Right Truth

Whenever evil wins, it is only by default

The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles.  --Ayn Rand (1905 - 1982), Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, 1966 (hat tip Atlas Shrugs)

(Image via Shawn Roberts)

I truly believe that TEA Party participants and the true Conservative Americans are stepping up to fill the void that has been created by Left thinking individuals and groups, by RINOs, by fence-riding politicians, who have compromised on basic American principles.  Individuals allowed the void to develop and grow because they (we) were too polite, too timid, to afraid to offend or step out of our comfort zones.  But that is changing.  We speaking out with our money [by who we donate to and who we don't], by our taking to the streets, by our speaking out.

Glenn Beck made a point yesterday --  "it's not the left or right, it's the individual to blame for America's troubles. We're falling down on the ethical/moral job."  Fellow blogger A.C. McLeod reports:

The founders warned against our grand experiment leading to tyranny if the individual failed to uphold their end. Some predicted that only a religious public could uphold the framwork through ethics/morals, etc. But as Beck pointed out, even most atheists believe in some kind of moral responsibility to their fellow man, so it's not just an invisible sky man thing.

This is all debatable through history but there does seem to be a "change" in America. Perhaps the reason we have Chicago machine politicians running the government and lecturing everyone on how to behave....and perhaps the reason we're seeing more and more silly laws mandating things that should be obvious  ...  (continue reading at Fore-Left)

US States have given up their rights to the Federal government in return for money, tax dollars.  But I see a change coming.  If individuals take back their responsibility and States take back their responsibilities, we can set America back on the right path.  This will be a long, hard, and perhaps painful journey -- but it is a journey the United States of America must make or suffer the ugly consequences.  A return to smaller government, lower taxes, less government regulation, smaller Federal government and most important -- everything that happens must be Constitutional.

"Target Practice" by Richmond Riedel, coming to theaters this summer

Finally, the long awaited movie Target Practice will soon be out in theaters and I urge everyone to go see it.  If you are a regular reader here at Right Truth, you know that we have been following the long journey of this movie from the beginning, through the various film festivals and special showings.  Writer, producer and director Richmond Riedel has personally kept us up to date on the film's progress.  Below you can view the newest trailer up on VIMEO,  which will be appearing on the Blu-Ray/DVDs for "Babysitter Wanted" later this month!  Be sure to keep an eye out for showings near you beginning in June 2010.

TARGET PRACTICE from Richmond Riedel on Vimeo.

We have reported over and over here about the terror training camps scattered across the United States.  In this film a group of friends out on a fishing trip happen upon one of these jihad camps.  The movie is wall-to-wall action and I can't want to see it.

http://vimeo.com/11331084

Iran on UN Commission for Women's Rights

The United Nations elected Iran to its Commission on the Status of Women, handing a four-year seat on the influential human rights body to a theocratic state in which stoning is enshrined in law and lashings are required for women judged "immodest" -- and no one at the UN objected, not even the United States.  Countries on the committee which begins in 2011 are Belgium, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Estonia, Georgia, Jamaica, Iran, Liberia, the Netherlands, Spain, Thailand and Zimbabwe. 

Iran has warned suntanned women and girls who looked like "walking mannequins" will be arrested as part of a new drive to enforce the Islamic dress code.

Brig Hossien Sajedinia, Tehran's police chief, said a national crackdown on opposition sympathisers would be extended to women who have been deemed to be violating the spirit of Islamic laws. He said: "The public expects us to act firmly and swiftly if we see any social misbehaviour by women, and men, who defy our Islamic values. In some areas of north Tehran we can see many suntanned women and young girls who look like walking mannequins.

"We are not going to tolerate this situation and will first warn those found in this manner and then arrest and imprison them."   (Telegraph)

A group of Iranian women's right activists have written a letter to the United Nations to speak out against Iran joining the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The letter called on the United Nation's Economic and Social Council to deny Iran's bid for membership in the CSW.

 

police beats women during a protest gathering in Tehran (2007 file photo)

The letter is signed by over 250 women's rights activists.  (Payvand Iran News)

Iran is the country where ...

*   senior clerics declared that women who wear revealing clothing are to blame for earthquakes;  

*  arrested and jailed mothers of peaceful civil rights protesters;  

*   charged women who were seeking equality in the social sphere — as wives, daughters and mothers — with threatening national security, subjecting many to hours of harrowing interrogation;

*  Its prison guards have beaten, tortured, sexually assaulted and raped female and male civil rights protesters.

This is a travesty.  But the fact that the US did not speak out against Iran on this committee is shameful.

Enjoy the winners and all of the fine writing brought to you courtesy of the Watcher of Weasels Council!

Council Winners

• First place with 2 2/3 votes! – Wolf Howling -The Roots Of Slavery & The Races Hustlers’ Holy Grail – Reparations
• Second place with 2 votes – American Digest - The Circumnambulation of Queen Anne
• Third place *t* with 1 vote – Rhymes With Right - Doing My Part For Freedom Of Speech, Press, And Religion
• Third place *t* with 1 vote – The Razor - Socialism=Cannibalism
• Fourth place *t*  with 2/3 vote – The Glittering Eye - The Arizona Immigration Law
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Provocateur - Get Ready for the Immigration Debate
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Bookworm Room -  What if American blacks don’t want to join the club?
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Mere Rhetoric - Obama Defense Dept: We’re Not Going To Attack Iran, And If Israel Tries We Might Shoot Down Their Jets
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Colossus of Rhodey -  Race conundrum in education (again)
• Right Truth - Mandatory Voting?
• Joshuapundit –  Happy Birthday Trig Palin! Oh, And More Mean Spirited Trig-Truther Rot From Sully 

Non Council Winners

• First place with 2 1/3 votes! – Wretchard/Pajamas Media - The Washington Monument Submitted by JoshuaPundit
• Second place *t* with 1 2/3 votes – Doug Ross @ Journal - Irony-meter breaks: La Raza, MEChA and other racial separatist groups worry that law enforcement might use racial profiling to enforce laws Submitted by Rhymes with Right
• Second place *t* with 1 2/3 votes - Red State - Stop the haters : FreedomWorks responds Submitted by Bookworm Room
• Third place with 1 1/3 votes – Q&O – Open Borders, Immigration & Reality Submitted by Wolf Howling
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Discriminations –  More Liberal Hypocrisy: Race “As One Of Many Factors…” Submitted by Colossus of Rhodey
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Walter Russell Mead - Go Home Mae West Submitted by American Digest

 

Illegal Immigration: A true oxymoron!

The following was left as a comment by JON A. UNDERWOOD, CBPO, Ret.  to  United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters here at Right Truth.  I have forwarded this to Lieutenant Colonel Peters. I think you will find it very interesting:

Sir, I just saw you on Fox, here is what I have written. I try to get the word out in the Yuma Sun, our version of a paper in Yuma, Arizona. I am a Retired Customs and Border Protection Officer or CBPO. We are the guys at the Legal crossing points on the Border. My station was San Luis.

Illegal Immigration: A true oxymoron!

Let’s get into this straight away… There is no such thing as “Illegal Immigration”. Immigration is a legal process by which non-US Citizens can apply for entry, temporary and permanent residence, into the United States. Anyone who fails to do that in accordance with law is breaking the law and is a criminal. They are “Illegal” by violating our laws AND “aliens”, by not being US Citizens. Simple term, “Illegal Aliens”!. “Illegal immigrants” or “undocumented migrants” are terms used by our own print and electronic media to mask the reality that is extremely clear to most Americans, AND THAT IS:

Anyone who enters the United States of America without proper authorization under the Federal statutes is violating our laws. That makes them criminals, pure and simple. Criminals should not profit from their criminal acts. Residency in the United States is a true benefit that these criminals should not benefit from.

The new Arizona Immigration law, SB1070, was signed into law by the Governor. There is no location in the law that states that ANYONE, REGARDLESS OF RACE will be targeted for arrest. It does not say that the Police can stop a car load of people, simply because they MAY BE ILLEGAL ALIENS! If we are down to questioning our Police, that they cannot follow the legal requirements to make a traffic stop, then we no longer live in a civil society. We must trust the Police to execute their duties as the professionals they are. Could SB 1070 be abused? Yes! Can any law, that the police enforce be abused? Yes! Can any law that the Police don’t enforce be abused? Yes! The mass majority of Police are Professionals and do their duty with Honor and Respect for the public. The people that are demonstrating against the new Arizona Immigration Law are doing so based upon a racial grounds, not based upon the actual legal matters in question.

If Germany was next to Arizona, then the mass majority of persons entering into Arizona illegally would be Germans. In this case, it happens to be Mexico. Sheer numbers will insure that the vast number of Illegal Aliens, and they are Illegal Aliens, will be Mexican, but also many others nationalities as well. This Law will remove many Illegal Aliens from our streets. The mass majority will be Mexicans because of Mexico being adjacent to Arizona, an accident of national location not racial profiling.

Example: If a Police Officer observes a vehicle that, based upon his training and his knowledge of legal requirements, may have a person operating it in an intoxicated fashion, The Officer may stop the vehicle in question to determine if the operator is intoxicated. Happens every day. Either the Officer feels the operator is intoxicated or not. If they are, Jail, if not, down the road!

When, in the execution of his responsibilities, he tries to identify the occupants of the vehicle in question, this is already done on a daily, routine basis for Officer Safety requirements, and an occupant does not have any ID, cannot speak the English language, The Officer under the new law, has the right to determine through Federal authorities if the person is in fact here in the US Legally or not. If they are not here legally, the person would be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or Customs and Border Protection, (CBP) and that could mean the CBP Border Patrol as well. Then, those Federal authorities, using well established procedural actions, will take whatever steps required to deport the person involved back to his nation of citizenship. This is done every minute of every day of every year!

Illegal Aliens Costs the American People $millions and also corrupt our nation and our electoral process. They obtain false identification and then use it to register to vote. This process was made quite simple by the “Motor/Voter Law” that allows anyone to register to vote when they get their Arizona State drivers licenses. Studies have shown clearly that the mass majority of Illegal Aliens that involve themselves in the electoral process, vote for Democrat candidates that establish, primarily, larger government with more programs that they, the Illegal Aliens, benefit from.

If we, the American people do not correct the Illegal Alien question in our own country, how can we be sure that our elected Officials were elected by the American People or by some “outside force” that does not have the welfare of the American people at Heart.

Please don’t try telling me that that would make criminals out of children as well. Their parents are responsible for their acts, not the children. Please no heart strings here, let’s keep this debate centered in the legal not the emotional. Don’t blame the US for having and enforcing laws, blame and punish the criminals, the parents, for breaking our laws to begin with. There is no law that says that when the parents are arrested and deported, that their children can’t go with their parents back to their country of origin. American citizens live all over the world. Would it be better to have them live in the US? I believe so, and whenever possible, they should. I also believe that any baby born here in the US, of parents that are not here legally, MAY NOT BE USED for immigration purposes later by any member of their family wishing to enter the US. (No anchor baby benefits). Would the child be a US Citizen, yes, but without any benefit for anyone else.

Here comes the real essence of the situation, that being, that the United States of America has authorized amounts of immigration every year. Generations of Mexicans, Poles, Germans, Italians, Irish, Russians, Jews, Christians, Muslims and any other religion have been accepted into the United States. But, let’s also remember they learned English, not forcing the American educational system, such as it is, to bend to bi-lingual education instead of having everyone speak the same language, English. If you moved to Mexico, they would not do the same as we do here, you would be forced to speak Spanish if you wanted to “thrive and survive”.

Knowing two languages’s, or even 3, just widens your horizons, especially in social, employment and economic opportunities. Immigrant children should be required to learn English if they are attending US Schools from Kinder garden to the completion of High School. If it was good enough for previous immigrants, why not the immigrants of today? In New York, they have a drivers test in 27 languages, why? Especially when you consider the street signs are all in English? Learning English saves money for Education systems and it teaches immigrant children a needed ability if they are to survive in American society and not some Spanish speaking enclave.

Again, I never said anything about not speaking other languages in homes, among friends, in language specific gatherings, or just speaking with friends in your community. Always remember, English is the language of the United States, the Government, military and the legal system. Immigrants should learn English, like it or not, English is the de facto American National language, everyone should speak it to have the best chance at success in American society.

We also are completely shooting ourselves in the foot in the area of health care. Don’t get me wrong, everyone who needs emergency care should get emergency care, Federal Law demands it, but again due to their criminality, illegal Aliens, for the most part, do not have health insurance so they clog up the emergency rooms. For the vast majority of time, causing long lines, to the tune of hundreds of millions of Dollars a year. That money has to be paid somehow, causing hospitals to charge more to people with health insurance to help defray the cost of treating millions of illegal Aliens every year. The new Health care plan forced upon us will do nothing but cost us money and not solve the situation. Spending money we don’t have is not the answer.

Of course, many Americans can’t afford health insurance as well so they have no option but to go to the emergency room for health care, causing long lines, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. But the big difference is:

If the hospitals did not have to treat millions of Illegal Aliens every year, they could treat the Americans that have no health insurance and that is something I, as an American, would not worry about paying a little extra the next time I go to the ER, not in the slightest!

One concern I have is if the new generation of Mexicans accept the United States into their way of life? The Illegal Aliens, as a by product of their criminality, have secreted themselves into cities where work is and also where the American cities themselves have become part of the problem by creating “sanctuary cities”. These Cities are allowing criminal activities and the Mayors, Chiefs of Police and the District Attorney’s are clearly failing to do their duty by knowingly allowing criminal activities to occur and flourish within their jurisdictions. They should be removed from their office by the US Attorney General and arrested. Others that will enforce American law should then be placed in their positions. Believe me; Bounce the Mayor, Chief of Police and District Attorney from their jobs in a couple “Sanctuary Cities” and you will see the other cities fall into line. All US Law’s are based upon the US Constitution, no other law, or system of Laws, can be allowed to exist in this country.

Now, we face, and have been for 20 odd years, a wave of “Illegal Aliens”, principally from Mexico. Persons not wanting to follow our laws and not wishing to do anything but to advance themselves over the Laws and desires of the American People. Should a person wish to enter the United States, the first act upon moving here can not be allowed to be a criminal act. And, it’s not all their fault either!

We have an alleged partner to the south, Mexico, who is causing the United States, to their calculated benefit, financial pain and suffering. One of the main problems we have is Mexico itself. Mexico is not doing anything substantive to stem the flow of Illegal Aliens and there are 2 main reasons for this, they are:

• Mexico receives billions of Dollars a year, yes with a “B”, from illegal aliens from the United States, money that is sent from the United States to their families that goes directly into the economy of Mexico. Making a tidy profit for the Mexican economy.

• Mexico, their government, by not stopping illegal aliens from entering through areas other than the authorized US Ports of entry, where they would be detected and arrested, exports their young citizens with strong backs out of Mexico. These young workers would serve the people of Mexico well in Mexico to change the corrupt and completely mismanaged political and governmental systems that are in place. But, by the Government of Mexico failing to curb the flow of Illegal Aliens into the United States, from its side of the border, it, itself, is involved in an enterprise that makes the Mafia look like children setting up a lemonade stand. Remember, we are talking “billions” of dollars from the United States into the Mexican economy every year. Quite a motivator for a Government to take no action.

Let me make a little statement here, I have seen these hard working people enter the United States in the early hours, dark and cold, day after day, to make a decent earning here in the United States. The Mexican People as a whole are very hard workers and good people.

Through many conversations with older, immigrated Mexican citizens with legal documentation to enter, I have found that many Mexicans who did the right thing and went through the lengthy process to obtain legal papers to work, do not think kindly of those who cheat the system and enter through illegal means for whatever purpose. It’s a true slap in their face, the United States and the American people.

Possible solutions:

Subtract a certain amount from the Foreign Aid we send to Mexico, for each person that is arrested from Mexico, entering the US by CBP Officers or CBP Border Patrol Agents. Just as an example, if the US subtracts $10,000.00 for each Illegal Alien (IA) from Mexico, say $10,000,000,000.00 per year, that would make an impact with the Mexican Government to motivate them to control their side of the border.

Create a program that, with incentives, provides a program that allows persons from Mexico, working in the US strictly for the money, to enter the US for work purposes only. When their work is over, they go. They, upon entry, pay a $500.00 fee and receive a “TEMPORARY WORKER” permit ID card, and when they depart, they turn in the card and get their $500.00 back. No card, no cash. No card, no cash and no future entering the US for work. If they disappear in the US, the card is terminated, the cash is confiscated (to help offset the cost of finding the person in question) and they go onto an “Immediate Deportation listing”, when arrested, they are deported, straightaway without delay.

This limits the “lost card” scam and it motivate those who really want to work, to earn their right to do so. After 10 times entering the US for work, (minimum 5 years total time working in the US) with their card and always following the program rules, they get to enter the US for work, without putting the cash money down and they get to retain the card for work purposes.

We, the American people, are also a part of the problem. If there were no employers for these illegal aliens, there would be no need to violate our laws to come here. We allow this situation to exist and we do so by looking for cheap goods, for cheap meals and cheap labor. Billions of Dollars are invested, and there are many corporations and people on both sides of the border that benefit from this black market in cheap labor.

The CURRENT conversation is about a national health plan. The President has stated very clearly that the plan will not cover those who are in the country illegally. If this is true or not, I don’t know, I think not, but this conversation is a moot point. There is a current Federal law that requires ANY person who enters an Emergency Room MUST BE TREATED. So, do you think that a person, who has already BROKEN THE LAW to enter the United States to benefit from their illegal activity, is suddenly going to start FOLLOWING THE LAW? Not a chance!

IA’s must not be allowed to benefit from their illegal activities. Entering the US for financial benefits is a benefit, not a right for anyone other than a US Citizen.

The United States and the American people can do a lot to further our desired goal of a safe and secure America, ready for the economic challenges of the 21st Century. There is ample employment and there is a lot of room in our country, but a basic prerequisite of living in our society must be that the immigrant does so legally, and it is not at the expense of our laws, our constitution, our values, our history, our language and our economic prosperity.

JON A. UNDERWOOD, CBPO, Ret.

YUMA, ARIZON

Posted by: CBPO Jon A. Underwood | April 29, 2010 at 08:00 PM

The National Day of Prayer: The Value of Offending

The National Day of Prayer: The Value of Offending

By Paul A. Ibbetson

    A federal judge in Wisconsin has ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional as it is reported to violate the first amendment against the government’s establishment of religion. No, the lawsuit was not filed by the anti-Christian ACLU, but by an organization known as the Freedom from Religion Foundation. The Freedom from Religion Foundation, an organization of overbearing agnostics and atheists, has decided, as liberals often do, that it would be in the best interest of their minority to require the majority within America to live as they do, Godlessly.

    However, in the larger scheme of things, the National Day of Prayer has been under attack by many forces besides the “No God Here” group from Madison, Wisconsin. President Barack Obama was already scaling back the National Day of Prayer before the court ruling took place. Harry Truman created the National Day of Prayer back when one could use the concept of prayer and the Democratic Party in the same sentence without receiving strange looks. George W. Bush made the National Day of Prayer a very public event where religious leaders would come to the White House and offer prayers. The overarching theme of such gatherings and of the event itself was not focused on a specific religion, but on the idea that America is a country where prayer has value and worth. President Barack Obama reduced the public White House event to a memo in his first year in office.

    So what should Americans do in the face of those who attempt to strip God from all aspects of American life starting with prayer? Those who attempt to change history to make it read as if our founding fathers did not believe in the paramount importance of faith when it came to the grand experiment that is America? Those that have an agenda that is nothing short of an attack on religion itself? I believe that mainstream America should be offensively straightforward on what we believe and what we stand for as one nation under God. Be it annoying the agnostics, aggravating the atheists, or simply making the liberals livid, we must stand tall for the necessity of kneeling in prayer. We must acknowledge the forces that are at work to separate America from God. This attempt is seen in the deceptive nature of the Day of Prayer observation argument. To deny the simple acknowledgment of the value of communication with a higher power is nothing short of poisoning the seedlings from which organized religion grows. No matter how it is presented, the arguments forwarded by groups such as the Freedom from Religion Foundation are nothing more than the usual vomitous verbal spray of liberal propagandists who try to sell Godlessness as the freethinker’s utopia.

    Well, freethinkers, think freely on this: the battle for the soul of this nation will end with a winner and a loser. Communication with the divine is the lifeline of America’s survival and prosperity. It is more valuable to the body of this country than air is to the lungs. Without it we are doomed, and will die as a nation gasping in the dark. This being true, the voices of opposition become of little importance to a national recognition of the value of prayer. Would we feel regret or concern if animosity were heaped upon us for simply breathing? Of course not. Our answer to such challenges would be, quickly and without hesitation, “too bad, it’s what I do; it’s how I survive.” 

    The National Day of Prayer is a symbol of the nation’s undeniable need to communicate with God, to breathe in the unmistakable life-giving bounty of the Almighty. Offending the “No God Here” crowd has merit as a public display that we Americans, as individuals and as a country, have not completely lost our way. That we, like the founding fathers, still believe in talking to God, still believe in the power of prayer.   

     

     Paul A. Ibbetson is a former Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. Paul received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and is currently completing his PhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of the books Living Under The Patriot Act: Educating A Society and Feeding Lions: Sharing The Conservative Philosophy In A Politically Hostile World. Paul is also the radio host of the Kansas Broadcasting Association’s 2008 and 2009 Entertainment Program of the Year, Conscience of Kansas airing on KSDB Manhattan 91.9 f.m. www.ibbetsonusa.com. For interviews or questions, please contact ibbetson91.9@gmail.com
  
     

Patient Evil e-book Chapter Sixty-Five

Patient Evil

An R.J. Godlewski and Right Truth Blog Exclusive eBook

 

Chapter Sixty-Five

    “Don’t confuse our government with the American people.” Seth spat on the ground as he cast an irritated glance towards the young Arab. “There’s a significant difference between the two, just like between you and fat ass over there.”

    Haytham pretended to ignore the correction, choosing to rely upon ageless stereotypes and cultural hysterics as he gathered his belongings and placed them into his makeshift knapsack.

    Seth could have cared less about stereotypes as he slung his AKMS rifle across his chest, using his tactical sling to keep the weapon at the ready. “You need to study your own history.” Another blob of saliva spiraled through the damp, cool air and landed between Haytham’s boots. “America isn’t your enemy. Israel isn’t your enemy. What is, is your damn religious leaders who either want to dominate the world through force or are just too frickin’ stupid to realize that others are using your religion to justify their insane ideologies.”

    “Of course an American would defend itself and Israel.” retorted the young Arab in a fit of defiance as he threw the bag over his left shoulder.

    “Of course an American would defend itself and Israel.” Seth’s voice elevated in pitch to mock the younger man as the American motioned for the two Arabs to leave the confines of the structure for the steadily brightening world outside. “You know, I could have turned you bastards over to the Israelis, but I didn’t. I could have let the Syrians apprehend and ‘try’ you for aiding both an American and the Israelis, but I didn’t. I could let the secularists here in Turkey have a go at your brains – literally – but I won’t. Why? Because I don’t give a monkey’s rat’s ass about politics.”

    Seth herded the two prisoners to ensure that the older, more dangerous Arab led the trio outside. “Politicians are good for only two things. Disrupting a country and charging an exorbitant salary while doing so. Unfortunately, you assholes here in earth’s cesspool do not know enough about the rest of the planet because you’re too damn busy trying to kill everyone that does not agree with you one hundred percent.”

    With a prodding of his rifle, Seth pushed Haytham almost into Mahmoud as the two Arabs led the way into the crisp morning air. “It’s the same damn problem as back home.” He continued to gripe. “Every time that I oppose someone, someone else tries to label me as a racist or a bigot. Never fails. But if I hated you because you were an Arab or because you were a Muslim, you’d been dead weeks ago. Ever think of that?”

    Haytham cast a look of irritation back towards his captor, but said nothing.

    “Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” Seth mumbled, subconsciously gathering in the sights of their surroundings, paying particular attention to any intruders into their perimeter. “You guys borrowed heavily from the Jews and Christians, follow a long since dead ‘Prophet’ who killed far more people than I – and I’m an expert at it – and yet as soon as people take exception to your world you cast them like Satan himself.  God, no wonder nobody likes you rag heads.”

    The last remark caused a reaction from the heavier Mahmoud.

    “Free speech is a bitch, ain’t it?” Seth chuckled devilishly, taking delight in the reaction out of the older Arab. “No worry, though. I’m a Christian; I’ll only take you out if I catch you in the process of trying to harm someone else. You see, you might have the rest of the world terrified but yours truly is not afraid one damn bit.

    “Where’s your illustrious leader? He can’t show himself in public, but I can. He has to live within caves and hide amongst his own family. Yet, here I am in the heart of Islam and you guys can’t do one damn thing about it. Pisses you off, don’t it?”

    Haytham spun around, wanting desperately to say something to the antagonizing American but could find little words other than a muffled reference and prayer to Allah.

   Seth laughed again. “Don’t you people ever learn? We’re not the enemy here. Was it America that turned every one of your leaders corrupt? Was it America that made your bloodlines ones of feud and rivalry? You guys blame the Christians for the Crusades but what the hell were you guys doing in our land anyway?”

    The last remark drew a response from Haytham as he stopped dead within his tracks and spun back towards the American. “The Crusaders invaded Muslim lands!”

    Seth poked the muzzle of his rifle into the Arab’s chest, forcing him to continue in their march into the unknown. “Right. Christians had been dicking your whores for four hundred years before your Prophet had seizures in a cave. Read history before you assume the Quran is.”

    “I know my history, the infidels invaded the Holy land…”

    “And Muhammad invaded dozens of Jewish and Christian towns to preach his own blasphemy against God. What makes you think that you’re so damn special anyway?”

    Seth lowered his rifle and reached up and grabbed the younger Arab by the collar and forced him around until his eyes met the stern, unblinking gaze of his tormentor. “Listen here Haytham, I am God to you. I can kill you and I can save you and as soon as you think that Allah has set forth your destiny I’ll change it in a heartbeat. Before I am done with you guys you’ll be worshipping the piss that I spray onto the ground. You picked the fight with America and I’ll make damn certain that I’m the one who’ll end it. My way. Not the president’s. Not the UN’s. Not even the frickin’ Israelis’! Hear me punk? You kill Americans and I’ll wipe your whole damn race off the planet.”

MALCOLM X’s KILLER PAROLED

45 Years After Assassination

Farrakhan Never Charged

By
Paul L. Williams, Ph.D.

Thomas Hagan, the only man to admit shooting Malcolm X was freed on parole yesterday – - 45 years after he gunned down the Black Muslim leader.

“He was released today. His release was approved,” said Linda Foglia, spokesman for the New York state department of correctional services.

Hagan, who confessed to the 1965 shooting of Malcolm X, had been partially free on work release for the last 22 years, although he was still required to spend two nights a week at a low-security New York City prison.

Hagan, 69, was a member of the Nation of Islam movement when Malcolm X was shot in New York while giving a speech to hundreds of people.

Two other men, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, were also charged with the murder. They maintained their innocence, but Hagan admitted at his 1966 trial that he was responsible for the slaying. All three men were sentenced to 20 years to life.

Hagan was placed on work release in 1988, according to a 2008 profile in the New York Post. At that time, he was spending free time with his wife and children, and was working in a fast food restaurant.

Malcolm X, before becoming an orthodox Sunni Muslim, had been a top Nation of Islam figure.

The assassins gunned him down out of anger at his split with the leadership of the Nation of Islam, the black Muslim movement for which he had once served as chief spokesman, Hagan said at the time.

Hagan, who was known as Talmadge X Hayer at the time of the shooting, has repeatedly expressed regret for his role in the assassination.

In 1964, when Malcolm opted to abandon the Nation of Islam in order to establish Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI), an organization with ties to wealthy Saudi Sunnis, Elijah Muhammad said: “This hypocrite is going to get blasted off the face of the earth.“

In the December 4, 1964 issue of Muhammad Speaks, Louis “the Charmer” Farrakhan, who occupied Malcolm’s former position as Elijah Muhammad’s assistant and spokesman, wrote: “If any Muslim backs a fool like Malcolm in building a mosque, he would be a fool himself. . . . Only those who wish to be led to hell, or to their doom, will follow Malcolm. The die is set, and Malcolm shall not escape. . . . Such a man as Malcolm is worthy of death.”

Farrakan’s words served as a directive. On the early hours of February 14, Malcolm’s house in Queens was firebombed as he and his family slept. A week later, Malcolm was gunned down while addressing a crowd of 400 people at the Audobon Ballroom near Harlem. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Presbyterian Hospital.

The autopsy revealed that Malcolm had been hit 15 times with .9 mm caliber bullets and shotgun pellets, with 5 exit wounds. 9 bullets and pellets were retrieved from the body.

Malcolm hated America. He advocated racial violence and decried Christian values. “Christianity,” he said, “is a concocted religion based on lies to keep the black man ignorant.” He denounced Jews as “vampires” who “suck the life-blood of our community through their interests.” He advocated racial violence and met with Communist leaders, including Fidel Castro, to undermine American democracy. He encouraged blacks to shun military service and to refrain from pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes.

But the Black Muslim leader is lionized by contemporary America. His Autobiography remains required reading in high schools and colleges. A glossy movie of his life with Denzel Washington became an international success. And the United States Postal Service in 1999 has issued a special commemorative stamp in his honor.

Go figure.

Few insiders think it will stand in the courts

Fabulous Fab

WASHINGTON—The world has been yearning to put a name and a face to the financial quackery. We need a flesh-and-blood crook. The bank CEOs—gray, old, predictable—were not enough. Bernie Madoff was an abhorrent byproduct, not a core player. Until “Fabulous Fab” made the perfect fit.

Or so thinks the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has charged Fabrice Tourre and his firm, Goldman Sachs, with fraud in connection with a 2007 subprime mortgage security scheme.

Tourre was 29 at the time. He was a mathematical whiz with a master’s degree in operations research and a Goldman vice president who structured financial products eerily called “ABACUS” that he marketed with panache. Calling himself “Fabulous Fab” in e-mails to a friend, he predicted that “the whole building is about to collapse anytime now.” He boasted he would be the “only potential survivor.” Could the SEC find a more perfect villain?

And yet . . . the case against Fabulous Fab and Goldman is balderdash. Few insiders think it will stand in the courts. If this is the best way in which the SEC can strengthen President Obama’s hand as he seeks to overhaul financial regulation and in which British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose government will also pursue the case, can try to win the upcoming election, let’s pack and move to Pandora.

The SEC alleges Goldman sold more than $1 billion worth of Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) tied to subprime mortgages—which had been put together at the behest of hedge fund manager John Paulson—without disclosing to investors Paulson’s involvement and his bet against the product.

In 2007, Paulson asked Goldman to put together another of its “ABACUS” products, whereby a type of bond linked to subprime mortgages was created. Those were “synthetic” bonds—i.e., the issuer did not own the underlying mortgage securities but bought and sold insurance against them. Two investors bought the note in question: ACA, an experienced company brought in as a “manager” to select the securities that served as reference to the CDO, and IKB, a German bank familiar with these products.

The operation involved three things on Goldman’s part: selling the bonds to the investors, selling credit insurance to Paulson—the way in which the hedge fund manager could bet against the product—and buying credit insurance from ACA to offset the transaction with Paulson. When the mortgages failed, the investors lost, and Paulson gained more than $1 billion. Goldman lost $75 million because it had sold to Paulson slightly more protection than it had bought from the investors.

What Paulson did—generate a product so he could bet against a blatant bubble—was an island of common sense amid a sea of insanity. What Goldman did—brokering a deal between informed sellers and buyers—is what a broker/dealer does. What Tourre did—market the product—was his job description. What ACA did—select the subprime mortgages with advice from others and acquire the product believing the bubble was sustainable—is what people such as Paulson, who had been preaching in the wilderness against it, and Tourre realized was crazy. What IKB did was continue to bet on mortgages taken by people who had scant creditworthiness.

Who would you rather have working in Wall Street—the geniuses who fed the bubble or the prescient minds who acted against it?

The investors the SEC thinks were duped were among the most experienced and fully aware of the nature of the mortgages behind the product. Numerous documents given to them by Tourre, including a 65-page flipbook that mentioned that Goldman might bet against the CDOs, attest to this.

Goldman did not reveal Paulson’s role. Not revealing to one client what the others do is . . . pretty commendable. Doing the opposite, which is what the SEC filing suggests Goldman should have done, is unethical. Neither ACA nor IKB would have acted differently had they known that Paulson, considered a killjoy contrarian, was betting against the product. The important thing is that they knew someone was betting against it just as they were betting for it. That is how this type of deal works. Goldman might have done other things wrong in the bubble years. But not this one.

And, yes one final thing: How many of us would come out impeccably humble, prudent and serene if our conversations with a friend were printed for all the world to see?

---

Alvaro Vargas Llosa
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Alvaro Vargas Llosa is Senior Fellow of The Center on Global Prosperity at The Independent Institute. He is a native of Peru and received his B.S.C. in international history from the London School of Economics. His weekly column is syndicated worldwide by the Washington Post Writers Group, and his Independent Institute books include Lessons From the Poor: Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit, The Che Guevara Myth and the Future of Liberty, and Liberty for Latin America.

Full Biography and Recent Publications

Some of what the government asks is none of the government's business

The modern census, they aver, is a "tool enabling us to better understand the nation's inhabitants, their pursuits and activities, and needs."

The text of the Constitution and history teach us that the purpose of the census is to apportion the number of seats in the House of Representatives, which in turn affects the number of electoral votes allotted to each state in the Electoral College.  The meaning of "enumeration" is no mystery; it is simply a catalog or list.

A "count" is all that is constitutionally necessary and permitted. It is all that was undertaken by the generation that wrote the Constitution.

To the extent that Congress has authorized fines for anything beyond (1) a person's refusal to provide his name, and (2) actions designed to frustrate the count, Congress has exceeded the boundaries of the Constitution.

In the words of James Madison, "the powers of the federal government are enumerated; it can only operate in certain cases; it has legislative powers on defined and limited objects, beyond which it cannot extend its jurisdiction."

It follows that if the power to conduct a census is limited to counting the population, Congress lacks the power to criminalize conduct beyond the scope of that activity, as when it fines Americans who refuse to disclose more than the constitutionally required information.  (read it all at the Sacramento Bee)

Watcher of Weasels Council Submissions 

• Joshuapundit –  Happy Birthday Trig Palin! Oh, And More Mean Spirited Trig-Truther Rot From Sully
• Wolf Howling -The Roots Of Slavery & The Races Hustlers’ Holy Grail – Reparations
• Mere Rhetoric - Obama Defense Dept: We’re Not Going To Attack Iran, And If Israel Tries We Might Shoot Down Their Jets
• Rhymes With Right - Doing My Part For Freedom Of Speech, Press, And Religion
• The Razor - Socialism=Cannibalism
• The Colossus of Rhodey -  Race conundrum in education (again)
• Bookworm Room -  What if American blacks don’t want to join the club?
• The Provocateur - Get Ready for the Immigration Debate
• Right Truth - Mandatory Voting?j
• The Glittering Eye - The Arizona Immigration Law
• American Digest - The Circumnambulation of Queen Anne

Non Council Submissions

• Wretchard/Pajamas Media - The Washington Monument Submitted by JoshuaPundit
• Q&O – Open Borders, Immigration & Reality Submitted by Wolf Howling
• Snapshots -  On Jerusalem, Wiesel: 1, DeKoven Ezrahi: 0 Submitted by Mere Rhetoric
• Doug Ross @ Journal – Irony-meter breaks: La Raza, MEChA and other racial separatist groups worry that law enforcement might use racial profiling to enforce laws Submitted by Rhymes with Right
• Barbay Live – Dem’s “anti-Wall Street bandwagon” Submitted by The Razor
• Discriminations –  More Liberal Hypocrisy: Race “As One Of Many Factors…” Submitted by Colossus of Rhodey
• Red State - Stop the haters : FreedomWorks responds Submitted by Bookworm Room
• Az Central - Are You Listening Mr. President Submitted by The Provocateur
• Asylum – ‘The Internet Will Fail’ — Bold Predictions That Completely Bombed Submitted by Right Truth
• Dennis the Peasant - Clearly The Boy Is Unacquainted With The Concept Of ‘Irony’… Submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Walter Russell Mead - Go Home Mae West Submitted by American Digest
• Fausta’s Blog – GM paid noting. You did. Submitted by the Watcher

Other reading:

Sarah Palin on Islamaphobia watch, hat tip Ernesto

Poll Bounce for Arizona Governor After Signing Immigration Law

 

Last week, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed an immigration law that launched a national debate. It has also at least temporarily helped her own chances of remaining Arizona's governor. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state shows that 56% now approve of the way Brewer is performing her role as governor.

Powerful Forces Now Calling for a Constitutional Convention

An investigative report detailing the Obama eligibility controversy

Netanyahu Freezes Building in East Jerusalem; Hamas on Buying Spree in West Jerusalem

Pentagon Bans More Christians From National Day of Prayer

Germany to Promote Electric Cars with Massive State Aid  (hat tip Marcus Wilder)

Military video, very cute  (hat tip R.J. Godlewski)

Three Points of View: The United States, Pakistan and India

 

 

Strengthening Turkish-Iran Relations Risk UN Sanctions Against the Islamic Republic

Via Realite EU

In 2009, Turkey became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and is set to take over the rotating presidency of the UNSC in June 2010. [1] Thus, if UN Security Council Sanctions are not strengthened prior to the Turkish leadership of the Security Council, they could be put on hold during their tenure as Turkey has been hesitant to back sanctions against Iran. [2]  

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly played down the potential threat posed by Iran's nuclear weapons development program. [3] Turkey's military, political and economic relations with Iran are growing [4] as Erdogan defends Iran’s nuclear program and declared that it is for peaceful purposes. [5]

On March 5, 2010, Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed satisfaction over increasing bilateral ties between Turkey and Iran. Turkey attaches high importance to strong relations with Iran and is eager to have consultation with Iran about regional and international developments, President Gul said. He further called for deepening brotherly ties between the two countries in different fields and said Turkey defends Iran’s rights in all international communities. [6]

Turkey, which has strengthened its ties with Iran since the AKP took power in Ankara, has offered to be a mediator to solve the dispute between the Islamic Republic and the West over Iran's nuclear program. However analysts say that Turkey has so far failed to deliver the strong message the West was expecting of it by appearing too sympathetic towards Iran. [7] Tehran today is cooperating with Ankara on a military and an intelligence level in its fight against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party). Experts say that the Turkish government’s Islamic roots are seen as a "driving force behind its efforts to avoid confrontation over Iran". [8]

After Ahmadinejad's disputed presidential re-election in June 2009, Erdogan and his ally, President Abdullah Gul were among the first foreign leaders to make congratulatory phone calls, ignoring the mass protests and concerns of Western leaders over the result’s legitimacy. Erdogan justified the move as a "necessity of bilateral relations." [9]

In February 2010, Turkey again praised Iran’s presidential elections despite ongoing unrest. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated Turkey's position vis-à-vis the nuclear standoff with Iran by saying that the dispute should be resolved through dialogue by using diplomatic means instead of tough tension and threats. [10]

Economic Relations

Turkey is positioning itself as a major transit hub hosting various oil and gas pipelines. [11] Erdogan has noted that trade between Iran and Turkey surpassed $10 billion last year and stated that the two countries are determined to increase it to $30 billion. [12] Turkey and Iran plan to set up a joint industrial zone in a border area. [13] On February 3, 2010, Turkish and Iranian officials met at the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting, where Turkish State Minister Cevdet Yilmaz said Turkey to open a "golden age" in Turkish-Iranian relations. He further stated that Turkey and Iran were two "friend and brother" countries. [14]

Iran supplies Turkey through a pipeline carrying an average volume of 18-25 million cubic meters of gas per day. [15]

On March 2, 2010, Turkey and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding boosting industrial and commercial relations between the two countries. Turkish Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün and Iranian Minister of Industries and Mining Ali Akbar Mehrabian, who met in Tehran for the Development Eight Muslim countries (D-8, includes Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey), signed the document. [16] Turkey and Iran are determined to strengthen and diversify their bilateral relations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in February 2010 said: "Opening new phases in the South Pars Natural Gas Fields, solving issues regarding a sales agreement and the establishment of a joint refinery are important projects." [17] Turkish State Minister Cevdet Yilmaz said: "Projects such as the transportation of Turkmen and Iranian natural gas to Europe over Turkey will bring our relations to a much higher level. We do attach great importance to our cooperation with Iran on this issue as well as to our cooperation in the Nabucco project." [18]

Iranian and Turkish authorities agreed to boost ties and conduct bilateral trade in their own currencies. Iran announced that it had already started to use Turkish currency in trade with its neighbor. Turkey has made the relevant legal arrangements. [19] Iran is seeking ways to attract foreign investors to its energy sector to break economic sanctions imposed due to its controversial nuclear weapons development program. [20]

Historical and Cultural Dimensions

Today's Turkish-Iranian relations are shaped by the historic rivalry between the Ottoman and Persian empires of yore. The Ottoman Empire, from which modern Turkey evolved, controlled all the Central Asian Republics but was never able to move into Iran. This created the boundary between Sunni (Turks and Arabs) and Shia (Iran) Islam. The mistrust towards Iran among Arabs, Turks and other Muslim nations of the greater Middle East has always been there. During the Ottoman era, Iran and the Ottoman Empire couldn’t be allies, and couldn’t ensure any serious economic or political cooperation. To this day Turkey resents Iran’s meddling in the affairs of these nations. [21]

Long-standing cultural and religious differences shape the relationship as well. The Turks are mostly Sunni Muslims, but Turkey includes a Shia minority that is widely viewed as "second class".

Iran's state religion is Shiite Islam and most of its people are ethnically Persian, but minorities of various ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds number in the millions, including ethnic Kurds, Baluchis, and the largest ethnic minority, the Azeris. Azeris [22], comprising a quarter of Iran’s population, are ethnically Turkish and their language is a Turkish dialect. Iran and Turkey share a common problem with their Kurdish minorities, although this constitutes more of a problem for Turkey than for Iran. Turkey’s standpoints are being completely opposite to revolutionary Iran in almost all fields. Turkey has been emerging as a new role model for many Iranians. [23]

While both countries are Muslim, Turkey has had a long tradition of a secular and democratic political system. The changes that took place in Turkey in recent years under the AKP government have not affected its economic policies, which remained free market oriented. By contrast, Iran is a theocratic state with aspirations of regional hegemony and an active supporter of terrorism. [24]

References below the fold: