Teapot Tantrums

It's A Scandal! It's An Outrage!

No, it's not a song from the musical "Oklahoma!" (although there really is a similar song called "It's a Scandal, It's a Outrage!" ... and it really isn't "an" in the second part of the song title ... really ... I know 'cause I was in the musical in high school .. although only in the chorus).

The scandal ... nay, the outrage ... is what's on in our beloved country ... how it's being fractured by people who want a free ride, for themselves and/or others, without having to fully assimilate and become *real* Americans ... the ones who speak the language, who adopt the culture, who have pride in their heritage but embrace the new (?) reality of their citizenship, those who actually do give a rat's tuckus about our country's seurity and put it ahead of people who choose to break our laws in order to bleed our country dry.

But a picture is worth a thousand words.

Michelle Malkin has an extensive post regarding the walkouts, etc., and including information on how this Mexican flag came to subsume the American flag ... which you will notice is flying upside down.

Now, those of us who are even partially-versed in flag ettiquette can tell you that on US soil, NO flag is supposed to fly higher (or even at an equal level) as the US flag. It supercedes flags of all states and flags of all other nations and states. As Michelle noted:

"I predict this stunt will be the nail in the coffin of any guest-worker/amnesty plan on the table in Washington. The image of the American flag subsumed by another and turned upside down on American soil is already spreading on Internet forums and via e-mail.

The battle for borders and immigration laws that actually mean something, however, hasn't even begun."

And as her reader "Keith M" pointed out:

"The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property. I am sure you can see the irony. The folks that think they are showing disrespect for the flag are actually signaling to everyone th[at] the US is in trouble."

Something (experience perhaps?) tells me the majority of people in this nation will never see this picture because it will never appear on the evening news, in the newspapers, or even on most cable news networks (a.k.a. CNN or "Communist News Network"). They won't hear anyone on the radical left decry the attempted displacement of our flag for that of a foreign country, just as they don't decry the massive walkouts of severely misguided high school students, just as they incite these kids and others by refusing to stand up for what's right, for our national security, for our very identity as a sovereign nation that should have defined borders, one common language and one common culture. The radical left refuses to see that the US is actually in dire trouble, as the picture accidentally shows.

What the "sheeple" of the US will hear is the people who love this country crying out in horror, in outrage, at those who are adamantly trying to drag us where we should not go, at people who refuse to recognize that La Raza and MeCha are racist organizations and that their desired "reconquista" of the Southwest is only a stone's throw from terrorism, should the wrong people be charismatic enough and get enough attention to be a very good "bad influence" on people who don't know how to think for themselves.

Be sure to read Michelle's entire post, including all the comments. Let me know what you think.

~ HMIL  %^}

This Week's Victories in GWOT & Iraq

I was going to use my CentCom link to gather all the great news of things that are going right in Iraq and the Global War on Terror (GWoT) ... but Vonski already does such a great job of it, I thought I'd direct people his way instead.

~ HMIL  %^}

So Someone's Noticed ...

Looks National Journal's Hotline has noticed the Atkinson for Governer blogger network ... which mean that we have gained attention at the national level and have been compared, somewhat, to the bloggers that helped spring Howard Dean to the spotlight. I hope we can do the same for Jason Atkinson, confident that he will never replicate the famous "Yeargh!" scream for which Dean became famous.

Courtesy of NW Republican, we see that Human Events has picked up the story of Jason Atkinson's run for the governor's office at Mahonia Hall in Salem, and has mentioned him several times in the space of a week or so. The little ole Oregon governor's race ... wow!

For more links, check out Gullyborg's post at Resistance is Futile!

~ HMIL  %^}

New Addition

Ever get tired of just hearing what the Mainstream Media (MSM) wants you to hear about what's happening in the Global War on Terror (GWOT)? Well, for your ease in getting more information (the good with the bad), I've just added a link (left side of screen) to US Central Command. Check them out here. If you're interested in having their news delivered right to your inbox, go here.

Whiny Kids Study - Debunked!

Yep, by now you've all likely heard about the study that "proved" that conservatives spring from the whiny kids in school ... it's been "proved" that the independent kids were actually the children on liberals.

Uh huh ... um ... yeah ...

Michelle Malkin has posted information given by an anonymous tipster who has details about the location of the "study" and those conducting the study. And it ain't pretty for the so-called "credibility" of the researchers. Seems the preschool children all attended a preschool at the Harold E. Jones Study Center (formerly called the Atherton Child Study Center), which is open only to the children of U.C. Berkeley faculty and staff. And the center is so popular with said staff because it is free/cheap in exchange for the parents allowing their children to be studied by psychologists all day every day ...

... Maybe this is where they get people who are so comfortable participating in "reality" TV. It's every bit as "real".

~ HMIL   %^}

Denial

On The Sly

OK ... although I listen to local talk radio most of the day, I tune to KMGE-FM in the morning while I'm getting ready. A week or so ago I noticed that the normal drive-time guy hasn't been on ... I figured he's on vacation, but it dawned on me this morning that the replacement guy didn't say "in for Dennis Nakata" .... Hmmmm ... first they replace Storm Kennedy with some guy who insists on giving us the "Moooooorrrrning Update!" every morning and writes the news from a decidedly leftist slant (and gets more and more blatant about it every day), and now Dennis has "gone missing" ...

So I call the station and say, "Hey, when does Dennis get back from vacation?" I'm told, "He's not on vacation .. he's been moved to afternoons."

Just like that.

No goodbye ... no warning ... no dignity ... Just like that.

So, being the caring individual I am, I told this guy that they had lost me and my family as loyal listeners and, by the way, we don't like the guy who does the news and we're tired of his obvious bias and he's "pissing off a lot of listeners". Nyah!

This afternoon I decided to call the station and try to catch Dennis (with whom I've been friendly enough over the years that he always recognizes my voice right away) ... I told him, "So, tell me the scoop, and be honest. Was it your choice?" (No build up, no preface ....) and he told me that it wasn't his choice to move from morning drive time to afternoons. And the "Powers That Be" at KMGE told him right before he went on vacation ... he asked for a chance to tell his loyal listeners that he was making the move, but the suggestion was rejected. It wasn't announced ... most morning listeners probably think he's on a long vacation or that he jumped markets.

How very unprofessional ... how tacky ... how very SLIMEY!!! This is no way to treat someone who has been a fixture on their station and kept lots of loyal listeners, who really *care* about an on-air personality. And this is NO way to treat the listeners if you want to you try to keep them.

I have absolutely no respect for the management at KMGE ... SHAME ON THEM!!!

Conserving Water and Electricity Is VERY Important ...

Let's go over this one more time.

About April 21, 1971 the US celebrates our first Earth Day, in which everyone is admonished to cherish Mother Earth because she's the only one we have ... we're told to save as much electricity and water as possible (anyone remember "save water ... shower with a friend"?), we switched to washing larger loads of laundry in cold water so the water heater didn't have to use electricity to heat it up. We learned to put a brick in the toilet tank so we didn't have to use so much water to flush (yeah, and look what a *prize* low-flow toilets are now!) ... I went so far as to pledge to refrain from running water while I brush my teeth (I'm sure I've saved hundreds of gallons since 1973). We learned to turn off lights every *freaking* time we left a room, we learned to turn our heaters down and put on more sweaters ... we learned our lessons and we learned them well.

Fast forward to 2006 ... I pay my utility bills on the "budget plan" ... the utility company takes the cost of a year's worth of my usage (based on the previous year's usage) and spreads it out equally over a 12-month period. The result is that I pay approximately $155 per month ... every month ... whether I use that much or not ... with the goal of me not having $300-$400 utility bills in the winter. I've seen my usage go down because I'm trying to be energy conscious ... no, not so much because I'm as environmentally sensitive as I "should" be ... more so that I'm wanting to make sure I can make ends meet.

Well, as of this morning, my efforts to reduce my family's electric and water consumption has come around full circle and bit me in the butt. It appears that I have not be using enough water and electricity after all ... and neither have YOU! In Eugene, Oregon the local utility board (EWEB) has just announced that they will raise water rates by approximately 7.X% and will raise electricity rates by roughly the same percentage rate. This will raise my monthly utility bill by a minimum of $10/month, or another $120/year.

The reasons given for the "need" for these increases are "internal cost increases" (which you and I would normally call "raises and adminstrator bonuses") and "insufficient revenues due to lower power and water consumption".....that means, we haven't been using enough power and water for the EWEB employees and adminstrators to get their raises, bonuses, etc.

We've been told to cut back to save the environment ... but we've cut back too much to allow this regional/local bureaucracy to function to the level they like.

Anyone else feel like you're living in a paradox? What's a mother to do?

I Couldn't Have Said It Better ... and Didn't!

Seems my good friend Gullyborg is also recommending the book Set Up & Sold Out! Read his post here.

I wish I could say, "Hey, I mentioned this first" ... but you know, I will likely never be as eloquent as Gully is. But I *did* design the bumper sticker first!!  :)

I sincerely hope Gully will run for office someday. He is easily one of the smartest, most politically savvy, and articulate men I've ever had the good fortune to know.

~ HMIL   %^}

Ron Saxton Revealed ... Yet Some More

Gullyborg at Resistance is Futile provides us with more revelations about Oregon gubernatorial candidate Ron Saxton. The man went to law school, passed the bar, and practiced as a lawyer ... but he makes promises that he knows he can't legally back up ... as mandated by Supreme Court decision.

The post was inspired by an email Gully received about the Carousels of Information that have been held around Oregon for the past couple of years by the Mexcan Consulate and during which Oregon State employees gave information on how to reeive State benefits to which they're not legally entitled. Ron Saxton finally took a "strong" stand on illegal immigration (but only after Jason Atkinson did first) ... and while taking this "strong" stand, he pleged to withhold education from the children of illegal immigrants. But, nope ... as Gully says, "The biggest gremlin in the way of Ron Saxton and his latest campaign promise is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States: Plyer v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982).  As an attorney, Ron Saxton really should know about this."

Read the entire post ... and then be sure to read all of the comments (please forgive Daniel for his lapse in his normally good language ... that I've seen ... he feels very strongly on the subject of illegal immigration and has a blog devoted to the subject <note: in his 3/14 post he's in a bit of a lather so there are some f-bombs sprinkled liberally through it>).

OK ... So We'll Breed Them Out!

Real Clear Politics posted a link to this USAToday.com article about the "Liberal Baby Bust" ... otherwise known as the ranks of those who support "zero population growth" causing their own extinction. Or as the noble in one of the early scenes in the movie Braveheart said (roughly), "If we can drive them out, we'll breed them out."

For example:

Kids or Pets? Seattle ~ 45% more dogs than children; Salt Lake city ~ 19% more children than dogs

Ideal Sized Family? ~ Those who attend church regularly: 47% said 3 or more; those who seldom attend church: 27% said 3 or more.

Fertility Rates ~ Utah: 92 births per 1000 women (highest fertility rate in the US); Vermont: 51 births per 1000 women (lowest fertility rate in the US).

And then there's the single-child factor~

Meanwhile, single-child families are prone to extinction. A single child replaces one of his or her parents, but not both. Consequently, a segment of society in which single-child families are the norm will decline in population by at least 50% per generation and quite quickly disappear. In the USA, the 17.4% of baby boomer women who had one child account for a mere 9.2% of kids produced by their generation. But among children of the baby boom, nearly a quarter descend from the mere 10% of baby boomer women who had four or more kids.

This dynamic helps explain the gradual drift of American culture toward religious fundamentalism and social conservatism. Among states that voted for President Bush in 2004, the average fertility rate is more than 11% higher than the rate of states for Sen. John Kerry.

It might also help to explain the popular resistance among rank-and-file Europeans to such crown jewels of secular liberalism as the European Union. It turns out that Europeans who are most likely to identify themselves as "world citizens" are also less likely to have children.

Meanwhile, single-child families are prone to extinction. A single child replaces one of his or her parents, but not both. Consequently, a segment of society in which single-child families are the norm will decline in population by at least 50% per generation and quite quickly disappear. In the USA, the 17.4% of baby boomer women who had one child account for a mere 9.2% of kids produced by their generation. But among children of the baby boom, nearly a quarter descend from the mere 10% of baby boomer women who had four or more kids.

This dynamic helps explain the gradual drift of American culture toward religious fundamentalism and social conservatism. Among states that voted for President Bush in 2004, the average fertility rate is more than 11% higher than the rate of states for Sen. John Kerry.

It might also help to explain the popular resistance among rank-and-file Europeans to such crown jewels of secular liberalism as the European Union. It turns out that Europeans who are most likely to identify themselves as "world citizens" are also less likely to have children.

So ... what 's the solution to controlling the havoc the liberals are creating?

We have more children!!! Eventually the liberals will be *so* outnumbered that they will cease to have the huge impact they currently have on our society.

I know it's a stretch (after all, this could take a few decades, in which time they could screw up things even worse .. no, really, they could) ... but one can always hope ... at least I might sleep well tonight thinking of it.

~ HMIL   %^}

Where Do You Fall?

Are you an Arch-Conservative? a Left-Wing Wacko? an Anti-Government Libertine? or a Commie Sympathizer?

Donald Hagen has created a great "satirical political beliefs assessment test". While it doesn't categorize you by your answers, it certainly can be eye opening and help you see what you might and might not  believe ... and how things might be seen by those with whom you disagree.

~ HMIL   %^}

Dhimmitude? We *Can't* Ignore It!

Both Michelle Malkin and Brigitte Gabriel have posted this article by Diana West ... another must-read. Although it was written about the "Cartoon Jihad", it applies to that and so much more!

Cartoon Rage-Its all about Dhimmutude Dummy

 

By Diana West

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

We need to learn a new word: dhimmitude. I've written about dhimmitude periodically, lo, these many years since September 11, but it takes time to sink in. Dhimmitude is the coinage of a brilliant historian, Bat Ye'or, whose pioneering studies of the dhimmi, populations of Jews and Christians vanquished by Islamic jihad, have led her to conclude that a common culture has existed through the centuries among the varied dhimmi populations. From Egypt and Palestine to Iraq and Syria, from Morocco and Algeria to Spain, Sicily and Greece, from Armenia and the Balkans to the Caucasus: Wherever Islam conquered, surrendering dhimmi, known to Muslims as people of the book [the Bible], were tolerated, allowed to practice their religion, but at a dehumanizing cost.

There were literal taxes (jizya) to be paid; these bought the dhimmi the right to remain non-Muslim, the price not of religious freedom, but of religious identity. Freedom was lost, sorely circumscribed by a body of Islamic law (sharia) designed to subjugate, denigrate and humiliate the dhimmi.

The resulting culture of self-abnegation, self-censorship and fear shared by far-flung dhimmi is the basis of dhimmitude. The extremely distressing but highly significant fact is, dhimmitude doesn't only exist in lands where Islamic law rules.

This is the lesson of Cartoon Rage 2006, a cultural nuke set off by an Islamic chain reaction to those 12 cartoons of Muhammad appearing in a Danish newspaper. We have watched the Muslim meltdown with shocked attention, but there is little recognition that its poisonous fallout is fear. Fear in the State Department, which, like Islam, called the cartoons unacceptable. Fear in Whitehall, which did the same. Fear in the Vatican, which did the same. And fear in the media, which have failed, with few, few exceptions, to reprint or show the images. With only a small roll of brave journals, mainly in Europe, to salute, we have seen the proud Western tradition of a free press bow its head and submit to an Islamic law against depictions of Muhammad. That's dhimmitude.

Not that we admit it: We dress up our capitulation in fancy talk of tolerance, responsibility and sensitivity. We even congratulate ourselves for having the editorial judgment to make pluralism possible. Readers were well served... without publishing the cartoons, said a Wall Street Journal spokesman. CNN has chosen to not show the cartoons in respect for Islam, reported the cable network. On behalf of the BBC, which did show some of the cartoons on the air, a news editor subsequently apologized, adding: We've taken a decision not to go further... in order not to gratuitously offend the significant number of Muslim viewers worldwide. Left unmentioned is the understanding (editorial judgement?) that gratuitous offense leads to gratuitous violence. Hence, fear — not the inspiration of tolerance but of capitulation — and a condition of dhimmitude.

How far does it go? Worth noting, for example, is that on the BBC Web site, a religion page about Islam presents the angels and revelations of Islamic belief as historical fact, rather than spiritual conjecture (as is the case with its Christianity Web page); plus, it follows every mention of Mohammed with (pbuh), which means peace be upon him—as if, writes Will Wyatt, former BBC chief executive, in a letter to the Times of London, the corporation itself were Muslim.

Is it? Are we? These questions may not seem so outlandish if we assess the extent to which encroaching sharia has already changed the Western way. Calling these cartoons unacceptable, and censoring ourselves in respect to Islam brings the West into compliance with a central statute of sharia. As Jyllands-Posten's Flemming Rose has noted, that's not respect, that's submission.

And if that's not dhimmitude, what is?

The publication of the Muhammad cartoons solicited by Denmark's Jyllands-Posten was an act of anti-dhimmitude. Since no Danish artist would dare illustrate a PC children's book about Muhammad for fear of Islamic law (and Islamic violence), the newspaper boldly set out to reassert the rule of (non-Islamic) Danish law. It's as simple as that. And as vital. The cartoons ran to establish — or re-establish — Denmark as bastion of Western-style liberty. But in trying to set up a force field against encroaching sharia, Jyllands-Posten and the Danes have showed us that no single bastion of Western liberty can stand alone.

So, how do you say solidarity in Danish? If we don't find out now, our future is more dhimmitude.

Version 3.14

Copyright © 2001-2004 Six Apart. All Rights Reserved.

It's Time To Wake Up, People

My dear friend, Paul, sent me this ... FrontPageMagazine.com published excerpts from a speech given by Brigitte Gabriel (founder of American Congress for Truth) at the Intelligence Summit in February '06. It's a long read, but well worth your time ... and as Paul said, "it's sad, but something we all need to realize."

If you want to read the entire speech, you can find it here.

By Brigitte Gabriel
FrontPageMagazine.com | February 20, 2006

[Editor's Note: Below are selected excerpts from Brigitte Gabriel's speech delivered at the Intelligence Summit in Washington DC, Saturday February 18, 2006].

We gather here today to share information and knowledge. Intelligence is not merely cold hard data about numerical strength or armament or disposition of military forces. The most important element of intelligence has to be understanding the mindset and intention of the enemy. The West has been wallowing in a state of ignorance and denial for thirty years as Muslim extremist perpetrated evil against innocent victims in the name of Allah.

I was ten years old when my home exploded around me, burying me under the rubble and leaving me to drink my blood to survive, as the perpetrators shouted “Allah Akbar!” My only crime was that I was a Christian living in a Christian town. At 10 years old, I learned the meaning of the word "infidel."

I had a crash course in survival. Not in the Girl Scouts, but in a bomb shelter where I lived for seven years in pitch darkness, freezing cold, drinking stale water and eating grass to live. At the age of 13 I dressed in my burial clothes going to bed at night, waiting to be slaughtered. By the age of 20, I had buried most of my friends--killed by Muslims. We were not Americans living in New York, or Britons in London. We were Arab Christians living in Lebanon.

As a victim of Islamic terror, I was amazed when I saw Americans waking up on September 12, 2001, and asking themselves "Why do they hate us?" The psychoanalyst experts were coming up with all sort of excuses as to what did we do to offend the Muslim World. But if America and the West were paying attention to the Middle East they would not have had to ask the question. Simply put, they hate us because we are defined in their eyes by one simple word: "infidels."

Under the banner of Islam "la, ilaha illa allah, muhammad rasoulu allah," (None is god except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) they murdered Jewish children in Israel, massacred Christians in Lebanon, killed Copts in Egypt, Assyrians in Syria, Hindus in India, and expelled almost 900,000 Jews from Muslim lands. We Middle Eastern infidels paid the price then. Now infidels worldwide are paying the price for indifference and shortsightedness.

Tolerating evil is a crime. Appeasing murderers doesn't buy protection. It earns one disrespect and loathing in the enemy's eyes. Yet apathy is the weapon by which the West is committing suicide. Political correctness forms the shackles around our ankles, by which Islamists are leading us to our demise.

America and the West are doomed to failure in this war unless they stand up and identify the real enemy: Islam. You hear about Wahabbi and Salafi Islam as the only extreme form of Islam. All the other Muslims, supposedly, are wonderful moderates. Closer to the truth are the pictures of the irrational eruption of violence in reaction to the cartoons of Mohammed printed by a Danish newspaper. From burning embassies, to calls to butcher those who mock Islam, to warnings that the West be prepared for another holocaust, those pictures have given us a glimpse into the real face of the enemy. News pictures and video of these events represent a canvas of hate decorated by different nationalities who share one common ideology of hate, bigotry and intolerance derived from one source: authentic Islam. An Islam that is awakening from centuries of slumber to re-ignite its wrath against the infidel and dominate the world. An Islam which has declared "Intifada" on the West.

America and the West can no longer afford to lay in their lazy state of overweight ignorance. The consequences of this mental disease are starting to attack the body, and if they don't take the necessary steps now to control it, death will be knocking soon. If you want to understand the nature of the enemy we face, visualize a tapestry of snakes. They slither and they hiss, and they would eat each other alive, but they will unite in a hideous mass to achieve their common goal of imposing Islam on the world.

This is the ugly face of the enemy we are fighting. We are fighting a powerful ideology that is capable of altering basic human instincts. An ideology that can turn a mother into a launching pad of death. A perfect example is a recently elected Hamas official in the Palestinian Territories who raves in heavenly joy about sending her three sons to death and offering the ones who are still alive for the cause. It is an ideology that is capable of offering highly educated individuals such as doctors and lawyers far more joy in attaining death than any respect and stature, life in society is ever capable of giving them.

The United States has been a prime target for radical Islamic hatred and terror. Every Friday, mosques in the Middle East ring with shrill prayers and monotonous chants calling death, destruction and damnation down on America and its people. The radical Islamists’ deeds have been as vile as their words. Since the Iran hostage crisis, more than three thousand Americans have died in a terror campaign almost unprecedented in its calculated cruelty along with thousands of other citizens worldwide. Even the Nazis did not turn their own children into human bombs, and then rejoice at their deaths as well the deaths of their victims. This intentional, indiscriminate and wholesale murder of innocent American citizens is justified and glorified in the name of Islam.

America cannot effectively defend itself in this war unless and until the American people understand the nature of the enemy that we face. Even after 9/11 there are those who say that we must “engage” our terrorist enemies, that we must “address their grievances”. Their grievance is our freedom of religion. Their grievance is our freedom of speech. Their grievance is our democratic process where the rule of law comes from the voices of many not that of just one prophet. It is the respect we instill in our children towards all religions. It is the equality we grant each other as human beings sharing a planet and striving to make the world a better place for all humanity. Their grievance is the kindness and respect a man shows a woman, the justice we practice as equals under the law, and the mercy we grant our enemy. Their grievance cannot be answered by an apology for who or what we are.

Our mediocre attitude of not confronting Islamic forces of bigotry and hatred wherever they raised their ugly head in the last 30 years, has empowered and strengthened our enemy to launch a full scale attack on the very freedoms we cherish in their effort to impose their values and way of life on our civilization.

If we don't wake up and challenge our Muslim community to take action against the terrorists within it, if we don't believe in ourselves as Americans and in the standards we should hold every patriotic American to, we are going to pay a price for our delusion. For the sake of our children and our country, we must wake up and take action. In the face of a torrent of hateful invective and terrorist murder, America’s learning curve since the Iran hostage crisis is so shallow that it is almost flat. The longer we lay supine, the more difficult it will be to stand erect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brigitte Gabriel is an expert on the Middle East conflict and lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. She's the former news anchor of World News for Middle East television and the founder of AmericanCongressforTruth.com.

Another Perspective On Jason Atkinson

Download FixingOregon.pdf (879.5K)">Max Redline has related his insights on why he chose to very publically (via his blog) support Jason Atkinson for Oregon Governor. I agree with him wholeheartedly (except for the whole pot thing ... yeah, I was full of lily-white innocence ... other family members got into drinking and drugs ... I spent time up on the pedestal instead).

Read his post and let me know what you think ... If you've just recently decided to support Atkinson, I'd love to hear exactly what changed your mind. If you've been supporting Atkinson for a while now, I'd love to hear what you thought made his support worthwhile over his opponents.

For those that haven't yet made up their minds about supporting Atkinson, check out these links:

15 Reasons to Vote for Jason Atkinson for Oregon Governor

Jessica's Law for Oregon

Senator Atkinson Speaks Out on Illegal Immigration

Poll Results As of 2/27/06

Involvement - Atkinson Supports Oregonians Making a Difference

If you like what you see and would like to support Senator Atkinson's campaign for Oregon Governor, click here to make an online contribution (click the button for the contribution level you're comfortable with) or click here to volunteer your time.

Yes, There *IS* Good News In the Global War on Terror

Fellow Atkinson blogger Vonski has posted This Week's Military & Civilian Victories in GWOT.

Be sure to share these with the nay-sayers in your circle of friends & family that believe there's no such thing ... 'cause we know there is!

~ HMIL   %^}

Irony Or What?

Did anyone else find it ironic that someone yelled out "Thank you, Jesus!" during the acceptance speech for the Academy Award-winning "best song" entitled ... It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp .... ?

Anyone?

And the Winner Is ... the Family-Values Movie (a.k.a. Be Careful, Little Eyes, What You See!)

The members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are deluded. They seem to think that the American public needs or *wants* to see movies about gender disorientation. As if we don't enough of that shoved down our throats every day (sorry....) in magazines, network TV, cable TV, newspapers ... it's everywhere. Brokeback Mountain was favored to win the Best Picture Oscar, but it didn't ... much to the chagrin of the Academy members ... but those of us who think there's way too much "gaying up of our society" already were glad something else won. I thought Crash was a better picture, although it was very politically correct, it did point out the fact that more people than just whites have suspicions and prejudices about other people.

I won't apologize for feeling that the gay portion of society is trying to force the rest of the world to accept their lifestyle as normal, smart and to be desired ... because it's not, plain and simple. While I say that everyone is entitled to make their own decisions about what is acceptable about them, I refuse to embrace everything I don't agree with out of some misplaced fear of offending *someone*. People make judgements for themselves every day, whether those judgements are about what to wear or to eat, whether to go to work, to maintain a friendship with someone, to keep a promise. However, what we don't do is pass judgement on others ... it's simply not our place to do that.

That said, Mark Alexander, Townhall.com columnist and executive and publisher of the Patriot Post, makes some good points in this morning's article.

Best-Picture Nominees (with their places in box office $):

Brokeback Mountain (26); Crash (49); Munich (64); Good Night, and Good Luck (89); Capote (100)

Total gross: $235,643,912; Total profit: $26.3 million.

Top Five Box Office Winners:

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; The Chronicles of Narnia (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe); War of the Worlds; King Kong

Total gross:  $1.41 billion; Total profit: $125.4 million.

The beauty of these kinds of movies, as pointed out by Dr. Marc T. Newman, is that they open up "opportunities to talk about virtues, the darkness of sin, and the importance of family and sacrifice."

That's the good news ...

The bad news is (and part of his is no surprise to the rest of us), Hollyweird often uses their product as an instrument of indoctrination. This is one way that acceptance for political correctness and the gay agenda have crept into our society. Or as Mark Alexander puts it:

It creates a psychological opening through which cultural messages bypass the intellectual filters that arrest most input for critical analysis. Because the context for these messages is "entertainment," they get a free pass into the mind's cultural framework, where they compete, at a subconscious level, with established ethical and moral standards.

Those at greatest risk for this form of indoctrination are adults, [those] whose behavior is strongly characterized by their emotions (you know who you are), and all children.

If emotive adults are not constantly vigilant about screening ethical and moral messages from TV, theater, music, books, magazines, infotainment programs, etc. -- and deliberate about evaluating that communication -- they risk having these messages not only encroach upon, but, over time, actually displace the source code for wholesome values.

Adults notwithstanding, this point cannot be emphasized strongly enough: Children, who do not have the sturdy character foundation that only time and good parenting can provide, are at very high risk of indoctrination through entertainment media. The only means of avoiding such indoctrination in children and highly emotive adults is to avoid exposure to entertainment media with harmful messages.

Of course, for emotive adults and older children, the purposeful vetting of challenging entertainment messages with the deliberate objective of intellectualizing them -- in effect, shuttering the emotional window into the subconscious -- is a useful means of strengthening one's filter on such messages.

At the Academy podium last Sunday, one of the glitterlings professed, "Art is not a mirror to hold up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it." Unfortunately, far too many entertainment consumers lack the ability to filter critically what they see, hear and read. For them, no hammer is necessary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a somewhat related note, I can heartily recommend another avenue for opening up opportunities for discussions of virtue, family, sacrifice, etc. I know that many Christians have concerns and reservations about the Harry Potter series of books, but after reading John Granger's "Looking for God in Harry Potter" I can say that I think there's a lot of Christian content (or at least Christian-compatible content) that parents can share with their children. If you don't want to spend the time reading the books (wonderful moments all), watch the movies together. Lots of opportunities for discussion there, too, as long as you're not watching with a person who picks apart the acting of the young characters.

But Wait! There's No Radical Islamic Agenda!

The RedHunter has posted this map on his site and provided a link to his source, Cliff May, NRO contributor.

Kind of eye-opening, isn't it??? Notice anything strange in the lower right-hand corner?

Here's another good post about the map.

Maybe it's me ... I know, green is some Islamic color (their twisted version of our red, white, and blue) ... but I'm thinking the Greens movement would probably like to use the same "after 100 years" map.

~ HMIL   %^}

Arab-American Psychologist Speaks Out Against Radical Islam

This is refreshing ... Wafa Sultan, an Arab-American psychologist, has spoken out against radical Islam on Al-Jazeera ... Amazing! Read Michelle Malkin's post of the transcript of the broadcast interview here.

One question ... how long before some crazed Muslim helps her to join Theo Van Gogh?

Related Posts from Michelle Malkin:

Muslims vs. Free Speech In the Netherlands

With Our Blood We Redeem Our Prophet

Video: Alan Dershowitz Gets It

~ HMIL   %^}

Green Is The New Red!

Has anyone else noticed how the Green movement claims that it is concerned with teaching people how to be more environmentally sensitive and aware and to save the planet is nothing more than a communist plot disguised as a desire to save the planet? I have no way to know how you feel about this ... but think of it from this perspective ... since when has cleaning up and protecting the environment required a change of the world's collective political systems? Since when has cleaning up and protecting the environment required eliminating whole industries (as in the wholesale reduction of small, independant lumber mills by at *least* 300)?

People who say this "one person" has "nuthin' on us" obviously haven't looked that deep into who's providing their financial support ... but Holly Swanson, author of Set Up & Sold Out (now in its third edition ... see link/button below), has, and she has substantiation galore. She spoke in February '06 to the Republican Women Lane County chapter of the Oregon Federation of Republican Women. Here is a report from an earlier speaking engagement to a similar group in Mt. Shasta, CA in 2003, which will give you a gist of what she's talking about. And here is a review of her book, along with an article from WorldNet Daily.

While environmental groups, of course, have attacked her as "one person in White City, Oregon" on a crusade without any substantiation, they don't offer any arguments to counter her claims that the radical environmental movement is nothing but a cover for a communistic political agenda.

"Green" groups can claim all they want that they're just "trying to save the environment," but they need to check into just who writes the checks that fund their activities and just what the really aims of those groups are. If they look deep enough, however, although many of these groups may be innocent enough at first glance, underneath it all they're just puppets of people who want to change America (over as long a period as it takes ... unless they get tired of it all ... ) from the the society we think of as a democratic republic into a communist collective...maybe into the Soviet Socialist Republic of Amerikka?

As Swanson mentions in her speech to the Republican Women in Mt. Shasta, CA, she began her investigations as a concerned environmentalist attending an environmental conference. What she noticed instead of info on how to be more careful and how to make things better was rhetoric and propaganda. She started delving further and further into the movement ... and she didn't like what she found out!

I've been reading Set Up & Sold Out! on my lunch hours for the past few weeks because there's too much information in it to try to absorb all in one long sitting ... but from what I have read, she has good information. The documentation within the text of the book is amazing. To look at the aims of the current Democrat leadership, the "Progressives", the "Greens", and the Communists ... well, it all looks like one and the same. To see quotes by the people in charge of the national-level Green organizations, the Communist Party USA, and none other than Mikhail Gorbachev ... well, let's just say that it was eye opening!

Although the book appears to possibly have been self-published (yes, spelling, punctuation, grammar and syntax errors are a dead give-away), the information is still very important. Take a look .... and then try to ignore what's going on around you.

I double dare you!

Good News of the Week from Iraq

Vonski (yes, again) has posted more good news from Iraq in the War on Terror. Read and share with friends ... word has *got* to get out that good things are happening there and that our brave, noble soldiers are doing their best to get them done!

Hmmm... Lesbyterianism ... Catchy, Vonski!

Vonski has a post a link to an interesting article in which a Presbyterian minister/pastor/whatever is bring brought up on "charges" by the national Presbyterian "court" for having performed a "marriage" ceremony for a pair of lesbians. Nope, hasn't been made legal in California (no matter what Rosie O'Donnell may want to believe) and it hasn't been made "legal" by the Presbyterian Church ... although Presbyterian ministers are allowed to perform ceremonies for same-sex couples as long as the union isn't "equated with marriage". 

While I personally have very strong feelings on same-sex "marriage", the the part of the article that really got to me was this quote by the minister/pastor/whatever that's been brought up on charges:

"Cahn said the defense seeks to clarify whether the 2000 church court ruling is at odds with the church's historical position giving ministers broad discretion in how they interpret the faith to meet the needs of their congregations."

Lessee ... what if the congregant "needs" to be disgusting with children ... or what if the congregant "needs" to avail himself of the bank account of others, even fellow congregants ... or ... being a Christian, I'll just take this to an extreme where liberals would love to go to ... This would lead us to believe that the minister/pastor/whatever would have us believe that, if a congregant "needs" to believe that it's ok to kill another person because they "believe" the other person is wrong (i.e. abortion doctors), the "pastor" is "free" to absolve that person of their guilt because the congregant "needs" to feel good about it?

While I firmly believe that abortion is murder, I do not believe that it's ever ok to commit out and out murder, even of abortion doctors. That's going to be between them and God in the end. But no where in the Bible have I ever seen an exclusionary clause that said anything remotely like:

"Author's Note: These passages are subject to interpretation depending on what you want to believe and what you want to take to heart, depending on the time and place they are read and any social conditioning happening within the general populace."

Remember when Moses delivered the Ten Suggestions to the Children of Israel?

Nope, neither do I.

Atkinson With Best Chance to Win in November

March 2, 2006

Contact: Lara Wettig
541-390-2401
lara@bendbroadband.com

Atkinson With Best Chance to Win in November

A late February poll by Rasmussen Reports showed Jason Atkinson as the candidate with the best chance of beating Governor Kulongoski in Fall. All three Republican gubernatorial candidates trailed the Governor at this early stage of the campaign, but Atkinson was just 12 points back, Saxton 14 points and Mannix 15 points.

Atkinson Supports Veterans

As a State Senator, Jason Atkinson compiled an outstanding record on behalf of Oregon's veterans during the 2005 Legislative Session. Jason supported 10 different pieces of legislation that helped or honored our veterans. Jason supported making it easier for veterans to buy homes, tripling education benefits for veterans, and providing financial assistance to Oregon National Guard families.

Coming Up

This weekend Jason Atkinson will be at the annual Dorchester Conference in Seaside. There will be a debate among the three candidates on Friday night and a "straw poll" on Sunday morning. It's not too late to register for this fun political event - just go to www.dorchester.org. Early next week, Jason will be on the north Oregon coast, visiting with voters in Clatsop, Tillamook and Lincoln Counties.

New Bumper stickers Available Now!

There's probably no more perfect accessory to your ride than an Atkinson for Governor campaign bumper sticker. Two styles are available: "Atkinson for Governor" and "Sportsmen for Atkinson." Stop by or call the campaign office today and be the envy of the neighborhood.

Room for Cream?

Atkinson volunteer Emily Booth is contacting supporters who agreed to host coffee and small fundraising events for Jason. Meetings with small groups of voters are a great way for our campaign to reach out to our grassroots base. If you are interested in hosting such an event, please give Emily a call at 503-750-9153 or email emily@equitygroup.com.

Blog Rolling

Don't forget to check out the Atkinson Blogger Network. This group of over 20 independent reporters has lots of good information and campaign buzz from all around the state. Just search "Atkinson Blogger Network" on any fine internet search site.

You're Embarassing the Angels!

Peggy Noonan is a great writer ... and she seems to me to be what Rhett Butler calls Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind ... a "great lady". She can address the meanest of social ills with eloquence and never once resorts to rough language. She can cut to the chase on any issue and always seems to be able to do it in a way I feel I never will.

Today she addresses the issue of how to be a lady in today's culture ... and let me tell you ... it's not easy! It is especially so, she says, when she has to travel by air and be subject to "random" security searches. ("What, I can't take on my yarn and knitting needles because you're afraid I'm going to knit an Afghan or something??" ... no Peggy Noonan didn't say that ... Robin Williams did.)

In today's Wall Street Opinion Journal article she takes on this idea. Read it and see if you, like I, can detect more and more gentility missing from our culture.

What a shame!