Monday, February 22, 2010

Obamination: Obama Don't Care !

"Walk Through the President's Proposal":

[Unless otherwise noted, all emphasis in quotes is mine.]
The proposal aims to give the American people and small business owners more control over their health care choices by building on the progress Congress has already made, and including new ideas from both parties and the President himself.
With the exception of that one idiotic statement, the walk through page lacks substance. It has only a few links:
The White House press release begins with this exemplar of demagoguery:
President Barack Obama used his weekly address to call on Democratic and Republican leaders to attend next week’s health care meeting in good faith to find reforms that work for American families and small businesses.
At no point in this process has the President or the congressional leaders of his party spoken or acted in good faith. Does anyone remember the promise to broadcast the deliberations on CSpan? The promise was made but not kept. Republicans were excluded from the committee markup process. They were not allowed to offer substantial amendments. Parliamentary rules and procedures were stretched and violated with abandon. A provision was inserted to prevent future congresses from repealing or amending critical parts of the legislation. The whole process has been an exercise in tyrannical arrogance and deception.

Planning to circumvent the Senate's deliberative process is not a sign of good faith. Releasing the President's proposal four days prior to his so called bipartisan meeting so that the CBO will not have time to analyze its costs is not a sign of good faith. These are signs of the arrogance of absolute power gone mad.

Consumers can neither retain nor increase their control over their health care options by allowing bureaucrats to decide what tests, procedures and drugs will be available. Nor can consumer options be increased by allowing bureaucrats to set prices or allocate resources. Consumer options can only be increased by removing artificial barriers to the free market.

Costs can not be reduced or limited by price controls and restricting entry into medical professions, those policies can only lead to rationing; reduced and delayed access to care.

Costs can not be reduced or limited by increasing inflation. Irresponsible fiscal policies can only result in increased inflation and stagflation, such as we experienced under the Carter regime.

Costs can not be reduced or limited by increasing demand for medical services. By moving new demand into the market, from uninsured and indigent consumers, seeking care for increasingly minor conditions, can only increase over time costs and require construction of new infrastructure and increased staffing, resulting in increased, not decreased costs.

There is no free lunch, there is no magic wand. The fixed and variable costs of clinics and hospitals must be met or they won't be able to remain open in the long term. If average premiums do not exceed average benefits in the long term, insurance companies will not be able to stay in business.

Cost controls requires increased supply & competition and tort reform. The high cost of malpractice insurance can not be reduced without curbing excessive and unreasonable malpractice litigation & settlements. That is not going to happen because the majority party is firmly ensconced in the tort lawyer's pockets.

Costs can not be reduced or limited by doubling energy costs. Hospitals and clinics need lights and HVAC. Cap & Tax will double those costs, which can only be passed on to consumers.

With several health insurance companies announcing steep hikes in their rates – from 10 to over 30 percent – it is clear that the status quo, while good for the insurance industry, is bad for the American people. After a year of exhaustive debate, it is time to move forward on reform.
Insurance premiums must exceed payouts for benefits, otherwise the insurers will go out of business. We live in the real world, not fantasy land. To the extend that insurers are profitable, premium reduction can only result from increased competition. That means making the insurance market national instead of limiting it to the 50 states.

Now, after their announcement stirred public outcry, Anthem agreed to delay their rate hike until May 1st while the situation is reviewed by the state of California. But it’s not just Californians who are being hit by rate hikes. In Kansas, one insurance company raised premiums by 10 to 20 percent only after asking to raise them by 20 to 30 percent. Last year, Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield raised rates by 22 percent after asking to raise them by up to 56 percent. And in Maine, Anthem is asking to raise rates for some folks by about 23 percent.
What do you expect, Moron? Insurers make money by charging more than they pay out, investing their reserve funds in stocks and bonds for income and growth of principal. Your party facilitated the creation of a real estate inflation bubble. When the bubble burst, the stock and bond markets plummeted, drastically reducing the income of the insurers. They must make up the difference through premiums or go out of business.

The bottom line is that the status quo is good for the insurance industry and bad for America. Over the past year, as families and small business owners have struggled to pay soaring health care costs, and as millions of Americans lost their coverage, the five largest insurers made record profits of over $12 billion.
President Obama is setting up a straw man to be burnt. The name of this game is anti-corporatism; a form of class warfare. It is an old Communist tactic.
Visit the Aug. 5 '09 Wall Street Journal for a reality check.
"For every premium dollar that they take in, about 83 cents goes out in medical costs -- doctors, hospitals, and drugs," says Carl McDonald, health insurance analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. The rest is spent on overhead. Net income comes to just a few cents per dollar of premiums.

Consider WellPoint, the biggest private health insurer on Wall Street, which has about 35 million customers nationwide. Last year, it paid out 83.6% of revenues in expenses. Net, after-tax income as a percentage of total revenue came to a princely 4.1%.

According to analysis by FactSet, WellPoint's ROA has averaged 5.8% over the past five years, Aetna's, 4.2%.
Brett Arends compares that modest ROA to 9.2% for Wal-Mart and 12.4% for Dell.

Some Republicans want to allow Americans to purchase insurance from a company in another state to give people more choices and bring down costs. Some Republicans have also suggested giving small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big companies and labor unions do. I think both of these are good ideas – so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people.
It would be better to substitute those Republican suggestions for the whole damn package rather than adding them to the worst legislation ever. When you add a pint of ice cream to a gallon of manure, its still going to taste like manure.

To members of Congress, I would simply say this. We know the American people want us to reform our health insurance system.
Last month, the electorate of Massachusetts sent a different message, but the President was not listening. They elected a Republican to a Senate seat that has been in Liberal Democrat possession for nearly 50 years. Opposition to Health Care Destruction was the main issue in that election.

It’s our chance to finally give Americans the peace of mind of knowing that they’ll be able to have affordable coverage when they need it most.
The promise is false, because it is impossible to fulfill, and anyone who passed Econ. 101 should be able to figure out why. In Britain & Canada, there are long waiting periods to get care and the systems are starved for money. That should tell us something.

What’s being tested here is not just our ability to solve this one problem, but our ability to solve any problem. Right now, Americans are understandably despairing about whether partisanship and the undue influence of special interests in Washington will make it impossible for us to deal with the big challenges that face our country. They want to see us focus not on scoring points, but on solving problems; not on the next election but on the next generation. That is what we can do, and that is what we must do when we come together for this bipartisan health care meeting next week. Thank you, and have a great weekend.
President Obama is demanding that the Republicans abandon their principles and allow the LeftTard majority to ruin our health care system, bankrupt the treasury, enslave the population in a state of permanent dependency on government and abandon the Constitution all to give him the privilege of saying that he "solved" a problem. In reality, his solution is no solution, but will make matters far worse. His 'cure' will kill the patient. It must be stopped!

Throughout the debate, President Obama has spewed a litany of lies which have been frequently refuted. He has tried to rush legislation through so fast that the opposition can not read and comprehend what they are voting on. Those behaviors should be red flags in the eyes of a skeptical electorate. The time has come to make a final push to resist tyranny.

We must impress the depth and intensity of our revulsion and outrage upon our elected representatives. We must tell the Democrat Congressmen that they will be replaced in the next election if they continue to push their flawed packages. We must tell the Republican Congressmen that they will have well financed primary opponents in their election cycle. The spineless, neutered Republican 'leaders' who were reluctant to use every possible parliamentary tactic to stop the demagoguery must be told that they can and will be replaced.

http://www.congress.org/ makes it easy to send a single email to President Obama, your Representative & Senators. You don't need to know their names or district numbers, you only need to know your Zip Code. You enter your Zip Code, and the web site looks up your elected officials. You click the Federal Officials link, and it presents a simple form

Tell them that you see through their lies. Tell them that you want to keep your own insurance and care providers. Tell them that you do not want any bureaucrats between you and your doctor. Tell them that you do not want artificial restrictions on medical services, you don't want price controls, you don't want to be put on a waiting list and you don't want to be told to go home and die quietly. If you don't want escalating costs coupled with delays and denials of care, then act now, before they jam their irrational, counterproductive and unconstitutional plans down our throats.

As soon as I get this posted, I will go to congress.org, and I will insert the following link into my email:
Gd'd HELL NO!!!
If the recipient or a staffer clicks on that link, they will see a brief explanation of my objections to their plans, followed by the biggest, brightest, boldest flaming execration the blog format will bear.

Our lives, liberty and prosperity are on the line. We must spare no effort in their defense. Please join me in cursing our Congressmen!!! We have no other recourse.

Oakland Racist vs. Old White Guy

Don't let your racist mouth write checks that your body can't cash...


Sunday, February 7, 2010

Pat Condell on the Trial of Free Speech

Bare Naked Islam posted a video of Pat Condell letting fly at those responsible for the trial of Geert Wilders. The fast talking Mr. Condell has a a way with words & wit that endears him to a loyal band of fans.

I have transcribed the video because Condell's pace makes contemplation difficult. Some of the concepts involved need a little time to be absorbed properly. The title is "The Crooked Judges of Amsterdam". I wonder if they can reach across the channel to haul him up on charges of contempt of court? His words leave no doubt about his attitude toward political correctness, multiculturalism, Islam, the Dutch law under which Wilders is charged and the legal process involved.

Condell is attributing two murders to p.c. and multiculturalism, implying that they set the stage for the murders. He attributes the trial to immorality and cowardice, accusing European governments of selling the citizen's birthright: free speech, out from under them. By his lights, a cowardly regime is persecuting a heroic parliamentarian for defending his civilization against an invading parasitic predator. They are pandering to Islam out of intimidation.

As you watch the video and read the transcript, bear in mind that the process taking place in Amsterdam is one the OIC wants to see duplicated in every Western nation where free speech once prevailed. They are demanding that criticism of Islam be outlawed nationally and internationally.

We have no lever of power with which to affect the travesty unfolding in Amsterdam. We can observe and criticize, venting as Condell has done, but we need to do more. We need to be vigilant to prevent or reverse the enactment by our own legislatures, of legislation patterned after that of the Netherlands or modeled on the resolutions passed by the UN and Human Rights Council in recent years.

We need to turn Islam's own weapon against it in a legal counter attack by pointing out the fact that orthodox Islamic doctrines and practices violate provisions of ICERD,. ICCPR & CPPCG which require that it be proscribed by law. The International Qur'an Petition is our way of turning the tables on Islam. We must exploit it to the hilt. Sign it, copy it, paste it into an email to everyone you can hope to influence and exhort the recipients to sign and forward it.

This week in an Amsterdam courtroom, we saw the beginning of what could be both the trial of the century and the crime of the century. What an honor for the Netherlands so early in the century. Well this determined statement of dhimmitude we've yet seen in Europe, and thats saying something, the Dutch Authorities are pushing ahead with the prosecution of an elected parliamentarian for the crime of embarrassing them with the truth.

There's an ideological fervor about this prosecution thats almost religious in its intensity. because lets be clear that this is a heresy trial by any other name. They can't refute Mr. Wilders' statements since they've resorted to the kind of cheap legal stunt that we'd expect from the likes of Mugabe to shut their opponent up.

They've accused him of being divisive and inflammatory and yes, sometimes the truth can be divisive and inflammatory but its been suppressed for long enough and its become sufficiently taboo as it clearly has in the Netherlands because, according to the prosecution, it doesn't even matter that what he says is true, what matters is that its illegal.

Well, when the truth is against the law, then there's something seriously wrong with the law. Because when the truth is no defense, there is no defense. and the law has no anchor, so it may drift wherever the wind of political expedience blows. And this week it blew straight into a crooked courtroom in Amsterdam, where Justice will now be made to fight for its life, starved of the oxygen of truth that gives it life.

These are desperate tactics from desperate people who've tied themselves up in such knots of relativist guilt they're incapable of acknowledging the truth let alone dealing with it. They're like somebody whose prepared to chop off their own hand to avoid being seen scratching their ass in public. What makes it worse is that clinging to something that doesn't even exist--the multicultural bubble burst a long time ago when Pim Fortuyn: was murdered, when Theo van Gogh. was murdered, both for the crime of expressing an opinion in what's supposed to be one of the world's leading liberal democracies. It was then that the Dutch people, better than anybody else in Europe, came face to face with multiculturalism--what it really is and what it really means.

On the surface, it sounds like a pleasant word , invoking a kind of rainbow society of mutually enriching cultural perspectives, and what could be better than that? But that's not what it is at all and that was never the intention. If they'd been honest from the start about what it really is: Islamization, they know that they'd never have been allowed to get away with it. But people are beginning to realize that now Islam is in fact what they're getting and and its all they're getting and that's why the Freedom Party is leading the opinion polls in the Netherlands from nowhere in just a few short years.

And its also why the ruling class is so desperate to destroy Mr. Wilders before the next election, because they know that his views are popular enough to change things, to put an end to the multicultural lie and give the Dutch people back their country and that's why he is facing trial. Can I say that?

Maybe we shouldn't be too surprised its come to this, after all they do have a history of ganging up on their popular politicians in the Netherlands. Isn't that how Pim Fortuyn: was murdered? Some leftist lunatic took the establishment and the press at their word that he was a public menace for opposing Islamization and killed him for it. The next day, all the people who'd been vilifying him were suddenly his best friends, they were shocked -- how could this have happened? But they all know how it happened, the whole world knows how it happened and if it hadn't happened this trial wouldn't be taking place today.because Islam wouldn't be the problem it is today and maybe Amsterdam would still be the one of the world's favorite cities and not the kind of place where gay people are afraid to go out for fear of being beaten up by gangs of Muslim youths. .

The Dutch ruling class has shown that its prepared to stoop to anything, even as far as undermining the very cornerstone of Western Civilization, freedom of speech to prop up a rotten ideology that is not only dead but whose corpse is now beginning to smell. and you know that smell, its that pungent mix of authoritarianism and cowardice that we've all become depressingly familiar with.

Certainly, here in Britain, we know all about it, we've had twelve years of it and we haven't forgotten the shameful events of this time last year when Mr. Wilders was refused entry to Britain because our government allowed itself to be bullied and threatened by a handful of Muslim loud mouths who took it upon themselves to suppress free speech in a free country and and were allowed to get away with it because otherwise they might have been offended oh, perish the thought!

Why the Hell shouldn't Muslims be offended, what are they anyway, babies? Nobody gives a damn how offended the rest of us are at having our culture squatted on by an aggressive religious totalitarianism and being told to shut up about it. And that's why this trial is not just about the Netherlands, it affects all of us. Now the Dutch people have got a well deserved reputation for tolerance and open mindedness, the very qualities many argue have gotten us into this mess in the first place so they're a bit further down the road of multicultural dhimmitude than most countries, but its a road that we're all traveling in the West and if we stay on it, we'll all arrive at the same unhappy cross roads in another court room in another country; its only a matter of time.

Fear of free speech is a symptom of a profoundly neurotic and dishonest society which is what we've got on our hands now. All over the Western world its the same sorry story. We have governments and police forces who cringe before Islam while fiddling away our civil liberties because of Islam. We have a media that can't even use the word Islam in connection with terrorism when the two things couldn't be more intimately connected if they were Siamese twins yet they're quite happy to label Mr. Wilders as a "far right politician" in the kind of casual slander that passes for journalism these days. especially at the wretched BBC who have been too politically correct even to acknowledge that this trial is taking place.

Anyone who isn't angry and ashamed that it is taking place doesn't deserve to live in a free society. The trial has already left as dark a stain on Dutch history as McCarthyism left on American history and its only going to get worse because not only have the crooked judges denied Mr. Wilders the witnesses he needs to defend himself, but they've also made sure that the trial will coincide with the election campaign making it as difficult as possible for him to put his case to the people.

This man is a hero, not a criminal and its time the rest of stood up and said so loud and clear because there is too much at stake to be polite anymore. And there's too much at stake to be afraid anymore. This intellectual terrorism has got to stop. Our birthright is being deliberately sold from under us by people who don't have the right of ownership.and we are now on the verge of bequeathing our children and grandchildren the kind of society that we wouldn't want to be born into; it doesn't get any more immoral or cowardly than that. You know, in the English Language we have an expression "Dutch courage", its not really courage at all, its the kind of courage you get when you've had a bit too much alcohol to drink-- well there is this new expression: "Dutch justice" its not really justice at all, its the kind of justice you get when you've overdosed on cultural relativism and your spine has completely disappeared.

Shame on the Netherlands; shame on the Western media for not raising a howl of protest against this outrageous attack on our basic freedom and shame upon shame on the crooked judges of Amsterdam. Was there something else? Oh yeah, peace, would be nice, wouldn't it?

Friday, February 5, 2010

National Prayer Breakfast Desecrated

At the annual prayer breakfast, President Obama tried to exploit religion for political purposes, in the process exposing his arrogance and contempt for the American people. I heard Conservative radio commentators playing sound bytes of one mispronounced word and asserting that the mainstream media who would have ridiculed Shrub for making the same error are ignoring it when made by their favorite politician.

I don't care about the mispronounced word or the media's attitude. I am disgusted by the sheer arrogance evidenced by the President's statement. I am concerned with substance, not delivery and style. This speech stinks, like something you might find sticking to your shoes after a visit to a barnyard.
Remarks by the President at the National Prayer Breakfast quoted out of context, with emphasis added, interspersed with commentary.

I'm privileged to join you once again, as my predecessors have for over half a century. Like them, I come here to speak about the ways my faith informs who I am -- as a President, and as a person. But I'm also here for the same reason that all of you are, for we all share a recognition -- one as old as time -- that a willingness to believe, an openness to grace, a commitment to prayer can bring sustenance to our lives.

In '04, a few days after his nomination to run for the Senate, Obama sat for interview with Cathleen Falsani. These out of context snippets from that interview may help us to understand how his faith informs him. [Emphasis added.]

So that, one of the churches I met, or one of the churches that I became involved in was Trinity United Church of Christ. And the pastor there, Jeremiah Wright, became a good friend. So I joined that church and committed myself to Christ in that church.


Yeah, although I don't, I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma. And I'm not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.

I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best comes with a big dose of doubt. I'm suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding.

Its' not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I'm constantly asking myself questions about what I'm doing, why am I doing it.

When I'm talking to a group and I'm saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements that is different than when I'm just being glib or clever.

Obama has an ongoing conversation with God and is constantly asking himself questions about his actions. Does he think he is God or can he carry on two conversations at once? Judging by how he speaks without a teleprompter, I suspect that he can't handle simultaneous conversations.

He is suspicious of dogma and takes religion with a big dose of doubt; how does that comport with having faith? The last quote from the interview seems to reveal a little too much. He admitted that he is not consistently truthful in his public remarks.

It's inspiring. This is what we do, as Americans, in times of trouble. We unite, recognizing that such crises call on all of us to act, recognizing that there but for the grace of God go I, recognizing that life's most sacred responsibility -- one affirmed, as Hillary said, by all of the world's great religions -- is to sacrifice something of ourselves for a person in need.
There is a tendency to confuse personal and communal responsibilities. That confusion contributes greatly to the pursuit of the Socialist agenda. President Obama is contributing to that tendency.

Sadly, though, that spirit is too often absent when tackling the long-term, but no less profound issues facing our country and the world. Too often, that spirit is missing without the spectacular tragedy, the 9/11 or the Katrina, the earthquake or the tsunami, that can shake us out of complacency. We become numb to the day-to-day crises, the slow-moving tragedies of children without food and men without shelter and families without health care. We become absorbed with our abstract arguments, our ideological disputes, our contests for power. And in this Tower of Babel, we lose the sound of God's voice.

Note the bold faced clauses; are these Freudian slips or a demagogue mocking us by implicitly exposing himself ? At a spiritual retreat, a prayer breakfast, the President raises one of the most divisive issues, framing it in the context of religious obligation so as to imply guilt on the part of those who oppose his contest for power, which is founded on false premises. President Obama falsely asserts that his program will increase availability and decrease costs while its effects will be the exact opposite. Clearly, he is obsessed with the contest for power and employing a false argument in that contest.

Now, for those of us here in Washington, let's acknowledge that democracy has always been messy. Let's not be overly nostalgic. (Laughter.) Divisions are hardly new in this country. Arguments about the proper role of government, the relationship between liberty and equality, our obligations to our fellow citizens -- these things have been with us since our founding. And I'm profoundly mindful that a loyal opposition, a vigorous back and forth, a skepticism of power, all of that is what makes our democracy work.

The men who founded our representative republic had personally experienced and observed the evils attendant to tyranny. They wanted truth and reason to prevail over arbitrary authority, prejudice & passion. Rigorous debate is part of the process, so that competing ideas and arguments can be tested against each other. In the present case, the P:resident's partisans have declared our way or no way, and sought to prevent the opposition from having any input to the process. They have abused rules and procedures to limit debate and prevent scrutiny of the content of their legislation.

And we've seen actually some improvement in some circumstances. We haven't seen any canings on the floor of the Senate any time recently. (Laughter.) So we shouldn't over-romanticize the past. But there is a sense that something is different now; that something is broken; that those of us in Washington are not serving the people as well as we should. At times, it seems like we're unable to listen to one another; to have at once a serious and civil debate. And this erosion of civility in the public square sows division and distrust among our citizens. It poisons the well of public opinion. It leaves each side little room to negotiate with the other. It makes politics an all-or-nothing sport, where one side is either always right or always wrong when, in reality, neither side has a monopoly on truth. And then we lose sight of the children without food and the men without shelter and the families without health care.

The seeds of division and distrust are sown with campaign speeches and advertisements full of lies and half truths. They are fertilized by the habit of ignoring vox populi and a Hellbent determination to impose injurious policies contrary to common sense, experience and the popular will. Their fruits are harvested and a new crop sown with shibboleths such as "families without health care".

Politics becomes an "all-or-nothing sport" when the stakes are raised, when the policies proposed are self-perpetuating, irreversible and threaten economic devastation. The limited powers assigned to the federal government by the Constitution were designed to prevent politics from becoming a threat to life, liberty and prosperity. The erosion of those limits, set in motion by F.D.R., resulted in the current political climate.

Empowered by faith, consistently, prayerfully, we need to find our way back to civility. That begins with stepping out of our comfort zones in an effort to bridge divisions. We see that in many conservative pastors who are helping lead the way to fix our broken immigration system. It's not what would be expected from them, and yet they recognize, in those immigrant families, the face of God. We see that in the evangelical leaders who are rallying their congregations to protect our planet. We see it in the increasing recognition among progressives that government can't solve all of our problems, and that talking about values like responsible fatherhood and healthy marriage are integral to any anti-poverty agenda. Stretching out of our dogmas, our prescribed roles along the political spectrum, that can help us regain a sense of civility.

Our immigration system is not broken, it is abandoned, jacked up on blocks in the back yard. Illegal immigrants cross the Mexican border with no substantial interference. They carry drugs & disease over the border. They are accompanied by Muslims from the Mid East who may not have our welfare at heart.

The last sentence of the quote immediately above is an appeal to "bipartisanship" & "compromise". The real meaning of which is "Conservatives, surrender your principles and vote for whatever crap Liberals put forth.". When your friend suggests a suicide pact and hands you a poison pill, do you reject the pact and the pill or do you agree to swallow half of it as a compromise? Why should we abandon our principles and agree to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, making them citizens who can cement the Democrat party in power for the long term? The proposed amnesty will not solve the problem, it will serve as an incentive for even more illegal immigrants to cross the border.

So why should our side abandon our principles and accept legislation that will destroy jobs, ruin the economy, increase the federal debt and make health care less available & affordable? Its about our lives, health, prosperity and liberty, not about civility

Civility also requires relearning how to disagree without being disagreeable; understanding, as President [Kennedy] said, that "civility is not a sign of weakness." Now, I am the first to confess I am not always right. Michelle will testify to that. (Laughter.) But surely you can question my policies without questioning my faith, or, for that matter, my citizenship. (Laughter and applause.)

In one of your books, you told about kneeling at the altar of Rev. Wright's church to rededicate your life to God. You did not identify your deity. In a later interview, you claimed that you rededicated your life to Jesus Christ. In another interview, you said that the Adhan was the sweetest sound at sunset and recited it to the interviewer. We have plenty of reason to suspect that your Christianity is a political veneer.

The Constitution specifies that the President must be a natural born citizen or a citizen at the time of the ratification of the Constitution. British law makes your father a citizen of Great Britain. You were registered in an Indonesian school as an Indonesian citizen and a Muslim. Where were you really born? If you were not born on American soil, your mother was too young to convey citizenship. We can't know for certain without seeing the birth certificate which declares the time and place of your birth. Why did you spend more than one million dollars to keep it out of our sight? Your Constitutional eligibility is not a function of your policies, it is a function of the circumstances of your birth.

Challenging each other's ideas can renew our democracy. But when we challenge each other's motives, it becomes harder to see what we hold in common. We forget that we share at some deep level the same dreams -- even when we don't share the same plans on how to fulfill them.

One side seeks to preserve the fruits of the grandest dream ever, which were temporarily secured by a miraculous victory in a war of revolution. The other side seeks to tear down the restrictions on government power. Those restrictions are the last line of defense for our liberties. We do not want to let you strangle the golden goose. Nor do we want to allow you to endanger our hard won liberties. The preservation of prosperity and liberty depends on frustrating your entire Socialist agenda.

We do not seek to deny anyone shelter, food, clothing or medical goods & services. We seek to prevent you from permanently destroying the Constitution and the economy.

We may disagree about the best way to reform our health care system, but surely we can agree that no one ought to go broke when they get sick in the richest nation on Earth. We can take different approaches to ending inequality, but surely we can agree on the need to lift our children out of ignorance; to lift our neighbors from poverty. We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are -- whether it's here in the United States or, as Hillary mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda.

There is only one way to reform our health care system, and it is not your proposal! Reducing costs and increasing supply can only be accomplished by removing artificial barriers to competition. That means allowing an open market in insurance policies across state lines. It does not include restrictions on hospital construction & expansion and reductions in the training of new physicians. Reducing costs requires better control of Medicare fraud and the elimination of excessive liability settlements. Your party won't allow tort reform because you are in the lawyer's pockets.

Affordability is ultimately a function of income and living expenses. When you raise taxes, you push every good and service we want and need further out of reach. When you create inflation, you push everything out of reach. You could allow people to set up medical savings plans backed up with catastrophic care policies, but, since that would not cement you in power, you won't consider it.

Surely we can agree to find common ground when possible, parting ways when necessary. But in doing so, let us be guided by our faith, and by prayer. For while prayer can buck us up when we are down, keep us calm in a storm; while prayer can stiffen our spines to surmount an obstacle -- and I assure you I'm praying a lot these days -- (laughter) -- prayer can also do something else. It can touch our hearts with humility. It can fill us with a spirit of brotherhood. It can remind us that each of us are children of a awesome and loving God.

Here we have another classic example of the over confident, narcissistic demagogue waving his arrogance like a red flag before a bull. There is no common ground between Socialism Capitalism, nor between tyranny and liberty. He assumes the content of faith as well as the efficacy of prayer, ignoring the fact that Communism is officially atheistic.

How many times did we rise up and reject alien amnesty schemes when Shrub was trying to shove them down our throats? How many times did we reject Socialized medicine when LBJ & Clinton tried to shove it down our throats? But Obama is deaf to our shouts, he can not hear the protests at the town meetings, tea parties and recent special elections. He has a stiff neck and a stiff middle finger for us, at minimum.

Through faith, but not through faith alone, we can unite people to serve the common good. And that's why my Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has been working so hard since I announced it here last year. We've slashed red tape and built effective partnerships on a range of uses, from promoting fatherhood here at home to spearheading interfaith cooperation abroad. And through that office we've turned the faith-based initiative around to find common ground among people of all beliefs, allowing them to make an impact in a way that's civil and respectful of difference and focused on what matters most.

"The common good" is an undefined and immeasurable concept, entirely too abstract to allow a useful debate. Likewise "common ground" between faiths. There is no common ground between Islam and any genuine religion. Invitations to "interfaith dialog" are actually demands for submission.

It is this spirit of civility that we are called to take up when we leave here today. That's what I'm praying for. I know in difficult times like these -- when people are frustrated, when pundits start shouting and politicians start calling each other names -- it can seem like a return to civility is not possible, like the very idea is a relic of some bygone era. The word itself seems quaint -- civility.


Yes, there are crimes of conscience that call us to action. Yes, there are causes that move our hearts and offenses that stir our souls. But progress doesn't come when we demonize opponents. It's not born in righteous spite. Progress comes when we open our hearts, when we extend our hands, when we recognize our common humanity. Progress comes when we look into the eyes of another and see the face of God. That we might do so -- that we will do so all the time, not just some of the time -- is my fervent prayer for our nation and the world.

We are supposed to gaze into Obama's eyes and see God. We are supposed to submit to his will. The difference between God and Obama is that God does not think he is Obama.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

There is one thing we can agree on: God bless the United States of America.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Wilders Trial Web Site

Wilders On Trial

The court rejected fifteen proposed defense witnesses. They also ruled that the testimony of the three witnesses they allowed will be heard in camera, greatly reducing the potential educational value of the proceeding.
Only Hans Jansen, Simon Admiraal and Wafa Sultan were allowed to be heard as expert-witnesses. Their testimony will be heard in a session behind closed doors. Apparently the truth about Islam must remain a secret.

This information comes from one of two new Geert Wilders web sites, one in Dutch and this one in English for the international audience.
The site includes these features.
  • the summons in pdf format
  • summary of the proceedings
  • Wilders' statement (video)
  • links to press coverage
It appears that mainstream media coverage of the trial may be rather light. So far I have not heard anything about it on ABC radio news, BBC's The World or NPR's Morning Edition. The Wilders defense web site may be our best way of keeping up with the progress of the trial.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide had what may be the most important quote.
Reacting to the rulings later, Mr Wilders told journalists outside the courtroom, "This court doesn't seem to be interested in the truth. I can only conclude that the court is not going to let me have a fair trial. I have no respect for this."
In this quote, Wilders restated the obvious. The prosecutor had decided that the charges were not worth holding a trial over before being overruled by a court under pressure.

Britain: Considering Shari'ah Compliant Bonds

Sky News reports that Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to announce a plan to issue sukuk in the next U.K. budget. To be Shari'ah compliant, the gain in the bond transaction must be framed in terms other than interest and Zakat of 2.5% must be paid.

The dirty secret concealed by this story is that 1/8 of the Zakat must be paid to fund Jihad. England will sell bonds to Muslims and finance terrorism in the process. The Jihad factor is .3125% . That is a small multiplier, but on a $1,000,000 transaction, it will yield $3,125.00 to terrorism.

There are eight categories of Zakat recipients. The seventh category is key to this issue. The quote below is from the handbook of Shari'ah: Reliance of the Traveller, Book H, Chapter 8.

H8.17: Those Fighting for Allah

The seventh category is those fighting for Allah, meaning people engaged in Islamic military operations for whom no salary has been allotted in the army roster (O: but who are volunteers for jihad without remuneration). They are given enough to suffice them for the operation, even if affluent; of weapons, mounts, clothing, and expenses (O: for the duration of the journey, round trip, and the time they spend there, even if prolonged. Though nothing has been mentioned here of the expense involved in supporting such people's families during this period, it seems clear that they should also be given it).

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Geert Wilders: Free Speech on Trial

As the trial of Geert Wilders resumes, we should carefully examine its substance and procedures. Writing on the Editorial Page of the Wall Street Journal, Leon De Winter says "Stop the Trial of Geert Wilders"
On trial is not so much Geert Wilders, but the Holy Book of Islam. ... So it is quite conceivable that the court will judge that Geert Wilders was within his right to compare the Quran to "Mein Kampf."
The three judges hearing the case—no doubt decent, modest, postmodern Dutchmen with a minimum knowledge of Islam and its culture and traditions—will now be forced to debate the nature of a religious text, something that should have never been heard in the court of an enlightened society. In front of the judges and television cameras, the ancient founding text of an entire civilization will be criticized and weighed against one of the most inhumane texts written in the 20th century—without any doubt a deep insult to Muslims, radical or not.
In the view of one Dutch journalist, the trial has been inverted, exchanging the defendant and complainant, resulting in an insult to Muslims over and above the alleged insults issued by the defendant. He wants the trial stopped.

Unfortunately, there is reason to doubt the chances of an inverted trial. While it is obvious that Wilders is planning a defense based on necessity and veracity, it is not certain that the court will consent to allow those defenses to be presented. An article by Arthur Legger, published by Tidsskriftet Sappho, reveals some details about he trial of Geert Wilders. A surprising statement from the Public Prosecution attacks Wilders' truth defense.
“It is irrelevant whether Wilder’s witnesses might prove Wilders’ observations to be correct”, the ‘Openbaar Ministerie’ stated, “what’s relevant is that his observations are illegal”.
The indictment was amended to include accusations of racism. I suspect that was done as an end run around this precedent.
For in a comparable case the Dutch High Court acquitted a Dutchman of his earlier conviction of ‘Group-insult’ of Muslims. He had been sentenced to jail for hanging a poster in front of his window that stated: “Stop the cancerous growth named Islam”. The High Court ruled that “if one insults a religion, one doesn’t automatically insult its believers”.
Fokko Oldenhuis, Groningen University professor Religion and Law, is quoted as saying:
“He discriminates Moroccans because of their race and causes hate against them”; “His desire to ban the Koran brings fear and terror into peoples homes”.
Does the banning of Nazi literature bring "fear and terror" into the homes of neo-Nazis? Did Wilders call for assaults, murders and pogroms? Did he urge his audience to riot and burn Korans? What then is terrifying about his statements?

Take a clear eyed look at the laws Wilders is accused of violating. The International Free Press Society posted this link to an English translation of the summons. Jihad Watch reproduced it in this article. [Bold face emphasis added to critical clause for clarity.]
Article 137c Dutch Penal Code

o 1. He who publicly, verbally or in writing or image, deliberately expresses himself in an way insulting of a group of people because of their race, their religion or belief, or their hetero- or homosexual nature or their physical, mental, or intellectual disabilities, will be punished with a prison sentence of at the most one year or a fine of third category.

o 2. If the offence is committed by a person who makes it his profession or habit, or by two or more people in association, a prison sentence of at the most two years or a fine of fourth category will be imposed.

· Article 137d Dutch Penal Code

o 1. He who publicly, verbally or in writing or in an image, incites hatred against or discrimination of people or violent behaviour against person or property of people because of their race, their religion or belief, their gender or hetero- or homosexual nature or their physical, mental, or intellectual disabilities, will be punished with a prison sentence of at the most one year or a fine of third category.

o 2. If the offence is committed by a person who makes it his profession or habit, or by two or more people in association, a prison sentence of at the most two years or a fine of fourth category will be imposed.

Insulting and inciting are undefined, thus they are highly subjective. In effect, guilt is presumed arbitrarily; no defense is possible against these charges. If Geert Wilders is found guilty and the law is upheld, the code reproduced above will become boilerplate for national and international legislation demanded by the OIC & UN.

Critical Issue

Geert Wilders perceives Islam as an existential threat to his society. The threat arises from Islam's Jihad doctrine which mandates world conquest. The conquest is not limited to military and terror attacks, it also takes the form of demographic conquest, which Europe is now experiencing.

The threat is real, proximate and persisting. Pim Fortune and Theo Van Gogh were assassinated by Muslims. Aayan Hirsi Ali & Geert Wilders have needed 24 hour security because of death threats. French Muslims have done millions of dollars in property damage by rioting.

Wilders documented the threat by quoting Qur'anic violence imperatives and displaying video of Imams ranting about killing disbelievers. He also displayed video of a hostage being decapitated.

Wilders spoke out about a threat to his nation, documented that threat and called on the government to mount a defense. For that he is being persecuted.
The summons includes a frame by frame analysis of Fitna and out of context quotes from newspaper interviews. The pdf file is more than 20 pages long.

Geert Wilders spoke in New York City September 25 '08. Sheik Yermami provided a transcript.
The Quran calls for hatred, violence, submission, murder, and terrorism. The Quran calls for Muslims to kill non-Muslims, to terrorize non-Muslims and to fulfil their duty to wage war: violent jihad. Jihad is a duty for every Muslim, Islam is to rule the world – by the sword. The Quran is clearly anti-Semitic, describing Jews as monkeys and pigs.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behaviour is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages – at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza.

In April of '09, Wilders spoke at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. Iranic Surrealism has the transcript.
Allow me to give you a brief introduction to Islam, an Islam 101. The first thing everyone needs to know about Islam is the importance of the Koran. As you probably know the Koran calls for submission, hatred, violence, murder, terrorism and war. The Koran calls upon Muslims to kill non-Muslims. The Koran describes Jews as monkeys and pigs. The biggest problem is that the Koran is to be considered as Allah’s personal word, with orders that need to be fulfilled regardless of place or time. That’s the reason why the Koran is not open to discussion or interpretation. It is valid for every Muslim and for all times. Therefore, there is no such thing as moderate Islam. Sure, there are a lot of moderate Muslims, but a moderate Islam does not exist. As the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan once said: “There is no moderate Islam, Islam is Islam”. For once I have to agree with this islamist Turkish Prime Minister.
October 22 '09, Wilders spoke at Columbia. Answering Muslims has video of the speech. Is the content of those speeches factually true? The answer is contained in Islam's canon. http://snooper.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/fitna-supporting-documentation/ documents the Qur'an quotes contained in Fitna. and Wilders' address to the Dutch Parliament.

When the trial resumes, the judges could dismiss the case. More likely, they will rule on Wilders' proposed defense and witness list. If they severely restrict the latter and/or close the trial to the press, we can assume that the outcome is preordained and that our precious liberty has suffered a vital blow.

The enemy seeks to suppress our right to identify, name and shame them so that, in the words of George Washington,
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Let us make good use of our precious freedom while we still have it. Let us echo and amplify the warning call issued by Geert Wilders. Let us summon our fellow citizens to join us in disrespectfully demanding the preservation of the right of free expression without which we stand defenseless against impending tyranny. In this step, they squelch our criticism of Islam; in the next, they squelch our criticism of Socialism. One will follow the other as surely as rain and wind follow storm clouds.

I have furnished links to Wilder's documentary and speeches. I also furnished a link to another blog post which documents the most essential facts presented in those warning calls. What you do with them is up to you. Will you read the speeches and documentation, watch the video and share them or will you go back to sleep, ignoring the dangers that face us?

Al-Qa'ida World View

The article reproduced below was written by a fluent speaker of Arabic who translated some of the original materials used as a basis for his research. His footnotes are linked to internal anchors in the original article. clicking them will open the original in your browser, replacing this blog post until you hit the back button.

While the article is long and detailed, it is very much worth reading. I recommend bookmarking it so that you can skim it immediately and return later for a more careful reading.

The article highlights the difference between the Islamic and Western mindsets. The author took great care to demonstrate the difference between what Muslims say to the Western media in English and what they say to their brethren in Arabic.

Speaking to the West, Usama bin Ladin emphasizes reciprocity which is based on this scripture.
5:45. And We ordained therein for them: "Life for life , eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal." But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it shall be for him an expiation. And whosoever does not judge by that which Allâh has revealed, such are the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong­doers - of a lesser degree).
Speaking to his brethren, he emphasizes the religious obligation of Jihad, which is founded primarily on two ayat and one hadith which confirms them. The author quotes 9:29. which enjoins waging war against people with scriptural religions. The ayeh which commands waging war against polytheists and atheists is 8:39.
8:39. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allâh) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allâh Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allâh), then certainly, Allâh is All-Seer of what they do.
The confirming hadith has several variants, this form makes the issue extremely clear: Allah ordered Muhammad to fight us until we become Muslim, until we do, we have no rights and our blood and property are not sacred to Muslims. In other words, he opened a season on us. Islam is a predator, we are the prey. [Emphasis added for clarity.]
Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."
For a more complete appreciation of the legal application of those verses and the saying which confirms them, see Book O, Chapter 9 of Reliance of the Traveller.
Two quotations from the writings of Usama bin Ladin are cited, regarding the justice and kindness of attacking disbelievers and how failure to attack us would be oppression.
21:107. And We have sent you (O Muhammad ) not but as a mercy for the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

21:109. But if they (disbelievers, idolaters, Jews, Christians, polytheists, etc.) turn away (from Islâmic Monotheism) say (to them O Muhammad ): "I give you a notice (of war as) to be known to us all alike. And I know not whether that which you are promised (i.e. the torment or the Day of Resurrection) is near or far."
Muhammad was sent as a mercy, if we reject his message, then he makes war on us. Refraining from forcing us to embrace Islam would be oppression.
If you are still curious about the "religious obligation of Jihad" try these sources.

Research and Writing