No Joke

How stupid can you get?
"Suspicious devices that led to bridge closings in Boston and forced the evacuation of a hospital building were part of a cable television channel's marketing campaign, officials said."
How irresponsible! I hope Boston city officials make the Cartoon Network pay a hefty fine to cover the costs of their anti-terror measures today (although no amount of money will settle the nerves of Bostonians shaken by today's events).

You Must!

If you haven't already read Soccer Dad's latest compilation of necessary reading, then you definitely must!

Here We Go Again!

Can anyone ever take responsibility?? Will this Brandy end up in rehab like everyone else? Just once I would like to hear a person do the decent thing, show some character, and accept the consequences, rather than hide behind excuses.

Anything Goes

Read this:
"Behind on your car payments? Need to pay rent? Digital Charity may be your answer. Digital Charity gives you a list (sorted by category) of people who are looking for donations via PayPal. Each person looking for a donation can create a page with their situation and a PayPal link. Anyone interested in giving them money can then click on that link."
Whatever happened to pride, and the work ethic? And who is the bigger idiot here, the person begging for donations, or the chumps making the donations?

The New York Slimes

Brit Hume reported this story on Fox News this evening: "A New York Times reporter has been admonished by his superiors after voicing the hope that the U.S. can accomplish its goals in Iraq. Here's what Times chief military correspondent Michael Gordon said on The Charlie Rose show earlier this month — "As a purely personal view, I think it's worth it — one last effort for sure to try to get this right, because my personal view is we've never really tried to win. We've simply been managing our way to defeat. And I think that if it's done right, I think that there is the chance to accomplish something." Public editor Byron Calame writes that Washington bureau chief Philip Taubman said Gordon 'stepped over the line' and 'went too far.' "
Since when is it going too far to root for your own country in wartime?

Great Source for Jewish Blogs

Here's a good way to discover new Jewish and Israeli blogs: a list of the 2006 People's Choice Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards.

Sickening Headline of the Day: "Was 9/11 Really that bad?"

I saw this on Free Republic today. I guess we shouldn't be surprised it's from the Los Angeles Times. Just look at some of the questions the author has the gall to ask: "Has the American reaction to the attacks in fact been a massive overreaction? Is the widespread belief that 9/11 plunged us into one of the deadliest struggles of our time simply wrong? If we did overreact, why did we do so?" "Massive overreaction"?? I've always maintained we didn't react enough!

Haveil Havalim #104 is Up!

Do you know your ABCs? Well, Life-of-Rubin does, and he has an alphabetical version of
Haveil Havalim #104 to prove it!

Best One-Sentence Description of John Kerry

Hot Air describes John Kerry's latest treachery , and Captain Ed links to this great summing-up of Kerry by Instapundit: "Like Jimmy Carter, he'll never forgive America for rejecting him, and he'll console himself with the approval of America's enemies."

Still Kidnapped

It's been over six months now, and our Israeli soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev are still being held. I read today that the Swiss president, of all people, is trying to secure the release of Goldwasser and Regev. If you visit Freethesoldiers.org you can sign a petition to the new (and hopefully improved) U.N. Secretary General; and you can buy dog tags bearing the names of the 3 soldiers as an expression of your support. I just ordered mine.

Former Presidents Gone Wild

What next? "Jimmy Carter: Too many Jews on Holocaust council:Former president also rejected Christian historian because name sounded 'too Jewish'."
If this is true, then we shouldn't be surprised, as we have come to expect this antisemitic idiocy from Carter. But I can still remember how disappointed I was when I found out that Harry Truman was antisemitic.

State of the Bush Bashing

Ben Stein's latest column is called "The Lynching of the President", and many of us totally agree with him: "The media is staging a coup against Mr. Bush. They cannot impeach him because he hasn't done anything illegal. But they can endlessly tell us what a loser he is and how out of touch he is (and I mean ENDLESSLY) and how he's just a vestigial organ on the body politic right now. The media is doing what it can to basically oust Mr. Bush while still leaving him alive and well in the White House. It's a sort of neutron bomb of media that seeks to kill him while leaving the White House standing (for their favorite unknown, Barack Obama, to occupy)."

Antisemite University

This is absolutely nauseating. The liberals are always talking about freedom of speech, yet Alan Dershowitz was not permitted to debate Jimmy Carter at Brandeis. And Carter answered only "preselected" questions from the audience. In addition, the audience gave Carter standing ovations before and after his speech, and then walked out before Dershowitz could even enter the athletic center for his rebuttal! Standing ovations for an open antisemite!

I Love Ben Stein

Read this open letter to the troops from Ben Stein, via the great military blog Blackfive.

Breaking News?

I love this . CNN had "breaking news" and "developing story" tags on this last night, and I was wondering where the media has been since September 11, while the President has been warning us and putting the security measures that Americans hate into practice. Suddenly, they seem alarmed that a terrorist attack may occur on U.S. soil.

State of the Union Speech

Make sure you watch all the reaction shots tonight during the President's speech. Undoubtedly the same cast of characters will get their 15 minutes (Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Charles Schumer), but there will be a lot of Barack Obama thrown in for good measure. And it doesn't even matter what the President says. He could be speaking in Latin for all the good it does.

"Acceptable" Antisemitism

Crossing the Rubicon reports on the fact that "anti-Semitism is becoming, more and more, an accepted part of national discourse". Although we've known this for some time, it's still shocking to read these stories day after day. Go here. Also, Atlas Shrugs links to stories about antisemitism in Sweden and "the second Holocaust" Iran against Israel Unfortunately, it seems as if the whole world is shrugging over these stories.

"The Happy Dumbing of America"

Here's an amusing and true article from the New York Sun, via the always-interesting Obscure Store (http://www.obscurestore.com/): Why the painfully obvious explanations on painfully obvious objects? Do we really have to be told that dusters are for dusting and the ballpoint pen is for "general writing"? "Maybe we've been pointing to the wrong culprits when we attempt to assign blame for the dumbing down of America," writes Lenore Skenazy. "It is quite possible that people are growing dumber than dog biscuits for the simple reason that they are being treated this way by the world in which they shop." http://www.nysun.com/article/47126

Haveil Havalim #103 is Up!

I am always impressed at how creatively each edition of Haveil Havalim is constructed, as well as how much time and effort goes into it. So for some more great reading, please visit Jerusalem Board Games right away at http://jergames.blogspot.com/2007/01/speed-dating-at-haveil-havalim.html

More European Antisemitism

Atlas Shrugs reports on the latest wave of antisemitism, this time from Sweden, whose residents sound like the new Nazis (or the Iranians)
"Perhaps the most terrifying perspective in Swedish anti-Semitism is the fact that the anti-Semitic, edge-of-sanity left have hi-jacked the Kristallnacht anniversary and turned it into a stage for rants against Israel and opened it for anti-Semitic organizations. Their contempt for Jews, Judaism and Israel cannot be more explicit. If any non-religious day of the year is sacred to Jews, it is the Kristallnacht anniversary of November 10. In 1938 that date marked the second night of Nazi organized violence against Germany’s Jewish population. It resulted in thousands of casualties and vandalized or destroyed property: businesses, homes, synagogues, cemeteries."
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2007/01/sweden_hijackin.html

"Where is our Churchill?"

In this American Thinker article by J.Peter Mulhern, he makes some excellent points. For instance, "Our leaders speak as if they can avoid responsibility for the next attack by predicting it. They don't seem aware that a grieving and enraged public isn't likely to get much satisfaction from a chorus of 'I told you so.'" I personally don't think the public IS enraged about terrorism here. It's as if the September 11 attacks have been forgotten. But I agree 100% with this statement: "Nobody who matters has been willing to identify the people we need to fight, describe their motivations accurately and explain how we can defeat them " Instead, the kowtowing to Muslims continues, as well as the fear of offending them. How can you defeat the enemy this way? He concludes: "If we wake up one morning to find that one of our great cities is a smoking ruin or that our children are dying by the million from some mysterious disease, the odds are that America's contempt for its leaders of both parties will know no bounds.What then? Something similar happened to Britain at the outset of World War II when the people woke up to discover that their leaders had blundered into a war which they were utterly unprepared to fight. Most of Britain's leaders were thoroughly discredited by the events leading up to the war, but there was one important exception. Winston Churchill had spent a decade warning that war was coming and urging his country to head it off or, failing that, to be ready. When war came, he was the logical person to lead the government.Where is our Churchill?" http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/01/will_the_next_attack_get_our_a.html

Will Panhandle for Beer

"Jim Tolbert, 57, checks his cell phone while taking a break from panhandling Thursday."
I saw this story via Fark, and I half expect to see this guy on Larry King any day now.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/19/Pasco/Got_beer_He_could_use.shtml/

Ugh!

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/20/hillary_clinton_enters_2008_presidential_race_boston_globe/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

It's official -- Hillary Clinton has tossed her hat into the presidential ring. Remember: as her husband once said, you get two for the price of one!

Lady Macbeth Attacks!

Hillary Clinton, who I have always thought of as a modern day Lady Macbeth, has attacked Barack Obama for having attended a Muslim school for 4 years when he was a boy. I know nothing about Barack Obama, I have no idea what he stands for -- but I do know that any smears by Hillary Clinton automatically make me sympathetic towards her victim.

Barking Moonbat Hall Of Fame 2006

Cast your vote for the biggest moonbat of 2006:
The candidates are: Hugo Chavez (Commies); The New York Times (Media); Cindy Sheehan (Lunatics); Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (IslamoNazis); Kim Il Jung (Dictators); O.J. Simpson (Sports); John Murtha (Congress); Cynthia McKinney (Racists); Mike Nifong (Lawyers); Rosie O'Donnell (Hollywood). Unfortunately, you cannot vote for "all of the above"!
http://www.barking-moonbat.com/index.php/weblog/barking_moonbat_hall_of_fame_2006/

Stuck on Stupid, Part 96

A California woman died from water intoxication after participating in another one of those moronic radio station stunts. This is similar to the TV show "Jackass", where teens jump off 3-story buildings or ride on the hoods of cars, and everyone seems surprised when they die.
What's amazing to me is the way the water death has been reported. CBS says the woman was "killed" by drinking too much water. Killed? This would be true if the disc jockeys came to her house and forcibly poured gallons of water down her throat. But if you do something stupid by your own free will, and you end up dead, I can't see how anyone else can be charged for a crime.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/18/national/main2369761.shtml
(CBS/AP) Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a woman believed to have been killed by drinking too much water in a radio station contest.

"O" Brother!

What kind of parents are those of Shawn Hornbeck? They haven't seen their abducted child in 4 years, he obviously needs a lot of therapy; yet they have all already appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show!

"Christian Zionism"

Here's an article by Arlene Samuels about the admirable Representative Tom Lantos, and his statement that "the antidote to Auschwitz is the Christian community in the United States." http://www.israpundit.com/2006/?p=3769

Maybe It's Just Me..

...but I don't care for the way some of the media is covering the story of the abducted Missouri boys. There's been some innuendo in the way they have been talking about the older boy, Shawn Hornbeck, referring to him as "Hornbeck" as if he is an adult; and asking why he didn't try to escape years ago. He was 11 when he was abducted by a criminal. Rather than try to impugn a child to make headlines, they ought to concentrate on the kidnapper.And the parents of both boys should stay away from the media, spend time with their sons away from publicity's glare, and send those children to psychiatrists. I hope there are no book or movie deals already in the works.

Jimmy Carter:Friend of Terrorists

For those people who still don't believe Jimmy Carter's enmity towards Israel, the New York Post has an editorial that sums it up very well. If Carter were a younger man, I'd say he'd be a perfect candidate for the Betty Ford Clinic for Scoundrels.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01152007/postopinion/editorials/jimmy_for_terror_editorials_.htm

Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.

The following is an excellent post about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s feelings about Israel, from the blog called Black Zionists Who Support Israel: http://blackzionists.blogspot.com/
"During his lifetime King witnessed the birth of Israel and the continuing struggle to build a nation. He consistently reiterated his stand on the Israeli-Arab conflict, stating 'Israel’s right to exist as a state in security is uncontestable.' It was no accident that King emphasized 'security' in his statements on the Middle East.On March 25, 1968, less than two weeks before his tragic death, he spoke out with clarity and directness stating, 'peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.'"

Haveil Havalim #102 is Up!

Hooray! Here's the latest edition of Haveil Havalim, hosted this time by Soccer Dad, without whom there would be no Haveil Havalim at all. Enjoy!
http://soccerdad.baltiblogs.com:80/archives/2007/01/14/haveil_havalim_102.html

Sandy Berger Songwriting Contest

Bill Bennett's "Sandy Berger Lies Contest" (www.bennettmornings.com) urges his readers and listeners to "Write lyrics to an already existing song, or song you write yourself, that tells the story of the Sandy Berger archives scandal. E.g., 'Sandy Berger Lies' for 'Bette Davis Eyes.' Any song will do, or a new song you write. The winner receives $1,000." Wizbang has linked to Mark Steyn's hilarious entries on Powerline: http://wizbangblog.com/2007/01/13/sandy-pants.php

"Suspect is called 'kind of a plain guy'"

What a relief and a miracle that 2 missing Missouri boys, one missing for 4 years, have been found. But just once, I would like to read more about the victims of crime, and less about the "unassuming" criminals; more about what the victims -- especially children -- have had to endure, and less about the life of the criminal. I'd like more anger and less understanding.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/0E83AD48E8060BAF862572620021671A?OpenDocument

No Equivocation

London Mosque DVD: Jews Face Mass Extermination
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2007/01/london_mosque_p.html
How many times must this blatant hatred be reported before people get outraged?

How Iraqis See The Bush Plan

Thanks to Betsy's Page (http://betsyspage.blogspot.com/), this New York Post column describes what the Iraqi people think. It's good to hear opinions from the people affected, rather than only from the liberal Democrats, who hate anything this president says or does.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01122007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/how_iraqis_see_ws_new_plan_opedcolumnists_amir_taheri.htm?page=0

Jimmy Carter's Financial Backers

Alan Dershowitz has a scathing must-read column about Jimmy Carter that includes this: "Recent disclosures prove that it is Carter who has been bought and paid for by anti-Israel Arab and Islamic money. Journalist Jacob Laksin has documented the tens of millions of dollars that the Carter Center has accepted from Saudi Arabian royalty and assorted other Middle Eastern sultans, who, in return, Carter dutifully praised as peaceful and tolerant (no matter how despotic the regime). And these are only the confirmed, public donations."
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976879837

Outrage at the New York Fire Department

Some of these news stories are so unbelievable to me that I have to go online to make sure I didn't hear correctly. This story, for example, is incredible: "New York firefighters have been forced to strip their lockers American flags, stickers expressing support for U.S. troops in Iraq and cards commemorating firefighters who died in the September 11, attacks, the firefighters' union said on Wednesday....The union said it would distribute 10,000 American flag stickers on Thursday to firefighters to stick on their lockers in protest." What is wrong with these people??
We should ALL fly the flag and display our patriotism every day. After all, it's our country.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070111/us_nm/newyork_firefighters_dc_1

Today's Tidbits

From Smooth Stone, an item about a cystic fibrosis treatment developed by Israeli and Americans:
http://smoothstone.blogspot.com/2007/01/israeli-doctors-breathe-life-into-new.html
And from Little Green Footballs, yet another example of the anti-Israel bias at the BBC:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=23944_BBC_Internal_Briefing-_Israel_Has_Killed_Hope&only
The Anchoress sums up the Democrats' philosophy: "The Democrat philosophy of the past 3-4 years has essentially been, 'whatever it is, if Bush is for it, we’re against it. If Bush is against it, we’re for it!'"
http://theanchoressonline.com/2007/01/10/dems-bush-is-for-it-so-were-against-it/

Anti-semitism

PBS had a program the other night called "Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: the Resurgence".
I found the title misleading. The word "resurgence" usually means bringing again into activity and prominence (http://www.wordreference.com/definition/resurgence); but anti-semitism has always been around; it's never gone away.

GRRR!

I like Mike Straka's column of pet peeves called "Grrr!", from the Fox News website. He refers to clueless and inconsiderate people as "Oblivions" -- and there is no shortage of such people!
The particular column below is a list of New Year's resolutions for Oblivions, including
"Resolution #9: The celebrity Oblivions, like Mel Gibson or Michael Richards who inevitably put their foot in their mouths, resolve to not blame alcohol or some other controlled substance for their abhorrent behavior when their true colors show."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240557,00.html

Politically Correct Pizza

Now I've heard everything. Fox News has reported that a pizza chain in Texas called Pizza Patron is accepting payment in PESOS!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,242356,00.html
The discarding of our culture continues unabated, and nobody seems to want to stop it from happening.

Haveil Havalim #101 is Up!

Soccer Dad's David Gerstman, Haveil Havalim's founder, announces: "The surprise heir apparent to the throne of Iraq! Fishing in the desert? Mandell Ganchrow has a blog!
All this and more is available for your reading pleasure in Haveil Havalim #101 which is up at Esser Agaroth."
Enjoy!

Port of Miami 'Incident'

My first thought was, "This is a dry run".

What Part of "Secret" Don't People Understand?

http://www.alaskareport.com/reu77152.htm
Israel planning nuclear attack on Iran: Britain's Sunday Times
January 7th, 2007
London, England - (Reuters) Israel has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper said.

Outrageous Accusation of the Day

From Wizbang comes this report that Rep.Barney Frank has accused President Bush of "committing genocide" against the residents of New Orleans, via Hurricane Katrina.

Murder by hurricane? That's a new one on me!

http://wizbangblog.com/2007/01/05/barney-frank-accuses-the-bush-administration-of-ethnic-cleansing-by-inaction.php

Run for the Border

Well, this is just great! Our soldiers retreated -- in our own country! What's to stop Al Qaeda suicide bombers and worse from coming across the border?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070105-112754-5788r.htm
Troops flee from border outpost, By Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, January 6, 2007. Armed men overran a National Guard observation post along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona this week, forcing the soldiers to retreat and prompting an investigation by the U.S. Border Patrol that has focused on the intruders' identity. . . . After forcing the soldiers to flee, the unidentified men retreated into Mexico.

Good Jewish News

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1763098/posts
From Free Republic, this link to a Jerusalem Post article: "Most Jews ever set to enter Congress: A record number of Jewish members will enter Congress Thursday, but more remarkable are the unparalleled positions of power they will hold on committees related to Israel, many local Jewish activists say. Six new Jewish legislators will be joining 37 familiar faces as the 110th Congress convenes, making the total the highest-ever, according to Doug Bloomfield, a former legislative director for AIPAC. "It's unprecedented that there have been so many [Jews] in so many positions of leadership in both houses," Bloomfield said, using a Jewish simile for how that fact will affect support for Israel: Like chicken soup, it won't hurt. '

Cartoons Speaks Louder Than Words

I found this at Barking Moonbat Early Warning System, http://www.barking-moonbat.com/index.php/weblog/saint_saddam/

Outrageous Outrage

I can't get over the outrage over the videotaped hanging of the murderous dictator thug Saddam Hussein.

Odd how we didn't hear outrage like this over the videotaped beheadings of Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl.

Those Nasty Mean Men!

Poor Saddam! Members of the mainstream media are falling all over themselves to describe tyrant Saddam's last moments; those awful men who said mean things to him before they hanged him; the "rush" to execute him. How "shameful", how "humiliating" for him, they protest! Too bad they don't object as loudly to the way his victims were brutally murdered. That people still refuse to recognize the difference between good and evil, and between murder and execution, is the really shameful thing.

Tomorrow, not Tonight

The media suddenly seems to be overly concerned with the fact that Senator John McCain cancelled an appearance on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" out of respect for President Ford. It seems he was set to announce that he was running for President in 2008. Now everyone thinks he has ruined his chance to be elected.
Have talk shows become so influential that people will vote for a candidate based solely on his appearance on such a show? If so, that's pretty depressing.

A Book Recommendation

Here is a beautifully-written book for anyone interested in their Jewish roots, and anyone interested in the Holocaust. This is a book I literally cannot put down.

Denver Blizzards vs. Hurricane Katrina

Go to Atlas Shrugs at http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2007/01/kkkatrina_lied_.html
for a terrific article about how the people of Denver have coped with their 2 historic blizzards. For example: "FEMA did nothing. No one howled for the government. No one blamed the government. No one even uttered an expletive on TV. Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit. Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else". Read the article in its entirety, and pass it on.

Haveil Havalim #100 is Up!

Soccer Dad announces the historic news that Haveil Havalim #100 is up!http://soccerdad.baltiblogs.com/archives/2007/01/01/haveil_havalim_100_is_up.html

Go to Bagel Blogger at http://bagelblogger.blogspot.com/ for the first Haveil Havalim of 2007, as well as the terrific graphic shown above.

(Note: if you are using IE7 and have McAfee Site Advisor, you can't see Bagel Blogger. However, I was able to read it using Mozilla Firefox without Site Advisor)

Heroes and Villains

Go to http://www.newsradio88.com/pages/154172.php?contentType=4&contentId=264899 and check out the individuals chosen by adults as the villains, heroes, and role models of 2006. This just demonstrates the mentality in this country, and shows how easily people are led. We should be grateful that Britney Spears and that ilk wasn't chosen as 1 of the top 5 "heroes"! And since when are Paris Hilton and George Clooney role models?
Villains: George W. Bush, 25 percent - Osama bin Laden, 8 percent - Saddam Hussein, 6 percent - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, 5 percent - Kim Jong Il, North Korean leader, 2 percent - Donald Rumsfeld, 2 percent - John Kerry, 1 percent - Rosie O'Donnell, 1 percent - Dick Cheney, 1 percent - Hillary Clinton, 1 percent - Brad Pitt, 1 percent - Tom Cruise, 1 percent - Satan/The Devil, 1 percent - Donald Trump, 1 percent - O.J. Simpson, 1 percent - Hugo Chavez, 1 percent - George Clooney, 1 percent
Heroes: - George W. Bush, 13 percent - Soldiers/troops in Iraq, 6 percent - Oprah Winfrey, 3 percent - Barack Obama, 3 percent - Jesus Christ, 3 percent - Bono, 2 percent - Angelina Jolie, 1 percent - Al Gore, 1 percent - Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1 percent - Colin Powell, 1 percent - Mel Gibson, 1 percent
Role Models: - Oprah Winfrey, 29 percent - Michael J. Fox, 23 percent - George Clooney, 12 percent - Angelina Jolie, 8 percent - Brad Pitt, 2 percent - Tom Cruise, 2 percent - Katie Holmes, 2 percent - Mel Gibson (volunteered), 1 percent - George W. Bush, 1 percent - Bono, (volunteered), 1 percent - Laura Bush (volunteered), X percent - Sylvester Stallone (volunteered), X percent - Paris Hilton (volunteered), X percent