The "Redesigned" American Flag, Welcome to Obamamania

H/T Michelle Malkin. US Flag Code: “The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.” Unless, of course, you happen to be The One.

Operation Wetback - We did it Before, We can do it Again!

One of my main frustrations and disappointments with President Bush and several other Republican leaders has been his failure to secure our borders and his opening arms/amnesty attitude toward the growing number of illegal aliens present in the United States. Not only do I feel it poses a security risk to the country, but it also burdening us at a time when jobs are in short supply. And let's not even go into the burden it has placed on the healthcare system, especially in states like California. I didn't know the following until I got an e-mail today. Evidently, this is not a new problem and one which has been solved before. Oh, how I long for the old days.

Burgeoning numbers of illegal aliens prompted President Dwight D. Eisenhower to appoint his longtime friend, General Joseph Swing, as INS Commissioner. According to Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration upon taking office. In a letter to Sen. William Fulbright, Eisenhower quoted a report in The New York Times that said: "The rise in illegal border-crossing by Mexican 'wetbacks' (rooted from the watery route taken by the Mexican immigrants across the Rio Grande) to a current rate of more than 1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government."

The operation was modeled after a program that encouraged American citizens of Mexican ancestry to move to Mexico during the Great Depression because of the bad economic situation in the United States. (Note, this is something which is happening now, as Mexicans are leaving the U.S. before our economy has gone south. Talk about biting the hand that fed you, but no matter, good riddance. Now let's build that wall!!!!)

The effort began in California and Arizona, and coordinated 1,075 Border Patrol agents along with state and local police agencies to mount an aggressive crackdown, going as far as police sweeps of Mexican-American neighborhoods and random stops and ID checks of "Mexican-looking" people in a region with many Native Americans and native Hispanics. 750 agents targeted agricultural areas with a goal of 1000 apprehensions a day. By the end of July, over 50,000 immigrants were caught in the two states. Around 488,000 illegal immigrants are claimed to have left voluntarily for fear of being apprehended. By September, 80,000 had been taken into custody in Texas, and the INS estimates that 500,000 to 700,000 had left Texas on their own. To discourage re-entry, buses and trains took many deportees deep within Mexico before releasing them. Tens of thousands more were deported by two chartered ships, the Emancipation and the Mercurio. The ships ferried them from Port Isabel, Texas, to Veracruz, Mexico, more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) to the south. Some were taken as far as 1,000 miles. Deportation by sea was ended after seven deportees jumped overboard from the Mercurio and drowned, provoked a mutiny and leading to a public outcry in Mexico.

Personally, I have seen the devastation first hand when I lived in Sedalia, Missouri. When Tyson built one of their chicken plants there, they brought in illegals to work. Crime went up in the little sleepy hollow of Sedalia to the tune of 300%. Crimes included theft, drunk driving, driving without insurance, etc. You see, you can take them out of their country, but you can't change the behavior by trying to impose our laws on them. I am well aware that talk such as this can be seen as racist but frankly, I think we should put country first.

Many cities, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Jersey City, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Aurora, Colorado, Baltimore, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Portland, Maine, and Senath, Missouri, have become "sanctuary cities", having adopted ordinances banning police from asking people about their immigration status.

Reagan's Inaugural Address - A Great Man, A Great President Speaks

Just for old time's sakes. We will never see his like again.

Coming Soon to a Country Near You - Wait, I Mean Your Country - No Wait

I mean the country of the government, comrade! (H/T People's Cube)

Condi Says Goodbye

The outgoing Secretary of State made a ceremonial final exit from the State Department's C. St. lobby this afternoon and hundreds of department employees gathered to see her off.

"I’ve been so lucky to be the chief diplomat for a country that has never sought empire, and understands that power is only good when it is married with principle," Condoleezza Rice told the crowd. "And I have been so privileged and so honored to serve with each and every one of you. Because the men and women of the State Department, those working here in Washington, those working in the far corners of the earth, are the best example of what America stands for."

"Many times, throughout discussions with countries that are trying to break free of authoritarianism or in cases where countries are still under authoritarian rule, I’ve found myself defending the free press," Rice said. The press corps then challenged that statement by shouting questions as she turned to go. Rice briefly obliged and then turned things over to spokesman Sean McCormack.

She never got the recognition she deserved. While Obama was hailed as the first black president, where was the recognition for Condi Rice's remarkable achievements. Where indeed for her remarkable LIFE. Highly educated, deeply loyal, once a Democrat turned Republican. I don't recall ever having read one in depth story about her this entire time in the media. What an absolute shame. I am going to miss her.

22 Weeks

22 Weeks tells the true story of a young woman locked in the bathroom of an abortion clinic after her aborted baby was born alive. It's a film about decisions and the echoes they leave behind. The film includes the reenactment of an actual 911 call. 22Weeks confronts the outer reaches of one of the most controversial subjects of our time. It places the viewer on both sides of the spectrum and asks the chilling question, "What would you do?"

BornAliveTruth.org says this about the film: "Our second project is to promote the movie 22weeks, which tells the true story of a baby aborted alive in a toilet in an Orlando abortion clinic in 2005, with workers refusing to give the baby help or allow EMTs into the building following a 911 call for help from the mother's friend. To date, there has been no prosecution."

Please visit BornAliveTruth.org and check out the wonderful work they are doing.

President Bush Honors Life

President Bush, perhaps the most prolife president we have ever had next to Ronald Reagan, has designed January 18 at the official National Sanctity of Life Day.

Here is what occurred:

In one of his final actions in the White House, President Bush on Thursday declared Jan. 18 to be “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.”

“All human life is a gift from our creator that is sacred, unique and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world,” reads the presidential proclamation.

“The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence and funding crisis pregnancy programs,” the proclamation continues.

“The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.”

God Bless you President Bush, and God speed. I will miss you and your family.

Official Seal of the Democratic Party

The Hypocrisy of Barak Hussein Obama

Recently, in an interview with George Stephanopolous, it was asked of Obama about people sacrificing for the "greater good." Obama's answer was yes, absolutely. In other words, with a trillion dollar deficit and bailouts ad nauseum, the average working American citizen is going to be asked to tighten a belt that is already on its last loop. I call Obama a hypocrite because, among other things, he is sending his daughters to the Sidwell Friends School to the tune of $29,000.00 tuition each,which is only tuition and does not include textbooks and other supplies.

It's worth noting that another famous socialist (and I say socialist because the phrase "greater good" is a classic socialist term), uttered the same sentence and that was Hillary Rodham Clinton. We all know how poor she is. We are talking about people who have barely worked a day in their lives outside of politics or wife of a politician. They wouldn't know how to relate to the common man if their lives depended on it. Only it's our lives that depend on it and folks, we are simply screwed. Those of us who actually work that is.

Should we start calling Obama Captain Nebulous and the Stargate of Incredibiliousness rather than Comrade Zero and the Chicago Thugocracy?

Are we the sacrifice we’ve been waiting for?

History is clear, cold and uncompromising. Any time some politician starts talking about "the Common Good," make sure you have a good hold on your wallet. And don't hold your breath waiting for the Common Good to get any better.

You might start with the weighty contradiction that everyone sacrificing makes everyone better. To what end? The end is absolute government control. The idea that a central authority can dictate to you what the "greater good" is and what you should sacrifice to achieve it illustrates the key feature of Marxism--the leadership of the few (the Party) over the proletariat (you) who don't know what's good for you (false consciousness--bitter clingers) and cannot be trusted to make free decisions for yourself. Sounds like a perfect description of modern day's democratic party to me.

Muslims and Obama

No words are necessary.

Memories of Mom

I think about my mom a lot. Part of that is due to the way she died and how it was handled. Part of it is due to regret that I could not have seen her and told her that I loved her. I am not sure that she knew. We had our differences. The truth is, I did love her and I miss her very much. Sometimes, when I am cooking especially it seems, I think about her a lot. She loved to cook and she was an excellent cook. She could taste something and tell you what was in it. She did not scrimp on ingredients and if she knew you liked something, she would make it for you often. Like bread pudding and Italian cream cake. Like German Chocolate Cake, when I was a kid it was my favorite and she didn't use mixes. She made it all from scratch. I often think much of my mother's self-worth came from her cooking and I was always sure to praise her for her cooking. Fried eggplant. That was so good. Her meatballs were the best in the world, too. I have the recipes and while I am a good cook, she was a better cook. There is no doubt about that. She made great cole slaw and she would chop veggies for hours to make her 24-hour icebox slaw. It was so good and she got wonderful praise for it when we took it to Aunt Louise's 80th birthday. I have this great picture of mom and Aunt Louise from that day. They were very close. Mom is the one on the right. The picture got water spots on it, I'm not sure how, but we had a good time that day. It was shortly before I left to move to Ohio. I miss you, mom. I'll see you again one day. Thanks for everything you did for me.

The Perpetual Nanny State Mentality

How did we ever manage on our own?

How to Comply With the New Progress Order from The People's Cube

I adore the People's Cube. They have a really sarcastic tongue-in-cheek attitude towards progressive that I have. You can visit them at http://www.thepeoplescube.com/

This is one of their newest and greatest works of art. I happen to agree with all of them, doncha know.


How to comply with the new Progressive order and achieve a happier life while avoiding jail time:

DO buy vehicles from GM, Ford and Chrysler because it helps our UAW friends the economy
DON'T drive them as they pollute the environment and cause global warming

DO insist that nationalized, single-payer government provided health insurance is the solution to our health-care crisis
DON'T mention that a government health care bureaucracy is just like a private insurer's healthcare bureaucracy except that with the former, you don't get another choice.

DO condemn smoking in public and private venues because it is filthy and selfish and increases health care costs
DON'T stop buying tobacco products because the collective needs the tax revenue

DO despise elitist wealthy fat-cats like CEOs of Wal-Mart and other companies that do useful things
DON'T despise elitist wealthy fat-cats like the Sulzbergers, the Kennedys and the Hollywood celebrities who do useless things

DON'T fight terrorism with military action, treat it as a civilian police matter
DO hamper police investigations at every turn in the name of civil rights

DO denounce oil companies for their "excessive" profits whenever the world markets drive the price of oil up
DON'T allow them to drill for oil in the US or do anything else that might reduce these prices

DO rail against the loss of American factory jobs to China, India et al
DON'T stop increasing the environmental, labor and other regulations that make it impossible to open any kind of factory in this country

DO demand fairness in hiring, lending, college admissions and other circumstances
DON'T mention that the dictionary definition of fairness bears little resemblance to the political concept

DO despise war and demonstrate constantly for peace, violently if need be
DON'T hide your glee when the US or one of its allies, like Israel, is losing

DO require bi-partisanship in government and that the rights of the minority party be respected
DON'T make us laugh when we're in the majority

DO politicize science by bullying and cajoling everyone into beliving the AGW myth
DON'T fail to accuse real scientists (who have facts to disprove the myth) of politicizing science

DO holler about the need for more government programs to help the poor
DON'T notice how much these programs actually benefit politically-connected hacks and crooks who are not poor

DO continuously harp on the main vice of capitalism, the unequal distribution of its benefits
DON'T ever mention the only virtue of socialism, the equal sharing of its miseries

DO emphasize the Progressive commitment to preserve individual choice when it comes to aborting a pregnancy
DON'T emphasize the Progressive commitment to prevent individual choice when it comes to everything else

NEVER even think about the fact that on the Progressive farm, some animals are more equal than others

Bill Balsamico

Bill Balsamico owns a restaurant in North Versailles, Pennsylvania called Casa D'Ice. He also puts up the greatest billboards in the world. Here's his latest. For more on Bill and his signs, please visit http://www.casadice.com/index.htm
I promise you won't be disappointed. He's a great American. Visit his website and look around. He has a mailing list and a blog as well. You won't be disappointed. You go, Bill!

A Review of Israel Basics

A Review of the Israel Basics
Just in case anybody’s not up on the history of the area.

Until Israel turned Gaza over to the Palestinian Authority two years ago, there had never been an independent, non-Jewish state in the area we call Palestine. Ergo, Israel is not occupying anything.

There have been three instances of independent states in the area we call Palestine, and all three have been Jewish states. They are: The Davidic kingdom, from about 1250BC to about 650 BC, the Hasmonean Kingdom, from about 140 BC to about 60 BC, and the modern state of Israel formed by UN agreement in 1948 (those years are off the top of my head, and may be off 50 years or so here and there.) There are no known descendants of the Canaanite peoples that the Davidic kings conquered. At all other times, Palestine has been ruled by an occupying army from elsewhere.

There have been Jewish residents in the area pretty much non-stop from the time of the Exodus in the Bible. There were periods when the land was very, very sparsely populated, but what residents there were have been at least partly Jewish since then.

The Zionists began emigrating during the mid-19th century, and produced an economy in a previously barren area. Most of the land they farmed was purchased from its owners in the area.

Shortly after the British took over the region from the Ottoman Turks in 1917, they attempted to solve the already-existing tensions between Jewish settlers and Arabic farmers using a two-state solution, similar to what’s being tried today. They created a Jewish state called Palestine, and a Palestinian Arabic state called Trans-Jordan. Trans-Jordan is the modern nation of Jordan. Yes, that’s right, Jordan was intended to be the Arabic Palestinian state.

After WW II, when the British ceded the land to its residents, the UN attempted to solve the mounting tensions between Jewish and Arabic residents using another two-state solution — again, like what’s being tried today. The Arabic nations and the Palestinians rejected the UN’s partition agreement in 1947 and mounted an attack aimed at pushing the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea. They lost — and in my mind, they forfeited any possible claim to a separate, non-Jewish state in Palestine at that moment.

The West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights were the regions in Palestine that the Arabic armies managed to hold onto after they assaulted the fledgling state of Israel in 1947 and were repulsed. They lost all of those regions when they attempted to annihilate Israel again in 1967. The Palestinians have no legitimate claim to those lands, since they only obtained them by conquest in 1947, and lost them by attempted conquest thereafter.

When non-Jewish residents of the area fled in 1948 after the war, the surrounding nations (except for Jordan) refused to grant them citizenship. They have been kept in camps by those nations ever since. Palestinian Arabs are welcome to become citizens in Israel, and are represented in the Knesset.

You may form your own conclusions regarding who’s entitled to what land. However, the modern notion that’s so common among young folks who don’t know the history of the region, namely that Israel is occupying Palestinian land and the Palestinians are patriots attempting to free their homeland, is fantasy, completely unsupported by history. There has never been an independent, non-Jewish state on the land we call Palestine.

Pay attention to the number of times well-meaning outsiders attempted to settle the conflict with a two-state solution. Note how well it’s worked. If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got…

Autopsy Results in On Jett Travolta - Update

There were no injuries or sign of head trauma on the body of Jett Travolta, which was in "great condition", Glen Campbell, assistant director of the Bahamian funeral home handling the remains of the 16-year-old, told the Associated Press.

The description contradicted police claims that the boy had hit his head on a bathtub when he died on Friday at the family's holiday home on Grand Bahama Island.

Mr Campbell said the teenager's death certificate listed the only cause of death as a "seizure". The results of the examination were not released publicly.

Jett was not, as was reported, left alone at the time of his death. He was in the company of two nannies.

RIP Jett Travolta

Officials in the Bahamas on Monday conducted an autopsy on Jett Travolta, the teenage son of actor John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston, who died here last week during a family holiday, police said.

The results of the autopsy to find how 16-year-old Jett Travolta died could be made public as early as Monday afternoon, the Nassau police told AFP.

Jett was last seen on New Year's Day when he went to use the bathroom at the family's residence at the Old Bahama Bay Resort on Grand Bahama island, a statement issued Sunday by the Bahamas' police Chief Superintendent Basil Rahming said.

"He was discovered in the bathroom in an unconscious state around 10:00 am" the next day by a caretaker, the statement said.

Jett Travolta had a history of seizures since he was a toddler, and a lawyer for his father said he may have suffered a lethal one on Friday.

The youth was the only son of Travolta, 54, and actress Preston, 46. The couple also has an eight-year-old daughter, Ella.

Hours before the autopsy was conducted, the teen's grieving family issued a statement about the loss of their son and brother.

"Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered. We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief," the family said in a statement Sunday.

"We have received many messages of condolence from around the world and we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It has meant so much to us," the statement said, signed: "With love, John, Kelly and Ella."

Jett Travolta is due to be buried in Ocala, Florida, where his family lives.

The youngster's life was complicated by health woes from a young age.

John Travolta once said on the Oprah Winfrey show that he spent at least 4 hours a day with his children one-on-one, and that he would have liked to spend even more.

Hey Annie, Would I Lie To You?

A picture of Palestinian love and friendship toward their Jewish neighbors. Oh, those nasty hateful Jews. Why can't they just get along! Distributed at Copenhagen’s Rådhusplads Wednesday by a nervous man, about 25 years old, who hastily disappeared. We value honesty. One assumes that the tests for citizenship do not include spelling… Atlas Shrugged reported earlier that there are 13,000 Palestinians in Denmark. TV2 stated the other day that there are 23,000.

Where are Annie Lennox's Tears for this Isreali family?

As a mother, surely Annie can find some empathy for this beautiful family, a pregnant mother and her children, all shot at point-blank range by Palestinian terrorists.

Several hours after the murderous attack on the Hatuel family of Katif - leaving David Hatuel bereft of his entire family: his pregnant wife and four daughters - PA radio praised the murderous terrorists as "heroic martyrs," and their heinous crime as one of "heroic martyrdom." In its report the next morning, the PA radio referred to the Jewish residents of Gaza as "settlers" and "terrorists" in light of their plans to build a new neighborhood in N'vei Dekalim. The radio mentioned that the victims of the Sunday attack were "settlers," neglecting to note that they were a pregnant woman and four little girls who were shot to death at point-blank range. So reports Dr. Michael Widlanski of Hebrew University.

Annie Lennox - Village Idiot

They just keep piling up. Annie Lennox, has been singer from the Eurhythmics, is "shaken to the core" by "smoke piles" as a mother. Let's see....Gaza started the attack first. They are firing obsolete weapons, rockets, without any guidance. Israel is protecting themselves with guided attacks against known Hamas headquarters. Meanwhile, Hamas is using human sheilds in the form of women and children. Who, exactly is the monster here. Here's a little of Annie's angst.

Celebrity Idiot of the Week - Heck Maybe the Decade

Define irony. A fat comedian making fun of fat people. And British to boot. I don't know how many Brits I have heard lately commenting on the overwhelming number of grossly obese Americans.

Comedian Ricky Gervais says says people who have liposuction and gastric band operations are "lazy f---ing fat pigs". Having been a fat person most of my life, and currently at my highest weight ever, I would not consider gastric bypass only because I personally know five people who have had it, two of them twice. All of them gained back all the weight they lost and one of them died from complications of the surgery. It isn't safe. I transcribe reports for the surgery sometimes and some of the people are 230 pounds or even less. I don't consider that grossly obese but what do I k now.

Gervais also said "I really don't know why a doctor under a hippocratic oath takes the risk of something going badly wrong, sometimes with general anaesthetic, because someone can't be bothered to go for a f---ing run.

"They have bits sliced off and tied up and sucked out. I want to say to them, 'You lazy f---ing fat pig. Just go for a run and stop eating burgers. You might f---ing die'. If your arse is too f---ing fat, stop eating and go for a run."

Gervais, whose star appears to be rising in Hollywood, said in September that he felt ashamed of his weight and added that said overweight people should be branded 'fatty' to cut rocketing obesity rates. Oh, yeah, that will help. I have been called fatty and a whole lot worse all my life. Who is he kidding? Fat prejudice has been alive and well in the US ever since England gave us Twiggy.

He said: "I don't think there's enough stigma. With all the political correctness now, and the fact that food is so refined, there's no stigma any more." He's an absolute idiot. There is just as much stigma as there ever was, especially in the medical community. He needs to come and live in America for awhile, especially in Hollywood. I guarantee he would be labeled so fast his jolly little belly would still be shaking from getting off the plane.

"I laugh about being fat, but I should be ashamed. I should walk down the street and have people shouting 'Fatty!'. That's what I want, to get me out of it," he said. Well have at it joy boy. If humiliation is your diet of choice, I am sure you will be obliged here in the United States. Or better yet, go to the Philippines. Those people have no compunction about telling you that you're fat. I found that out when I lived in Saudi Arabia.

He added: "In supermarkets, the really fattening stuff should be behind a really thin door. Shops should be full of salads, but if you want to get to the pies and cakes, you've got to crawl through a little tube." When I lived in California, there was a restaurant called "The Thinnery." The booths were purposefully made super small so that if you were the slightest bit fat, and I am saying 150 or more, you simply wouldn't fit. Maybe I'll write and tell him about that.

The Bridge

The story of a father's love.

They Wanted to Be Like Everyone Else

Amina Said 18 and Sarah Said 17, were killed by their father, a so-called "honor killing" because he did not like the way they dressed or their western ways. Two beautiful young girls, gunned down by their own father, IN AMERICA. He is on the run, still free. They are free, too, only in a different sense of the word. They were terrified of him, for good reason. This is so Islmaic radicals can stand in the streets and hold signs about Jews killing their daughters. Right.

And in Atlanta.....

How rich is this? "Israel is killing our daughters." Hello??? Islamic honor killings are killing your daughters. They even do it here. Human shields, as used by Hamas, consisting of women and children, THAT is killing your daughters. Did you ever see people more in denial or more insistent on being professional victims? I surely haven't. They get no sympathy from me.

Outside It's America...or is it.

I, for one, say it is time to tighten up those we let into this country. Especially from the Middle East. I lived there and I know a lot about their feelings regarding the Jews and it is not loving, as this video shows. This was a protest by pro-PLO in San Francisco, California, USA. Note the very small handful of counter protestors who show up and note the absolute hatred and violence expressed towards them. Much as the situation in the Middle East. You can take the Arab out of the Middle East but you can't take the Middle East out of the Arab.