Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Terry Schiavo and PVS

The country is clearly divided on the Terry Schiavo case. Regardless of one's position, it is safe to say that if were to be proved that Terry had even limited mental faculties, that the vast majority of Americans would support her parent's desires in this manner. On the other hand, if it could be proven that Terry indeed has no cognitive abilities, many in the pro-life camp would be more supportive of her husband's claims.

With this in mind, it seems that one fact has been ignored in this case: Terry Schiavo is capable of recognizing humor. Dogs, whales, chimps, and even some mentally handicapped humans are incapable of appreciating irony. But if you watch the Terry Schiavo videos, there is a very clear clip where one of her doctors is speaking to her, and Terry responds with laughter. Certainly, it's not a robust laugh, and Terry seems incapable of responding in-kind with any sort of clarity. But the fact remains that she heard her doctor, recognized his words, and understood that he had said something that either pleased her or was unexpected.

Regardless of what the neurologists say about Terry's brain, if she can appreciate humor then there is something going on upstairs. A woman in her condition deserves a far better fate than being starved to death.

Monday, March 28, 2005

Easter in Mexico: Hate Thy Neighbor

The United States national soccer team visited Mexico yesterday, playing the Mexican national team in front of over 100,000 fans. The Mexicans avenged a 6 game losing streak against the Americans, winning the match 2-1.

The real story lies in the continued "sportsmanship" displayed by our southern neighbors. The crowd continued previous trends of paying homage to the greatest mass murderer in American history, Osama bin Laden. The crowd chanted "Osama" throughout the match, and after the match they gathered for a good old United States flag burning. Unable to ignite the flag, the crowd stomped the flag to oblivian.

What wonderful neighbors we have. They illegally cross our borders by the tens of thousands. They ignore our laws, and send a good portion of their wages back to Mexico. They demand free medical care, they demand free education, and like the good fools we have become, we oblige.

So the next time you pay your mortgage bill, remember that a portion of your property taxes are going to pay for "English as a Second Language" services in your local school district. The next time you pay a medical bill, remember that a portion of the bill is used to pay for illegal immigrants who do not pay for their services. The next time you get paid, recognize that a portion of your federal payroll taxes are going to pay for the printing of hundreds of forms in Spanish.

What is really sad is that the majority of Americans (me included) have a lot of respect for hard working immigrants who come to this country and sacrifice to support their families. But I'll never come to terms with how the Mexican culture has come to loathe the United States. Perhaps if the borders were truly closed for 10 years, our Mexican "friends" would come to appreciate what the United States of America means to them.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Liberal Platform Crumbling Despite Media Propaganda

The debate as to whether the Mainstream Media (MSM) suffers from a liberal bias is over. An American Association of Newspaper Editors survey in 1997 found that 61% of journalist identified themselves as liberal, and 15% identified themselves as conservative. The remaining 24% are likely your typical pro-choice, anti-business "independents".

A 1981 study of "elite" journalists at major news organizations such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post revealed that between 1964 and 1976, 81% of journalists voted for the Democrat party candidate in every election! This includes the landslide election of 1972 when Richard Nixon received 62% of the vote and George McGovern received only 13 electoral votes.

For more revealing statistics on the liberal bias in the media, visit the Media Research Center.

With this backdrop, let's take a look at an AP article released today about Italy's decision to begin troop withdrawals from Iraq beginning this September. Italian troops have been on the ground with other coalition forces for nearly 2 years now. Saddam Hussein has been ousted, the Baath party is out of power, free elections have been held, and the first meeting of a free Iraqi Parliament was held yesterday. So guess how William J. Cole of the Associated Press characterizes the withdrawal:
  • A. Italy's Prime Minister announced today that troop withdrawals will begin this September, as Iraq's path towards democracy gains momentum.
  • B. Italy's Prime Minister announced today that troop withdrawals will begin this September, as the entire coalition reduces their presence in the region in the wake of the coalition victory.
  • C. Italy's Prime Minister announced today that troop withdrawals will begin this September, putting a fresh crack in President Bush's crumbling coalition.

It should come as no surprise that the correct answer is C. Despite the fact that the United States is also drawing down troops, despite the fact that the coalition achieved a remarkable success, and despite the fact that the second order effects of freedom are being felt in Egypt and Lebanon, Cole reaches the "conclusion" that the coalition is crumbling. With this type of reasoning, I suppose I should thank God that this pinhead is a writer, and not an engineer or a scientist. William J. Cole is simply one of hundreds of "reporters" who feed liberal propaganda to Americans every day. Despite this inherrent handicap, the conservative Republican party holds both houses of congress and the White House. If the liberal platform will not take root in America today, despite decades of MSM liberal propaganda, clearly there are major problems with the liberal platform.

Monday, March 14, 2005

No to Hezbollah

In response to recent freedom demonstrations in Lebanon, the pro-Syrian terrorist organization Hezbollah staged their own events. Admittedly, Hezbollah was quite effective at energizing their base and demonstrating their support for Syria's puppet regime in Lebanon. Hezbollah demonstrators, who numbered nearly 500,000 people, shouted anti-American slogans and stated their support for Syrian President Assad.

But today, the forces of freedom gathered in Beirut's Martyrs Square in incredible numbers, estimated by some to be over 800,000 strong.

Take a look:


The best news is that during the past week, over 1,000,000 Lebanese citizens have been able to promote competing agendas publicly and peacably. Freedom is on the march in the Middle East.

Friday, March 04, 2005

Familiar Stranger

In a previous post titled A Lesson in Generosity from a Stranger, (click on "November's Archives" and then scroll down to see this story) I wrote about a homeless man who taught me a lesson in generosity. I bought lunch for him and his friends, and he didn't hesitate to give his away when a homeless woman told us she was hungry. The following week, I brought him a pizza for lunch. I asked around for the man, and was directed to a large pile of blankets. One of his friends woke him up, and my initial impression was that he'd undergone a big change in one week. He appeared thinner and older, although that could have been because we just woke him up from a deep sleep. I gave him the pizza, he thanked me, and I left. But I was left with the distinct impression that he had taken a couple turns for the worse since I met him the week before.

On subsequent visits to the bridge, I could never find him. I discovered that his name was either "Cabin" or "Calvin", depending on who you asked. I hoped for the best for this man, but assumed the worst.

Last Friday on my way to work, I arrived at the Metro train station. As I approached the platform, I was surprised to see Calvin conversing with a few people on the platform. Even from a distance, it was clear that he was clean, and more importantly, coherent. I went up to him and shook his hand, and said I was glad to see he was OK. He obviously did not recognize me, so I refreshed his memory about our meeting a few months ago. He smiled and said "you've got a better memory than I do". Given his state of mind the last time I had seen him, I wasn't the least bit surprised he didn't remember me.

We spoke for a few minutes, and it turns out he had been traveling the Gulf Coast, working odd jobs. Recently, his wife called him and told him to come back home. He was clean and sober this morning, looking for day labor. I asked about sobering up, and he said he's cut way back on his drinking. I mentioned my previous article about him, and he seemed to be interested so I gave him the address for USANow. I asked if I could take his picture, and he agreed.

Here's Calvin, the stranger who taught me a lesson in generosity. If the picture does not appear, refresh your browser.


I hope and pray that Calvin continues his remarkable turnaround, and that he finds full time employment in the near future.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Bush Doctrine and Peace in the Middle East

For 18 months leading up to the recent presidential election, the liberal establishment has force fed our great nation with a steady diet of anti-Bush propaganda. The cornerstone of the liberal message, of course, related to Bush's ill-advised invasion of Iraq. Bush has been labeled an incompetent neocon. He has been labeled a terrorist. He has been accused of escalating Mid East tensions, and is considered to be the oppressor of millions of Arabs.

Can these neo-liberal messages be reconciled with the facts? 25 million Iraqis are now free, and 8 million citizens recently voted for their new government representatives. Afghanistan is no longer an incubator for Al Qaeda terrorists. Usama Bin Laden seems to have been neutered, as he's currently cowering somewhere in a cave, unable to lead his Jihad against Christianity and Judaism. Libya has made a 180 degree turn with respect to their state sponsorship of terrorism. Pakistan is an ally in the war on terror. Every one of these major accomplishments are the direct result of the Bush Doctrine.

But taking a closer look at the results of the Bush Doctrine, we can see that the second order effects may even be greater than our primary accomplishments. For example, Egypt has now planned elections for later this year. We won't pretend that Mubarak is fully embracing democracy, as Mubarak originally stated that opposition candidates would not be on the ballot. But due in part to pressure from the Bush administration, the Egyptian president reversed course and ordered a constitutional change to allow for opposition candidates to be put on the ballot. In addition, small groups of Egyptians are emboldened enough to demonstrate, which is forbidden in Egypt.

While Egypt's path towards democracy is just beginning, it is now clear that Lebanon is a major victory of the Bush Doctrine. We've all seen images of thousands of Lebanese Muslim, Druse, and Christians demonstrating together. We've heard the story of the mass resignation of Syria's puppet regime in Lebanaon. But is it fair to attribute these dramatic events to the Bush Doctrine? Let's listen to the words of Walid Jumblatt, who is the major opposition leader in Lebanon:
    "It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."

Is this what Theresa Heinz-Kerry considers "4 more years of hell"? Does Nancy Pelosi view these dramatic events as a by-product of incompetence in the Oval Office? Does Michael Moore believe that the policies of a liar could yield such dramatic results? As history unfolds before our eyes, as voices of freedom are heard for the first time, and as oppressive regimes fall one by one, there can be little doubt that with respect to US foreign policy, the left is wrong and the right is right.