All Latino Team

Before last night's world series game, the All Latino Legends team was introduced. The players were selected by ballots distributed worldwide. Am I the only one who sees this team as a slap in the face to every non Latino player? Why should Latinos get singled out before a World Series game? When will Poles like Carl Yastrzemski be honored in a special World Series tribute? When will Jews like Hank Greenberg be honored? What about whites like Ty Cobb? The answer? Never. Can you imagine the outrage if the idea of an all white team was ever discussed?

The All Latino team did draw some criticism from White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen because the team was apparently not Latino enough for his tastes.

Said Guillen of Alex Rodriguez "Alex Rodriguez is from New York. He has a USA passport!" So Guillen won't recognize Latinos who happen to be American citizens. The only good Latino is apparently a non-American. And tell me again why the American Pastime came up with this team?

To top it off, it was suggested at one point that Ted Williams should have been on the team because his mother was Hispanic. Guillen went in to a purported rage at this point, stating "Ted Williams on a Latino team? What the (expletive) is this? He never said hola in his life and he's on the (expletive) Latin team?"

So to be a Latino, you have to speak Spanish and you can't be an American. So much for the good ol' melting pot. Ozzie, if you don't want any hint of Americanism nor English languange tinting the All Latino Team, maybe you should get the (expletive) back to Venezuela. I'm sure the all star team there will be authentic Latino, and you'll never have to worry about any all star team member carrying an American passport.

USANow - still waiting for the day when we'll have a nation void of discrimination, scholarships, beauty contests, college admission standards, and government contracts based on race, color, or religion.

Here's the full story.

Back to Blogging

In today's news, the head football coach at the Air Force is under fire for comments he made after a loss to TCU. Said coach Fisher DeBerry, it was clear that TCU "had a lot more Afro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did."

As you would expect, caucasians are up in arms. They've been categorically labeled as being slow by a head coach at a Division 1 school. This coach shifted blame away from himself, and onto the skin color of his players. So the coach has apologized, saying "I realize the things I said might have been hurtful to many people, and I want everyone to understand that I never intended to offend anyone".

But wait, in a shocking turn of events, it turns that it's not the caucasians who are upset. Says blackathlete.net:

Exactly what was DeBerry implying. Supposedly something sinister about African Americans. Just as Paul Hornung had last year in having the 'lapse in judgment' to say that the problem with Notre Dame football was an insufficient number of Black players so they could win a National Championship.

The subliminal message of both statements of course is that if the Air Force Academy and Notre Dame lower their "academic standards" more African Americans will make it through the eligibility barriers. If that is what they meant to Say look for the biggest Stones to throw at them. But remember about casting the First Stone.

Talk about a chip on the shoulder. DeBerry said nothing about eligibility standards. He was simply complimenting black athletes. But unfortunately even recognizing the color of a black man and complimenting him on his athletic prowess is cause for some to shout racism and oppression.

Riots in Toledo

Today the National Socialist Movement (NSM) planned to bring attention to black on white violence in Toledo, Ohio by marching through city streets. NSM is a neo-Nazi group with a white supremacist agenda. Ironically enough, members of the neo-Nazi NSM were pelted by black residents with bottles and rocks before the march began. At this point, I could almost sympathize with residents for reacting angrily towards the presence of the NSM in their neighborhood. But the march was cancelled, and the angry mob turned their anger towards police and local businesses, bashing in windows of a grocery store and stealing the contents and setting fire to a pub. It's pretty clear that an NSM march isn't required to illustrate the random violence plaguing Toledo. Toledo blacks became poster children for the type of violence against which NSM was protesting.

So America is left again with images of angry and violent blacks taking advantage of a situation to commit random crimes. This is the time for Louis Farrakhan to speak up with words of condemnation....not at the whites who somehow oppressed these gang members, but at the gang members themselves. It's time for Jesse Jackson to recognize that the great majority of social problems in the black community are self-induced. Now's the time for harsh words promoting responsibility and accountability, and condemning violence. It's time for black leaders to do what they're supposed to be doing....lead.

Broussard Fights Back

Recall the Tim Russert interview with Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard. Broussard emotionally recounted a tragedy involving one of his associates, where his associate repeatedly called his nursing-home bound mother in the week following Katrina. Broussard recalled the associate on the phone saying "I'm coming to get you momma" for four days after Katrina hit. Broussard's intent was to support his opening salvo with Russert, where he stated that "America has abandoned us", and "bureaucracy has committed murder".

The only problem with this story is that the man's mother died on Monday, the day the storm hit. There were no phone calls in the days following Katrina. There was no possibility for federal relief agencies to rescue the woman on Tuesday. So Broussard either fabricated the story entirely, or it's possible these events transpired on the Thursday through Sunday prior to Katrina making landfall. In either case, it appears Broussard was attempting to deflect the the fact that local officials failed to evacuate the nursing home.

These inconsistencies have been pointed out to Broussard, who has said "Somebody wants to nitpick a man's tragic loss of a mother because she was abandoned in a nursing home? Are you kidding? What kind of sick mind, what kind of black-hearted people want to nitpick a man's mother's death? They just buried Eva last week. I was there at the wake. Are you kidding me? That wasn't a box of Cheerios they buried last week."

Nobody's has ignored the tragedy of a woman dying in a nursing home as a result of Katrina. However, that "nitpicky" detail of when the woman died completely undermines your characterization of the relief effort. It's not only legitimate to correct your version of the story, it's imperative, especially if we hope to learn from our mistakes.

Roberts Confirmation

It what came as little surprise, Judge Roberts has been confirmed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Even less surprising was the fact that Kennedy, Kerry, Clinton, and Boxer all voted against Roberts, which quite frankly is a great sign. Of course, these 4 would have voted against somebody like Ginsburg as long as it was President Bush doing the nominating.

Looking forward, let's hope Bush remains true to his "mandate", and selects a true conservative to fill the remaining empty seat on the court. Certainly, diversity is a noble cause, and I personally don't care about the gender nor the race of the next candidate. But can anybody deny that wisdom, understanding, right judgement, courage, and knowledge should trump diversity? And while I'm on the subject of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, reverence and an awe of God's presence wouldn't hurt either.

Checking Factcheck.org Facts

USANow previously covered factcheck.org, and their slight bias towards the left which came to light during the last presidential campaign. In my efforts to understand the timeline around Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts, I turned to factcheck.org. Although the Factcheck's timeline is the most comprehensive I've seen, the text reveals their bias against Bush and his administration.

Take a quick look at their timeline. Notice three key points:

Factcheck seems obsessed with counting George Bush's words when he speaks, comparing the number of words dedicated to discussing Iraq vs. the number of words used to discuss Katrina. This comparison may have some relevance, but factcheck provided a wordcount comparison of a Bush speech made the day before Katrina made landfall. Do these "analysts" really think Bush should spend more time talking about an offshore storm than the new Iraqi constitution?

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 29th, Mike Brown referred to the storm as a "near catastrophic event". Factcheck underlined the word "near", as if to imply that Brown was clueless about the storm's magnitude. Of course, they are ignoring their own reporting which showed that the New Orleans levees failed about the same time Brown made that statement. Everyone who followed the storm would agree that as of Monday a.m., the sentiment was that our nation had dodged a bullet, and the worse case scenario had not transpired. Factcheck uses the benefit of hindsight to imply Brown was out of touch.

During Brown's 11:00 a.m. remarks, he also stated that he hoped to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials". Clearly, Brown wanted to help instill a sense of confidence in his organization, which is the hope of any leader. His comments do not imply an emphasis of image over action. Rather, he wants FEMA to be an active and visible part of the relief operations. Factcheck chose to underline the word "image", hoping to give the false impression that Brown preferred image over action.

Granted, these may seem like minor details within an excellent summary. But my understanding is that factcheck should be providing facts, not opinions. By counting the words of the president, and emphasizing certain words of Mike Brown, Factcheck is hoping to spread the opinion that Bush and Brown were not overly concerned in providing disaster relief to the victims of Katrina.

Our Evacuation

Rita is gone and we're back home. Our journey began Wednesday at 3:00 as my family loaded up the Suburban and headed north to Waco. 7 hours later, we had traveled 60 miles. Although the freeways were more congested than I'd ever seen before, the vast majority of people were civil. We stopped at a gas station where only two pumps were operational, and 50 or so cars had parked. There was no commotion over getting in line for gas, and everyone inside the store seemed eager to share their evacuation story. There were pet dogs and cats in tow, and even a pet crab. Fortunately after departing Hempstead, it was smooth sailing to Waco.

We stayed with my mother, and my in-laws who live around the corner from us in Houston joined us as well. My mother-in-law cleaned out her freezer, and my father-in-law brought several bottles of wine. So our evacuation was spent eating steaks and drinking Merlot, and enjoying good company.

Our journey back to Houston was much quicker, and we returned to find many large trees uprooted in our neighborhood. Fortunately our home was spared any damage, the only evidence of Rita being a lawn full of branches and leaves. My part of Houston is still a ghost town, as very few restaurants are open and no gas is available. Grocery stores opened for a limited time with short staff. I expect it will be another couple days for everything to back to normal.

All in all, Rita turned out to be a blessing as we enjoyed a mini family reunion, 3 days off from work, and a total of 6 days off from school. As my mother said, "this has been the best hurricane ever". Of course, next time we might not be so fortunate.

CNN Readers: Al Qaeda Recovered from Loss of Afghanistan

As has been reported here in the past, the results of CNN polls consistently portray a strong liberal bias. Presidential polls this time last year showed Kerry with a strong lead, while other polls showed the race a dead heat. Polls about the administration consistently result in negative responses towards the president.

Today, CNN asked their readers whether Al Qaeda has managed to recover from the loss of Afghanistan. The question is a semi-veiled attempt to ask "was the US military effort in Afghanistan another failed endeavor?"

Any fool would realize that after losing an entire nation packed with military training camps, that Al Qaeda would be hard pressed to recover. One would think even Bush haters would recognize that the organization could never recover from losing Afghanistan, unless they were able to find another nation willing to sponsor their efforts. Admittedly Al Qaeda can still recruit homicidal maniacs, and they can still teach their doctrine of hate. The can teach new recruits to fire a gun. But they cannot organize large training exercises and crank out thousands of new trained murderers every month, as they could under the Taliban. Osama bin Laden can't even make a video tape, and they think Al Qaeda has recovered?

Never a crew to miss out on a chance to label an American military exercise a failure, CNN readers boldly proclaimed by a 2/3 majority, that Al Qaeda has indeed recovered from the loss of Afghanistan. Unbelievable.

PS - Looking forward to Fox News improving their web site so that I don't have to turn to CNN for web news.

More Love at the George R. Brown

I worked another shift at the George R. Brown convention center yesterday over lunch, and was pleased to see that there is no shortage of volunteers this week. As I delivered food to the isolation unit, I had a chance to see all the services provided to residents, including:

Full service hair salon

Massage service

Laundry service

Reading/movie area for children

Cell phone charging table

Live music stage

After working for a couple hours, I sat down to eat lunch and joined a couple. They were from New Orleans, but were planning to settle in Dallas or Virginia. They went out of their way to thank me for my service, and they mentioned how wonderful everyone has been in the city of Houston. Said the man, "I won't forget anyone who's helped us here, including you."

I thank God that I'm able to help out in some small way, and more importantly, I thank God for all the time and resources being poured into the Katrina relief effort. We are sure to see silver linings emerge from the clouds of this storm for years to come.

PS - I may be on Fox Sports Net and who knows what other television stations. As I was serving lunch, several camera crews came to our station to film us. Apparently one of the coaches or GM of the Florida Marlins was working the station with me, and he attracted media from as far away as Taiwan. So if you see me, just remember the hair net isn't some goofy fashion statement - it's a Health Department reg.

Response to Katrina Faster than Response to Andrew

Contrary to what the major media outlets would have us believe, the national response to Katrina was not a disaster in and of itself. In fact, the National Guard responded to Katrina in 3 days. Hurricane Andrew hit the United States in 1992 with category 5 force winds, and the National Guard responded 5 days after the storm hit. Although the death toll numbered 23, those whose homes were destroyed numbered in the thousands, as property damage exceeded $26 billion.

Since many of the victims in Florida where elderly whites, did anybody cry race or age discrimination? Of course not, because we didn't have one of the major political parties being lead by the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Al Sharpton, and Howard Dean. Those were the good ol' days, I guess.

Clearly, the tragic images of Katrina far surpassed anything we've witnessed in previous storms. But the facts that families were stranded on rooftops and New Orleans' shelters were full did not change the reality of mobilization logistics.

This storm covered an area the size of England. Power lines were down, gasoline was difficult to find, bridges and roads were destroyed. All things considered, the federal response was amazing. Unfortunately, Bush opponents will grasp at anything, even human suffering and death, to undermine the man's credibility.

BTW, this article was linked on Drudge Report - read the Rest of the story here.

FEMA and Red Cross "Too White"

So says Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam in his September 8th comments on Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.

Said Farrakhan: "FEMA is too white to represent us, and so is the Red Cross". Not surprisingly, Farrakhan's comments are buried on page 12 of today's Houston Chronicle. There is no mention of Farrakhan's racist comments in the headline, and few other news outlets have picked up the comments (if Google News is any indicator).

Last I checked, there were hundreds of thousands of US citizens in dire need of help in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. And color-blind FEMA and the Red Cross are busy distributing hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of man-hours in aid to storm victims. But Farrakhan feels called to view the tragedy in the only lens he knows: black and white.

I called the Nation of Islam for a comment, and the woman with whom I spoke was unaware of Farrakhan's comments. She stated the comments were not racist in nature, but when I asked her what would she think if somebody said the Nation of Islam is "too black", she hung up on me. It sounds like she's been sheep-dipped in race-baiting 101, where every question is left unanswered.

So my question for Farrakhan is would he prefer I stay home the next time I'm headed to the George R. Brown Convention Center to help, because I'm "too white"? Even though my money is green, should I keep it in my own bank account because I'm "too white"? My prayer is that blacks and whites alike ignore this fool, and do what ever they can to help out. As for me, it's lunch time, and I'm off to the convention center to help.

Stupidity from the Associated Press

In yesterday's post titled "Fed up with Blacktivists", USANow covered an article from the Associated Press which focused on the perception in the black community that Hurricane Katrina response was slow because American whites are racist.

Unfortunately, this article is so full of race-baiting excrement that it requires two USANow posts to cover. Embedded in the story is this nugget:

If the rescue effort had not been so mishandled, and if those who suffered so needlessly had not been so black and so poor, perhaps Hurricane Katrina would have been just another destructive storm, alongside the likes of Charley and Andrew and Hugo. (There is no Keisha or Kwame.)

Problem #1: The author is stating categorically that the rescue effort was "mishandled". Although most would agree that relief should have come sooner, all would agree that it's not the sole job of American whites to rescue American blacks. If the response was delayed, all Americans are at fault, including Mayor Nagin of New Orleans.

Problem #2: The author makes the dig that white America shuns blacks because African names are not chosen for hurricanes. It is a fact that there are more Americans of German descent than of African descent, yet we don't hear the author crying because no hurricane has ever been named Dieter or Gunther.

Just two more double standards buried in one article, designed to paint whites as racist oppressors, and blacks as oppressed victims. Based on my experience with Hurricane Katrina evacuees and relief workers, we all deserve better.

Thank God, a Voice of Reason

It took the First Lady to respond to the moronic claims by Al Sharpton, Kanye West, Howard Dean, and 71% of American Blacks who responded to a recent poll claiming hurricane Katrina response was slow due to racism.

Of course, this won't stop Democrats and blacktivists from droning on and on about racism. One gets the sense that Al Sharpton, for example, won't be happy until the day white Americans are obliged to hand over cash to any black American who asks. But at the very least the administration isn't cowering in the corner like a scared puppy, like many politicians seem to do when accused of racism.

Story here.

Fed up with Blacktivists

Katrina has stirred up many emotions in all of us, the primary being sympathy for the thousands of victims. I've had the pleasure of meeting many victims here in Houston over the past two days, on the streets and while volunteering at the George R. Brown Convention Center today. I loaded and unloaded trucks with supplies, and I worked the lunch lines serving hundreds of evacuees from Louisiana. The people were friendly, and I sat and ate lunch with a group who were grateful for all Houston has done.

But tonight I see this story on the perpetual race baiting website, MSNBC. This story makes my blood boil. Why do blacks consider themselves a single entity, separate from white Americans. Isn't that racist? Why do blacks still cry about Bush stealing the 2000 election, even though all recounts pointed to a Bush victory? Isn't that ignorance? Why do blacks continue to identify with O.J. Simpson - a black man who bludgeoned his white wife? Most importantly, why do blacks claim the response to Katrina is evidence of racism? Americans have donated 5 times the amount given after 9/11! A legitimate claim could be made that America is racist against whites, because more seems to be donated when blacks suffer than when whites suffer. But MSNBC won't run any stories highlighting that angle. They will never quote a person talking about "white pride", or "white power"......those concepts are racist. Mainstream media will never talk about the institutionalized racism that gives blacks many advantages in small business contracting, college admissions, and college scholarships. They will never talk about the billions of dollars the federal government spends every year supporting minority owned businesses.

So as a white male, should I just shut my mouth and sit by while white America and the government caters to every whim of the black community? Should I join the apologetic chorus and sing "white Americans are racists" until even the likes of Ann Coulter believes it? Should I just keep giving of my time to Katrina victims all the while the black community labels "my people" racists? Should I keep giving of my money to charitable organizations while black men like musician Timbaland state: “Don’t give to no Red Cross, that’s the easy way. Not to say anything bad about the Red Cross, but who knows where that money’s going? Take your money and do your own thing.”

When will somebody with a public voice stand up and say "Enough is enough"?

Why Do Idiots Get a Voice on CNN?

We have all heard our share of idiotic statements. We hear them at work, we hear them on Jerry Springer, and we hear them coming out of Washington DC. But why does CNN feel compelled to publish every moronic comment made by Katrina storm victims?

In yet another case of disaster anguish gone wild, Verlyn Davis Jr. is bashing George Bush, and CNN is proud to put his rants on their front page. The headline reads: "We got left. They didn't care."

"The governor and the president let thousands of people die and they let them die on their roofs and they let them die in the water," said Davis, 45, apparently abdicating Mayor Nagin of all responsibility. I guess veiled racist quotes are fit for publication on CNN, as long as it's whitey getting dissed.

It must be acknowledged that Davis is proving to be quite industrious and helpful during the emergency, and has built a small shelter and helped clear roads in his area. But apparently he just can't help put the blame on the president, as a blue spray-painted sign on a front window reads: "ABOUT TIME BUSH!"

Perhaps Davis would be better served by recognizing that the President is pursuing aid in excess of $60 billion for storm victims. Perhaps Davis should consider the fact that Bush called the Louisiana governor before the storm hit, and urged a mandatory evacuation. Perhaps Davis should consider the fact that this was a 3 state disaster, it is impossible for the government to rescue 300,000 people at the same time. I'd like to think that when all is said and done, Davis will recognize his anger is mis-placed.

Where's Houston

Updated: CNN, as diligent readers of USANow :), has fixed their map.

CNN seems to be confusing Corpus Christi with Houston. Check out their latest map of Katrina shelters:

US Map

Of course, this is just an accidental snub, but you would think CNN editors have an idea of where Houston is located. This pales in comparison to the NY Times story which equates Houston businesses to ambulances chasers because they're working hard to meet the needs of Katrina victims.

I guess this is our cross to bear because we embody all that is evil in the eyes of the liberal media - the biggest city in the most populous Republican state, home to the racist George W. Bush.

The Real Voice of Black America

This afternoon on my lunch break, I was walking back to my office when a black gentleman asked me for directions to the nearest Subway. He had heard there was a Subway shop on Main, which was about 5 blocks away. I told him there was one much closer, if he wouldn't mind backtracking. He then told me he was staying in the Convention Center, and that he was from Louisiana.

We introduced ourselves, and I offered to escort him to the Subway, which was near my office. I asked him how things were going for him, and he said it's been great. "Everybody has rolled out the red carpet. I have everything I need, new clothes (he was wearing new pants, two new shirts, and a new FDNY cap), deodorant, all the food I want. I just want something different, and I have $20 so I'm looking for a Subway sandwich on French bread".

Lionel went on to tell me that he wanted to settle in Houston with his wife. He does maintenance work, and he was looking for a job. Lionel was proud of the fact that he'd raised 2 kids from his first marriage, and another child from his second marriage. At 58 years old, he was looking forward to getting back on his feet and working towards retirement. He had been renting in New Orleans, and had little reason to return.

I then asked him about New Orleans last week. He was housed at the Superdome and he said it was a nightmare. "Whatever you saw on TV, it was worse. There were rapes and murders. It was awful". I told him there were conflicting reports on the violence, and he told me that it was indeed lawless. In fact, he was initially evacuated to Arkansas, and there had been another rape at his shelter there.

As we neared the Subway, I pointed him in the direction to get back to the Convention Center. I then showed him the Subway, and he asked "Do you want something?" I was taken aback by this man's generosity, who had just lost everything but was willing to buy me a lunch. I already had my lunch, and said thanks but no thanks. We shook hands, and went on our separate ways.

My encounter with Lionel has put a human face on the suffering and the resiliency of those affected by Katrina. I'm also left to wonder why hard working, generous men like Lionel aren't the face of black America, as opposed to men like Jesse Jackson and Kanye West. I suspect the black community would gain far more insight from 1 hour with Lionel than they ever could listening to race-baiting nonsense from Jackson and West.

Welcome to Texas, Lionel.

Kanye West, King of the Fools

There have been no shortage of fools in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Irrational, incompetent, and exploitative men have taken this opportunity to point fingers, to politicize this disaster, and most disturbingly, turn Katrina into a racial affair.

USANow takes a quick look at the Katrina's Top Three Fools. Coming in at Number 3, Aaron Broussard, the president of Jefferson Parish. Said Broussard on Meet the Press this past weekend, "We have been abandoned by our own country. Bureaucracy has committed murder". Perhaps there is still no power at the Broussard household, because to-date, over 250,000 citizens have been evacuated (many on their own accord) and relocated to shelters. Recall the New Orleans disaster did not begin until Tuesday, August 30th. By Saturday, September 3rd (4 days later), hundreds of thousands were rescued, transported, fed, and clothed. Broussard calls this "abandonment"? Is he even aware of the devastation in Mississippi and Alabama? Does he understand that FEMA's initial response on Monday was directed towards those states? Can he grasp the fact that delivering emergency resources to hundreds of thousands in a third state might take a couple days?

The #2 fool is Jesse Jackson, who seems to have taken up permanent residence on such lists. Said Jackson, "It's racist to call American citizens refugees". Say what? What does race have to do with this disaster? And since when did a particular race become associated with a person's status as a refugee? This statement is further proof that Jesse Jackson is nothing more than a racial conflict waiting to happen. White America has donated hundreds of millions of dollars, and welcomed hundreds of thousands of storm victims, and Jackson the Fool wastes our time crying about racism. The day this moron exits our nation's political stage cannot come soon enough.

The #1 fool on the list, without question, is Kanye West. West participated in a telethon this past weekend to raise funds for storm victims, and departed from his script to deliver such nuggest of "wisdom".

• America is setup "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible". Gee, moron, the less well-off already receive a disproportionate share of federal resources every single day. Welfare, food stamps, and free school lunches are just a few examples of how our government helps "the poor, the black people, the less well-off" every day. To top it off, the celebrity telethon took place 6 days after Katrina.....what took so long Kanye?
  
• "George Bush doesn't care about black people". Tell that to Colin Powell and Condi Rice, who have been given far more responsibility in Bush's cabinet than any other blacks have received in previous administrations. Tell that to the thousands of blacks who will benefit from the tens of billions of dollars Bush has pledged for disaster relief.
  
• "They've given them permission to go down and shoot us". West is yet another black activist who seems to think that no black can do any wrong, and will defend any black, any time for any action. In what is little surprise coming from somebody completely void of rational thoughts, West apparently thinks it's OK for the armed thugs in New Orleans to fire at rescue workers. West apparently thinks it's acceptable for black looters to fire guns at police officers. Does the moron really believe rescue workers and police officers should not defend themselves?
  

Louisiana Looting

As many had suspected, looting has begun in New Orleans in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Check out this article, paying special attention to the last sentence. The pinhead observer states that the looting is OK because these people "have been oppressed all their lives". How in the world could he discern that these people were "oppressed"? Last I checked, all New Orleans citizens have access to free public education, they are free to hold a job, free to vote, etc. But this dimwits concludes that the fact that these people are thiefs is somebody elses fault. I think we can rest assured he's not a store owner on Canal street.


Looting Story

Back from World Youth Day

I just came back from 10 days in Europe visiting Rome and Koln, Germany for World Youth day. Now back to blogging.......

USANow has long covered the institutionalized discrimination built into the US government's contracting and procurement procedures. Today, Michelle Malkin takes the issue head on, and wonders why it's OK to profile by race when the government is handing out million dollar contracts, but it's not OK to profile by race when the government is chasing terrorists.

After considering federal minority set asides, minority scholarships, and college entrance standards which punish applicants for being white, it seems to me that the only "disadvantaged" group in the country is comprised of white males.

Black "Leadership" Fails Constituents

Take a few moments to read this story about a recent recent civil rights rally. Black politicians and entertainers labeled Bush and the entire administration "criminals", they claim the last two elections were "stolen", and black members of Bush's administration were labeled "tyrants". These aren't two-bit hack politicians we're talking about, these comments came from the likes of Jesse Jackson, Charlie Rangel, Harry Bellafonte, as well as Judge Greg Mathis. Mathis demonstrated his keen intellect when he stated of the 2000 election "I call it a crime because indeed that is exactly what it was". Wow, such impressive reasoning. Following his logic, I could state that Mathis is an ignorant, race baiting fool. I could say that because that is exactly what he is.

Why do these men continue to destroy inter-racial bridges? Why do these men continue to set up black America against white America? Why do these men continue to imply our economy is a zero-sum game, where the white man is out to steal the black man's share of the pie?

The sooner this generation of black leadership fades from our political scene, the better.

More Good Economic News

The US Department of Labor recently announced the addition of 207,000 new jobs in the month of July. Year to date, more than 1.3 million jobs have been created.

To put these figures in perspective, check out this graph and table of historical jobs growth from the Department of Labor. Clearly, recent job growth does not match the boom years of '96 through '99. But in light of recent offshoring trends, the emergence of China as a global manufacturing force, and continued struggles in the telecommunications sector, domestic employment growth is outstanding.

Still Not Sold on the US Economy?

The United States GDP grew 3.4% during the second quarter of this year. This is the 13th quarter in a row that US GDP growth exceeded 3%. How far back do you have to go to find such a streak? Surely we saw such economic expansion during the Clinton years, right? Wrong.

The last time we experienced 13 consecutive quarters in excess of 3% growth was the first quarter of 1983 through the first quarter of 1986, during the Reagan years. The stock market might not show it, but there's no denying the strong performance of the US economy over the past 3 years.

Gay Pride?

Why is the gay lifestyle being shoved in our faces as just an alternative lifestyle? And why are people mystified about the spread of HIV within the gay community?

Minority Politicians Say: "Give us the Money!"

Last week the Houston Chronicle published an editorial from Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, U.S. Representative Al Green, and the Reverand Bill Lawson. The message? We suspect Houston Metro won't give a fair share of contracts to minority owned businesses, so they better get their act together and make sure they dole out enough dollars our way.

The editorial stated: "We are concerned that recent actions by Metro signal a retreat from allowing minority businesses equality of opportunity....it is imperative that everyone, especially those that have traditionally been excluded from economic benefits, be included."

The authors fail to provide any description of these "recent actions". Apparently in today's political correct environment, all it takes is for a black or Hispanic to state "we suspect you guys want to discriminate against us, so you better funnel money our way", and Wham!, your opinion is published in the nation's 8th biggest newspaper.

The editorial simply states that minorities are "traditionally excluded" from opportunities, ignoring the fact that billions of dollars flow to minority owned businesses every year, simply because they are....minority owned. Perhaps the authors haven't heard of minority business set-asides. Perhaps they've missed the fact that a federal agency exists called the Minority Business Development Agency, whose sole purpose is to ensure dollars flow to minority owned businesses. There can be no denying that in today's world, minorities have a great advantage with respect to education and federal contracting, yet the authors have the nerve to state that minorities are excluded.

More importantly, have these activists ever heard of free markets? Do they honestly believe they need to preemptively cry victim in Houston's newspapers, and help their consituents win contracts just because of the color of their skin? We don't need a scolding from minority politicians to perpetuate institutionalized racism, we need to develop competitive businesses that earn public and private sector dollars based on performance, not pigment.

If these facts aren't concerning enough, consider the following:

Metro is designed to serve the inner city (presumably minority) populace with low cost transportation. So Metro's entire charter is geared towards serving minorities.

The proportion of black employees with Metro far exceeds the proportion of blacks in Metro's jurisdiction, so Metro is in fact going overboard to serve the minority community.

Metro recently announced that one of the new light rail lines will serve the Houston Gallery area. Even though the Gallery is a major resident and tourist destination, this has angered minority politicians because this rail line doesn't do enough to serve the minority community. Apparently, Metro must serve minorities at the exclusion of whites in order for these politicians to be happy.

Of course, maybe I have this all wrong. Hispanics are now the majority race in Houston Metro's market. Perhaps Sylvia Garcia is really concerned about Metro money flowing to black and white owned businesses. And if you believe that...

Forget Math & Science, How do I Become a Martyr?

I previously discussed the Islamic indoctrination received by the 7/7 London terrorists. In spite of half-wit media hacks who are putting a laser-like focus on the fact that the murderers were born in Britain, it is clear that Islamic indoctrination is what led them to murder.

In Pakistan today, there are waiting lists for the most extreme "schools", which have long abandoned mathematics and science in favor of a 24X7 Islamic brain washing curriculum. Education includes audio tapes by radical Imams, memorization of all 74,000+ words of the Koran, and weapons training. For more insight into what is being taught in Pakistani schools, read this from UK's Times Online.

As the article points out, less than 2% of Pakistan's GDP is directed towards education. Perhaps Pervez Musharraf should wake up to the fact that families need legitimate alternatives to these brain washing camps.

What a Coincidence!

Here is an excerpt about Habib Hussain, one of the London terrorists, from the Daily Mail: "According to one neighbour, Hussain "went off the rails" as a young teenager but became a reformed character when he "suddenly became devoutly religious" two years ago."

Here is some background about Shehzad Tanweer, one of the London terrorists, also from the Daily Mail. According to Shehzad's uncle, Bashir Ahmed, his nephew went to Pakistan for two months earlier this year to study religion.

What a coincidence, two of the London murderers recently became more devout in their religion. What religion could possibly lead devout adherents to commit mass murder? Truly one of the world's great mysteries....

Say What? America Can't Win this War?

It's always interesting to read the results of CNN polls to gauge just how left of center the casual CNN reader sits. During the 2004 election cycle, CNN polls consistently showed John Kerry with a substantial lead over George Bush. When various political topics are presented, the results always portray a left-of-center bias. Consequently, every CNN poll must be viewed with this understanding, and with a recognition that poll results are best viewed with a liberal lens.

But even with the benefit of this knowledge, today's poll results are shocking, disappointing, and frightening all in one. The poll asks the simple question: "Can the war on terrorism be won?" Amazingly, only 43% believe that this war can be won. I always knew that the left of center crowd was soft on crime, weak on defense, and slow to take up arms in defense of our country. They would prefer to verbally attack America than physically protect America. But today we learn that they are a defeatist bunch as well. Consider this: Would any previous American generation state that a war is "unwinnable"? Would any previous American generation, be they Democrat or Republican, state that America is unable to defeat an enemy? I can only imagine the contempt that Patton and Eisenhower would have for the spineless CNN voters who admitted defeat in the midst of this war.

May God help us all. If the average CNN reader (nearly 20,000 voters so far) sincerely believes that this war cannot be won, than we as a nation will be fighting the war with one hand tied behind our back. Liberals and Conservatives must unite in this cause, for the future of our nation is at stake.

To see the latest, check it out here..

Random Thoughts

Does anybody remember a recent presidential candidate so crass as Hillary Clinton? Perhaps my memory is fading, but I don't remember any Republican politicians comparing Bill Clinton to a moronic cartoon character while he was in office, as did Hillary this week.

The mainstream media is doing their best to put Islam's best foot forward in the wake of the London bombings. But if you read a few paragraphs into a typical article, you come across quotes like this (from a July 11 Chicago Tribune article):

"When [Prime Minister] Tony Blair talked about Islam and then Islamist terrorists, who is he talking about?" asked Ahmed Salim, 26. "Osama bin Laden is not representative of Islam. . . . The way [Blair] spoke, it was ridiculous."

Gee, Ahmed, I can't believe Tony Blair had the nerve to speak out against Muslim extremists after they butchered 50 of his fellow citizens. The nerve! Another Londoner stated "It's gruesome, it's awful, it's against whatever mainstream Muslims think," said Omar Chikhi, 36, who emigrated from Algeria 18 years ago. "Are we scared of some kind of backlash? I don't think so. I don't think people are scared--and I don't think it [a backlash against Muslims] would be tolerated." Omar is right on - the west will continue to fight this fight with one arm tied behind our backs and the PC police watching our every move.

Despite the efforts of the media and the PC Police to caste Islam in a positive light, Muslim clerics continue to perpetuate the myth that Muslims had nothing to do with September 11. Melbourne Imam, Sheikh Mohammed Omran, stated on Australian TV this week that Osama Bin Laden had been unfairly blamed for terrorist activity. "I dispute any evil action linked to Bin Laden, again I don't believe that even September 11 from the beginning, I [don't] believe it [was] done by any Muslim at all," he said. The murderous ways of radical Muslims will never change until clerics like Omran step back into reality, and work towards cultural change within Islam. As we all learned in Psych 101, the first step in making a positive change is recognizing the problem.

Which Islamic Group Did It?

This morning, 30+ civilians in London were murdered on their way to work, the result of four separate bombings. Who could have done such a thing? In a big surprise, it turns out that some Islamic Jihadist Murderous Lunatic group is claiming responsibility.

In future terrorist attacks of innocent civilians, the question will not be "Who did this?". The question will be, "Which lunatic Islamic group did this?".

If blood thirsty Muslims continue their jihad against civilization, it would seem the G8 leaders should clamp down hard. Our enemy has no borders, no national flag, but they have a common religion. We certainly cannot conduct a witch hunt for every Muslim in the free world, but we can restrict their ability to gather, and we can stop all immigration of Muslims into the civilized world. Here are some suggestions:

• Seize all property of every Islamic mosque and "charity"
  
• Freeze all financial assets of every Islamic entity
  
• Remove the tax exemption status of all Islamic organizations
  
• Deny visas to all Muslims. This might be difficult in practice, but perhaps some sort of personal testimony denying the authenticity of Islam could be required. The question then becomes whether or not would-be murderers would deny their faith to get the chance to kill civilians.

Once these measures were taken, one would hope that the long-overdue call for peaceful Muslims to rise up against their terrorist brethren would be heard. The Islamic war vs. civilization will never end until jihadists are scorned, arrested, or perhaps even killed by fellow Muslims.

More Reasons to Buy American

Check out the latest 3 year quality ratings from JD Power. Automobiles were divided into 19 categories, and the highest quality model in each category was identified. Of note, General Motors vehicles came in at the top spot in 8 of the 19 categories, far more than any other manufacturer. Ford garnered 4 of the top spots.

All Japanese manufacturers combined for only 6 of the top vehicles. Still think Japanese quality exceeds that of the United States?

Story here.

Where do Suicide Bombers Come From?

A few years ago, when radical jihadists began blowing themselves up on Israeli buses, I thought the trend would be short lived. After all, who hates others so much that they're willing to die, just to kill others? How many murderous fanatics can there be who place such a small value on their own life?

Unfortunately, it seems the Muslim world has a bountiful supply of suicidal, homicidal maniacs. In a story published out of Scotland today, it seems that one of the recent hellbound murderers came from France, by way of Great Brittain! Here is the story.

How to Love Your Country, by MoveOn.Org

Check out this latest publication from MoveOn.org, titled "50 Ways to Love Your Country". I'm not really inclined to support MoveOn.org, so I won't be purchasing this book. Besides, we could all probably guess 5 or 10 of MoveOn's top 50, couldn't we? Here's my take on what made MoveOn's list of how to "love your country":

• Tax the wealthy out of existence.
  
• Provide government funded abortions for everyone, and ensure parents of minors are never informed of their children's efforts to seek abortion.
  
• Shut down America's military industrial machine and rely on the U.N. to protect our borders.
  
• Cap profits on all US corporations. Any profits in excess of the cap to be redirected towards international debt relief.
  
• Mandate racial and gender based hiring quotas for all businesses.
  
• Melt down all US coin currency, and re-issue coins without "In God we Trust".
  
• Remove tax exempt status from Christian organizations. Use new revenue to compensate prisoners "tortured" at Gitmo.
  
• Roll out a one time tax on white men of 25% of net worth. Proceeds to be used for reparations, minority scholarships, and federal meals on wheels programs for immigrants crossing our boarders illegally.

These are only 8 agenda items I suspect are in this great new publication from MoveOn.org. I can only imagine the other 42 items on their list.

Gitmo "Too Tough" on Would-be Murderers

Check out this story from CNN about the treatment of a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It seems that the US military is accused by Congressmen (Hagel and Feinstein) of using excessive force in their attempts to gain information from detainee Mohammed al-Qahtani.

The horrors included making Mr. al-Qahtani urinate in his pants, late night interrogation sessions, and awakening him with dripping water if he fell asleep. In fact, the staff at Gitmo went so far as to awaken Mr. al-Qahtani with Christina Aguilera music. Oh, the horror! No wonder the Muslim world hates Americans!

By the way, it is widely believe that Mohammed al-Qahtani was to be the fifth hijacker on Flight 93 which crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. According to the Pentagon, al-Qahtani told interrogators that he "had been sent to the U.S. by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the lead architect of the 9/11 attack; that he had met Osama bin Laden on several occasions; that he had received terrorist training at two al Qaeda camps; that he had been in contact with many senior al Qaeda leaders."

So putting all the pieces together, let's summarize: The United States has an admitted terrorist in custody, a man who has been dedicating his life to learning how to murder Americans, and attempted to enter the United States to participate in the September 11 attacks. In order to gather information from this man, we've humiliated him and made him listen to Christina Aguilera. Am I the only one who thinks that our interrogation techniques do not even approach "excessive"?

Jihadists in America

Check out this story from WorldNet Daily about the Islamic Thinkers Society (ITS). The blood-thirsty members of ITS recently produced a video of would-be assassins stomping on the American flag, and calling on all Muslims to join the fight against all other religions in order to achieve Islamic world dominance. If the video were shot in Tehran, this wouldn't be news. But the ITS operates out of New York City, where the video was shot.

These members of the "religion of peace" are quite outspoken about their hatred for America, and acknowledge that they do not recognize any American authority including the president, congress, etc. These "thinkers" equate mixed-gender prayer with eternal damnation. They live in the United States, and use the freedoms granted by our Constitution to advocate the overthrow of our government.

My question: Why aren't these scumbag anarchists locked up somewhere? If they do not recognize any American authority, then they should not be granted the rights contained in our Constitution. Secondly, why do liberal political organizations, such as the ACLU and the Democratic National Convention, persistently work towards weakening the Patriot Act? The fact is that we have enemies living on our soil. The fact is that these murderous vermin are devoting their lives towards toppling America as we know it, and killing Americans in the process. Isn't now the time to strengthen the Patriot Act? Isn't now the time to give our intelligence and law enforcement agencies the ammunition they need to lock these scumbags up for life? I'll gladly make a small sacrifice of my personal freedoms if that is what it takes to defeat the jihadists living on our soil.

Why is this Not a Surprise?

John Kerry finally released his academic record from Yale University, and the record shows that is academic performance is very similar to that of President Bush.

Of course, the Kerry campaign made every effort to portray their man as the intellectual compared to the bumbling Bush. The DNC relied on innuendo and media reporting to build up Kerry's intellectual image. After all - aren't all neoliberal proponents of infanticide far superior to right wing Christian neocons? But once again, another supposed pillar of the Kerry candidacy has been revealed to be a facade. For those of you keeping score at home, that's a 2.0.

Once Again, Amnesty International Playing Politics

I wrote an article last May in USANow about Amnesty International's annual report. I chronicled the background of Secretary General Irene Khan, who is the first woman and the first Muslim to head up Amnesty International. She has been quoted as comparing modern day Muslim aggression to the Crusades, but at the same time stated that there is no need for a War on Terror. Under Khan's direction, Amnesty International was harsh in their judgement of the USA last year, and this year is no different.

States the report: "When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity." Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay are again cited as examples of human rights abuses. Granted, abuses took place at Abu Ghraib, but has there been any evidence that those abuses exemplify US policy? And other than faulty reporting from Newsweek, have there been reports of abuses at Guantanamo Bay?

During the past year, the world has witnessed be-headings and car bombings in Iraq perpetrated by Islamic militants, child molestation by UN officials in the Congo, and ongoing genocide in the Sudan (perpetrated by Islamic militants). If Islamic militants in Iraq and Sudan followed the US human rights example (as suggested by Kahn), millions of civilians would still be alive today (it is estimated that 2 million people in southern Sudan have been murdered at the hands of Muslims from northern Sudan). Yet Ms. Khan states that it is the example of the United States which causes others to commit abuses! How am I not surprised? Because we had a couple of rogue guards force prisoners to get naked, Ms. Khan excuses Islamic militants of torture and murder. Do you think she's perhaps just a little biased by her religion?

Given her political and religious background, as well as her history writing these annual reports, I suggest she go ahead and write the next 20 years worth of reports today. She could start every report like this: "The USA is guilty of human rights abuses. The ten-fold murderous response by the Muslim community is justified because of the United States' example."

HISD and Abe Saavedra Success Story

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) made news last year in their efforts to find a new Superintendant. The search became a racial issue when the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) stated the new Super "must be Hispanic". After creating a short list of candidates who were being pushed out of their current jobs, HISD select Abe Saavedra, who himself left Corpus Christi amid a wave of controversy.

I was critical of LULAC's insistence on an Hispanic superintendant. Their logic, ironically enough, was that HISD is a majority Hispanic so the leadership must be Hispanic. Funny how they don't see things this way when Hispanics are the minority). I was also critical of HISD's approach to the hiring, as it was done in a manner that basically ensured Saavedra would get the job.

Fast forward to this year, and it's worth reporting on a major HISD success story. Last fall, Saavedra, along with 500 other volunteers, personally visited dropouts of 8 HISD high schools in what Saavedra calls a "dropout walk". The dropouts were not only asked to come back, but they were asked how the district could help them get back in school. In one instance, as reported by the Houston Chronicle today, the district helped a young mother find a job and arrange health care for her children. She was one of 291 kids who returned to high school as a result of HISD's personal appeal. This weekend, she is graduating from Furr High School along with 47 other students who had previously dropped out.

Congratulations to Saavedra and to HISD for a job very well done. The program will be expanded next year to include dropouts from 16 HISD high schools.

American Automobile Quality

The 2005 JD Power Inital Quality Study was released this week. This report measures the total number of reported problems per 100 vehicles sold.

Once again, Lexus achieved the industry's highest marks, with 81 problems reported per 100 vehicles. What's more notable, however, is that Buick and Cadillac once again made the top 5 list of manufacturers with 100 and 104 problems per 100, respectively. Buick and Cadillac received higher quality marks than Toyota, Infiniti, Nissan, Mercedes, Acura and Honda. Overall, 5 American brands achieved better-than-average quality ratings, as did 5 Japanese, 4 European, and 1 Korean. In addition to Buick and Cadillac, Hummer, GMC, and Lincoln came in better than the industry average.

With respect to individual models, American vehicles came out on top in 7 of the 18 automobile categories, including all three pickup categories, entry midsize sedan, premium midsize sedan, and large sedan.

Perhaps this report will help dispel the notion that American cars do not match the quality of Asian or European competitors.

As an aside, both of my vehicles (Chevrolet Suburban and Lexus IS 300) came out #1. To date, the Suburban has proven to be the more reliable and better made vehicle.

Why Immigration is Good for America

In reviewing my blog I've noticed that the three most recent posts seem to cast a negative light on immigration into the United States, especially with respect to Hispanic immigration. Let me clear the air: Legal immigration is GREAT for the United States of America. It is only illegal immigration that serves to hinder our economy and undermine our national security.

As our economy becomes more global, it is essential that our industries remain competitive worldwide. This requires a labor pool far greater than than is available in this country. If the United States is to remain an economic super power, clearly we must continue to attract immigrants from all socio-economic backgrounds. We need computer programmers, doctors, and manual laborers. We need professors, athletes, youth ministers, and entrepreneurs. I'm fortunate to know Hispanics who work in each one of these fields, and they are part of what makes America great. Likewise, I know professionals from Lithuania, Pakistan, India, Kuwait, China, Viet Nam and Russia. Each one of them is an important cog in the American economy.

Getting back to Hispanic immigration, specifically, there are several other points to be made as to why their presence is a good thing for America. Most importantly, the Hispanic culture tends to place a high value on the family. Based on U.S. Census Bureau data, 21% of white men over 15 have been divorced at least once. Within the Hispanic community, this figure is only 13%. Secondly, there can be no doubting the work ethic of Hispanic immigrants. While I don't subscribe to the "they'll take jobs others won't" theory, I do believe Hispanics work harder and for longer hours than do non-Hispanics. Part of this is driven by the first point - that is the importance of providing for one's family is a key motivator in working long hours in tough conditions. Finally, Hispanics bring a strong Christian influence to our nation.

To summarize, when Hispanics come to this country, they bring with them strong family bonds, hard work, and their Christian faith - three ingredients always welcome in the American melting pot.

Mexican President Slams U.S. Immigration Policy

It what should come as no surprise, President Vicente Fox of Mexico complained bitterly about new U.S. immigration laws yesterday.

Said Fox: "We will present a firm and formal complaint against this policy. We will always defend our countrymen and their human rights." Since when does denying an illegal immigrant a drivers license constitute a violation of their human rights? And does anyone else see the irony in calling illegal immigrants "countrymen"? Wake up Vicente, these people are leaving Mexico like bats out of hell - I don't think the word "countrymen" applies.

Said Mexican Interior Minister Santiago Creel, "Building barriers is not the sign of a good neighbor." Excuse me? We educate your "countrymen", we provide them free healthcare, their children automatically jump to the head of the class for college admissions. On the other hand, our children go to Mexico to play soccer and are greeted with chants of "Osama" and flag burnings. And this guy has the gall to claim we're not good neighbors? Who would he prefer - Syria? Sudan? Russia?

The fundamental problem is that the Fox government is unable to provide basic economic opportunities to their "countrymen". After all, who in their right mind would leave their family, illegally enter another country, cross a desert, only to take a job making minimum wage? Clearly, the general Mexican population is desperate for economic opportunities, and the nation as a whole is desperate for foreign sources of income. In fact, cash receipts from Mexicans working in the United States are Mexico's second greatest source of foreign income, after oil exports. Mexico's immigration rhetoric is a desperate attempt to mask the ineptitude of the government, and ensure Mexican workers in the U.S. keep sending $16 billion annually back to Mexico.

Finally - No Drivers Licenses for Illegals

This week Congress has passed legislation which requires states to prove applicants are in the country legally prior to issuing a driver's license. Although this legislation is long overdue, immigrants rights advocates are in an uproar.

Says Michelle Waslin of the National Council of La Rasa: "This is clearly an anti-immigrant bill that’s going to have a very harmful impact on the Latino community and all immigrant communities. It doesn’t make us one iota safer. Not a single immigrant is going to be returned to his or her home country if they’re denied a driver’s license." Apparently Ms. Waslin believes that the only litmus test of any immigration legislation is whether or not our nation will be safer. How about simply honoring our borders, Ms. Waslin? Does she really believe that, unless we roll out the red carpet to illegal immigrants, that we're being "harmful" to the "Latino Community". The only Latino communities which may be harmed are those comprised of illegal aliens. Most Latinos will never feel the impact of this legislation. As for the Latinos who don't honor our borders, I suspect they will be able to get drivers licenses in their home countries.

Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights states "America is a country of paradoxes: We are a country of immigrants, yet we attack immigrants". Gee, Wade, denying an illegal immigrant a driver's license is "attacking" them? How ironic, for it seems to me that the 10,000,000 illegal immigrants who get a free education, free healthcare, yet pay no taxes in our country, are the ones doing the attacking.

Other critics have stated that there will be fewer drivers with insurance since there will be fewer licensed drivers. Say what? First of all, it's doubtful that a person who fails to honor our immigration laws will honor our auto insurance regulations. Secondly, the entire purpose of the bill is to discourage illegal entry into our country. If life is made more difficult for illegal aliens, fewer will come. It's quite simple. Fewer illegal immigrants + no driver's licenses for illegals = fewer uninsured illegals driving.

Let's hope this is but the first step in securing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws.

United States Socializing Medicine for Illegal Aliens

In what might be the most ill-conceived government program of all time, federal dollars will be used to pay the health care costs of illegal immigrants.

Liberal lunacy in regards to socializing medicine in the United States is difficult to comprehend, but socializing medicine only for foreigners who have crossed our borders illegally is completely assinine. We can't take care of our own homeless, handicapped, and unemployed....yet we're giving Mexicans free health care? Unemployed US citizens are passed on to collection agencies and their credit ratings are destroyed when they face a medical crisis, but Guatemalans get a free ride?

I can hear the conversation in Chihuahua, Mexico right now:
Juan: "I've got liver problems, and my kidneys are failing".
Jose: "What will you do".
Juan: "I'm saving up to visit a specialist in Mexico City".
Jose: "Forget that - sneak into the United States, and you'll get FREE health care!"
Juan: "What? How could I get free health care in another country?"
Jose: "I don't know - but the US Government set aside over 1 billion dollars just to pay for the medical expenses of people who sneak into their country."
Juan: "Nice knowing you Jose, I'm headed to San Antonio!"

To be clear, I do not advocate turning away emergency patients who happen to be illegal immigrants. But this crisis is threatening to bankrupt many of our nation's hospitals. The state of California alone provides $500 million per year in health care for illegal immigrants! Federal funding is not the answer. We must collect for services, and/or send illegals home for health care. Here are three options which make far more sense:

• Provide full services, then bill the home countries of those receiving medical care in the way of tariffs. Adjust the tariff each year based on total medical care expenses provided to citizens of that country. This option is compassionate, fiscally responsible, and would put an end to the travel brochures put together by foreign governments which teach citizens how to sneak into the U.S.

• Report undocumented workers to the INS upon hospital admission, and send the bill home with patients upon discharge. It is well known that the INS can handle only so many cases per year, so make it clear that undocumented workers who do not make minimum payments towards their medical bills go to the top of the list. Illegal aliens send billions of dollars back to Mexico and Central America annually, it is time they used their earnings on services consumed in the United States.

• Provide only the minimum level of services, and then use the $1 billion to transport the patients to the nearest hospital in their country of origin. Granted, this is the least compassionate of these alternatives, but free basic care and a free ticket home is far more than a US citizen could expect to receive (either at home or abroad).

Pro Life? Support the ACLJ Today!

The American Center for Law and Justice works in the courts and the legislative arena protecting religious and constitutional freedoms. The ACLJ focuses on issues related to national security, protecting human life, and protecting the American family.

The ACLJ achieved a major Supreme Court victory against the pro-abortion forces in our country two years ago. The court voted 8 - 1 that Federal RICO statutes (originally designed to combat organized crime) could not be used to stop peaceful pro-life protests. But the pro-abortion lobbyists are back on the attack, and a lower federal appeals court has re-opened the case despite the previous ruling of the US Supreme Court.

This fight is another in a long line of legal battles being waged by the ACLJ against the likes of the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and NOW. Promoting a Culture of Life in the United States requires prayer, hard work, and dollars. Join the fray by making a donation to the ACLJ today. Thank you.

Bush the Bridge Builder

One of the favorite talking points of Bush Administration critics is that the man is alienating the rest of the world, and creating enemies of the United States.

Although this point has been made before on USANow and by many others, Bush has achieved a major foreign policy victory through the bridge he has built with Pakistan, and their president Pervez Musharraf. Despite the fact that Pakistan is a Muslim nation, despite the fact that Pakistan is an enemy of our ally India, and despite the fact that large sections of the country are populated by violently anti-American citizenry, Pakistan has been perhaps our best ally in our fight against al Qaeda.

In yet another policy victory, it has been reported today that our two nations have collaborated in the capture of Abu Faraj Farj al Liby, Al Qaeda's #3 man (if a cave dwelling mass murderer can be called such a thing). al Liby reportedly was involved in the two recent assassination attempts against Musharraf, and was involved in planning attacks against the US homeland.

I'm not only proud of American and Pakistani forces for their continued efforts in tracking down al Qaeda members, I'm grateful for the political sacrifices made by Bush and Musharraf in fighting the war on terror.

Neoliberal Hatred, Maureen Dowd Style

Can anybody tell me why Maureen Dowd is employed by the New York Times? As an opinion writer, her columns are supposed to be thought provoking. As such, it is to be expected that her political agenda will bleed through into her columns, and many on the other side of the fence will be irritated, if not offended, by her opinions.

Unfortunately, Dowd consistently reveals herself to be a hate mongering dimwit, well equipped at tapping random thoughts of hatred towards all things conservative, but totally inept at developing a rational thesis. Dowd has done little more than reveal herself to the world as being neoliberal dimentia incarnate.

It should come as no surprise that she hates Dick Cheney. But I was surprised to read about her hatred for Pope Benedict XVI in her recent column. This is Dowd's take on the Papal Conclave:

"The éminence grise who had long whispered in the ear of power and who had helped oversee the selection process ended up selecting himself. In Cheneyesque fashion, he searched far and wide for a pope by looking around the room and swiftly deciding he was the best man for the job."

Dowd clearly understands that Cardinals elect the new pope during the conclave. She understands there was no campaigning leading up to the conclave. And undoubtedly, she has read the accounts of Cardinal Ratzinger's preference to live out his final years in peace and quiet in Germany, rather than take on the role of leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics. So why would a woman make these fanatical accusations against the pope when she knows perfectly well that the words she speaks are false? What does she have to gain by labeling the pope as a power hungry cheat? Welcome to the world of neoliberalism, where you're duty bound to hate all things conservative, and if necessary, fabricate stories about your adversaries in order to recruit others into your circle of hatred.

Dowd goes on to state: "the new pope is a Jurassic archconservative who disdains the "if it feels good do it" culture and the revolutionary trends toward diversity and cultural openness since the 60's." Only an imbecile like Dowd could feign surprise that the pope doesn't subscribe to the "if it feels good do it" club. Does she really expect the pope to subscribe to her dope smoking, gender bending, wife swapping, abortion as contraception culture? Furthermore, how can a man who shepherds 1.1 billion members of all racial and social backgrounds, not appreciate diversity?

I'll be the first to admit that it is a Herculean task to defend the neoliberal platform. Acting shocked that Pope Benedict doesn't preach "if it feels good do it" requires some serious talent. Claiming Cardinal Ratzinger stole the papal conclave election requires some serious credibility. Unfortunately, neither talent nor credibility are Dowd's strong suits. If Dowd is the best the New York Times has to offer in this regard, I can rest easy knowing the effluent that is radical liberalism is headed downwards into history's septic tank of flawed idealologies.

Liberal Rants from The Nation

I've been quite busy at work and home, so blog postings have been few and far between. There's probably 3 or 4 new items in the pending status that aren't yet worthy of posting because I haven't had the time to add the finishing touches. But as I've learned over the past couple of years in blogosphere, if you ever want some great neoliberal seed material wrapped up in a veneer of half-witted logic, head on over to The Nation. Here's what I found this evening.

• Says Katrina vanden Heuvel: "The nation is in the control of extremists who want to merge church and state. A line is crossed when religion demonizes politicians of certain religion--or no religion--and when the church-state separation is breached by people believing that their God is better than another God." Newsflash Katrina: Nobody on the right wants to merge church and state, we just want to protect our Judeo-Christian values from the likes of you. PS - your "extremist" adversaries recognize but one God. Few Christians have ever said "my God is better than your God", as that statement in itself is blasphemy. But then again, you've probably spent the better part of your adult life writing about the evils of the Ten Commandments in America's courtrooms, so I shouldn't expect you to understand.

• Says David Corn, "As House Republicans gleefully passed legislation to repeal the estate tax permanently, 42 Democrats--about one-fifth of the party's caucus in the House--went along for the limo ride. It's true that 160 Democrats did vote against this unjustifiable tax break for the wealthiest of Americans." David, are you aware that Americans are taxed annually on their incomes? And they're taxed daily on their purchases? Did you know dividends are already taxed twice (once at the corporate level and again at the dividend recipient level)? So why should the estate of American's be sliced up and handed out to other Americans? Where is the incentive to build wealth? When an American with a multi-million dollar estate has already paid millions of taxes over the years, why do you feel it's justified to tax his heirs yet again?

• Max Blumenthal, is outraged by "Justice Sunday", a gathering of Christian and political leaders bringing attention to Democratic antics related to keeping right wing Christians out of the judiciary. William Donahoe, head of the Catholic league, spoke about discrimination against Catholics among Democrat senators, saying "There is de facto discrimination. They've set the bar so high with the abortion issue, we can't get any real Catholics over it." Realizing he cannot counter Donahoe's claims, Blumenthal tries to undermine the coalition of Christian speakers by pointing out theological differences among Christian speakers. Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, shared the stage with Donahoe. Said Mohler in 2000 "As an evangelical, I believe that the Roman Catholic Church is a false church. It teaches a false gospel. And the Pope himself holds a false and unbiblical office." Blumenthal is mystified that Donahoe and Mohler now find common ground on the pro-life front. Wake up, Max. Despite differences in beliefs, Baptists and Catholics alike recognize abortion as intrinsically evil, and no theological difference will ever change that fact.

Habemus Papam!!

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is the Catholic Church's 265th pontiff, and has taken the name Benedict XVI. I'm headed to Cologne, Germany this August for World Youth Day. Given Pope Benedict's German heritage, interest in World Youth Day 2005 has just cranked up a couple notches. Let's hope Pope Benedict will be the catalyst for a return to Christian roots among Western Europeans.

Did the Pope Worship Mary?

In light of the Pope John Paul II's intense devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as well as his Last Will and Testament, and in light of the "M" engraved on his coffin, it might seem as if JP II worshipped the mother of Christ.

Consider the fact that this man likely prayed over a hundred thousand Hail Mary's during the course of his life. Furthermore, his motto was "Totus Tuus ego sum", which is Latin for "I am totally yours" in reference to a total devotion to Mary. In his will, the pope stated:

"I desire to follow Him, and I desire that everything making up part of my earthly life should prepare me for this moment. I do not know when the moment will come, but like everything else, I place it too in the hands of the Mother of my Master: Totus Tuus. In the same maternal hands I leave everything and everyone with whom my life and vocation have linked me. In these Hands I leave, above all, the Church, as well as my Nation and all humanity."

Wow! Can we conclude that the pope worshipped Mary? He actually put the future of the Catholic Church, and all humanity, in the hands of the Blessed Virgin!?! On the surface, this comes across as blasphemy, and a direct sin against the first commandment.

Of course, a comprehensive discussion of Catholic theology is beyond the scope of this post. But let me do my best to summarize Catholic beliefs as follows:

Catholics believe our Blessed Mother is in heaven with God, and with his son Jesus. I assume all Christians would agree.

It is not inconsistent to tell our spouses that "I am totally yours". Being devoted to and totally trusting of a person is not mutually exclusive with having a total devotion to God. I assume all Christians would agree.

Souls in heaven continue to worship our Lord in heaven. I assume all Christians would agree.

Mary, as the Mother of Christ, has a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ than any other person who has ever lived. I assume all Christians would agree.

It is beneficial to solicit the prayers of others in our times of need. Clearly, Christ is the only intermediary between God and man, but the prayers of other men/women are heard by God. I assume all Christians would agree.

Souls in heaven can and do assist us by praying for us in heaven. I assume non-Catholics would disagree.

If we are to turn to any soul in heaven to serve as our advocate, Mary is clearly the best choice given her relationship with Jesus. I assume all Christians would agree.

We can conclude that, if you believe that souls in heaven hear our prayers and in turn pray for us, it is most beneficial to solicit the prayers of the Mother of God the Son. It is also safe to conclude that devotion does not constitute worship. In summary, the only aspect of John Paul II's devotion to Mary inconsistent with most Protestant beliefs is the idea that souls in heaven can/do pray on our behalf.

To further make the point that JP II was devoted to Mary (as opposed to worshipped Mary), let's take a quick look at another revealing quote from his Last Will and Testament, which serves to clarify his relationship with God, and the Blessed Virgin Mother:

"Once again, I wish to entrust myself totally to the Lord's grace. He Himself will decide when and how I must end my earthly life and pastoral ministry. In life and in death, Totus Tuus in Mary Immaculate."

In other words, even though he was devoted to Mary and consistently asked for her intercessory prayers, he recognized his total dependence on God's grace, and his total reliance on Christ as our redeemer.

Biggest Gathering Ever @ St. Peter's Square

The funeral for Pope John Paul II is drawing larger crowds than even the Vatican predicted. In addition to an expected crowd of 2 million faithful, the funeral will be attended by dozens of world leaders. Reuters is reporting that four kings, five queens, at least 70 presidents and prime ministers are expected to be in attendance, as are at least 14 leaders of other religions.

I'm amazed, and greatly appreciative of the worldwide support for Pope John Paul II. Hopefully all Christians gain strength and inspiration by the sheer number of faithful pilgrims paying their last respects in Rome this week. More importantly, I pray that the continuing coverage will serve to evangelize Christians worldwide who may longer be active in their faith.

Sweeping Changes with New Pope?

The media coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II has been amazing, and as a Catholic I greatly appreciate the time and energy devoted towards covering the proceedings in Rome. As an aside, I hope that after a week of this type of coverage, combined with the previous coverage of Terry Schiavo, Protestants don't rise up en masse and scream Enough!.

The outpouring of support from political leaders, religious leaders, and every day citizens all over the world provide a vivid reminder of the influence of JP II. He was a man who worked tirelessly to promote the Word of God, the sanctity of every human life, and mankind's inalienable rights of religious freedom. He was a man who connected with the world's youth as well as Church conservatives. And most importantly, he promoted the teachings of Catholicism in a clear and uncompromising manner.

Today, many in the world's media are speculating on the theology of the next pontiff. MSNBC, for example, stated the following in an article published today:

"John Paul opposed divorce, birth control and abortion, the ordination of women and the lifting of the celibacy requirement for priests, issues that sharply divided the church."

This statement must be clarified: No pope will ever change the Catholic Church's position regarding divorce. Marriage within the Church as viewed as a Sacramental union blessed by God, which no man can break. The current process of investigating civil divorces to determine whether a Sacramental marriage existed will remain in place until Christ comes again. Likewise, no pope will ever change the Catholic Church's position regarding birth control. The conjugal act must be unitive, and procreative. Putting any artificial barriers in place to block the procreative nature of intercourse is to deny the will of God. It should go without saying that the church will never, ever, no way, no how even consider changing her position regarding abortion. All life is a gift from God, and cannot be destroyed.

On the other hand, the Catholic Church could indeed ordain women and lift the celibacy requirement for priests. Although some may doubt the Scriptural support for a celibate priesthood, it should be noted that the Church began promoting priestly celibacy before the Council of Nicea (325 AD). Similarly, the Church has excluded women from the priesthood for all 2,000 years of her existence. Changing Canon Law, and reversing hundreds of years of tradition, are no small matters.

To conclude, don't expect the new Bishop of Rome to make sweeping changes in an effort to comply with what may be perceived as modern day values. Most of the Church's moral teaching is non-negotiable, and much of the Church's Canon Law is steeped in such tradition that major change is highly unlikely.

Hyde-Weldon Conscience Protection Amendment

Ever heard of it? Neither have I, until today.

I received a letter from the American Center for Law and Justice, which is an organization dedicated to protecting our religous and constitutional freedoms. On a typical day, the ACLJ is busy fighting the lunatic agenda of the ACLU.

The Hyde-Weldon Amendment, which passed congress and was signed by President Bush last year, protects medical professionals and facilities who refuse to participate in abortion from discrimination and punishment. For example, hospitals which receive federal funding can refuse to participate in infanticide. Not surprisingly, the pro-abortion crowd has issued challenges to the amendment. Apparently, the radical left believes that pro-life medical professionals are constitutionally required to participate in the abortion industry if they receive federal funding.

Help ensure the religious freedom of America's medical professionals - contact your senator and congressman and let them know you support the Hyde-Weldon Amendment.

RIP, JP II

May the soul of our Holy Father, John Paul II, rest in the peace of the Lord. And may the Holy Spirit guide the College of Cardinals in their work electing the next Bishop of Rome.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.