Turkey teetering on dramatic change; will it turn to Europe/America or Russia/Iran? Then what?

Der Spiegel Online has an interesting opinion piece by a Turkish writer:

The Turkish Threat to World Peace

In Turkey, the military and the government are engaged in an all-out struggle for power. The country is deeply divided, and decidedly unstable. Turkish writer Ahmet Altan describes his country's paradoxes and warns of the potentially dire consequences.

Ahmet goes on to describe a large cultural divide between two groups in Turkey: the first, a growing, deeply religious Islamic majority, and the second, a shrinking Westernized secular minority. He then explains the conflict:

[...] The first group has been despised, discredited, and pushed around throughout the years of the Republic. Now this group has become politically organized. It is large. And it now has the political power to win every election.

The second group is in the minority. And it currently has no chance of ever winning another election.

It is at this point that there emerges a historical paradox: Because the more Western, second group knows that it will never come to power again if it observes Western political ideas, it is becoming antagonistic to Western democratic values.

But those in the first group, whose values are inimical to the West, know they will only take power by accepting Western criteria. The result is that they are trying to appropriate democratic values and enhance their relations with the West.

"The army" has an important role in this cultural disintegration. If it supports the first group, and the criteria of Western democracy are observed, the army will lose power as well. In fact the army is made up of children of the first group who are cooperating with the second group, inimical to them, in order hold on to power. In a sense, the army is betraying its own roots.

The two groups now appear to be mobilized for their final battle for power. [...]

The article goes on to discuss the threat of a military coup, and what that would mean politically for Turkey and the rest of the world, and the balance of power in the Middle East.

A military coup could be disastrous for the West. Europe would not accept it; American would be in an extremely difficult position to support it. As a result, if Turkey were to turn towards Russia and Iran as allies rather than Europe and the United States, the balance of power, and the control over world oil supplies, could shift dramatically.

I've been critical of the US policy towards Turkey in the past; but I have to say, this article explains a lot, and makes clear why we are doing what we are doing, and shows why it would be very difficult to do anything else.

Ahmet maintains that the decisions Turkey makes could even lead to a world war! Is that overly dramatic? Is it justified? See for yourself; I recommend reading the whole thing.

Also of interest is another article in Der Spiegel, which asks a crucial question which is causing a lot of anxiety and tension in Turkey presently:

WHO GETS TO PICK THE PRESIDENT?

Turkish Head of State Calls for Referendum

Be sure and read this for more details of the recent events involving the power struggle in Turkey.


Related Links:

Turkish Troubles; are we on the wrong side?

Turks show massive support for secularism
     

The $200 ASUS Eee generates much interest;will ship with Linux Desktop OS installed

It seems the Asus Eee Flash memory laptop I posted about earlier is creating some excitement; I've been getting a lot of hits on site meter from people doing searches about it. I've not seen this much interest in any other Linux device I've posted about. This machine will probably be highly sought after when it's released, possibly as soon as mid-August.




Some people are predicting that this machine will put the XO laptop by the One Laptop Per Child project (OLPC) out of business. But it should be remembered that the ASUS Eee is aimed at a much wider market than the XO.

The XO is aimed at children in developing countries; it has a low wattage electrical requirement, a manual battery recharger, a unique screen which can be read in sunlight (school classes in the poorest countries are often outdoors), and a rugged construction made with children in mind.

In comparison the ASUS Eee seems more like a conventional laptop. No doubt it could compete with the XO in some education markets, but that need not end the OPLC project; they just need to create a more flexible, competitive distribution strategy than their current one.

The great thing about the ASUS Eee is that it's a commercial product, not just for kids, but for everyone. Paul Jastrzebski at HotHardware.com offers us a preview of what the ASUS Eee offers. He starts off with the hardware, but he also looks at the software, giving us a closer look at the Linux software the machine is expected to ship with:

ASUS Eee PC Hand's On Preview

[...] In Easy mode, there are six tabs: Internet, Work, Learn, Play, Settings, and Favorites. Each of these tabs has icons that can link to a website, file, or application on the Eee. The internet tab has a few interesting links, one to web storage, one to Wikipedia, and even one to Skype. The Eee PC 701 will likely have Skype pre-installed, and coupled with the notebook’s onboard webcam and microphone, will open up VOIP communications to an entire new set of users.




The Work tab opens up 15 different applications, ranging from standard Office-type software to a dictionary. The documents, spreadsheets, and presentations icons all lead to their respective applications in the free, open source office software suite Open Office. The Eee PC even comes with its own Anti-Virus software and in the learn section, has a typing and a painting program. Asus plans to include more open source education-related software when the Eee PC hits the market later this year, but didn’t give any more information on specific titles.




According to ASUS representatives, Standard mode was made to be “Windows-like” and looks and feels just like a typical Windows OS. The Windows Start button is replaced by a Launch icon, and navigating through files and applications is just like Windows. Even the minimize, maximize, and close buttons in the top right of each application window on the Eee PC 701 look identical to that of the Windows XP Silver style theme we run on our own standard notebooks. It seems as though ASUS is trying to bring as much “Windows-like” functionality to the Eee PC as they possibly can. With Windows in mind, ASUS has said that the Eee PC has already been tested to work on Microsoft’s Windows XP, but to keep costs down it will not come pre-installed on the Eee PC.

See the full review for more details and lots more photos and screen shots. I've been curious at to which Linux distribution the OS is based on, but have not as yet seen any information about that. The Easy Mode looks, well, really easy for computer newbies and novices. The Standard Mode, pictured directly above, looks much like a typical Linux Desktop, probably using the KDE GUI.

At $200 it's a very affordable machine! Flash memory instead of a hard drive means fast response times, low power usage and no fan. Fewer moving parts to break down. It has plenty of USB ports for attaching external hard drives or CD/DVD drives for those who want them.

I predict this is going to be a very popular item. I know I want one!


Related link:

Universal Internet Access for Everyone, and the Law of Unintended Consequences
     

Why Mommy is a Squirrelly Democrat

From Michael Smith at the blog Stop Me Before I Vote Again, a look at a children's book called "Why Mommy is a Democrat". It starts with this great sample page:


Beyond parody

[...] So many thoughts crowd to mind looking at something like is. Is Mama Squirrel's resemblance to Hillary Clinton intentional? And what about Daddy? Perhaps he's that sinister tramp lurking in the background, an otherwise inexplicable adult middle-class nightmare visited upon the two or three innocent children who will actually be subjected to this noxious potion of treacle and arsenic.

Michael's curiosity gets the best of him, and he buys the book! He is then able to provide us with more details:

Why Mommy needs to get out more

[...] The illustrations aren't quite so strange as the Web reproductions make them appear, although there is something funny about the little squirrels' eyes. Ritalin, perhaps. But the text more than makes up for it. It lists twelve reasons why Mommy is a Democrat. Among these, Democrats are said to "make sure"

* ... everyone always has enough to eat
* ... everyone is treated fairly
* ... everyone plays by the rules
* ... no one fights
* ... we all share our toys
* ... we are nice to people who are different
* ... sick people are able to see a doctor
* ... we are always safe
* ... we clean up our messes
* ... children can go to school
* ... everyone has a warm bed to sleep in

Now I'm sure everyone will have his own favorites from the list -- mine is "everyone plays by the rules," which features Mommy somewhat fetishistically dressed as a soccer referee. (Whew! *Mops sweat from brow*)

But the truly extraordinary thing is that each and every one of these statements, as applied to the Democrats, is a glaring, obvious, flat-out falsehood. Democrats don't do any of these things, and indeed do the very opposite of many of them, con brio. (I'm thinking particularly of "make sure nobody fights.") What world do these folks live in, where such whoppers can -- and should! -- be told to innocent children? [...]

Democrats don't do all those things, but they ARE very good at posturing and posing as if they do. Isn't that almost the same thing? ;-)
     

Iranian Theocracy prepares the Iranian people for the "Return of the Mahdi"

No, it's not a new Star Wars episode; it's what the Iranian government leadership believes and is preparing for.

True believers dial messiah hotline in Iran

[...] Paving the way is a renewed commitment to "Mahdaviat" beliefs by the ultraconservative government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who lives so modestly that declared assets include only a 30-year-old car, an even older house, and an empty bank account.

These ideologues see the creation of the Islamic Republic in 1979 and efforts to rekindle its revolutionary ideals, as critical to paving the way for the Mahdi's return.

They say that return - which they believe will happen soon - will prompt a global battle between good and evil (not unlike biblical "Armageddon" interpretations), and herald an era of justice, peace, and the ultimate triumph of Shiite Islam.

The Bright Future Institute is preparing the ground, a leaflet explains, by developing the "true culture" of waiting for the Mahdi, "reject[ing] wrong ideas and preparing scientific answers to respond [to] superstitions," while working to "accomplish an ideal society which Imam Mahdi wants."

[...]

Started in 2004, the institute is the eighth of its kind in Iran to study and even speed the Mahdi's return. But it is the largest and most influential, with 160 staff, a growing reach in local schools, children's and teen magazines, and unlimited ambition to spread the word.

The blend of modern technology and ancient prophecy echoes efforts of US evangelicals who use 45 categories - from liberalism to natural disasters - to predict the "end time," when holy people will experience "rapture" and go to heaven. For them, the "Rapture Index" (www.raptureready.com) is at 151; anything higher than 145 means "Fasten your seatbelts," because of what they deem a high level of prophetic activity.

In Iran, theologians say end-of-times beliefs appeal to one-fifth of Iranians. And Jamkaran mosque east of Qom, 60 miles south of Tehran, is where the link between devotees and the Mahdi is closest.

Mr. Ahmadinejad's cabinet has given $17 million to Jamkaran. Staff at the Bright Future Institute downplay his interest, arguing the amount is just $2-3 million, and that their effort is privately funded. They claim that former President Mohammad Khatami also spent "a lot" on Jamkaran.

[...]

Shiite writings describe events surrounding the return in apocalyptic terms, similar to those used in Revelations, which some Christian evangelicals believe predicts a final world war during which Jesus returns to win and reign for 1,000 years.

In one script, forces of evil would come from Syria and Iraq and clash with forces of good from Iran. The battle would commence at Kufa - the Iraqi town near the holy city of Najaf (and home to the anti-US Iraqi cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr).

The evil commander named Sofiani and the anti-Mahdi known as Dajol (comparable to the Christian antichrist), would both be killed. The forces of good would be led by a "man from Khorasan" - a province in northeast Iran.

The Mahdi would return at Mecca, and fight. His victory would bring a government of God for a period of "seven," according to one reading. Seven months, years, or millennia is not clear.

[...]

"The Imam of the Age will have victory, and all the world will support him, except some regimes and governments that are racist, like Zionists," says Poursayed-Aghaie. The result will be global dominance of Shiite Muslims. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) Even though only one fifth of the Iranian population believes this literally, they are the ones in charge of the government, and this belief in the Mahdi is their guiding principle.

In this article they talk about peace, but they believe peace will only be possible in an Islamic world, ruled by the Mahdi. And the Mahdi will only return after great war, death and destruction.


#1288 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: As Soon as Iran Achieves Advanced Technologies, It Has the Capacity to Become an Invincible Global Power.
9/28/2006 - 00:07:34


#1314 - Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander Yahya Safavi: We Have Thousands of Martyrdom-Seekers; We Can Give Missiles to Friendly and Neighboring Countries.
Al-'Alam TV (Iran) - 11/5/2006 - 00:03:31

The Revolutionary Guards are the ones killing our soldiers in Iraq. On a website, one of their leaders spoke of striking Americans with nuclear bombs on American soil. The Democrats think we just need to talk with them.

#1241 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: The U.S and England Are Not Worthy of Security Council Membership. Those Who Want Good Relations with the Iranian People Should Bow and Surrender to its Right and Might.
IRINN (Iran) - 8/13/2006 - 00:03:21

Bow and surrender? These are the people the Democrats think we should be "talking" with? Ahmadinejad himself has said we have nothing to say to them.


#1321 - Iranian Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezai: America Destroyed All Our Enemies in the Region.
Iran Ch.1 - 11/11/2006 - 00:04:08

Good news for Iran. Unfortunately. Removing Saddam got rid of Iran's biggest enemy in the region. Iran just needs to get rid of the US influence in the region now, so they can annex Iraq and it's oil to fuel their war machine and fund their global ambitions.

In a speech June 3rd, Ahmadinejad spoke of moving towards Jerusalem, with the Iraqi people, and the destruction of Israel:

Ahmadinejad: The Countdown To The Destruction Of Israel Has Begun; We Hope To Move Towards Jerusalem

The guy makes no secret of his intentions; he says we have nothing to say to him. What is it we need to talk to him about?

Here is a page showing this post, and below it all of my prior posts about the Mahdi.

And this, from Iranian Blogger/Journalist Azadeh Akbari:

Which religious beliefs Ahmadynejad has
     

Cross-platform Computer Worm hits OpenOffice

OpenOffice worm hits Mac, Linux and Windows

According to the Symantec Security Response Web site, the worm is capable of infecting multiple operating system platforms and is spreading.

The advisory said: "A new worm is being distributed within malicious OpenOffice documents. The worm can infect Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X systems. Be cautious when handling OpenOffice files from unknown sources". [...]

OpenOffice is an excellent suite of office applications, I hate to see this happen. Symantec rates the worm as only "Medium Risk", and I've not heard a lot about it, so I'm not sure how serious it is.
     

Universal Internet Access for Everyone, and the Law of Unintended Consequences

We are rapidly moving towards an interconnected world, communication wise. Devices that access the internet continue to drop in price; projects like OLPC are pushing to give every child worldwide a loptop computer with wireless internet access.

A $200 laptop, the Asus Eee PC 701, is due out this fall.
One belief behind many such projects is, that people are poor because they are uneducated; access to the internet would be educational, and therefore would help end poverty worldwide.

I would agree that the internet CAN be a great educational resource, and could HELP; however, like any resource, it can be used wisely, or squandered.

For instance, here in America, many people have internet access, including the "poor" among us. I don't doubt that some use the internet to educate themselves, to get better jobs, to and improve the quality of their lives. Yet I'm also certain that many more use it to read gossip, watch porn, hook up for sex, and otherwise use it as entertainment and distraction from more meaningful pursuits. Still others use it in malicious ways, like stalking and criminal activities.

The internet by itself does not educate people or lead to a guaranteed reduction of poverty. Trailer Trash can use it and still stay Trailer Trash, even in an advanced industrial nation like the USA, which has abundant educational opportunities.

Used with direction, purpose and guidence, the internet can undeniably be a valuable educational tool. But what about the unintended consequences of making it accessible worldwide?

In prior posts about the OLPC project and other similar programs, I've read that the parents of kids involved in these programs will sometimes come to the school with the kids, and ask their children to look things up for them on the internet.

In one video about the OLPC Project, a school in Cambodia gave laptops to kids, and even let the kids bring the machines home to use. These villagers had no electricity or running water in their homes, but they had a laptop computer! At night, it was often literally the brightest thing in the house. And if their home was within wireless range of the school, they had internet access, too. Access to streaming video, music, everything. (You can see on-line the story, a 13 minute CBS video about this)

Remember in the TV series "Star Trek", the crew had an imperative called the "Prime Directive", which forbid them from interfering with the natural development of other cultures? It also forbid them from giving advanced technologies to people who had not yet developed those same technologies. The logic behind that was, that if you gave advanced technology to people who had not yet developed the wisdom and comprehension to use it properly, the results could be disastrous... or at least, there could be unforeseen negative consequences.

The XO computer for children by the OLPC Project.
So here you have these little Cambodian children, all excited about their computers. The first word they learn in English is "Google". They use all this kid-friendly software, they sing-along with the computer in English, etc. They and their families now have a portal to the rest of the technologically advanced world, via the world wide web. Is there something inherently wrong with this? No, not that we can see. It's just that their parents and grand parents and all who went before them did not have this. So in the long run, how is this going to affect and change their culture? What will the long term after effects be?

We don't really know, because nothing quite like the internet has happened before.

The internet is relatively new. Even in our own technologically advanced cultures, we are having kids being raised with the internet, which has never happened before. It's making changes that we are only beginning to see. And yet before we even fully appreciate what is happening to ourselves, we are extending it to others, to everyone.

I'm not saying I'm against it. I doubt that anyone could stop it even if they wanted to. I'm just asking, what might the unintended consequences be? And I'm asking that because, I doubt we are going to be prepared for them. Forewarned is forearmed.

In Part II of this post, I'll take a closer look at possible unintended consequences.

I'll end today's post with this simple example of the law of unintended consequences in motion:


     

A $200 laptop for everyone: Asus Eee PC 701

The One Laptop Per Child project (OLPC), in it's efforts to produce and inexpensive flash-memory laptop for children in developing countries, has been inspiring competitors to create similar inexpensive laptops. One of the latest ones was recently announced by Asustek, a Taiwan company.


Predicted to be available in the 3rd quarter, the Asus Eee PC will be a flash-memory laptop made for easy access to the internet. With a built-in camera and Wi-Fi, it's aimed at a wide variety of users:


Here is a 90 second promo video for the Asus Eee PC 701 [YouTube]

PC World Magazine offers a first look review:
First Look: Asustek's $199 PC

[...] Jointly developed by Intel and Asustek, the Eee PC will hit the market during the third quarter, most likely in August or September. The notebook will be aimed at education users, but it should also be available more widely.

Prices are going to start at $199, rising based on the amount of flash memory that comes with the machine instead of a hard disk. Currently, Asustek plans to sell models with 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB of flash, but that may change between now and when the first Eee PCs go on sale.

Measuring 9 inches wide by 6.6 inches deep, the Eee PC 701 is about 1.5 inches thick with the screen closed and weighs just 31 ounces. Other specifications include a 7-inch monitor, a 300,000-pixel camera, 512MB of DDR2 memory, and Wi-Fi. Next year, Asustek plans to introduce a second Eee PC model, the 1001, which will have a 10-inch screen.

[...]

Whatever chip it's using, the Eee PC doesn't run hot. The prototype I tested had been running continuously for at least six hours when I picked it up, and the machine was barely warm to the touch. Asustek said the notebook can run for three hours on battery, which is sufficient for surfing the Web or checking e-mail, but I would like more. Unfortunately, Asustek doesn't have plans to offer an extended-life battery for the Eee PC. Hopefully it will offer extra batteries as an option.

The keyboard and trackpad are slightly small due to the Eee PC's size, but I was able to type comfortably. The keyboard felt fine for typing out e-mails or surfing the Web, but I prefer a full-size keyboard for typing for an extended period of time. [...]

The reviewer says the machine was running Linux (Xandros), but I have read elsewhere that it is capable of running Windows XP also.

This laptop is aimed at a broad market, and shows a lot of promise. Many see it as a blow to the OLPC project, with potential to take away OLPC's market share. In my opinion, OLPC's laptop, XO, still has many unique advantages; very low power requirements, a hand operated recharger, a screen that can be read in sunlight, and a rugged casing and design specifically developed for children. Perhaps their biggest obstacle is their marketing and distribution strategy, which relies too heavily on large orders by assorted government ministries.

Negroponte's "$100 Laptop" Blowback: Asustek's Eee PC

[...] Now there is the ASUS Eee PC and it doesn't even pretend to be a pure education play. Oh yes, it does borrow heavily from OLPC with its tagline of "Easy to Learn, Work and Play" but do not be fooled. This is not a computer for children. This is One Low-Cost Laptop For Everyone.

With such a broad target, there are going to be instant winners and losers. The first winners will be anyone who wants a low-cost computer and can afford the $200-300 price point. This includes students and adults in the developing world who are not part of OLPC's target market of young children and might find the Sugar UI to be childish anyway. They are now going to be seen as a viable market, one even giants like Intel should focus research, development, and production resources to serve. [...]

OLPC has awakened awareness of new potential markets for fanless, flash-memory, low power use, low cost laptops, and it's only natural that laptop makers will start to compete for market share. OLPC's XO laptop is unique, as it aims to reach not just children, but the poorest, the least likely to afford a computer, and is constructed to function in environments where more typical laptop technology and construction would not fair well.

The OLPC XO laptop thus has unique advantages in the education market, but much depends on HOW it is used:

No Comparison: OLPC XO is the Low-Cost Laptop for Teaching

Ultimately, I see the competition for this market as a good thing:

Competition for OLPC: shameful, or good?
     

     

Iran's pressing needs and Iraq's vulnerability

#1460 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: America Is Like a Battery Running Out. They Are Done For.
Iran Ch.1, Esfahan TV (Iran) - 5/24/2007 - 00:06:42

[...] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: With the grace of God, we have almost reached the end of the path where we can take complete advantage of all nuclear capabilities. We are very near the summit. The resistance of the enemies grows weaker every day.

[...]

Now they are mustering all their power, in order to cause some commotion – some resolution, some pressure, some uproar... But let me tell you that with the help of God, they are done for. Like a battery about to run out, they muster the remainder of their power but Allah willing, nothing will happen. We've passed that. Wait one month, two months, three months... Allah willing, as soon as possible, we will pass that. Their situation is much worse than one can imagine. Their foundations are shaking. Nobody is with them. They though that if they used threats, people here would withdraw voluntarily. When they used threats nobody withdrew. When they used their fist – it boomeranged back at them. What's left for them to say? A few months ago, they threatened us militarily. Do you remember? They specified the date. They said: "On March 27, at 5 a.m., we will bomb these 20 sites." From this position of making military threats, they've got themselves to the point where they want to have talks with us, and they say: "It wasn't us making threats."

(bold emphaiis mine) Talks? Even Ahmadinejad believes we have nothing to say. I think it's because of the Democrats that we are now having "talks" with the Iranians. A waste of time for us, it buys time for Iran, and lends them the veneer of credibility. Small wonder that they want to invite Nancy Pelosi to Iran. I don't see that any good will come of it.

As for the analogy of a battery running out, perhaps Ahmadinejad is confusing us with his own country? Here is a bit of economic news from the Memri blog:

Economic Shocks in Iran

Randa Taqi al-Din, columnist for the London daily Al-Hayat, reviews the economic shocks being experienced by the Iranian economy. Iran, the second largest exporter of oil in OPEC, is in economic crisis, caused by the shortage of gasoline for cars, which Iran imports in large quantities. Iran is suffering from a soft economy, 11% unemployment, and rising inflation.

Iran’s economic shocks are the product of state control over the economy, stifling bureaucracy, and poor management. Iran’s foreign policy and the provocative statements of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have had their impact on the Iranian economy as well.

In order to revive Iran's oil sector, $100 billion is required, but no foreign investments are currently available because of the sanctions.

The Iranian leadership is blaming U.S. President Bush for its mismanagement of the economy.

Iran’s rush last year to provide economic aid to the Lebanese while failing to provide aid to a city that suffered an earthquake was widely criticized by local papers.

Ms. Taqi al-Din concluded that the Iran has only itself to blame for its economic woes, because it could be doing much better had it focused its energies on the internal front.

Source: Al-Hayat, London, June 6, 2007

(bold emphasis mine) Someone's batteries are running out. They need 100 billion in investments, or new resources to draw on. Where can they find new resources? From their neighbors, the Iraqis:

Baghdad Accuses Regional Fronts Of Seeking To Destroy Its Ports, Oil

The Iraqi government has accused unnamed "regional fronts" of targeting Iraqi oil installations and Iraqi ports.

U.S. officials have identified the "fronts" as a cell connected with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, June 6, 2007[...]

(bold emphasis mine) The Iranian theocracy has a strong interest in seeing Iraq's government fail.

There are many family connections and religious ties between the Shia Muslims in both countries. If the Americans leave before Iraq's government stabilizes, Iran could precipitate a civil war, where the Shia would most likely win and dominate. Then the Shia in both countries would unite, and Iran's oil problems would be solved... and everyone else's would begin. And the Iranian Government would also have new revenue to fund their terrorism, and grow their war machine. Ahmadinejad has made no secret of what he intends to do with that:

Ahmadinejad: The Countdown To The Destruction Of Israel Has Begun; We Hope To Move Towards Jerusalem

If we isolate Iran, their internal problems will increase and the regime may collapse from within. But if we pull out of Iraq and abandon it to Iran, we will see troubles much worse than what we are facing now.
     

Wafa Sultan interview: A "crack in the wall"

Syrian-born Los Angeles Psychiatrist Wafa Sultan does an interview, in English, for Danish TV. The interview is about 9 minutes long. She offers many interesting insights with her views of Islam and the Muslim world, and what she hopes to accomplish by speaking out.

Shahada (Prayer for a son)

Here is a great video, demonstrating a contrast of cultures. Every culture has hopes and dreams for their children, but most cultures aren't indoctrinating their children into a murder-suicide death cult.

I was informed about this video in the comments section of my post about the Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony on Hamas TV. I'm pleased that my blog is referenced at the end of the video. Thank you, x-dhimmi (Deb).

You can click here to see a compilation of my other posts on this topic.
     

Picasa, Google's free photo manager & editor

I recently downloaded a copy of Picasa, and was very impressed. It scanned and found ALL of my photo and image files, on all of my hard drives, and made them all available on one long scrolling page. I've rediscovered pics that I forgot I had! If your photos have gotten so numerous that organizing them seems impossible, Picasa will be an excellent tool to help you get a handle on the situation.

It also offers some basic editing tools for improving photos. The program is available free of charge, and it's a cross-platform program; versions are available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

From Marziah Karch at About.com, a review of the software:

Take a Look at Picasa - Review of Google's Digital Photo Management Software

[...] Picasa will organize your photos by date and initially retains the same file structure as your hard drive. The main area shows thumbnails of the images, and along the right side is a scroll bar to navigate. Thumbnails in the library are grouped by folder, but they’re all displayed (with some scrolling.) This means that you don’t have to repeatedly click to navigate to a new folder, which is a nice touch.

You can move thumbnails from folder to folder directly from Picasa, and it will confirm and then move the corresponding file on your hard drive. This makes it much easier to organize albums. [...]

It's a short review, but it gives you a good summary of all the basic functions, I recommend reading the whole thing.



You can download Picasa from the main page of their website:

Picasa by Google
     

Our Immigration Reform Dilemma

Like so many people, I think the current immigration reform bill stinks. It's being rushed through without enough debate, and tries to accomplish too much. So much of what I've read about it sounds like it's unworkable and unenforceable. Our politicians are ignoring us, which is infuriating.

The American people have said again and again, we want our borders secured. What part of that sentence don't the politicians in Washington understand?

SECURE OUR BORDERS
If they would simply do that, the rest could be sorted out in good time. Secure our borders first, and I think much of the opposition to everything else would calm down, and reasonable debate could ensue. I think what makes so many Americans angry is that our government repeatedly fails to demonstrate any serious intention of securing the border. They focus instead on everything else related to immigration, which is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.


Polls show that the majority of Americans don't want mass deportations that split up families. Proponents of the current immigration bill keep trying to smear all opponents with accusations of racism, to silence their criticism. Whatever happened to REAL debate?

Multiculturalism, which has advocates on both the left and right, has become the favorite tool of the new Stealth Socialists. They've not been able to dominate politically, so they support the open borders concept to bring in a new proletariat underclass they can manipulate. The Multiculturalists on the right support open borders, to bring in cheap labor.

The Open Borders crowd, both left and right, uses accusations of racism to try to silence any debate about or opposition to their open borders agenda. The end result is squashing debate, which is just plain wrong. Rushing faulty legislation into law without public debate is WRONG.



I do realize that we are trying to fix something that has gone unattended for far too long. I realize that we don't have endless time to do something, and that no bill is going to ever please everyone. Yet something MUST be done.

I say listen to the folks in the middle. The moderate center. Work for compromises that are WORKABLE and REALISTIC. Break this bill up into segments. Secure the border first. Then work on the rest, a chunk at a time.

It's fine if the extremists on both sides of the aisle are displeased. But debate these things properly, and listen to the moderates in both parties, and WORK for consensus. The way it's being handled now disrespectful to the American people.


Related Links:

Slow Down and Absorb:
Open borders? Mass deportations? How about some common sense instead?

Capitulation, from A------ to Z

Don't Run for the Border:
America needs comprehensive immigration reform, but not a law enacted in haste.

Opposition to Senate immigration bill fading?

THE AMNESTY BILL .. HEADED FOR PASSAGE?

[...] It's all very simple, really. Close the border. Stop the invasion. Turn off the faucets. Then we'll have time aplenty to sit back and figure out what to do with those illegals who are already here. Americans are not cold blooded monsters who want to uproot established Hispanic families and dump them across the border. You present the average American with the story of a Hispanic high school graduate trying to get into college, a young adult who was brought to this country by their parents at the age of three, and you aren't going to find many who would insist that this person, who has known nothing but life in America, be sent back to a country they don't know.

Why is nobody talking about the cost to the taxpayers here? Since 1990 Hispanics have accounted for 92% of the increase in poor people in this country. Only about 53% of the Hispanic adult population in the U.S. even have a high school education. This means we are legitimizing a huge number of people who will eventually end up on the receiving end of our hundreds of local and federal welfare programs. Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation has compiled some of the costs. He says that government tax payments ... entitlements and means-tested benefits ... would increase by about $8000 per American household. We're looking at about 20 billion a year .. and that's just starters.

You've read about the increases in crime across the country, haven't you? For every 100,000 U.S. residents in a specific age group you'll find Hispanics in prison at a rate of about two-and-one half that of whites. There seems to be some reluctance to report this in the news, but what would you like to bet that a huge portion of the increase in crime in this country is coming from the fine people who have been part of the Mexican invasion. This isn't rocket surgery. What, after all, have we been teaching these people? They cross our border illegally, and nothing happens. They stay here illegally ... they use forged documents to get jobs and they work here illegally, and nothing happens. Can you blame some of them for not believing that we're all that serious about enforcing our laws?

Again .. it's very simple. When the government becomes selective in enforcing our laws, it's only natural that the people would become selective in obeying them. [...]

Neal Boortz makes a lot of sense here. I hear lots of people saying ALL illegal immigrants are criminals. Technically, that may be true. But when we don't bother to enforce our own laws, people will not bother obeying them. That's human nature.

We haven't enforced our immigration laws for decades, and the consequences are 12 million or more illegals. That's the price we are paying.

We can send back the actual criminals in this group that are currently in our prisons. A path for citizenship for the rest who have otherwise been law abiding may be possible. Many don't WANT to become US citizens, they are here to earn money; perhaps some sort of work visa could be created. But none of this will be viable if we don't FIRST secure our borders. The open borders advocates on the left and right need to stop obstructing that. Then perhaps we can find real, workable solutions.


UPDATE 06-06-07:

From Neal Boortz:

AMNESTY BILL UPDATE

[...] Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions released an excellent report of 20 different loopholes he found in the bill.

* -Loophole 1 – Legal Status Before Enforcement
* -Loophole 2 – U.S. VISIT Exit Not In Trigger
* -Loophole 3 – Trigger Requires No More Agents, Beds, or Fencing Than Current Law
* -Loophole 4 -- Three Additional Years Worth of Illegal Aliens Granted Status, Treated Preferentially To Legal Filers
* -Loophole 5 – Completion of Background Checks Not Required For Probationary Legal Status
* -Loophole 6 – Some Child Molesters Are Still Eligible
* -Loophole 7 – Terrorism Connections Allowed, Good Moral Character Not Required
* -Loophole 8 – Gang Members Are Eligible
* -Loophole 9 – Absconders Are Eligible
* -Loophole 10 – Learning English Not Required For A Decade
* -Loophole 11 – Earned Income Tax Credit Will Cost Taxpayers Billions In Just 10 Years
* -Loophole 12 – Affidavits From Friends Accepted As Evidence
* -Loophole 13 – Taxpayer Funded Legal Counsel and Arbitration
* -Loophole 14 – In-State Tuition and Student Loans
* -Loophole 15 – Inadequacy of the Merit System
* -Loophole 16 – Visas For Individuals That Plan To Overstay
* -Loophole 17 – Chain Migration Tippled Before Being Eliminated
* -Loophole 18 – Back Taxes Not Required
* -Loophole 19 – Social Security Credits Allowed For Some Illegal Work Histories
* -Loophole 20 – Criminal Fines Not Proportional To Conduct

[...]

That's just part of it. Read the whole thing. This bill is NOT ready, it's too rushed. What can I say? AAAARGH!!!


UPDATE 06-10-07
Here's two bloggers that sum it up perfectly:

The Bloody Immigration Debate

Well-meaning but misguided Senate immigration bill dead
     

A Hummingbird Party

Here is something I got in my email:

WOW!

This is something I have never seen before, or ever even heard of. This lady lives in a Hummingbird fly zone. As they migrated, about 20 of them were in her yard. Just for a lark, she took the little red dish and filled it with sugar water and this is the result.

Snopes.com verifies that the story is true, and provides further details:

A Hummingbird in the Hand.

It seems the photo owners, Sam & Abigail Alfano, emailed the photos to friends, not realizing that the friends would forward them to their friends, and soon the pics would be sent all around the world.

The Alfanos also have their own web page:

The Hummingbird Lady

On that page, Abigail explains how the photos came to be:

"I am Abigail Alfano, the woman in the photos. My husband, Sam is the photographer. We live in Pine, Louisiana which is approximately 1 1/2 hours north of New Orleans.This year we had more hummingbirds in our yard than I ever recall. The feeder sits right outside of my window where I drink my morning coffee. I remember watching the birds one morning and telling my husband that I wish I could just hold one! We decided to give it a shot."

"Over the course of several days, I would simply stand beside the feeder so that they would get used to my presence. Then, I began putting my hands around the feeder so that in order to drink they had to land on my fingers. I was amazed at how quickly they were willing to do this.

The next step was to remove the feeder and place a small red cap on an old milk can in the same area. They eventually found the small replacement and began feeding. The morning the photos were taken, I simply went outside and filled the cap with the sugar water, placed it in the palm of my hand, and sat very very still. Within ten minutes, they were resting in my hands, drinking. It was sheer delight for me! I was even able to move my hands around a bit with the birds on my fingers. They are light as a feather...and simply beautiful. I can't wait until next year."

See their site for more information. Please note that the photos are copyrighted. Someone in Tennesse fraudulently entered one in a photo contest and won, but they were exposed.

You can see more hummingbird photos from their photo gallery.
     

Iran: "Temporary marriage is God's rule"

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer:
Iran official backs temporary marriage

TEHRAN, Iran -
Iran's hard-line interior minister is encouraging temporary marriages as a way to avoid extramarital sex, a stance many in this conservative country fear would instead encourage prostitution.

A temporary marriage, or "sigheh," refers to a Shiite Muslim tradition under which a man and a woman sign a contract that allows them to be "married" for any length of time, even a few hours. An exchange of money, as a sort of dowry, is often involved.

Although the practice exists, it's not very common in Iran, a Shiite majority nation where many consider it a license for prostitution. Others, however, have advocated institutionalizing the tradition, saying it would help fight "illicit" sex in a country where sexual relations outside marriage are banned under Islamic law.

"Temporary marriage is God's rule. We must aggressively encourage that," state-run television quoted Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi as saying. [...]

The article goes on about how half of Iran's population is under the age of 30. Many men cannot afford to buy a home and support a wife. Since extramarital sex if strictly forbidden under Islamic law, what are these young men to do with their sexual needs?

Temporary Marriage! Talk about mind games. Prostitution by any other name is still what it is.

I've heard of temporary marriage used in another context. Women in prison who are condemned to die. If they are virgins, whey would go to heaven. In order to prevent that from happening, the women are forced into temporary marriages with prison guards, who then rape them to insure that they are not virgins when they die. And God approves, because it's not extramarital sex.

Those Imams, those men, seem to come up with Islamic solutions to just about everything.
     

Should we bomb Iran? Two views...

Norman Podhoretz insists that it must be done:

The Case for Bombing Iran:
I hope and pray that President Bush will do it.

[...] The Iranians, of course, never cease denying that they intend to build a nuclear arsenal, and yet in the same breath they openly tell us what they intend to do with it. Their first priority, as repeatedly and unequivocally announced by their president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is to "wipe Israel off the map"--a feat that could not be accomplished by conventional weapons alone.

But Ahmadinejad's ambitions are not confined to the destruction of Israel. He also wishes to dominate the greater Middle East, and thereby to control the oilfields of the region and the flow of oil out of it through the Persian Gulf. If he acquired a nuclear capability, he would not even have to use it in order to put all this within his reach. Intimidation and blackmail by themselves would do the trick.

Nor are Ahmadinejad's ambitions merely regional in scope. He has a larger dream of extending the power and influence of Islam throughout Europe, and this too he hopes to accomplish by playing on the fear that resistance to Iran would lead to a nuclear war. And then, finally, comes the largest dream of all: what Ahmadinejad does not shrink from describing as "a world without America." Demented though he may be, I doubt that Ahmadinejad is so crazy as to imagine that he could wipe America off the map even if he had nuclear weapons. But what he probably does envisage is a diminution of the American will to oppose him: that is, if not a world without America, he will settle, at least in the short run, for a world without much American influence. [...]

While many in the US would dismiss Ahmadinajad's comments as crazy rantings, not to be taken seriously, Podehoretz makes an analogy with the Cold War, and explains in detail why this cannot end the same way.

Many Muslims consider Israel a "one bomb country", i.e., one nuclear bomb exploded over Tel Aviv would end the country of Israel. Ahamadinejad has indicated that any counter-strike against Muslim nations could be endured, and would be worth it; the casualties would die as martyrs, and that is acceptable!

Also, whether or not President Bush has the will to carry out a military strike seems highly doubtful these days. Not impossible, but doubtful.


(for commentary & links click here.)


For an entirely different point of view, Iranian "prince" Reza Pahlavi makes the case that we must NOT bomb Iran:

Reza Pahlavi: war with Iran is unnecessary

I don't care much for the idea of "royalty", such titles don't impress me. Pahlalvi is hoping to to be reinstated as Monarch in Iran one day, so of course he is against bombing; if he was for it, the Iranian people would never let him be their King in any capacity. Yet putting Royalty considerations aside, he none the less makes some compelling arguments against bombing, arguing for supporting a revolution from within Iran to bring about regime change.

It sounds good, but how plausible is it? In both scenarios there is a great deal to consider, and no certain solution.
     

Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony on Hamas TV

#1468 - Graduation Ceremony at the Islamic Association in Gaza on Hamas TV
Al-Aqsa TV (Palestinian Authority) - 5/31/2007 - 00:04:01

[...] Boys: Allah Akbar. Praise be to Allah. Allah Akbar. Praise be to Allah. Allah Akbar. Praise be to Allah. Allah Akbar. Praise be to Allah. Who is your role model? The Prophet. Who is your role model? The Prophet. What is your path? Jihad. What is your path? Jihad. What is your most lofty aspiration? Death for the sake of Allah. What is your most lofty aspiration? Death for the sake of Allah.

It fits right in with what the kids learn from Micky "Jihad" Mouse:


#1442 - A Mickey Mouse Character on Hamas TV Teaches Children about Islamic Rule of the World
Al-Aqsa TV (Palestinian Authority) - 4/13/2007 - 00:02:12

#1446 - Hamas TV Insists on Continuing Inciting Children TV Show
Al-Aqsa TV (Palestinian Authority) - 5/11/2007 - 00:02:57

Also see: 'Mickey Mouse' promotes jihad

Western governments from around the world keep sending money, taxpayers money, to the Palestinians, to insure they have the time and resources to keep doing this. Why?


(for more info, see Hamas Kindergarten)

Jihad Micky made it into the news because of the strangeness of seeing a beloved symbol of American childhood used in such a perverse way. It seems like a freak event to us, but unfortunately it's all too common an occurrence. It's just one small part of a larger deliberate and consistant indoctrination into a death cult.

And for decades, we've been giving them money so they can keep on doing it! How long will it be before that comes back to bite us in the ass one day?



     

The redneck version of drinks and dinner...

From Neal Boortz's Redneck Scrapbook
     

Are you ready for the Thought Police?

Your very thoughts could be a crime. Do you understand what you need to know to avoid punishment for your thoughts? Take this quiz and find out:

'Hate Crimes' And Double Standards
     

Changing Tyres Can Be Dangerous

My dad sent me this video in my email. It's three good examples of what NOT to do when changing a tire. Kids, don't try this at home. Yikes.

These are ads for the new Goodyear tires, that allow you to continue driving for a considerable distance when the tire goes flat, so you don't have to stop and change it in a dangerous place. They're a great idea, we have them on our Ford Focus.

The URL shown on the video goes to Goodyear's European website. Perhaps that explains the spelling of "Tyre" (British).

Hugo Chavez revokes license of popular Caracas TV station; response is protests and violence

The Socialist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez decided to silence his political opposition by revoking the broadcast license of Radio Caracas TV, which has been critical of his totalitarian policies. More from Tammy Bruce:

Caracas TV station employees, after being forced off the air.

Has Chavez Finally Gone Too Far?

Let's hope so. The Venezuelan people deserve better. But really, what did they expect--that he would be the one tyrannical Marxist on Earth to leave television alone? Mass communication is the biggest threat to fascists. Why do you think Hillary and the American left are obsessed with shutting down talk radio and "regulating" the internet? Why do you think the Democrat party want to demonize Fox News? Because they know information and a free discussion is the antidote to...them.

[...]

Chavez, like every other depraved leftist in history, simply bought his way into power with money and entitlements for the poor. And as always, the people are shocked, just shocked, to find out that the man who had no ideas but lots of goodies to give away, suddenly wants something in return--their freedom and the future.

Now they understand the convenient Marxism they embraced comes with a price. Let's hope the Venezuelans understand they can refuse to pay and reverse their mistake. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) See Tammy's post for links and more.




Neal Boortz also comments on the Caracas TV station closure:

HUGO CHAVEZ AND THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE

Jealousy is an ugly thing. And jealousy is especially ugly when you have freely elected leaders from a country that prides itself on a dedication to freedom and individual liberty being openly jealous of a dictator.

Such is the case with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Hugo the Horrible has now accomplished in Venezuela what Democrats only wish they could accomplish here at home. He has silenced a broadcast outlet that was critical of his regime. Sunday night Venezuela's most popular television station went off the air. Why? Because Chavez decided that their broadcast license would not be renewed. Radio Caracas Television was the only TV station in Venezuela that was broadcast nationwide ... and Radio Caracas Television was critical of Hugo Chavez.

Are you starting to get the picture here?

Chavez says he is "democratizing" the public's airways. He also said that this TV station was a threat to his country. Wow! Now doesn't that sound very much like the things that the left is saying about talk radio in the U.S.?

What Chavez accomplished by edict the left in this country hopes to accomplish through legislation and regulation. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) The methods may be different, but the goals are the same. And so it goes. What do you suppose comes next? For Venezuela and for us?


     

Remembering Our Heros...

Cox and Forkum have a brief History of Memorial Day.

Maynard at the Tammy Bruce Blog comments on the holiday:

Memorial Day is not a "Happy" Holiday

     

Sunday Funnies 05/27/07

(click on image to see larger version)

Multiculturalism: it isn't your grandfather's Communism

Multiculturalism is supposed to be about tolerance for cultural differences. But too often, its used as a social engineering tool. Tolerance for different cultures isn't itself necessarily a bad thing. I'm not against every aspect of Multiculturalism; what I object to, is the sneaky way it is being used to advance agendas that have nothing to do with tolerance.

Leftists who have failed to bring about their goals through political means have found better methods; accusations of racism, enforced political correctness, immigration issues and the abolishing of borders. Having failed to sufficiently sway the proletariat in Western societies, the left wishes to replace it with a new one, an under-class they can manipulate. Fjordman at the Brussels Journal addresses these ideas and more in detail in his latest article. Some excerpts:

A Communism for the 21st Century

[...] On one hand, we’re supposed to “celebrate” our differences at the same time as it is racist and taboo to recognize that any differences between groups of people exist at all. This is hardly logically coherent, which is why Multiculturalism can only be enforced by totalitarian means. Perhaps it boils down to the fact there are no major differences, just minor quirks, all cute, which should be celebrated at the same time as we gradually eradicate them.

We are told to treat cultural and historical identities as fashion accessories, shirts we can wear and change at will. The Multicultural society is “colorful,” an adjective normally attached to furniture or curtains. Cultures are window decorations of little or no consequence, and one might as well have one as the other.

[...]

We should remember that this view of culture as largely unimportant is essentially a Marxist view of the world, which has now even been adopted by segments of the political Right, united with Leftists in the belief that man is homo economicus, the economic man, the sum of his functions as worker and consumer, nothing more. Marxism doesn’t say that cultures or ideas are of absolutely no consequence, but that they are of minor or secondary importance next to structural and economic conditions.

[...]

Imagine you have two such houses next to each other. In House A, the inhabitants have over a period of generations created a tidy and functioning household. They have limited their number of children because they wanted to give all of them a proper education. In House B, the inhabitants live in a dysfunctional household with too many children who have received little higher education. One day they decide to move to their neighbors’. Many of the inhabitants of House A are protesting, but some of them think this might be a good idea. There is room for more people in House A, they say. In addition to this, Amnesty International, the United Nations and others claim that it is “racist” and “against international law” for the inhabitants of House A to expel the intruders. Pretty soon, House A has been turned into an overpopulated and dysfunctional household just like House B.

This is what is happening to the West today. Europe itself could become a failed continent by importing the problems of Africa and the Islamic world. The notion that everybody should be free to move anywhere they want to, and that preventing them from moving into your country is “racism, xenophobia and bigotry,” is the Communism of the 21st century. And it will probably lead to immense human suffering.

One of the really big mistakes we made after the Cold War ended was to declare that Socialism was now dead, and thus no longer anything to worry about. Here we are, nearly a generation later, discovering that Marxist thinking has penetrated every single stratum of our society, from the universities to the media. While the “hard” Marxism of the Soviet Union may have collapsed, at least for now, the “soft” Marxism of the Western Left has actually grown stronger, in part because we mistakenly deemed it to be less threatening.

Ideas about Multiculturalism and de-facto open borders have achieved a virtual hegemony in public discourse. By hiding behind labels such as “anti-racism” and “tolerance,” Leftists have achieved a degree of censorship they could never have achieved had they openly stated that their intention was to radically transform Western civilization and destroy its foundations.

According to the French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, “the lofty idea of ‘the war on racism’ is gradually turning into a hideously false ideology. And this anti-racism will be for the 21st century what Communism was for the 20th century: A source of violence.”

Alexander Boot, a Russian by birth, left for the West in the 1970s, only to discover that the West he was seeking was no longer there. This led him to write the book How the West Was Lost. Boot believes that democracy, or in the words of Abraham Lincoln, the government of the people, by the people and for the people, has been replaced by glossocracy, the government of the word, by the word and for the word.

In a culture where language is power and words are used as weapons, those who control the most fearsome of these weapons control society. In the West, where equality in all walks of life is the highest virtue and “discrimination” is a mortal sin, the “racist” is the worst of creatures. Those who control the definition of “racist,” the nuclear bomb of glossocracy, have a powerful weapon they can utilize to intimidate opponents. The mere utterance of the word can destroy careers and ruin lives, with no trial and no possibility of appeal.

Currently, the power of definition largely rests in the hands of a cartel of anti-racist organizations dominated by the extreme Left, often in cooperation with Muslims. By silencing all opposition to mass immigration as “racism,” they can stage a transformation of society every bit as massive as that of Communism, yet virtually shut down debate about it.

[...]

Ideas matter. Individuals matter. Cultures matter. Truth matters, and truth exists. We used to know that. It’s time we get to know it again, and reject false ideas about the irrelevance of culture. We are not racists for desiring to pass on our heritage to future generations, nor are we evil for resisting to be treated as lab rats in social experiments on a horrific scale. We must nip the ideology of transnational Multiculturalism and unlimited mass migration in the bud by exposing it for what it is: A Communism for the 21st century.

(bold emphasis mine) There's more; how Europe is becoming a laboratory, treating it's citizens like lab rats. Many of the trends that the Multiculturalist elites of Europe have established there are also catching on here, and I fear the same motives are behind them. Let's not let it continue.


Related Link:

Political Correctness and Multiculturalism:
The New Tools of "Stealth" Socialism?
     

Fred Thompson: Run Fred Run!

I've been wanting to post about Fred for a while now. Pat at Born Again Redneck Yogi has been doing many great posts about Fred.

The latest post today was from Pat's Fred Roundup, which was excellent. Here is a portion of Fred's speech he gave recently in Connecticut:

In his speech, Thompson criticized Democrats as he discussed terrorism, Iraq and national security. "Our choice is not whether or not we're going to fight. Our choice is where we're going to fight," Thompson said. "And the only debate going on right now with regard to this most important issue facing our country on the Democratic side of the aisle is the date of our surrender."

He added, "My friends, I don't think that the American people are going to turn the keys of this country over to a party that invests their political capital in defeat."

But Thompson also stressed his own party returning to their key issues and warned his fellow Republicans to "get nervous if they go the wrong way."

"Someone once said that a cat won't sit on a hot stove twice, but he won't sit on a cold stove ever," Thompson said. "Here we had an election that was traumatic for some people, and the media blamed it on Iraq. I think it had more to do with pork barrel spending and corruption than it did Iraq." [...]

(bold emphasis mine) In that speech he also criticized "Open Border" immigration policies. Then regarding Memorial Day... well follow the links, it's worth it. Pat's posted a good video there by Fred, called "The Soldier".