Hate Speech on Left Leaning Blogs

Here is a must see video.

John Gibson Blasts Left-Wing Hate Sites

Here's the text version:

Many of our viewers have asked about where to send well-wishes to my former colleague Tony Snow. The White House has now set up a way to do that. Log on to whitehouse.gov and you will see the link to send your message to Tony. The White House assures us he will get them all.

But sad to say, it's not all sweetness and sympathy for Tony. I've talked about the angry left before, but nothing illustrates the anger and the bitterness and the venom of the left than someone on the right becoming ill.

When Dick Cheney goes to the hospital the liberal blogs erupt in hate, wishing he would die and all the rest. And when Tony's cancer came back, I regret to say, they did not restrain themselves.

My last e-mailer demanded to know who would post ill wishes to Tony. OK, the Daily Kos is one. It is written from Berkeley, California, and it is a place where Ted Kennedy and Harry Reid and John Kerry and John Edwards post messages to attract liberal voters.

Yesterday at 11 in the morning somebody named Winsmith posted on the Daily Kos: "Why do I have to pretend I care about Tony Snow? That I'm praying for him? I don't. I'm sorry to hear he has cancer. Other than that I'm not going to give that lying bleep another thought."

At 1:55 in the afternoon somebody else wrote on the Daily Kos: "Tony Snow killed 3,242 Americans. Bleep Tony Snow."

On the left-wing blog Think Progress, at 1 in the afternoon somebody named Buzzbomb wrote: "Hundreds of people are diagnosed with cancer everyday. It sucks for anyone. Why the fawning for a bleep like Snow? He's the mouthpiece for a group of thugs that have hijacked our country."

I could go on, but I won't. There were lots.

There were also people on these left blogs who said they felt sorry for Tony and wouldn't wish him ill, but a number who were willing to throw off any sense of decency and say the most vile things is truly shocking and ought to be a great source of shame for the left. These blogs are where the political energy for the Democrat left is coming from, and they reveal there is a rotten core at the center.

By the way, you could find this same sort of garbage on The Huffington Post, run by Arianna Huffington, who now puts herself forward as a power broker on the left. She should be ashamed too for letting that stuff onto her Web site. She was embarrassed because she did take it down, but she never should have let it go on in the first place.

That's My Word.

I love blogging because of the freshness of the news and opinions that are expressed. What I hate about blogging is the amount of incivility that can be expressed anonymously. This became evident when it became known that Tony Snow's cancer had returned. Left leaning blogs became almost gleeful in their messages of hate and wishes of death for him. I've not seen right leaning blogs wish a quick and painful death to Elizabeth Edwards now that we know her cancer has returned as well.

Unfortunately for the Democratic party, their left wing has become a cancer on their integrity and honor.

Busy Times Ahead

I will not be posting much in the coming month. My Schedule has filled up dramatically since my Recital is on the 14th of next month, and my oral exams will be held on the 23rd. Wish me luck as I finish out this graduate degree.

Radiant Times

New Mexico Spaceport

There is a measure on the ballot here in Dona Ana County that asks whether or not tax money should be used to fund a Spaceport in Southern New Mexico. While there are some nay-sayers, I believe the Spaceport will be a positive thing for this area. It will provide high tech, higher paying jobs for this area, and will benefit this state economically. It will encourage schools to produce a better product in the children that are taught so they will be prepared for the new jobs that are coming. It will benefit New Mexico State University with more research grants, and raise the status of the university as they train many more engineers to work in the subsidiary businesses that are attached to the Spaceport. The site is very remote, and noise would not be a major problem. As far as the Camino Real trail, it is possible for it to co-exist with the Spaceport.

New Mexico has been one of the lowest producing states for many years. The Spaceport gives the "Land of Enchantment" a way to thrust itself into higher orbit among the states of our nation.

Hello Howard Kurtz - or Not

Radiant Times has just been linked to an article written supposedly by Howard Kurtz. I cannot find it on the WaPo pages, so I'm assuming it is a possible parody by Mark of News Corpse. May as well have a little fun and get some mileage out of the story.

What are Democrats trying to accomplish?

I am an unabashed conservative. Not a Rush Limbaugh ditto-head. Not a right wingnut. Not a Phred Phelps Pflamer. Just a conservative leaning toward moderate that is trying to understand what is happening on the political scene.

I'm one of the people that Democrats would want to woo to their side. I'm not enamored with Bush, although I have supported him and do support (with only a little reservation) the war effort. I'm not happy with the leftward swing of those who call themselves conservative. I have strong feelings about social issues and care about the environment.

But I have to wonder what the Democrats are doing to attract people like me. First consider their leading presidential candidates. Hillary Clinton, based on her past baggage and association with "only the second president to be impeached in all of US history" (I'm quoting my dear husband), with her failed health care plan from the Clinton administration, and with her socialistic leanings does little to inspire trust in voters like me. She might rise to the occasion if she were elected, but she has no clue what to do with the war. Nor do the other Democratic candidates. It's complicated, but there is no "plan," as Kerry would say, on the Democrat side to end the war (nor any clear vision of the consequences of such action) outside of the "death by a thousand cuts" agenda.

Barak Obama is a man with so little experience who got lucky to be catapulted to national attention. He is more liberal than Hillary Clinton, and the church he claims to belong to has a statement of faith that appears to promote a bigoted form of reverse discrimination (everywhere you see the word "black" replace it with "white" and it could be the statement of faith of a racist white supremacist church.) Where DO the Democrats get these "leaders"? Don't they vet them first? Or maybe their leading candidates really do represent the views of the Democratic leadership. I find that possibility concerning!

Speaking of 'Death by a Thousand Cuts,' the flood of subpoenas demanded by the Democrats because of the legitimate firing of a few attorneys is this side of ridiculous. Here are some comments by Mark Davis:

What they seek to destroy is this presidency they loathe with their every breath. Mr. Gonzales has plenty to answer for, but the elevation of these attorney dismissals to a Watergate-caliber controversy is wholly without basis.

Add the irony that the voices stoking the scandal imagery are from the same congressional and journalistic outposts that have sugar-coated the Clinton years for more than a decade, and the spectacle borders on the obscene.

I've not even gotten into the shenanigans of Pelosi, (Barely had Pelosi been sworn in as Speaker of the House when the Dems began their assault on gun rights, free speech, freedom of religion, the right of bloggers to alert readers to contact Congress concerning pending legislation, and a host of other subversive legislation) Murtha and Dean, but to me they are equally disappointing for their pandering to the left wing of their party.

I'm not one of those voters who decides to skip voting in despair and disgust, but it may be that, again, I vote for the lesser of two evils in hopes that some real leadership will rise up in the next six years.

Personal Energy Ethics Pledge

Here is the document that Al Gore refuses to sign. This pledge was presented to Al Gore by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) during yesterday's global warming hearing.


Like I mentioned in my previous post, Ecological Indulgences, those like Gore seek to offset their energy usage by buying into the carbon credit scam to ease their consciences. If this country is going to make real change toward the use of alternative fuel sources, wind bags like Gore have to "lead the way. " Until they do, they have no credibility in my books. As for me, I will personally do my part to use energy wisely.

Bloggers for Fitness

We love to sit in front of the computer, but we need to take care of ourselves and stay healthy.

Here is your invitation to join the Bloggers for Fitness:

YOU'RE INVITED TO JOIN THE PRESIDENT'S
CHALLENGE!

I have started a group for Bloggers to take the President's Challenge
together:   Bloggers for Fitness    and you're invited to be part of it!

WHAT IS IT?
The President's Challenge is a series of programs designed to help
improve anyone's activity level. Joining a group is a great way to make
staying active easy.

To learn more about the President's Challenge, go
to:
http://www.PresidentsChallenge.org

WHY JOIN?
Staying active with
others can be a lot of fun. They'll help keep you motivated - even when
you don't really feel like it. Groups are a great way to meet new
people. There are even programs for people at different activity levels: the
Active Lifestyle program aimed at beginners, and the Presidential
Champions program for those who are already active.

Signing up for a group
is simple. And there's no limit to how any you can belong to. You can
join or leave at any time. All you have to do is register. It's quick,
and there's no cost just to
participate!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

HOW TO JOIN:

1) Go to
http://www.PresidentsChallenge.org/login/register_individual.aspx

2)
Fill out the registration form.
 * Be sure to include the following
info during registration *

Your Group ID Number: 57647

I made this group public so you should have no trouble joining.

3) After registering, start logging
your activities. As you log activities you'll be able to track your
progress toward winning a President's Challenge Award or Medal.

Good luck!

Radiant Times



-----------------------------------------------------------------
              
-- The President's Challenge --
                   
http://www.PresidentsChallenge.org

Sister Blog

I've started a new blog for those of you interested in vocal music education, particularly in the American Southwest. This site: New Mexico Choral Education Information is part of my graduate project and is designed to provide resources for choral educators in New Mexico.

Let me know if this site is helpful for you. Thanks.

Ecological Indulgences

"Ecological Indulgences" That's what Charles Krauthammer called the practice of the rich buying "carbon credits" in offset their wasteful lifestyles. God forbid the wealthy actually ride a bus to get anywhere, or turn off their heated pools, or sweat at any time except when they work out on their expensively produced and energy consuming exercise equipment! Perish the though of Gore cutting back the energy consumption of his own home (one month's energy bill for him is about 20 times one of our energy bills for a YEAR).

The Carbon Credit business is a total scam that is thriving on the guilt of the wealthy. They can somehow "buy" their way out of global warming. HA! All the while the real work of ecological change is being done by those who live the simplest - the poor. It's hard to waste energy when you can't afford to keep your lights on for long. It's mighty hard to blow horrible carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when you can't even afford a car and have to walk, bike, or ride a bus everywhere.

Krauthammer's article also demonstrates the negative effect "carbon credits" have on developing countries, citing the forcible taking of farmland so "carbon credit" trees can be planted. From the article:

GreenSeat, a Dutch carbon-trading outfit, buys offsets from a foundation that plants trees in Uganda's Mount Elgon National Park to soak up the carbon emissions of its rich Western patrons. Small problem: expanding the park encroaches on land traditionally used by local farmers. As a result, reports the New York Times, "villagers living along the boundary of the park have been beaten and shot at, and their livestock has been confiscated by armed park rangers." All this so that swimming pools can be heated and Maseratis driven with a clear conscience in the fattest parts of the world.

The liberal infatuation with environmentalism is proving to be a hypocrisy. And why should concern about the environment be an exclusively liberal issue. I'm an unabashed conservative - in our household we use a wood stove for heat so we don't burn too many dinosaurs, we ride our bikes, live simply and are not consumed by greed and "keeping up with the Jone's". My kids don't vegetate in front of video games, nor are they inoculated from life by i-pods and other such devices. We use an energy efficient evaporative cooling system, and recycle cans. All this while the liberal wealthy purchase and travel to excess and buy 'carbon credits' to "offset" their indulgent lifestyles.

If they want to spend their money on excesses, let them go ahead. But puh-leeze don't put on the self righteous pall of concern about the environment while you do. BE HONEST!

Cowering for Research Money?

Does this Cox and Forkum cartoon demonstrate one reason why more scientists are not coming forward against the cult of global warming???

The view of adherents of Global Warming is narrow and non scientific. They call those who question their views "deniers" while they are unwilling to follow their own scientific training to verify all scientific evidence that exists. Why don't they look into the influence of the sun's solar maximum cycle on global warming? Is it because they have chosen an agenda to follow? Are they trying to give scientific justification to their political views? I don't believe science should be either right or left wing politically, but should be a continuing search for quantitatively and independently verifiable truth. It should be completely seamless from political view to another; you should not be able to discern a scientist's politics from their research. Science wants to know what is true, not what is politically expedient. Scientists should never have their research grants withheld or ever have their reputations be threatened just because they are researching an arena that is not the current political "fad."

Global Warming Extremists are more religious and political figures than they are scientists. What they believe has only partial proof and is more of a fantasy, like the "Global Cooling" hype of the 70s. What if they put their efforts into developing cleaner, low cost forms of energy? Wouldn't this be much more productive (and even profitable)? Then their work would have a more significant impact on the global ecology.

UPDATE:

Here is an article from Real Clear Politics by Thomas Sowell discussing the Channel 4 documentary "The Global Warming Swindle".

Introducing Ibn Abu Al-Beardie

Rare Photograph of the Lizard Imam encouraging the faithful in his safe house and training facility somewhere in Australia! Imam Al-Beardie has been admonished to avoid talking to the media along with other inflammatory Imams in Australia.

















Another rare photograph of Imam Al-Beardie demonstrating the fine techniques of fanatical prayer while rigging up an IED utilizing captured American munitions.

This cartoon was posted with others in the online version of the San Francisco Chronicle in an article that spoke about censorship.

The other four were also rather insightful.

Mandated Environmentalism vs. Good Stewardship

Watching the rise of Al Gore to the status of Prophet of Environmentalism, and observing his personal hypocrisy in his own energy usage has given me a jaded and skeptical view of his message.

Don't get me wrong - Americans are very wasteful! We use energy like we own the planet with no thought of the negative consequences of such over use. We consume and discard goods and resources at a record rate. The methane from our trash piles alone has the potential of making a significant dent in our oil consumption. The grease we use to fry our fast food can easily be converted to biodiesel - only emitting water and the pleasant smell of French fries. The food we waste and throw away could have fed several third world countries. There is much we can change, and we should.

Environmentalism, in itself, as well as the looming threat of Global Warming, has become the religion of the left. The Czech President Vaclav Klaus made this statement this week: Environmentalism is a religion that is based more on political ambitions than science

"Environmentalism should belong in the social sciences," much like the idea of communism or other "-isms" such as feminism, Klaus said, adding that "environmentalism is a religion" that seeks to reorganize the world order as well as social behavior and value systems worldwide.

As for government spending on global warming studies, the former finance minister and of the Eastern European nation and trained economist said that such efforts were a "waste of money," adding that there was already sufficient scientific evidence for those seeking policy change to back up their proposals.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that those seeking to protect the environment could do a great deal under the existing political framework and with existing technologies, such as importing less goods from far-flung regions that require enormous jet fuel use."

Richard Linzen is not so friendly in describing Gore's claims:

"given that the question of human attribution largely cannot be resolved, its use in promoting visions of disaster constitutes nothing so much as a bait-and-switch scam. That is an inauspicious beginning to what Mr. Gore claims is not a political issue but a "moral" crusade."

I would rather make the personal choice to cut back on my energy consumption rather than have environmentalism become a Gore-driven government policy by a man who craves the political limelight.

....I wonder where Tipper is nowadays?


UPDATE: Here's a Video you may want to watch relating to this subject:

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Another Sad Sack global warming story.

Look at both sides and make up your own mind, I always say!

Finally - For your Amusement:

I'm not a huge Limbaugh fan, but he has an AlGore Doomesday Countdown clock on his homepage in the upper right hand corner that is worth a grin.

The Cult of Bush Bashing

It becomes more and more obvious as time goes by that the hatred of President Bush is becoming a religious cult, and not based in rational thinking whatsoever. Bush is vilified the world over as the causer of wars, the oppressor of migrants, as the cause of global warming and the root of all that is wrong in the world. Forget the fact that America gives more foreign aid to everybody, even our enemies and even the Palestinians - an open enemy of the United States and freedom everywhere. Forget the fact that most research and development that benefits the poor of this world originated in the United States. Forget, even, that the United States is a country that people swarm to because of the promise of freedom and opportunity. You don't see many people emigrating to Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea, or Pakistan, do you, unless they have been radicalized into some state of fascism.

An almost hilarious article appeared in the Washington Post this morning. Mayan Priests are planning to "purify" sacred sites after they become "defiled" by a visit from President Bush this week.

Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.

"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.

Bush's seven-day tour of Latin America includes a stopover beginning late Sunday in Guatemala. On Monday morning he is scheduled to visit the archaeological site Iximche on the high western plateau in a region of the Central American country populated mostly by Mayans.

Tiney said the "spirit guides of the Mayan community" decided it would be necessary to cleanse the sacred site of "bad spirits" after Bush's visit so that their ancestors could rest in peace.

It has been almost forgotten that the Mayan culture practically destroyed themselves by barbaric practices. It was not bad spirits that destroyed the Mayan culture, but bad leadership.

I wonder if today's Mayan priests are eating food or are clothed or have medicine provided by the technology and generosity of the United States? I wonder if they know the reason they are not part of the communist Cuban regime is because of the Monroe Doctrine? I wonder if they are aware that Bush has been more sympathetic and has built more alliances with Mexico than any president has done in the last century. He speaks almost fluent Spanish, and governed a state that was a border state with Mexico. He influenced NAFTA, which has been a blessing to Mexico and all Latin American countries.

About "persecuting" immigrant brothers and sisters - we don't machine gun down people who cross......they get three hots and a cot when they are caught and get sent back. In one piece. We do everything we can - not perfectly - to promote free trade with Mexico and all of Central and South America, because this is in the common interest of all countries . Even Venezuela which would not last a month if we did not purchase their oil. Stuff that in your pipe, Chavez!

My government engineer friend tells me about highly intelligent co-workers who state that Bush is the "worst President ever". What does that mean? Apparently they have forgotten near history. Here is a list of the 10 Worst Presidents ever by real historians - not the biased pseudo-media. Bush is nowhere near the notoriety of this group!

Bush is so often referred to as "evil," that he is the "devil" and "Hitler." He has been demonized and become the culmination of everything that is evil and wrong in the world with religious and fanatic zeal. Fantastic quotes like "Bush killed my son!" (Cindy Sheehan) , attribute almost godlike powers to a mere man. In the near future, will people use the expletive "Bush!" instead of other common expletives when they whack their thumbs with a hammer?

I am by no means a "Bush or die" person. Bush will probably go down in history as a mediocre president who entangled our nation in an unpopular war against a religiously charged irrational enemy. In the end, we hire a president to keep us safe - not to make us feel good. We need to remember this when we hire the next president.

Who will be the next religious Icon of all that is evil in the world when Bush is gone?

A big whiff of a double standard

Despite Ann Coulter's recent verbal faux pas, she makes a point about something that has had me wondering for a while. Why do prominent Democrats get off the hook when they commit crimes, and Scooter Libby has to do hard time for not remembering who gave him information about a covert agent who was not covert? Is it that we expect Democrats to ride on a list of shady and unethical behavior, and that we expect Republicans to have clean reputations?

The list of Democrats is long and notorious: Teddy Kennedy abandoning his "girl of the night" and letting her drown, Patrick Kennedy's wild ride under the influence of booze and meds, William Jefferson's $90,000 of bribe money in the freezer, Harry Reid's questionable land deals in which the 'take' was larger than Abramoff's, or Sandy Burger's deliberate and poorly hidden plot of stealing classified materials and stuffing them in his underwear and socks so he could destroy them.

Why the double standard? Even in academia, those who espouse liberal causes get away with saying the most outrageous things, whereas conservatives are drummed down and even out.

Are the American people so cowed and fearful that we might offend others if we stand against obvious ethical lapses? Or have we lost our will to care and to correct this imbalance?

I would love to hear what you think.

UPDATE:
Good Follow Up Reading:

A Verdict on the Wilson Affair

A Giant Step for Worldwide Women's Rights

Well, look what came across the wires :

2007-03-02

The Grand Mufti in the United Arab Emirates issued a fatwa (religious edict) permitting the performance of divorce through an SMS message through cell phones. He said divorce through this modern facility does not differ from a divorce written on paper.

There was one provision - the sender of the message must be the husband.

Source: Al-Rafidyan, London, March 2, 2007

This is yet another sad demonstration of how women's rights are being upheld in predominately muslim countries. All the man has to do to divorce his wife is to tell her three times "You are Divorced!" And that's it! Now he does not even have to look her in the eye to do the dirty deed. No lawyers. No alimony. No child support (the kids go right to dad). No recourse. So, put on the burkha and be a good little wifey and I will beat you with a rod only gently (snark).

When will the rest of the world, and especially feminists, wake up to this and other wanton abuses of women's rights!!!

A List We All Should Read

While I would not title this list "10 Questions for Muslims" but rather "10 Questions for Muslim Countries," This is still a list people need to consider. It is too bad that, according to question 3, half of Arab women cannot read this, and that only 1% of the population of these countries have computers - half of which have internet access (also according to question 3.)

Here is the list, and all credit goes to Jack Lacton aka Kerplunk in Australia. While I've quoted this list in it's entirety, please visit his blog. His entries are well thought out and documented.


10 Questions For Muslims

1. Why is it Oil or Nothing? The combined annual GDP of the world's Muslim majority countries is under $2 trillion. That's less than 20% of the USA even though Muslims outnumber Americans by about four to one. Their GDP is about the same as that of Germany. The GDP of the major oil rich nations of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar combined is roughly equal to Thailand's $430 billion. Remove oil and gas from the Gulf states' exports and their export figure is below that well known exporting giant...Finland. What else do you do besides oil?

2. Why do you only account for 5% of the world's economy? How does it come about that 25% of the world's population is responsible for only 5% of the world's GDP? And that percentage is falling. Where is your industry? Where are your global companies? Where are your world-leading scientists? Heck, why are you not even any good at any sport?

3. Why are Arab nations so underdeveloped? According to the United Nations' Arab Development Report: Half of Arab women cannot read; one in five Arabs lives on less than $2 per day; only 1% of the population has a computer of which half use the Internet; 15% of the workforce is unemployed and that's expected to double by 2010; and the average growth rate per capita over the last 20 years was only 0.5% which is worse than anywhere but sub-Saharan Africa. How do you blame the rest of the world (or the Jews) for that?

4. Why don't you focus on education? The Muslim majority countries have less than 600 universities for 1.4 billion people. India has 8500 and the US 5800. In the history of the Nobel Prize, Muslim countries have produced only 8 Laureates from their billions of people. In the meantime, less than 12 million Jews have produced 167. That means it's more than 2000 times more likely for a Jew to be awarded a Nobel Prize than one of Allah's followers. In an age of increasing technological reliance how will most Muslim nations do anything other than fall even further behind?

5. Why do you do so poorly in prosperous nations? Essex University released the results of a study The incomes of ethnic minorities that showed the economic conditions of these groups in Britain. According to the report:

Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are easily the poorest groups in the country. High unemployment among men: low levels of economic activity among women: low pay: and large family sizes: these all contribute to a situation in which 60% of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are poor. This is four times the poverty rate found among white people.

Indian and Chinese people have high levels of employment, and their earnings are on a par with white workers. On these measures they can be seen to be prospering.

The survey also concluded that Pakistanis and Bangladeshis would be poor regardless of where they lived. Given the fact that Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Indians are the same people who had the same advantages of colonial Britain from which they were separated at the same time, why are the Indians so much more successful than the others? Indians are Hindus not Muslims. Why do Muslims do so poorly when others do so well?

6. Why don't you denounce terrorism performed in your name? Thousands of violent attacks are undertaken in the name of Islam each year by Muslims against non-Muslims. Why do you not condemn terrorist groups like Hamas, Al Qaeda and Hezbollah? Why are there no senior Muslim figures denouncing these acts of barbarity against innocents? Instead, all that we hear is an excuse for violence and blame for the attacks placed on the victims. Why can't you tell right from wrong? When will Muslims develop societal values that don't belong in the 7th century?

7. Why are your countries not free? According to Freedom House of the world's majority Muslim nations only Mali is free. One country from around 50! 60% are not free and 38% are partly free. Why do Muslim nations account for the majority of 'not free' nations? Of the 10 worst of the worst, 7 are Islamic states. Why is this? Are you born to be in chains?

8. Why the nutty Fatwas every time someone criticises Islam? Salman Rushdie, a Muslim of Indian descent, writes The Satanic Verses in 1988 and, for his efforts, has a fatwa calling for his murder placed on him by Iranian nutjob Ayatollah Kohmeini. Why is it that all who criticise Islam get the same treatment? Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Robert Spencer, Kola Boof, Khalid Duran, Naguib Mafouz...it's a long list. Why was Hitoshi Igarashi stabbed to death in 1991? For the crime of translating The Satanic Verses into Japanese. Why can't you learn to deal with criticism like the rest of the world did about a thousand years ago?

9. Why is truth optional? What's the most popular book in Arab nations? The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Readers may know that the book is an anti-Semitic fiction created by Russian secret police in around 1900. However, in the Middle East it's presented as fact. Ridiculous, you say. Really? The Saudi newspaper Al Madina ran a series in 2005 confirming the truth of the 'Protocols', as the book is known. The series was broken down into separate articles such as Muslims must be familiar with the Protocols in order to know how to defend themselves and The Match between the Protocols and real events is the most convincing proof of their authenticity. Shortly after 9/11 a survey of Muslim countries reported that only 18% of people believed that Muslims were behind the attacks. These days they're blaming the Jews. Last month Egyptian researcher Muhammed Al-Buheiri appeared on Nile Culture TV to claim that the Jews are still kidnapping Christian children, murdering them and using their blood in their Passover matzos. It's as if the 9/11 Truthers were in charge of news. In an environment of such lies and denial how do Muslims expect society to advance?

10. What is it with the cartoons, anyway? Why did you go crazy in February 2006 over cartoons published in September 2005? Do you people have no sense of humour? Do you not understand the irony of violence for such a trivial matter? Do you not understand the concept of freedom of expression even if you aren't allowed to practice it in your own countries? Are you so brainwashed that you don't understand the self-harm you inflict by your over reaction?

Some candidates will do anything for a vote

Well, here is the latest offering by Hillary Clinton. I'm not impressed by the fake drawl- nor the fake spirituality. Drudge aptly called this Kentucky Fried Hillary. I know the song "I don't get no ways tired" and have sung it many times. It is very inspirational, or at least was until it was drawled-out by Clinton at a black church in Kentucky. Who does she think she is fooling??? I think I would be turned off by this even if I did believe in her politics.

Update:

A little more commentary about the Drawl. Here's more from ABC news.

Concert Update

Every Spring New Mexico State University Choirs presents the Jack Ward Invitational Choral Festival where we highlight the work of choirs and local music teachers in the Southern New Mexico/El Paso area.

This year Dr. David Dickau was commissioned to write two pieces for the Choral Association of Southern New Mexico (CASNM) for adult and children's choirs. The songs - "Piping Down the Valleys Wild" and the "Laughing Song" - are beautifully written and a delight to sing!

The Gadsden School District Honor Choir from southern New Mexico were invited to perform these pieces with us. Additionally, they sang three pieces of their own - one of which was my composition "Sea Fever" for treble choir ( and which I had the privilege of conducting on the concert).

Also on the program is "The Raven" a multi-movement piece based on the poem by Edgar Allen Poe, by Justin Raines. I conducted the world premier of the first and third movements last fall, and Dr. Dickau conducted the whole piece in the concert.

Last night's concert was very successful, and we have one more night to perform. If you are in the Las Cruces area, this concert would be a high quality cultural experience.

Music reflecting societal issues

Here is a fascinating song by Israeli group, Teapacks - "Push the Button".

Teapacks writes songs about current social issues, and this song reflects Israeli concerns about Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's frequent threats to destroy Israel. They were chosen to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest, but may be banned because of its "inappropriate political message."

Their style has been described as "Nerdy Jewish Apocolyptic Cabaret Rap" by the incomparable Zombie.

This song is worth listening to just for trying to understand Teapacks' perspective. Let me know if you think this song should be banned from the song contest or not.

Brilliant!

Two of my favorite sites, Little Green Footballs and Cox & Forkum have joined forces to create a new masthead for the LGF site.

Little Green Footballs is a site that reports news that few other places report - mostly about terrorism, anti-americanism, and such. Their readership is quite intelligent, which is what drew me to the site in the first place. No koolaid drinkers - just rational thinkers who have looked through both sides of news stories and who have the critical thinking skills to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Cox & Forkum create insightful editorial cartoons. They speak (or rather, draw) truth to light.

To see the Masthead, look here.