Instructive reading. The Unholy Alliance of American Radicals and Islamic Terrorists Against the Patriot Act

Where's the Outrage?

Here, locally in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, people are complaining and writing into the Minneapolis Star Tribune because President Bush is to be in Maple Grove today for a "townhall style meeting," to "kick off an intensive and costly campaign, so says the "Strib", to get all eligible Americans to sign up for a new prescription-drug benefit that will take effect in January"; but it's closed to everyone except Bush supporters, and in a "Bush supporting" community. This sounds like impeachable offenses. How dare he take such action. It's unheard of.

And yet, "just one week after the junior senator from New York scolded major media for lacking the 'spine' to 'stand their ground' against President Bush, the Buffalo News reports that journalists suddenly found themselves barred from a major Democrat fundraiser in Buffalo, featuring Hillary."

Is Hillary punishing the press?

PETA Murders Cuddly Pets

No, I did not make this up. This is from DiscoverTheNetworks.org and based on an AP report.

"Two animal rights mega-moonbats from the PETA anti-human organization have been arrested for ... (drumroll) ... cruelty to animals. And not to human animals either.

Really.

As you know, PETA, or People for the Egalitarian Treatment of Animals, is in favor of human rights for all species of critter except for human beings. Now AP reports that two PETA primates were busted in Hampton Roads, Virginia and were charged in Ahoskie, N.C. with animal cruelty, after dumping dead dogs and cats in a shopping center garbage bin. The two are employees of Norfolk-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, not to be confused with People for the Eating of Tasty Animals.

Police found 18 dead animals in the trash bin and 13 more in a van registered to PETA. The animals were from animal shelters in Northampton and Bertie counties in North Carolina. The two murderers of the cuddly pets were picking them up supposedly to be brought back to PETA headquarters for euthanization, PETA moonbette president Ingrid Newkirk said Thursday. (Newkirk had earlier lainched the PETA campaign to compare eating chickens to the Nazi Holocaust of Jews.)

Neither police nor PETA offered any theory on why the animals might have been dumped. Local officials and veterinarians said they were told that PETA would find homes for the animals, not euthanize them. Police charged Andrew Benjamin Cook, 24, of Virginia Beach, and Adria Joy Hinkle, 27, of Norfolk, each with 31 felony counts of animal cruelty and eight misdemeanor counts of illegal disposal of dead animals. They were released on bond and an initial court date was set for Friday in Winton.

For our part, the whole affair reminds us of that old Monty Python sketch about the dead parrot.

So do PETA pet murderers tell their crying child that the dead puppies are only sleeping?"

UN'S FAILURES

"The U.N.'s failures just in the last twenty years are legion — in Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Bosnia, and currently in Sudan, hundreds of thousands have been brutalized, mutilated, raped, and slaughtered, often right under the noses of U.N. forces and observers. This failure to prevent violence and keep the peace reflects the false assumption that created the United Nations. Like its earlier incarnation, the League of Nations, the U.N. was the fruit of an old Enlightenment dream: that negotiation, diplomacy, and rational discussion could manage crises and avoid the use of force in settling conflict. Such global parliaments had been the stuff of numerous utopias over the years, a dream particularly attractive for those horrified by the nationalist-inspired carnage of modern warfare and enamored of the idea that humans could progress beyond war and violence, which were considered primitive vestiges of a less civilized world rather than eternal realities of human nature.

So instead of seeking the approval and sanction of a weak and morally exhausted U.N., we should be confident that our own political virtues and institutions will rightly guide America in the pursuit of our principles, security, and interests. The real issue we should be discussing, then, is not John Bolton's suitability for being the U.S. representative to the U.N., but the UN's suitability for advancing the interests of the United States."

Read the rest of Victor David Hanson's article here.

NEWS AND VIEWS ON DICK DURBIN

What's a bigger national embarrassment - Gitmo or Durbin?

Dick Durbin must resign

Aljazeera.Net - US senator stands by Nazi remark

Alexander K. McClure:The White House is gleefully responding to Durbin, saying that [snipped quote] Durbin, unlike Rick Santorum, refuses to retract his Nazi comparison.

Michelle Malkin: THE TREACHEROUS DICK DURBIN — Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Camp Delta) refuses to apologize for his unhinged remarks likening...

Captain Ed: Despite a national furor over his remarks, Durbin has refused to retract them, although he laughingly added yesterday...

MORE BAD NEWS ON THE EU FRONT

John Phillips, writing for THE WASHINGTON TIMES says, "Italians, once among the most enthusiastic supporters of a united Europe, are becoming increasingly disillusioned, so much so that some are suggesting that Italy dump the euro and bring back the lira." Some other excerpts:

• Roberto Castelli, the silver-haired Italian justice minister from the Northern League, a major coalition partner in the government of Silvio Berlusconi, said his party will present concrete proposals this week for calling a referendum on ditching the euro.

• "Does [the British pound] sterling have no economic foundation because it is outside the euro?" he asked. "Is Denmark living in absolute poverty because it is outside the euro? Are Swedes poor because they are outside the euro?"

• Italian discontent with the euro marks the latest crisis to rattle the quest for European unity.

• British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac have been locked in a bitter public feud ahead of European budget summit this week and the Continent is reeling from the rejection of a proposed constitution by French and Dutch voters.

• A chain of Tuscan supermarkets has been enjoying a surge in business after pledging to accept the lira alongside the euro, cashing in on Italians who blame the single currency for rising prices and a slumping economy.

• Polls show that as many as 27 percent of Italians are ready to dump the common European currency.

• The "post-Fascist" National Alliance party founded by former admirers of the wartime nationalist dictator, Benito Mussolini, also has traditionally been wary of European integration.

• Politicians in Rome have been openly discussing the "exit option" as their country slides deeper into recession.

• Italian newspapers report that hedge funds are calling in lawyers to check on legal options if Italy decides to replace the euro with a "new lira" as the currency of denomination for Italian bonds.

• By devaluing its currency, Italy could immediately boost exports, jobs and manufacturing investment. The real value of Italy's massive public debt, equivalent to some 105 percent of gross domestic product, could be slashed by devaluation.

• EU leaders are furious about rebellious Italian dissatisfaction with the single currency. "It is just inconceivable that a country could envisage dropping out of the euro," said Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of postage-stamp-sized Luxembourg, which is currently the revolving European Union president.

• The European Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said talking about dropping the euro is "complete nonsense." Economists close to Mr. Prodi believe the best way to combat underconsumption and unemployment, not only in Italy but throughout Europe, would be a bold reduction in interest rates, at least to the emergency level of one percent that revived the U.S. economy in 2003, if not to zero as in Switzerland and Japan.

• Mr. Berlusconi has stopped short of contradicting the flamboyant Northern League ministers on the euro, fueling speculation that to retain power he may yet be plotting to precipitate the breakup of the euro, which could herald the death of the European Union.

Please Vote

Chad the Elder from Fraters Libertas contacted me and is asking for my help, and your help, oh faithful readers. He is advising us all about "the little dust up going on between the governors of Minnesota and Colorado over the design of their respective quarters." The quarrel has been highlighted by talk radio host Hugh Hewitt and currently Hugh's producer Duane is running a poll about the state quarters at Radio Blogger: http://www.radioblogger.com/

Please go to http://www.radioblogger.com/ and vote early and often for Minnesota. This is the Heavy-Handed way. Thanks for your help.

"The more people I meet, the more I like my dog."

Cancellation of debt breaks cycle of loans

In an article written by Jeffrey Sparshott for the Washington Times he writes that,

An agreement reached by rich countries on Saturday would for the first time eliminate the entire principal on more than $40 billion in loans owed by 18 of the world's poorest nations, rather than just lowering payments or reworking terms."

He goes on to write,

There is still no agreement among wealthy nations on how to link a debt write-off with an increase in aid.

Group of Eight leaders are scheduled to meet next month in Scotland. France and Germany have proposed taxes on airline tickets in an attempt to boost aid to poor African countries. Hans Eichel, the German finance minister, said the tax 'is now on the working program of the G8.'

U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow reiterated U.S. opposition to the proposal, but said the United States would not block the tax if other leaders choose to implement it.

'The United States would not participate in any global tax scheme to raise money,' said Tony Fratto, spokesman for the U.S. Treasury Department. He said the agency would prefer the United States ask Congress for funds when it needs it."

You can read the rest of the story here.

I'm glad that the U.S says they would not participate an any global tax scheme. We don't want to get started down that slippery slope. I still fear that kind of idea in the future. Will future Democrat presidents resist this idea, or will they embrace global taxes that the U.N. and E.U. seek? I fear the latter to be true.

It's About Time

It's about time that Mexican officials take blame on aliens. In a column written by Stephen Dinan , "Mexican lawmakers told their American counterparts this weekend that Mexico has not done enough to stop the flow of illegal aliens across the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly non-Mexicans who first illegally cross Mexico's southern border."

At least some people can see and speak the truth; but don't hold your breath that it is going to make any impact of any kind.You can read the entire article appearing in the Washington Times here.

Senate Democrats develop new filibuster strategy

By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 13, 2005

Senate Democrats are in the early stages of several filibusters against executive nominees that they hope will be more effective than those they have abandoned in recent weeks against President Bush's judicial appointments.

The new filibusters are not based publicly on ideologies -- as with several of the nominees to the federal bench -- but on demands for additional information from the administration.
Already stalled under that strategy is John R. Bolton, Mr. Bush's pick to be ambassador to the United Nations.

Also, Democrats led by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts stopped a federal appeals court nominee last week by demanding that more of his unpublished legal opinions be provided to them.

Read the full article here.

Unsocialized Medicine

A landmark ruling exposes Canada's health-care inequity.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Monday, June 13, 2005

Let's hope Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy were sitting down when they heard the news of the latest bombshell Supreme Court ruling. From the Supreme Court of Canada, that is. That high court issued an opinion last Thursday saying, in effect, that Canada's vaunted public health-care system produces intolerable inequality.

Read the rest here. Registration required.

Hammering the U.N.

From an editorial in The Washinton Post, and if I didn't know better, I'd say this was a satire. But, alas, 'tis not.

NOBODY SAYS that the United Nations is perfect. In fact, the organization's top bureaucrats are pressing for reform. But some demands for change are unproductive. The extreme bill sponsored in the House by Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) is a case in point.

You mean the U.N.'s top bureaucrats are pressing for reforms such as this?
COUNCIL REFORM PLAN

• Increasing Security Council seats from 15 to 25

• 6 would be new permanent, and 4 non-permanent members

• New members to forego veto for 15 years

• Plan needs two-thirds approval at General Assembly

• Security Council backing required

HeavyHanded says, "yup, you betchca for shoor, dat'll take care of da voes of da UN, ya". This is akin to increasing the size of school board because their students are falling behind in their academic scores.

As House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL) said, "If you're going to reform something, reform it."

Hear. Hear.

This bill, which passed out of the House International Relations Committee on Wednesday, demands a long list of reforms at the United Nations. Some are reasonable. It's fine to call for a code of conduct for peacekeeping troops, who have sometimes abused the civilians they were supposedly protecting; the United Nations already has a code, but it needs to disseminate it better to the troops.

Yup. You read that correctly. Disseminate: verb: di' semu`neyt: to broadcast; or cause to become widely known.

Now, folks, I believe, and have said this is conversations with others, and in no way claim to be the original author of this idea, but nonetheless still firmly believe, the U.N. has no moral compass.

What better example than this drivel. The - "peacekeeping" - troops - of - the - UNITED NATIONS - do - NOT - know - that- it - is - NOT - okay - to - rape - pillage - and - plunder - the - people - they - are - sent - to - protect!

If they could only do a better job of "spreading the word," these things wouldn't happen. Maybe that's where the increase of 10 more members on the "security" council would come in handy - they will have more council members to "circulate" the already established "code", thereby providing more "security" for the civilians.

Likewise, cuts in spending on U.N. conferences, which allegedly cost as much as $8,000 per hour, are sensible. But some of the reforms demanded by the bill are not so good. Requiring that certain programs be funded on a voluntary basis by U.N. members rather than by automatic membership payments would exacerbate the precarious hand-to-mouth budgeting that saps morale and efficiency.

Boulderdash. Bunk. Bunkhum. Hogwash. Precarious hand-to-mouth? Saps morale and efficiency? Let me tell you about saps, there's alot of them at Turtle Bay. But, I digress. You know what really "saps" morale and efficiency? Poor leadership, scandals, lack of direction and purpose, lack of a moral foundation.

If you are not sure of what I speak, please Google such things as: United Nations scandals, Rwanda genocide, Burundi genocide, Darfur genocide, World Bank Funds scandal, UN auditing problems, Iraq Oil for Food scandal, Kojo Annan, UN peacekeepers rape scandal, UN children sexual abuse, UN African sex scandal, UN sexual abuse, Congo sex abuse, UN sexual harassment, Benan Sevan legal fees scandal. Well, you get the point. With just a small amount of effort, I'm confident you'll find alot of reading material.

But the bill's worst feature is that it mandates a 50 percent cut in U.S. payments to the United Nations if some of its proposals don't get implemented; other proposals come with a threat of a 25 percent cut.

Sounds about right. What's wrong with the concept of being held accountable for their spending? It' s our money, damn it.

This is like using a sledgehammer to drive a nail into an antique table: Even if you're aiming at the right nail, you're going to cause damage.

You can't cause anymore damage to something that's already broke, I say.

The bill is right, for example, in highlighting the shameful practice of allowing thuggish governments, such as those in Sudan or Zimbabwe, onto the U.N. human rights commission. U.N. managers are seeking support for a reform that would require countries seeking election to a reformed human rights council to get the backing of two-thirds of U.N. members: This would make it possible to block the worst candidates. But the Hyde bill's approach is to declare that any country with a questionable human rights record become ineligible. Given the politics of the United Nations, this reform isn't going to be adopted. Sledgehammer-style, the bill would trigger a deep cut in U.S. support for the United Nations.

Well, as former U.S. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick's deputy, Chuck Lichenstein, once told unhappy member states that if they wished to leave America's shores, "the members of the U.S. mission to the United Nations will be down at the dockside waving you a fond farewell as you sail into the sunset."

I can say it no better than that.

Mr. Hyde and his congressional colleagues must ponder a basic question: Is the U.S. national interest best served by disengaging from the United Nations and allowing it to atrophy for lack of resources? Or is the national interest served by supporting the institution, even while pushing it to reform? The actions of U.S. administrations, Republican and Democratic, suggest that the United Nations is a helpful tool of diplomacy. It provides a venue in which to seek consensus on global issues from nuclear proliferation to anti-poverty efforts, and even when that consensus is elusive, a visible effort to seek it can increase the legitimacy of U.S. action. At the same time, the United Nations' technical agencies help manage challenges, from the monitoring of avian flu to the care of refugees to the provision of peacekeepers and nation-builders. The United Nations, for all its flaws, is needed. Hitting it with a sledgehammer is the wrong way to go.

Well, I have a couple of questions of my own. When is the last time the United States benefitted from the U.N.? Where in the U.S. Constitution does it demand/require/compell/command us to fork over our money to peoples of other countries? Specifically what "actions" of the U.S. administrations and exactly how and in what way does it "suggest" that the UN is a helpful tool to the U.S.?

The U.N. has a budget of a little over 3 Billion dollars with the U.S. accounting for 22% of its regular budget, and about 27% of its peacekeeping costs. On top of that, we give generously to support the work of UN agencies providing humanitarian relief, electoral assistance, food aid, and more. We should benefit from the UN, and it would appear to me that we are not getting a very good return on our money.

The UN has largely been ineffective (and that is putting it kindly) on "global issues" such as nuclear proliferation and poverty. And as far as the UN being a tool for the U.S to increase the legitimacy of any action the U.S. would take should a consensus fail (which it ultimately almost always does), when was the last time US took action without this so called "consensus" and was still considered "legitimate" from the "global community?"

Lastly, the editorial piece states, "the United Nations' technical agencies help manage challenges, from the monitoring of avian flu to the care of refugees to the provision of peacekeepers and nation-builders." What I recall was vast ineptitude of the UN when it came time to organize, plan, and execute ON A TIMELY BASIS, the relief aid to the tsunami victims; and then, let's not forget the aforementioned rape of women and children by the UN peacekeepers in Africa and the genocides that took place while the UN turned its head the other way ..... can hardly be considered glowing examples of "managing challenges", "taking care of refugees" or "providing peacekeepers".

I want my money back.

Musharraf Dumps Hundreds of al Qaeda Operatives Back in Afghanistan

The biggest refugee repatriation operation in the world is underway. It is the cover for Pakistan’s mass-export of al Qaeda operatives back to where they came from – Afghanistan.

The UN refugee agency reports that from 2002, nearly 2.4 million Afghan refugees returned home from Pakistan. This week, General Pervez Musharraf gave the remaining estimated 400,000 until June 30 to leave the country or face expulsion.

Most live along Pakistan’s northwestern border. Islamabad explains its action on the grounds that the tribal belts of North and South Waziristan have been sanctuaries for hundreds of al-Qaeda linked terrorists and the Taliban. The presence of the refugees complicates the hunt for them and adds to Pakistan’s security problems.

There are not enough US troops in Afghanistan to cope with al Qaeda-Taliban returnees from Pakistan Pakistani and authorities claim terrorists are buried among these Afghan refugees and the expulsion order will deport them too.

Complete story.

22 percent of all American children under 6 have illegal alien parents.

The report estimated that 22 percent of all American children under 6 have illegal alien parents. More than 90 percent of these children were born in the United States and automatically are citizens, and nearly one-third, 1.3 million, live with at least one illegal alien parent, the report said.

UPDATE: There were some inaccuracies in this article from KVOA TV. Some excerpts from the Urban Institute's actual report:

*Children of immigrants are a large share of the young child population. Children of immigrants are the fastest growing component of the child population (Hernandez 1999). While immigrants are 11 percent of the total U.S. population, children of immigrants make up 22 percent of the 23.4 million children under 6 in the United States. They make up a larger share of the population under 6 than the population age 6 to 17 (20 percent). Policies, then, that advantage or disadvantage younger children—such as child care and early education—will have far-reaching impacts on children of immigrants. Correlatively, policies affecting young children and their families will increasingly be judged by their effects on the health, well-being, and school readiness of children of immigrants.

*Most young children of immigrants are citizens living in mixed-status families. Almost all (93 percent) children of immigrants under 6 are citizens. Most live in mixed-status families with one or more noncitizen parents. These legal and illegal noncitizen parents may be reluctant to approach public or publicly funded institutions for services despite their children's citizenship and eligibility (Fix and Zimmermann 1999). As a result, children of immigrants use public benefits less often than children of natives, despite higher rates of economic hardship.

*Over one-quarter of young children of immigrants have undocumented parents. Twenty-nine percent of children of immigrants under 6 live in families with one or more undocumented parents. No matter how Congress resolves the current debate over providing legal status for undocumented immigrants, the results will have a major impact on large numbers of immigrant families with young children.

Mexico: Why is it our Responsibility ?

As we all know in this day and age, the U.S. is virtually blamed for almost everything .... it's fashionable ...... it's universal.

We also know that the elites, the media, and most of our politicians have no interest in limiting immigration and securing our borders. We know, too, that Mexico and their president, Vicente Fox have no interest in stopping the flow of border crossers.

So how about drug traffickers? It would seem to me that it's a shared responsibility; Mexico should make a serious effort to curb the illegal export and the U.S. to stem the flow of illegal importation of drugs.

How about the violence between warring Mexican drug lords along the Mexican side of the of the border? Shouldn't that be Mexico's responsibility? Nope ..... Mexico: U.S. shares responsibility for border violence.

Where Have All the Old School Liberals Gone?

The modern day liberal? Well....

Commentary by JB Williams

They don’t like gun toting heterosexual married people with children, the financially self-sufficient, people not hooked on drugs or alcohol, people of religion, unborn children or those who defend them, or anyone too smart to fall for their socialist spineless drivel. In short, they don’t like most Americans.

Read the rest of the commentary here.

Is President Bush Waking Up on Illegal Immigration?

Commentary By Robert Novak

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's statement Wednesday to Republican congressional leaders acknowledging that he should do a better job handling immigration followed a report to him by aides that the conservative base is deeply concerned about that issue.

Republican House members returning from the Memorial Day recess last week told the White House that their constituents are most concerned about two issues: fiscal responsibility and immigration. In both parties, elite leadership does not appreciate rank-and-file worries about the flood of immigrants and government aid to them.

Employers shun service to identify illegals

Employers shun service to weed out illegal hires Web-based program accesses databases, IDs phony documents 'within a minute'

An 8-year-old federal program that permits employers to use the Internet to instantly verify prospective hires' legal eligibility to work in the U.S. is being used by less that 1/10 of 1 percent of the nation's companies because it is voluntary, under-publicized and puts its users at a competitive disadvantage to firms who continue to hire illegal workers.

(WorldNetDaily.com)

Immigration’s U.S. Rep. Tancredo’s top topic

NASHUA — U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a vocal critic of President Bush’s immigration policy, announced he would run for President in 2008 — if he could not find a more viable candidate to adopt his views on illegal immigration.

I Kid You Not

There is a Mexican organization that call themselves "The Clandestine Revolutionary Army of the Poor" and their acronym is -- you guessed it -- CRAP.

Now there's a group that's full of sh-t.

"Too many freaks, not enough circuses."