" You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness."
Ronald Reagan
The fact that Obama does not own a pet, a situation he has promised to rectify once he is elected, might have swayed the survey. The American Kennel Club (AKC) went so far as to ask the American public what type of dog should Obama select (if elected):
But would Obama really pick a full-bred dog? Wouldn’t selecting a poodle or yorkie further perpetuate his elitist persona? And could Obama really pull off being a Lab owner? Please!
Obama’s advisors would have to insist that he select a good old American Mutt. Imagine the photo-op, Obama entering an animal shelter, a daughter to each side, walking up to a cage and selecting a dog in need. Hell, I might consider voting for him if I saw that!
A mutt would truly represent the message of hope and unity Obama is striving for. And besides, if the dog doesn’t work out, there is always the “Socks Solution (Former Clinton First Cat Socks).”
Rebel, an adorable six-week-old German Shepard, has a bright future ahead of him.Rebel is a “police dog in training,” and recently became a “spokes dog” for a local Scottish police detachment.But not all are happy with little Rebel.
Rebel was featured on a crime stopper post card sent Muslims in the Scottish district of Tayside are outraged by the appearance of a wide-eyed, pup on postcards distributed by the local police force, according to the Daily Mail.
The cute cards were meant to notify locals of a new non-emergency telephone number, but instead have become a flashpoint for a clash of cultures. Shopkeepers are refusing to display the offending ad and a Dundee city councilor is calling for an investigation:
My favorite quote - "My concern was that it's not welcomed by all communities, with the dog on the cards," said Dundee councilor Mohammed Asif, according to the Daily Mail.Really, Rebel, the little puppy, who also will be serving these same people in the line of duty?Lunacy!
Who in the story is being intolerant? Rebel right now is a cute little dog, but will soon be a member of law enforcement, which will command respect from everyone in the neighborhood he will be serving.To consider Rebel to be “ritually unclean” takes a religious belief too far. Rebel is a symbol of the type of political correctness that can drive a wedge into a community, which should not be tolerated.
As for the Muslims offended by Rebel, don't worry. God forbid you are ever in need of police assistance, Rebel, the ritually unclean animal, will serve you without prejudice when he is called upon.
Well if you are Lithuania, a lot.Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas appointed a commission to look into changing the English version of the name to make it easier to pronounce
Maybe Lithuania could do what most American sports teams have done and get a corporate sponsor.There’s Gillette Stadium (NE Patriots), Coors Field (Colorado Rockies), AT & T Park (San Francisco Giants), why not do the same for Lithuania.How about Oreoland, or the Nation of Meineke, or something more simple like……..McDonald’s.
Life After Willy Wonka
A “small” crime spree has hit long-distance bus passengers in Sweden.It appears that a criminal syndicate has been packing dwarves into suitcases and telling them to emerge once inside the bus’ luggage compartment.There the dwarves rifle through the other suitcases and collected the booty.
There is not much I can say without offending small people, Swedish readers ( I have large following in Oslo), or suitcases.I will leave it to all of you to come up with the one-liners.
The Eyes Have It
A guest staying at a hotel in Tasmania received a very unusual room service delivery.The guest was handed a package that they discovered to their surprise contained a human eye.
Will the “truth” of Orwell’s “Animal Farm” soon be realized?
Captain Sophia, Feline Detective
It has been said that curiosity killed the cat, but in this case a cat’s need to explore helped put a scumbag behind bars. Having just moved into a new apartment with her owner, Sophia the Cat, discovered a stash of child pornography the previous renter had left behind:
Should make for an interesting trial when the cat is called as a witness.
I Triple Dog Dare You
Will kids never learn the valuable lesson so clearly demonstrated in the classic movie "A Christmas Story?" Two young Hoosiers, serving on flag duty for their elementary school, decided to ignore what millions of kids already knew, wet tongues and frozen flag poles should never meet:
This story demonstrates the sacrifice dogs are willing to make out of friendship and loyalty.No offense to Sophia the Cat, but it is stories such as this one that reminds us why “dogs are man’s best friends.”
The world has been a very busy and interesting place during the holidays:
May The Force Be With You
Little did a would-be theft, and full-time scumbag, realize what was awaiting him as he approached a mother with two children. As the scumbag was verbally abusing and punching the mother, her 11-tear-old son came to the rescue.The weapon of choice, a toy Star Wars Lightsaber:
Kudos to the young Jedi, my only wish is that it was a real Lightsaber.
Art Is In The Eye Of The Beholder – “Rubbish!”
Buried deep by many media outlets, or just not reported on, is the story of the latest work by Chinese (actually Canadian) Artist Terence Koh, (also known as “asianpunkboy”):
Imagine the outrage if the statue was of Muhammad?But lets face it, Koh is a capitalist whose “art” has been described as “diverse works that involve queer, punk, and pornographic sensibilities (HUH?!?).”Koh knew exactly what he was doing and will surely reap the benefits of all the free publicity.I suspect however that the same people who would welcome Koh to their “novo, elitist” dinner parties would be the first ones to scream bloody outrage if the statue depicted Muhammad, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or Hillary in the same fashion.
Warning:Be careful if you search on the name Terence Koh.Pornographic images will be returned.
The Fast and the Senile
An 85 year-old Canadian has been charged with street racing under a new law that was meant to help curve "want to be" racers.
Much has been made about whether Iran is indeed trying to develop a nuclear weapons program.The issue was re-energized this week with the release of the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) Report.The key to the report is to look at the last word in its title, “Estimate.”Estimate, meaning……..to guess.
Far be it for me to question the minds of our intelligence community.No,instead I question the interpretation of the report within the media, from around the world.One Australian news report, while referring to President Bush as a gunslinger, seems to call into question the whole bumbling US Intelligence Community:
And what about some of our European allies?France and Germany both have their own formable intelligence agencies, yet they jointly believe that there is more than meets the eye regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions:
Of course, many in the media will isolate Mr. Bolton’s comments as the ramblings of an insane, political hack.Which is unfortunate, because Mr. Bolton truly does have a keen insight into this region, which too many choose to ignore because they do not agree with Mr. Bolton politically.
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs provided another perceptive on the matter.What seems to be lost in all of this is Iran’s perceived capabilities and their well-documented desires and intents:
Nowhere in the NIE Report does it state that Iran can be trusted and wouldn’t continue to be a menace to the world. And lets remember, in 1946 the intelligence agencies throughout the free world stated that Russians were at least a decade away from obtaining a nuclear bomb.In August of 1949, their guess was proven wrong.
Chavez: You Have Not Heard the Last of Me!
Another one of the world’s favorite bad men, Hugo “Don’t Call Me Nuts” Chavez seems to be all over the place.First he stated that if the people of Venezuela did not accept the referendum that would allow him to stay in power beyond the constitutional limits, he would take it out against America (?).
Then, after he lost, he said he was not happy but that he would abide by the will of the people. However, he change his tune later in the week by proclaiming that he would seek other measures to change the constitution:
I wonder if Chavez will enlist the help of his Hollywood “power nut” friends Sean Penn, Danny Glover, Kevin Spacey, and “genius” supermodel Naomi Campbell to do public services announces:
“Hi, this is Sean Penn, brilliant actor, malcontent and slayer of the paparazzi. I am asking you today to surrender your freedoms, and hand over the future of your country to the Sainted protector against the evil Satan (George Bush), the most beloved El Presidente, Hugo “Boss” Chavez. Mind you, I would never let this happen in America (unless the President was a Democrat, Socialist-Progressive, or Communist), but hey, we are for more sophisticated, and frankly more capable, then your peasants to decide the destiny of our country.Grazias and ¡Paddington Libre!”
Canadian Market Strategy – Lets Belittle America:
In an effort to keep the almighty “loony” North of the Border, a recent Canadian ad campaign used marketing slogans such as:
"Why risk it in a crazy foreign country?"
"If you're going to downtown Detroit and you speak English ... good luck." (No racism there!)
This week saw the defeat of a strong world leader, the reminder of man’s folly, and zombies going shopping:
A New Direction for Australia: Australians went to the polls and decided, for better or worse, that it is the people who have the power in a Democracy:
The political pendulum swings back and forth, usually moving to the extreme pull of one or two issues.Australians have been experiencing an unprecedented economy. But with prosperity comes an almost lackadaisical approach to social issues, usually believing they are unrelated to the economic success of a country.The Conservatives will return when the political pendulum swings back, but only if they remain true to their Conservative beliefs. But one thing is true, the world and Australia were a better place with a leader such as John Howard.
The Titanic II:
The folly of man is that we believe that with each advancement in technology, that nature grows weaker.Tell that to the 154 passengers of the cruise ship Explorer:
I am sure that it is only a matter of time before this is blamed on Global Warming.
Black Friday - Putting the "Ka - Ching" into Christmas:
Eerily reminiscent of the zombies in the movie “Dawn of the Dead,” shoppers waited in line all night seeking the “Holy Grail” of bargains.Granted that there were only a handful of the items people desired, but that did not deter most:
Imagine if this sort of effort was evident on Election Day.Maybe we should start offering greatly reduce electronics for everyone that cast a vote, or we could have the voting booths set up at Wal-Mart, Sears, K-Mart, or Kohl’s.Cast a ballot, get a GPS at 50% off.
Not to belabor the point, but it is important to remember that “Christ – mas” is more than just a time for us to max out our credit cards.It is a time to celebrate God’s greatest gift to man, his only son (John 3:16)-“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
By remembering this, we honor the spirit of the season.
That's it poochies, another quick look at the news that makes some people bark, some whine, or some howling at the moon.Peace
No, not really. In fact the news out of Iraq continues to be positive. But you really wouldn’t know that unless you looked and listened really hard.
When the war was not going well, every major news outlet (such as the NY Times, NBC News, CBS News) made sure that America was “well informed.” But have you noticed the almost deafening silence coming from the Fourth Estate? Worse yet, these same outlets either bury the story deep into their coverage, or downplay the positive results:
The interesting part about this story was the use of Iran’s old kingdom name, Mesopotamia, which is something the NY Times does quite often. Our US Military is doing an incredible job, as part of this story demonstrates, and somehow the NY Times just cannot state the success is occurring in IRAQ.
Up next are two stories about the resolve of the Iraqis:
The Washington Post just couldn’t help but remind us that the press conference was held “in the heavily fortified Green Zone.” Funny, I don't recall them mentioning the same fact when they attend a press conference at the heavily fortified White House?
Even with some negative tinges in the story, it demonstrates that Iraqis are trying to work together, and with the US Military, to build a new Iraq. In fact, in another under reported story, Iraqis held a parade last week to call for national unity:
This following piece demonstrates once again the huge hearts that our American soldiers posses, and the commitment to compassion they have for the Iraq people.
"Helping Those in Need" One of the heroes of this story, Soham Hassan Ka-Naan, is also an innocent victim targeted by a ruthless enemy. The other heroes are those members of the US Military who helped her. In the words of Khalid Hassan Ka-Naan (Soham’s brother) …”God Bless the US Soldiers!”
Our last story is not positive, but a reminder of why we must remain vigilante.
Sorry, We Can Only Hang Pictures of Deadbeat Dads:
Since 2001 the employees at the Paso Robles (CA) Post Office have been honoring local men and women serving in the military by placing their picture on a wall behind the counter at the post office. All of that ended on Friday, October 19, 2007, when an “anonymous person” filed a complaint with the US Post Office Customer Affairs Division.
The complaint alleged that the pictures were “pro-war,” and should be removed. Paso Robles Postmaster Mike Milby and his staff were ordered to remove the display because it “violated a regulation against displays of nonpostal business material at any U.S. Post Office.” “It’s an emotional issue, and people look at their post office as a hub of the community, but the post office is there to do postal business and it’s not a place to post things or make displays,” said postal spokesman Richard Maher.
“What happen to the pictures? Why were they taken down?” asked Shelley Reeger, (a military wife), who was just one of many who were upset Friday morning when they learned that the pictures had been taken down. “We just cannot put those photos back up, they should not have been up there to begin with,” stated United States Postal Service spokesperson Richard Maher.
The employees at the Paso Robles Post Office could find themselves in more trouble for first refusing to take the pictures down (good for them!), then placing signs at the counter stating they had been “forced” to take down the pictures.
Paso Robles Mayor, Frank Mecham, expressed disappointed over the incident, and made a request to their Congressman to look into the matter.
Commonsense was thrown right-out the window on this one. What is most frustrating though was that the voice of one, small-minded individual, how obviously harbors strong anti-military hostilities, failed to look upon the pictures and see his/her neighbors. Instead, this sad nameless person looked past the eyes of these brave soldiers to see only contempt.
What’s New Pussycat!
In one of the more interesting stories this week, and a news story dogs will truly enjoy, some have speculated that “Socks,” the former First Cat, could come back to haunt Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton.
Socks, who was somehow credited with presenting Mrs. Clinton in a “warmer-light (?),” was banished from the White House with the arrival of First Dog Buddy (may he rest in peace). Socks disliked Buddy from the beginning, “hissing and attacking” Buddy each time they came in contact with each other.
From The Atlantic (article):
Some feel that Clinton’s treatment of Socks cuts to the heart of the questions about her candidacy. Is she too cold and calculating to win the presidency? Or does it signify political invincibility by showing she is willing to deploy every weapon to get what she wants?
“In the annals of human evil, off-loading a pet is nowhere near the top of the list,” writes Caitlin Flanagan in the current issue of The Atlantic magazine. “But neither is it dead last, and it is especially galling when said pet has been deployed for years as an all-purpose character reference.”
I am not sure how this story will play out, but I am confident that the Clinton campaign will produce a press release blaming the disappearance of “Socks” on some “right-wing conspiracy.”
“In (fill-in the blank) We Trust”
I end this week’s highlights with two stories about God, or should I say without God:
The Disney Corporation believes that they are so powerful that the can make a cartoon called “The Ten Commandments” without using the name God in its advertising:
It is not as if Disney needs any more bad press. Early this year Hamas used Mickey Mouse to indoctrinate future suicide bombers. Minnie Mouse was there as well, but she was wearing a burka and instructed to remain silent. The Mickey Mouse video was the first of many videos Hamas plans to produce that will feature Disney characters. Up next will be a video featuring Goofy and Donald Duck playing the roles of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney:
Now I am not in marketing, but I would think that some smart executive at Disney would have realized that by eliminating the name God the company would be disenfranchise the target audience for such a movie.
The other story comes compliments of the Office of the U.S. Capital Architect:
A 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Ohio, Andrew Larochelle, decided he wanted to send his grandfather the gift of a US Flag that had flown over the US Capital. No big deal, right? Not so fast. Andrew requested the inscription "In honor of my grandfather Marcel Larochelle, and his dedication and love of God, country and family," be placed on the accompanying certificate.
When Andrew received the flag and certificate the name “God” was missing. Andrew, who had paid a fee of $9.00 for the flag and certificate, was informed that it was against the policy of the Office of Capital Architect (AoC) to include religious expressions on the certificates.
Now to be fair, Mr. Ayers is not the bad guy here. This policy was in place before Mr. Ayer’s took over, but apparently never enforced. In a statement Ayers admitted that "It is inappropriate and beyond the scope of this agency’s responsibilities to censor messages from members". Ayers also said that after reviewing the rules, he concluded that they were inconsistently applied and should be changed.
However, every story of “right and wrong” must have a villain, and this story is no exception. None other than the Speaker of the House, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi defended the decision to remove “God” from the certificate, and originally had no plans to change the rules.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, speaking on the behalf of his fellow Republicans and thousands of angry Americans, strongly disagreed with Representative Pelosi:
"This practice, which overturns a longstanding and long cherished congressional tradition, has rightly drawn outrage from the American people, who have grown weary of endless attempts by politicians and bureaucrats to bar the word God and even the most tacit references to faith from our public institutions."
The pressure was too much for Mrs. Pelosi, who suddenly had a change of heart, and later stated that the AoC should not be in the position of censoring House member’s request. Just another example of Mrs. Pelosi’s “bold and decisive (or should I say divisive) leadership.”
This is a First Amendment issue (“Congress Shall Pass NO Law….”) and the policy should not only have be changed, it should have never been written. Since Mrs. Pelosi has more pressing matters (like trying to improve their 11% approval rating), Mr. Larochelle’s Representative, Michael Tuner, R-Ohio, last week introduced House Resolution (H.R). 3779, to amend the policy.
This story does have a happy ending. Mr. Ayers had a new certificate sent to Larochelle that include the name GOD, and with the approval of Congress amended the policy. To think it took an Eagle Scout to provide a civics lessons to some members of Congress. Great Job Andrew Larochelle.
Up first is the story of a teacher who stood, or I should say refuse to stand, on her principals when she decided not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.Dianne Dunfry is a middle school teacher in Seabrook, NH, who filed a lawsuit in federal court stating that her “First Amendment Rights were violated.”.It is kind of ironic that such a story like this would happen in a State whose motto is “Live Free or Die.”
Several students joined Ms. Dunfry by declining to participate in the morning custom.Ms. Dunfry has never stated why, after a decade of performing the Pledge, she decided not to partake any further.Ms. Dunfry’s is not only alleging that her First Amendment Rights are being violated, but that parents, school board members, and school administrators have been retaliating against her for her refusal.
The schools position is that Ms. Dunfry has other discipline problems unrelated to her First Amendment lawsuit.The teachers union is supporting Ms. Dunfry it what should prove to be a no win scenario for anyone.
Ms. Dunfry joins a long list of public officials, usually teachers such as Brian Bown (How Many Teachers Does it Take to Prove Political Dissent), who refuse to participate in events such as the Pledge or a moment of silence.Teachers are public representatives that fall under the mandate of public policy.That does not mean that they surrender rights guaranteed by the Constitution, however State and city governments establish policies, which teachers agree to adhere to as a condition of their employment.Considering Ms. Dunfry freely participated for over 10 years, is validation that she understood her roles a teacher.I am surprised that as an American History teacher, Ms. Dunfry forgot the most important part of the First Amendment, which can be found in the first sentence -“Congress Shall Make No Law…”I might be wrong, but I do not believe that the school policies for the Seabrook Middle School are drafted, approved and mandated by the Congress of the United States.
We are Moveon.org, We Can Do Whatever the Hell We Want!
Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, got a lesson in hypocrisy this week at the hands of the keepers of public virtue, no other than Moveon.org.
Senator Collins is a moderate Republican that is well respected in Washington and in her home State of Maine.Senator Collin’s campaign produced a video meant to distance herself from the recent “General Betray Us” ad created by Moveon.org.Senator Collins placed the ad on google.com, like every other politician in America has done.That ad was removed by google.com at the request of Moveon.org.
Moveon.org cited “copyright” violations because Moveon.org is trademarked, and Senator Collins campaign violated a google.com policy on trademark materials.Have you look at the material that Moveon.org has produced against politicians, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and numerous others.Each of these have copyrighted/trademark their materials, yet Moveon.org has taken the position that since they are “public figures,” than they are not protected.Yet why does that argument not apply to a Moveon.org, a “public pundit,” that has a huge public footprint?
Hey Moveon.org, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!”
Dust of the Mantle, And Move the Oscar Over:
Your 2007 Noble Peace Prize Winner is……….Albert Arnold Gore!
Like the Oscar Mr. Gore won earlier this year, the Nobel Prize means very little to anyone other that Mr. Gore’s supporters.The Nobel Prize long ago, like the Oscar, lost any merit when it became clear that it was nothing more than a “popularity contest.”Very seldom do the truly deserving ever get nominated, let alone win.
What was interesting about this story is that it happen on the same day that an English Court ruled against the movie “An Inconvenient Truth,” the same movie Mr. Gore won both the Oscar and the Nobel Prize for:
School administrators wanted to show “The Inconvenient Truth,” uncontested in public schools.The judge cited 9 distinct errors/misrepresentations that call into question the integrity of the movie.
Integrity matters very little to some people, as long as the "end justifies the means." The problem is the "means" is supported by propaganda that props up their issues, or attack their opponents.
Recently I wrote an article that asked the question “Is character important (Our Moral Compass)?”Of course character is important, but somehow we seem to have lost its value in today’s world.Maybe it is just the result of the “free-spirited” lifestyle choices that was born in the 60’s, and intensified through the 70’s and 80’s.Character seems to be the victim of the “me” mind-set that has permeating our culture.
What is the solution?How about “Character Training,” as suggested by author Randy Sheridan:
How do Democrats get people to vote for them?The old fashion way, they buy their vote!Hillary Clinton has purposed a “radical” idea (Hillary's Political Advisor: Time Magazine) of providing a $5000. 00 bond for every kid born in America (including those born to illegal immigrants). The only difference between Clinton’s scheme and those used by the likes of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson is the taxpayers of America would foot the bill.
But not so quickly Ms. Clinton, American’s aren’t as dumb as you think the are (excepts those Democrats “with amnesia” who will vote for Hillary):
Sounding a bit like President Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, warned that military action would not be ruled out should Iran continue with their weapons, I am sorry..I meant to say energy, program:
A recent Yahoo-AP poll found that pet owners favor McCain to Obama 42% to 37%:
A 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Ohio, Andrew 
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