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Vice and Virtue V - Justice

"The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government." - George Washington

Like our friend, Mr. Washington, had noticed, the existance of justice makes the difference between civilization, and barbarism; and it is the quality of the justice being dispensed by a society, that tells most of its values.
Because justice is derived from the beliefs of the collective, and acts on its behalf.

To hold the value of justice is, in the simplest of terms, to believe that 'crime should not go unpunished'.
This single line holds much under the surface: first, one needs to acknowledge that there is even such a thing as a crime, which requires a distinction between right and wrong, perpetrators and victims; then, a person needs to believe that all men have free choice - for which they must be held accountable.

Let us now pause for a second, and compare these notions with relativist, liberal-left preachings: they would like us to think criminals are victims themselves, helpless against the 'depravity' of society, and deprived of equal opportunity. They are suffering children who need to be coddled, and 'fixed', rather than human beings who have made conscious choices, that were harmful to others.
Under this world view, there is no room for the actual victims, and they are rarely mentioned.
It is no wonder then, that a liberal judge tells a terrorist that he doesn't understand his own religion, or that when Wikileak's Assange, the infamous attention-seeker, was investigated for charges of rape, other self-serving types, like Michael Moore, rushed to defend him - showing zero regard for justice, and absolutely no care for his victims. Like children in a popularity contest, the only thing that truly mattered, was saving the dubious reputation of their comfortable ally.

Leftists aren't the only ones with skewed ideas of justice. While Obama claims that muslims "share common principles of justice... tolerance, and dignity of all human beings", the truth is they are so full of respect for the dignity of all human rights, that they blame women for being raped. Any female living under sharia-law knows that if she happens to get raped by a man, appealing to a court of law would only bring further punishment upon her.
And if you think this is happening just in backwater islamic countries, guess again.

Benjamin Franklin once said that "without justice, courage is weak". True justice is about balance. It is about human society being mature enough to decide what behaviors it does not tolerate, and courageous enough to punish transgressions against its values. By placing boundaries, and keeping dangerous people in check, honest common folks can go about their lives in peace, fulfilling their personally chosen roles, with the knowledge that if someone crosses the line and harms them, they are not alone. This confidence is a vital part of a healthy society. In post-communist countries, ordinary citizens see laws as unjust, and feel that the only way to get ahead in life, is by breaking them yourself.
Communities flourish on bonds of trust, but trust cannot be built when everyone believes the other is conspiring against him.
Finally, the practice of justice carries an educational value: "crime doesn't pay", which is something all children should learn, as early as possible.

Laws, by themselves, are not enough, and a judiciary system is just that - a system. Judges, lawyers, and lawmakers, who are willing to compromise on values, can turn it all into a travesty. Therefore, firm, standing justice needs to be actively upheld by people who believe in it. The world may not be fair, but we can choose to work towards making it so.

Next Virtue: Liberty

To those who wish to leave comments here: Anonymous is no longer welcome

I have mentioned this before and will now be mentioning it again. There will be no more comments allowed by anyone who leaves a comment by 'anonymous.' I do not care if your comment is one of the best I have ever read, it WILL NOT BE POSTED from today on out, 1-31-2011. I find such individuals cowardly and you must be afraid of possibly having to back up your comment(s) you might post here. So you can leave a comment if you want to but I will no longer read them or share them. To those who go by 'anonymous' and left excellent and provocative commentary, too bad and it is a shame you have to be included with the losers who go by the same. Some of you may not think this is completely unfair and maybe you are correct, Remember this, I am sure your parents told at some time in your upbringing "life is not always fair." Well, here you go. This is one of those times. Comments have been reset to EXCLUDE 'anonymous' comments. Grow a spine and come back.

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Are food prices helping fuel the global islamic revolution?

An excellent article that posses the question if raising food prices contributed to the upheaval we are witnessing in the arab world. Before anyone goes off on me for posting this, please read the article. While the above is not the sole reason for what we are seeing take place in many Arab countries, it does fit in and yes, it has contributed to the what has spread like wildfire across the Arab/Islamic world.

I cannot stand ethanol. There is NOTHING good about this product. I am forced to use it here where we live as it is mandated by the state. What are the 'benefits' of ethanol? Higher gasoline prices, reduced mileage and performance in our vehicles, ethanol gums up small engines like you find on lawnmowers, chainsaws, outboard motors not to mention much higher food prices here and abroad. It takes 1.5 gallons of gasoline to produce one gallon of inferior ethanol. But wait, what about the environment? What about it, my friends? What about more corn going to this bio fuel product and less to feed people? Hungry, already broke and stressed people here in the states and abroad. I am sick and tired of progressives, liberals and environmentalists screaming about getting the USA off of all oil products.
Great idea but you tree huggers and earth muffins sue and block any and all plants to produce our own energy from what we have an abundance of: COAL, NATURAL GAS, OIL, HYDROELECTRIC, and NUCLEAR. As the new alternatives become cheaper to produce and more available, then we can start weaning ourselves off those nasty fossil fuels. If you think the USA will ever be free from fossil fuels then please move to Berkeley, Eugene, Boulder, Portland or Madison.


By the way, Whatever domestic energy products we are too stupid not to use, countries like China will gladly buy up all we can ship to them. China is actually building several new coal fired power stations for generating electricity, and you can bet there are no whacked out environazis trying to stop them at every turn.


One more item I must mention. The rise in food prices is not the only reason for the riots and uprisings throughout the islamic world. The muslim brotherhood has been very busy in many countries besides egypt. Radical islamic elements have been smoldering for years, just waiting for the right time to let loose their filthy brand of hatred, persecution, perversion and death. As I have mentioned many times in the past, we are at war with islam. This is one war we cannot and will not lose.

From the Astute Bloggers.






DID AGW HYSTERIA CONTRIBUTE TO RIOTS IN TUNIS & CAIRO?


Bookworm asks the interesting question:


1. With help from Al Gore, Hollywood, and the entire Leftist panoply, global warming fears reach hysterical levels.


2. As part of their apocalyptic battle against rising seas and dying polar bears, warmists declare ethanol is one of the answers (never mind that it turns out that it takes 1.5 gallons of fossil fuel to produce a gallon of ethanol).


3. Did I mention that ethanol comes from corn? In the old days, people used to eat corn. Now they drive it.


4. To satisfy the panic-stricken need for drivable corn, food crops are diverted into fuel production.


5. The cost of staples rises substantially around the world.


5. In 2008, food riots break out, including riots in Egypt. (Here are three links supporting the ethanol/riot connection, one from a free market site, one from a technology site, and one from an organic food site.)


6. Although food riots haven’t been in the headlines lately, what do you bet that, with ethanol production still causing producers to divert food crops into the energy market, marginal economic societies such as Egypt continue to feel the effects of food shortages?


7. Voila — riot conditions. For history aficionados, remember that, in the 1790s, the French had suffered aristocratic depredations for centuries; it was the food shortages that triggered revolt (a la “Let them eat cake,” not that Marie Antoinette actually said that). The same pattern showed up in Russia, with rising discontent reaching a fever pitch with WWI shortages.


The fact that rising food prices are contributing to unrest in the Middle East has been noted recently. Two weeks ago, the Washington Post reported:


The state of emergency in Tunisia has economists worried that we may be seeing the beginnings of a second wave of global food riots.

Battered by bad weather and increasing demand from the developing world, the global food supply system is buckling under the strain. This month, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reported that its food price index jumped 32 percent in the second half of 2010 -- surpassing the previous record, set in the early summer of 2008, when deadly clashes over food broke out around the world, from Haiti to Somalia.


An FAO report noted that "recent bouts of extreme price volatility in global agricultural markets portend rising and more frequent threats to world food security."


In Jordan, too, rising food prices are fueling the protests. According to the Los Angeles Times:

In an unprecedented development in Jordan, protests similar to those that have rocked Tunisia and Algeria in recent weeks erupted in the Arab kingdom Friday.


Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital, Amman, and several other cities to protest rising food prices and unemployment, media reports say.


Aside from complaints, they also pointed rare and stinging criticism toward the Jordanian government, headed by Prime Minister Samir Rifai.


But are rising food prices linked to AGW and the ethanol for fuel movement? There's a lot of evidence that points to this connection. Money Morning noted:




"With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015," the president said in his speech to members of Congress. "[I]nstead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's."


This commitment to clean energy investment increases the importance of biofuels like ethanol, made from corn and other agricultural products. About 40% of U.S. corn is used to make ethanol, and increased ethanol production leads to higher corn and food prices.




There is a definite correlation between an increase in biofuels production, especially bioethanol, and corn prices. U.S. corn prices surged 52% last year, and helped push the Food and Agriculture Organization's Food Price Index to an all-time high in 2010. The index tracks the prices of 55 food commodities and climbed for the sixth consecutive month to hit 214.7 points in December, its highest reading since the measure was first calculated in 1990.


The last time food prices spiked was June 2008 when the Food Price Index hit 213.5. Corn reached its highest price in July 2008, climbing over $7 a bushel and squeezing the profit margins of ethanol producers. Most of the plants were built in 2006 when the commodity pulled in about $2 a bushel, making the industry so profitable that plants could be paid off in as little time as six months. But after corn's price surge, ethanol plants were shut down and later that year corn fell to around $3 a bushel.


Then U.S. farmers in 2009 produced the biggest bumper crop of corn in the nation's history - in excess of 13.11 billion bushels. While this usually pushes prices down, corn demand skyrocketed partly due to U.S. government subsidies for ethanol, which reached as high as $7.7 billion in 2009. In December 2010 the U.S. government voted to extend ethanol subsidies for another year, despite the protests of environmentalists and livestock producers who argue the tax credits drive up livestock feed prices and increase fertilizer and pesticide runoff in farmlands.

And as the Bangor Daily News noted, it's all based on nonsense:

Forty percent of American corn goes into ethanol as a gasoline additive. Yet this Hamburger Helper-style mix reduces fuel mileage, has little effect on petroleum imports, causes little or no reduction in air pollution or greenhouse gases, raises food prices, and will cost taxpayers $30 billion in the next five years in ethanol subsidies,


Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has expanded this misuse of a vital farm product by increasing the ethanol proportion to 15 percent for cars and trucks with model years of 2001 and later. The EPA needed to increase the ethanol mix because demand was falling short of the man-dated ethanol production level that will rise to 36 billion gallons year by 2022.


It does appear that what prompted the insurrections in Tunisia and Egypt, and the growing insurrectionist movements in Yemen and Jordan, at this time, was a rise in basic food commodity prices caused in large part by the global warming hysterics.


Original article is here at The Astute Bloggers.
Tags: EPA, ethanol, food prices, Global food prices, global Islamic revolution, Obama, cap and trade, Oil and fossil fuels, scarcity of corn products worldwide To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the Patriot's Corner. Thanks!

IN PRAISE OF HOSNI MUBARAK: AN AMERICAN ALLY FOR THREE DECADES

China Confidential has a great snapshot on Hosni Mubarak. Personally, I am not wild about Mubarak but he has held the mb at bay for over three decades and kept the lid on that pot in one of the most volatile regions of the world, the Middle East. While no leader is perfect, Mubarak has aligned himself with the United States. Now this relationship is costing him dearly and the counting has yet to stop. He is the lesser of two evils and should the muslim brotherhood and mohamed elBaradei slide into ANY position of power, Mubarak is finished. Whether he can survive this uprising remains to be seen.




IN PRAISE OF HOSNI MUBARAK: AN AMERICAN ALLY FOR THREE DECADES
By Confidential reporter/China Confidential


In praise of Hosni Mubarak....


For three decades, following the Islamist/Muslim Brotherhood assassination of Anwar Sadat, who was killed because he made peace with Israel and allied Egypt with the United States, Mubarak preserved the peace with Israel, which he had helped to bring about, and protected the interests of the United States.


For three decades, he suppressed the clerical fascist bastards--barbarians dedicated to imposing Islamic law on all of humanity.


For three decades, Egypt (estimated population: 79 million) was stable.


Overnight, somehow, he has become a pariah, Public Enemy Number One, targeted for elimination by the America-bashing, Israel-hating, Islamist-appeasing liberal media--scum of the earth. They will not be satisfied until he is forced into exile. They long for his departure--and death. The liberal media--scum of the earth--hate him more than they hate Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong Il .... and Mullah Omar ... and Osama Bin Laden.


The liberal media hate Mubarak almost as much as they hate Sarah Palin.


The liberal media--scum of the earth. They would have loved Mubarak, had he worn a turban instead of a tie, backed Hamas and Hezbollah, called for America's downfall and Israel's destruction.... Little did he know, like Iran's Shah, that supporting stability and peace--and America--would assure his permanent place on the liberal/left hit list.


Related:


NETANYAHU URGES WEST TO CURB CRITICISM OF MUBARAK


ISLAMIST REBELLION EXPLODES WORLDWIDE

Guest post by Steven Davis: Islam, jihad and the global islamic revolution

This is by Steven Davis who is one of my best friends. We go way back. All the way back to elementary school, as a matter of fact. Steven is by far, one of the most intelligent, loyal and deeply spiritual people I have the pleasure of knowing. Anyone who drops by PC on a regular basis knows that I am very spiritual and love the Lord. If you have a problem with that then perhaps you may want to skip this next post. Or maybe you don't. You have nothing to lose and eternity to gain.

Thanks to Steven for his permission to let me share this.




Islam, jihad and the global Ilamic revolution
By Steven Davis


We are watching one country after another in the Middle-East experience ‘popular’ uprisings. In some commentaries this phenomenon is being referred to as the “Jasmine Revolution” and is described as a reaction to years of poverty, corruption, and oppression. While some of the countries and their leaders are corrupt the question begs the asking, “Does not Islam favor authoritarian rule over participatory government as a matter of religious tenet?” Does not Dar-al Salaam mean the “The realm of the submitted,” and Salaam mean peace as a consequence of submission? If this is true, why shouldn’t all Islamic adherents favor authoritarian and even dictatorial rule over themselves as submission to those in charge brings Allah the greatest glory.


Let us look at the list of countries that are experiencing this populist turmoil. The uprising began in Algeria, a former French colony and a functional republic if you discount the attempted insurgencies. Next is Tunisia, also a republic but not very well governed. Next door to both is Egypt, a democratic republic largely in name only but not a dictatorship as Libya is. Across the Suez and the Sinai is Jordan, which is a constitutional monarchy. And up the coast from Egypt is Lebanon, once regarded as the Switzerland of the Middle-East, that is now given over to Islamic populism and governance by Hezbollah whilst the U>S. and the Marines watch from the 50-yard line in the Mediterranean Sea. My question is, if this is about democracy and human rights, why haven’t you seen these uprisings in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq or even Kuwait? Why are there stirrings in Indonesia?


The CIA and MI-5 have been watching this ‘movement’ very closely and their prognosis is that this is virtual jihad. Instead of a trumpet blast from the spire of the minaret it is a twitter, text, or writing on a facebook wall. The missives are being directed to the disaffected youth whose only possession is likely to be a cell-phone. Today (fill in the black for the country), tomorrow the world! seems to be the rallying cry. Who or what is instigating and organizing such movements? The answer that is emerging is that it is The Muslim Brotherhood and this is an ongoing effort on its part to wage jihad against the west, and anyone who disagrees with it for that matter. As all of the countries where this is occurring are Islamic countries where other religions are marginalized, it appears you must be of a fundamentalist mindset in order to join and remain a member. Thus, you do and believe what you are told. Hardly democratic, wouldn’t you say?


What has everyone’s attention, and mine as well, is the way these ‘popular’ uprisings are spreading after the same fashion as a deliberately set brushfire. I would be more inclined to believe the movement was one of disaffected and oppressed, impoverished youth if the same was occurring in Iran, or maybe it did and was brutally smashed. We know this much, Israel is encircled and out-numbered. Israel knows this and is not saying a word. The United States is being encircled and the response from the government is kowtowing to those who are organizing these uprisings. The head of the Muslim Brotherhood has been allowed entry into this country by Obama, after having entry denied by both Bushes and Clinton. Is the leader of the Brotherhood carrying a can of gas in his cell phone? The California Supreme Court has allowed the confiscation and search of a cell phone as part of the arrest procedure. Will the Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and his Jasmine Revolution be used as a cause celebre to support the final invasion of our privacy?


If the earth is your home and this life is all you have, I would be very, very afraid. As for myself and my household, we serve the Living God. Heaven is our home and we are on the road back to where our inheritance is, our Lord sits enthroned, and our life is secured for eternity. We have read God’s Word, and have studied it diligently, and will do so until we are called home. We have been given the understanding by God’s Holy Spirit to know the strife that is spreading in the Middle-East has its source in hell. Satan and his minions know the time is short. Thus, they are doing everything they can to bring down anything that even remotely resembles Christianity and destroy it if not discredit it. The hour is indeed much nearer than when we first believed.


As for Jihad, if I lose my head for Christ, know that I already have. As for Islam, they have been judged, it is only their sentence that is waiting to be passed.

In Christ’s love, Steven Davis

The Daily Catch Videos for 1-31-2011













Coming soon to a store near you: allah ale! After all it is halal

How about some truth: An inside opinion from Israel

I have posted Jerry Golden's articles here in the past and this one really shines some light on the realities of the Middle East from one who is living in Israel, a man of God who happens to be Jewish and a Christian.




How About Some Truth
Posted: Saturday, January 29, 2011
Written by Jerry Golden

Israel has four borders, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt and we could now say five if one considers Gaza. Our largest border is the Mediterranean Sea to the west but today even that is changing with the Prime Minister of Turkey making statements like if Syria is attacked by Israel they will not sit quiet that in fact they will defend Syria against Israel.


Today with riots in the streets of Cairo threatening to oust President Hosni Mubarak from his 30 year reign as Dictator of Egypt. The man that wants to replace him is the former head of I.A.E.A Mohamed ElBaradei who shielded the Iranian nuclear weapons programs for years. But looking over his shoulder is the Muslim Brotherhood connected to the Wahhabi out of Saudi Arabia who supplied the terrorist for 9/11. Mubarak's position is weak at best and his only option to stay in power is to begin shooting protesters dead in the street like they did in Iran. The question now is would the Egyptian military follow such an order at this point, I don't think so. As for what hangs in the balance for Israel and the fragile peace treaty seems to be in serious danger to completely failing and Egypt once again preparing to join in the fight to destroy Israel with the rest of the Islamic Arab World.


If you listen to the Main Line News Media you would think this is a good thing and that it's all about fighting for Democracy but the facts on the ground are quiet different. They are protesting for survival, they can no long afford the price of food and there are no jobs, put that together with the Islamic propaganda they have listened to all their lives and you have an explosion in the makings. If you were able to take a survey in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan or any Arab country you'd find that the average man on the streets believes that some how Israel is the reason for their suffering and that Israel must be destroyed.


We are now seeing these same riots happening in Jordan and as I stated in past reports Jordan is pulling away from their peace treaty with Israel and embracing Iran and the rest of the Islamic Arab world to make sure they are not next on the list to be destroyed.


What seemed to be the quiet takeover of Lebanon by Hezbollah may not be so quiet after all as riots are breaking out in the streets of Beirut as well and this could be the kicker to start the next war as Hezbollah could very well start the missiles flying into Israel to change the political direction when Israel retaliates forcing the people to get behind Hezbollah and forgetting their political problems for the time being.


We are now hearing from Debka that Iran is sending a fleet of warships into the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal taking up positions around Israel's western shores. The US has sent the USS Enterprise carrier with a strike group carrying 6,000 sailors and marines and 80 warplanes, to read more about this deployment CLICK HERE.


In the mean time Syria continues to move long range missiles into southern Lebanon in preparation for the coming war. As far as Egypt is concerned it may be the only thing that could save Mubarak at this time is joining a war against Israel, but I can't see that happening in time to save him.


There are many Scriptures that are in the making of fulfillment in all of this, Zechariah, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel also in the Gospel of Luke and Matthews I could print them all here but you should know them by now. One thing is certain the Arabs learned their lesson in the wars of 48, 67, 73 and they want more assurance this time around and will come with all their might, only to be destroyed by God Almighty. The sad part will be the death and suffering once again to the Jewish people as the Devil tries once again to destroy the possibility of the return of the Jewish Messiah.


I am asked all the time how does this Ministry play into all of this, all I can say is we have heard from God and we will continue looking towards our salvation and strength knowing that God has a plan for this Ministry, what we do may not be big in the eyes of men, but very important in the eyes of God. We are short at this time on finances


The larger boat is still our greatest need, and the establishing of ground communications with our boats is also needed. Our travels will not be published for a while for obvious reasons.


As for the USA Obama has sealed its fate with his hatred of Israel and his love for the enemies of God and of Israel, but he put the final nail in the coffin when he repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell, now God has no choice but to be true to His Word.


Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for our son Joel and all the IDF soldiers. Pray for this Ministry and your part in it.


Shalom, jerry golden


Original article is here.

Guest commentary in response to "All Americans must die"

This comment came in and I thought it was well written and worth sharing with everyone. I really do not care for comments left under 'anonymous'but there are exceptions and this is one of them. The comment was made in regard to the the following post: "All Americans must die: Threat from muslims from in somalia."


Thanks to this individual for taking the time to comment here. No one here is going to attack you, accuse you of being a nazi or dismiss you, Anonymous. If anyone does you will have support and we got you covered.


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All Americans must die: Threat from muslims from in somalia


From Anonymous:"I hate to say it, but I think they do. If only because they wont leave voluntarily. They should still be given the chance to leave first. I was naive enough to believe that there were moderate muslims and the koran was being manipulated by mullahs, to their illiterate congregation.


Spending a few years in Iraq and Afghanistan, has showed me otherwise. We cant let political correctness stop us in our duty to the constitution and our customs. Those who predictibly will say and quote the constitution about religious freedom and islam has a right to be here. They (muslim and the socialist left) conveniently ignore the other point. That noone can impose their religion on another. In short, you can worship whatever you want as long as you respect others religion or atheism by choice.


American Muslims have never done enough in my eyes speaking out or showing any kind of solidarity with the rest of us. They are deafeningly silent when they crash planes or when a islamic officer in the military kills their supposed countryman that has given them a life and comfort worshipping in peace. Our payback is mass demonstrations about a preacher excercising free speech by burning a koran or their indignation about our outrage over a Mosque on ground zero. A tasteless and calculated move, for no other reason then instigating a backlash.


So I ask you, who is more unAmerican? Is it the one who fights for their family and country on judeo-christian beliefs with liberties and rights for all citizens, man or woman? Or is it the unapologetic migrant fanatics, who move at will to disrespect our customs and laws, while taking orders from abroad?


Most Americans(mainly politicians and media)have a reflexive and ignorant response conditioned into their heads. I was like that. The reality of these places in the islamic world changed me. Have no illusions of what their goal is. If anyone has some doubts, I suggest reading the Koran, stop after each verse and think of what their saying. The sharia must never be aloud here. Never. It goes against everything we hold dear. Dont trust my words alone, read for yourself.


More and more arrive everyday, so the longer we are blind and deaf, living in denial the harder it will be later to expell them.


Please dont dismiss me and others like me as a nazi, because im not. I am christian, but I havnt been to church in 15 years. They are the fanatics. Do you want your kids and grandkids to grow up in the greatest society there is and will ever be, like we were? or Turn the clocks back 500 years to what amounts to nothing more then the inquisition? They have to leave, but by asking them nicely. At first at least."

A quote from the muslim in the White House

"America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.
Barack Obama"

Justice and progress, tolerance and dignity of all human beings... yes, sounds exactly like islam.

There is no peace within islam, and with islam there can never be peace.
PatriotUSA

Thanks to Hermit Lion for the above quote from obama.

The Daily Catch Videos for 1-28-2011

Daily Catch Videos for 1-28-2011. There are a lot of excellent videos and may have another TDC to add for today. Very short on time for right now.













Alice Bach of Case Western University-Professor or Propagandist?

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


Hat tip to Campus Watch









Alice Bach-Case Western University


Campus Watch has featured an article about Case Western University Professor Alice Bach and a piece she wrote for the Huffington Post. That post is linked below. After reading it, I felt like it was old home week at UC-Irvine listening to all the Israel-haters who come to speak at our campus. I have chosen to comment on her piece, bit by bit, not because I disagree with her (which I do) rather because it calls into question whether she is shoving her bias down her students' collective throats in the classroom. In the below piece, she argues against the Dept. of Education's decision to apply Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to cover Jewish students who are victims of anti-Semitism on campus. Note the title, "Whose Land is it Anyway?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alice-bach/whose-land-is-it-anyway_b_789459.html#

Professor Alice Bach holds the Archbishop Hallinan Chair in Religious Studies and directs the Hallinan Project for Peace and Social Justice at a major midwestern university.

"When I read about the altered interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, heralded by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), I felt the familiar cold creep of attack settling in my spine. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. A large research university, such as the one at which I teach, is the beneficiary of many funds from federal agencies, and could lose this funding if it is found that we have discriminated on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and voluntary compliance cannot be achieved. Thus, if the ZOA's report that anti-Semitism is to be an emendation to Title VI is accurate, once again we shall be in the tactical sights of the Campus Watchers. Anti-Semitism is undoubtedly despicable, but it is miserable to be subjected to false charges of anti-Semitism merely for presenting Palestinian voices."

Note at the outset that Bach's paper is loaded with labels. The first one she uses is "Campus Watchers", a reference to the blog, Campus Watch, which has featured her article. It also strikes me as strange that she would deny civil rights protection to a particular group. Would she also object to protections against African-Americans on the basis that those who may disagree with, say, affirmative action, would be falsely labeled as "racists" as well as those who complain about illegal immigration as being anti-Hispanic?

"I've endured such false charges previously. They are wretched to live through, intimidating, and hostile to a culture of free academic inquiry. Palestinian aspirations for freedom are intentionally suppressed through falsified and misleading accounts and negative comments about pro-Palestinian classes and lectures. After some anonymous threats delivered by late-night phone calls to my home, the University gave me added security protection, and had plain-clothes security sitting in the audience as well as uniformed people at events. However, none of the leading administrators ever attended one of the events that caused the threats."


I am not accusing Ms Bach of being anti-Semitic in any way-or being a self-hating Jew if she is Jewish. (I don't know or care. It's a term I don't use to begin with.) If she has received threats, that is regrettable. I have seen many of her opinion speak at UC-Irvine, and they never needed any police protection. The ones who do are those who would dare speak on a campus with opposing views. Just ask David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes or Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren.

"ZOA president Morton Klein notes schools could lose funding under the new US Department of Education interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act "if they do not protect students from anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation, and discrimination." Provided in the ZOA press release is a letter dated October 26, 2010 from Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education, stating that "anti-Semitic harassment can trigger responsibilities under Title VI. While Title VI does not cover discrimination based solely on religion, groups [such as Jews] that face discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection under Title VI on the ground that they also share a common faith."'

I would argue that Russlyn Ali had to be dragged into applying Title VI protections to Jews. It was the DOE-OCR 's position during the ZOA complaint against UC-Irvine a few years back that Title VI did not apply to Jews. I would also say that I have no problem with a school losing federal funding when it hosts speakers like Amir Abdel Malik Ali or Mohammed al-Asi, who make a habit of railing against Jews in their speeches. If a Mohammed al-Asi can stand on a campus and tell a crowd that "you can take the Jew out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the Jew", I would take away federal funding too.

"How many professors will decide it's not worth the trouble to challenge the narratives of the well-organized Hillel, AIPAC, ZOA, Campus Watch, and other right-wing, pro-Israel groups that descend upon those who teach interpretations different from the Israeli hardline? Where will the line be drawn between criticism of Israeli policy and genuine anti-Semitism? Will it be deemed anti-Semitic for a Palestinian to assert that he regards Israel as an illegitimate state because it stole his family's land, ethnically cleansed him, and refuses to extend equal rights to those Palestinians who remain? Some expansive definitions of anti-Semitism regard such talk as a textbook case of anti-Jewish bigotry. The Jewish pro-Palestinian speakers I have hosted were called self-hating Jews, and the non-Jewish speakers were identified by the Hillel-led group as anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist, and worse. It's absurd, but true, and could be coming soon to a campus near you."

Note the labels; well-financed, right-wing, hardline, ethnically-cleansed. I would also note that Ms Bach should hardly consider Hillel to be her enemy. They are one of several Jewish organizations that have failed to stand up to anti-Semitism on many campuses. She also tells us that she hosts pro-Palestinian speakers (Yes, many of them are, indeed of Jewish origin). My question is whether she hosts them in forums and seminars or in her classroom.

"For most of my academic career, I have believed that controversy in the classroom eventually leads to a stronger community. Silencing conflict through a bland insistence upon political correctness confirms the fear that controversy is both uncomfortable and to be avoided at all costs. Students may love Kermit's lament that it is not easy being green, but it is far tougher to hear from a classmate that it is not easy being brown."

Here she pretty much confirms that she brings her views into the classroom (which I studiously do not).Is she serious when she says that political correctness lies on the other side (from her views)? C'mon! Political correctness is solidly on the pro-Palestinian side in virtually all universities. And here we go again with the "brown" line. Is she trying to insert race into the argument in an effort to win sympathy from other "brown people"? Political correctness is also constantly trying to make white people (and students) feel guilty about past acts of racism toward "brown people". It is part and parcel of the post-colonial line that dominates discourse on campus.

"On the plane home from my usual summer trip to the West Bank, I thought about the struggles Palestinian students and faculty have at the West Bank's Birzeit University in getting to school when the Israelis set flying checkpoints. I thought of the younger kids aimlessly playing in grim refugee camps, although they are refugees in their own land. I decided to challenge my undergrads to struggle through the subtleties of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Having taught and survived the backlash against feminist and multicultural perspectives, I knew most of the challenges of teaching against the grain."

I'm not sure what that has to do with protecting Jewish students on campus from anti-Semitism other than the Israel-Palestinian conflict has stoked much of this atmosphere, and if she wants to spend her summers on the West Bank, she is free to do so. Personally, I'll opt for a German beer garden. Here again, however, she exposes herself as someone who brings her personal views into the classroom. Here again, she drags in topics that are unrelated (feminism, multiculturalism). Teaching against the grain? Hardly.

"Thus, I offered a course entitled "Whose Land is it Anyway?," which was rife with the pitfalls of politics, religious tensions, and realities of the Occupation that had never been offered at my university. Contemporary politics are not of great interest in this midwestern research university in which the majority of students focus on the hard sciences and engineering. Although we have a Jewish Studies minor, we do not at this time teach Arab history, culture, or literature."


What? Does she think her class (es) are somehow unique on a university campus? Middle East studies across the nation are dominated by the pro-Palestinian perspective. The "realities of the Ocuupation"? Fair and balanced? I doubt it.

"As a biblical scholar, I intended to present a foundation for the Israeli claims to the "Holy Land," and then to study the historicity of these claims. With these ancient textual claims discussed, we would move to the contemporary issues of land and border disputes. We wrestled with scholars who write against the grain: important voices arguing the case that the Israeli Occupation is in reality an ongoing Palestinian genocide, which evoked Holocaust comparisons. During the semester we grappled with the effects of the Zionist eradication of Palestinian names of towns, streets, mountains, and landscape, replacing them with biblical names. One student asked if Arabs could speak Hebrew. Another insisted that there were no such people as Palestinians."

Here we go again. "Genocide", "occupation", "Holocaust comparisons" "Zionist eradication" "no such people as Palestinians"? Could you go further into the reasoning the student used, such as the origin of the term, the history of the Palestinian nation etc? It seems obvious that in Ms Bach's class, the outcome of the discussion is pre-ordained.

"To supplement the course, I invited internationally known scholars to speak at the University about the realities of the forty-plus years of Israeli Occupation, the role of American Jews in support of Israel, the Israeli occupation forces bulldozing of Palestinian houses in the West Bank, and the illegal Israeli settlements. Class discussions remained civil and occasionally passionate, though a self-described Zionist columnist wrote a nasty piece in the student newspaper."

More labels. Her side? "Internationally known scholars". "Israeli Occupation" (occupation capitalized, no less.)The role of American Jews. Illegal settlements and the "Zionist" columnists.

"At least students are thinking about these issues, I reassured myself. But when Zionist community leaders claimed that I was striking fear into Jewish students on campus, I knew I would have to defend myself, in spite of the misrepresentations and exaggerations about the course and the speakers who had presented their views."

Yes, thinking your way. Here again is the term, Zionist" (community). It is interesting how the left uses the term "Zionist" as a sinister pejorative.

"After a campus appearance by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, coincidentally while their book was enjoying a place of prominence on the best-seller list, outraged emails poured in and late-night telephone threats began. None of the emails from colleagues were from those who attended the event. Rather they were from people I did not know personally, who excoriated me for supporting an "anti-Israel" position. Several demanded of the president that I be fired."

Here again, if Bach experienced harassment and/o r threats, I condemn that. I would also never argue that she be fired. Criticism, however, is always legitimate. (Mearshimer and Walt co-authored a book critical of Israel.)

"By the time Norman Finkelstein, Ali Abunimah, and Alison Weir had spoken here, I was told that the University had received more than 60 letters from irritated alumni, donors, and community leaders. While the administration acknowledged that I have academic freedom, they insisted that I must present "both sides" in future events. There must be no thought that I was demonizing the state of Israel. I, of course, have no problem with presenting compelling and powerful Jewish voices addressing the subjugation of Palestinians under Israeli rule. But I have no desire to use my time and energy to bring defenders of the domination of another people to campus. Certainly, I would not have worked two decades ago to bring defenders of apartheid to campus to provide "balance." It is unreasonable to ask for such balance on Israel and Palestine."

Norman Finkelstein??!! I should rest my case right here. Finkelstein is a discredited ex-professor who was canned by DePaul University because his 'scholarship" was deemed bogus. Today, he is introduced as "an independent scholar with a PhD from Princeton" as he makes the university tour on behalf of the pro-Palestinian activists. I have heard this guy speak at UC-Irvine twice. He is virulently anti-Israel and delights in insulting those with whom he disagrees or those who question his views-especially if they are young students not equipped to go toe-to-toe with him.



Yours truly listening to a Finkelstein speech at UC-Irvine May 2010.

Here is the Wikipedia entry for Ali Abunima:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Abunimah

Alison Weir is an American anti-Israel activist who also makes the grand tour of university campuses. She is the creator of a movement and video called, "If Americans only knew". She has also appeared at UC-Irvine. I asked her if she were involved in other "humanitarian issues" like Darfur, Iran or anti-Semitism. She said no, only the Israel-Palestinian issue because it involves our own country.

As for bringing in Jewish voices who also condemn Israel, that is hardly providing balance. Many American Jews are against Israel. They are routinely used as window dressing to counter charges of anti-Semitism. (Finkelstein is a classic example.)

"Strikingly, a few months later, the University joined with Hillel and the Jewish Studies program to bring Harvard's Alan Dershowitz to the University, without a speaker to present the other side. Only a few weeks ago, the University joined with the same co-sponsors to bring Israeli right-winger Natan Sharansky to speak. In the University publicity about Sharansky's appearance, he was characterized as "helping people fulfill their life dreams. His story of how one person can make a difference is inspiring." The coverage in the Cleveland Jewish News did not mention Palestinians. During his US college tour, Sharansky was quoted during a speech at Stanford, "I'm ready for a Palestinian state. But only if they stop teaching their children to hate. Palestinians want to live normally, and their identity must mean something more than killing Jews," he continued. "There is no shortcut to peace. We need to build partnerships with those who want to live in peace. It will take time." This was a solo event, heavily advertised by the University (as the Finkelstein talk was not according to Hillel's own documentation) with no reactions to such statements."


I personally don't care if Ms Bach brings in opposing voices to counter her opinions. On-campus events outside of the classroom should be open to all sides and audiences can question what they say-or you can schedule a debate. I get the impression that Ms Bach got heat from Case Western because she brought in one-sided presentations to her classes. I draw a sharp distinction between the two. As for Sharansky's quoted statement, I have no quarrel with that at all. It sounds reasonable to me.

"Tired of protesting the paltry support pro-Palestinian students received from the administration and faculty on campus, while the pro-Israel group had the finances of the University and the Jewish Federation behind them, the small Students for Justice in Palestine group dissolved. It's an ironic situation since close to half of the students in the group were Jewish. There is still a Muslim student group, but these days they invite the campus to nonpolitical events. Instead of talking about their fears living in the US with Muslim being too often synonymous with terrorist, they serve falafel and hummus at their open meetings and play Arab hip-hop music."

Good for them. Ms Bach should come out to Irvine and see the Muslim Student Union here at UCI. She should also see how feckless the Orange County Jewish Federation is as well as UCI's Hillel. Were she in Irvine, she would find very little for her side to complain about.

"It is hard not to be astonished at the melodrama of the ZOA and other organizations supporting them. They persist in their undocumented claims that Jewish students are frightened, indeed persecuted, whenever faculty members expose the realities of the Israeli Occupation, support the return to the 1967 borders of the state of Israel as stated in UNSC Resolution 242, and use terms such as ethnic cleansing. I have not seen any evidence of persecution of Jewish students on my campus or the campuses of my colleagues. In spite of the Campus Watch groups, started by Daniel Pipes, in which right-wing student informers report on "pro-Palestinian" lectures, classes, or campus events, many of us persist in trying to offer our students views other than those from Hillel, ZOA, and the newly minted Christians United for Israel (CUFI), CUFI on Campus."


Translation though all the victim tears? We try to indoctrinate students as to our view of Israel (and a myriad of other issues).

"Being a veteran of ZOA half-truths, I read their triumphant press release with suspicion and checked the Government tracking site for Congressional bills in progress to see if the new bill was a rewording of the Ali letter mentioned above. It was not. The two additions proposed in the bill touted by ZOA, sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), do not refer directly either to anti-Semitism or to Jewish students. The bill does indicate that schools must protect students' right to take time off for religious obligations and accommodate their dietary restrictions. While that wording would certainly include Jewish students, it would also embrace the religious obligations and dietary restrictions of all faiths. If that bill were to become law, perhaps the administration here would accommodate Muslim students by canceling required Friday afternoon classes and lunch meetings during Ramadan."


Title VI should, indeed, protect Muslim students from civil rights violations on campus, as well as any other religion. In UCI-Ext ESL classes Muslim students are excused on Friday for mid-day prayers. As for Ramadan, it is a common sense issue. Teachers are aware of the Ramadan period and that students will be fasting and maybe not at their best in class. As for turning the campus schedule upside-down to accommodate these issues and inconvenience all students, I would not go that far.

Let's cut to the chase here. Professor Bach is just another in that army of American professors spread out in universities all over the country who are dedicated to de-legitimizing Israel-a process that would, in their vision, destroy Israel's right to exist as a sovereign nation. It is an organized program world-wide.

Personally, I don't care about Ms Bach's personal ideology or her beliefs. She is entitled to them. Under the university code of academic freedom, I guess she has the right to shove her beliefs down her students' throats. I would never advocate that professors like Bach be fired-or harassed. It is fair, however, for us to express our own freedom of speech and expose these professors for what they are-indoctrinators. Protected or not, imposing your beliefs upon your students is unprofessional. I also have strong political beliefs and do not hesitate to express them in out-of-class forums. Yet, my students are not exposed to my beliefs in the classroom. The community and parents with kids in college have every right to know how their tuition money is being used.

As for Title VI, it is a recognition that in our universities, the one group of students who are facing the most insults and harassment are Jewish students. That is merely a reflection of what is going on world-wide-a resurgence in anti-Semitism. It may not be the case at Case Western, but it is true in many universities in the US and Canada. That is why Title VI-after a great deal of struggle by organizations like the ZOA- has now been applied to Jews.

Vice and Virtue IV - Courage

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Pain

In the previous "Vice and Vurtue" articles, I have written about responsibility, loyalty, and wisdom.

Next, I will discuss courage.

While we might say that courage is simply the ability to overcome fear, it is my intention to give in a narrower, but more positive definition - one that makes it a true virtue.
Courage is the ability to overcome fear, in order to do what's right.

Overcoming the fear of the law in order to strike down an old lady and steal her jewlery, is not courage.
Neither is raiding a caravan for pillage and slaves.
Bold action, as a part of a bad deed, is not courage, because leading to that action, are reasons stemming from fear:
In the case of criminal activity, it is the fear of one's own survival, of never achieving anything meaningful without breaking the law.
In the case of political activity, it is the fear of losing one's career.

As it did not take great courage to be a Nazi in 1930s Germany, or murder helpless Jews in death camps, so does it not take much courage to further islam in this day and age. Back then, it took great courage to shelter a Jewish family, or join the resistance in occupied France. Our challenge is light in comparison - to expose the deceitful ways of those who had erased entire cultures, and would destroy our countries, whether in the name of islam, communism, or any other incarnation of tyranny.

Every bureaucrat, every politician, general, professor, artist, or journalist who justifies the crimes of islam, and blames them on its victims; who takes their dirty oil money to become another puppet and front for their lies; who stomps on the liberties and speech of his own countrymen, who dare to stand in its path of destruction - is a coward.
To say the least.

It is an imaginary character - Saruman the white, first among the wizards of Tolkien's Middle Earth - who exemplifies the temptation of those in power to turn their color, to save their own skin and position, in the face of a seemingly unstoppable enemy.
That enemy, coincidentally, was also stopped by courage.

As much as our turncoats rationalize and justify their behavior, there is nothing behind it but plain cowardice - the refusal to make a stand, take the unpopular route, and face the risks. It is quite easier to blame America, or Israel, or the Illuminati, for that matter. Anyone who isn't likely to put a fatwa on you, and stab you in the middle of the street for drawing a mediocre cartoon of a pedophiliac mass murderer.

It may take courage to be a human rights activist who protects Christians in Africa, but absolutely none to help Arab invaders in their occupation of Jewish land, or join a terrorist ship, and face Israeli commandos armed with paintball guns.
On the other hand, it takes courage to be those commandos, or any soldier of the civilized world, who risks his life and limb, while obeying absurd rules of engagement*. They do not break ranks - neither should we. The mere act of standing up for what's right, even when it is not popular; calling out the lies we are all told every day, by those who claim to be our leaders, our educators, our betters; and simply not following the brainwashed crowd - is courageous enough. The American revolution did not start with gunpowder and a musket-ball, but with the burning heat of fiery of words.

As Daniel Greenfield wrote on Wanted: Men and Women of Courage:
"Courage is not simply rushing into a fire, it is also defying convention and conformity. One man with courage makes a majority, because courage rests in holding to ideals rather than bowing to the majority. And that is what we need. Men and women with the courage to go on defying conformity and speak out for what is right."

One person, with courage, is an army, because courage, like laughter, is contagious: it invigorates, strengthens, and fills others with alacrity. It unites us, and brings us all together to perform deeds greater than we would have ever thought of doing on our own.

But courage does not reside only in the realm of grand things - it is tested frequently in our daily lives: whether it is your kid facing a bully in school, a friend who's about to go into business with the wrong people, or a co-worker getting blamed for someone else's doing, there is always the dillema, and the fear of taking action.

So let courage prevail, and let it supply the vital energy that is required to preserve our wisdom, maintain our loyalties, and fulfill our responsibilities. Like Samuel Johnson once said, "courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven't courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others".



* The most extreme case I can think of is that of a UK soldier who took a shot to the head, in order to avoid firing at a terrorist that used a girl for a shield. Commendable, perhaps, but extremely foolish. His own son needed a father with an intact skull, not a hero. Thankfully, his helmet worked better than his brain.

Next Virtue: Justice

Ray Lamontagne - Trouble

trouble been doggin mah shou, shince the day i wash born..


Yeah, I am very troubled tonight, can't sleep so very troubled tonight


Just an incredibly talented artist and a great song!

A perfect example of what is wrong with the energy picture on Oregon

The Energy Trust Of Oregon has a great thing going for it. Whenever rates are raised for electricity, the trust is guranteed an ever increasing percentage of the new rate increase. Oregonians who are unfortunate to have their power supplied by Pacific Power(we are a victim of PP) has had the misfortune to have had our rates raised 4 times in the last two years. It is a despicable thing that the legislators did to the citizens of Oregon when they created the Energy Trust. Here is what the Energy Trust does with the funds it collects: The Energy Trust, which uses the electricity tax revenue to fund energy conservation programs and subsidize renewable energy projects around Oregon and the Northwest. Pacific Power just hit us with another rate increase of almost 15%! PP is rationalizing this increase due to increased costs and for providing new infrastructure and providing future supplies of green energy. So the stinking environmentalists and econazis are partly to blame for this fiasco as they set the table for Oregonians for years to come. They ruined the timber industry, the fishing industry, ranching and farming has taken a hit and Oregon's economy is still in a tailspin. Now we get a double digit rate increase on top of spiking gasoline prices.


Before I forget, in this next post check out what the Bulletin exposes about the fees(taxes) we pay to remove some days that we never had a say in whether we wanted them removed. Makes me furious and almost rabid with rage.





Your pain is the Energy Trust’s gain
Bend Bulletin
Published: January 26. 2011 4:00AM PST

Pacific Power customers scrambling to work this year’s double-digit rate increase into their electricity budgets should be sure to set aside a little extra for the tax man, better known as the Energy Trust of Oregon. Their pain is the Energy Trust’s gain.


Most people know the Energy Trust as the government-created nonprofit that conducts free home-energy audits. Of course, nothing the Energy Trust does is really free. But many of the people footing the bill know little about the trust or, we suspect, its claim on their hard-earned money. So here’s a little history.


Back in 1999, the Legislature told the state’s two big utilities (Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp, which operates in Oregon as Pacific Power) to apply a 3 percent charge to all retail electricity sales. This charge is merely a tax by another name, and the money it generates is used for a variety of purposes. Some goes to education service districts to make schools more energy-efficient. Some pays to weatherize low-income housing. But most, almost 75 percent, of the so-called “public purpose charge” goes to the Energy Trust, which uses the electricity tax revenue to fund energy conservation programs and subsidize renewable energy projects.


The tax revenue that flows through the Energy Trust’s hands is significant. During the 18-month period from January 2009 through June 2010, the trust’s portion of the electricity tax amounted to nearly $86 million, or roughly $57 million per year. Among the projects subsidized with that money, according to a December 2010 Energy Trust report, are numerous wind generation facilities, solar installations and, last but not least, a project that collects methane percolating through the Douglas County landfill.


The trust’s funding mechanism ensures that Oregonians will continue to pay for more of the same — lots more. When you receive a fixed percentage of an ever-rising number, as the trust and its electricity-tax partners do, you collect more and more money whether you need it or not. Thus, while Pacific Power had to make a case to the Public Utility Commission for the rate increases that kicked in last month, the Energy Trust automatically capitalizes on Pacific Power’s work. You know, kind of like a parasite.


PUC spokesman Bob Valdez acknowledges that “as retail bills go up, the share that goes to the Energy Trust for energy conservation ... goes up as well.” But he says the “Legislature did that so it would keep track with inflation and also accommodate a growing number of customers and ... be there for any emerging technology that might come up.”


Maybe so. But it’s hard to believe lawmakers back in 1999 supported the weirdness at work today. One of the justifications for Pacific Power’s recent hikes is the cost of “green” power, which Oregon’s renewable portfolio standards require utilities to provide. Thus is the high cost of Oregon’s renewable energy mandate forcing Oregonians to pay more money to a nonprofit that subsidizes ... renewable energy.


But it gets crazier still. Last September, the PUC allowed Pacific Power to apply a 1.7 percent surcharge to electricity bills in order to pay for the removal of several dams. The electricity tax applies to that portion of Oregonians’ electricity bills, too, says the PUC’s Valdez. Thus, must Oregonians pay the Trust more simply because they have to cough up money to help fish. One environmental tax begets another.


Fortunately, the burden imposed by Oregon’s electricity tax can also be a great opportunity. It all depends on the willingness of lawmakers to help taxpayers despite the certain objections of environmentalists and organizations that feed on electricity tax revenue. Lawmakers who do respect taxpayers should ask, first, whether the Energy Trust has become obsolete. It seems to us that the proliferation of subsidies and mandates supporting efficiency and renewable energy are quickly making it so.


Moreover, the trust’s funding mechanism forces Oregonians to pay an environmental tax on other environmental taxes. They must pay twice, for instance, for the state’s renewable portfolio standard. They pay once in the form of higher electricity costs and once again in the form of increased electricity-tax contributions.


Well, here’s an opportunity for lawmakers to prove that they can cut expensive programs that have outlived their usefulness. Better yet, by doing so they can pat themselves on the back — with justification — for doing something to moderate electricity costs that their own policies are driving skyward.

Original article is here.

Stop Muslim Immigration to the United States

Please sign this petition and share it with as many people as you can.

Time is running out.
Pleaase read what a friend has to say about this petition and muslim immigration below:



Stop Muslim Immigration to the United States Petition
www.petitiononline.com




More Information About This Petition:
Vic Bablove


We have no way of determining which Muslims are Islamic supremacists and which completely reject Sharia law. Islamic supremacists seek to undermine and eventually overthrow democratic countries. Orthodox Islam has a political goal: the domination of Islam over all other religions and governments.

When Muslims move to a country, a certain percentage of them start agitating for special considerations. They start to organize and influence the nation politically in a way that is good for Islam and bad for freedom and equality. When the percentage of the Muslims in a nation's population becomes high enough, freedoms and rights begin to disappear.

Until we have a way of determining who is an Islamic supremacist and who is a heterodox Muslim, no more Muslims should be allowed to immigrate into free countries.

Does this seem extreme? It's not as bad as it might seem. Each country already chooses who can immigrate and who cannot. We are not under any obligation to allow anyone to immigrate who wants to. They do it with our blessing or they don't do it.

So this policy is simply adding to the already-existing filter.

This is not racist. Islam is not a race; it's an ideology. The policy of stopping Muslim immigration is simply acknowledging the reality of the Islamic teachings. If you don't know what Islam teaches, please take the pledge and read the Quran.

There are Muslims who reject the violent and intolerant verses of the Qur'an. But Islam also teaches the principle of "religious deception" (taqiyya) and we have no way of knowing who is sincere and who is deliberately deceiving us.

We should not take the chance, at least until we find some way to discover who genuinely rejects the political goals of Islam and who does not. In the meantime, we should stop all immigration into free countries by Muslims while we can.

Right now it would be impossible to pass this legislation because too few people know even the most basic precepts of Islam. Until a large percentage of our population knows about Islam, we will not be able to politically protect ourselves from the Islamic invasion now underway.

The situation is urgent because at some point Muslims will comprise too large a voting block for politicians to ignore. We must stop immigration soon. The first step is to show political leaders there is widespread support for such a policy. So please sign the petition for your country. And get all your friends to sign it. Post it on Facebook. Do whatever you can to get the word out. Let's get this done.

Thanks to Vic Bablove

The Daily Catch Videos for 1-26-2011: The possible revolution in Egypt

These are from Vlad Tepes and there are several to view. Wondering who is responsible for these riots and demonstrations turning violent? My pick is the muslim brotherhood which has been very active inside egypt for decades. This is the same muslim brotherhood that was spawned from the bowels of hell by the grand mufti who was in 'love' with hitler for what he wanted to do to the Jews, and hitler was in 'love' with the grand mufti because it was the mufti's idea to kill off the Jews in Europe. Please share these and help make them spread like far and wide. There are a few more over on VT site that I did not post here.


If this completely blows up we already know on whose side the muslim in the White House will support, just like he did with the those who were fighting for freedom in iran.





ABC news, 20,000 people in Cairo 20,000 people in Alexandria, seperate protests all over the country, twitter blocked, Mubarak shuts down network connections to prevent videos been uploaded.

















Egypt protests: Eyewitness accounts

Thousands of people took part in rare anti-government protests in Egypt after an internet campaign inspired by the uprising in Tunisia.

In Cairo, where the biggest rallies were held, police used tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowds. At least three people have been killed, reports say.


Here, eyewitnesses describe the atmosphere during the day’s events


Abd-Allah, Cairo resident
I saw the riot with my own eyes. We were out in the morning, we didn’t intend to protest, but we were caught up in it. I saw the police arresting everybody in a restaurant. Shortly afterwards we went home as it was too dangerous to stay out.


Now we are watching from the window what is happening outside. I hear people chanting: “Down with the president.” I’ve seen the police using tear gas against protesters, though I haven’t seen any violence. People are behaving as if they are ready to die. They keep pushing forwards.


Some people say that they won’t stop until Mubarak is gone. The noise from the street is increasing not decreasing even though it is 2230 (2030 GMT). There are more people now than during the day. There are people gathered downtown where the parliament building is located. I have friends among the crowd and they tell me what is happening. The atmosphere is very tense, it feels like a revolution. I see people who are determined, people who have nothing to lose, people who want a better future.


This protest is different. Previous protests would last about an hour, this seems to be much larger, much longer. I think this could bring only violence. Mubarak is so power hungry, he would do anything to hang on to power. If people keep on pushing, many will end up in jail.


Hussein, protester, Cairo I participated in the protests today. I have to say I was surprised by the number of people who attended. These high numbers are unusual in Egypt. People are afraid to speak out, but it seems that what happened in Tunisia encouraged many to protest in Egypt.


On the streets it seemed that the police were trying to avoid confrontation with the protesters, at least at the beginning of the day. Many of the senior officers were ordering the soldiers not to make any contact. They were only trying to form a cordon around the demonstrators, that was in Shobra.


But when our protest broke the cordon and joined with the major protest in El Tahrir, we found that it was more violent there. Although it was a peaceful protest, the police threw tear gas and fired/sprayed water canons.

Some protesters threw rocks at the police, which the police threw back. Most protesters however were trying not to be violent and many people were discouraging any acts of violence against the police.


I got the feeling in the end that the police were trying to make the protest go violent – that would give them an excuse to beat and arrest the protesters


Courtney Graves, American living in Giza
I went alone to Tahrir square today – my Egyptian friends seemed to think that the demonstration wouldn’t live up to the hype.


But news of the incredible turnout had reached my friend Gehad and she was fervently trying to find someone to accompany her into the city. She never made it to the demonstration but she at least let me know what to expect. I surfaced from the Metro station into a scene of happy panic. Riot police were lined up along every street and it was almost impossible to move at first. From afar, I could hear a roar of human voices coming from one side of the square.


I managed to find higher ground to stand on and I saw an immense mass of people making their way towards where I was standing. I saw as they managed to get past the authorities restraining them and they were finally able to express the anger so evident in their faces.


As the group passed me I joined them. Emotions were so high and passions so great it was almost tangible. I’ve never seen men so angry, yet so happy to be expressing their anger.


I walked next to girls in hijabs (Islamic headscarves) screaming for the downfall of Hosni Mubarak. I walked behind men begging God for freedom. In the middle of the tumult, I spotted two Muslim men praying in the middle of the sidewalk.


I soon heard screams from behind me and realised that the police had sent tear gas canisters flying into the air. Everyone began to run away from the source.


Fortunately, I avoided the full force of the gas but my fellow protesters were not so lucky. Screams for water filled the air as men dropped to their knees, covering their faces. I saw one little girl furiously rubbing her eyes as tears streamed down her face.


I stayed for another hour, on the sidelines. I felt different about Egypt as I walked away, like the political stagnancy had finally come to an end. As I walked across a bridge to Zamalek I could still hear chants coming from Tahrir, “Horreyya, Horreyya, Horreyya!” – “Freedom, freedom, freedom!”


Assad Elepty