Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. I am a supporter of Craft International, the company that Chris co-founded. Craft international has kept Chris’s dream alive by sponsoring events like this weekends Chris Kyle Memorial Team Roping & Auction being held on February 7- 9, 2014 in Hamilton, TX at the beautiful Circle T Ranch/Arena. This event came about through the collaboration of Chris’s parents Wayne & Deby Kyle, brother Jeff Kyle, Scott Brown, and Chris & Darcy Douglas.

Proceeds from the weekend’s events will benefit Base Camp 40 “Warriors in the Wild” who honor our military veterans through participation in private land hunts – “Helping our brave veterans rediscover what they so proudly fought to defend, that being freedom…”

The Craft Team in an email states:

Thousands remember the Legend… the SEAL… the Patriot… and you were all of those things and more. We remember the friend, our bond, and the prankster who always had something up his sleeve. We miss your jokes and your big Texas laugh. We miss the man who would give the shirt off his back for a those in need. We miss our friend. You left us with a mission and a purpose. The team of guys you put together is truly dedicated to the “CRAFT” and to sharing with others.

You also brought Chad into our lives. Its hard to imagine anyone more big hearted than him. We miss you both.

chris kyle quote

The following is a from www.ChrisKyleMemorialRoping.com:

A LETTER FROM THE KYLE FAMILY

From cowboy boots to combat boots… Chris’s dreams were to be a cowboy and a Navy SEAL. He accomplished both with a determination that is rarely seen. He loved the country life with cattle and especially horses. He learned to ride at an early age and then began to rodeo. From that he became an accomplished cowboy with his ability to break and train horses. Up before dawn, in the saddle all day to way past dark at times. He was extremely happy, but one goal was yet to be accomplished, Navy SEAL. When he got the call to inquire about his interest, he jumped at the opportunity. Several people told him he could never become a SEAL. Well one thing is for sure, you never told Chris he could never do anything because he would prove you wrong… His service to his Beloved Country is a testament to his determination, fortitude, conviction, and warrior spirit. He achieved his goal.

The following is a small part of our letter written to Chris on the day of his Memorial:

“Your courage of conviction, your strength to persevere and the hope that survives disappointments are the keys to your success in life. You embraced and lived the slogan, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”

Chris knew that getting into the country and wide open spaces was therapy above and beyond anything else he experienced since leaving the Teams. That is one of the reasons he fell in love with Base Camp 40. Their love for Country, our Veterans, and desire to give back to those veterans exemplified Chris. He knew he found a place that made him feel good.

We have experienced Base Camp 40 ourselves and discovered why Chris became a part of that family. They are a truly great foundation. Their huge hearts reach out to those who have unselfishly served our country. Almost every single cent they raise goes back to helping our Veterans. That is one of the reasons we fully endorse and support Base Camp 40. That is also why we are leading the way with this event, the Chris Kyle Memorial Roping & Auction. 100% of the net proceeds from the event weekend & gear will go back to helping our Veterans.

Our goal is to annually carry on Chris’s legacy through this event by living his motto, “It is our duty to serve those who serve us.” 

Wayne & Deby Kyle

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends – John 15:13

EDITORS NOTE: Our thanks to Craft International for allowing us to use their words and images to remember Chris and Chad. No One could have said it better. Let us never forget their and their families sacrifices.

Rejoice! You have been liberated by the Red Army!

/in , , /by

Last week Samantha Power, who once discussed invading Israel and now serves as Obama’s Ambassador to the United Nations, decided to use the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army to link it to the Syrian Civil War: “In 1945, Russian soldiers liberated Auschwitz. Sixty-nine year later, if the United Nations is to live up to the noble purposes for which it was founded, the world again needs Russia to use its influence.”

The theme of being liberated by communist forces is apparently also haunting The New York Times writers: “The Congressional Budget Office estimated on Tuesday that the Affordable Care Act will reduce the number of full-time workers by 2.5 million over the next decade. That is mostly a good thing, a liberating result of the law.”

Rejoice, comrades! The Red Army has finally come to liberate you from the shackles of capitalist employment! The ACA, erroneously known as Obamacare, but recognized by the Party as the Affordable Communism Act, is only a tool – a weapon, if you will – a fiery sword in the mighty hands of the Red Army warrior.

But, as we all know, the Red Army doesn’t liberate one thing like your employment and then just goes away! There’s a lot more to liberate here, comrades – your wealth, schools, religion, sexuality, firearms, and even your sanity!

rejoice 1

rejoice 2

rejoice 3

rejoice 4rejoice 5

rejoice 6

This post has been made possible through joined efforts by DDR Kamerad and Red Square.

MORE READING:

Commissar Reid: Millions Freed From Chains of Full Time Work

President to Make Congress More Free

Health Law To Empower Workers To Work Less

Rescued from the Living Hell of Employment Slavery!

Mainstream: Girls with Guns in America

/in , , , , /by

Guns are no longer something icky you have to keep secret from your neighbors. They’re mainstream. – Iain Harrison, Editor of RECOIL Magazine.

Harrison writes, “During this past year we gun owners as a community have weathered one of the most serious threats to our proud heritage and way of life since the early ’90s. And we came out on top. Despite throwing enormous amounts of money and influence into passing firearms laws that would have done nothing apart from inconvenience the law-abiding, for the most part anti-gun politicians came away with the square root of bugger all to show for it.”

“The reasons for that are numerous, but one key difference between the Clinton era and the landscape today is that, in most of the nation, guns are no longer something icky you have to keep secret from your neighbors. They’re mainstream. When something becomes mainstream, it’s much harder to demonize,” notes Harrison.

I believe one of the major reasons gun ownership has become mainstream is because of American women. More women are buying, shooting and training to defend themselves with firearms. RECOIL Magazine has an entire section of their website titled “Girls with Guns“. If you Google the words “girls with guns” you will get 155 million links.

American women and men alike are now enjoying the camaraderie and friendships made at local shooting ranges.

I visit my local gun shop on a regular basis and recently met women there looking to purchase weapons for self-defense. This can be pepper spray guns to pistols, automatics, rifles and shotguns. One woman came in who lived in a minority neighborhood and I struck up a conversation with her. This wonderful black woman was there to purchase a handgun. I asked her what kind, sensing this was her first time in a gun shop. She said, “I don’t really know. Whatever my money can buy. I am really thinking of a .357 magnum.” I asked her why? She responded that she had lived in her minority neighborhood most of her life and for the first time she did not feel safe and wanted to protect herself. God bless her and the Second Amendment.

Women like Morgan Reese from Texas are outspoken about their love of guns and support for the Second Amendment. Morgan is pictured above in the featured photo for this column. Morgan reads books like American Sniper by Chris Kyle and Fearless by Eric Blehm. She is an American patriot and helping the cause in whatever way she can. Morgan was featured in RECOIL Magazine Issue #11.

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote:

“I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within it, nowhere does she enjoy a higher station. And if anyone asks me what I think the chief cause of the extraordinary prosperity and growing power of this nation, I should answer that it is due to the superiority of their women.”

Tocqueville once observed that it is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth. The simple lie is guns are icky. The complex truth is men and women are buying guns is large numbers and guns are now mainstream.

One of the videos featured on the RECOIL website is the 2014 Magpul Calendar Shoot:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/gdK0y013mBc[/youtube]

Hey guys and girls, if this video does not get you down to your local gun shop I don’t know what will. Guys, girls, guns, motorcycles and fast cars. What else is there in life?

RELATED STORIES:

GUNS ON THE RISE: Federal Government’s Automated Weapon Registration System Swamped by Surge in Registration and Transfer of National Firearms Act Covered Weapons

Girls Just Wanna Have Guns: Gun Permits for Indiana Women Up 42%

The Sierra Club Hates Energy

/in , , /by

If I told you that you should hate coal, oil and natural gas, you might think I was crazy and you would be right. Everything we do involves these three energy reserves and the U.S. has so much of them that we could be energy independent of the rest of the world while, at the same time, exporting them.

When you think about energy reserves, think about the hundreds of thousands of jobs they represent. Then think about the huge revenue in leases and taxes they represent to the government that needs to reduce its debt. Ultimately, though, try to imagine a nation that does not utilize petroleum in thousands of ways or fails to tap its enormous coal and natural gas reserves to generate the electricity upon which that everything depends.

I recently received an email from the Sierra Club praising the President’s State of the Union speech in which he claimed that climate change—by which they mean global warming—is real and that the science is “settled.” No, the science entirely refutes it—except if one means that the climate has always been a state of change. The most recent climate change is seventeen years of cooling that has gifted us with record-breaking cold as far south as Florida.

What Sierra Club focused on was Obama’s call for “new sources of energy” other than the traditional ones. He was referring to solar and wind energy. A recent news article on CNSNews noted that “Solar power, which President Barack Obama promoted…accounted for 0.2 percent of the U.S. electricity supply in the first nine months of 2013, according to data published by the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration.”

According to the EIA, “the United States is producing less electricity now than it did when Obama took office…From 2008 to 2012, U.S. electricity production declined by 1.7 percent.”

Some might take this as a good thing, but “electricity has gotten more expensive since 2008—with the electricity price index at an all-time high.” So we are paying more while getting less.

The Sierra Club, however, criticized Obama saying “As long as his administration keeps throwing lifelines to old sources of energy like oil and gas, we won’t be able to lead the world on clean energy solutions like wind and solar.” They called for an “end to oil and gas fracking on public lands.” What they are not saying is that the Obama administration has virtually put an end to any exploration and extraction of energy sources on public lands. And you can forget about the massive reserves estimated to exist off-shore of our coasts.

In early January, Mark D. Green, the editor of Energy Tomorrow, a project of the American Petroleum Institute, examined the reality of our vast energy sources. Keep in mind that every product we purchase is dependent in some way on oil. “Every day 143 U.S. refineries convert an average of 15 million barrels of crude oil” that provide power for our vast transportation needs and thousands of other uses. Oil is the basis for the creation of plastic. Try to imagine living without anything that does not utilize plastic in some fashion.

As for natural gas, experts predict that lower prices as more is discovered via fracking, will increase industrial output 2.8 percent by 2015 and 3.9 percent by 2025. Policies that would allow the export of U.S. liquefied natural gas would generate between $15.6 billion and $73.6 billion to the Gross Domestic Product and help reduce our deficits and debt.

The Sierra Club doesn’t want to see the U.S. benefit from coal, oil and natural gas. It wants to see the landmass filled with solar farms and thousands of wind turbines that would not produce enough electricity to meet the needs of nation, let alone a major city. Because they are unpredictable, all require the backup of traditional plants.

Nor does the Sierra Club make any mention of the Obama administration’s war on coal that has forced 153 plants to shut down. It’s Environmental Protection Agency has proposed regulations that would require new plants to employ carbon capture and sequestration technology that is not commercially available! Nor is there any reason to capture carbon dioxide, the gas that is the “food” that every single piece of vegetation requires; a gas that plays virtually no role at all in the Earth’s climate.

As this is being written, the State Department just released a report that would clear the way for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada after a five-year delay by the Obama administration. Pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and natural gas. If the U.S. cannot gain access to the oil, it will go to China and other nations.

The prospect of the pipeline was rejected by the Sierra Club. Friends of the Earth announced that it would join with the Rainforest Action Network, the Sierra Club, and other radical Green groups to hold vigils around the nation Monday to protest its possible approval and construction.

The Sierra Club is not only lying to its members, it is lying to all of us when it says “Getting all of the energy we need without using fossil fuels is no longer a question of whether we can—but whether we will.” We can’t, we shouldn’t, and we won’t…but we must wait until Obama is no longer in office and, as early as the 2014 midterm elections, we must rid our nation of his supporters in Congress.

Then we will watch our nation’s economy expand with more jobs and more revenue.

© Alan Caruba, 2014

The Gay Attack on American Values

/in , , , , /by

In societies around the world, homosexuals encounter not just resistance, but the threat of death for their sexual orientation. In the West we regard this as barbarian and it is. I concluded long ago that gays—using their own term—have no choice over this sexual aberration from the norm of heterosexuality.

In America, gays—male and female homosexuals—represent about 3% of the population. That leaves 97% in a majority and that majority is now under a full assault on their traditional values concerning marriage—intended only for the opposite sexes—and in some cases on their religious faith that deems homosexuality a sin.

In recent years we have seen gays achieve a legal status for same-sex marriage, thus undermining centuries of tradition that understands marriage to be for the purpose of procreation and as the keystone of society. We have a President who changed his mind from his 2008 political campaign and announced that he not only approved of gay marriage but that his administration, the Department of Justice, would not enforce the Defense of Marriage law passed by Congress.

The Obama administration has pressed hard to alter the military that went from “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” under the Clinton administration, to the present status that sees no problem in the close living conditions under which heterosexual and homosexual troops must live and work together. This was always regarded as a problem of unit cohesion in the long years leading up to the 1990s and it likely still is. In a similar fashion, the infusion of women into combat units poses problems that the military understandably avoided for most of the last two hundred and twenty-eight years of the nation’s history.

The passage of Obamacare has posed significant problems for religious groups that oppose abortion and related practices. It has particularly affected Catholic institutions and, most recently, the Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of nuns who do not want to signal any concurrence with the law as it is written. The Supreme Court has granted that some respite, but their issue and others will surely have to be addressed by the Court at some point.

In Massachusetts, a homosexual legal group has filed papers to force a Catholic school to hire a man who is “married” to another man. As reported by MassResistance.org, “Back in July, Matthew Barrett of Dorchester applied for a job as the food service director at Fontbonne Academy, a Roman Catholic girls’ high school in Milton, Mass, and was subsequently offered the job. When he filled out a pre-employment form listing his ‘husband’ as an emergency contact the school told him that ‘the Catholic religion doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage. We cannot hire you.’”

“Barrett claimed to be shocked by the school’s action,” noted MassResistance, “But it appears that he was purposefully dishonest. He told the Boston Globe that he was raised a Catholic and that he was informed by school officials during the interview process that employees are expected to follow Catholic doctrine. However, he did not tell the school that he was openly involved with homosexual behavior and was in a ‘gay marriage.’”

MassResistance regards the case as “the beginning of the homosexual movement’s legal assault on conservative churches, particularly Catholic, that have steadfastly refused to modify their religious convictions and comply with the homosexual movement’s demands on society. Up until now they’ve been largely left alone. But that is about to change.”

As the Boston Globe noted, “Barrett’s complaint, which may be the first of its kind in the country, comes at a time when religion-based schools in the increasing number of states where gay marriage is legal have been scrutinizing hiring and firing practices to ensure they conform with the pillars of their faiths”

“School administrators,” the Globe reported, “have been fired from Catholic schools and universities in Arkansas, California, New York, and Washington, among other states, after marrying their same-sex partners or announcing plans to do so.”

Bennett Klein, the lawyer for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination, asserts that “Our laws carefully balance the important values of religious liberty and non-discrimination. When Fontbonne Academy fired Matt from a job that has nothing to do with religion, they came down on the wrong side of the law.” It has everything to do with the free practice of religion.

“We’re seeing religion-affiliated entities more and more trying to push the line toward discriminating against gay, lesbian, and transgendered people,” said Klein.

No, it is the homosexuals who are pushing the line against religious groups who believe that their belief in God and their faith precludes the destruction of the construct of marriage is a sin against mankind and society.

It is 3% of the population demanding that 97% toss aside their faith and their values to accommodate the aberration called homosexuality. And, yes, it is an aberration because homosexuality cannot be interpreted as “normal” in any species.

MassResistance correctly says “This is madness and should not have any legal leg to stand on.”

If the homosexual assault on values and practices that have existed for centuries in the Catholic Church and in other religious faiths succeeds, the whole of our society will suffer for it. The Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion—murder—has resulted in the deaths of millions of unborn children who had a right to life.

Now, in Massachusetts and other States where same-sex marriage is deemed to be legal, the whole of the nation’s defense of marriage is under assault.

© Alan Caruba, 2014

RELATED COLUMN: Questions You’re Asking About Cakes, Gays, and Religious Freedom

Marie Winkelman guardianship: A Test Case to Lower the Bar on Incapacity in Florida?

/in , , , /by

The above photograph shows Willi Berchau  (seated front row center) at his guardianship freedom celebration party in January 2014.

At least 100 pages of Florida law, Chapter 744, are devoted to “Guardianship,” which may or may not be imposed upon a person who is determined to be incapacitated. Holocaust Survivor Marie Winkelman is now a Ward of the State of Florida, based upon the order of the Sarasota County Probate Court, which adopted a mediated settlement agreement that denied Marie her due process rights. This is the fourth part in an investigative series on the involuntary guardianship of author and acclaimed painter Marie Winkelman.

What is incapacity supposed to be?

According to the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act (1997), an “Incapacitated person” is an individual who, for reasons other than being a minor, is unable to receive and evaluate information or make or communicate decisions to such an extent that the individual lacks the ability to meet essential requirements for physical health, safety, or self-care, even with appropriate technological assistance.

So what was Marie’s status before she was put into State guardianship? Until July 2013, Marie lived independently in a lovely residence in Sarasota, Florida, where she cleaned her apartment immaculately everyday, organized her papers and closets effectively, dressed herself beautifully, prepared her meals, entertained guests frequently, did all of her own shopping, talked with her bankers and financial advisors regularly in person and by telephone, made and received calls multiple times per day, read the daily newspaper, paid her own bills by check and by telephone, and carried on conversations for hours, switching from Polish to English, depending upon the recipients with whom she was speaking.

Why Marie Winkelman’s guardianship is a test case …

Can Marie receive and evaluate information? Absolutely. Can Marie make and communicate decisions? Assuredly. Does Marie have the ability to meet essential requirements for physical health, safety, and self-care? Yes. By lowering the bar of “incapacity,” the State of Florida has created a substantially larger pool of affluent persons whose lives and fortunes are under the authority of the probate courts that increasingly operate in secrecy by closing hearings to the media and the public and removing court records from the public sphere.

Why is Marie in Florida state guardianship?

As a Ward of the State, Marie’s assets – millions of dollars – are no longer in her control. They can be and are being spent on hundreds of thousands of dollars of attorney bills, guardian fees, service provider charges, and other such costs that Marie never had before she was forced into guardianship. In other words, Marie’s assets are feeding dozens of professionals in a distressed economy. Only a few individuals are permitted to see the enormous bills being paid by the Sabal Trust Company from Marie’s assets, without Marie’s consent and without any court records of them.

How does Marie’s case affect you?

Have you ever left your checkbook on the table? Marie’s visiting nurse decided that this was a sign of financial incapacity. Do you have paintings on your walls? Marie’s visiting nurse testified in court that someone could take the paintings or the checkbook; so she determined that Marie must be financially incapacitated. Are you?

Can Marie ever escape guardianship?

Marie could litigate her incapacity and guardianship order, but so far, her attorney, Audrey Bear, has only asked the court for yet another mediation (scheduled for January 28, 2014), with which Marie disagrees.

Although Marie has repeatedly asked to have her rights restored, so far Ms. Bear has not filed a restoration of rights petition with the court. On December 15, 2013, Marie passed her examination of four consecutive hours by Dr. Eric Weinstock, the psychiatrist whose positive restoration of capacity evaluation promptly resulted in the freedom from guardianship of Florida Ward, Willi Berchau, who, like Marie, lived independently and successfully managed his wealth until he was forced into guardianship for many years; but, finally, at age 99, Willi is free.

Marie’s guardianship is a test case for the American people to speak out before more of us lose our life savings because we left our checkbooks lying on tables. Lowering the bar for incapacity is opening the floodgates of total state control of elders.

ABC Action News interview with Willi Berchau:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/p7izeaAPdEI[/youtube]