Trying To Take The Reason Out Of The Season

From the folks who say we need more acceptance and diversity in our lives are trying to once again restrict the majority of Americans who celebrate Christmas.

Over in Dallas, Ga. the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State want the mayor of the town to take down a neon light nativity scene that the town has put up for the second year in a row.

However, Mayor Boyd Austin said it best about the taking down of the reason why so many celebrate Christmas:

“I think without the birth of Christ, we wouldn’t have Christmas and I think this is the reason for the season and I think that the overwhelming silent majority of people will be heard on this and they’re going to say, ‘Leave it alone,’” Austin told Action News 2 in Atlanta.

The group is now considering legal action, which really boggles the mind. Just like it boggles the mind how many people want to call a Christmas tree a Holiday tree.

In Queen Creek, Az., the town’s Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony was rained out this year but the feud over the name of the festivity is still leaving a bad taste of fruitcake in many’s mouths.

One of the town’s councilmen feel that town sponsored events that involve taxpayer money should not have a religious theme. A wife of a former mayor of the town who donated the Christmas tree said she was sick and tired of the political correctness involved with the holly jolly holiday.

And who can blame her? We are supposed to be teaching our children about accepting other cultures and to support diversity, which is just fine but the people who seem to be the biggest supporters of all of this are usually the ones who want to restrict and takeaway Christmas.

And the usual reasons for all of this is because they don’t want people to feel left out who don’t celebrate Christmas or it somehow it crosses the line of the separation of church and state.

How about this? To the people who feel left out or don’t celebrate the day Jesus Christ was born, I say you can do one of two things: Either learn about the holiday and try to have some fun with it or just ignore it but don’t ruin it for the majority of people who do enjoy Christmas.

And to those who want to call it a holiday tree, go knock yourself out and call it that but don’t have a hissy fit when someone calls it by its proper name, a Christmas Tree. Because that’s what it is and you are not going to fool anyone into believing it’s something else.

I can shave off Santa’s beard and make him take Weight Watchers and call him Don Knotts but that doesn’t change the fact that the skinny guy in the red suit flying a team of reindeer is still good, old Saint Nick.

America is called the Great Melting Pot for a reason, because there are so many cultures that come together and create something very unique that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. Once you take away some important key ingredients in that melting pot, then you start to lose the taste that’s America.

The Times Observer wishes everyone a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas and a Happy Kwanzaa.

To read last year’s Christmas editorial, please click here.

Candidates’ Actions Push Voters Away

We haven’t even selected which candidates will represent the two political parties for the White House run in 2008 but the dirty game of politics is in full swing.

Earlier this month it was discovered that Camp Hillary planted questions among audience members and then we have the candidates backstabbing fellow party members.

Yes all politicians use the same playbook of dirty, underhanded tactics to win elections. Candidates from both parties are guilty of mudslinging and they spend so much time saying how bad their opponents are that they hardly spend any time telling us, the voters, what they plan to do to help our country.

It would be nice that during the next debate that some important ground rules are set, such as, the candidate who is asked a question is not allowed to mention their opponents or current or past administrations. Of course, this may fluster the candidate but that’s OK. Candidates need to be put on the spot and forced to answer the tough questions that truly matter to voters.

But because the candidates would rather stick to the mudslinging and answering false, easy questions, the voters are becoming apathetic. Voter turnout is declining each election year and even young voters seem to think that voting shouldn’t be their civic duty.

According to Politico.com poll, 3,000 students at New York University are willing to sell their right to vote in the next presidential election for $1 million, or get a free college education or a new Ipod Touch.

It’s a shame that college students don’t hold their right to vote to a higher value but with the way politicians are behaving, and they seem to get worse every election season, one can see why that going to the polls is fruitless.

And worse off, besides putting off voters with their childish name-calling, candidates are not properly informing the public as to why we should vote for them or what they are going to do for us.

So what’s a voter to do? One of the best ways is to actually research the candidates who are running for office and keeping up with their records. It sounds like a lot of work, reading newspaper articles and going to government Web sites to see voting records, but the hard work will be more honest than any politician in front of a TV camera bashing an opponent.

Why Some Need More Giving Than Others

Tomorrow many throughout this great land of ours will be heading over to the homes of family and friends for Thanksgiving. Many will sit in a warm, cozy room with a hot turkey in front of them and will give thanks for what they have in their lives.

Sadly, many won’t be in a nice home with lots of food and loved ones. For many homeless Americans, the lucky ones anyways, they will enjoy a meal at a soup kitchen or a half-way house.

For others, Thanksgiving will be like any other day, trying to find whatever scraps of food that can be found in the garbage and fruitlessly search for a dry cardboard box that will dismally protect them from the cold.

This is a great time of year to remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves. No matter how bad our lives are, or how bad they seem, it could always be much worse. We could be homeless, without family or friends to go to.

Many generous souls help the homeless all year round but during the Holiday Season, more volunteers offer their services. And helping them can be easy and simple. Maybe not everyone can donate their time to helping out at a soup kitchen but donating canned goods or clothes can make all the difference in the world. Or even donating some money to a worthwhile charity can go a long way.

And if you’re not sure where to start, just go to your local church or house of worship and they will point you in the right direction.

It’s the human thing to do to help others, especially during the holidays and throughout the year. All homeless people need help, even the ones that bark their madness to the sky and the ones who are doing drugs in the street corner.

Sure, these homeless aren’t what we think of and certainly not the ones paraded by your local nightly news or even 20/20 when they do their annual homeless story. But it doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve our help and kindness.

So while you are enjoying your Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, think about those who can’t enjoy a hot meal. And remember that it’s not too late to help them, especially since the Holiday Season has just started.

Justice For Teen In
Consensual Oral Sex Case

Georgia’s Supreme Court today ruled that Genarlow Wilson, who was sentenced for 10 years in prison for receiving oral sex when he was 17 from a willing 15-year-old girl, should be released, saying that his punishment was “cruel and unusual”.

Hopefully, Wilson should be home some time today, his lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, told CNN.

Wilson has already spent more than two years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a teenage girl at a New Year’s Eve party in 2003.

As was mentioned before, Wilson should not have been placed in prison for doing something that normal teenagers do. And as said before, District Attorney David McDade and Attorney General Thurbert Baker could have prevented this travesty by not charging Wilson with felony aggravated child molestation, which is a 10-year mandatory sentence.

But it’s a shame that other district attorneys and attorney generals don’t have the same zing as McDade and Baker. While Wilson was sentenced for 10 years in jail for receiving “oral entertainment” from a willing 15-year-old girl, we have a 46-year-old New York man, Edward Miller, who may get one to four years for raping a teenage girl 68 times over a period of two years.

We have enough to fear with animals like Edward Miller running around but what we don’t need are district attorneys and attorney generals who don’t know that they can exercise their right to not press charges when it comes to consensual sexual relations between two teenagers.

Hopefully, Wilson’s ordeal will be over soon and will be home with his family by the end of today. But the overzealous actions of Baker and McDade have already shattered this young boy’s life, who had a promising football career ahead of him.

Whatever justified bitterness and resentment that Wilson has over this affair, hopefully he won’t let that poison him and he can start making plans for a bright future.

A Funny Thing Happened At Bill Maher’s Forum

If Bill Maher isn’t going to take any bull from an elected official, he sure as hell isn’t going to take it from 9/11 conspiracy theorists.

This past Friday on his HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” 9/11 conspiracy theorists from the studio audience interrupted the program by shouting that Maher should talk about the “truth” of what really happened on 9/11. Using colorful metaphors, Maher went down to the audience and helped kick these nutty jokers out. And it’s gotten quite a bit of hits on YouTube.

Now, these people are more out of it then your normal, run of the mill conspiracy theorist. But on second thought, maybe not. These people believe that either President Bush, the U.S. government or the evil “establishment,” according to some the “establishment” and the government are two separate beings, planned the 9/11 attacks.

These “9/11 Truthers,” as they call themselves, also claim everything from that there were no hijackers aboard the planes to that a missile really hit the Pentagon. And trust me there is a whole smorgasbord of other things that these yahoos claim but who has the time to name and debunk them all? Well, thank goodness Popular Mechanics has already done that for us.

But there are little things that really fly in the face of these anti-government crusaders and they’re called facts. As my father likes to say, a little common sense goes a long way. For example, the theory that there were no hijackers on the planes. It’s really funny, because there are many things that contradict this claim. There are cockpit recordings of the hijackers and cell phone recordings of the passengers telling their loved ones or 911 operators that radical Muslim terrorists have taken over the planes.

Or the little theory that a missile really hit the Pentagon. It’s a really interesting theory and it would make a great suspense movie, except for that pesky little fact that hundreds of eyewitnesses saw American Airlines Flight 77 slam into the United States Department of Defense building.

But if you present the 9/11 Truthers with these facts, or even mention that they should talked to the family and friends of the nearly 3,000 victims who died that fateful day, expect to be called a government shill or a sheep that should stop watching FOX News or any other news organization, even if it’s a liberal one.

Sadly, these people have no credibility. They don’t even have one government official who can back up even one of their absurd claims. At least the Roswell UFO conspiracy theorists can whip out retired government officials who claim to either have seen the alien craft or its pilots, such as Air Force Major Jesse Marcel or Elias Benjamin, an MP with the 390th Air Service Squadron.

With 9/11 Truthers though, what they say is an insult to what really happened that day and to the victims’ family and friends who suffered a great loss.

Philly To Increase Rent Because
Of Boy Scout’s Anti-Gay Policy

Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, wants to increase the yearly rent of a building the Boy Scout’s have been using since 1928 from $1 to $200,000 because the private organization refuses to allow gays and atheists.

After a 2000 Supreme Court ruling declaring that the Boy Scouts of America are allowed not to induct gays and atheists because it’s a private organization, the City of Philadelphia decided that it could not legally lease land to a group that discriminates.

However, in 2005 the city’s prior solicitor helped the Boy Scouts’ Philadelphia branch, called the Cradle of Liberty Council, to adopt an “unlawful discrimination” policy.

Now the city’s openly-gay current solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. has determined that the policy is “not clear enough,” according to Cradle of Liberty spokesman Jeff Jubelirer in an interview with FOX News. Jubelirer went on to say that since the 2005 policy, no one has reported any discrimination.

But according to Diaz, Philadelphia City Mayor John Street, City Council and a commission that overseas historical properties has been asking the local Boy Scouts to create a clearer anti-discrimination policy.

And Stacey Sobel, executive director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, told Philadelphia’s City Paper, “We’re concerned with the message it sends if taxpayer dollars are supporting discrimination.”

The city says that $200,000 is a fair market price, but Jubelirer told the Philadelphia Inquirer that price “would have to come from programs. That's 30 new Cub Scout packs, or 800 needy kids going to our summer camp.”

While I believe that a private organization or company should be allowed to make any rules it wishes, I think it’s unfair that the Boy Scouts of America won’t allow gays and atheists. Any boy who wants to learn how to be a good American and to learn how to serve his community and country better should be allowed in, despite his sexual preference or non-religious beliefs.

However, it’s not right that the City of Philadelphia decided to campaign against 64,000 boys who have no control over the organization’s enrollment policies. If the city feels the need to make a political statement on acceptance, there are better ways of going about it then kicking thousands of kids out of a building that has been used for nearly 80 years.

For instance, the city could have held a tolerance fair and invited the Boy Scouts. Or maybe Philadelphia and the Boy Scouts could have created a merit badge of acceptance.

The City of Philadelphia is having a hard time right now with kids joining gangs or doing drugs. But charging the local Boy Scouts $200,000 a year because they don’t accept certain groups, even though they have adopted a non-discrimination policy, is asinine. That money can go towards helping kids get off the streets and teach them how to be more community-minded.

It’s time Philadelphia earns a merit badge in priorities.

Responsibility Needed For
Disturbed Teen With Guns

Guns and teenagers seem to be a hot topic this week. On Wednesday, 14-year-old Asa Coon shot two teachers and two fellow students at Cleveland’s SuccessTech Academy before turning his gun on himself.

On Wednesday evening, police in Pennsylvania arrested a 14-year-old boy who had a 9 mm assault rifle, as well as a .22-caliber handgun, and a .22-caliber rifle, and some loving assortments of home-made hand grenades and swords.

Apparently, the home-schooled student was planning a Columbine-style attack on his former school, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., where it was alleged he was bullied for being fat.

And the Pennsylvania boy’s mother, Michele Cossey, bought him the guns, which no ammunition was found. She has been charged with six counts of buying the firearms for her son. Police found diaries the boy made of detailed violent acts, explosive black powder for the hand grenades and materials about Nazi Germany. Police have charged the boy with solicitation to commit terror and other offenses.

So, does this mean that the combination of teenagers and guns are bad? Not necessarily. The Cossey Boy isn’t exactly Johnny Chest Champion. He has huge issues, especially when he is filling diaries with deadly acts and reading bed time stories by Adolph Hitler.

On top of that he made three working hand grenades and he was making more. What type of arts and crafts projects was this home-schooled kid into? The Cossey Boy didn’t need another firearm; he needed to get some professional help!

Now, believe it or not there are many responsible teenagers who either own or use guns with the supervision and careful instructions of responsible parents and other adults. Mrs. Cossey and her son certainly don’t fit into that category.

Should all teenagers have guns? No, they shouldn’t. Then again, some of them shouldn’t even be allowed to drive, but many still get behind the wheel and cause horrific accidents. The Cossey Boy is a good example of why some teenagers shouldn’t have any type of weapon, firearm or otherwise. But there is enough blame to go around.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Cossey had to be aware on some level what their son was doing in his bedroom, if police were able to find Nazi reading material, drugs and bomb-making instructions. Once they realized their son had issues, it was time to take away the guns, swords and other goodies.

However, we can be thankful that responsible 14-year-old Lewis Bennett, who was being recruited to join the Cossey Boy’s "Human Target Club," went to his father and both of them went to the police.

It’s high time that many parents need to take a more active hand in raising their children. Now most parents aren’t like the Cosseys, thankfully. That being said, if you notice that your child’s attitude has changed or grades are taking a nosedive, then it’s time to step in.

If you don’t know how to go about it, contact your child’s school counselor and he or she should have brochures that will point you to the right direction. Or you can go to talkingwithkids.org, a Web site that provides excellent information on how to speak with your kids about sex, drugs and violence.

No one said raising children would be easy. If someone told you it would be, smack that person in the mouth. But taking the time and patience to let your child know that you care, even if they are not that receptive of it, can make all the difference in the world. Maybe the Cosseys should have thought of that before buying their disturbed teenager another gun.

Ohio School Missed Warning Signs

If what students from SuccessTech Academy said is true about Asa H. Coon, the alleged shooter at the Ohio high school yesterday, then school officials really dropped the ball.

According to police and eye witnesses, before Coon killed himself, he shot two students and two teachers.

Coon was suspended for fighting Monday and he was not supposed to be at the Cleveland high school yesterday, according to the Associated Press. During the shooting, Coon was wearing black jeans, a black Marilyn Manson concert shirt, and black-painted finger nails, according to officials. But he has been known to don a dog collar, chains and a black trench coat.

Now, here is a quote from a student of SuccessTech Academy, where one has to apply before being accepted to the high school.

“He's crazy. He threatened to blow up our school. He threatened to stab everybody,” said student Doneisha LeVert. “We didn’t think nothing of it.”

But this is where it gets interesting. According to LeVert, Coon made that threat last Friday in front of teachers and no one took him seriously.

How could no one take him seriously? In a world where two Columbine High School students who went on a shooting rampage were known for wearing trench coats and only six months ago did quiet Cho Seung-Hui, who was known for writing violent plays, murdered 32 people at Virginia Tech, how could someone not know this couldn’t be a possibility?

Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but the 14-year-old Coon was arrested last year for “a domestic violence incident and police had been to his home before for incidents that involved weapons,” CNN reported.

And last year, Coon threatened to commit suicide while in the care of a mental health facility, reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer. According to the story, Coon also refused to take his medication but it did not reveal what the medication was or why he was taking it.

Add that up along with his wardrobe selection and the threat, this should have sent up a lot of red flags. At this time, it has not been reported that school officials wanted Coon to be evaluated but it does not seem like it. And it is not known at this time if Coon was still receiving treatment prior to the attacks In any case, it’s clear that Coon was not getting the proper help he needed.

It is hard to believe that no school official thought, “Hey, these kids are nuts during the best of times but this kid has a history of emotional and criminal problems, maybe I should take some extra precaution.” Did SuccessTech Academy school officials had nap time when Seung-Hui was shooting up Virginia Tech’s campus?

And the Associated Press reported that students and parents have made allegations that the metal detectors at the front door of this school are not always turned on, while CNN reported that Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath stated the school does not have them.

And SuccessTech Academy will be catching holy hell when people are going to start asking how a troubled 14-year old boy who is suspended got into a school with two revolvers, a duffel bag of ammunition and three knives.

The only saving grace for SuccessTech Academy is that Principal Johnnie Durant issued a “Code Blue” over the public address system to alert students and staff that there was danger. That probably saved many lives.

And this certainly aims a critical spotlight on SuccessTech Academy’s enrollment program. The school has some strict guidelines on how to apply. Hopeful students must write an essay, get two teacher recommendations and have interviews with school officials. Yet somehow Coon was still accepted to attend, despite his problems.

Sadly, we live in a time where students who make remarks about blowing up their school or threatening harm to others needs to be taken more seriously.

Coon clearly had emotional problems that SuccessTech Academy, it would seem, could not properly handle. Even though the public school should have done more to prevent this tragedy from happening, there is enough finger pointing to go around.

We must stay vigilant in these times and hope that after a proper investigation into this matter, something like this can be prevented.

A Lesson In Stupidity

Teachers at the Alma J. Brown Elementary School decided that the only way for kindergarten and first grade students’ to truly understand racism is to have a noose around their little necks.

On Sept. 20, 2007, the same day of the national protest march for the Jena Six, teachers decided to hold their own march to support the six black males accused of beating a white male by having the young students circle their playground.

Alma J. Brown Elementary School is located on the campus of Grambling State University, in Grambling, La. Pictures of the event were taken by the university’s newspaper, The Gramblinite.

“(One picture shows) a young girl in a school uniform being held up by a woman while someone else, mostly hidden by a tree, holds a noose around her neck and up to a branch,” reported FOX News.

Thankfully, these teachers had enough sense to not tie the noose to the tree itself. The president of the university is having a full investigation into the matter. But the point is, why would anyone in his or hers right mind think it would be a great way to teach young children about racism by placing a noose around their necks?

Heaven forbid if one of these kids gets the idea of doing the same thing when there are no adults around. After all, these are little kids who really don’t understand the concept of mortality. These teachers should be fired over this.

We should all be grateful the teachers didn’t tie two baseball bats together to form a cross and set them on fire.

Another concern that is just as dangerous, but certainly nowhere as deadly, is the lesson these educators were trying to teach the children about the Jena Six case. It hasn’t been reported on what exactly was taught to them but there has been a lot of unreported information about the Jena Six that many adults are not even aware of. For example:

• There was an all white jury for Mychal Bell’s trial. But what you will have a hard time discovering is that out of the 150 people summoned for jury duty, only 50 people showed up, none of them were black, however.
• And Bell's court-appointed black public defender, Blane Williams, really dropped the ball by not challenging the jury pool, or for not calling any defense witnesses and he urged the teenager to take a plea deal.
• And both black and white students were playing with the three nooses on a tree in Jena High School, which many have stated started the recent racial tensions.

These facts, and others, certainly paint a very different picture than what has been reported. Of course, that doesn’t excuse the nooses placed on the tree and hateful people like Richard Barrett, the founder for the white supremacist group the Nationalist Movement, doesn’t help matters by having a counter demonstration during the Jena Six march.

If the children really need to be taught racism at such a young age, even though they may not fully understand it, let’s hope they learn the most important lesson of all: There are both good and bad people out there in all colors and sexes.

Ahmadinejad Hangs Himself In Columbia Speech

I truly believe in the old saying, “Give a man enough rope and he’ll hang himself with it.” And that’s what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did today at Columbia University.

When I first heard of Ahmadinejad’s visit to America, I was outraged, as were many Americans. However, after reading about his rants to audience members at Columbia University, he showed the world what an uninformed, hypocritical and dangerous dictator he really is.

In fact, he made so many outrageous statements it’s hard to decide where to start. How about the 9/11 attacks?

“If the root causes of 9/11 are examined properly -- why it happened, what caused it, what were the conditions that led to it, who truly was involved, who was really involved …” Ahmadinejad said, as reported by CNN.

“Who was really involved.” Interesting choice of words. Ahmadinejad, who in the past claimed that Iran has plenty of freedoms, needs to give more of these elusive freedoms to his country’s state-controlled media.

If he did, Ahmadinejad would know that two weeks ago Osama bin Laden again claimed responsibility for the 9/11 terror attacks and presented a video will made by one of the terrorists on that fateful day. And that’s not even including al-Qaeda members, such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who have confessed to planning the attacks.

Then Ahmadinejad made a statement that Iran has no gays. Considering that the punishment for either consenting man or woman homosexuality is either whippings or death, it’s a safe bet no one is going to come out of the closet any time soon.

Next, Ahmadinejad came to his favorite subject, Israel. In the past, he said that the Jewish State should be wiped off the map. Today, he wouldn’t give a “yes” or “no” answer when asked if he wanted to see the destruction of Israel. Although, it doesn’t take a genius to know what he would like to see.

But instead, the Iranian President said that “people of Palestine” should be the ones to vote on Israel’s status. Besides the fact that this flies in the face of nearly 60 years of established history that Israel is a country, many Palestinians have been “voting” on the Jewish State’s status by use of suicide bombs as ballots.

So in the end, Ahmadinejad hanged himself by saying he is misunderstood but did show that he is a dangerous man that needs to be taken seriously.

The Media’s Love Affair With Celebrities

There’s just no getting around the fact that the media loves celebrities, especially when they’re at their worst.

Media networks such as FOX News, CNN and others are falling over themselves with coverage of Britney Spears’ divorce and whether or not she did drugs in front of her children.

Meanwhile, these same crusaders of the Freedom of the Press are wetting themselves with excitement over O.J. Simpson’s alleged armed robbery.

And while all this is going on, many Americans aren’t even aware of the fact that Israel allegedly destroyed nuclear weapons in Syria. In fact, CNN didn’t report this important news item on its Web site when the story first broke.

So, why are drunken, armed celebrities getting more media attention than other important news items? Well, for the sake of space and time, let’s keep it short and sweet:

1. Our society deems it more important.
2. Media networks know they can get more ratings because that’s what people want.
3. It needs to be reported.

Numbers 1 and 2 are pretty much self-explanatory but let’s look at number 3. It needs to be reported. Does it? Does Lindsay Lohan’s drunken activities need to be reported?

Sadly, yes. One of the first things that are taught to journalists are the three reasons why stories get reported on:

People want to know. People need to know. And people have the right to know.

So, if a celebrity decides to do something stupid, such as getting drunk in public and flashing their privates to innocent bystanders, that incident will fit in one of those three categories. Just because you don’t think it’s newsworthy doesn’t mean the person sitting next to you, who can’t name at least three presidential candidates, feels the same way.

However, just because a celebrity incident needs to be reported, it doesn’t mean it should lead a news cast or be on the front page.

Although, those who are following Simpson’s latest escapade should be spared of a bit of criticism. Many feel that Simpson got away with murder and now are hoping he will get what’s coming to him.

While the media reports on people who are destroying their own lives, let us hope they inform the rest of us of people who want to destroy ours.

Israel’s Silence And Syria’s Quiet Rage

Hard to give an opinion when the facts aren’t fully reported as of yet or ever.

Apparently, Israel has made a nice little hole in Syria. According to the Times of London, Israel allegedly launched an air strike that destroyed weapons for the terrorist group Hezbollah or destroyed a cache of nuclear materials shipped from North Korea.

At the moment, Israel isn’t saying anything and all Syria is saying is that its “looking into a series of responses” to the attack, according to The Times of London.

There are many questions and speculations as to why Syria would have nuclear materials for weapons, assuming that’s what the destroyed items were.

Either weapons for Hezbollah or nuclear ones for either Syria or Iran, as it has been speculated, it can’t be denied that Israel made a wise move.

None of these countries or terrorist group should have any form of weapons, especially if it’s the nuclear kind.

While diplomacy has wonderful merits, it does have its limitations. In a world where weapons are being shipped to bring death to innocent lives, decisive action has merits of its own.

Bush Is Riding High After Iraq Report

Democrats, especially those running for the White House, will have a hard time selling their agenda that President Bush isn’t doing a good job in Iraq.

Just this past week Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker told Congress that the President’s troop increased had a huge positive effect in Iraq: Sectarian killings are down more than 50 percent in Iraq and more than 80 percent in Baghdad, as reported by CNN.

And if that isn’t enough to get the Democrats, and the few Republicans who are against the war, red in the face, President Bush announced Thursday evening that he will take Petraeus’ recommendations and start troop reductions in December of this year.

So, what did we learn? Well, despite the number of Bush critics who say the president is too stubborn to listen to anyone; his stubbornness seems to have paid off.

But more importantly, the president didn’t bend to political pressure or drastic drops in the polls. He did what any good Commander-In-Chief does: Listen to those who know war best.

He took Petraeus’ recommendations and said that he would proceed with more troop reductions if things continue to go well in Iraq. While the war in Iraq is very unpopular with many Americans and with many whole-heartedly disagreeing with the president’s stance on the war, Bush is standing his ground.

While this is a victory for Bush at the moment and a huge blow to Democratic presidential candidates, it’s not wise to get hopes up. Anything can happen between now and December or later on.

The best thing we can hope for is that the Iraqi government and people can come together and continue to build their new way of life without the military assistance of the U.S. Once that is established, as well as major reduction in terrorists/insurgent activity, then we can celebrate. Because the war in Iraq isn’t over by a long shot.

Never Forget, Always Remember

This is a day we must remember that nearly 3,000 of our countrymen died in an attack by a group of people who want to see our destruction.

This is a group of people who don’t know the meaning of mercy, tolerance or acceptance. These terrorists have only given us one choice: Either convert to their perverted version of the Koran or be murdered.

You cannot make peace treaties with animals like this. There can be no forgive and forget if they are still actively trying to bring down our country and our freedoms.

We can’t forget the fear, shock or courage that was in our hearts or the acts of human kindness by rescue workers and regular citizens that flashed across our television screens six years ago today.

Never forget and always remember that the freedoms that make our America so great come with a heavy price.

What The Iraq Report Means

Poor Democrats and liberals. Even though they started their own war to discredit Gen. David Petraeus and Iraq Ambassador Ryan Crocker before the two could present their report to Capital Hill yesterday and today, it seems it was a losing battle.

MoveOn.org placed an ad in The New York Times to discredit the general and his report. But that didn’t change the facts of what the report said.

According to the General, the troop surge that President Bush ordered back in January is actually working. The terrorists and insurgents are taking a beating. And Petraeus has also suggested significant troop pull outs in 2008.

Now Petraeus didn’t paint an entirely rosy picture, however. The Iraqi government is still “dysfunctional” and there are still problems between the Sunni and the Shiites, he said, as reported on CNN. He does say that these matters are being corrected, however.

Yet, what isn’t being touched on enough is what Crocker said about Iran.

“I think you see a collision in Iran between their long- term strategic interests and their narrow tactical desires. Their narrow tactical desires I would define as trying to administer a defeat to the U.S. in Iraq,” Crocker said, reported by FOX News. “The problem they've got is that, if they are able to create circumstances that cause us to reconsider our commitment, the result is going to be a chaotic Iraq that, over the long run, could potentially be dangerous for them, as well.”

While Democrats, and even a number of Republicans, are calling for an earlier deadline for troop withdraw, not many seem to be concerned about the threats that are in Iraq. No one seems to be that concerned over Iran and what would happened if the U.S. pulled out of Iraq without insuring they could properly defend themselves.

And al-Qaeda, according to Petraeus, seems to be focused in Iraq. For an enemy with no real country to call home and is spread out across the globe, strategically speaking, it’s great having them in one place.

We have to remind ourselves that while we all want the troops home, if we don’t handle our enemies in Iraq now, since we have the troops and support to do it, we would give them a country of their own if we pull out. And we would have to fight them eventually.

It’s important that we don’t give our enemies the chance to catch their breaths and regroup.

G.I. Joe Is A POW To PC

He has faced the Nazis, Japanese and terrorist organization COBRA and won every time. But apparently only politically correct Hollywood has done something that none of his enemies were able to do: Kill G.I. Joe.

According to rumors, the new G.I. Joe movie is taking the “American” out of a “Real American Hero.” Paramount has said that in the movie, “G.I. Joe” will not stand for (U.S.) “government-issued,” but will now become an acronym for “Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity.”

It has been said that an American soldier hero movie might not do well overseas. It almost makes me want to toss my old G.I. Joe toys in the BBQ grill and set them on fire.

But if G.I. Joe can be a target for the evils of political correctness, what other heroes are next? I guess Superman would be the next on the hit list. After all, standing for the “American Way,” can now become as deadly for the Man of Steel as Kryptonite.

But G.I. Joe gave something that Superman couldn’t give to young boys: That with hard work and the love of your country, you too can be a great American hero. Sure, Superman is great but no amount of hard work is going to make a kid fly through the air.

G.I. Joe is a believable hero that anyone can be. And once more, his enemies were also believable. His enemies belonged to tyranny, dictatorships and terrorist organizations: Real threats that America has faced in some form during its long history.

And like real American soldiers, G.I. Joe has faced many enemies in different countries, freeing many from oppression at the hands of bloody rulers. But I guess that is something Hollywood doesn’t want to remind moviegoers, and thus stripping G.I. Joe into a United Nations military force, which is a sad thing to be.

I’m not sure what type of lessons this pale imitation of G.I. Joe is going to teach our children, but it already taught them one valuable lesson: Don’t allow Hollywood to discharge our heroes!

Is Freddy Ready?

Just like Hillary Clinton’s announcement, no one can really say it came as a shock that Fred Thompson made his bid for the White House. Sure, he made his announcement on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, but hey, it worked well for fellow Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But Thompson’s revelation couldn’t have come at a more heated time for the Republicans. In addition to the resignations of two controversial Bush stars, Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales, but there is Sen. Larry Craig, who can’t seem to decide to go gently into that good night.

But Thompson seems to be bringing his own bit of controversy to the political table. He’s against Roe vs. Wade, calling it a “bad law and bad medical science” and would like to overturn it. Sure, most conservative Republicans are against the abortion law but Thompson said this almost a month ago. It’s certainly a bold statement to make right before announcing his candidacy.

And gay rights is another issue that many will have against Thompson.

“I don’t think that one state ought to be able to pass a law requiring gay marriage or allowing gay marriage and have another state be required to follow along,” Thompson told CNN back in August.

Some are calling Thompson too conservative, especially in the wake of President George Bush. With many are tired of Bush, even from his own party, this can severely hurt Thompson’s chances.

But so far, it hasn’t. Yet. However, he does have strong support from grassroots organizations, such as Friends of Fred. And there is no denying that Thompson has a lot of charisma and his role in the Law & Order series as District Attorney Arthur Branch will certainly help him.

But with his background, Thompson should be able to weather the political battle that is ahead of him. But it’s not his political background as a former senator of Tennessee that will help him but his acting in dramas that will certainly prepare him for life in the political arena.

Democrats Committing
Political Suicide

What a week it’s been for Democrats shooting themselves in the foot. First a presidential candidate said the Democrats can’t handle a terror attack as well as Republicans, then there is a New Jersey mayor who does not want his police to report illegal aliens charged with crimes to the Feds. And this is after an illegal immigrant is charged with murdering three college students!

Yesterday, Sen. Hillary Clinton told supporters during a presidential campaign stop in New Hampshire that if there was a terror attack between now and Election Day in 2008, the Republicans would win the White House.

She did add that she was the “Democratic candidate best equipped to deal with (a terror attack),” reported The New York Post.

Great job, Hillary. What a great way to remind independent and party voters that the Democrats have always been viewed as weak on terrorism. Not only did you hurt yourself but you just hurt your party’s senators and congressmen/women who are running for election.

It’s not surprising that the presidential candidates are back stabbing each other, but it is shocking when they start sabotaging the chances of their colleagues.

Clinton just showed how shallow of a person she is by caring more about her chances of winning the election than people’s lives if there was a terrorism attack.

And that’s three strikes against her, and that was only in one speech!

And then we have Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker and his deep commitment to illegal immigrant but not for the citizens of his city.

As many will know, Newark made national headlines earlier this month when three college students were murdered in execution-style shootings, with one was injured. One of the murder suspects, Jose Carranza, is an illegal immigrant.

Federal authorities were never informed that Carranza, from Peru, was charged with child rape and aggravated assault before he was arrested for the murders.

That is why Republican Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo said earlier this week that the murder victims’ families should sue Newark because the city does not demand that police officers check the legal immigration status of criminal suspects. And the Democratic mayor of the city had this to say.

“Local law-enforcement officials should not be going out asking, inquiring and investigating whether people are documented or undocumented,” Booker said in an Associated Press interview.

So, Booker does not want police officers to do their jobs, which is to serve and protect the people of Newark? If Newark police told federal authorities that Carranza was charged for child rape and assault, then he might have been deported or at the very least, locked up and not made bail like he did.

But no, Booker is playing politics with illegal immigrants and it might have cost the lives of three college students. How he can sleep at night is amazing. It would be even more amazing if he has a political career after all of this.

Because essentially he just said he does not care about legal Newark citizens by not requiring police to investigate a suspect if he or she is an illegal alien, thus placing many innocent lives in danger. That’s more than shallow, that’s downright wicked and immoral.

Democrats don’t have to worry about losing to Republicans in 2008; they’re doing a good job of defeating themselves!

Is YouTube The Way To Vote?

This is pretty scary. Some time ago, I wrote about Obama Girl, whose real name is Amber Lee Ettinger. No, certainly not the scary part, but this comment from a person claiming to be a photographer of the lip-synching Obama supporter is.

“… You Tube is changing the way American people view their political hopefulls. You can still vote for whomever you want. It's just a more entertaining and more modern way that political candidates can reach the American people,” according to a Brian Williams on a CNN comment page about a recent story that questions Ettinger’s allegiance to the Democratic presidential candidate.

Now, if anyone has seen Ettinger’s desired-filled video, one would realize that it has about as much meaning and insight as a JibJab political cartoon.

Granted, this Williams person has a point, politics can be a bore. However, spicing it up with a girl who belongs on a Playboy spread out shouldn’t be helping anyone decide who to vote for.

And despite Williams’ belief that modern candidates want to reach potential voters by using not-quite soft porn, then he hasn’t heard that Barack Obama wasn’t pleased with the video. Obama has already stated in an Associated Press interview this week that he doesn’t appreciate Ettinger’s endorsement.

In fact, I can’t imagine any self-respecting candidate who is serious about winning the highest office in the land who would want that type of support.

When I’m going to vote on Election Day, I’m not going to choose a candidate, who if elected will have a finger next to that little red nuclear button, because some scantily clad singer from a 15-year-old boy’s wet dream endorsed him or her.

Electing an American president should be taken seriously. And maybe it’s time that the rest of the voting population who is under 30 start to realize that.

Will New Imus Boss Learn From CBS’ Mistake?

As by now, everyone has heard that the notorious radio talk show host Don Imus has made a nice settlement deal with his former employer, CBS. But that’s not the real important item.

What’s important is that an anonymous source, according to the Associated Press, says that Imus is trying to get back on the air. Apparently, he may go to WABC-AM, according to this Associated Press source.

If ABC hires the I-Man, will it learn from CBS’ mistake of firing him?

Was Imus wrong for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team “nappy-headed ho’s?” You better believe it. In fact, he has made so many insulting remarks about people throughout the years, that it’s surprising he got so much attention now.

Was it wrong for people to call for the firing of the shock jock? No, they have as much right as American citizens to say what they want as Imus did.

Was CBS right in firing Imus? No. Besides the fact that his apology should have been enough, there was no need for Imus to be fired. CBS was trying to cover itself. It also shows that CBS doesn’t have what it takes to be a part of the confrontational world of talk radio.

If CBS can’t take any heat, then it shouldn’t be in the game. It’s that simple. And CBS is one of the big three, certainly a pillar of broadcast journalism, and a symbol of the First Amendment. If CBS caved in so easily like a house of cards because people were screaming bloody murder about Imus’ stupid remarks, then CBS has no idea what journalism or freedom of speech means.

And ABC has dealt with a lot of heavy hitters like its own talk radio hosts Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. It would seem logical that ABC can handle a tamer Imus compared to those two.

But Imus’ firing reflects what is happening to America in a certain degree. No more Evelyn Beatrice Hall’s infamous and inspiring words, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

No, it seems as if we have to protect everyone and not hurt their feelings. And while being nice is a virtue that seems to be dwindling away in today’s society, it should not be an unwilling accomplice in the murder of the First Amendment.

Suspected Newark Killer Is An Illegal Immigrant

Is New Haven, the Connecticut town that gave illegal immigrants ID cards, having second thoughts after it was discovered that the man charged with the execution-style shootings of three college students is an illegal alien himself?

The murders of Newark, N.J., residents Terrance Aeriel, 18; Dashon Harvey, 20; and Iofemi Hightower, 20, and the attempted murder of 19-year-old Natasha Aeriel have shocked the nation.

What also came as a shock today was that one of the suspects, 28-year-old Jose Carranza, is an illegal immigrant from Peru, although CNN has decided to label him as “undocumented.” FOX News, on the other hand, called him “illegal.”

FOX News reported that Carranza had a fake Social Security number during his recent arrest and had previously been “arrested on charges of raping a 5-year-old girl and then threatening the child and parents.”

CNN reported the same as far as the charge of having a fake Social Security number but also reported that Carranza is accused in another case of raping and threatening to kill a 13-year-old, a girlfriend's child. At this time, it is not known if the two alleged victims are actually the same person but the age is wrong or if it’s two different people.

In addition to murder, both networks have reported that Carranza is charged with robbery, along with other criminal offenses connected to the Newark murders. CNN did report that police are also investigating if the murders are gang-related.

So, Carranza, whose fingerprints were found at the scene of the crime, is an illegal immigrant. And it isn’t the first time that an illegal immigrant has been charged with murder or rape. Are all illegal aliens killers and rapists? Of course not.

But as a nation, we have to take a united stance against people who illegally come into this country. Giving them ID cards or driver licenses or other services is not the answer. Some of them are vicious killers that need to go back to their own country before they can prey on any more Americans.

If local, state and federal branches of the government actually got serious about illegal immigrants, instead of treating them like lost, rain-drenched kittens, then those three young people would be alive today.

Candidates’ Girls Cheapens Already Dirty Politics

First it was a YouTube video of Obama Girl lusting over the Democratic candidate. Then there was another video of Obama Girl having a dance off with Giuliani Girl. And if one devotee singing praise isn’t enough, Republican Mitt Romney has three girls and I won’t even bother making the standard Mormon joke.

Listen, it’s bad enough that these politicians are stabbing each other in the back, and that’s just within their own party, but I for one can’t stomach these cheerleaders.

I actually shudder to think what the next presidential election is going to be like. Maybe the candidates will wear corporate stickers as they talk “smack” with Vince McMahon during WrestleMania, or whatever that fake sport is called now.

It’s already bad enough when petty issues come up about a candidate, like Romney having his dog ride on the car roof. There are enough distractions as it is but I don’t need to see some hot girl doing a strip dance as she’s lip-synching her affections to Democrat Barack Obama.

Even Hillary Clinton has her own spokes singer, although her video borderlines a Penthouse letter. (Feel free to insert your own Bill Clinton joke.)

And why are only a few candidates get to have girls singing for them? Granted, as a politician, you couldn’t ask for better advertising in order to attract younger voters. Sadly, most young voters, from my experience, are so brain dead anyway, they would vote for the candidate who was drunk off his soapbox on national T.V. So having a girl about to spill out of her clothes for a candidate is a huge step up.

But getting back to those candidates who don’t have an entourage, I guess it’s only a matter of time before we see them. But luckily, we don’t have to wait for them to start attacking each other like the candidates. The Romney Three have already attacked Obama Girl in the type of political ad on YouTube that most people immediately run away in terror from if it were a normal presidential ad.

Listen, it’s bad enough that we have candidates pretending to care about the average citizen, to show up at town hall meetings to flash a quick smile and give a good 30-second sound byte of how bad their opponent really is. But to have supporters, assuming they are doing this on their own accord, start singing their affection to a politician, cheapens politics to a new level of low.

But on the bright side, at least these girls are a sight better if we have to watch a political mud fight.

Remembering The End Of W.W. 2

This week marks the 62nd anniversary of dropping two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus saving countless lives while incinerating many.

The debate still rages on today over whether or not the two bombs should have been dropped. Many feel the innocent lives that died that day paid too big of a price. At one time I agreed. It wasn’t until later that I learned that Hiroshima was the headquarters of the Japanese 2nd army and that Nagasaki had a major munitions manufacturing center.

It also wasn’t until later that I learned that a planned American invasion was being considered instead of dropping the bombs. This invasion would have resulted in more deaths of the Japanese, as well as American deaths. And it would have certainly prolonged the war.

The awful power of the atomic bombs is still terrifying to think about. But it had to be one of history’s great “necessary evils.” After all, it did save countless lives on both sides. Maybe it was the aftermath of what happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki that has prevented any country from using such destructive weapons since.

While I have always logically supported the use of the atomic bombs, only in the past few years have there been personal reasons why I support the obliteration of two Japanese cities that happened long before I was born.

I’m sure many science fiction fans are familiar with this popular theory: If you go back in time and kill your grandfather, you will cease to exist.

If President Harry Truman decided to go with the invasion of Japan, there would have been air raids over Tokyo. It probably would have resulted in the death of one or two very special, young children. Or they might have survived but would have never met.

Either case, they wouldn’t have produced a daughter, with whom I’m married to or we wouldn’t have two beautiful children. And I can’t imagine any parent wanting to change history if it meant erasing their children from existence.

How Fair Would A Renewed
Fairness Doctrine Be?

After media giant Rupert Murdoch’s recent deal to purchase of the Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, many Democrats and the left will be screaming with more vigor for the return of the Fairness Doctrine.

But just how fair would a renewed Fairness Doctrine be, assuming it would be the same one that was abandoned more than 20 years ago? The doctrine was essentially for licensed broadcast media networks, television and radio, to report on issues fairly and with balance.

However, in 1987, the FCC deemed the Fairness Doctrine unconstitutional because it placed a restriction on the journalistic freedom of the broadcast press.

But lately, the doctrine is in huge demand, with a fair dose of one-sidedness from its supporters.

It’s hypocritical for Democrats and liberals, self-knighted caretakers of free speech, to want to restrict what they see as conservative takeover of the airwaves. With the spread and popular growth of conservative talk radio and the FOX News network, many on the progressive side want to squash it.

It almost seems that the Democrats and the left want to actually confine the American public from freely choosing what they want to watch and listen too. It certainly does not sound very fair, does it?

But would a newly reinstated Fairness Doctrine, assuming it would be the same one that was abandoned so many years ago, actually help the Democrats and the left?

For example, let’s say MSNBC is interviewing war-activist Cindy Sheehan about her run for Congress and Sheehan again says that President Bush lied about former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction. Would MSNBC be forced to have include Georges Sada, a retired general of the Iraqi Air Force, who has claimed that the former dictator had the WMD shipped to Syria?

Or better yet, if presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is on CNN and is discussing how he is in favor of renewing the ban on assault-type weapons, would CNN be required to show a U.S. Department of Justice study that showed the bill did not stop crime?

The Fairness Doctrine would definitely come back and haunt the Democrats and the left and it would undermine their chances of winning the White House in 2008.

But the left and the Democrats seem hell-bent to reinstate the doctrine, as if to rid conservative talk radio. However, that is as likely as Hillary Clinton reciting the reasons why her husband launched Operation Desert Fox against Hussein, which mirrors those of President Bush’s.

What many liberals and Democrats have to understand is why conservative talk radio is so popular and why the liberal Air America isn’t. It all comes down to money and ratings and it’s as simple as that. Or maybe they do get it and that’s why they are so upset with the popularity to begin with.

Let’s face it, if ABC thought it could gain more advertising and more people tuning in to listen to finger nails on a chalkboard, we would never hear Sean Hannity’s voice on the airwaves again.

There is a big difference between reporting on the news and commenting on it. Placing the Fairness Doctrine on talk radio is wrong, because it doesn’t report the news but gives an opinionated commentary about it, thus restricting hosts' freedom of speech.

If the Democrats and the left truly want fairness and balance, then they would abandon their witch hunt against talk radio and place their efforts in having the doctrine only for reporting the news.

Clearly, fairer, objective and balanced reporting on the issues would be far more beneficial to the American public then limiting the opinion that the majority of America wants to tune into.

DailyKos Hurts Dems’ By Running Soldier-Hating Column

It’s interesting that the DailyKos, a Democratic blog, wants to see its favorite party win the presidential elections and yet it hurts the party’s chances by allowing a hate-filled column about American troops on its Web site.

A. Whitney Brown, a writer and humorist, called our brave troops in Iraq “morally retarded” for killing the insurgents and terrorists. And no, it wasn’t some sick joke, he actually meant it. And why the DailyKos decided to kill the Democrats chances by publishing this column, no one knows.

Not only doesn’t Brown like our troops, but he called them insane for deciding to join the military and be allowed to be ordered to kill.

Interesting that nowhere in Brown’s column does he mention the insurgents or terrorists in Iraq who joined up for a nice little jihad to kill not only our troops but also innocent men, women and children.

And the former Saturday Night Live commentator doesn’t seem to realize that with every captured or dead al-Qaeda member means there is less chance that person will come to America and try to kill hundreds of people with a dirty bomb. Nor does he seem to care.

It’s pretty disgusting to have people like Brown calling brave soldiers insane retards for doing what needs to be done: Kill the enemy before they get a chance to kill innocent lives.

As George C. Scott said in his role in “Patton”: “Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” Maybe a trip to Blockbuster is in order to refresh Brown’s memory of the purpose of an army.

But what’s really striking is that the DailyKos allowed this repugnant piece of trash to be published on its blog, while next week it invited presidential candidates to speak at the YearlyKos, a convention held in Chicago.

The Democrats are having a hard time right now, dancing to the tune of “We support our troops but it’s time to pullout.” But Hillary Clinton is going to be a speaker at this forum. She not only voted for the war in Iraq but now she wants to start pulling the troops out. Does she really want to associate herself with a group that supports the obnoxious statements that Brown wrote?

Listen, it is one thing to have a blog like the DailyKos, where posters write in and say all sorts of stuff against President Bush. That’s to be expected and to be fair, there are conservative blogs that do the same thing against Democratic leaders.

But to actually post a column that severely bashes our troops who are dying in Iraq? These are the same young men and women who are trying to lessen the terror threat by killing or capturing as many blood-thirsty terrorists as possible, as well as foiling deadly plots. To call them mentally unstable is way over the top and it should leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth.

The DailyKos claims that its purpose is to have a Democrat win the White House in 2008. And there is nothing wrong with that. But maybe they should listen to some of the political advisors that will be attending the YearlyKos.

Because publishing a rant, hate-filled column is going to brutally hurt the chances of any Democrat who wants to win the White House.

Bush Creating ‘Islamophobia’?

According to Parvez Ahmed, who spoke to CAIR symposium at the National Press Club, the Bush Administration is creating a fear against of Islam and terrorism is too small to even bother with.

“Terrorism is a tactic. You cannot eradicate it by declaring a war against it. The war on terror is causing us infinitely more harm than the terrorists could have ever imagined,” said Ahmed, a chairman of the national board of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), as reported in The Washington Times yesterday.

President Bush and his group are creating fear of Islam? It appears that Ahmed is giving too much credit to Bush and taking away credit from the terrorists who have killed nearly 3,000 Americans on that fateful day.

Ahmed would have far more credibility if he actually criticized the number of people locked up for plotting terror attacks, such as Assem Hammoud. In July of 2006, law enforcement officials said that Hammoud was allegedly plotting to blow up the New York City train tunnels to flood the financial district.

Or maybe Ahmed should have blamed the six radical Islamists for spreading fear of his religion for their alleged plan to attack Fort Dix.

Better yet, maybe the chairman would like to speak with Narseal Batiste, who law enforcement officials claimed that he was allegedly creating an Islamic army to blow up the Sears Tower, the Empire State Building and a number of other buildings.

Hopefully, many have noticed that these plots and others have been foiled by what Ahmed so wisely stated as the president’s useless fight against terrorists.

Ahmed told his audience that it was important to keep in mind “that terrorists cannot destroy America.” But it’s not because of their lack of trying.

When a terrorist group of Islamic extremists have numerously called for a jihad against America and other countries and are actively plotting to kill as many innocent people as possible, that is not fear created by President Bush but the horrific reality of the enemy we are facing.