Waterboarding is not torture Posted: January 2, 2008 1:00 a.m. Eastern Americans are simply losing their ability to distinguish right from wrong. I don't know how else to put it. Up is down, day is night, left is right and right is wrong. A good illustration of my thesis is the growing political consensus around the idea that the U.S. should stop using any effective interrogation techniques that make our terrorist enemies uncomfortable – even those involved in planning acts of mass destruction and annihilation. For instance, armchair generals are increasingly referring to "waterboarding" as torture and saying it must be stopped in all cases. I have no doubts waterboarding is a very unpleasant experience. It must be so because it is considered 100 percent effective and usually induces cooperation within 30 seconds. The technique of waterboarding involves pouring water on the head of a prisoner with the purpose of triggering a gagging reflex and the panic of imminent drowning. It was used successfully to learn about terrorist operations planned by two of al-Qaida's top operatives – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, involved in the planning of the 9/11 attack, and Abu Zubaida, another leader of the terrorist organization. Apparently both of these mass killers endured many hours of coercive interrogations without talking. But they sung like canaries after a few seconds of waterboarding. In both cases, there is reason to believe planned terrorist attacks were foiled as a result of this technique. Nevertheless, there is a growing chorus of opposition against any further use of waterboarding in similar or even more dire scenarios. Let's use our heads for a minute. Imagine American law enforcement or military authorities have captured a terrorist mastermind who has knowledge about an imminent nuclear detonation in an unknown American city. He knows the time, the location and the details about the warhead. The bomb could be going off at any minute. It could kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Would you really want waterboarding to be banned under all circumstances? What alternatives would you suggest for quick results? Should we call in top negotiators from the State Department? Should we play loud rap music? Should we force the prisoner to listen to Hillary Rodham Clinton speeches? While I also find those experiences unpleasant, I don't think they would produce the needed results in time to defuse the bomb. Let's not tie the hands of future Jack Bauers who will need to do what they have to do to save lives. I personally think Mohammed and Zubaida got off way too easy with waterboarding. I would personally have performed far more unpleasant procedures on them without a twinge of guilt in my conscience. Real torture techniques would have been appropriate in both cases. But here's why waterboarding is not torture. Do you know the U.S. military waterboards hundreds of our own soldiers every year? It is part of the conditioning Special Forces troops undergo to prepare for battle and the possibility of capture by the enemy. In other words, it's OK for us to do this to America's best and brightest but it's too horrible for our worst enemies? Does this make sense to anyone? Many Americans are simply confused about the real definition of torture. Since so little sacrifice is required of most Americans today and because so few have ever experienced combat, they equate momentary discomfort or fear with torture. They are not the same. My definition of torture is simple: It involves physical or mental abuse that leaves lasting scars. Cutting off fingers, toes, limbs – that would be torture. Forcing prisoners to play Russian roulette – that would be torture. Sticking hot pokers in the eyes of prisoners – that would be torture. But a few seconds of dripping water on a prisoner's face? That's not torture to me.   Holocaust Remembrance - for the future   It is a matter of history that when Supreme Commander of the Allied  Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death  camps, he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead. He did this because he said in words to this effect: 'Get it all on  record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere  down the track of history some bastard will get up and say that this  never happened.' All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke In Memorial This week, the University of Kentucky removed The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim population which claims  it never occurred. This is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world  and how easily each country is giving into it. It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the 6 million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped,  burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian peoples  looking the other way! Now, more than ever, with Iran , among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets. This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide!Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world. It will only take a minute to pass this along. Year of global cooling By David Deming December 19, 2007 Al Gore says global warming is a planetary emergency. It is difficult to see how this can be so when record low temperatures are being set all over the world. In 2007, hundreds of people died, not from global warming, but from cold weather hazards. Since the mid-19th century, the mean global temperature has increased by 0.7 degrees Celsius. This slight warming is not unusual, and lies well within the range of natural variation. Carbon dioxide continues to build in the atmosphere, but the mean planetary temperature hasn't increased significantly for nearly nine years. Antarctica is getting colder. Neither the intensity nor the frequency of hurricanes has increased. The 2007 season was the third-quietest since 1966. In 2006 not a single hurricane made landfall in the U.S. South America this year experienced one of its coldest winters in decades. In Buenos Aires, snow fell for the first time since the year 1918. Dozens of homeless people died from exposure. In Peru, 200 people died from the cold and thousands more became infected with respiratory diseases. Crops failed, livestock perished, and the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency. Unexpected bitter cold swept the entire Southern Hemisphere in 2007. Johannesburg, South Africa, had the first significant snowfall in 26 years. Australia experienced the coldest June ever. In northeastern Australia, the city of Townsville underwent the longest period of continuously cold weather since 1941. In New Zealand, the weather turned so cold that vineyards were endangered. Last January, $1.42 billion worth of California produce was lost to a devastating five-day freeze. Thousands of agricultural employees were thrown out of work. At the supermarket, citrus prices soared. In the wake of the freeze, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked President Bush to issue a disaster declaration for affected counties. A few months earlier, Mr. Schwarzenegger had enthusiastically signed the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, a law designed to cool the climate. California Sen. Barbara Boxer continues to push for similar legislation in the U.S. Senate. In April, a killing freeze destroyed 95 percent of South Carolina's peach crop, and 90 percent of North Carolina's apple harvest. At Charlotte, N.C., a record low temperature of 21 degrees Fahrenheit on April 8 was the coldest ever recorded for April, breaking a record set in 1923. On June 8, Denver recorded a new low of 31 degrees Fahrenheit. Denver's temperature records extend back to 1872. Recent weeks have seen the return of unusually cold conditions to the Northern Hemisphere. On Dec. 7, St. Cloud, Minn., set a new record low of minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit. On the same date, record low temperatures were also recorded in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Extreme cold weather is occurring worldwide. On Dec. 4, in Seoul, Korea, the temperature was a record minus 5 degrees Celsius. Nov. 24, in Meacham, Ore., the minimum temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit colder than the previous record low set in 1952. The Canadian government warns that this winter is likely to be the coldest in 15 years Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri are just emerging from a destructive ice storm that left at least 36 people dead and a million without electric power. People worldwide are being reminded of what used to be common sense: Cold temperatures are inimical to human welfare and warm weather is beneficial. Left in the dark and cold, Oklahomans rushed out to buy electric generators powered by gasoline, not solar cells. No one seemed particularly concerned about the welfare of polar bears, penguins or walruses. Fossil fuels don't seem so awful when you're in the cold and dark. If you think any of the preceding facts can falsify global warming, you're hopelessly naive. Nothing creates cognitive dissonance in the mind of a true believer. In 2005, a Canadian Greenpeace representative explained “global warming can mean colder, it can mean drier, it can mean wetter.” In other words, all weather variations are evidence for global warming. I can't make this stuff up.   Global warming has long since passed from scientific hypothesis to the realm of pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo.   David Deming is a geophysicist, an adjunct scholar with the National Center for Policy Analysis, and associate professor of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma What in the heck is going on here.....  If the immigrant is over 65 they can apply for SSI and Medicaid and get more than my mom gets for Social Security, and she worked from 1944 till 2004, only getting $791 per month because she was born in 1924 and there is a 'catch 22'. It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and each can also obtain an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00/month. This compares very well to a  single pensioner who after contributing to the growth and  development of America for 40 to 50 years can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.   Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Consider sending this to all your American friends, so we can all be ticked off and maybe get the refugees cut back to $1, 012.00 and the pensioners up to $2,470.00 and enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the Government over the last 40 or 50  or 60 years. Please forward to every American to expose what our elected politicians (Nancy P. Included) have been doing over the past 11 years - to the over-taxed American.   Sent by Etta Katocs. *********************************************************** SEND THIS TO EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER YOU KNOW   Complete U.S. Senate Report Now Available: (LINK)  The Pope condemns the climate change prophets of doom By SIMON CALDWELL - More by this author » Last updated at 11:01am on 13th December 2007 Comments Attack: Pope Benedict criticised climate-change prophets of doom Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology. The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering. The German-born Pontiff said that while some concerns may be valid it was vital that the international community based its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement. His remarks will be made in his annual message for World Peace Day on January 1, but they were released as delegates from all over the world convened on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali for UN climate change talks. The 80-year-old Pope said the world needed to care for the environment but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind. Adrift: Polar bears on melting iceberg "Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow," he said in the message entitled "The Human Family, A Community of Peace". "It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances. "If the protection of the environment involves costs, they should be justly distributed, taking due account of the different levels of development of various countries and the need for solidarity with future generations. "Prudence does not mean failing to accept responsibilities and postponing decisions; it means being committed to making joint decisions after pondering responsibly the road to be taken." Efforts to protect the environment should seek "agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances", the Pope said. He added that to further the cause of world peace it was sensible for nations to "choose the path of dialogue rather than the path of unilateral decisions" in how to cooperate responsibly on conserving the planet. The Pope's message is traditionally sent to heads of government and international organisations. His remarks reveal that while the Pope acknowledges that problems may be associated with unbridled development and climate change, he believes the case against global warming to be over-hyped. A broad consensus is developing among the world's scientific community over the evils of climate change. But there is also an intransigent body of scientific opinion which continues to insist that industrial emissions are not to blame for the phenomenon. Such scientists point out that fluctuations in the earth's temperature are normal and can often be caused by waves of heat generated by the sun. Other critics of environmentalism have compared the movement to a burgeoning industry in its own right. In the spring, the Vatican hosted a conference on climate change that was welcomed by environmentalists. But senior cardinals close to the Vatican have since expressed doubts about a movement which has been likened by critics to be just as dogmatic in its assumptions as any religion. In October, the Australian Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, caused an outcry when he noted that the atmospheric temperature of Mars had risen by 0.5 degrees celsius. "The industrial-military complex up on Mars can't be blamed for that," he said in a criticism of Australian scientists who had claimed that carbon emissions would force temperatures on earth to rise by almost five degrees by 2070 unless drastic solutions were enforced. To All My Democrat Friends: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.   Sent by Walter Greene   WHY DO POLICE FIRE SO MANY SHOTS AT A SUSPECT IN A SHOOTOUT...OR WHEN THEY BELIEVE THEY HAVE A GUN POINTED AT THEM?  READ THIS ARTICLE AND YOU WILL HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING: At Last! (Thomas Sowell) | December 11, 2007 | Thomas Sowell Posted on 12/10/2007 7:17:07 PM PST by jazusamo December 11, 2007 People for whom indignation is a way of life -- and there seem to be an increasing number of such people -- repeatedly have outbursts of outrage whenever the police fire a lot of shots at some criminal. People who have never fired a gun in their lives, and have never had a split-second in which to make a decision that could mean life or death for themselves or others, are often nevertheless convinced that the police used excessive force. As someone who once taught pistol shooting in the Marine Corps, it has never seemed strange to me that the police sometimes fire dozens of shots at a criminal. While an expert shooter can run up impressive scores in the safety of a pistol range, it doesn't take much to make shots go off into the wild blue yonder in the stress of life and death shooting. Even on a pistol range, it was not uncommon to see shooters not only miss the bull's eye, but miss the whole target, which was the size of a man's torso. Among other things, this suggests that a pistol may not be the best firearm to keep for home protection. A shotgun is far more likely to hit the target -- and far less likely to have to be fired in the first place. Any intruder who hears the distinctive sound that is made when you load a shotgun is likely to decide that he would much rather be somewhere else, very quickly. Nor is he likely to return. Getting back to shootings by the police, now -- at last -- there is a study introducing some facts into controversies that have thus far been largely a matter of emotions, rhetoric, ideology, and politics. This study shows how often the police in New York City miss when shooting at various distances during the stress of actual confrontations with criminals. Even within a range of 6 feet or less, the police miss more often than they hit -- 57 percent of the shots at that distance miss and 43 percent hit. As you might expect, there are even fewer hits at longer distances. At 75 feet -- which is less than the distance from first base to second base -- only 7 percent of the shots hit. Moreover, just because a shot has hit does not mean that it is now safe to stop shooting. First of all, this is not like an arcade game, where lights go on when you hit something. Depending on where the shot hit, the policeman who is firing may have no idea whether he has hit the criminal or not. With the adrenalin pumping, the criminal himself may not be aware that he has been hit, if it is not a serious wound. Even if the policeman knows that his shot has hit the criminal, the real question is whether the hit has rendered the criminal no longer dangerous. If the bad guy is still capable of shooting back, it is no time for the cop to stop firing, because his life is still in danger. When there is more than one policeman on the scene, there is no reason for any of them to keep track of how often the others have fired. After it is all over, it may turn out that 30 or 40 shots were fired at the criminal. But so what? It is very doubtful that the criminal has been hit 30 or 40 times. Only part of the problem is that many people have no idea of the capabilities and limitations of different kinds of guns, much less how much difference it makes if the shooter is in the safety of a firing range or in the stress of a life and death battle. What is a bigger and wider problem is that too many people feel no hesitation to go spouting off about things they know nothing about. People who have never run even a modest little business assert with great certainty and indignation that heads of multinational corporations are paid much more than they are worth. People who know nothing about medicine and nothing about economics unhesitatingly declare that pharmaceutical drugs cost too much. Maybe all this is a product of the "self-esteem" taught in our schools, instead of the academic subjects in which American children trail children from other countries. -------- Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His Web site is www.tsowell.com.   It is a matter of history that when the Supreme  Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower found the  victims of the death camps, he ordered all possible photographs to be  taken and for the German people from the surrounding villages to be  ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead. He did this he  said, in words to this effect;  "Get it all on record now - get the  films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the track of history  some ******* will get up and say that this never happened.      "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is  for good men to do nothing"  Edmund Burke     IN MEMORIAL    Recently, the UK removed the Holocaust from   it's  school curriculum because it "offended" the Muslim population because  they say it never occurred.    This is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easy each country is giving into  it.    It is now more than 60 years since the 2nd World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a  memorial chain, in memory of the 6 million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who  were murdered, massacred, raped, starved, burned and humiliated while  German and Russian people looked the other way!    Now more than ever, with Iran among others, claiming  the Holocaust to be a myth, it is imperative to make sure the world  never forgets.    This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people  worldwide! Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute  this around the world.      Sent by Hugh and Peg King.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     WHERE TO BUY YOUR USA-GAS WHERE TO BUY YOUR USA-GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON-- Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor. An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia.  Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis. Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends. I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil . These companies import Middle Eastern oil : Shell........................... 205,742,000 barrels Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels Exxon /Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels Amoco............................62,231,000 barrels   Citgo.......................from South America , from a Dictator who hates Americans If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 B ILLION! (oil is now $80 - $90 a barrel Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil: Sunoco...................0 barrels Conoco..................0 barrels Sinclair.................0 barrels B P/Phillips............0 barrels Hess.......................0 barrels ARC0....................0 barrels All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do. Now, don't wimp out at this point.... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!! I'm sending this note to about thirty pe ople .  If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) .. and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers !!!!!!! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it ..... THREE HUND RED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next eight days !   Canadian Illegal Immigration Troubles: Stemming the flow of illegal immigrants From the Manitoba Herald, Canada: The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The actions of President Bush are prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly.   Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal- rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"   In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk." Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.   "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. "They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though." When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR races.   In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said. Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies   ."I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?    I was sitting  alone in one of those loud, casual steak houses that you find all over the  country. You know the type--a bucket of peanuts on every table, shells littering  the floor, and a bunch of perky college kids racing around with long neck beers  and sizzling platters. Taking a sip of my iced tea, I studied the crowd  over the rim of my glass. My gaze lingered on a group enjoying their meal. They  wore no uniform to identify their branch of service, but they were definitely  "military:" clean shaven, cropped haircut, and that "squared away" look that  comes with pride. Smiling sadly, I glanced across my table to the empty seat where my husband usually sat. It had only been a few months since we sat in this very booth, talking about his upcoming deployment to the Middle East. That  was when he made me promise to get a sitter for the kids, come back to this  restaurant once a month and treat myself to a nice steak. In turn he would  treasure the thought of me being here, thinking about him until he returned home. I  fingered the little flag pin I constantly wear and wondered where he was at this  very moment. Was he safe and warm? Was his cold any better? Were my letters getting through to him? As I pondered these thoughts, high pitched female voices from the next booth broke into my thoughts. "I don't know what Bush is thinking about. Invading Iraq. You'd think that man would learn from his old  man's mistakes. Good lord. What an idiot! I can't believe he is even in office.  You do know, he stole the election." I cut into my steak and tried to  ignore them, as they began an endless tirade running down our president. I  thought about the last night I spent with my husband, as he prepared to deploy.  He had just returned from getting his smallpox and anthrax shots. The image of  him standing in our kitchen packing his gas mask still gives me chills. Once again the women's voices invaded my thoughts."It is all  about oil, you know. Our soldiers will go in and rape and steal all the oil they  can in the name of 'freedom'. Hmmm! I wonder how many innocent people they'll kill without giving it a thought? It's pure greed, you know." My chest  tightened as I stared at my wedding ring. I could still see how handsome my  husband looked in his "mess dress" the day he slipped it on my finger. I  wondered what he was wearing now. Probably his desert uniform, affectionately  dubbed "coffee stains" with a heavy bulletproof vest over it. "You know,  we should just leave Iraq alone. I don't think they are hiding any weapons. In  fact, I bet it's all a big act just to increase the president's popularity.  That's all it is, padding the military budget at the expense of our social  security and education. And, you know what else? We're just asking for another  9-11. I can't say when it happens again that we didn't deserve it."   Their words brought to mind the war protesters I had watched  gathering outside our base. Did no one appreciate the sacrifice of brave men and  women, who leave their homes and family to ensure our freedom? Do they even know  what "freedom" is? I glanced at the table where the young men were  sitting, and saw their courageous faces change. They had stopped eating and  looked at each other dejectedly, listening to the women talking. "Well,  I, for one, think it's just deplorable to invade Iraq, and I am certainly sick of our tax dollars going to train professional baby-killers we call a military."   Professional baby-killers? I thought about what a wonderful father my husband is, and of how long  it would be before he would see our children again. That's it! Indignation rose up inside me. Normally  reserved, pride in my husband gave me a brassy boldness I never realized I had. Tonight one voice will answer on behalf of our military, and let her pride in  our troops be known. Sliding out of my booth, I walked around to the  adjoining booth and placed my hands flat on their table. Lowering myself to eye  level with them, smilingly said, "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation.  You see, I'm sitting here trying to enjoy my dinner alone. And, do you know why?  Because my husband, whom I love with all my heart, is halfway around the world  defending your right to say rotten things about him." "Yes, you have the right  to your opinion, and what you think is none of my business. However,  what you say in public is something else, and I will not sit by and listen to  you ridicule MY country,  MY president, MY husband, and all the other fine  American men and women who put their lives on the line, just so you can have the  "freedom" to complain. Freedom is an expensive commodity, ladies. Don't let your actions cheapen it." I must have been louder than I meant to be,  because the manager came over to inquire if everything was all right. "Yes,  thank you," I replied. Then, turning back to the women, I said, "Enjoy the rest of your meal." As I returned to my booth, applause broke out. I was  embarrassed for making a scene, and went back to my half eaten steak. The women  picked up their check and scurried away. After finishing my meal, and  while waiting for my check, the manager returned with a huge apple cobbler ala  mode. "Compliments of those soldiers," he said. He also smiled and said the  ladies tried to pay for my dinner, but that another couple had beaten them to  it. When I asked who, the manager said they had already left, but that the  gentleman was a veteran, and wanted to take care of the wife of "one of our  boys." With a lump in my throat, I gratefully turned to the soldiers and  thanked them for the cobbler. Grinning from ear to ear, they came over and  surrounded the booth. "We just wanted to thank you, ma'am. You know we can't get  into confrontations with civilians, so we appreciate what you did." As I  drove home, for the first time since my husband's deployment, I didn't feel  quite so alone. My heart was filled with the warmth of the other diners who  stopped by my table, to relate how they, too, were proud of my husband, and  would keep Him in their prayers. I knew their flags would fly a little higher  the next day.Perhaps they would look for more tangible ways to show their pride  in our country, and the military who  protect her. And maybe, just maybe,  the two women who were railing against our country, would pause for a minute to  appreciate all the freedom America offers, and the price it pays to maintain  it's freedom. As for me, I have learned that one voice CAN make a  difference. Maybe the next time protesters gather outside the gates of the base  where I live, I will proudly stand on the opposite side with a sign of my own.  It will simply say, "Thank You!" To those who fought for our Nation:  Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know. GOD BLESS  AMERICA! Please pray for God's protection of our troops and HIS wisdom  for their commanders. Pass this on to as many as you think will respond.

 

INTERVIEW REGARDING CANADIAN UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE PLAN. WATCH THEN DECIDE IF THIS IS THE SYSTEM YOU

WANT FOR THE UNITED STATES.   

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Rf42zNl9U

 

 

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.  And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are:  Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?  I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.  But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina)  Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.
She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.  And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.  Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.  Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.  My Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

*******************************************

 

 

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Comments About Global Warming

I was privileged to work with John Coleman, the founder of The Weather Channel in the year before it became a reality and then for the first of the 6 years I was fortunate to be the Director of Meteorology. No one worked harder than John to make The Weather Channel a reality and to make sure the staffing, the information and technology was the very best possible at that time.  John currently works with KUSI in San Diego. He posts regularly. I am very pleased to present his latest insightful post.

By John Coleman

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create in allusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus.

Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild “scientific” scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmental conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minutes documentary segment.

I do not oppose environmentalism. I do not oppose the political positions of either party. However, Global Warming, ie Climate Change, is not about environmentalism or politics. It is not a religion. It is not something you “believe in.” It is science; the science of meteorology. This is my field of life-long expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a non-event, a manufactured crisis and a total scam. I say this knowing you probably won’t believe a me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. So be it.

I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismissal of counter arguments by the high priest of Global Warming.

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped. The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hooray for Michigan State

 

The story begins at Michigan State University with a mechanical engineering professor named Indrek Wichman. Wichman sent an e-mail to the Muslim Student's Association. The e-mail was in response to the students' protest of the Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist. The group had complained the cartoons were "hate speech."

 

Enter Professor Wichman. In his e-mail, he said the following:

 

Dear Moslem Association:

 

As a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MSU I intend to protest your protest. I am offended not by cartoons, but by more mundane things like beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders, murders of Catholic priests (the latest in Turkey ), burnings of Christian churches, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt , the imposition of Sharia law on  non-Muslims, the rapes of Scandinavian girls and women (called "whores" in your culture), the murder of film directors in Holland, and the rioting and looting in Paris France.

 

This is what offends me, (a soft-spoken person and academic), and many, many of my colleagues. I counsel you dissatisfied, aggressive, brutal, and uncivilized slave-trading Moslems to be very aware of this as you proceed with your infantile "protests."

 

If you do not like the values of the West - see the First Amendment --- you are free to leave. I hope for God's sake that most of you choose that option. Please return to your ancestral homelands and build them up yourselves instead of troubling Americans. Cordially,

 

I. S. Wichman Professor of Mechanical Engineering

 

As you can imagine, the Muslim group at the university didn't like this too well. They're demanding that Prof. Wichman be reprimanded and the university impose mandatory diversity training for faculty and mandate a seminar on hate and discrimination for all freshmen.

 

Now the local chapter of CAIR has jumped into the fray. CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, apparently doesn't believe that the good professor had the right to express his opinion.

 

For its part, the university is standing its ground in support of Professor Wichman , saying the e-mail was private, and they don't intend to publicly condemn his remarks.

 

Send this to your friends, and ask them to do the same. Tell them to keep passing it around until the whole country gets it. We are in a war. This political correctness crap is getting old and killing us.

 

 

The World's Shortest Books:

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY COUNTRY

by Jane Fonda & Cindy Sheehan.

Illustrated by Michael Moore

________________________________________

 

MY CHRISTIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS &

HOW I HELPED AFTER KATRINA

by Rev Jesse Jackson & Rev Al Sharpton

_______________________________________

 

 

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BILL

by Hillary Clinton

________________________________

Sequel:

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HILLARY

By Bill Clinton

___________________________________

MY LITTLE BOOK OF PERSONAL HYGIENE

by Osama Bin Laden

___________________________________

THINGS I CANNOT AFFORD

by Bill Gates

____________________________________

THINGS I WOULD NOT DO FOR MONEY

by Dennis Rodman

_________________________________

THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE

by Al Gore & John Kerry

_______________________________________

AMELIA EARHART'S GUIDE TO THE PACIFIC

___________________________________

A COLLECTION of

MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES

by Dr. J Kevorkian

__________________________________

ALL THE MEN I HAVE LOVED BEFORE

by Ellen de Generes & Rosie O'Donnel

____________________________________

GUIDE TO DATING ETIQUETTE

by Mike Tyson

__________________________________

THE AMISH PHONE DIRECTORY

_______________________________________

MY PLAN TO FIND THE REAL KILLERS

by O.J. Simpson

_________________________________________

HOW TO DRINK & DRIVE OVER BRIDGES

by Ted Kennedy

___________________________________

MY BOOK OF MORALS

by Bill Clinton

with introduction by The Rev. Jesse Jackson

*******************************************************

AND, JUST ADDED:

Complete Knowledge of Military Strategy!

By Nancy Pelosi

 

Here's the link that might well relax you and make you feel better.

http://hytaipan.home.comcast.net/media/serenity2.html
          

Standing Up For the Troops   By Jamie Glazov FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, September 13, 2007 Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Chris Hill, the National Director for Operations Gathering of Eagles (GOE). He served in the US Army Infantry (9th Regiment) from 1986-90. FP: Chris Hill, welcome to Frontpage Interview. Hill: Thank you. FP: This weekend, on Saturday, Sept 15, your group will confront anti-war demonstrators at the Capitol. I want to talk to you about this event and your efforts. Before we get to that, tell us a bit about your group. What exactly is the Gathering of Eagles? Hill: GOE is a group of veterans and supporters who believe that we face a grave enemy, with whom we are currently engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have witnessed our brave warriors, of multiple generations, attacked by members of hateful anti-American groups and we have had enough. We will not see this generation slandered and abused the way the Vietnam vets were. We will support our service members fully on the ground here while they fight the good fight in the War on Terror. We were initially organized to protect our war memorials from desecration, but have since expanded to defend our military from assault. Obviously, witnessing the attacks on Gen Petraeus before he testified, and the presumed vandalism of the Vietnam Wall, both are needed. We also stand in the streets to give all those people who support our brave warriors a voice. People who might yell at their television sets in frustration can rally with us instead. FP: Tell us about your plans for September 15, 2007. Hill: The Gathering of Eagles was on Capitol Hill last Monday to show support for Gen. Petraeus and the larger War on Terror. We visited 70 plus congressional offices and had face to face meetings with Sens Lieberman and McConnell. That was our first push. We wanted to let the good guys know that they have popular support for the war effort and let the other side know that we are not going away. This weekend we will do the second part. We will confront ANSWER, MoveOn.org, Code Pink and the rest of the anti-American forces who are marching from the White House to the Capitol. On September 15, we will rally at 9:00 a.m. at 7th St on The Mall and then move over to Pennsylvania Ave to line ANSWER's route. We will counter them all the way to the Capitol where they plan a die-in. They will hold likenesses of our brave warriors who have been killed in action. We find that particularly despicable since they have not asked any family members of those killed for permission. FP: What is your overall position on the War on Terror in general and on the Iraq war in particular? Hill: We believe that the war in Iraq is the central battle ground in the larger War on Terror; not because we said so, but because bin Laden and Zawahiri said so. We believe our service members are taking the fight to the radical Islamists who wish for world dominance. We support the effort fully. We want our brave men and women to come home too, but as victors, not with their tales between their legs due to legislated defeat. T The average age of our warriors is 19. That means most of the professional military enlisted after 9/11. They know who they are fighting and why, and we will not see their sacrifice disparaged. Not on our watch. FP: What are your thoughts on the Left’s behaviour in the Terror War? Hill: I believe the radical elements of the Left, embodied by the MoveOn, ANSWER, and Code Pink crowd, are actually extending the war they claim to want to end. Their statements wind up on jihadist recruitment DVDs, propaganda sites such as al Jazeera, and as we witnessed this week, in the speeches of bin Laden. They are so invested in defeat that they will sacrifice our brave men and women in uniform to reach their goals, which are the radical upheaval of the government of the United States and an end to the democratic ideals which have made us the greatest nation on Earth. Had they been behind the war effort from the beginning Iraq would be a very different place these days. Yelling about Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, while homicidal maniacs bent on world domination cut off heads, is decidedly harmful and hurts the morale of our brave warriors. FP: Can you talk a bit about your past success in March? Hill: Back in March we staged a similar counter-protest where we had 20,000 vets and supporters in DC, so we're hopeful that we can get similar numbers. The MoveOn ad that slandered Gen Petraeus and questioned his patriotism, as well as the reported vandalism of the Vietnam Wall have galvanized our forces. FP: Describe the vandalism of the Vietnam Wall and who perpetrated it. Why would someone do such a thing? Hill: We're still awaiting official word from the Park Police, but an oily substance was sprayed along nearly 30 panels of the Vietnam Wall. It discolored some panels to the point of making some names illegible. If it was a deliberate act, and I find it hard to believe it was anything else, then no matter who actually perpetrated it, it can be laid at the door of the likes of Code Pink, MoveOn and ANSWER. They have ramped up the rhetoric concerning Iraq by comparing it to Vietnam. Some kid probably took that to heart and decided to stage some civil disobedience by disgracing a grave marker to our fallen brothers and sisters. The anti-American forces are led, in large part, by the same masters who violently protested Vietnam. They see our withdrawal there as a win for them. So the geography has changed, but the game plan is the same and my Gold Standard for warriors, the Vietnam vets, are once again the ones being attacked. FP: If these radical leftists see defeat in Vietnam and Iraq as a victory for them, what does it say about their agenda? What do you think are the real motives and aspirations of these anti-war groups? Why would they root for the totalitarian enemy – a totalitarian enemy that would set up a society in which they themselves would be exterminated? Hill: It is not a secret that most of these groups trace their lineage to Marxist-Leninist organizations. Their desire is to bring about radical reversals of American ideals, which they consider the root cause of all that is wrong in the world. They are more worried by global warming than terrorism; even though evidence of terrorism is provided in the form of thousands of our fellow Americans incinerated 6 years ago today, or killed in the war since. I cannot for the life of me imagine what would make these people think they would be welcomed into the society they envision. Medea Benjamin of Code Pink was thrown out of Cuba after all. I guess that they feel that by pushing and pushing they will remain in the spotlight and that feeds some hole inside them somewhere. I think they also realize that no matter what they do, our brave men and women in uniform will always stand between them and the barbarians at the gates. Somewhere deep inside I think they know too that even if an enemy were to fight their way through our 2,000,000 uniformed military personnel, that the veterans of this country would strap it on again and defend just those people who disparage us. It's who we are and what we do. FP: So kindly reiterate what readers who would like to help can do on September 15. Also talk a bit about what concerned citizens can do in terms of helping your group overall. Hill: We're asking anyone who can stand with us in DC this Saturday to do so. If you are not able to be with us, then help support us. ANSWER, Code Pink and MoveOn are funded by the deep pockets of George Soros and his ilk. We are a strictly volunteer organization that survives through donations. We are also asking that every concerned citizen who wants to see our men and women in uniform come home as victors call, fax and email their congressmen and tell them so. Our website gatheringofeagles.org has all the details and ways for people to get involved. We veterans feel that we have to defend our brothers and sisters. The supporters who have never served, but stand with us anyway do so because they want to. That means the world to us. We would bleed on the flag to keep the stripes red and know we are not alone. Anyone who stands with us in the face of the anti-American left's hypocrisy and deceit will rightly be called part of our brotherhood. There are no dues for membership and no secret handshakes. If you say you are an Eagle, then you are. Troops, Troops and Nothing but the Troops is our motto. We have pledged to BUY THE TROOPS SOME TIME TO WIN, and with your readers help we can. FP: Chris Hill, thank you for joining us today. Hill: Thanks for having us on brother. FP: I consider you my brother too Chris. And everyone in the Gathering of Eagles -- and all the brave men and women putting their lives on the line in Iraq and in the terror war -- are the brothers and sisters of Frontpagemag.com. *************************************************************

 

The following is a poem written by Judge Roy Moore from Alab