The Scriptorium

Cindy is upset by the media’s photos yesterday showing her sitting at a table alone waiting for someone who also enjoys an alternate reality to buy her book. She really sticks it to the media and the blogosphere today, though. It turns out she did sell books – enough to get writer’s cramp even.

Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan and her book publisher are upset about Associated Press and Reuters photos that allegedly presented a misleading impression of her book signing last weekend in Texas. . . . .

Photos of the event, carried widely on the Web, and then picked up by conservative blogs, seemed to imply that the book signing was a bust. The photos showed Sheehan looking dejected, sitting at a table, with no one in the tent except for a couple of photographers. The AP caption simply read: “Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan waits for people to show up at her book signing near President Bush’s ranch on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005 in Crawford, Texas.”

The Washington Post, which carried Evan Vucci’s AP photo, noted that at a protest the same day Sheehan had addressed a crowd of only about 100. “In the morning,” the Post observed, “Sheehan signed copies of her new book, being published this week, for an even smaller crowd,” although it cited bad weather as a possible factor.

But in a statement today, Sheehan accused “right-wing” sites of “spreading a false story that nobody bought my book at Camp Casey on Saturday. That is not true, I sold all 100 copies and got writer’s cramp signing them. Photos were taken of me before the people got in line to have me sign the book. We made $2000 for the peace house.”

Ahhhhhhhahahahahaha! Ohhhh! Ahahahahahahaha!!! Wow, Cindy! 100 books. That’s a phenomenal success alright.

Her publisher, Arnie Kotler at Koa Books, meanwhile released a letter to her supporters, charging that “AP and Reuters posted photos – I can’t imagine why – of Cindy sitting at the book table between signings, rather than while someone was at the table. And now the smear websites are circulating an article, with these photos, that Cindy gave a signing and nobody came. It’s simply not true…. the benefit books signing in Crawford, Texas on November 26, 2005 was well attended and a huge success.”

I think the point, AP, was that a picture COULD be taken with absolutely no one holding a book anywhere near the vicinity of Cindy’s table. Most people would consider a book signing where a line is never actually formed at the author’s table, a miserable showing. While Cindy seems proud of the small groups that wandered in from time to time to give her writer’s cramp, the AP and Reuters, for once, reported the story accurately. It may be the first time all year they didn’t stage people gathered around Cindy and then crop the picture to make it appear like Cindy is surrounded by a massive crowd of supporters. There’s just no getting around it. Cindy’s book signing was a rather large flop.

The AP explains the situation as it actually was, rather than how the left wishes it were.

Asked for a response, an AP spokesman commented this afternoon:

“Photographer Evan Vucci, queried about the incident today said that he was present at the book signing from about 10 a.m. to about 11 a.m. During that time, he said, people were coming in to have their books signed in small groups of a few at a time.

“At the time the photos were taken ‘maybe 5 people had come in,’ Vucci says, and Sheehan was waiting for more to stop by, which they did individually as well as in very small groups. Therefore the wording of the caption is accurate in that Sheehan was waiting for people to show up at her signing.”

You know, there is only ONE holiday this time of year that is celebrated by buying a tree, decorating it, and putting it in your house. That one tree chopping, Christmas light hanging, gifts under the tree holiday is CHRISTMAS. Why do we have to call Christmas trees something they aren’t (a holiday tree – as if every holiday this time of year has a tree) just to avoid using a religious word in public? If Christmas offends you, then you’re an intolerant bigot, and you should practice what you undoubtedly preach every other day of the year.

At least someone in Congress gets it. Is there an election year coming up? It’s strange to see a Republican acting like a Republican these days.

If it’s a spruce tree adorned with 10,000 lights and 5,000 ornaments displayed on the Capitol grounds in December, it’s a Christmas tree and that’s what it should be called, says House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Hastert, R-Ill., in a letter to the Architect of the Capitol, recommended that the annual Capitol Holiday Tree, as it has been called the past several years, be renamed the Capitol Christmas Tree.

“I strongly urge that we return to this tradition and join the White House, countless other public institutions and millions of American families in celebrating the holiday season with a Christmas tree,” Hastert wrote to Architect Alan Hantman.

His office said the tree began to be referred to as the Holiday Tree in the 1990s. Spokesman Ron Bonjean said the reasons were unclear.

On Dec. 8 Hastert will flip the switch to light the tree, a 65-foot Engelmann Spruce from the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. On Tuesday workmen were erecting the tree on the West Front of the Capitol.

Good grief. Here we go again. If this charge sticks, maybe children will be safer.

TRACES of cocaine were found on Michael Jackson’s underwear during a police raid, it was revealed yesterday.

The discovery emerged as the troubled singer faced shock new claims that he is abusing and trafficking drugs.

Cops are secretly investigating allegations by former aides that Jacko, 47, is hooked on anti-depressants and painkillers.

They say he pops up to 40 pills a day — and was seen falling flat on his face after injecting himself with a mystery drug.

He is suspected of transporting drugs from California to Bahrain, where he currently lives, and obtaining them with fake prescriptions.

The probe is being led by Santa Barbara’s notorious District Attorney Tom Sneddon.

He is still smarting after failing to convict Jacko on child sex charges in the summer.

A Jackson aide said: “Sneddon still smells blood and is determined to nail Michael.”

The star could face up to 20 years in jail if he is brought to trial and convicted.

But aides fear the strain of a new court battle could kill him.

The investigation centres around a huge stash of prescription drugs seized when police probing the child sex claims raided Jacko’s Neverland ranch in 2003.

The swoop also unearthed the cocaine traces on the singer’s underwear. Residues of the painkiller Demerol and sedative Promethazine were also said to have been on the garments.

The State University College at Oneonta has booked a Fox News Channel military analyst to counter a lecture tonight by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.

Lt. Col. Scott Rutter, who retired from the Army in November 2003 after leading a mechanized infantry battalion into Baghdad, will give a presentation sponsored by the student-run College Union Activities Council at noon Friday in the Hunt Union Square. . . . .

Sheehan is getting paid $11,000 for the hour-long talk, while Rutter will receive his standard fee of $600 for his presentation, Dromgoole said.

Now that’s a wise use of university funds. The liberal, anti-Semitic, anti-American, war protester gets 11,000 and the retired army infantryman who’s actually been in Iraq and is an analyst for a major news organization gets 600. Sounds about right.

Hat tip Michelle Malkin

In the aftermath of the “unemployment riots” in France, the French government is vowing to reform immigration policies and tighten policies on plygamy, which is now being listed as a cause of the riots.

He also called for tight policing of polygamy, which is illegal in France but some center-right politicians say was one of the causes of the unrest because children from large polygamous families have problems integrating into society.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who threatened to expel any foreigners involved in the riots, told parliament on Tuesday that France no longer wanted “those people that nobody else in the world wants.”

“I agree with what the prime minister said. We want selective immigration,” Sarkozy said.

Now, is that tolerant?

Catholic leaders are trying to track down evidence of a miracle performed by Pope John Paul the II so that he can qualify for sainthood. If they have to hunt for it, I’m thinking his miracle must not have been too miraculous.

Krakow’s Roman Catholic archbishop spoke Tuesday of a possible miracle performed by Pope John Paul II in France that a church tribunal will focus on as the Vatican pursues its case for beatification.

Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was personal secretary to John Paul, told reporters in Rome that “there are no problems with miracles because there are many, but they have picked one because they don’t need more.”

Pressed further, Dziwisz added: “Maybe this I can say: they have picked (one in) France.”

The Vatican needs proof of a miracle before it can proclaim John Paul eligible for sainthood, and a church tribunal from the archdiocese of Krakow, Poland, has been gathering evidence from witnesses.

Dziwisz said the process was “proceeding very well” and could be over as soon as March, the ANSA news agency reported.

“There are many testimonies, we must choose the most accurate ones to show the personality of John Paul II,” Dziwisz was quoted as saying.

Matthew 24:24 “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.”

II Thessalonians 2:9-10 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”

In another article on the miracle hunt I found this:

Information will now be gathered on the former pope’s life and teachings, including all private writings from the period before he became pope, and checked for orthodoxy to ensure that he expressed no heretical views.

Now, why would they need to check his writings for heresy? The man is supposed to be infallible and Christ’s representative on earth. Surely they can trust his writings to be accurate on Catholic doctrine.

The liberal politicians in Canada are hosers, eh? The ouster of the current ultra liberal government by no means guarantees a new conservative government will take its place, but I have a few friends in Canada that are probably celebrating anyway. My friends tell me that in many areas of Canada people are just as fed up with liberal politics as we are in the U.S., if not more so. A few of them even believe some conservative parts of Canada will eventually break away from the mother country and either join the U.S. or form new countries (I suggested they just move to the U.S. and help us send our liberals to Canada).

The nanny state never works (see France), so rebellion against Canada’s socialist welfare policies, the “free” health care system that forces Canadians to come to the U.S. for health care, and a tax system that makes our taxes in the U.S. look like a refund, is inevitable. Add in the growing outrage over the governments policies of monitoring speech, pandering to Muslims, and forcing secularism down people’s throats, and you have the makings for a rebellion. Some people in Canada are even waking up to the fact that a military made up of one plane, a ship, and a guy to answer the phone is not a good idea in our post 9/11 world. I don’t think that rebellion is here yet, though. Like in the U.S., Christians and conservatives in Canada are still sleeping. As soon as Canadians and Americans realize that whining and getting mad about the left’s oppressive ideology doesn’t work, and no one is going to fix it for them, we might see some real change. Never the less, this has got to be encouraging to conservatives in a country that’s headed down the toilet even faster than we are.

Canadian politicians will hit the campaign trail this holiday season after opposition parties seized upon a corruption scandal to bring down the minority government of Prime Minister Paul Martin in a vote of no confidence.

Monday’s loss means an election for all 308 seats in the lower House of Commons, likely on Jan. 23. Martin and his Cabinet will continue to govern until then.

The Conservative Party teamed up with the New Democratic and Bloc Quebecois parties to bring down the government, claiming the ruling Liberal Party had lost its moral authority. Recent polls have given the Liberals a slight lead over the Conservatives, with the New Democrats in third place.

The same surveys suggest the Bloc Quebecois would sweep the French-speaking province of Quebec, making a majority government unlikely no matter which party wins the most seats.

For now, a majority of Canadians will probably be too scared of losing their government handouts to stand up to Socialism. Canada is one of the few things that makes me still appreciate our government in the U.S.

Four members of the anti-war group “Christian Peacemaker Teams” have been taken hostage in Iraq and are probably realizing about now that their captors are not freedom fighters and taking their side in the war was a very bad idea. The terrorists don’t appreciate their efforts to hurt the American military, they only see 4 infidels arrogant enough to walk into the middle of a war believing that peace will come if only they can start a discussion and get the military out of Iraq. While they brought this on themselves, I feel bad that, in all likelihood, they will lose their heads. They not only walked into the middle of a pack of terrorists, they did it while advertising the word Christian in their anti-war group’s name. They must have all been educated in a U.S. university.

While I hope these people are rescued (no one deserves decapitation), I’m also angered that our military may end up risking their lives to save these ungrateful jerks. That would be the true tragedy.

The Jawa Report has the scoop and video of the hostages. The terrorists holding them stated in video released by Al Jazera that they’ve determined their captives are spies. If only they knew the hostages were actually spies for their side. Never mind, they’d still kill them. An infidel is an infidel is an infidel, and a “Christian” infidel is worth 72 virgins.

Even animals are not safe from Jihadists and the chaos in Gaza. Two infidel parots and an infidel lion were stolen from the Gaza zoo overnight by two terrorists with Kalachnikov rifles. It’s a mystery.

Masked gunmen raided the only zoo in the Gaza Strip over the weekend and stole a lion – turning the animal into the latest victim of the continued state of lawlessness.

Zoo manager Saud al-Shawwa announced a $1,000 reward for anyone who provides information that could help find the lion and a pair of parrots that were also stolen.

“Thousands of people visit the zoo and they will miss these animals, especially the lion,” he said. “We have different species of animals here and we urge the Palestinian security forces to help us find the stolen animals.”

Sources in Gaza City said at least four gunmen armed with Kalachnikov rifles broke into the zoo late at night. After they handcuffed the guard and locked him up in the cafeteria, the thieves first stole two white and grey parrots that speak a few words in Arabic.

The thieves managed to seize the lion after throwing a blanket over its head. Their attempt to capture a second lion failed after the animal showed fierce resistance.

“The whole operation lasted less than 30 minutes,” Shawwa added. “The thieves must have visited the zoo before to examine the place. The zoo was officially opened two months ago.”

The manager said it was unclear to him why anyone would want to steal a lion that consumes at least three kilograms of meat every day. “This lion can’t be bought or sold [in the black market],” he noted.

Just when I thought PeTA (People for the Edible – I mean, Ethical Treatment of Animals) couldn’t go any lower, they decided to join Ted Rall (see below) by sinking lower. Do you enjoy fishing? Well, PeTA is set to make your children scared of you if you do.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has begun a campaign to scare children into becoming vegetarians.

The group, which formed to stop animal testing of consumer products but made its name by attacking women in fur coats with fake blood, is producing comic books that portray fathers as homicidal maniacs.

The handout, titled “Your Daddy Kills Animals,” features a grinning lunatic gutting a fish, and warns kids to keep their puppies and kittens away from Dad because he’s “hooked on killing.”

See more of the Fox News Article here, and see the comic cover below.

1 Corinthians 10:25-26, “Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.’” (NIV)

You remember Ted Rall. He’s the political cartoonist who smeared and maligned the memory of NFL player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman by referring to him as an idiot for giving up a lucrative football contract in order to serve his country. This man (Rall) is truly on the lunatic fringe, and isn’t worthy to lick the boots of Tillman. His disdain for our men and women in the military continues in the disgusting cartoon below. In our local area, Rall’s comics are carried in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. They have every right to do so, but Jen and I will be exercising our consumer rights to spend no money on the Seattle P-I via subscriptions or newsstand purchases. If you find the following strip as disturbing, disgusting, and disrespectful of our troops as I do, I hope you’ll consider similarly exercising your consumer rights.

Terrorism pays in our culture today, in more ways than one (Hat tip: Jesus is Lord). After 9/11, multiculturalist liberals in Canada, the U.S., and Britain shifted into high gear to repair Islam’s tarnished image and recreate it as a religion of peace. Muslims were cast as the victims of a few radicals who were disgracing Islam by committing terrorist acts in Islam’s name. Nothing was said of the Muslim majorities in many Islamic countries who actually supported and celebrated 9/11 as a victory against the infidels. No one dared point out that infidels in the Quran and Islamic teachings are not oppressors and occupiers, they are Jews, Christians, and Pagans – in short, anyone who is not Muslim. No one read the Quran or questioned the many Surahs and Hadiths that instruct Muslims to slay the infidel and make war against them. Instead we heard quotes like “there is no compulsion in Islam”, never mind that you can find examples of compulsion in Islam throughout the Quran and in so many Islamic beliefs and writings. It’s now taboo to question or express concern about Islamic beliefs.

It’s no wonder, then, that Islam has actually flourished since 9/11. Conversion rates have increased in Britain, the U.S., Canada and in several other countries. What was once a primarily Arab religion is becoming far more racially diverse as Europeans and Americans convert to the “Religion of Peace”. The Islam apologists and revisionists have really done a great job of, not only repairing Islam’s image, but creating a new more tolerant and moderate wing of Islam with a European flavor and liberal talking points.

It’s sad that so many have been misled and have given their souls to Allah. That is the biggest tragedy to come out of the global propaganda campaign promoting Islam. In the end, however, I believe Islam will not succeed in achieving dominance over all other religions and peoples. The terrorist elements are still there and thriving, the Imams are still indoctrinating, Arab Muslim birth rates are still growing, especially in terrorist supporting countries, and it’s only a matter of time before Muslims recognize that many of the compromising, tolerance promoting converts who joined their numbers are really nothing but apostates. Meanwhile, terrorism will also continue to grow and the true face of Islam will eventually have to be dealt with, either when Islam gets a nuke, or the death toll reaches a level that even the interfaith, multiculturalists can’t tolerate.

The two elections held so far in Iraq were roundly criticized by Democrats. The media reported far more on election day attacks than they did the success of the election, even though attacks actually dropped during the election due to increased security and Al Qaeda’s belief that election day attacks were not a good way to win friends and influence people. You might be inclined to think, based on their reaction to Iraq elections, that Democrats would be crying foul over a level of Palestinian violence, vote tampering, and corruption large enough to force the cancellation of primary elections in Gaza. You’d be wrong.

It turns out corrupt elections plagued by violence and fraud are not always worthy of condemnation and political debate. It all depends on who it helps politically. The Democrat’s formula for determining the success of Middle East elections goes something like this: If it hurts American troops or can be used to damage America’s image and the war effort, then any amount of violence on election day (no matter how successful the elections) is bad. However, if it makes the Palestinians look bad and might bolster the Israeli and Conservative position that the Palestinians are terrorists incapable of putting aside their hatred long enough to even pretend to be creating a democracy, it’s nothing to worry about and the elections will still be a success. And so goes the Left’s hypocrisy.

Fatah canceled its primary election across the Gaza Strip on Monday after angry gunmen shot in the air at several polling stations, stole some ballot boxes and destroyed others, Fatah officials said in a statement.

“The Fatah General Committee held an urgent meeting in Gaza this afternoon to evaluate the primary elections and the committee decided to freeze the election due to the serious violations that took place during the voting process today,” the statement said.

Fatah officials said the votes cast Monday would be nullified and the primary would have to be rescheduled.

The election violence highlighted the ongoing lawlessness in Gaza’s streets.

Stepping back into the mind of a liberal (scary, I know), ongoing lawlessness in Gaza is acceptable and not worthy of political debate or obsessive media attention. Ongoing lawlessness in Baghdad, however, is a sign that Democracy is failing and a debate of America’s failures must dominate media coverage for many weeks, or until such time as an accusation that America is using torture can replace it on the front pages.

I especially liked the Associated Press’ description of Hamas in this article:

The housecleaning in Fatah is crucial to the party’s hope of beating back a strong showing by Hamas, which has wooed Palestinians in part with its image as an honest group that will not tolerate corruption and graft.

Hamas is the terrorist group to be emulated. If only all terrorist groups could be so pure and honest.

The EU reached an agreement on terrorism by providing a handy justification for it. If a terrorist wants to justify terrorism under this agreement, all he need do is claim that his acts of barbarism are justified by a right to self determination. As a compromise, Arabs can no longer use the occupation excuse for killing people. Neat.

European Union and Mediterranean leaders today agreed on an anti-terrorism code of conduct after all-night talks failed to bring consensus at a summit in Barcelona.

Foreign ministers from 35 countries, including Israel, resolved their differences on how to distinguish between terrorism and the right to resist occupation.

Unnamed diplomats told Reuters that the last-minute compromise was reached when the EU dropped its insistence that the right to self-determination did not justify terrorism, and Arab countries dropped their demands to a right to resist foreign occupation.

The British continue to demand that concessions be made and obligations met from only one side in the Middle East conflict.

Israel has reacted angrily to a confidential Foreign Office document accusing it of illegally expanding Jewish settlements and routing the West Bank barrier to prevent east Jerusalem from becoming the Palestinian capital. . . . . .

The document warns Israeli actions are jeopardising peace and risk radicalising Palestinians. It recommends several measures to resist the Israeli tactic, including politically symbolic actions such as moving meetings with Palestinian officials from Ramallah to east Jerusalem.

Risk radicalizing the Palestinians? To the British, blowing yourself up in order to commit mass murder is not radical. Launching rockets at Jewish towns is not radical. Training young children in Hamas training camps to hate and kill Jews is not radical. I would hate to see what happens when a Palestinian is actually radicalized enough to wake up the Brits.

It’s telling that Britain would suggest moving Palestinian meetings to East Jerusalem. Israel and the Palestinians have previously agreed that no Palestinian meetings will take place in East Jerusalem. While Israel is always forced to uphold all agreements and take the first step in implementing the road map, the Palestinians are encouraged to break agreements and are never held accountable for their failure to live up to what is required of them as a “partner” in building peace.

The British just don’t get it. A huge mosque will be built next to the Olympic complex in London for the 2012 games in order to accommodate as many as 70,000 Muslim worshippers at a time during the Olympic games. Why do I feel worried for Jewish athletes competing in the Olympics? I wonder if they’ll also build a Synagogue and a Christian church next to the complex.

While the Brit’s slide into dhimmitude is pathetic and sad, we can always look on the bright side. Al Qaeda will have a place to worship, store their bombs, and hide out after they bomb the Olympic complex. It’s truly the ideal situation for them since, as everyone knows, Mosques may not be attacked or even searched by infidels and occupiers.

A MASSIVE mosque that will hold 40,000 worshippers is being proposed beside the Olympic complex in London to be opened in time for the 2012 Games.

The project’s backers hope the mosque and its surrounding buildings would hold a total of 70,000 people, only 10,000 fewer than the Olympic stadium.
Its futuristic design features wind turbines instead of the traditional minarets, while a translucent latticed roof would replace the domes seen on most mosques. The complex is designed to become the “Muslim quarter” for the Games, acting as a hub for Islamic competitors and spectators.

“It will be something never seen before in this country. It is a mosque for the future as part of the British landscape,” said Abdul Khalique, a senior member of Tablighi Jamaat, a worldwide Islamic missionary group that is proposing the mosque as its new UK headquarters.

(hat tip LGF)

The Palestinian Authority and Orthodox Palestinians are using blackmail to force the Greek Orthodox Church to adopt anti-Israel policies and withhold the sale of land to Israel. Like so many denominations in the West, anti-Semitism is rearing its ugly head in Orthodox church politics. Unfortunately, stories like these will be used by the media to paint all of Christianity with a broad brush, and will fuel the spread of erroneous accusations that Christians resent Jews for Christ’s death.

The man enthroned last week as Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem signed a secret document obliging him to nullify the recent sale to Jewish groups of land comprising much of a key entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City, and has allegedly made statements against Jews living in certain parts of Jerusalem, WorldNetDaily has learned.

The newly installed Greek Orthodox leader, Theofilos III, was crowned in a ceremony Tuesday at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre in spite of objections by Israel, which is currently debating whether to recognize him as the official Jerusalem Patriarch – the religious leader of 100,000 Christians in the Holy Land.

Theofilos is attempting to succeed current patriarch Irineos, who church officials tried to oust in May by holding new patriarchal elections amid allegations Irineos leased church land in Jerusalem to Jewish groups. The leases, signed last year for a period of 98 years, include two hotels that comprise a large section of the Jaffa Gate, the principal entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.

The property transfer enraged the church’s significant Palestinian membership, who claim Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Holiday trees? Lowe’s joins the ranks of Target, Sears, Walmart and others in banning the word Christmas. I guess I’ll be shopping at Home Depot from now on.

Lowe’s Christmas tree sign:

I wonder if we’ll see “holiday menorahs” during Jewish holidays, or “holiday fasting” for Ramadan? Not.

UDATE:

In response to thousands of e-mails and upset customers, Lowe’s has decided that their trees are Christmas trees after all. Glad to hear it.

See Jesus is Lord for details

I can’t help but be a little amused by this. Could it be that most Americans either don’t care what Mama Moonbat has to say, or recognize her protests for the anti-American hate fests that they are?

While book-signings for political figures like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity often feature long lines and people waiting for hours, the scene at Cindy Sheehan’s book-signing yesterday near President Bush’s Crawford, Texas, ranch was a much more lonely affair.

More pictures here and here.

This is the enemy we’re fighting, folks. They put explosives in children’s toys.

The Iraqi army said on Thursday it had seized a number of booby-trapped children’s dolls, accusing insurgents of using the explosive-filled toys to target children.

The dolls were found in a car, each one containing a grenade or other explosive, said an army statement.

The government said that two men driving the car had been arrested in the western Baghdad district of Abu Ghraib.

“This is the same type of doll as that handed out on several occasions by US soldiers to children,” said government spokesperson Leith Kubba.

It was not immediately clear when the find was made or the suspects arrested.

UPDATE:

The cowards no they are no match for our troops, so they blow up children.

Children die in hospital suicide blast

A suicide car bomber killed dozens of people in an Iraqi town yesterday when he rammed his vehicle into American and Iraqi soldiers as they handed out toys and sweets to children outside a hospital.

But instead of inflicting mass casualties among the soldiers, the bomber’s victims were mostly children, medics and patients, killed when the brunt of the blast was taken by the hospital’s emergency room, which was wrecked by the explosion.

The London Telegraph is careful to point out that the terrorists were aiming at our troops, as if they had no idea they were blowing up a hospital and targeting children who were plainly visible to the bomber. I wonder if any of the anti-war protesters who claim America is murdering Iraqi civilians will express any concern over this slaughter of innocent children? I won’t hold my breath. The murder of innocents is acceptable when it’s done by their side.

This just emphasizes how extreme the international and media bias is toward the Israeli/Palestinian issue. The P.A. can openly admit that Sharon’s gift to the terrorists (the Gaza strip) has been turned into terrorist training camps, and there will be no response to the admission. Condi Rice won’t step up pressure on the P.A. The E.U. won’t demand that the Palestinians start complying with agreements they’ve made with Israel under the road map. Instead, Israel will be pressured to give up more land to be used for training camps. Sharon will undoubtedly grant them their demands and Israel’s ability to stop terrorist attacks will be seriously compromised. It’s the “give them what they want and hope they’ll be nice” philosophy, and it’s a deadly mistake. What they want is the death of all infidels (non-Muslims) and global Islamic rule.

The Palestinian Authority admitted in an official document published that today parts of Gush Katif, the former Jewish communities of Gaza, are now “training camps” for terror groups.

In an exclusive story last week, WND reported Hamas has turned Neve Dekalim, the former capital of Gush Katif, into a “martyrs training camp,” and has used the territory to fire rockets into Israel.

Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef yesterday toured Gaza’s former Jewish communities and detailed a PA plan to bring security to the area. Since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in August, the land that comprised Gush Katif has been the scene of regular internal Palestinian clashes.

The P.A.’s “plan” to bring security to the area is reminiscent of Kerry’s “plan” during the last election.

Members of the Nation of Islam attacked liquor stores in Oakland today, basically destorying the inside of the stores.

About a dozen African-American men wearing suits, white-collared shirts and bow ties — a trademark of the Nation of Islam — entered the store on San Pablo Avenue and West Street about 11:30 p.m.

One went behind the counter and swept dozens of shelved liquor bottles to the floor. Others smashed glass refrigerator doors with long, slim metal pipes, breaking beer and wine bottles inside the cases. The whole incident from start to finish was caught on surveillance tape.

The men warned the store clerks to stop selling alcohol to African Americans, but they also knocked over display racks containing bread and other food items. Then, almost as quickly as they arrived, they all filed out and headed to another West Oakland liquor store, New York Market at Market and 35th streets, where they did the same thing.

This is exactly how things began in France. From the New York Post earlier this month:

“The radicals have managed to chase away French shopkeepers selling alcohol and pork products, forced “places of sin,” such as dancing halls, cinemas and theaters, to close down, and seized control of much of the local administration.”

We have obsessed liberals with BDS running our schools. How full of hate do you have to be to use a vocabulary test to vent your hatred of the President? I feel so sorry for children whose parents either can’t afford private school or are unable to home school their kids. The more I read about our schools and the teachers that are indoctrinating our children, the more I think churches need to start helping their members with home schooling. I’m sure there are plenty of Christians in churches around the United States who would be willing to serve by offering to substitute teach for parents who can’t do it themselves. We need to start approaching our church leaders with this idea.

A high school teacher is facing questions from administrators after giving a vocabulary quiz that included digs at President Bush and the extreme right.

Bret Chenkin, a social studies and English teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School, said he gave the quiz to his students several months ago. The quiz asked students to pick the proper words to complete sentences.

One example: “I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes.” “Coherent” is the right answer.

Principal Sue Maguire said she hoped to speak to whomever complained about the quiz and any students who might be concerned. She said she also would talk with Chenkin. School Superintendent Wesley Knapp said he was taking the situation seriously.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable,” Knapp said. “They (teachers) don’t have a license to hold forth on a particular standpoint.”

Chenkin, 36, a teacher for seven years, said he isn’t shy about sharing his liberal views with students as a way of prompting debate, but said the quizzes are being taken out of context.

Here we go again with more Orwellian censorship of words. Christmas, a tradition that’s been a part of our culture for more than 200 years, is becoming a societal taboo. It’s just creepy that the U.S. has come this far in their war against anything Christian in the public square. The inevitable evolution of this war is a move to invade the private lives of Christians. How long will it be before crosses will be banned on houses of worship, or sermons will be monitored for acceptable speech (this has already happened in Canada)? What about the word Christian? Will we be renamed Xtians to avoid offending people when we’re named as a defendant in ACLU lawsuits?

Boston set off a furor this week when it officially renamed a giant tree erected in a city park a “holiday tree” instead of a “Christmas tree.”

The move drew an angry response from Christian conservatives, including evangelist Jerry Falwell who heckled Boston officials and pressed the city to change the name back.

“There’s been a concerted effort to steal Christmas,” Falwell told Fox Television.

The Nova Scotia logger who cut down the 48-foot (14-meter) tree was indignant and said he would not have donated the tree if he had known of the name change.

“I’d have cut it down and put it through the chipper,” Donnie Hatt told a Canadian newspaper. “If they decide it should be a holiday tree, I’ll tell them to send it back. If it was a holiday tree, you might as well put it up at Easter.”

Falwell and the conservative Liberty Counsel led a campaign that threatened to sue anyone who spreads what they see as misinformation about Christmas celebrations in public spaces.

The controversy reflects the legal vulnerability of city and state governments over taxpayer-funded displays of religious icons and concern over crossing the line in the separation between church and state.

Last year, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lit what he called a “Christmas tree” at a state ceremony. The year before, he and former California Gov. Gray Davis presided over ceremonies for the more secular “holiday trees.”

In Boston, many residents voiced their dismay over the Web site that promotes a December 1 ceremony for “Boston’s Official Holiday Tree Lighting.”

Let the Palestinian weapon imports begin. For the first time Palestinians will have control of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Israel will have no say in who crosses the border and will only be able to request that someone be blocked from crossing and seek approval from the P.A. As part of the compromise, European observers will be there to settle any disputes over who crosses into Gaza through the border crossing. Forgive me if their presence doesn’t reassure me that weapons and terrorists won’t pour across the border.

It’s hard to imagine what the reasoning was behind this move. Israel has been intercepting transfers of bomb making materials and other weapons on a fairly regular basis since the intifada began, and tunnels under the Egyptian border have been a deadly source of terrorist supplies. Now the terrorists won’t need to dig a tunnel or try to get through a border crossing. Palestinian “security” forces can usher them across the border into the new terrorist headquarters in Gaza.

Palestinians on Friday celebrated the opening of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing of Rafah with an official ceremony, as they gained control over it for the first time.

However, the first passengers will not go through the crossing until Saturday, more than 10 weeks after Israel completed its historic pullout from the Gaza Strip, ending 38 years of occupation.

The opening ceremony began shortly after the arrival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was warmly received as he shook hands with high-ranking Arab and European representatives.

The bird flu threat is hitting closer to home. Let’s just pray it doesn’t become transferable from human to human.

Canada has discovered the H5 avian influenza virus in 35 wild ducks and one case of the H7 virus in its eastern provinces, officials announced.

The Canadian Wildlife Service made the discoveries during routine banding of some 710 migratory waterfowl around the Tantramar marshes near the borders of the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

It said all the birds were young and healthy.

“These preliminary results do not indicate an increased threat to human health or commercial poultry flocks,” officials said in a statement.

“Migratory birds are known to carry influenza viruses and it is unlikely the viruses are the same as those currently found in Asia and Europe.”

“The Atlantic provinces share a common waterfowl migratory route so results from one area likely represent results for the entire region,” officials said.

Further testing will be done at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg to determine the subtypes of the viruses.

Earlier this month, tests revealed low pathogenic strains of H5N9 in two wild birds and H5N2 in five wild birds in the western province of British Columbia, H5N1 in two wild birds from the central province of Manitoba and H5N3 in two wild birds from the eastern Quebec province.

More recently, officials said they found a “significant concentration” of the H5 avian influenza virus on two poultry farms in British Columbia.

All 57,800 ducks and 1,300 geese on the two farms were destroyed and 78 poultry operations within five-kilometres were placed under quarantine as authorities tried to build a “biological firewall” around the infected area.

A lethal subtype of H5, H5N1, is blamed for the deaths of about 70 people in Asia since late 2003.

Scientists fear the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which can be contracted through bird-to-human contact, could mutate into a virus spread from human to human, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions.

Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States have banned poultry imports from British Columbia and Japan has imposed a nation-wide ban.

For those in the United States, it is Thanksgiving Day. While this day hearkens back to the Pilgrim’s landing at Plymouth Rock, our first observance of Thanksgiving Day was initiated by Presidential Proclamation from our first President, George Washington. Whether you’re in the United States or abroad, we hope you remember the purpose of this observance, which is to thank God for blessing us individually and collectively. Jen and I will be doing so, as well as spending some time relaxing. We’ll rejoin the blogosphere tomorrow, unless something particularly urgent drives us to blog more today. May you all have a blessed day with loved ones.

In Christ,

Ben & Jen Rast

Every once in a while. . . actually, quite often, we receive an e-mail at Contender Ministries (the “parent” website of this blog) that we just have to laugh at. Our website, which expresses our religious views and compares those beliefs to other religions, tends to upset some people who have a problem being tolerant of Christians. We admit in our mission statement to being biased toward Christianity. We believe as the Bible says, Jesus is the “Truth the Way and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him”. We provide apologetics information for Christians who may want to understand the ways other religions deviate from the truth of the Bible, or who might want to share their faith with people of other faiths and explain the difference. These people who e-mail us, write in to express their anger and argue that we shouldn’t criticize other people’s religions (they don’t realize they’re creating a self-defeating argument by writing to criticize our beliefs). Occasionally we get one that makes us picture a person pounding away at their computer, red faced, blood pressure going up with every word, and eyes bugged out of their head. We received one of those e-mails tonight that made us roll in the floor. So, we thought we’d share it with you. Below is the e-mail we received followed by our response. Enjoy.

Dear Mistress:

I am a seventeen year old religious young lady who is a pagan, but loves to study all faiths. I’ve stumbled upon all of your reports about your studies and to me, I think by the way you describe your essays are no better than mine, maybe even worse. They aren’t mature, nor open minded. They are completely biased and predjudiced. Especially on what you said about Jehovah’s witnesses.

I really suggest that you shouldn’t say what religion is wrong and what is the right religion. This is a faith RESEARCH site. not a convertion center.

I also suggest you go to each church, temple center or whereever the religion you want to research and interview the elders, popes, rabbis and so on yourself. and you write exactly what they say and what they believe. I really deeply see that you are starting a really big religious riot upon every faith on this site and you should change it now.

Maybe you are right one a few things that I didn’t know, but that gives you no right to put it down and say things are ‘distubing’ and ‘corrupted’. I see you have no respect for religions, besides your’s what so ever– I do not like this.

Of course, I know no one else does either. I’m sorry but this is the worst, I never ever get angry about awnything, but this must the the lowest of the low on anyone could have done.

I you want this isite to be a religious convertion, then let it be. But I don’t see that on the front page that is says that so I suject you change your opinions and such. And didn’t Jesus himself to say to not critisize or put down other religions in a bad and discraceful manner? Well, Sin on you.

– Just ot let you know, all the new translation bible is for the Jehovah’s witnesses is the same exact thing as any other bible would say. and if you look in every single bible you have, Jehovah is god’s true name. Not Jesus.

NWT:
“That people may know that you, who’s name is jehovah, You alone, are the most high, over all the earth.” – Psalms 83:18

The Holy Bible: by H.M. Printers:
“That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, Art the most high over all the earth”- Psalms 83:18

– compare you bible with the new translation. It’s the same thing just without hte arts and thous so it’s easier for you to read.

I just feel that you need to do some serious research.

RESPONSE

Hi there. You claim to be open-minded, so I hope you’ll pay close attention to this reply. I think you’ll find it very instructive. There are a few points in your email to which I want to respond.

First, the Bible tells us to “contend for the faith” (Jude 3,4), to demolish fine-sounding arguments (2 Corinthians 10:5), and to spread the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20). Therefore, this website is an expression and exercise of our religious beliefs. We are following biblical commands. You have told us that we should change the website. You don’t think we should be doing what we’re doing. The website has made you angry, and we should stop being critical of the beliefs of others. In doing so, you displayed a self-defeating argument. Your entire argument is based on a judgment of our beliefs and practices, and criticizing our expression of our religious beliefs. In other words, you have done exactly the same thing you told us not to do. That’s self-defeating and hypocritical. Also, since our website made you angry, I encourage you to read our article entitled, “Has Our Website Made You Angry?”

Second, you asked, “And didn’t Jesus himself to say to not criticize or put down other religions in a bad and discraceful manner?” Actually, while I’m sure He wouldn’t want that done in a “bad or disgraceful manner”, He actually gave the example of confronting and condemning false teaching. He didn’t take the view that the Pharisees shouldn’t have their beliefs questioned — He not only questioned them, but criticized them as well. I suggest you read the gospels to familiarize yourself with the teachings of Jesus.

If you think the NWT translation is the same as any other translation, or is an adequate or accurate translation, then you are sorely mistaken. It sounds like you’ve seen the following article, but haven’t read it. You really should: “The New World Translation: The Watchtower Society’s Corrupt Bible.” You gave the example of Psalm 83:18, which says in the NIV: “Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD—that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” The NASB says, “That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.” The NKJV: “That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.” The Hebrew word here is simply four letters: YHWH. Out of an almost superstitious fear of what constitutes taking the Lord’s name in vain, YHWH is not pronounced except with the vowel sounds of Adonai. When those vowel sounds are included, we come up with Yahowah, often pronounced and spelled (in English) today as Yahweh. The word Jehovah doesn’t technically doesn’t exist in the Bible. That was a Latinized version of Yahweh that found its way in to the KJV. However, just because God’s name is Yahweh does not mean that’s the only name by which He is called. In fact, there are many names given to God in the Bible. This is one of many areas in which Jehovah’s Witnesses err. In the Old Testament, many Hebrew names are given to God, including El Shaddai, El Olam, Elohim, Adonai, El Elyon, Qanna, and many others. These all basically translate to Lord, LORD, or God. If you’ll fully read the following article, which I’m sure you’ll do since you have an open mind, you’ll see that Jesus is the Yahweh of the Old Testament: “A Comprehensive Biblical Defense of the Trinity“. Yahweh is triune – 3 persons in 1 God. Jesus is one of those persons.

We definitely HAVE done serious research. I hope you will undertake some now. God bless

In Christ,

Ben Rast
Contender Ministries

A letter-writing campaign by third-graders at Allis Elementary School encouraging an end to the war in Iraq was canceled because it violates School Board policy, district officials said Tuesday. It probably didn’t violate their policy until parents raised a royal rhubarb about it. The fact that this letter writing campaign was limited to an anti-war view, once again exposes the hypocrisy of the left. Liberals claim to be the party that fights for freedom of speech. Whether it be dung on the virgin Mary, pornography on library computers, or pornographic T-shirts worn by students in public schools, they are there to fight for freedom of speech. But, when it comes to politics in school, only one opinion is allowed. I feel so sorry for conservative teenagers in our public schools. I can only imagine the harassment, condescension, and humiliation they suffer under from teachers who think school is a place to indoctrinate other peoples children with their humanist, Anti-American ideology. It’s no wonder the e-mails we receive at Contender Ministries from teenagers in the U.S. are usually barely legible, and read like they’re written by 6 year olds.

Julie Fitzpatrick, a member of the 10-teacher team that developed the project for the school’s 90 third-grade students in five classes, said the assignment was intended to demonstrate citizen action, one of the district’s standards in social studies.

“We saw peace as a common good,” Fitzpatrick said. “We were just advocating that people keep working toward peace.”

But Robin Reynolds, an Army veteran whose 8-year-old grandson is in Fitzpatrick’s class, said she regards the assignment as a form of “anti-war protesting” that “is not suitable for elementary students.”

“They’re supposed to teach the facts and not opinions,” she said. “That’s brainwashing.”

“It was certainly an unfortunate thing to have happen,” Superintendent Art Rainwater said. “It’s a direct violation of our board policy.

Madison School Board policy prohibits teachers “from exploiting the institutional privileges of their professional positions to promote candidates or parties and activities.”
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“We don’t want our staff ever using our students in a political activity, which this obviously was,” Rainwater said. “I think the district would apologize to anyone who was offended. It should not have happened.”

Allis Principal Chris Hodge said a letter was sent to parents Tuesday apologizing to anyone who was offended and informing them that the project was rescinded.
Reynolds, who served as a personnel assistant at Fort McClellan in Alabama during the Vietnam War and has three family members serving in Iraq, said she “blew up” last Friday when her grandson brought home a letter informing parents about the campaign, in which students were to write a letter every day for 12 days.

Letters were to go to other students, the state’s U.S. senators and representatives, President Bush, and the secretary of the United Nations urging them to “join our press for peace.” If the war were not over in 12 days, the sequence would be repeated.

Members of Mama Moonbat’s clan were arrested today for breaking newly enacted laws that were put in place to prevent war protesters from disturbing the peace and invading the privacy of Bush’s neighbors. Naturally they were all grinning from ear to ear as they were carted off. Next we’ll hear them cry “fascism” (the liberal’s new favorite word). Laws don’t apply to the Left I guess.

A dozen war protesters, including Daniel Ellsberg, were arrested Wednesday for setting up camp near President Bush’s ranch in defiance of new local bans on roadside camping and parking.

About four hours after the group pitched six tents and huddled in sleeping bags and blankets, McLennan County sheriff’s deputies arrested them for criminal trespassing. Many in the group held up signs, including one that said, “Give me liberty or give me a ditch.”

A dozen or so other demonstrators left the public right of way after deputies warned them they would be arrested.

The protest was set to coincide with Bush’s Thanksgiving ranch visit.

The arrests were made by more than two dozen deputies who calmly approached the demonstrators in their tents and asked if they wanted to walk out on their own or be carried. Two chose to be carried. They were to be taken to jail for booking.

Do these people not see anything wrong with disturbing people’s Thanksgiving weekend? I’m sure the police enjoyed having to drag the whiners off to jail and wade through the paperwork when they could have been enjoying Thanksgiving with their families. Being a self absorbed nuisance only helps our side. I’d say keep it up, but I feel for the people of Crawford.

Hamas won’t renew the truce they never recognized in the first place. And, why would they? Terrorism got them Gaza, and Sharon is positioning himself to hand over the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The militant Islamic group Hamas said on Wednesday it did not plan to renew a truce at the end of the year, but would not say whether that meant it would resume attacks on
Israel immediately after the agreement expires.

A Hamas spokesman said only that the group would prefer not to discuss a new truce before a Palestinian parliamentary poll on January 25, which Hamas will contest for the first time.

Hamas, which has spearheaded a suicide bombing campaign against Israel over the past decade, has largely complied with the de facto truce brokered by Egypt and declared in March.

“The group will not be committed to any agreement until we reach a new agreement after the parliamentary election,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Hamas has used the truce as leverage over President Mahmoud Abbas, whose mainstream
Fatah faction is expected to win the election. Abbas is under intense international pressure to curtail militant attacks against Israel.

Hamas, seen as the main threat to Fatah in the ballot, is expected to win about 30 percent of the vote.

Abu Zuhri said it was not certain that Hamas would agree to abide by another truce after the election.

“The current conditions do not encourage the movement to pursue calm. Therefore, all parties concerned with the success of national dialogue must pressure the (Israeli) occupation to comply with the conditions made by the factions,” he said.

Palestinian factions have demanded that Israel release thousands of Palestinian prisoners, curtail military operations in Palestinian areas and halt the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Reuters claims Hamas largely complied with the truce brokered in March. The links below illustrate what the media and the Left consider a successful truce. We’re doomed if they ever get back in power.

Hezbollah rockets blast into Israel – 11/21/2005

Jewish Gaza capital ‘Hamas terror camp’ – 11/16/2005

Israel foils West Bank rocket transfer – 10/30/2005

Four Terrorists Killed in Two Days of Attempted Attacks – 11/14/2005

Hamas Commander Eliminated in Shootout With IDF Soldiers – 11/14/2005

Rafiah Crossing to Re-Open Amid More Rocket Fire – 11/05/2005

Hamas Claims Responsibility for Death of IDF Sergeant – 11/02/2005

US Demands PA Crackdown as IDF Arrests 23 Terrorists – 11/01/2005

IDF Soldier Injured in Jenin Bomb Attacks
– 11/01/2005

Kassam Rockets Flying Again – 10/30/2005

Hamas Threatens More Kidnappings – 10/26/2005

Hamas Threatens Stepped Up Attacks – 10/26/2005

Kassam Rocket on Sharon´s Farm, and Other Terror Shorts – 10/16/2005

This is just a partial list of attacks on Israel from the last 2 months.

If it made you mad when the Presbyterian Church USA voted to divest itself from Israel and condemned Israel for, basically, wanting to keep their land and stop terrorists from killing their people, wait until you hear this. The Presbyterian Church sent leaders to meet with Hezbollah. . . .AGAIN. For a second time, Presbyterian leaders expressed support for Hezbollah terrorists and praised the terrorist group saying it was much easier to meet and discuss matters with Islamic terrorists than it is to speak with Jews. Go figure. How shocking that Jews wouldn’t be all that enthusiastic about meeting with Jew hating, America bashing, hypocritical Christians.

The Presbyterian Church is an embarrassment to Christianity. The very first book of the Bible warns that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. The Jews are God’s chosen people. Are the Presbyterians (those who support their anti-Semitic leaders, or don’t have the sense to leave) aware that Jesus was a Jew (not to mention Israel has a historical right to their land and the terrorists have a made up history created by a war mongering pedophile)? Like so many of the large mainline denominations, the Bible means very little to them anymore. Sure, they read from it now and again, or maybe use it in a sermon here and there, but they pay little attention to what it really says and accept only what fits neatly into their liberal, humanist worldview.

On October 20, 2005, the Lebanese press reported that a delegation from the Presbyterian Church USA, headed by Father Nihad Tu’meh and with Robert Worley as its spokesman,[1] visited southern Lebanon at the invitation of Hezbollah, and met there with the terrorist organization’s commander in southern Lebanon, Nabil Qawuq.

During the meeting, Qawuq expressed his doubts about U.S. actions in the region and the intentions of the Bush administration. Worley, on his part, assured Qawuq that he was not defending the U.S. administration, that all delegation members had voted Democratic, and that the Presbyterian Church had been pressured by U.S. Jewish organizations because of its campaign to divest from corporations working with Israel.

A year previously, on October 17, 2004, a Presbyterian Church USA delegation visiting Lebanon also met with Qawuq. MEMRI TV translated excerpts from a report on the meeting that was aired by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV. During the meeting, church elder Ronald Stone [2] said, “We treasure the precious words of Hezbollah and your expression of goodwill towards the American people. Also, we praise your initiative for dialogue and mutual understanding. We cherish these statements that bring us closer to you. As an elder of our church, I’d like to say that according to my recent experience, relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders.” The release received extensive coverage by media outlets in the West; the delegation was condemned by U.S. congressmen, and ultimately two delegation members were dismissed from their positions in the Church.

The dismissal of these delegation members was obviously a move made only to take the heat off for a time, because they certainly haven’t changed their anti-Semitic views.

MEMRI provides a transcript of the terrorist sympathizers’ meeting with Hezbollah:

Delegation spokesman Robert Worley said: “We do not wish to defend the U.S. administration. We all elected the Democratic Party against the Republican Party. Rest assured that we will return to the U.S. in order to continue our activity for peace, and we want to hear about the charity activities and the cultural and social activities organized by Hezbollah in south [Lebanon].

What charity and cultural and social activities would that be? Perhaps the cultural get-togethers where they plan rocket launches on Israel? Or, maybe they like to hear about the Islamic fund raising efforts held to support Jihad and mass murder around the world.

Worley continues: The Americans hear in the Western media that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, and they do not hear any other opinion. They know nothing about the party’s concern for the people of the south. We have suffered much pressure on the part of Jewish organizations in the U.S. because [of our help in] divesting corporations working with Israel. We want Jerusalem to be a united city, just as we encouraged the Palestinians and the Jews to work for peace, and we demanded that our administration adheres to this position.”

Wow, I feel ever so sorry for the Presbyterians. It’s a tragedy of unequalled proportions that they have had to suffer under great pressure from Jewish Organizations. I’m sure the Jews will remember that others also suffer when a bomb goes off in the middle of one of their markets and blows up their entire family. They will surely also feel tremendous guilt about not being more accessible and open to the Presbyterian point of view while they deal with Palestinian suicide bombers, Hezbollah rocket attacks, Al Qaeda in Gaza, shootings on Jewish roads, exploding buses, being surrounded by countries that want them removed from the map, and morons from the Presbyterian church encouraging the terrorists to continue their intifada. Heavens to murgatroid. . . .eVen.

The Catholic Church isn’t the only church having problems with sexual abuse being covered up and ignored in order to protect a church’s image. Sadly, 2 girls were abused by their step father and, in both cases, two Mormon Stake Presidents, when alerted to the abuse, ignored it and didn’t turn the step father in to police. Had the LDS church notified the police, the younger daughter might have been spared the abuse she later suffered, even after the older daughter had alerted her Bishop through a friend. A jury’s decision to award the children 2.5 million dollars was based on a law mandating that people acting in the capacity of a “social service worker” are required to notify police when they become aware of sexual abuse. I believe this law SHOULD apply to pastors and church leaders. When a person breaks the law, it goes beyond seeking counseling from a pastor, and that person should be held accountable. Besides the obvious fact that church’s have a duty to protect children from this form of evil, we are instructed in the Bible to follow the laws of those who govern us here on earth. To sacrifice a child simply for appearances sake is disgusting.

Sadly a lot of pressure is put on members of the Mormon church to keep up the appearance of a good Mormon family. The father is also put in a position of control and authority, and questioning that authority is discouraged. In Mormonism, families are “sealed for time and eternity”, and the wife is totally dependent upon her husband to call her up to heaven by a secret name after death. As you can imagine, there is a great deal of pressure on the wife to keep quiet and make the marriage work. This may be why the mother, upon learning that her daughter had been molested by her husband, apparently told her daughter to keep quiet and not embarrass the family. These poor girls were let down by several people who should have been there to protect them.

A Virginia congregation says it has left the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) — and the pastor of that congregation fears his former bishop may take retaliatory action against the parish.

South Riding Church is the first parish to leave the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia after two years of conflict over ECUSA’s ordination of an openly homosexual bishop in New Hampshire. But Pastor Phil Ashey says his problems with the Episcopal Church run much deeper than its approval of Bishop V. Gene Robinson.

We predicted this would happen if the ECUSA continued down the road of ecumenism and political correctness. The Episcopal Church’s recent decisions to support gay marriage and gay clergy are incompatible with the Bible and therefore require the ECUSA to abandon the Bible as the sole source of what Christians believe. One can not believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God and hold these positions on sex and morality. As a result of their watered down, corrupted version of scripture, many members of the ECUSA, and now an entire parish, are either leaving the Episcopal church all together, or are realigning themselves with other Diocese who still believe in the Bible.

The ECUSA’s response to this pastor’s decision is further evidence that they have strayed from the Christ’s Biblical, historical Church.

Ashey says his church is now under the canonical authority of the Anglican bishop of Uganda, Rev. Benezeri Kisembo. But according to an Associated Press report, Bishop Peter Lee of Virginia says he does not recognize South Riding’s withdrawal from ECUSA because, in his opinion, Bishop Kisembo has no authority in the Diocese of Virginia.

“Only a diocesan bishop has the authority to transfer a cleric from the Diocese of Virginia,” Bishop Lee says in a statement released by the diocese. “Mr. Ashey remains under my canonical authority until disciplinary action is taken if any.” Pastor Ashey, however, believes there is a “distinct possibility” Lee would try to punish South Riding Church for moving under the authority of the Ugandan bishop.

Jesus warned about arrogant leaders taking control and lording their power over the body of Christ.

Matthew 20:25-26 “Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant”

Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

Be sure to read this excellent article by Mark Steyn which draws attention to the medias ignorant coverage of the war in Iraq and the Democrat’s inability to handle reality.

Speaking of the biased MSM, the AP is reporting today that Iraqi leaders called for a withdrawal of American troops at a conference of the Arab League today. There’s just one problem with their reporting. Their translator has been trained to translate Arabic into liberal media spin. Luckily, we have blogs. Gateway Pundit has their own translator who can actually translate the Iraqi leader’s words into normal English. He translated this AP article this way:

Al-Talebani pointed out that those who are currently fighting the Iraqi government are of two primary factions. The first, stand behind “Alqaida” and the Sunni Loyalists or Alzarqawi. The second faction is Iraq’s Arab loyalist and Saddam Loyalists. Each of these factions have their own militia. Al-Talebani added that the success of the Cairo meeting will allow us to win over the second faction. This will tame the Iraqi Arab nationalists and stop their armed resistance. Al-Talebani said he is willing to meet with the Iraqi resistance if those responsible for it ask. The positive atmosphere, which dominated the Cairo meetings, will have a constructive effect on the Iraqi elections in mid December. The U.S. forces will be leaving at the most within two years.

He clarified; the American forces would rather leave today than tomorrow. The sooner we are prepared the sooner they can leave. This should not take more than one or two years. After we complete the preparations of the Iraqi Army and security forces during the next two years there will be no need for the American forces and they will leave at once.

That’s a little bit different than this AP interpretation:

Reaching out to the Sunni Arab community, Iraqi leaders called for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces and said Iraq’s opposition had a “legitimate right” of resistance.

I think the AP is confused. The DEMOCRATS are calling for a timetable. The IRAQIS are calling for the same withdrawal promised by the president. When the Iraqi armed forces and security forces are trained, we will pull out of Iraq. The Iraqis won’t be “putting in place an immediate national program” to rebuild the armed forces, they will continue this process over the next year or two. The DEMOCRATS are the ones who think this process hasn’t already begun. Iraqi leaders also separated the terrorists from the nationalists and predicted the policy he was outlining would win over the nationalists. He did not say the terrorists had a legitimate right of resistance. The DEMOCRATS are the ones who think the terrorists are freedom fighters and have a legitimate right to wage Jihad in Iraq.”

Don’t trust what you read in the MSM. Ben speaks Arabic and was an Arabic Linguist in the military. Perhaps he’d be willing to translate what the Iraqi leaders are saying from time to time and further expose the MSM’s lies and spin. I have a feeling we’d be shocked at the blatant misrepresentation going on in the media.

See also: The Bad Hair Blog, Protein Wisdom, and scrappleface adds some humor to the mix.

CNN claims that a large black X that flashed over Dick Cheney’s face during coverage of his speech today was just a glitch. Riiiiiiight, the same way CNN’s bias coverage and incessant Bush bashing is just a reception problem that affects only my TV. This isn’t the first time CNN producers and employees have made their political views known by insulting the administration. In the past, pictures have been given names like ***hole.jpg and put up on their website. USA Today pulled a similar stunt when they doctored a picture of Condi Rice to make her look, well . . . . somewhat possessed. CNN has no class and shouldn’t EVER be taken seriously or trusted as a legitimate source of news.

Giant black X continuously flashed over Vice President Cheney’s face during CNN coverage of speech today (courtesy: Drudge Report)

Here’s another previous glitch:

UPDATE:

Daily Pundit has evidence that the Cheney X was most definitely not an accident. It was freedom of speech.

This wins the prize for the most hypocritical thing I’ve seen all year. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that it was not overtly religious or unconstitutional for California schools to have children dress up as Muslims, recite Muslim prayers in class, and learn about the Koran and Islamic teachings. How can you get anymore overtly religious than that? Can you imagine the outcry (and the opposite ruling from the court) if California schools were having students read the Bible, recite Christian prayers, and wear Christian crosses or some such in school? I conclude from this ruling that the courts in this country have become so arrogant they no longer feel the need to even pretend they are not anti-Christian bigots.

Courts have ruled in cases against Christianity that students can’t even choose to pray alone inside a school building. Students at military schools have been barred from meeting for Bible studies in the school dorms on their own time. In fact, the 9th Circuit was the same court that ruled against reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school because it is a “coercive exercise” and it mentions the word God. When we have bigots who seek to ban certain religions while allowing others, it’s time to start using the power Congress has to impeach judges. They should start with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Forget splitting up the court. Scrap it and start over.

This is what the court calls “not overtly religious”:

During the history course at Excelsior School in the fall of 2001, the teacher, using an instructional guide, told the students they would adopt roles as Muslims for three weeks to help them learn what Muslims believe.
She encouraged them to use Muslim names, recited prayers in class and made them give up something for a day, such as television or candy, to simulate fasting during Ramadan. The final exam asked students for a critique of elements of Muslim culture.

Naturally, the court based it’s decision on a previous case brought by evangelical Christians.

The court cited its 1994 ruling rejecting a suit by evangelical Christian parents in Woodland (Yolo County) who objected to elementary school children reading texts that contained tales and role-playing exercises about witches. In that case, the court said classroom activities related to the texts, which included casting a make-believe spell, were secular instruction rather than religious rituals.

The whole article:

A Contra Costa County school was educating seventh-graders about Islam, not indoctrinating them, in role-playing sessions in which students used Muslim names and recited language from prayers, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a lawsuit by two Christian students and their parents, who accused the Byron Union School District of unconstitutionally endorsing a religious practice.

“The Islam program activities were not overt religious exercises that raise Establishment Clause concerns,” the three-judge panel said, referring to the First Amendment ban on government sanctioning a religion.

During the history course at Excelsior School in the fall of 2001, the teacher, using an instructional guide, told the students they would adopt roles as Muslims for three weeks to help them learn what Muslims believe.

She encouraged them to use Muslim names, recited prayers in class and made them give up something for a day, such as television or candy, to simulate fasting during Ramadan. The final exam asked students for a critique of elements of Muslim culture.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled in favor of the school district in 2003, saying that the class had an instructional purpose and that students had engaged in no actual religious exercises.

The appeals court upheld her ruling Thursday in a three-paragraph decision that was not published as a precedent for future cases, which generally is an indication that the court considers the legal issue to be clear from past rulings.

The court cited its 1994 ruling rejecting a suit by evangelical Christian parents in Woodland (Yolo County) who objected to elementary school children reading texts that contained tales and role-playing exercises about witches. In that case, the court said classroom activities related to the texts, which included casting a make-believe spell, were secular instruction rather than religious rituals.

The brevity of Thursday’s ruling “underscores the fact that what the district and its teachers did was entirely within the mainstream of educational practice,” said Linda Lye, attorney for the Byron schools.

Edward White of the Thomas More Center, the attorney in the case for the two children and their parents, said he will ask the full appeals court for a rehearing. He said the panel failed to address his argument that the district violated parents’ rights.

“What happened in this classroom was clearly an endorsement of religion and indoctrination of children in the Islamic religion, which would never have stood if it were a class on Christianity or Judaism,” White said.

Before any liberals chime in with an argument in favor of allowing Islam in schools, do a little thinking. If you support schools who ban Christmas carols in school, or if you support banning student initiated/led prayer at school sports events, or if you have a problem with students even uttering the word Christmas at school, you have no argument. Unless, of course, you’re now ready to allow Christians the same freedom of speech and religion.

Michelle Malkin links to the actual curriculum for the course.

See exerpts from the curriculum at Michelle’s blog

See Also Stop the ACLU

It‘s working so well for Iran . . . . . . . . . . . .

THE Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, has said his country will process recently discovered uranium deposits in order to resolve its chronic electric power shortage.

Mr Mugabe, who has close ties with Iran and North Korea, two countries with controversial nuclear programmes, made the announcement on Saturday, state radio said yesterday.

It was not clear how Mr Mugabe intended to use any uranium deposits, as the country does not have a nuclear power plant. He unveiled plans in the 1990s to acquire a reactor from Argentina, but nothing more was heard about the idea.

Zimbabwe was not previously known to have any workable deposits of uranium, and South Africa has the region’s only nuclear power station, at Koeberg.

“Zimbabwe will develop power by processing uranium, which has recently been found in the country,” the radio quoted Mr Mugabe as saying.

It looks like the Democrats may end up filibustering Alito over his personal beliefs and their political agenda, rather than considering his judicial philosophy as they should. Alito is considered by the vast majority of Senators from both parties to be more than qualified for the job, so the opposition can only be basing their objection to Alito on one thing – his personal and/or religious views. The oversight duties of the Senate were not included in our constitution so that the minority party could prevent Christians or Conservatives from becoming judges on the Supreme Court.

Just as with Chief Justice Roberts’ confirmation, Alito’s belief in judicial restraint and his constructionist views on interpreting the constitution SHOULD eliminate any concerns these Senator’s might have as to how Alito will rule in cases that come before the Supreme Court. But, Democrats don’t want our justices to rule based on the framer’s intent as expressed in the constitutional debates. They want justices who believe the Constitution is a living document that changes with the culture and can be rewritten by judges who legislate from the bench, base decisions on International Law, and ignore the will of the people. They want judges who will make rulings like the 1960′s ruling on reapportionment, because they can only win elections if large liberal population centers are able to tip the scale in their favor and force their choices on rural America and smaller cities. We’ve experienced this frustrating situation in Washington State. King County, encompassing the very liberal city of Seattle, dictates what laws will be passed for the entire state. This is why land use laws always succeed in being passed despite the large rural areas in Washington. Seattle liberals don’t care if legislation is passed that allows the government to prohibit farmers, ranchers, and rural home owners from using 60% of their own land. As long as it doesn’t affect them, they’ll force their environmental agenda on the rest of us.

The “Constitutional option” will have to be used eventually. If not now, then when the “Gang of 14″ are replaced with real Conservatives willing to follow through on their campaign promises.

The chance of a filibuster to halt the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito rose on news he once opposed 1960s Supreme Court rulings on reapportionment based on the principle of equal voting rights, a top Democrat on the Senate judiciary panel said on Sunday.

Sen. Joseph Biden, a Democrat from Delaware, told Fox News Sunday that a decision by Democrats to filibuster would depend largely on Alito’s answers during judiciary committee questioning scheduled for January.

In a 1985 application to be a deputy assistant attorney general disclosed last week, Alito wrote that he disagreed with reapportionment decisions by the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren in the early 1960s.

Prior to the Warren court’s decisions, some state legislators were elected on a geographical basis, giving thinly populated rural areas more political heft than urban centers.

“If he really believes that reapportionment is a questionable decision — that is, the idea of Baker vs. Carr, one man, one vote — then clearly, clearly, you’ll find a lot of people, including me, willing to do whatever they can to keep him off the court. We don’t know that. We have to hear it,” Biden said. “That would include a filibuster if need be.”

Asked if this increased the chances of a filibuster, Biden said: “Well, I think based upon that job application where he said he strongly held these views, yes.”

It’s deja’ vu all over again. I seem to remember another dictator refusing to let inspectors into his country while he worked feverishly on a nuclear weapons program. In this case, however, I fear that if we wait for 12 U.N. resolutions and years of pointless debate in the U.N., a response to the threat will come too late. We can always hope Israel will do what our leaders no long have the backbone to do. It’s mind boggling that we continue to depend on a global body that is rabidly anti-American and anti-Israel for our security in these situations.

Parliament approved a bill Sunday requiring the government to block international inspections of its atomic facilities if the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency refers Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

The bill was approved by 183 of the 197 lawmakers present at the session, which was broadcast live on state-run radio. The vote came four days before the International Atomic Energy Agency board meets to consider referring Tehran for violating a nuclear arms control treaty.

When the bill becomes law, as is expected, it will strengthen the government’s hand in resisting international pressure to abandon uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors or an atomic bomb.