'Inquirer' Sanctimony - A Rejoinder

By: Michael P. Tremoglie, The Bulletin --- The Philadelphia Inquirer's resident arbiter of morality and ethics, Chris Satullo, wrote a more than usual holier-than-thou column on July 1, declaring that we, as a nation, do not deserve to celebrate Independence Day because we have "sinned."This judge of civic virtue proclaimed that we have parted from the intentions of the Founders (ironic because liberals disdain the idea of original intent). This soi dissent sentinel of American civil liberties wrote:

"The America those men founded should never torture a prisoner. ... should never imprison people for years without charge or hearing. ... should never ship prisoners to foreign lands, knowing their new jailers might torture them. Such abuses once were committed by the arrogant crowns of Europe, spawning rebellion. Today, our nation does such things in the name of our safety. Petrified, unwilling to take the risks that love of liberty demands, we close our eyes." (One must wonder what "risks that love of liberty demands" Mr. Satullo has ever taken.)

Mr. Satullo's litany of American sins includes Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, CIA secret prisons, and "Rendition" of prisoners to foreign torture chambers. He does not explain what he means by these names - the readers are supposed to know without explanation. All good leftists certainly do know these terms. However, for others an explanation is required.

Abu Ghraib was a prison in Iraq in which, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross report of February 2004, prisoners deemed to have intelligence value were, "subjected to a variety of harsh treatments ... which in some cases was tantamount to torture."

Yes, prisoners were abused at Abu Ghraib. Crimes were committed, made public, investigated, prosecuted, and punishment was meted out. It is important to note that the information of what was occurring at Abu Ghraib came from a soldier - not a victim. An American soldier, the type of person the liberals in America ridicule as being a brutal loser exposed what was happening at Abu Ghraib - not a left-wing journalist. It is also important to note that our political leaders condemned the acts committed at Abu Ghraib. I think the Founders would have approved.

He mentions CIA Secret Prisons? If they are secret, why does Mr. Satullo know about them? The fact is, according to a November 2005 Washington Post article, "The secret detention system was conceived in the chaotic and anxious first months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when the working assumption was that a second strike was imminent. Since then, the arrangement has been increasingly debated within the CIA, where considerable concern lingers about the legality, morality and practicality of holding even unrepentant terrorists in such isolation and secrecy, perhaps for the duration of their lives. Mid-level and senior CIA officers began arguing two years ago that the system was unsustainable ..."

So, far from being the practice of a ruthless bunch of vicious thugs, this tactic was conceived with the best of intentions. People were trying prevent the murder of more innocent people. After some calm deliberation, there were second thoughts about its legality and morality.

Sometimes people do things they or others find morally objectionable to save innocent lives - the Dirty Harry or Ticking Time Bomb scenarios are often cited as examples of this.

What would Mr. Satullo do to protect himself or his family? Would he kill someone? Killing is more painful and more permanent than torture.

Another of Mr. Satullo's American sins, is the "rendition" program. What he really means is "extraordinary" rendition. Rendition occurs all the time in the form of deportation or extradition. However, extraordinary rendition is done via extralegal means.

These programs describe the capture of a suspected terrorist who is sent to another country, where allegedly torture is practiced, for interrogation. (Although it uncertain why this would be necessary since torturing of suspected terrorists was supposed to be common in the U.S.).

Mr. Satullo's condemnation of the practice of rendition is where he reveals his true motives. It seems that rendition only became a sin during the Bush administration.

The practice of "extraordinary rendition" began during the Clinton administration. However, a search of the Inquirer archives and a Google search revealed no articles written condemning rendition during the Clinton years by Mr. Satullo or the Inquirer.

It seems the only thing that Mr. Satullo really considers a sin was that the American people elected George W. Bush twice.

As for me, I will gladly pay tribute to the nation, where we do our best to protect the lives of innocent people; a nation where we will air our dirty laundry and clean it; a nation whose most promising youth have given their lives to ensure that others may be free.

So, start the parades, take out the soaring speeches, this year, once again, America deserves to celebrate its birthday.

Michael P. Tremoglie is author of the critically acclaimed novel A Sense of Duty, available at Barnesandnoble.com.

Judge Orders Google to Turn Over YouTube Records

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in New York has ordered Google to turn over to Viacom a database linking users of YouTube, the Web’s largest video site by far, with every clip they have watched there. ...

Hitchens Gets Waterboarded

What more can be added to the debate over U.S. interrogation methods, and whether waterboarding is torture? Try firsthand experience. The author undergoes the controversial drowning technique, at the hands of men who once trained American soldiers to resist—not inflict—it. ...

View video by clicking here

Justice Department Considers Racial Profiling For Terror Prevention

The Justice Department is considering letting the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims, Arabs or other racial and ethnic groups.

Law enforcement officials say the proposed policy would help them do exactly what Congress demanded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: root out terrorists before they strike.

Although President Bush has disavowed targeting suspects based on their race or ethnicity, the new rules would allow the FBI to consider those factors among a number of traits that could trigger a national security investigation. ...

Enjoying the Good Life in a Mean Country

... What is most striking to me, though, is not that Obama shaved a fraction of a point off his mortgage by being a politically powerful customer. It is, rather, the rapidity with which Obama was able to turn his ascension to the Senate into material wealth. The Post describes the Obamas' mansion, purchased just a few months after Obama became a Senator:

The couple wanted to step up from their $415,000 condo. They chose a house with six bedrooms, four fireplaces, a four-car garage and 5 1/2 baths, including a double steam shower and a marble powder room. It had a wine cellar, a music room, a library, a solarium, beveled glass doors and a granite-floored kitchen.

How were the Obamas able to afford this on a Senator's $162,000 salary? They weren't, of course. ...

Counter-terrorism agents search home in suburban Chicago, Illinois

Monday morning, around 11:30 a.m. CDT (UTC-5) a home in Chicago suburb, Lake in the Hills, Illinois, was raided. The FBI Counterterrorism Division conducted the search of the house on the 5700 block of McKenzie Drive, while local police, hazmat team, bomb squad, and fire department were all on the scene.

Edward Bachner—who lives in the house with wife, Rebecca—was arrested earlier in the day in Algonquin, where he purchased a "small quantity" of tetrodotoxin (TTX) from an undercover agent.

The FBI says the sting operation began when Bachner tried to buy 95 milligrams of TTX over the Internet by falsely stating that he was a doctor conducting research. ...

Generation Y seeks more interaction with government online

BY GAUTHAM NAGESH, GNAGESH@GOVEXEC.COM

A recently released survey shows that Generation Y prefers to connect with government online in an interactive manner similar to the way they seek out news and other information.

The survey was commissioned by Meritalk, an online community of government information technology specialists, to examine the information-gathering habits of Gen-Y and its priorities for the next administration. A poll of 2,000 people born between 1977 and 1990 showed that 88 percent will obtain their news online during the next four years. Seventy-four percent want more information on government spending and programs, and 85 percent said they want the next president to reach out to the public online at least monthly.

"Generation Y really wants direct, honest, genuine communication [from the government]," said Liz Vandendriessche, spokeswoman for Meritalk. She said that through its research, Meritalk sought to capture how the fundamental relationship between government and citizens is changing. ...

Senate panel slashes foreign visitor ID system

BY JILL R. AITORO, JAITORO@GOVEXEC.COM

The Senate Appropriations Committee significantly cut the budget for the Homeland Security Department's program to electronically track when foreign travelers enter and leave the United States, fearing the system might not work as planned.

The committee's fiscal 2009 spending bill for DHS would provide $181.3 million for the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, a 62 percent cut from the program's $475 million fiscal 2008 budget and 54 percent less than the $390 million that President Bush requested. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for a vote.

"That would be a major cut," said Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer for FedSources Inc., a federal consulting firm in McLean, Va. "The department may be anxious to move ahead with the program, but Congress is unsure whether there is a realistic possibility that the desired goals can be met on time. Until the possibility becomes a probability, the committee apparently sees no purpose in throwing money against the program." ...

Anti-Obama messages targeted by Google?

(Compiler's note: If I "need" to change this site to another location, I guess we will know why.)

Bloggers who have been critical of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, a senator from Illinois, are expressing concerns they are facing an organized effort to shut down their message, possibly with help from Google's Blogspot.com.

The ComeALongWay blog author reported the pro-Hillary site was deactivated by moderators at Google recently, only to be reactivated a short time later.

"I am not sure what to make of it, but I suspect that Blogger saw or heard about all the negative Internet chatter and negative press …specifically mentioning this blog and responded," the blogger wrote.

But the writer confirmed, "Without any notice, apology, or explanation, my posting privileges ha[ve] been reinstated. Blogger's 'guilty until proven innocent' approach is appalling. As bloggers, it is a good thing we still have choices, and I have exercised my choice to leave Blogger and establish a new home at Wordpress. (I have been advised that Wordpress investigates charges before taking action.)

"Update: Hours after my posting privileges were restored, I receive an e-mail from Blogger. Interestingly, BlueLyon (another site with Obama criticism) received the same e-mail addressed to me," the blogger wrote.

The e-mail text said: "On behalf of the Blogger Team, I want to apologize for the recent trouble you've had with your locked blog. Automated spam detection is not yet a perfect science, and although we are constantly working to improve our tools, it appears that our filters have caused some Blogger accounts to mistakenly be blocked from creating new posts.

"We believe this may have been caused by mass spam e-mails mentioning the 'Just Say No Deal' network of blogs, which in turn caused our system to classify the blog addresses mentioned in the e-mails as spam," the e-mail said.

Blogspot.com blogs can be shut down if its content is flagged as spam. Conservative-leaning sites have been deactivated by the moderators at Google, in addition to Hillary supporting sites that have published anti-Obama material, according to Stop the ACLU.

In 2007, Obama paid a visit to Google headquarters right after releasing his technology platform in which he restated his continued support of Net Neutrality. Google is strongly in favor of Net Neutrality because it frees the web of restrictions on content.

The Just Say No Deal coalition of blogs is taking a stand against Obama. Some of the blogs are former Hillary-supporting blogs.

Carissa Snedeker regularly expressed her democratic views on her blog, created through Google, called Blue Lyon. She was among many other bloggers who supported Clinton but did not support Obama. Google moderators subsequently locked her out of her account.

"At first I thought it was just this random thing with Blogger’s spam bots," she told Hot Air.com. "I thought that perhaps in their looking across the blogger universe, that I got accidentally flagged somehow. Stuff like that happens."

However, when Snedeker discovered other anti-Obama sites had been deactivated, she wondered about a concerted effort by Obama supporters to squelch criticism.

Bloggers on the site are able to flag sites that they would like deactivated or reviewed by a human moderator. After receiving a certain number of flags, blogs are automatically locked for a period of time.

Jordan's Legal Jihad

(Compiler's note: A Middle Eastern country sends a chilling reminder to European citizens that they are accountable to Sharia Law.)

... The Jordanian court’s move is only the most ambitious attempt to silence debate about Islam. Until now, the preferred strategy has been to file civil lawsuits in western courts to intimidate critics. The latest version of what may be called the legal jihad is even more disturbing. ...

... This new campaign of intimidation against the West is being mounted by a Jordanian organization calling itself “Messenger of Allah Unite Us”, which is made up of “… media outlets, professional associations, parliamentarians and thousands of volunteers.” ...

... The subpoenas will be sent to the twelve Europeans through their embassies in Jordan. If they do not appear within 15 days, the Messenger of Allah group says it will seek international arrest warrants through Interpol. ...

.... critics of Islam who have outstanding warrants against them from courts in Muslim countries will have their freedom of movement restricted, since travel abroad will now be problematic. ...

...But what is most disturbing is that an Islamic country would dare subpoena citizens of another state for an action not committed within its borders but in a land where no laws were broken. Besides being meant as a weapon of intimidation, this tactic also represents a frightening extension of Islamic law into the heart of western countries.

But perhaps most ominously, this incredibly brazen measure shows that even a small Islamic country like Jordan has no fear of Europe. And, indeed, no retaliatory response met the Jordanian court’s action against European citizens. ...

... The overall goal of the Messenger of Allah group’s legal and commercial campaign against the two European states, it says, is the enactment of “a universal law that prohibits the defamation of any prophet or religion”, especially of the Prophet Mohammad. Islamic countries are already pushing for such a law at the United Nations.

“The boycott is a means but not an end,” said Zakaria Sheikh, a spokesperson for Messenger of Allah Unite Us. “We are not aiming at collective punishment, but when the Danish and Dutch people put pressure on their governments to support the creation of an international law, we are achieving our goal.”

Well, there you have it. The Muslim organization wants Denmark and Holland not just to muzzle themselves but to help it muzzle the rest of the world as well. ...

... It should also be pointed out in the West that Jordan, which is demanding respect for its religion, does not respect other religions equally. While the practice of other faiths is not forbidden in the Middle Eastern country, none are allowed to proselytize, and converts from Islam to other religions are prosecuted by Jordanian sharia courts.

Moreover, the Jordanians should be told that if they want to extradite inciters of hatred to their courts, then citizens of their country, and of other Islamic countries for that matter, who have advocated killing Jews and other the infidels will be extradited to face western courts. In the end, if legal jihad is not recognized as the danger to the West that it is, and vigorously opposed, it will wind up punishing more than just two small European countries.

ACT for America: PC Outrage June 2008

Our June PC (Politically Correct) Outrage of the Month was a clear winner, simply because it stunningly reveals how many in our government do not want to believe that there is an Islamic political ideology that fuels the rising tide of terrorism threatening the world.

According to reports in sources such as the Financial Times and others, Charles Allen, the senior intelligence official at the Department of Homeland Security, urged that the West needs to stop using the term "war on terror" because, he says, "it creates animus in Islamic countries."

Allen went on to say this "has nothing to do with political correctness...It is interpreted in the Muslim world as a war on Islam..."

Note that the term Allen argues against, "war on terror", doesn't even include the word "Islamic." So even a generic "war on terror" is too offensive to Muslims?

The reports go on to address concerns among American Muslims and some in government that such phrases as "the war on terror" imply that all Muslims are terrorists.

So, let's examine the "illogic" of all of this.

The vast majority of terrorist acts worldwide are committed by Muslims (10,000 and counting just since 9/11).

The ideology of political Islam, clearly spelled out in hundreds and hundreds of passages in the Qur'an, Hadith and Sira, the holy books of Islam, calls for killing and subjugating "kafirs" (non-Muslims).

Dozens of Islamic terrorist organizations around the world refer to the holy books of Islam as the rationale for their actions.

The prophet Mohammed, the "ideal man" and the recognized role model for Muslims everywhere, engaged in over 60 different acts of violence against non-Muslims over a nine year period.

Over the past 1,400 years, Islamic conquests have resulted in the deaths of approximately 270 million non-Muslims.

Yet a vague "war on terror" description should be scrapped because of concerns that it implies all Muslims are terrorists?

Of course all Muslims aren't terrorists. Most Muslims aren't terrorists.

But when was the last time you saw hundreds of thousands of terrorists demonstrating to protest the terrorist activities of al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc.? Or saw a Muslim leader publicly renounce the 75% of the Sira (the life of Mohammed) that is about jihad? Or renounce the 200+ passages about violent jihad contained in the Bukhari Hadith, regarded as one of the two most authoritative accounts of the sayings and traditions of Mohammed?

Instead, let's ask this question: If Islamic terrorism were to end tomorrow, how much terrorism would there still be in the world?

We know the answer.

'He cried Allah Akhbar and hit the gas'

(Compiler's note: Can you actually believe that a soldier on leave would be armed? I'm just saying ... )

He was a soldier home on leave, riding his bike down Jaffa Road on Wednesday when he spotted the overturned No. 13 bus and a massive bulldozer tearing through the streets of Jerusalem. Realizing that the Arab behind the wheel was in the midst of a terror rampage, "M" (his identity and unit are barred from publication by a court order) threw his bike to the side of the road and began to chase the bulldozer. ...

Deal lets U.S. drones strike bin Laden

The United States has a standing agreement with Pakistan that CIA-operated Predator drones may strike Osama bin Laden's hide-out without prior permission from Islamabad, according to people familiar with the arrangement. ...

... Pakistan prohibits American military ground forces on its soil, limiting the U.S. presence to scores of CIA officers and paramilitary operators. ...

Young illegal immigrants lose their San Francisco sanctuary

SAN FRANCISCO -- California's best-known sanctuary city -- a haven for illegal immigrants -- has been escorting convicted juvenile offenders back to their home countries at city expense for nearly a generation and shielding them from federal officials in the process.

But after several recent embarrassing incidents, this famously liberal enclave has been forced to reconsider how it deals with young undocumented criminals. ...

Negotiating with Terrorists

The following is a spiritual perspective on the news from one of the leading elder statesmen of the Messianic Jewish movement, Israeli Dr. Daniel Juster. This view is information I wish every Christian knew. This should give intercessors excellent target-acquisition for the times.

The Debate on Negotiating with Terrorists

By Daniel Juster

JERUSALEM/July 2: Last May, a verbal firestorm erupted between President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. The occasion was President Bush's visit to Israel and his address to the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset). The speech was very well received. In spite of his poor approval rating in the States, the President is very popular in Israel. In his speech, the President sharply criticized those who believe that we should negotiate with terrorists; he equated this orientation with appeasement. The Israeli leadership applauded his stand. However, a few days later (much to Israel's embarrassment), the Jerusalem Post revealed that Israel had been negotiating via Egyptian mediation with Hamas for a cease fire.

Senator Obama took issue with Bush; he reacted as if he was the object of the President's criticism. Democrats cried, 'Foul!' countering that the President used a state visit to Israel to play politics and unfairly criticize Senator Obama. They asked John McCain to repudiate what Bush had said. Senator McCain, however, stood with President Bush and said that Senator Obama was naïve in saying that he would negotiate with sponsors of terrorism without preconditions. McCain asked, what would Obama say to convince them that their behavior was wrong and that they should change? Obama's position would undermine the public stand of the United States and European powers not to negotiate with Hamas as long as they do not accept the existence of srael. Negotiations would surely empower Hamas. The President believes that political isolation, economic boycotts and military intervention against terrorists is the right policy.

Senator Obama responded eloquently by stating that negotiation was neither weakness nor appeasement. Reagan negotiated with the Russian communists as did Kennedy, with respect to the Cuba missile crisis. However, Russia was at that time the leader of a communist empire that controlled one third of the world. Kennedy's negotiations with Russia included an ultimatum! I do not think that Obama has this in mind. Obama criticized the President for the predicaments to which the United States is currently exposed: the Iraq war, Iran becoming more of a problem and political and military failure in Afghanistan. He then went on to argue that a significant reason for these problems was the U.S. lack of strong engagement by negotiations. Surely, this topic will be a central part of the campaign in the fall.

Is the Problem Lack of Negotiation?

My view of the situation is at odds with Senator Obama; living in the Middle East has clarified my perspective on the issues. I do not believe that the problem is lack of negotiations. Rather, the issue is primarily an unwillingness to enforce standards. This is an endemic problem among Western powers. In addition, Any negotiated position, cease fire, etc., legitimizes the terrorists, proclaims Western weakness, emboldens Islamic radicals, and is only a temporary lull for the sake of building a more fierce and violent Islamic offense. This view has been confirmed in public by Hamas spokesmen. many Westerners do not believe that Islamic radicals really act primarily out of religious convictions; they assume they are motivated by politics as they themselves are. However, these convictions are unshakable.The religious motivation of Islamic fascism simply will not compromise, split the difference, or embrace long term peace.

I believe there is only one answer to Islamic fascism and that is to defeat it. The reason we have not made progress is not for lack of negotiation. There is plenty of that; a good example is the European carrot and stick diplomacy being attempted with Iran. The real problem is that the carrot is large and the stick is very small. The large carrot is not working, because Iran wants nuclear weapons. So far, the sanctions have been very limited and strong sanctions have been rejected by the U.N. Security Council, largely due to Russian and Chinese pressure.

Recently the Swiss and the Austrians have made significant business deals with Iran for gas production and trade. The United States howled, as did Israel, but to no avail. Iran is able to buy weapons, arm Hamas and Hezbollah and wreck havoc in Lebanon. When Reagan negotiated with the Russians, it was from a place of real strength, because the Soviets were in severe decline. They accepted an agreement that benefited the U. S. in order to save themselves from economic disaster. No such situation exists in Iran today.

Really, the central issue is not of talking or not talking; though I do not think we should lend credibility to terrorists by talks without preconditions. Rather, the issue is standing up to the terrorists and enforcing very strong sanctions. If that does not work, the Western powers should be prepared to use strong military action. Radical Islam despises the weakness of the West. The spread of radical Islam is partly fueled by the perception that they are winning against the weak and fearful West. President Bush's failure to de-fang Iran and Syria is not through lack of negotiation, but because the Western allies are not willing to grasp the nettle and take strong measures. So we talk tough and act weak. The President has not acted according to "cowboy diplomacy." Toughness has not been tried and found wanting. It has not been tried!

The Response of the West

The history of backing down before Islamic radicalism is not pretty and has produced a very dangerous world. President Carter failed to stand up to the terrorists who kidnapped the U.S. embassy staff in Iran. This only served to embolden the radicals. At the time it may have seemed as if they could not truly be players on the world stage but the West's lack of fortitude has allowed a rogue nation to export terrorism across the globe. The Shah's regime had many flaws but is far preferable to the Islamic fascist dictatorship under the Ayatollahs. During the Reagan administration the U.S. failed to act in Lebanon. After the terrorists bombed the U.S. marine barracks and killed over two hundred personnel, defense secretary, Casper Weinberger, unilaterally disobeyed Reagan and refused to convey the order to retaliate. Reagan backed down!

I watched this with grief and dismay. The U.S. should have retaliated and demonstrated to the terrorists that their actions would bring swift and painful consequences. Instead, the U.S. pulled out. Lebanon was meant to be a safe haven for Arab Christians - half of them have now fled the country. It was a truly lovely country but the U.S. did nothing to counter the radical Islamic agenda.

The same lack of resolve moved the U.S. to push for Palestinian elections. The consequences were a disaster, with Hamas being elected. When will the Western politicians learn that absolute democracy is not necessarily just? 51% can vote to destroy the 49%. Political parties that espouse terrorism should be illegal. The Nazi party is illegal in Germany and other parts of Europe. Why did the U.S. force elections on Israel where Hamas could run? How foolish!

How Dangerous is Islamic Fascism?

When Senator Obama says that the threat from Iran and Islamic radicals is less than the former threat posed by the Soviet Union, he is really missing the main issues. The Russians were interested in preserving the world. In addition, they were a disciplined world force with centralized power in Moscow. If Moscow had fired a nuclear missile, there would have been an assured and instant retaliation. The calling card would be clear. This prevented Russia from doing so.

Would Iran send a nuclear missile against Tel Aviv if they acquire the ability? Perhaps, but that would be dangerous for them, since the world would know who was responsible and retaliation would be swift, certain and punitive. But here is the danger: the Islamic radicals are decentralized and fight an asymmetric war of terror. They would be glad to secretly plant a nuclear bomb in New York, Washington or Tel Aviv. A whole city and more could be destroyed. Against whom do we retaliate? Iran could as easily arrange for one of their proxies to put a device off shore from Tel Aviv and set it off, or plant a suitcase bomb in Washington. Terrorist nations would deny involvement. Who do we bomb? Do we bomb Tehran? Do we bomb the Al Qaeda camps? The danger is enormous.

Has President Bush Acted with too much Belligerence?

President Bush has stood up against Islamic terror more than any world leader, but he has had little support from Congress and the Western allies. The issue is not too much bluster, but too much bluffing. The U.S. cannot even get significant military contributions from Europe in the Afghan theater. The radicals know the West is weak. Unless we wake up and realize that we are in World War III, we will soon be in deep, deep trouble. We should heed Islamic terror scholar Steve Emerson on these matters. Emerson explains that the goal is not just to destroy Israel, but to conquer the whole world and establish a global Muslim caliphate. The vilest methods are acceptable. Western nations are mired in relativism and do not act with strength.

Islamic Hatred for Israel is a Source for Hope!

The central focus of Islamic terror and hatred is Israel, all other foci - the U.S., the West and India - are secondary, and yet we have great hope. Why? Because the destiny of Israel is to be a supernatural power to break the back of Islamic terror. This will lead to a great harvest in the Muslim nations of the world. We live in an impossible situation in Israel but in these difficult days, more and more Israelis are finding their Messiah, eshua of Nazareth. This is the situation that the prophets foresaw long ago. Whatever plans men or demons may have they are not taking the One who sits in heaven by surprise. The sure Word of God will prevail - this is our unyielding anchor of hope.

Networks put gun ruling in their crosshairs

From: Douglas C. Mills, Executive Vice President, The Media Research Center

The recent Supreme Court ruling striking down a ban on handgun ownership in Washington, D.C., touched off a maelstrom of negative media reports about how the ruling would lead to more gun violence.

Really?

The 32-year ban on handguns in our Nation's Capital was one of the strictest, yet the District has been widely labeled "the murder capital of the country". Why didn't the media analyze that?

For the full Culture and Media Institute report:

http://www.mrcaction.org/r.asp?U=8733&RID=16261470

Just after the ruling, The N.Y. Times used a misleading statistic to bolster their argument.

"Thirty-thousand Americans are killed by guns every year -- on the job, walking to school, at the shopping mall. The Supreme Court on Thursday all but ensured that even more Americans will die senselessly with its wrongheaded and dangerous ruling striking down key parts of the District of Columbia's gun-control law."

The Times failed to mention that nearly half of the 30,000 deaths are suicides. The paper also didn't look at how many of those homicides were the result of self-defense.

Instead, the Times, like its liberal network counterparts, lamented that the "far-right" court got it wrong, setting the stage for more violence and death.

Go here for the complete Timeswatch report:

http://www.mrcaction.org/r.asp?U=8734&RID=16261470

Clay Waters, director of Times Watch, takes on the New York Times on a daily basis in Times Watch Tracker.

Sign-up today for the Times Watch Tracker and we'll deliver it to you via email -- absolutely FREE!

http://www.mrcaction.org/r.asp?U=8735&RID=16261470

+ + + + +

The Media Research Center is a research and education organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax-deductible for income tax purposes.

Gathering of Mustangs & Legends - Flag Jump

(Compiler's note: Should my American flag offend you, please call 1-800 Leave-the-USA)

Great video!

Bush administration streamlines security clearance process

The Bush administration has issued a new executive order that could streamline the onerous and often lengthy background checks performed on federal employees and contractors who need special security clearance to access classified information.

The order, issued on June 30, requires federal agencies to establish "consistent standards" for all individuals who require access to classified national security information or who are applying for a sensitive government position.

"The aligned system shall employ updated and consistent standards and methods, enable innovations with enterprise information technology capabilities and end-to-end automation to the extent practicable, and ensure that relevant information maintained by agencies can be ...

Report provides roadmap for first Homeland Security transition

Identifying and filling critical positions, training new executives and working aggressively to get the next presidential team on board are critical steps for a smooth transition at the Homeland Security Department, according to a new report by the National Academy of Public Administration.

The 118-page report, requested by DHS and the House and Senate Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittees, found that while it has made a solid start in planning for the presidential transition, the department and other key players in homeland security have to do more.

"The panel has provided a roadmap for DHS, and made recommendations to Congress, the presidential candidates, and key federal agencies, to reduce America's vulnerability during the election and presidential transition year," said NAPA President Jennifer Dorn. "I have no doubt that our country is up to the job." ...

Does Patriotism Matter?

By Thomas Sowell

The Fourth of July is a patriotic holiday but patriotism has long been viewed with suspicion or disdain by many of the intelligentsia. As far back as 1793, prominent British writer William Godwin called patriotism "high-sounding nonsense."

Internationalism has long been a competitor with patriotism, especially among the intelligentsia. H.G. Wells advocated replacing the idea of duty to one's country with "the idea of cosmopolitan duty."

Perhaps nowhere was patriotism so downplayed or deplored than among intellectuals in the Western democracies in the two decades after the horrors of the First World War, fought under various nations' banners of patriotism.

In France, after the First World War, the teachers' unions launched a systematic purge of textbooks, in order to promote internationalism and pacifism.

Books that depicted the courage and self-sacrifice of soldiers who had defended France against the German invaders were called "bellicose" books to be banished from the schools.

Textbook publishers caved in to the power of the teachers' unions, rather than lose a large market for their books. History books were sharply revised to conform to internationalism and pacifism.

The once epic story of the French soldiers' heroic defense against the German invaders at Verdun, despite the massive casualties suffered by the French, was now transformed into a story of horrible suffering by all soldiers at Verdun-- French and German alike.

In short, soldiers once depicted as national heroes were now depicted as victims-- and just like victims in other nations' armies.

Children were bombarded with stories on the horrors of war. In some schools, children whose fathers had been killed during the war were asked to speak to the class and many of these children-- as well as some of their classmates and teachers-- broke down in tears.

In Britain, Winston Churchill warned that a country "cannot avoid war by dilating upon its horrors." In France, Marshal Philippe Petain, the victor at Verdun, warned in 1934 that teachers were trying to "raise our sons in ignorance of or in contempt of the fatherland."

But they were voices drowned out by the pacifist and internationalist rhetoric of the 1920s and 1930s.

Did it matter? Does patriotism matter?

France, where pacifism and internationalism were strongest, became a classic example of how much it can matter.

During the First World War, France fought on against the German invaders for four long years, despite having more of its soldiers killed than all the American soldiers killed in all the wars in the history of the United States, put together.

But during the Second World War, France collapsed after just six weeks of fighting and surrendered to Nazi Germany. At the bitter moment of defeat the head of the French teachers' union was told, "You are partially responsible for the defeat."

Charles de Gaulle, Francois Mauriac, and other Frenchmen blamed a lack of national will or general moral decay, for the sudden and humiliating collapse of France in 1940.

At the outset of the invasion, both German and French generals assessed French military forces as more likely to gain victory, and virtually no one expected France to collapse like a house of cards -- except Adolf Hitler, who had studied French society instead of French military forces.

Did patriotism matter? It mattered more than superior French tanks and planes.

Most Americans today are unaware of how much our schools have followed in the footsteps of the French schools of the 1920s and 1930s, or how much our intellectuals have become citizens of the world instead of American patriots.

Our media are busy verbally transforming American combat troops from heroes into victims, just as the French intelligentsia did-- with the added twist of calling this "supporting the troops."

Will that matter? Time will tell.

CIA Suppressed Iran Nuclear Intelligence, Ex-Agent Says

A former undercover CIA operative claimed in a federal court filing Friday that the agency quashed intelligence indicating that Iran had halted its pursuit of a nuclear weapon capability, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, June 30).

The former agent, who is prohibited from releasing his name, contends that the CIA ignored evidence that Iran had suspended its military nuclear program until the agency reversed its conclusions in helping to formulate a U.S. intelligence assessment last year...

Saudis Schmooze Their Way To Safety

So far this year, Saudi Arabia has arrested 701 terrorist suspects. About 180 were released, but the rest are still being investigated. Many had been recruited overseas by al Qaeda, and provided with money to get into Saudi Arabia during the annual Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Moslem is encouraged to do at least once). ...

The Curious China Connection

A recent analysis of web sites pushing malware (software that helps hackers steal data) revealed that half of them are connected with just ten ISPs (Internet Service Providers), and six of those ISPs are in China. This came as no surprise, as China has become the favorite hideout for Internet criminals.

There's just one catch. The Chinese Internet is highly policed by a special force of 30,000 secret police technicians. On the Chinese Internet, you don't do something the government does not want, at least not for long. ...

The Islamic Bewilderness

Al Qaeda has had a bad year, having been crushed in Iraq and having a hard time doing much damage anywhere else. But on the Internet , the Sunni terrorist organization is expanding its activities. ...

Son Of Spooky A Shorty

SOCOMs gunships (the AC-130) are wearing out because of heavy use in combat. In 5-10 years, all of them will have to be retired, or heavily rebuilt. So the air force portion of SOCOM (AFSOC, Air Force Special Operations Command) is going to try converting new light (two engine) transports to "light gunships. ...

Congress Blinds The FBI (Reid-Pelosi aid terrorists)

The U.S. Congress has refused to give the FBI $11 million to expand the use of data mining in counter-terrorism efforts. American politicians are generally hostile to government use of data mining, a technique widely used, for decades, in business (marketing), law enforcement (catching criminals) and the military (finding the enemy). This last use has become much more sophisticated since the U.S. Department of Defense began pouring billions of dollars a year into finding ways to defeat IEDs (improvised explosive devices, usually roadside bombs). The effort to lower IED casualties has opened up all sorts of opportunities for technological innovation. No one harasses researchers for using data mining, or makes fun of building supercomputers with graphics processors (often the same ones found in video game consoles, making super-fast computers cheap enough to be used in a combat zone to make life saving predictions), when it saves troops from getting killed.

The data mining was initially used to figure out who the bomb making crews were, and where they operated from. Then, using math techniques first developed during World War II, the intel geeks began creating predictions about where IEDs were most likely to show up next. These predictive models get better as the quality of the information going into them improves. As more terrorists are captured and interrogated, and their computers and data is translated, the predictions become more accurate.

Using more primitive computers, Germany employed data mining successfully in the 1970s, to find leftist, middle class terrorists who were operating with assistance from the East German secret police. The terrorists thought they were well concealed, but data mining can do wonders with the slightest pieces of information.

The FBI has been unable to make this point to Congress, mainly because some key legislators are ideologically opposed to data mining, and refuse to acknowledge the widespread success of the technique in civilians and military sectors.

Getting Sensible On Energy

If the price of gasoline is around $4 a gallon, Americans have no one to blame but themselves. For decades, we have demonized the people and businesses who supply our energy. Energy fuels our economy and prosperity, but bad public policies have made it increasingly more difficult to develop our own vast resources. Americans are in danger of falling irreversibly into a dysfunctional culture and fading into the dust of history.

We sit on our own undeveloped energy supplies and complain about the high price of gasoline and imported oil. ...

... The United States has enough oil and gas resources to meet our energy needs for hundreds of years. Nothing but our own ignorance stands in the way of developing them.

Turkish police detain 2 retired commanders over alleged anti-government plot

Turkish police detained 24 people including two retired military commanders Tuesday during raids against an alleged network of extreme nationalists accused of plotting to topple the government, according to media reports. Dozens of people have previously been detained during the yearlong probe into the alleged group whose members have been accused of provoking an armed rebellion against the government. ...

Terror suspect video 'a mistake'

An aircraft suicide bomb plot suspect has told jurors that a video threatening martyrdom that he helped to make had been a "silly" mistake. ...

Wave of attacks threaten Iraqi judges

BAGHDAD - Five Iraqi judges escaped assassination Monday in a series of small bomb attacks that police believe may be part of a Shiite extremist campaign to force them to free jailed militants or reduce their sentences. ...

Qaeda targets U.S. oil interests in N.Africa: report

Al Qaeda's growing north Africa network plans to attack U.S. interests seeking control of the region's energy riches, ...

The Border Fence Folly

In this political season, immigration is the issue that everyone’s taking pains not to discuss. The presidential candidates are merely paying the same lip service to border security. Congress has all but abandoned comprehensive immigration reform, and the Bush administration continues to pile all their immigration-policy eggs in the border-security basket. ...

... Most experts say that physical fencing would not drastically decrease the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that as much as 40-50 percent of the U.S.'s unauthorized migrant population entered the country through legal ports of entry, either with nonimmigrant visas that subsequently expired (known as "overstayers") or by using a Border Crossing Card that allows for short visits to the border region. ...

Nuclear Terror: Federal/Local Coordination Still a Challenge

Despite progress, continuing gaps in nuclear terror readiness on local level seen.

“We’ve gotten pretty good at the poetry of strategy,” Paul McHale Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs , US Department of Defense told the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Thursday at a hearing entitled Nuclear Terrorism: Providing Medical Care and Meeting Basic Needs in the Aftermath – the Federal Response. Click here to see full testimony. ...

Glenn Beck: The Last Patriot

Brad Thor, author of The Last Patriot, was on the show months ago and Glenn told him that he should consider not publishing the book. With extremists rioting over cartoons they don't like--Glenn believes Brad is legitimately in danger because of this book. What's his book about? How is he dealing with death threats? Read the transcript here including the Glenn Beck quote "You'll think 'Brad Thor is a dead man.'" ...

The enemy within

(Compiler's note: The Ottawa Citizen story below highlights the grave threat of infiltration of our defense and intelligence communities by Islamists working in league with terrorists abroad.

The article references the Muslim Brotherhood Project, the long-term plan created by the Muslim Brotherhood to subvert the West from within.)

But these things must be asked whenever a possible radical or extremist Islamist breach of security is hinted at, and here's why: Islamic extremists and subversives place great emphasis on infiltrating social, political, economic and security apparatuses of target nations, like Canada, with a view to manipulating and undoing their infrastructure. ...

SNIFFER DOGS OFFEND MUSLIMS

UK -- A report for the Transport Department has raised the prospect that the animals should only touch passengers’ luggage because it is considered “more acceptable”.

In the Muslim faith, dogs are deemed to be spiritually “unclean”. But banning them from touching passengers would severely restrict their ability to do their job. ...

Saudi king urges consumers to get used to high oil prices

... "These countries must reduce their taxes on fuel.. if they want to contribute to easing the burden on ordinary consumers," he said. ...

FCS Spinouts Will Go First to Infantry Units

News about technologies for the soldier on the ground.

New Future Combat Systems technologies will go first to Army Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) instead of Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HBCTs) as planned, said an Army source familiar with the program.

In the past week, Army leaders also approved the acceleration of these so-called spinout technologies, aiming to deploy them with soldiers by October 2010, about two years earlier than once planned. The Army is now working with Congress to reprogram at least tens of millions of dollars, the official said. ...

MEXICAN DRUG WAR 'ALARMING' U.S. OFFICIALS

t appears the problems on the southern border are getting severe enough to register on the government radar screen.

MEXICO CITY - Virtually every day now there are disturbing headlines here about the assassination of yet another Mexican official, gangland-style shootouts in broad daylight, the gruesome discoveries of kidnapped and tortured murder victims - many of them beheaded -and police chiefs quitting their jobs and fleeing the country in terror. ...

Abu Sayyaf spent force, Yano claims

Good news from Manila in the GWOT.

Muslim rebels in the Philippines have scattered and become leaderless after strikes using US intelligence tips, the Philippines' military chief said Thursday.

About a dozen leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, a group blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks, were killed or arrested in the past seven years after Manila allowed US Special Forces troops to be deployed in southern Mindanao. ...

Glenn Beck: The Last Patriot

... THOR: I didn't back off on any of it. The book is exactly what you saw. There's a -- and again this is a thriller. The Last Patriot is a thriller, but there's a lot of little secrets that Islam doesn't want out there that I've incorporated into this book, but I did do what you said and at the end I have an author's note and I do say, hey, these are the true things that the book is based upon and this is where I took artistic license.

GLENN: Okay. This is -- I tell you, Brad, and I don't mean to fall all over you here on this but this is -- I read your book and I don't think I've ever read a book with the Internet, with the laptop by my side because -- I mean, I do that a lot with some books because so riddled with ADD. But your book -- for instance, the memorial that you talk about, the thing that used to be sitting in Washington D.C., the capital. ...

Alert: Tell Congress: Terrorists Are Not US Citizens

Do you believe foreign terrorists should be treated as American citizens? Should they have the same rights as American citizens?

Well, according to five justices of the United States Supreme Court, the answer is an emphatic YES!

Recently, in Boumediene v. Bush, five justices ruled that suspected terrorists captured in foreign lands -- potential bombers and assassins who've never set foot on United States soil -- have to be tried in an American civilian court WITH ALL THE RIGHTS GUARANTEED TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS UNDER OUR CONSTITUTION!

The outrageous ruling -- a deliberate crippling of our nation's ability to fight the War on Terror -- has snatched away congressional and presidential powers guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily.com articulated just what has happened when he wrote:

"So, it's official! This court believes a majority of five judges in black robes decides the law of the land, not the Congress of the United States with the consent of the president."

"I'm simply astonished that no other journalist -- no other pundit -- has observed the coup d'etat that this decision represents in the American political system.

"To make it clear, the Congress, anticipating just this kind of meddling in national security matters by the court, wrote legislation prohibiting it, as the Constitution permits it to do. The court ignored that restriction, meddled in national security matters that were not its business and verbally spanked the Congress, explaining, in most condescending fashion, that the 'political branches' actually had no say in 'what the law is.'" [Emphasis added]

Ann Coulter was even more blunt when she wrote:

"But now, even aliens get special constitutional privileges merely for being caught on a battlefield trying to kill Americans."

And Congressman John Shadegg said this:

"It is outrageous that the Supreme Court of the United States has endangered innocent American lives so Guantanamo Bay detainees can experience the rights and freedoms of the society they seek to destroy."

That's why Shadegg, on June 17th, introduced the Boumediene Jurisdiction Correction Act (H.R. 6274) which would give military courts exclusive jurisdiction over detained foreign enemy combatants being held at Guantanamo Bay.

We need to support Congressman Shadegg's vital legislation to reverse this disastrous decision.

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President George W. Bush and each and every one of the Republican leaders of the House and Senate.

Let them know that you are shocked both at the action of the High Court and the silence of most Republicans in the face of this outrageous ruling. Only 16 Members of Congress have co-sponsored Shadegg's bill.

Tell them the courts must stop their unconstitutional usurpation of power. Judges have been "making law" rather than fulfilling their constitutional duty to "interpret the law" for far too long. Tell them you expect them to fulfill their constitutional duty of oversight. Tell them they can start by supporting Representative John Shadegg's bill mandating that terrorists be tried in military courts.

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America Is Fighting A "War On Terror" And Liberals Are Fighting a "War On Bush!"

Of course the liberal media just loved the ruling. They see Justice Kennedy's opinion as an occasion for high-blown rhetoric about "freedom and justice."

After all, why let something as trivial as the Constitution stand in the way of bashing President Bush?

A New York Times editorial titled: "Justice 5, Brutality 4" proclaimed that "President Bush has denied the protections of justice, democracy and plain human decency to the hundreds of men that he decided to label 'unlawful enemy combatants' and throw into never-ending detention."

Page One of The Washington Post crowed: "The Supreme Court rules Bush can't trash American values."

The Post's Eugene Johnson wrote: "the high court made clear that the Decider [Bush] has no authority to trash the fundamental principles of American jurisprudence."

The Associated Press headline read: "Court says detainees have rights, bucking Bush"

A CNN print story read: "Watch how the 5-4 ruling is a major blow for the Bush administration."

These liberals have got nothing but George Bush on the brain!

So much so, that their obsession blinds them from recognizing what is right for the United States of America. You can almost hear them whispering to themselves: 'Who cares if we destroy the country and the American way of life... just so long as we get Bush!'

Our troops overseas are fighting a war against radical Islamic terrorists and liberals in the press are fighting a war against the Commander-in-Chief.

To the politically correct media, the real story was the systematic abuse of what one left-wing blogger called "innocent foreigners."

Reality check folks, the inmates at Gitmo are NOT "innocent foreigners"... THEY ARE TERRORISTS WHO -- FOR THE MOST PART -- ONLY WANT TO KILL AMERICANS!

We can't allow this kind of distortion to go unanswered.

The High Court's ruling must be reversed right here and right now. Congress must pass Congressman Shadegg's bill immediately!

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President George W. Bush and each and every one of the Republican leaders of the House and Senate.

Let them know that you are shocked both at the action of the High Court and the silence of most Republicans in the face of this outrageous ruling. Only 16 Members of Congress have co-sponsored Shadegg's bill.

Tell them the courts must stop their unconstitutional usurpation of power. Judges have been "making law" rather than fulfilling their constitutional duty to "interpret the law" for far too long. Tell them you expect them to fulfill their constitutional duty of oversight. Tell them they can start by supporting Representative John Shadegg's bill mandating that terrorists be tried in military courts.

http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/terroristsarenotamericancitizensbe.html

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Does All This Sound Familiar? It Should.

In a 2006 ruling (Hamdan v. Rumsfeld), the High Court shook its finger at the Bush administration, saying the executive branch had no authority to set up military tribunals to hear cases of accused terrorists captured in foreign countries.

However, Justice Stevens, speaking for the majority in that case, wrote: "Nothing prevents the president from returning to Congress to seek the authority [i.e., trial by a military tribunal] he believes necessary."

And that is just what President Bush did! Congress passed the Military Commissions Act, which became law in 2006.

Or so everyone thought. That was then and this is now!

As Justice Scalia wrote in his dissent in the Boumediene case: It seems like the five justices "were just kidding."

In effect, in the most recent case, the majority said to Congress and the President:

"Okay. Last time, we lied. It's unconstitutional to do what we SAID you could do. Fooled you! Fooled you!"

But this no joke!

Our nation is at war with radicals who wish to destroy us. But the liberal media and other Leftists just don't seem to care.

Aren't these the same liberals who scream "stare decisis" at the top of their lungs and claim that left-wing decisions they like SIMPLY CAN'T be overturned without inviting some kind of major catastrophe (like a plague or famine)!

However, back to the point; the decision also does something else:

It empowers the cruelest, most hate-driven enemy Americans have ever encountered -- monsters who use their own women, children and even mentally handicapped people as unwitting suicide bombers.

Yet five Supreme Court justices have just ruled that these monsters have the right to be tried under more lenient laws than our own troops, live in more comfortable accommodations, and receive the support and admiration of the Public Defender's Office and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Somewhere in a cave in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden is laughing at America -- a nation too weak-willed to defend its own culture and too confused to understand its own Constitution.

Meanwhile, in obedience to the Prophet -- Osama's followers fight on.

This is ludicrous. But, we can do something about this dangerous decision by forcing Congress to act, and act now.

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President George W. Bush and each and every one of the Republican leaders of the House and Senate.

Let them know that you are shocked both at the action of the High Court and the silence of most Republicans in the face of this outrageous ruling. Only 16 Members of Congress have co-sponsored Shadegg's bill.

Tell them the courts must stop their unconstitutional usurpation of power. Judges have been "making law" rather than fulfilling their constitutional duty to "interpret the law" for far too long. Tell them you expect them to fulfill their constitutional duty of oversight. Tell them they can start by supporting Representative John Shadegg's bill mandating that terrorists be tried in military courts.

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Who Gave Them The Right?

Ann Coulter answers that question as follows:

"[T]he judiciary simply has no power over enemy combatants in wartime. Such power is committed to the executive as part of the commander in chief's power, and thus implicitly denied to the judiciary, just as is the power to declare war is unilaterally committed to Congress. As one law professor said to me, this is what happens when the swing justice is the dumb justice."

"Kennedy's ruling thus effectively overturned the congressional declaration of war -- the use of force resolution voted for by Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, 75 other senators as well as 296 congressmen. If there's no war, then there are no enemy combatants. This is the diabolical arrogance of Kennedy's opinion."

In other words, Congress gave the green light for the war, and the Commander-in-Chief was conducting it -- with great success in recent months, as even the New York Times has been forced to admit.

At that point -- after the Left in Congress had grown silent -- Justice Kennedy and four other justices stepped in and told the Congress and the President:

"Okay. You're on the verge of victory. But we don't like this war, and we're going to make it as hard as possible for our troops to win."

When the Court roared like a lion, elected officials on Capitol Hill cowered behind their desks, but John Shadegg immediately introduced legislation to pull the lion's teeth.

In a press release, Shadegg roared even louder:

"Suspected foreign terrorists captured abroad and detained outside U.S. borders do not possess the same constitutional rights as American citizens, plain and simple."

"We have seen individuals released from Guantanamo or prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan return to their terrorist networks and to the fields of battle. It is therefore even more shocking that, in a time of war, our nation's highest court would charge appointed federal civilian judges, who have absolutely no expertise in terrorism or national security, with the responsibility of determining a detainee's habeas corpus petition."

We couldn't say it any better than that!

The problem is this: Despite 9/11, five justices and liberal lawmakers think America is at war with President Bush, instead of Islamic terrorists.

In memory of the more than 3,000 Americans who died on September 11, 2001, and in honor of the brave men and women in uniform fighting radical extremists who wish to destroy us, let's reverse this dangerous decision!

Let's give Congressman Shadegg the grassroots support he needs to pass the Boumediene Jurisdiction Correction Act (H.R. 6274) without delay.

We have the power to make a difference on this one. Let's make our voices heard!

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President George W. Bush and each and every one of the Republican leaders of the House and Senate.

Let them know that you are shocked both at the action of the High Court and the silence of most Republicans in the face of this outrageous ruling. Only 16 Members of Congress have co-sponsored Shadegg's bill.

Tell them the courts must stop their unconstitutional usurpation of power. Judges have been "making law" rather than fulfilling their constitutional duty to "interpret the law" for far too long. Tell them you expect them to fulfill their constitutional duty of oversight. Tell them they can start by supporting Representative John Shadegg's bill mandating that terrorists be tried in military courts.

http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/terroristsarenotamericancitizensbe.html

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Yours In Freedom,

Jeff Mazzella
President
www.cfif.org

Iraq fails to sign contracts with global oil majors

Iraq said on Monday it has failed to sign technical support agreements with global oil majors which were aimed at helping boost the war-torn country's oil production.

Iraq is negotiating with Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total, and a consortium of other smaller oil companies, Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said at press briefing. ...

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Real Threat?

Video .... Iran threatening to cut off key Persian Gulf oil line ...

U.S. Advised Iraqi Ministry on Oil Deals

A group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest fields in Iraq, American officials say. ...

Sharia-compliant mortgages are here - and they're not just for Muslims

(Compiler's note: Shari'a is the set of Islamic laws established by Muslim jurists, based on the Qur'an and deeds of the prophet Muhammad, as recorded beginning more than 1,200 years ago. Its end goal, for all time, is establishing a world ruled entirely by Islam and the harsh shari'a laws. These laws govern every aspect of daily life and prohibit individual, political, and religious freedoms.)

Imagine a mortgage lender who allows you to take all the increase in the price of your home when you sell, but is prepared to share any loss if the property has fallen in value. Such a deal may seem too good to be true in the current property market, but it is exactly what a handful of banks specialising in Islamic home loans are offering. ...

Gunmen assassinate head of Basra city intelligence in Iraq

Head of intelligence in Basra city was assassinated in Baghdad, said a security source Sunday. ...

Militants circle key Pakistani city

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Heavily armed Islamic militants have gathered on the outskirts of Peshawar, the strategic provincial capital in northwest Pakistan, and the Pakistani government has dramatically stepped up security around the city amid fears it could fall.

Taliban groups and other extremist warlords now threaten Peshawar from three sides. Should they take over Peshawar, the rest of the North West Frontier Province could follow, leaving Islamic extremists in control of a region that borders Afghanistan and sits astride one of the main supply routes to U.S. and coalition troops there. ...

Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief reportedly issues new warning to Israel

TEHRAN : The chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards has issued a new warning against Israel not to attack it, saying the Jewish state is well within range of its missiles, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

"This country (Israel) is completely within the range of the Islamic republic's missiles. Our missile power and capability are such that the Zionist regime -- despite all its abilities -- cannot confront it," General Mohammad Ali Jafari told the conservative daily Jam-e Jam.

"There is the possibility that by attacking Iranian nuclear sites the enemy wants to delay our nuclear activities, but any interruption would be very short since Iranian scientific ability is different from that of Syria and Iraq." ...

Al-Qaida thrives, grows as U.S. spins its wheels

WASHINGTON — Late last year, top Bush administration officials decided to take a step they had long resisted. They drafted a secret plan to authorize the Pentagon's Special Operations forces to launch missions into the snow-capped mountains of Pakistan to capture or kill top leaders of al-Qaida.

Intelligence reports for more than a year had been streaming in about Osama bin Laden's terror network rebuilding in the Pakistani tribal areas, a problem that had been exacerbated by years of missteps in Washington and the Pakistani capital, Islamabad; sharp policy disagreements; and turf battles between U.S. counterterrorism agencies.

Lieberman: U.S. May Be Attacked In 2009

... "Our enemies will test the new president early," Lieberman, I-Conn., told Face The Nation host Bob Schieffer. "Remember that the truck bombing of the World Trade Center happened in the first year of the Clinton administration. 9/11 happened in the first year of the Bush administration."...

ISLAM - A SHORT SYNOPSIS OF HOW IT WORKS

by John Larsen --- Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system. rca

Islam has religious, legal, political, economic and military components. The religious component is a beard for all the other components.

Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called 'religious rights.'

When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to 'the reasonable' Muslim demands for their 'religious rights,' they also get the other components under the table. Here's how it works (percentages source CIA: The World Fact Book (2007)).

As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness:

United States -- Muslim 1.0%
Australia -- Muslim 1.5%
Canada -- Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1%-2%
Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:

Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population.

They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. ( United States ).

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- Muslim 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5%
Switzerland-- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad &Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world but to establish Sharia law over the entire world.

When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions ( Paris -- car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats ( Amsterdam -- Mohammed cartoons).

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 10-15%

After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:

Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide:

Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of Peace -- there's supposed to be peace because everybody is a Muslim:

Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 99.9%

Of course, that's not the case. To satisfy their blood lust, Muslims then start killing each other for a variety of reasons.

'Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world and all of us against the infidel' -- Leon Uris, 'The Haj'

It is good to remember that in many, many countries, such as France , the Muslim populations are centered around ghettos based on their ethnicity. Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. Therefore, they exercise more power than their national average would indicate.

And we continue to cater and negotiate in a politically correct way so as not to 'offend' our Muslim 'brothers.'

Time to wake up!