Random Thoughts on the State of the Union Speech

First - Tribute to Mrs. Coretta Scott King - nice touch!

Second - Olive branch to the opposition?

Third - Pushing the idea of peace through democracy or suffer the consequences....the US continues to take the lead.

Fourth - Marking Islam as the Religion of Murder and Fear - good point. Its about time W stopped mollycoddling Muslims. Never retreat, never surround - channeling Churchill?

Fifth - Big thumbs up support for the troops!

Sixth - Direct shots at Hamas and Iran. Throw down the gauntlet, W!

Seventh - Dovetails it with the request for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act! Justifies the wire-taps as defensive maneuver. Just listening to his voice raise shows his anger with the Dems - and rightly so,...

Eighth - its not the economy we want walled off, W, just the Southern Border! Immigrants are OK, so long as they're legal!

Ninth - Line item veto to reduce the pork? OK,..he needed to make the effort...

Tenth - Social Security reform and rebuke. Yes, Hillary just couldn't help herself! She's still a self-centered bitch!

Eleventh - The oil addiction. W finally acknowledges we are all smoking from the Saudi Arabian crack pipe! And it kinda shoots down the lefties' "Blood for Oil" argument.

Twelfth - Terrific acknowledgement to Roberts and Alito. Pushing the "servants of the law" ideology vs judicial activism. Applause for Sandra Day O'Connor!

Thirteenth - Addressing the Katrina disaster,...looking forward, not leveling blame.

Fourteenth - W continues to push for more AIDS dollars here and abroad. You can thank Bono for that one!

Fifteenth - Come back or go forward? The commitment to Iraq and peace is reiterated!

Finally,..GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

"W"ictory Tuesday!!!

HT to Jay at Stop the ACLU!!


Samuel Anthony Alito Jr., the son of an Italian immigrant and a longtime lawyer, prosecutor and judge, was confirmed as the 105th Supreme Court justice in one of the most partisan voites for a high court nominee in modern history.

Although senators are still voting, a majority have already cast votes in favor of President Bush’s choice to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Alito, 55, planned to watch his confirmation from a television in the White House’s Roosevelt Room.

The former U.S. appeals court judge will quickly be sworn in at the Supreme Court before his expected appearance at Bush’s annual State of the Union speech Tuesday evening with the White House’s other new Supreme Court judge, Chief Justice John Roberts.


The final vote was 58-42. So there, Teddy, go have another drink and shut the hell up!

The Oxymoronic World of Christiane Ammanpour

HT to Suzanne LaFrankie:

If anybody actually watched Larry King Live last night (I know few of my readers are actually THAT desperate), then you saw CNN's Christiane Ammanpour show her true colors!

When you make a comment like "The war in Iraq has basically turned into a disaster," any notions of her objectivity fly out the window.

And it's not like we didn't see this coming. Back in 1999, Jonathon Tobin made the same remarks here:

If there is anybody connected to this war that scares me, I have to confess that it isn't Milosevic or even Madeleine Albright. It's CNN Superstar Christianne Ammanpour.

Ammanpour, who is married to State Department spokesman James Rubin (am I the only one who finds that connection slightly fishy?), is always present whenever there's violence anywhere in the world. From Africa to Asia to the Balkans, if people are getting killed, that woman always seems to be nearby with a hand-held camera and a disapproving look.

In spite of the fact that she editorializes more than most editorial writers (her sad expression and tone when Bibi beat Peres in the 1996 Israeli election sticks in my memory), she's a good reporter and ahead of most of her competition.

Thank God for the likes of Fox News, or we'd all be swallowing her bulls**t and asking for seconds!

Speaking of Assholes,...

Zawahiri, in New Videotape, Says He Survived Airstrike
Monday, January 30, 2006

CAIRO, Egypt — Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri said in a videotape aired Monday that President Bush was a "butcher" and a "failure" because of a deadly U.S. airstrike in Pakistan targeting the bin Laden deputy, and he threatened a new attack on the United States.

TrekMedic muses:

Wow,..if look at the video carefully, you might see Ted Kennedy's (D-Runk) lips move!

Fiddling While Israel Burns!

With the "W" administration racking up more and more political wins, the DNC and Screamin' Howard Dean are left with nothing better to do than either stand by idly or go off on a while goose chase or two over wiretaps and Jack Abramoff.

Well,..with Hamas and Iranian President "Adolf Hitler" Ahmadinejad pushing us closer to a nuclear showdown, this country needs to get behind President Bush and be ready to address the following contingencies:

• If Israel unilaterally acts against Iran's nuclear program, how do we respond?
• If Iran actually succeeds in getting a nuclear weapon, what is our policy?
• If Hamas blows up another Israeli bus station/restaurant/resort, do we defend Israel's sovereignty?

What kind of image are we sending out to the world at large when an asshole like Ayman al-Zawahiri can "taunt President Bush??"

And the Leftist Apologizing Has Already Begun!

Posted on Sun, Jan. 29, 2006
For many Palestinians, Hamas vote was more anti-Fatah
By Michael Matza
Inquirer Staff Writer

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Rimal is one of Gaza's better neighborhoods, though you wouldn't call it posh. Its broken roads, tattered storefronts, and graffiti-splashed walls are just a cut above the dreary standard here.

On a street named Charles de Gaulle to honor a visit years ago by Jacques Chirac, elementary school math teacher Mahdi Brahim Kumssan, 43, lives with his wife, Mona, and their eight children, ages 4 to 17.

A lifelong supporter of the Fatah movement, which helped put Palestinian nationalism on the map, Kumssan bolted his party in the recent parliamentary election to vote for its bitter rival, the Islamic resistance movement Hamas. Droves of protest voters did the same, handing Fatah a stinging defeat.

TrekMedic muses:

Its amazing that just a few days after the Palestinians pushed the world closer to a nuclear Armeggedon, the MSM is already trying to spin the vote as anything but what is was: A rebuke of any pro-Western, peaceful solution to the Middle East's problems and a furthering of al Qaeda's war on the West!

Sad Day for Philadelphia

Firefighter collapses at Overbrook scene, dies

Veteran firefighter Tracy Champion, 49, died after he collapsed while battling a house fire early yesterday morning, officials said.

Champion lost consciousness about 2:30 a.m. at the scene in the city's Overbrook section. Rescue workers tried to revive him, but he later died at Lankenau Hospital, according to a statement from the Philadelphia Fire Department.

The cause of death was not immediately released.

Champion, who had been with the department for 21 years, is survived by his wife and two children.Associated Press

Harry Reid Does His Hillary Impression

Does this guy gargle with Absorbine, Jr??

Reid slams Santorum

Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) exchanged harsh words with Republican Conference Chairman Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) on the Senate floor yesterday, accusing him of practicing “crass politics.” In an unusually personal speech, Reid said, “I will not be lectured about civility by the junior senator from Pennsylvania who has repeatedly disrespected veterans.”

Earlier in the day, Santorum asked Reid to “show some leadership and some civility,” saying Reid had acted in a “partisan fashion” after Reid questioned the credentials of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson on veterans issues. Reid later apologized for failing to acknowledge Nicholson’s past military service.

Then Harry followed it up with this gem:

Santorum wants an end to ethnic slurs
By Carrie Budoff
Inquirer Staff Writer

First, they compared him to John Gotti. Then, they described him as the Godfather.

As Sen. Rick Santorum's Democratic critics look for ways to cast his role in the lobbying reform debate, they have invoked what several Italian American groups are calling ethnic slurs to describe Santorum - the son of an Italian immigrant and the highest-ranking Italian American in the Senate, according to his staff.

"If Sen. Santorum were Jewish or Hispanic or African American, these stereotypical allusions to his heritage would be unthinkable," said Dona De Sanctis, deputy executive director of the Order Sons of Italy in America, which describes itself as the largest national Italian American organization with 600,000 members. "Why is this permitted with an Italian American senator?"

They want an apology, starting with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nevada), who said on Jan. 18 during The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer on PBS that "having Sen. Santorum talk about reform is like having John Gotti talk about doing something about organized crime."

But that's OK,..Sen. Santorum appears to be getting the last laugh again:

Santorum siphons off some unions
At an AFL-CIO unity rally for Democrat Robert P. Casey Jr., there were defections. But most units still support him.
By Carrie Budoff
Inquirer Staff Writer

Democrat Robert P. Casey Jr.'s usually airtight support among labor unions sprang a leak this week.

When leaders of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO called a meeting Tuesday to unify behind Casey, the officers left divided. Casey earned the overall endorsement, but three unions and Pat Gillespie, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council, backed Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) over the Democrat.

The alliance with Santorum might seem contradictory - the senator has a 12 percent lifetime congressional voting record with the national AFL-CIO. But Gillespie and the dissident unions decided that, although they might not agree with him on everything, Santorum has brought construction jobs to the city and fought hard for the Delaware River dredging project, which proponents say will boost the region's port economy.

"I'm just looking at what is best for my members," said Mike Fera, president of the Philadelphia-based Cement Masons and Plasterers Union Local 592.

Interested in the TrekMedic??

HT to Kitty at AFSister for this one:

Ten Top Trivia Tips about TrekMedic!

1. Scientists have discovered that TrekMedic can smell the presence of autism in children.
2. It takes forty minutes to hard-boil TrekMedic!
3. Fish travel in schools, but whales travel in TrekMedic!
4. TrekMedic can usually be found in nests built in the webs of large spiders.
5. In the Great Seal of the United States the eagle grasps 13 arrows and TrekMedic!
6. TrekMedic was the first Tsar of Russia!
7. Plato believed that the souls of melancholy people would be reincarnated into TrekMedic.
8. TrekMedic is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.
9. In the kingdom of Bhutan, all citizens officially become TrekMedic on New Year's Day.
10. Owls cannot move their eyes, because their eyeballs are shaped like TrekMedic.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

DoubleStandard?dradnatSelbuoD (Google)

First, Google gets a pat on the back for standing up to the US Government's demands for data information. Click here for the MSM story.

Fair enough,...arguments can be made over privacy and free speech issues,....

But,..dontcha just wish they'd be a little consistent when "sticking it to the man??"

Check this Doublestandardradnatselbuod story:

China's Google Search Engine to Be Censored
Tuesday, January 24, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO — Online search engine leader Google Inc. has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the Internet's fastest growing market.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company planned to roll out a new version of its search engine bearing China's Web suffix ".cn," on Wednesday. A Chinese-language version of Google's search engine has previously been available through the company's dot-com address in the United States.

By creating a unique address for China, Google hopes to make its search engine more widely available and easier to use in the world's most populous country.

Oh, Canada!

Welcome back to the real world!

And I'm sure this is great news for ex-pat Bob over at Either Orr.

Conservatives celebrate minority government victory
Last Updated Tue, 24 Jan 2006 03:05:29 EST
CBC News

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Canada's next prime minister, pledged to work with all parties in the next Parliament after Canadians elected a Tory minority government Monday, ending a 12-year reign of Liberal rule.

"Tonight friends, our great country has voted for change. And Canadians have asked our party to take the lead in delivering that change," Harper told supporters in Calgary.

Harper acknowledged that Canadians have not given any one party a majority and have asked all parties to work together.

Signs of Hope?

Muslim Group to Call for Writer's Release

By SAMEER N. YACOUB

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. Muslim advocacy group arrived in Baghdad on Saturday to plead for the release of American hostage Jill Carroll, while an Iraqi official urged U.S. forces to free six detained Iraqi women in a bid to save the journalist.

TrekMedic muses:

Maybe the "Religion of Peace" is finally getting the message?

An Anti-ACLU Rant for 1/19/06

This week's anti-ACLU post comes by way of BobG over at Sweet Spirits of Ammonia:

ACLU uneven in approach to liberty

by Cait Jacob

Editor's Note: Because The Post did not print on Martin Luther King day, Cait Jacob's column will appear in today's paper.

Racism, bigotry, discrimination and prejudice are wrong.

In theory, the American Civil Liberties Union was established to uphold a citizen's constitutional rights and come to his or her aid if liberties are infringed upon. However, in its quest for achieving its own partisan agenda, the organization has exaggerated the Founding Father's words and misinterpreted them.

(snip)

Isn't it ironic that the ACLU will rally around a woman's right to equal pay as quickly as a pervert's right to look at children being sexually exploited? And isn't it an inherent contradiction that the ACLU says making child porn should be a crime, but looking at the finished product is somehow acceptable?

(snip)

Aside from gay marriage and child porn, the national ACLU policy, set by the board of directors, is one of neutrality on the issue of gun control. The ACLU believes "the Second Amendment does not confer an unlimited right upon individuals to own guns or other weapons, nor does it prohibit reasonable regulation of gun ownership, such as licensing and registration."

The Second Amendment states "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." The board of directors is quick to interpret this amendment as they want, just as they interpret the words "equal protection of the laws" as an obvious defense of gay marriage.

Apparently the ACLU does not apply their radical defense of the Constitution to all the amendments, only those the board of directors likes best.

- Cait Jacob is a freshman journalism major. Send her an e-mail at cj150204@ohiou.edu./p>

This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 115 blogs already on-board.

Osama bin Laden Speaks!

And what does he want to talk about?

"Our people are able to infiltrate through your security measures no matter how strong," he continued.

That's why our Predator missles keep hitting your buddies up there in the caves and we haven't been attacked since 9/11

The voice on the tape also proposed a "long-term truce with fair conditions" to the U.S. military.

"Truce?" I guess getting your number 2 man is making you re-think what you did to us on 9/11, you little s**t head!

The speaker said Bush should have paid attention to polls that showed most Americans want U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq instead of saying that it's better to fight the terrorists on their land rather than on American soil.

Hmm,...an irritating gas bag that looks at polls and then makes policy decisions,...that sounds vaguely familiar,...

(thinking)


(thinking)


(thinging)

Oh, yeah,..we have a name for people like that in THIS country, too! We call them:

DEMOCRATS

Hillary Suffers from Foot-in-Mouth Disease, Yet Again!

Sen. Clinton: U.S. House Run 'Like a Plantation'
Tuesday, January 17, 2006

NEW YORK — Sen. Hillary Clinton on Monday blasted the Bush administration as "one of the worst" in U.S. history and compared the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to a plantation where dissenting voices are squelched. The TrekMedic seems to recall a Republican Senator named Trent Lott catching hell for saying something equally racist. He was forced to resign a key Senate post. Whither Clinton?

Speaking during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, Clinton also offered an apology to a group of Hurricane Katrina survivors "on behalf of a government that left you behind, that turned its back on you." Her remarks were met with thunderous applause by a mostly black audience at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem. First, who is Sen. Clinton to be the spokesperson for this administration?? And second,..thunderous applause at a black church for a Democrat?? I'm shocked,..shocked!! Third, using a church as a bully pulpit for your re-election?? Someone call the IRS, please!!

The House "has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about," said Clinton, D-N.Y. "It has been run in a way so that nobody with a contrary view has had a chance to present legislation, to make an argument, to be heard." Wait,..."nobody with a contrary view has had a chance...to be heard?" Isn't that what happens to Republicans at most of these black churches, lead by the likes of Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson??

"We have a culture of corruption, we have cronyism, we have incompetence," she said. "I predict to you that this administration will go down in history as one of the worst that has ever governed our country." Obviously, Hillary hasn't be to Democratic-run Philadelphia, has she??

Cruel and Unusual?

Clarence Ray Allen Executed at San Quentin Written for the web by Bob Montgomery, Internet News Producer

From KXTV-Sacramento:
Allen petitioned for clemency on the grounds that his age and poor health made the death penalty a cruel and unusual punishment. He was confined to a wheelchair, was deaf and legally blind, and had diabetes and a variety of other medical conditions.


From FoxNews:
Allen, whose birthday was Monday, stood to become the oldest person executed in California and the second-oldest put to death nationally— since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976.

He raised two claims never before endorsed by the high court: that executing a frail old man would violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, and that the 23 years he spent on death row were unconstitutionally cruel as well.

TrekMedic muses:

Allen's bleeding-heart liberal lawyers petitioned the case citing grounds for "cruel and unusual punishment" do to his multiple ailments.

Well, you know, if his lawyers hadn't taken his case on a wild-goose chase for 23 years and let justice be served swiftly, he wouldn't have become so debilitateded in the first place!!

And a final dagger in the back for this "no s**t" statement:

Prior to his execution Allen was given the traditional final meal. He dined on a buffalo steak, white-meat chicken from KFC, sugar-free pecan pie and sugar-free black walnut ice cream.

Sugar free? Yeah, because, God forbid, all that sugar might wreak havoc with his diabetes and,.....(gasp!),....kill him!!

MLK Day,....

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr's birthday today, I am struck by several thoughts:

1. As usual, its another excuse to get well-off white kids from the suburbs to come to North Philly and do what the locals can't/won't do on a regualr basis: clean up the neighborhood (guessing that's part of the 40 acres and a mule philosophy).
2. It is truly remarkable that portions of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech were extemporaneous and 40+ years later, it is ingrained in the American psyche.
3. Let's parse and refelct on some of that speech:

'I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed --- "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal."' - Constitutionally supported and upheld every day, despite the best efforts of the ACLU!

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." - This is probably truer now in the South than in most parts of the North.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." - Again, this would probably be true, if not for the diligent efforts of the ACLU to keep us separate and at odds for their own gain!

And while on the subject, it appears the ACLU is actually trying to use MLK's image for their own perverse gains, yet again. Click here for the whole story!

Is It Just Me,....?

Last night, I was watching the Sci-Fi Channel's Friday night lineup of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica.

I seem to have watched an awful lot of commercials for Cialis during all three shows.

Now, we all no good marketing is targeted to a specific group, so Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??

BTW - If I had an erection that lasted for more than four hours, calling my doctor would be the LAST thing I'd do! ;-)

Another One Bites the Dust

It is with a heavy heart that we all bid good-bye to Katey over at Kate's Kafe!



Apparently, the stress of her life and work have made her brew her last pot of blog coffee!

Her insights will be missed! Hopefully, when she gets her life back in order, she grace the blogosphere with her presence.

Great Blonde Joke!!

Check this out at both White Lightning Axiom and Charlie on the Turnpike!

It truly is the best Blonde joke I've seen in a LONG time!!!

This Just About Sums Up the Left's Political Views

Huge HT to iHillary for this one:





All Hail the King of the DoubleStandardradnatSelbuoD!!!

Some Random Thoughts for the Day

With the CHRISTmas season over and the transition to the winter doldrums upon us, we are now getting inundated with a never-ending parade of "award" shows.

With these awards comes lots of gossip and "buzz" about the next great Hollyweird epic.

One movie in particular comes to mind: Brokeback Mountain.

This movie, Leftywood's latest attempt to destroy and distort our American heritage, is all the rage at the Lefties' cocktail parties (did I just say "cock" about Brokeback Mountain? Hmmm,..my Freudian slip is showing again)

Is it just me, or does it seem that for such a "great" movie, destined to rampage through the Golden Globes and Oscars a la "Titanic," I see very little in the way of the actors beating the drum on the talkshow circuit, nor do I see much written press about the movie, other than Heath Ledger whining about how "hard" (damn,..there I go again!) it was to play a homosexual?

Could it be that the collective conscious of these players is getting the better of them for putting out this puerile trash? Maybe they're all just too embarrassed to talk about it in public?

Oh, and BTW Heath (a/k/a "feces-for-grey-matter"),..you're a goddamned actor! You played a part! That's what actors do,..they play parts in a movie! Quit bitching about kissing Jake Gyllenhall and move on (.org)!!!

An Anti-ACLU Rant for 1/12/06

It is happening all across the nation. The ACLU sue city counsel after city counsel over praying in Jesus name. They don't sue to stop all prayer, but in every case the target has been Christian prayer. They even fought for the right of a Wiccan to pray at a counsel meeting. Many times it doesn't even take a lawsuit. They just type up a threatening letter and that does the trick. This was the case in Fredericksburg. But one man isn't taking things lying down.

Fredericksburg City Councilman Hashmel Turner has filed suit against his fellow council members, saying the council's newly adopted prayer policy violates his constitutional rights.

Turner is being represented by the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit group that advocates for free expression issues.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, asks the court to rule that the city's prayer policy is unconstitutional, and to order that Turner be allowed back into the council's prayer rotation.

The council voted 5-1 in November to adopt a policy of offering non-denominational prayers devoid of any Christian or other specific religious references.

Turner abstained from that vote, and Councilman Matt Kelly voted against the policy.

The vote came after Turner had been excluded from the council prayer rotation for more than a year. The council got a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union in July 2004 saying that the civil liberties group would file suit if Turner continued to invoke the name of Jesus Christ in his prayers.

Turner, who is pastor at First Baptist Church of Love in Fredericksburg, had always closed his prayers before council meetings by invoking the name of Jesus Christ before the ACLU complaint.

On the same night of the November vote for the nondenominational prayer policy, Turner asked to be put back into the prayer rotation, and to give the opening prayer before the Nov. 22 council meeting.

Mayor Tom Tomzak said today he asked Councilwoman Debby Girvan to give the prayer at that meeting instead of Turner, because, "I did not want to unleash a 1,000-pound gorilla-the ACLU-on the City Council."

However, Tomzak said he does believe Turner's rights are being violated, and the suit filed today is "a lawsuit that I probably agree with."

"He's a very passionate man, a man of faith and a man of principle, and he believes his rights have been violated," Tomzak said of Turner.

Neither City Council members nor City Attorney Kathleen Dooley had seen copies of the lawsuit earlier today.

The suit calls the new prayer policy "an unlawful attempt by the City Council to prescribe the content of prayers given at City Council meetings by Turner and other members of City Council."

John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, said Turner approached his organization last fall, saying he believed his rights were being violated. "All he wants is to say Jesus Christ at the end of the prayer," Whitehead said. "He's not asking for any money. ... It's a very simple suit."

One would think that it would be simple, yet the ACLU don't seem to get that. Religious expression in America is under attack. It is a shame that an organization that claims to protect our rights are the number one censor of Christian religious expression. If they were trying to get rid of all prayer at counsel meetings, we would have a different argument, but they are targeting Christian prayers and individual expression. It is good to see this man is standing up for his rights. More people should do so.

Currently there is legislation, introduced by Representative Hostettler that could put a stop to these ridiculous lawsuits. Hostettler's proposal would amend the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. Section 1988, to prohibit prevailing parties from being awarded attorney's fee in religious establishment cases, but not in other civil rights filings. This would prevent local governments from having to use taxpayer funds to pay the ACLU or similar organization when a case is lost, and also would protect elected officials from having to pay fees from their own pockets.

SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP TAXPAYER FUNDING OF THE ACLU

This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 115 blogs already on-board.

No Philliness Here!

A fight over courts staged in Phila.
By Carrie Budoff
Inquirer Staff Writer

A North Philadelphia church and the surrounding blocks became the staging ground last night for a national battle over the federal judiciary - between conservatives who see it as hostile to religious freedom and liberals who characterize the political right as bullies of the court.

(snip)

The timing and location of yesterday's event, titled "Justice Sunday III - Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land," were not coincidental.

Philadelphia is home to Sen. Arlen Specter, the moderate Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the federal bench on which Alito has served for 15 years. Organizers also found a welcoming host in the Rev. Herbert Lusk, a longtime Bush supporter whose African American church has twice hosted the President and has received more than $1 million in federal grants for church community programs.

But more than anything, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, which organized the event, Philadelphia was chosen because of its history - as the birthplace of the Constitution and religious freedom under the state's Quaker founders.

TrekMedic's Musings:

• First reason why this attracted the TrekMedic's attention? Rev Lusk is a former Philadelphia Eagle who gave back to the Philadelphia community when he became a minister.
• Second reason? Conservatives holding forth in a black church?? In Philadelphia?? The Lord truly works in mysterious ways, eh?
• Third (and most important) reason? Rallies like this are needed to send a message to America's liberals that there is a difference between religious freedom and tolerance (and the Constitutional right to express it) and the exclusion of religion from our lives and the laws under which we live!

Mi-i-ighty Mo-o-ouse!!

Posted on Mon, Jan. 09, 2006
Blazing mouse torches house
Fireman's never seen such a sight.
Associated Press

FORT SUMNER, N.M. - A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran back to the man's house and set it on fire.

Luciano Mares, 81, of Fort Sumner said he caught the mouse inside his house and wanted to get rid of it.

"I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," Mares said from a motel room Saturday.

Village Fire Chief Juan Chavez said the burning mouse ran to just beneath a window, and the flames spread up from there and throughout the house.

No one was hurt inside, but the home and everything in it was destroyed.

"I've seen numerous house fires," village Fire Department Capt. Jim Lyssy said, "but nothing as unique as this one."

Is it Time to Take the Gloves Off?

With the passing of yet another year and the MSMachine gearing up for the next BIG election, I've taken notice, once again, of what Medic Mike once termed "the rolling American library;" that is, bumper stickers.

As always, I see some stickers from the last major election:

On the one hand, you have the staid, polite "W '04" and "Bush/Cheney '04" stickers alongside the "Sportsmen for Bush" and "Swiftwater Vets for Bush" stickers.

On the other hand, you have the immature, leftist drivel like "Regime change starts at home," "Mission (nothing) Accomplished," and "Let's Not Elect Him in '04, Either."

I know it shouldn't bother me, but it seems that while right-minded people have moved on (hehehe,..that was unintentional), it seems the left finds it necessary to continue this negative campaign against "W."

So,..since rear-ending this losers is out of the question, and pulling their valve stems is kinda dicey at best, I say its time we right-minded people start coming up with a few creative, hatriolic (HT to Michael Smerconish) schtickers of our own!

What say you? The phone lines are open!

I Don't Get It,...

So today, I'm at the 83 House, trying to stave off another 12 hours of boredom.

My partner tried helping out by bringing in the DVD of "The Wedding Crashers."

First act was absolutely, devastingly funny.

Second act was so-so,....

Third act completely killed the mood.

Why? Two words - Will Farrell. I just don't get what's funny about him. He plays the same screaming lunatic in EVERY movie. And he killed this one,

It's off my Netflix list now,....

Dude,...

Check this out:

You can read about it here.

Now THIS is Just Stupid!

Heard this on Hannity this evening,....

Apparently, some knuckle-dragging DNC-types have filed with the FEC to start something called the ImpeachPAC.

And one of their first big posts is this:

Zogby Poll: 53% of Americans Support Impeachment; ImpeachPAC Announced!
Submitted by bob fertik on Fri, 2005-11-04 12:43. About ImpeachPAC

For Immediate Release: November 4, 2005

New Zogby Poll Shows Majority of Americans Support Impeachment;
ImpeachPAC is Launched to Support Pro-Impeachment Candidates

By a margin of 53% to 42%, Americans want Congress to impeach President Bush if he lied about the war in Iraq, according to a new Zogby poll commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org, a grassroots coalition that supports a Congressional investigation of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

The TrekMedic muses:

Wow! Imagine that,..a Zogby poll that bashes "W!" Hmmm,....their polling numbers have about the same validity as that Arkansas a**hole saying "I did not have sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky!"

Philly - The City That Loves ya Back!

Only in Philly,...another (kinda) dose of Philliness. HT to Wayne over at Philly Phollies for this one!

Go, JoePa! Go!

Lions sink Seminoles in third OT
By Frank Fitzpatrick
Inquirer Staff Writer

MIAMI - Rebirth has been Penn State's theme in 2005. Joe Paterno's reputation was revived. So was his proud program.

So it seemed peculiarly fitting that a resurrected running back and a third-chance field goal helped the Nittany Lions conclude this remarkable season with a remarkable victory in the 72d Orange Bowl.

Thanks to tailback Austin Scott and kicker Kevin Kelly, Penn State, in its first postseason appearance in three years and first BCS appearance ever, edged Florida State, 26-23, last night in triple-overtime before 77,773 fans at Dolphins Stadium.

I Speak and the World Listens to Me!

As I stated the other day in my 2006 New Year's Revolutions:

7.If Islam really is "a religion of peace," then the peace-loving mullahs of the world need to step up and say some thing,..NOW! If not, put or shut up!

Now comes this bit o' news:

Battle for the Heart of Islam
One in an occasional series on the disparate forces shaping the world's second-largest religion.
A call for moderation sparks tension
"There is a civil war going on," says a U.S. Muslim critic of more established groups.
By Andrew Maykuth
Inquirer Staff Writer

PHOENIX - M. Zuhdi Jasser still gets worked up when he recalls what some Muslim Americans said after the 9/11 attacks.

"Their criticism of America was just unbelievable," said Jasser, an internist who describes himself as a pious Muslim.

(snip)

Two years ago, Jasser and a few like-minded Muslims in Arizona founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. This Phoenix organization was one of the first created by Muslims to promote a tolerant form of Islam compatible with a secular, democratic nation. The leaders of the new organizations say the established national Islamic groups promote a political strain of Islam that creates sympathy for the extremists - a charge the national groups deny.

(snip)

Daniel Pipes, executive director of Philadelphia's Middle East Forum and a foe of radical Islam, says the new voices are shifting the debate within the faith.

"I see the emergence of these new groups as vital to present an alternative view to Muslims," said Pipes, who last year helped create a think tank opposed to militant Islamists, the Center for Islamic Pluralism, in Washington.

(snip)

But the new groups have gained some legitimacy. Their calls on Muslims to alienate terrorists have resonated particularly with non-Muslims. Jasser was invited to write a column for the Arizona Republic in Phoenix.

"Zuhdi seems to be that moderate Muslim voice that people have been waiting to hear," said Phil Boas, the Republic's assistant editorial-page editor.

The reformists are also getting the ear of Washington's leaders. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last spring named Kamal Nawash, president of the Washington-based Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism, to a delegation that attended an international conference in Spain on intolerance.

"We grew very quickly and were recognized by the administration," said Nawash, a lawyer.

(snip)

Marwan Ahmad, publisher of the Muslim Voice newspaper in Phoenix, said Jasser was putting his allegiance to the dominant culture ahead of his faith. Last month, his newspaper printed a cartoon depicting Jasser as the Arizona Republic's attack dog, mauling other Muslims.

"Jasser is saying what they want to hear, and they publish it," he said.

(snip)

Growing up in the United States, Jasser became a "Jeffersonian Muslim," a believer in a clear separation of religion and state. His belief in secularism - that the mosque should devote less time to politics and more to spiritual discussions about relationships with God - causes perhaps the greatest disagreement with the established Muslim groups.

First Dumb-Ass Story of 2006!

Pack of Angry Chihuahuas Attack Officer

FREMONT, Calif. (AP) - A pack of angry Chihuahuas attacked a police officer who was escorting a teenager home after a traffic stop, authorities said.

The officer suffered minor injuries, including bites to his ankle, Detective Bill Veteran said.

The five Chihuahuas escaped the 17-year-old boy's home and rushed the officer in the doorway Thursday, authorities said. The teenager had been detained after the traffic incident.

The officer was treated at a hospital and returned to work less than two hours later.

You're My Boy, Blue!

'Old School' Actor Cranshaw Dies at 86

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Patrick Cranshaw, who achieved cult-like status as fraternity brother ``Blue'' in the 2003 comedy ``Old School,'' has died. He was 86.

(snip)

But he was probably best known for his role as elderly frat boy Joseph "Blue'' Palasky in "Old School,'' starring Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn.

In the hit comedy, he was about to wrestle two topless girls but dies of an apparent heart attack from overexcitment. After singing ``Dust in the Wind'' at Blue's funeral, Ferrell's character calls out in agony: ``You're my boy, Blue!''

My New Year's Revolutions for 2006

Yes, readers, it's that time of year where, once again, I will try to impose my will upon the blogosphere:

1. The Gospel says that God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, came down upon the Apostles and made them speak in tongues. Here's hoping that some 2000 years later, God will perform his miracle on all of the MSM talking heads and give them the ability to utter "Merry CHRISTmas" on live TV.
2. The MSM will quit trying to parse the US Constitution. It can't be "a living document" when the left gets its way and an sacrosanct institution when the right gets its way!
3. 2006 will be the year Scientology is exposed for what it truly is: a Hollywood-backed cult designed to eliminate any moral, Christian (and especially Catholic) input into the entertainment we watch on TV, the movies or DVDs.
4. Star couples will no longer be referred to by some combo-name like "Bennifer" or "Brangelina!" For God's sake, these are two individuals so, unless they get put through some molecular combining technology, stop referring to them in the singular!
5. People who park in handicapped spots, when they aren't, oughtta get knee-capped - this way they'll finally have an excuse to park there!
6. We have an obesity problem in this country. We have a problem with fossil fuels. Here's a solution to both problems - park your super-sized SUV somewhere other than the front door of the mall and WALK instead of idling away for twenty-plus minutes waiting for your special spot!
7. If Islam really is "a religion of peace," then the peace-loving mullahs of the world need to step up and say some thing,..NOW! If not, put or shut up!
   

This posting was brought to you by: ZolZac - The SSRI combo that allows me to keep posting s**t like this everyday!