Hate Crime Legislation Will Target Your Freedom of Speech

By Tom DeWeese

"A battle has been raging during the opening months of the 110th Congress over proposed hate crimes legislation. The main bill currently before the House is H.R. 254, titled, 'The David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act,' introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX). Hate crime laws would make certain types of speech a federal offense, allowing federal 'thought police' to interfere in the law enforcement authority of states and local government. Such interference is blatantly unconstitutional..."

Jimmah Carter: Palestinians Are 'Victims of Oppression'

GOP Push for Fred Thompson in 2008?

“Political correctness is not really about sensitivity and courtesy, which require mutual respect. Rather, political correctness entails intolerance for some prejudices but impunity for others.” —James Taranto

“Nobody will out-mud the Clintons. You can’t beat them tactically... They’re too relentless, they’re too well-organized... If they think [Barack Obama] is a real threat, they’ll just grind him up.” —Newt Gingrich

“If we know anything about the Clintons it is this: They are incapable of taking the blame for any action—personal, business, or political. Period. It is, has always has been, and will always be, someone else’s fault.” —Rich Galen

Fatah, Hamas clash in Gaza turf battle

GAZA CITY

"Fatah and Hamas have resumed their militia war over control of training grounds in the Gaza Strip."

Libya's Khaddafy warns Western oil firms 'want to steal our riches'

CAIRO
"Libyan ruler, in what could mark policy, has warned his nation against the entry of Western oil contractors."

Hamas crusades again Western music, Internet porn

GAZA CITY

"The ruling Hamas movement has launched an offensive against Western influences in the Gaza Strip."

Russian journalists: Reporter's death 'not suicide'

MOSCOW

"The death of a reporter investigating Russian arms deals with Iran and Syria was probably a murder, the head of the SJR journalists organization said."

How an unscrupulous legal and PR campaign changed the way the world looks at Guantanamo.

By Debra Burlingame

DEMS WANT TO BRING TERRORISTS TO THE AMERICAN HOMELAND

"Key House Democrats plan to insist the Pentagon shut down the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and are contemplating the relocation of many of the 385 or so remaining terrorist suspects to military brigs along the East Coast -- including Quantico, Va., and Charleston, S.C."

Hillary Claiming Bill Clinton's Record

"Hillary takes credit for what she didn't do and avoids responsibility for what she obviously was involved in. Some qualifications."

COMMENTARY

Deal With Syria, But First Impose Lebanese Sovereignty

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Seeks to Try Bush, Blair for 'War Crimes'

Eyeing North Korean Threat, Japan Bolsters Military Capabilities

Chavez, Private Sector Face Off Over Food Shortages in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela

"A former paratrooper, President Hugo Chavez is used to battling his adversaries without giving an inch. This time, Chavez has his sights set on Venezuela's food industry, which he blames for shortages that have left many Venezuelans without basic foods, especially beef, chicken, milk and sugar. Food industry representatives and economists, however, attribute the shortages to Chavez's price controls and the rampant inflation that has resulted from his economic policies."

Read more at World Politics Watch

Has Moscow Given Up on European Arms Control?

From World Politics Watch:

"Russian dissatisfaction over U.S. plans to deploy missile defense radars and interceptors in Poland and the Czech Republic has become so intense that senior Russian political and military leaders have recently warned that Moscow might withdraw from the two most important arms control treaties relating to European security.

First, Russian policy makers have indicated they might renounce the ..." Continue reading.

Columbia Warns of Attacks During Bush Trip

BOGOTA

"Colombia's leftist guerrillas are planning attacks and sabotage during U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to his closest South American ally this weekend, the country's police commander said on Thursday.

Bush arrives in Bogota on Sunday for talks with President Alvaro Uribe, who has received billions of dollars in U.S. aid to help fight Latin America's oldest guerrilla war and the cocaine trade that helps finance the violence.

'We have heard some communications, some orders from these criminals to carry out acts of public disorder and we know they could be acts of terrorism,' National Police Commander Gen. Jorge Daniel Castro told local radio." Continue...

Border Agents Under Attack on Mexico Border

"LAREDO, Texas

- "Frustrated by tighter security on the U.S.-Mexico border, illegal immigrants and drug traffickers are taking it out on U.S. agents, increasingly attacking them with guns, rocks and petrol bombs.

Assaults against Border Patrol officers rose 10 percent to 843 incidents in the year to September 2006 from the same period a year before, officials say. It is also a near three-fold increase from two years previously.

Mexican drug cartels, locked in a turf feud and under pressure from an army crackdown, are lashing out at law enforcement officers in Texas.

'The attacks against us are becoming more brazen. Drug cartels have instructed their people to go down fighting, to do whatever is necessary to get the narcotics through,' said Rick Flores, Webb County sheriff in Laredo, Texas." Continue....

Feds Erase “In God We Trust” From Face of Coins—Thomas More Law Center Responds “Don’t Use Them”

ANN ARBOR, MI
"The Thomas More Law Center, a national pubic interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is encouraging the public not to use the newly issued Presidential $1 Coins, which have “In God We Trust” removed from the face of the coins.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “It is astounding that Congress has effectively done what atheist litigants have been unsuccessfully trying to do for years -- erase all reference to God from our money.”

Continued Thompson, “I encourage the public not to use the coins, and petition Congress to repeal the law under which they are being minted. This is just another step on the road to a secular society where all religious symbols are removed from public view. Besides they look and feel cheap - - like amusement park tokens.”

The Presidential $1 Coin Act, enacted into law in 2005 requires the government to issue $1 circulating coins featuring the images of Presidents in the order they served. The first coin released this year features the image of George Washington. Coins with images of Adams, Jefferson, and Madison will also be issued in 2007. Four Presidents will be featured on the coins every year thereafter." Continue....

Reagan Conservatism

“Conservatism is a grasp and understanding of the value of every human being and the fact that when they earn money, they should be able to keep as much of it as possible so they can gain independence. That’s Reagan conservatism.” —former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore

“These politicians, when they can’t make politics pay, can always fall back on—the honorable practice of law.” —Will Rogers

“The difference between a welfare state and a totalitarian state is a matter of time.” —Ayn Rand

Econ 101: Let’s Be Honest about Entitlements

From The Balance Sheet

Dr. Gary Wolfram goes to the root of America’s government benefits, revealing that we don’t really want to talk about who pays for whom.

Can We Atone for Our Energy Sins?

Media fawn over celebrities' 'carbon offsets' and fail to examine cost of carbon-trading programs.

By Julia A. Seymour
Business & Media Institute

"Typically, green represents the deadly sin of envy, but with the media’s help it now also stands for hypocrisy.

In this case, the hypocrisy is media promotion of buying carbon offsets – giving a donation to an energy-saving project as penance for guzzling gas or jetting off to an exotic location. With Al Gore, Hollywood and other celebrities leading the way, the media have joined the excitement, encouraging individuals and companies to offset carbon dioxide emissions."

ACLU Sues for Illegal Kids

Bush: Communism Should Die With Castro

You're kidding. Hamas not the only one preaching hate?

America Urged to Stop Funding the Palestinians
Jerusalem – Recent reports that the United States is sending financial aid to a Hamas-controlled university raised eyebrows in Washington; but Americans need to know that Hamas is not the only source of hate ideology in the Palestinian Authority, said a group that monitors Palestinian media..

Damn. Ya' think there might be a connection here?

Survey Finds Link Between Decline in Values, Waning Belief
A majority of Americans believe the nation's moral values are declining, according to a survey gauging the state of American culture. It also found a correlation between the shift in values and a reduced emphasis on religion...

‘Our Priorities Will Be Law of the Land,’ Abortion Rights Group Says
Celebrating their victories in last November’s 2006 midterm election, the Democratic women’s group Emily’s List said Tuesday it was looking ahead to a “President Hillary Clinton” in the White House...

Don’t Ignore Iranian Threat, Former Diplomat Warns
Iran is developing ballistic missile capabilities and a new space program in an effort to project its power “well beyond the Middle-East,” a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday...

John Edwards, Democrat, presidential candidate

From beliefnet.com

"John Edwards, former senator from North Carolina and John Kerry's former running mate, has his eyes on the White House. His is not a long shot bid. Though far more under the radar than his two more popular rivals, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, his is a serious effort backed with ample money and tireless campaigning. He sat down with Beliefnet's Washington editor, David Kuo, to do something he hasn't done before--talk openly and in depth about his religious faith."

In this interview he was asked what parts of American life did he think would most outrage Jesus.

His response?

"Our selfishness. Our resort to war when it's not necessary. I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs. I think he would be appalled, actually."

Just in case you missed this story, Edwards Home County's Largest: The 28,200-square-foot home also Orange County's most valuable. (Photo here.)

Mr. Edwards sir, you are a puke. You and your caterwauling about two Americas. Lecturing us on selfishness and our own selfish short-term needs. You are, sir, a brainless twit.

Your Best Defense: "I Don't Remember."

James Taranto of Opinion Journal, writing on the Libby guilty verdict correctly called it a "political show trial" and said, "Fitzgerald looks like an overzealous prosecutor, one who was more interested in getting a scalp than in getting to the truth of the matter."

He sums it up this way: "Of course, Libby could have avoided indictment and conviction if he had simply said 'I don't remember' a lot more during the course of the investigation. Therein lies a lesson for witnesses in future such investigations--which may make it harder for prosecutors to do their jobs when pursuing actual crimes."

We have witnessed this being done so many times before. Scooter could have learned a few things from Hillary in this regard.

Marine Commander Faces Politically Charged “Haditha” Prosecution; Thomas More Law Center Joins Defense Team

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, today announced that it will defend Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, against military criminal charges of “Dereliction of Duty” and “Orders” violations. The charges stem from the much politicized and often misreported (especially from Time magazine) tragic events surrounding a fierce battle between U.S. Marines and Iraqi and foreign terrorists on November 19, 2005 in the town of Haditha, Al Anbar, Iraq—a place described as “an insurgent citadel.”

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, explained the decision to take the case. “The outcome of this case is vital to the security of our nation and to the military personnel we place in harms way. As tragic as these civilian deaths are, it’s essential that we not shackle our combat commanders’ ability to make decisions by placing them in fear of criminal prosecution every time there are civilian casualties as a result of combat action.”

more >>

Liberals ‘Wrong About Everything,’ Comedian Says

Liberals Have the Mentality of Kindergarteners
"Liberals are wrong about everything and have the mentality of kindergarteners, in the view of conservative comedian and commentator Evan Sayet.

'The Democrats are wrong on quite literally every issue,' Sayet said at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., on Monday. 'They are not just wrong. They are as wrong as wrong can be.

'It's not just domestic policy. It's foreign policy. It's every policy,' he said, adding that liberals are 'diametrically opposed to that which is good, right and successful.' " Continue...

India's Tolerance Levels Tested as American Enters Forbidden Sanctuary

New Delhi - "An American tourist caused an uproar when he wandered into a Hindu temple strictly closed to non-Hindus, in an incident that highlighted the challenges India faces in presenting itself as an enlightened democracy." More...

Silencing Dissent

By David Aikman
Townhall.com

"Ever since he came to power in 1998, Venezuela's leader, Hugo Chavez, has put himself forward as a champion of the poor and a friend of all who like to tweak the U.S. Chavez led an unsuccessful coup attempt against the Venezuelan government in 1992, and now counts Fidel Castro as his best friend in the region.

Chavez can be almost hysterical in his public statements at the U.N., calling President Bush "the devil," saying that Jesus Christ was the first socialist, and comparing the Israeli war with Hezbollah in Lebanon last year with the Holocaust.

Now Chavez is cracking down on the opposition media, withholding broadcast licenses and threatening to close down uncooperative news organizations. It's the action of a typical demagogue and bully. The consequences will not be good for South America, for Venezuela, or ultimately, for Chavez."

Yes, yes. The beloved Hugo. Loved by the Left. Even the Left in America. He wants to shut down discourse. Control "free speech." Gee. Just like the left in America.

ON THE ENVIRONMENT/GLOBAL WARMING/ENERGY

“Oh, perhaps you think it’s wise to conserve and recycle; perhaps you think it’s common sense to explore alternative energies. Perhaps you’ve come to suspect that the climate is changing. That is, after all, what climates do. You might believe all these things—and still be a heretic. The demands of the faith are specific and exacting. You must believe that climate change is largely the fault of man—specifically, lard-bottom Americans driving around for no reason in cars the size of Spanish galleons. You must believe the change will be catastrophic—billions will be killed when the jet stream reverses and knocks everyone over, or drowned when a ceaseless series of Katrinas backs up the Mississippi and sends tsunamis across the heartland. You must believe that this disaster can be prevented with fluorescent light bulbs, whirring cars that run on pixy dust, methane traps strapped to the hindquarters of cows, and magic federal dollars that invent new forms of energy by virtue of being congressionally bequeathed.” —James Lileks

THE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE

“In the six years since he left the presidency, [Bill] Clinton has taken in nearly $40 million... It ought to be a concern... when so much money is paid to a former president by foreign governments, foreign entities and corporations with interests in U.S. foreign and domestic policies. While Bill Clinton is no longer in a position to determine such policies, his wife... is and she may soon be in an even more powerful position. Given the Clintons’ history of questionable political, business and personal relationships, can anyone say with certainty that the providers of this largesse are uninterested in influencing a President Hillary Clinton through her husband?”
-- Cal Thomas

Why Are Putin's Enemies Dying?

"An expert on Russian intelligence was shot and critically wounded in front of his home in suburban Washington, D.C., just days after he charged that the Russian government was behind the death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Paul Joyal, who works for a Washington-based government consulting firm, was shot on March 1 by two men in his driveway.

The shooting raises suspicions of Russian involvement, given that critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin — journalists, politicians, and others — at times end up suffering violent deaths."

Hillary ‘Explodes’ Over Spitzer Holdout

"New York’s new Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer is earning high marks for his efforts to reform New York, but he does not have a happy camper in New York’s U.S. senator, Hillary Clinton.

Reportedly, Sen. Clinton’s staff 'exploded” over Spitzer’s refusal to endorse her candidacy for president during a visit to Washington last week.

'Hillary’s people were really upset by Spitzer, and they called his people . . . to make that clear,” a Spitzer insider told the New York Post."

A U.N. agency yanks its cash and people from North Korea.

Neither Giuliani nor Romney closed the deal at CPAC, and McCain didn't even show up.

THE NORTH KOREA CLIMBDOWN

Politicized intelligence? This time it's for real.

BY JOHN R. BOLTON

Washington's most important person--the Anonymous Senior Official ("ASO")--was busy last week, briefing reporters on North Korea's uranium enrichment program.

The North's pursuit of nuclear weapons through uranium enrichment, an alternative to reprocessing plutonium from spent fuel at the Yongbyon reactor, constituted both a material breach of the 1994 Agreed Framework and an enormous challenge to the hope that it could ever be negotiated out of pursuing nuclear weapons. Based, however, on one public comment and much work by Mr./Ms. ASO, the media last week set about deconstructing a critical strategic concern underlying Bush administration Korea policy. According to their breathless reporting, yet another threat to America was disappearing, revealed as simply more intelligence hype from an administration that apparently did little else in its first term.

The reports raise three separate issues. First, what exactly is the intelligence judgment about North Korea's enrichment activities, and how valid was it in 2002? Second, what are the implications for the administration's ongoing negotiations with North Korea? And third, is Mr./Ms. ASO speaking for the Bush administration, or for those elements in the permanent bureaucracy that have consistently opposed key elements of the Bush foreign policy, at least as conducted until recently? Continue.....

A Cautionary Tale of What Ails Republicans

"The Federal Railroad Administration handed a rare victory to the American taxpayer last week by denying a questionable $2.33 billion loan application by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern (DM&E) Railroad. What makes this news of special interest is the paramount role Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota played in boosting the loan. Here is a cautionary tale of political life in Washington and how it corrupts.

"Thune entered the Senate in 2005 as one of the GOP's rising stars with a limitless future after defeating Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle for re-election. He declared himself eager to fight against spending under a Republican-controlled government. But instead of aligning himself with his party's reformers, Thune has been energized in promoting pork for South Dakota. After the embarrassment of the DM&E loan rejection, a Senate Republican source (who declined to be identified) said: 'One can hope this episode helps Thune recover his revolutionary zeal.' "

This saddens me, but it is the type of thing that makes politics what it is and is why so many of us get fed up with it. I was a contributor to Mr. Thune's campaign when he ran against Tom Daschle. I will contribute no more. Since he is not a politician from my state, I can have little impact on his political office other than my own little purse strings. And he saw to it... to have them snipped ... and I will oblige. Getting out the scissors now.

Russia-US Row Deepens Over US Missile Defense Expansion

RAISING THE WHITE FLAG -- AT WORK.

French Consider Benefits of Napping at Work

"Paris, France - The French enjoy a 35-hour work week and a minimum five weeks of annual vacation, but the health minister is promoting a study into the wisdom of taking naps at work as part of an effort to treat sleep disorders, and some companies are already carrying out experiments, reporting positive results.

In a bid to improve public awareness of and treatment for sleeping disorders and insufficient rest, Minister for Health and Solidarity Xavier Bertrand has undertaken a $9 million initiative that includes a study on the wisdom of taking naps at work.

Bertrand said one in every three people in France suffers from sleeping problems, and the consequences can include work absenteeism, high rates of errors among employees, traffic accidents, low energy and concentration problem." Read on.

Rumor has it: They will have little white flags on a small pole, attached to a stand, on your desk, that lays down, and when you need to snooze, you can just pop that little white flag up to indicate you are not available, and have surrendered to the sand man.

Conservatives Blast Federal Response to Illegal Immigration
As Congress considers how to deal with the illegal immigration issue, conservatives on Saturday discussed how they are handling the debate within their own movement. Some say the problem rests with the federal government's lack of enforcement...

Gingrich Calls for Civility in 2008 Fight
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on Republican and Democratic 2008 presidential hopefuls to avoid personal attacks during their campaigns, for the sake of the nation...

‘Vietnam-Era Lies’ Being Used Against US Troops, Say Ex-POWs
Left-wing elements in the news media and in the U.S. Congress are working to undermine American soldiers in Iraq just as their predecessors did 30 years ago in Vietnam, according to former prisoners of war who addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington...