Guest Voice: BEST AND WORST OF 2008 by Chuck Baldwin

Disclaimer: The following article is presented here for informational purposes only. It should NOT be considered an endorsement of the writers ideas, politics or opinion.

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With 2008 just concluded, today’s column will be my analysis of the best and worst of the year just spent. First, the best: my wife, Connie, and our family. As the Constitution Party candidate for President, I logged more than 30,000 miles and visited more than 30 states. I traveled most of those miles alone–as costs prohibited my wife from traveling with me–and most flights were flown in the coach cabin. In fact, my wife and I were apart more last year than the previous 34 years of married life combined. Needless to say, I am not cut out to be a traveling salesman. The time away from home was extremely difficult.

I am grateful to God for giving me the outstanding family I have. Connie is amazing! And our three grown children (Sarah, Chris, and Tim) and their spouses (Allan, Jana, and Jennifer) are absolutely the greatest. Each one of them is a champion-patriot in his or her own right. They love God; they love freedom; they love their parents and each other; they are independent thinkers and courageous Christians. We are as close a family as one will ever find. They are my best and closest friends.

Those faithful members of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida who prayed for me, stood by me, and supported me during a grueling campaign certainly make it to my “best” list for 2008. When I first announced the invitation and opportunity that had been afforded me to become an Independent candidate for President to my church family, several families walked out the back door. Some of these folks were “friends” for many years. Fortunately, however, the vast majority of my church family remained steadfast and unmovable. Try to imagine a church anywhere else in America that would stand by and support a pastor, as he takes a “sabbatical” to run for President. Most churches today will not even tolerate a pastor who dares to take a stand for anything controversial. The faithful stalwarts at Crossroad Church make my “best” list.

Actually, there were many highlights of 2008. The many friends and supporters I met around the country have to make my “best” list, for sure. The many LDS folks who supported me in Utah and surrounding states were a real highlight. People such as Frank Fluckiger, Scott Bradley and Matt Moody, to name a few.

The great folks who hosted Connie and I in Spokane, Washington, (yes, Connie was able to make this trip with me) make it to my “best” list. I am talking about Bob Peck and his entire team. They were terrific.

The guys out in California, who helped provide the VIP tour of America’s busiest immigration port near San Diego for me, also make my “best” list for 2008. In addition to the legal border crossing at San Ysidro, they also took me out into the California desert in 110-degree heat to take a firsthand look at the real border. However bad you may think our illegal immigration problem is, it is ten times worse than that. I was able to meet with Border Patrol agents and Border Patrol Auxiliary personnel, as well. It was a real education. Thanks are especially due to retired Air Force Master Sergeant (and retired Deputy Sheriff) Larry Breazeale.

Perhaps the most fascinating man I got to know last year was retired Air Force Brigadier General Charles Jones. What an amazing man! We have become fast friends. Getting to know the general was one of the “best” events of 2008, for sure.

From an organizational perspective, Thom Holmes, out there in Okalahoma, was probably the most indispensable and valuable asset to my campaign last year. He kept my travel and hotel itinerary intact for me. He was on top of every detail. I could not have done it without him. Of course, Darrell Castle was a terrific running mate and a first class gentleman. Joe Sanger in Michigan, and Lowell and Bethany Patterson in New Jersey were also able and indispensable associates.

Lou Dobbs makes my “best” list for 2008, as well. He was the one major television talk show host who was willing to have me as a guest on his program. It is not surprising that Lou Dobbs was about the only notable television talk show host during 2008 who was willing to confront the truth regarding a host of issues: from the North American Union, to illegal immigration, to Ramos and Compean, to the criminal international bankers. Thanks, Lou.

Close to the top of my “best” list is Congressman Ron Paul. What a terrific champion for freedom and constitutional government he is! I was able to get to know Ron quite well during the campaign, and was both humbled and honored when he publicly endorsed my candidacy. Thank you, Ron. You are the best man we have on Capitol Hill.

South Carolina senatorial candidate, Bob Conley, also makes my “best” list of 2008. Here was a guy who was willing to take on the neocon senator, Lindsey Graham. Had he had the support of the so-called conservative Christians, he would have won. But most conservative Christians are so myopic and uninformed today that they cannot think outside the box. And because Bob ran as a Democrat, they would not support him. What a shame! Bob was as solid a constitutionalist patriot as one will ever find. You did us all proud, Bob.

In the print media, Bob Dill, who publishes the Times Examiner in Greenville, South Carolina, makes it to my “best” list, as well. Bob represents the shrinking number of courageous publishers who know what’s going on and are not afraid to print the truth.

Speaking of South Carolina, Dorchester County Sheriff Ray Nash also makes it to my “best” list for 2008. I first met Ray on the campaign trail in the Palmetto State and then invited him to be our guest speaker for our God and Country Day on Election Sunday, November 4. He brought a magnificent address. I was so impressed with his presentation that we made copies and sent them to every elected official in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida. You can view Sheriff Nash’s video presentation.

The opportunity I had to speak at the 50th Anniversary of the John Birch Society in Appleton, Wisconsin also makes my “best” list for 2008. John McManus and Art Thompson were gracious hosts and have become good friends. The Birch Society is one of the bright spots in America today. No organization has been more unduly criticized as the John Birch Society. And yet, their commitment to liberty and constitutional government has never waned. My hat is off to them.

The New American magazine is still the finest news publication in America. Year in and year out, TNA is the best.

Speaking at the Indianapolis Baptist Temple (IBT) in Indianapolis, Indiana also needs to be included in my “best” list of 2008. It was a pleasure to be with Dr. Greg Dixon, his son, Pastor Greg Dixon, and Dr. Don Boys again. The IBT has gone through more tribulation than most churches can possibly imagine (at least those in America), and they are still going strong. What a great congregation of dedicated and determined believers! They remind me of courageous Christians from yesteryear. I was honored to speak before them.

Internet publishers such as Paul Walter make my “best” list, too. Paul publishes News With Views. He and people such as Jim Rudd at Covenant News have carried my columns for years. These are men who also know what’s going on and are not afraid to print the truth. Thanks, guys.

Other web sites that were especially beneficial to patriots in 2008 were World Net Daily, VDARE, Freedom’s Phoenix, Renew America, and Gary Shumway’s Red Pills. In Pensacola, my friend, Mike West, at Gulf1, was the man who first got me thinking about publishing a column such as this. Thanks for the idea, Mike.

Without these (and other) great Internet news sites, the American people, for the most part, would not have convenient access to the truth. Most of the major media and major “conservative” radio talk shows today are little more than lackeys for New World Order Republicans, and are therefore worthless to the cause of liberty.

In addition to the mainstream media, and worthless talk show hosts such as Sean Hannity, I must include the majority of so-called leaders within the Religious Right as making my “worst” list for 2008. I include James Dobson, Pat Robertson, and Tony Perkins on this list.

For all intents and purposes, the Religious Right has become nothing more than a gaggle of glorified hacks for the Republican Party. They have sacrificed virtually every principle worth defending. For the sake of sitting at the king’s table, or not losing financial support from brain-dead contributors, these men have sold the cause of freedom and constitutional government down the river. Their mindless support for John McCain was inexcusable and embarrassing! In so doing, they have lost all credibility.

Also making my “worst” list in 2008 are the many pastors and church members around the country who continued to support one of the worst Presidents in American history: George W. Bush. This man has taken America to the precipice of financial ruin; he has created the foundation for a police state; he has trampled the Constitution and Bill of Rights like no President since Abraham Lincoln; he has used our bravest and best for his sinister plans of interventionist adventurism; he has set the wheels of global government and national socialism in motion, as has no other President (I’m sure Barack Obama will do more than his share to augment socialism in the United States, but remember, it is George W. Bush that has laid the foundation for the acceptance of national socialism). I’m not sure that America will ever truly recover from his Presidency. Yet, a majority of conservative pastors and church members continue to idolize George Bush. What an embarrassment!

Both the Democrat and Republican Parties make my “worst” list for 2008. In one year, both major parties nominated two men, neither of whom was constitutionally qualified to be President of the United States. Now, that’s quite a feat!

The Council on Foreign Relations, international bankers, and other global elitists also make my “worst” list for 2008. When will the people of America awaken to the reality that our worst enemies are not “liberals” and “leftists,” as much as they are the global elitists who control the Federal Reserve and other internationalist entities that are committed to dismantling America’s independence and sovereignty?

Notable deaths that contributed to the down side of 2008 include veteran radio broadcaster George Putnam. I wrote a column eulogizing George shortly after his death in September.

Other folks I hated to see leave us were Bob Jeter, cornerback from the championship teams of the 1960s Green Bay Packers; Ivan Dixon, from the old Hogan’s Heroes TV sitcom; famed actor and NRA president Charlton Heston; Eddy Arnold, the great country-western singer; Dick Martin, from the old Rowan and Martin TV comedy show; the hilarious Harvey Korman; the great freedom fighter, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn; the never-equaled voice of “In a world” announcer, Don LaFontaine; “Cool Hand Luke” Paul Newman; and actor Van Johnson, who starred in over 100 movies, and I don’t think I ever saw a bad one.

Finally, my beloved Green Bay Packers make my “worst” list for 2008 for shoving Brett Favre out the door for what was certainly his last NFL season. As a result, the Pack went from a 13-3 playoff team to a 6-10 stay-home-and-watch team. Favre should have finished his hall of fame career in Green Bay. That he didn’t is a shame.

There you have it: my best and worst of 2008. I trust that all of us will truly have a Happy New Year!

this is just flipping wrong!

I don’t like to post stuff like this. But this is just wrong:

Justified Force or An Execution? - Click the Picture to watch!

Guest Voice: Jack Hunter on "A Governor for Change"

Jack Hunter Blogs at Taki’s Magazine and at The Southern Avenger

News from a Fundamentalist Christian Viewpoint

The following is from a Fundamentalist Baptist Missionary. If you happen to enjoy what you read, please consider supporting his ministry.

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FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES

January 2, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 1

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

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CHARISMATIC SONGS AND THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST HYMNAL (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, (866-295-4143) – The 2008 Southern Baptist Hymnal contains many songs written by charismatics and published by charismatic music companies such as Integrity, Maranatha, and Hillsong. About 75 of the top 100 contemporary worship songs are included. For example, songs by Jack Hayford, David Ruis, Paul Baloche, and Darlene Zschech are included.

These popular worship leaders are extreme charismatic ecumenists and contemporary Christian rockers. Hayford believes that God told him he must not criticize the Roman Catholic Church. Ruis is a worship leader at the Toronto Airport Church where people roll on the floor, bark like dogs, roar like lions, laugh hysterically, and get “drunk in the spirit” during their “revivals.” Ruis’s song “Break Dividing Walls” calls for an unscriptural ecumenical unity between all denominations.

Paul Baloche is worship leader at the Community Christian Fellowship of Lindale, Texas. Their 2002 Leadership Summit featured Ricky Paris, who calls himself an apostle. Baloche’s Offering of Worship album was recorded at Regent University, which was founded by the radical charismatic ecumenist Pat Robertson. As far back as 1985, Robertson said that he “worked for harmony and reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics” (Christian News, July 22, 1985). According to Frontline magazine, May-June 2000, a Catholic mass is held on Regent’s campus every week. Darlene Zschech and her Hillsong worship band recently performed for the Catholic Youth Day in Sydney, with the pope in attendance. The charismatic movement is not in submission to the Word of God and does not care one way or the other that these associations are contrary to Scripture, but shame on Baptists who follow in these presumptuous and disobedient footsteps. Shame on Lifeway for giving charismatics a powerful forum to influence Baptist churches, and shame on the Southern Baptist Convention for allowing Lifeway to do these things. Because the SBC refuses to deal with error consistently, the leaven will spread. The Bible warns that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” This is true for sin (1 Cor. 5:6) as well as for false doctrine (Gal. 5:9). For more information see The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements: History and Doctrine (book) and Dangers of Contemporary Worship Music (DVD), which are available from Way of Life Literature.

BILLY GRAHAM JOINS SBC CONGREGATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, (866-295-4143) – Billy Graham has moved his membership from the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, to First Baptist of Spartanburg, South Carolina, near his retirement home (“Graham Moves Dallas Membership,” AP, Dec. 30, 2008). Graham joined First Baptist of Dallas in 1953, and the Southern Baptist Convention has never condemned his unscriptural evangelism. Even a “conservative” like Albert Mohler, Jr., head of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, supports it. He was the chairman of Graham’s crusade in Louisville in 2001. The Baptist Press reported that “hundreds of Southern students prepared for the Graham crusade.” Mohler said, “Nothing else has brought together the kind of ethnic and racial and denominational inclusivity as is represented in this crusade…” (Baptist Press, May 3, 2001).

Southern Baptist churches, colleges, and seminaries do not warn that Billy Graham has turned thousands of converts over to Roman Catholic and modernistic churches. For example, at the Vancouver, British Columbia crusade in 1984, the vice-chairman of the organizing committee, David Cline, said, “If Catholics step forward THERE WILL BE NO ATTEMPT TO CONVERT THEM and their names will be given to the Catholic church nearest their homes” (Vancouver Sun, Oct. 5, 1984). SBC bookstores do not carry books in that warn about wretched ecumenical ventures such as this and that document other New Evangelical compromises. (For more about this see “Billy Graham’s Sad Disobedience” at the Way of Life web site.)

TOTALITARIAN DICTATOR STALIN POPULAR IN RUSSIA (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, (866-295-4143) – Josef Stalin, the totalitarian dictator who murdered multiplied millions of his fellow citizens, is the third most popular historical figure in Russia today according to a recent survey. The poll was taken by Rossiya, a state television channel. He received almost the same percentage of votes as Alexander Nevsky, who defeated German invaders in the 13th century, and Pyotr Stolypin, a 20th century prime minister. Human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov told Reuters, “The younger generation is fed with myths about Stalin. It knows nothing about the millions who died in Gulag camps but well knows he was a strong leader who defeated (Nazi) Germany” (“Dictator Stalin Strong Contender,” Reuters, Dec. 28, 2008). The average young person in North America is also brainwashed in mythology. According to Bible prophecy, Russia and her allies will attack Israel during the Great Tribulation and their armies will be destroyed (Ezekiel 38-39). Anti-semitism has long been rampant in Russia.

EUROPEAN UNION PUSHING FOR WORLDWIDE HOMOSEXUAL RIGHTS (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org,(866-295-4143) – Under the leadership of France, the European Union (EU) is pushing for worldwide homosexual rights through the United Nations. In December, France, which headed the EU in 2008, attempted to get the UN to approve a resolution decriminalizing homosexuality.

The resolution received support from 66 of the 192 member nations, with all of the EU countries voting for it (“Conservatives Expect U.N.

Battle over Homosexuality,” CNSNews.com, Dec. 24, 2008). The United States voted against it, but that will probably change once Barack Obama comes to power this month. U.N. analyst Thomas Jacobson said, “I would fully expect that France and the European Union will push for ‘LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender) rights’ and ‘gender-identity rights’ and collaborate heavily with the Obama administration, beginning in the first quarter of 2009.”

SNOWZILLA AND EVOLUTION (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – Snowzilla is a 25-foot snowman in Anchorage, Alaska, that is said to have appeared mysteriously just before Christmas. It was first built on Billy Powers property in a 16- foot incarnation in 2005, but after the city forbade him to build the giant snowman again this year, it appeared overnight larger than ever and Powers said that it must be “magic” and that he doesn’t know how it got there (“Revenge of Snowzilla,” Anchorage Daily News, Dec. 24, 2008). That a 25-foot snowman with wooden arms and cans for eyes, a scarf around its neck, and a hat on its head would just happen makes as much sense as evolution. Design doesn’t happen without a designer.

The Bible doesn’t waste time trying to prove the existence of God, because His existence is evident in the very creation. The Bible’s opening words state solemnly and majestically, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Men are held accountable for knowing that there is a God and will be judged on that basis. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20).

GLOBAL WARMING ROPE-A-DOPE (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from Dr. Walter Williams’ syndicated column for December 23, 2008:

“Americans have been rope-a-doped into believing that global warming is going to destroy our planet. Scientists who have been skeptical about manmade global warming have been called traitors or handmaidens of big oil. … U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said it was ‘criminally irresponsible’ to ignore the urgency of global warming. U.N. special climate envoy Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland on May 10, 2007 declared the climate debate ‘over’

and added ‘it’s completely immoral, even, to question’ the U.N.’s scientific ‘consensus.’ In July 23, 2007, CNN’s Miles O’Brien said, ‘The scientific debate is over.’ … The global warming scare has provided a field day for politicians and others who wish to control our lives. After all, only the imagination limits the kind of laws and restrictions that can be written in the name of saving the planet.

Recently, more and more scientists are summoning up the courage to speak out and present evidence against the global warming rope-a-dope.

Atmospheric scientist Stanley B. Goldenberg of the Hurricane Research Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said, ‘It is a blatant lie put forth in the media that makes it seem there is only a fringe of scientists who don’t buy into anthropogenic global warming.’ Dr. Goldenberg has the company of at least 650 noted scientists documented in the recently released U.S. Senate Minority

Report: ‘More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent over Man-Made Global Warming Claims: Scientists Continue to Debunk “Consensus” in 2008.’ The scientists, not environmental activists, include Ivar Giaever, Nobel Laureate in physics, who said, ‘I am a skeptic … Global warming has become a new religion.’ Dr. Kiminori Itoh, an environmental physical chemist, said warming fears are the ‘worst scientific scandal in the history … When people come to know what the truth is, they will feel deceived by science and scientists.’”

UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL WARMING HYPOCRISY (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The United Nations is a ridiculous and hypocritical organization. It is ridiculous because its main stated objective is world peace, but it has no more ability to bring that about than it has to change the course of the sun. As for hypocrisy, we will give but one example. It is leading the global frenzy to save the world from global warming, but what it says and what it does is contradictory in the extreme. In Nepal, for example, the United Nations Mission, which helped put Maoists into power in a sham election in 2008, owns a fleet of gas- guzzling, pollution-producing SUVs which rarely if ever venture outside of the capital city.

A WORLDLY BIBLE FOR THE CHRISTIAN ROCK GENERATION (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org,(866-295-4143) – The Bible Illuminated is a worldly Bible fitting for the Christian rock generation. Released in English for the holiday season, The Illuminated Bible is a glossy magazine format that features pictures of rappers in indecent poses, immodestly clad models, Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, Hollywood movie star Angelina Jolie, atheist rocker John Lennon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Princess Diana, Bono, Muhammad Ali, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Andy Warhol in homosexual cross-dressing attire. The Illuminated Bible was the brainchild of Dag Soderberg of Sweden and was created by a group of secular advertising and corporate executives. It first appeared in Swedish in 2007 in an even “sexier” version than the English incarnation. Soderberg, who is “not a practicing Christian”and “not very religious,” hopes The Illuminated Bible “will generate more religious tolerance” (“Repackaging the Bible,” CNN, Dec. 24, 2008). The text for The Illuminated Bible is the Today’s English Version, which uses the dynamic equivalency method of translation to rob the readers of God’s Words, changes “blood” to “death” and corrupts practically every passage touching on the Deity of Jesus Christ. It is true in Christianity in our day as it was in Israel of old, “Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holythings: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean…” (Ezekiel 22:26).

THE CYANIDE DEFENSE (Friday Church News Notes, January 2, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from Creation Moments, http://www.creationmoments.com/radio/transcript.php?t=2179 : “Wouldn’t it be amazing if a creature developed a chemical defense that is deadly to practically every other creature but itself– especially if that defense meant exposing itself and its enemy to deadly cyanide? Yet there is a species of millipede called Apheloria that does just this. Apheloria has, on each segment of its body, special glands that produce the chemical needed for defense. When the millipede is attacked by an enemy, it mixes this chemical with a catalyst. The result is a chemical that is a mild irritant plus hydrogen cyanide gas–the same lethal chemical used in the gas chamber. In this defense, the millipede as well as his enemies, are engulfed in a cloud of deadly cyanide gas. His attacker dies, but the millipede simply walks away unharmed. This truly amazing defense clearly has a purpose. Even more amazing, if evolution is right, the millipede developed this remarkable defense quite accidentally, and at the same time he became immune to deadly cyanide gas! This defense is completely unlikely to develop without a planner. The millipede’s immunity to cyanide makes sense if there was a planner, and it makes no sense at all if there wasn’t. God’s fingerprints are all over the creation as He seeks to draw us all to Himself.”

CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service list. To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE ADDRESSES go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.

Rep. Ron Paul on the Israeli Gaza Conflict

I must admit, the man speaks the truth. I don’t agree with one point however. To me, it does not matter how many missiles Hamas fired into Israel, one missile is one too many. But the rest, I pretty much agree with.

Red State Update 2008 Year In Review

Short and to the point. But very funny. 😀

The Obligatory Muslims removed from Plane Posting

Yes, I know about it.

I have very mixed feelings. Part of me says, if they weren’t in this country, they would not have this problem. Seems that some of the Arabs have forgotten about September 11 and what some of their fellow Muslims did to this country on that horrible day.

On the other hand, I believe it is totally wrong to single out a particular minority, and treat them like second class citizens. I believe that when the FBI cleared them, they should have been allowed on the plane.

It is just one of them very complicated issues. I will not act like my fellow conservatives and pull out the “Identity Politics” line or do the pile on here.

There is no easy answer here, and knee jerk reactions and stupidity will not solve anything at all.

Update: Of course, the Liberal media does not report the whole Story…. (H/T Cold Fury)

Later in the day, six of the nine detained passengers approached the customer service counter and asked to be rebooked to Orlando. At the time, the airline had not been notified by the authorities that the passengers were cleared to fly and would not rebook them until receiving said clearance. One passenger in the party became irate and made inappropriate comments. The local law enforcement officials came over and escorted the passengers away from the gate podium

Update: (H/T Reason)

Seriously. If someone looking like this came onto a plane, making comments that sounded suspect. How would one know? Racial Profiling? Damn Straight. Some of us have not forgotten this:

Some of us, haven't forgotten who did this. It wasn't Americans

‘Nuff Said. 😡

Others: Jihad Watch, bastard.logic, Little Green Footballs, At-Largely, Preemptive Karma, Donklephant, Macsmind, JammieWearingFool, The Impolitic, Kevin Drum, Feministing, theheretik.us, PoliBlog, That Minority Thing, NO QUARTER and Connecting.the.Dots

Guest Voice: Social Issues Symbolism by Jack Hunter

When president-elect Barack Obama chose evangelical leader Rick Warren to lead a prayer at his inauguration the cultural Left threw the predictable fits. Said Kathryn Kolbert, president of People for the American Way, “this decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans,” referring to the recently passed anti-gay marriage referendum, Proposition 8 in California. Said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, “by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table.” Added Democratic political consultant Chad Griffith “Rick Warren needs to realize that he is further dividing us at a time when the country needs to come together.”

In light of the Rick Warren controversy, such “coming together” rhetoric, so often mouthed by champions of “diversity” has one again proven to be a farce. For a true “coming together” of any sort on social issues, one might expect political opponents to either agree-to-disagree, yet still join and work together where they can, or for both sides to at least concede some principles as a compromise. In this case, as in most cases, the champions of diversity simply do not want an evangelical of Warren’s stripe to even be allowed a seat at the table. And while Warren hasn’t budged from his stance on gay marriage, neither will the Left anytime soon. It seems that the oft-desired “coming together” means not any new, warm embrace, but unconditional surrender, where only conservatives are always expected to wave the white flag.

The rise of social issues in American politics has as much to do with campaign strategies as the issues themselves. Gay marriage has become for the Democrats what abortion has long been for Republicans – issues that are better left unresolved because they are too useful in controlling certain voters. Any liberal or moderate Republican worried about shoring up his evangelical base can do so by mouthing just the right amount of pro-life rhetoric during his campaign, knowing full-well he has no intention of seriously revisiting the subject after the election. Just ask John McCain. To woo the cultural Left, the tiniest illustration by Democrats that they are at least favorable to gay-marriage is enough to garner those votes, even if it’s practically invisible on their actual agenda. Just ask Barack Obama.

Social issues like gay marriage and abortion remain trivialities not because they aren’t important – but because neither are likely to be solved precisely because neither party benefits from doing so. Why do mainstream Republicans or Democrats not demand states’ rights solutions, where individual states would be free to legalize or outlaw gay marriage or abortion according to the popular will? Because neither party really wants any real solutions. The purpose of a Republican supporting something like the Defense of Marriage Act is not to protect marriage per se, but to protect your office by signaling to voters that you stand on the right side of an issue that you and your successors hope never goes away. Likewise, in standing against the Defense of Marriage Act, Democrats benefit for the exact opposite reason.

Rick Warren’s invocation at Obama’s inauguration will not be a brighter, sadder or even different new day in the culture wars – but a symbolic gesture by the president-elect whose very rise to power has been more symbolic than substantive. Leftists who believe Warren’s mere presence at the inauguration represents anything tragic are as naïve as those on the Right who might believe it represents promise. And in both satisfying and enraging both sides of the social issues fence by inviting Warren to his swearing-in, the president-elect may indeed be introducing a new symbolic style, if only to cover-up the same old lack of substance.

Jack Hunter Blogs at The Southern Avenger and Taki’s Magazine

Far Lefty Liberal Columnist Joel Stein Admits that Liberals Hate America

A stunning admission from the far left, but not a huge surprise.

Via The L.A. Times:

I don’t love America. That’s what conservatives are always telling liberals like me. Their love, they insist, is truer, deeper and more complete. Then liberals, like all people who are accused of not loving something, stammer, get defensive and try to have sex with America even though America will then accuse us of wanting it for its body and not its soul. When America gets like that, there’s no winning.
But I’ve come to believe conservatives are right. They do love America more. Sure, we liberals claim that our love is deeper because we seek to improve the United States by pointing out its flaws. But calling your wife fat isn’t love. True love is the blind belief that your child is the smartest, cutest, most charming person in the world, one you would gladly die for. I’m more in “like” with my country.

A rather mind-numbing statement and a rather frank admission. That is the whole problem with Liberals, they would rather focus on America’s flaws, than focus on it’s greatness. He goes on to blather on about Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck.

But this is what bothered me:

Conservatives feel personally blessed to have been born in the only country worth living in. I, on the other hand, just feel lucky to have grown up in a wealthy democracy. If it had been Australia, Britain, Ireland, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, Israel or one of those Scandinavian countries with more relaxed attitudes toward sex, that would have been fine with me too.

Hell, why stop there? Why not just move to somewhere more inline with your beliefs, like say, Iran, Russia or maybe North Korea?

The Communist Blathers on:

I wish I felt such certainty. Sure, it makes life less interesting and nuanced, and absolute conviction can lead to dangerous extremism, but I suspect it makes people happier. I’ll never experience the joy of Hannity-level patriotism. I’m the type who always wonders if some other idea or place or system is better and I’m missing out. And, as I figured out shortly after meeting my wife, that is no way to love.

Stop The ACLU agrees with my assessment:

And yeah, I understand the point of the column. It’s a criticism. We’re “blinded” by love to the point where we don’t even see America’s flaws. But that’s not quite true. I see them, as do many conservatives. But unlike liberals, that’s not all I see. I look at America and love her for everything she is, both the good and the bad. I look at my country, and despite the mistakes we have made and inevitably will continue to make, still know that this is the freest, best country on the face of the Earth, know that anyone from anywhere in the world can come here and build a good life for themselves if they’re only willing to work hard and play by the rules, that America will always stand for freedom and justice and democracy.
Liberals look at America, and have a hard time feeling the love and patriotism that conservatives feel because they can’t get get past the flaws. They can’t love America unless she is perfect. Conservatives, however, don’t require perfection to know that America is, indeed, a special, blessed place. It doesn’t mean that the rest of the world is a terrible, terrible place. It doesn’t mean that no one can possibly have a great life anywhere else. However, despite what many Little League coaches and PC teachers may believe, not every runner can finish the race in first, and while the rest of the world may be great, it’s just not the USA.

I could not have put it better myself. However, I’ll take it a step further, if the Communist is dissatisfied with America and all of it’s supposed “Flaws”, he can always leave, there is not a law forcing him to live here.

Singer Eartha Kitt has died

America has lost another legend

AP Video: (via Breit Bart)

Story Via AP:

Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.
Andrew Freedman said Kitt, who was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died Thursday in Connecticut of colon cancer.
Kitt, a self-proclaimed “sex kitten” famous for her catlike purr, was one of America’s most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.
Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the South and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House.
[…]
Kitt was plainspoken about causes she believed in. Her anti-war comments at the White House came as she attended a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson.
“You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed,” she told the group of about 50 women. “They rebel in the street. They don’t want to go to school because they’re going to be snatched off from their mothers to be shot in Vietnam.”
For four years afterward, Kitt performed almost exclusively overseas. She was investigated by the FBI and CIA, which allegedly found her to be foul-mouthed and promiscuous.

You do not speak evil of the dead. Just that simple. If this woman is to be remembered for anything at all. It is for having the guts to stand up in the White House and denouce an unconsitutional war. Which is what Vietnam was. I give her props for that. Plainly put, the broad had balls.

May she rest in peace, a true class act, all the way.