The Annual U.N. Sideshow

Posted on September 23, 2011

If it’s September, it must be time for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s annual clown act at the U.N.. Time once again to regale the General Assembly with one of his ludicrous lectures.
 
As Marisol at Jihad Watch describes it –

Ahmadinejad’s spectacle at the UN has become something of a tradition by now. If the UN sold popcorn at this gathering, this speech would outsell anyone else’s. Once again, he does not disappoint where antisemitism and conspiracy paranoia are concerned, with an extra touch of megalomania.

 
It’s small comfort, but at least the U.S. and several European nations had the sense to walk out of the General Assembly during Ahmadinejad’s speech on Thursday. CNN reported that:

Delegates from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were among those who walked out. Delegations from Canada and Israel were not present from the beginning.

 
CNN also has a recap of the Iranian president’s last several appearances at the U.N.:
Walkouts and fury: A look at Ahmadinejad’s U.N. speeches
 
Among his other twisted beliefs, Ahmadinejad ~
 
• Like so many of his ilk, denies that the Holocaust occurred
• Accuses the U.S. of “occupying” Iraq
• Is a “truther”. Last year he said that most Americans and “most nations around the world” believe that “some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the (9-11) attack.”
• Says capitalism is responsible for all the world’s ills
• Believes his country to be “a new model for life to the world.”
 
This “new model for life” is currently #2 on Open Doors’ list of countries that aggressively persecute Christians (North Korea comes in 1st ):

There was a sharp increase in the number of Christians arrested (in Iran) at the start of 2010. Although some were later released, pressure on the church remains high. Many of the approximately 350,000 believers from a Muslim background live in fear of harassment by the government.
Earlier this year, Iranian Christians faced a wave of aggressive intimidation and imprisonment. Although many were able to flee to Turkey, their ranks may have been infiltrated by the Iranian agents (Revolutionary Guards) posing as refugees.

 
The real question is – why does the U.N. allow this buffoon a voice at all? All he does is contribute to the general circus-like atmosphere, and further diminish that organization’s already tenuous credibility. Not to mention the threat he poses to world stability.
He may be a clown, but he’s a clown who’s dangerously close to having nuclear weapons capability.
 

Posted in Good vs.Evil, Mendacity, Unvarnished | Leave a comment

Modern Day Good Samaritan

Posted on September 23, 2011

During a recent high school cross-country meet in Minnesota, Mark Paulauskas got spiked by another runner. He let out a scream and was writhing in pain, holding his bloody ankle, while the other competitors passed him by.
Josh Riley, a runner from a rival school, didn’t pass by, he stopped to help:
Runner carries injured foe half mile to help in middle of race.
 

The only person who decided to pay attention was Ripley. As an Anoka-Hennepin school district release reported, Ripley immediately noticed Paulauskas holding his bloody ankle. Then, instead of running back and calling for help, he did the only thing he could think of: He carried the injured runner a half mile back to coaches and family members.
 
“I didn’t think about my race, I knew I needed to stop and help him,” Ripley said in the school district release. “It was something I would expect my other teammates to do. I’m nothing special; I was just in the right place at the right time.”

 
Paulauskas was taken to the emergency room where his injury required twenty stitches to close. And Josh – went back and finished the two-mile race!

After dropping Paulauskas off with his coaches, Ripley proceeded to go back and finish the race — even after carrying a kid for a half mile on the running trail. Admittedly he was a bit winded, but still completed the course as scheduled.

 
Now that’s character!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” ~ Luke 10:36-37

 

Posted in Comfort & Joy | Leave a comment

Lerner Preaches Civil Unrest

Posted on September 22, 2011

A couple days ago, MRCtv posted a rather disconcerting video[below], featuring Stephen Lerner. Mr. Lerner is a veteran union organizer, former director of the Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) banking and finance campaign, and one of the instigators behind the Day(s) of Rage – basically, a professional agitator.
 
What is it that these people on the Left are so angry about? What present “crisis” has Lerner all indignant?
Well, you know man, it’s the “super rich” – they have all the money and we don’t (as if Lerner is eating pork and beans and shopping at the nearest Salvation Army store). His “solution” to this faux calamity is for the Left to cause a crisis of their own – crash the system.
 
Here’s Lerner in March of this year:

…So I think we weed out a very simple strategy: how do we bring down the stock market, how do we bring down their bonuses, how do we interfere with their ability to, to be rich.

 
And then what? And then what you lying hypocrite? After everything’s broken, America will morph into a thug-ocracy. The “downtrodden masses” you’re riling up with your righteous-sounding rhetoric will be much worse off than they are now. And you’ll be one of the smug, Alinskyite, radical elite – while the rest of us will be eking out a Zhivago-like existence; miserable, oppressed, hopeless.
 
Since Lerner is presently serving on the SEIU’s International Executive Board, I’m guessing he doesn’t live in a trailer park. Bet old Stevie would lose that I’m-such-a-hip-intellectual arrogance in a hurry if some discontented mob showed up on his doorstep, in whatever affluent D.C. suburb he lives in, to create a crisis and interfere with his ability to be rich.
 
The other question is why now? After all, their “guy” is in the White House. Why weren’t they this obsessed with class warfare during the Bush years? Isn’t Obama destroying the country fast enough for them?
 
On the other hand, that whole greedy “fair share”/rich vs. poor propaganda does seem to be a common thread in the Progressive playbook these days. And it appears that Barry and Steve are pretty chummy, because Lerner has reportedly visited the Obama White House at least four times.
 
You don’t think the former community agitator organizer could possibly have been strategizing with Mr. Lerner about how to achieve their mutual goal of bringing down the free market system do you?
 
Nah.
 

 
Throughout the video, Lerner drones on about “what we need to do”; take it to the streets, escalate, violate the rules, create a crisis….
 
No Steve. What we really need to do is check you into the nearest psych ward!
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related: Dem. Sen. Harkin (D-Iowa): We Need Some of You to Get Arrested ‘For Doing Things You Shouldn’t be Doing’ ~ What is it with these Progressive demagogues? While much of the country, finally aware of the false “Hope” behind the “Change”, is trying to pull itself back from the Abyss of Failed Civilizations, radical Leftists want to push us right back to the edge by sparking the flames of insurrection.

 
Harkin, of course, is oh-so-sane; a lawmaker encouraging lawbreaking.
“If the people elect these crazy Tea Party people to come in here and they vote to do these wacko things…” ~ Jan. 2011
 

Posted in Good vs.Evil, MSM Malpractice, Unvarnished | Leave a comment

Obama’s Comical Economics No Longer Humorous

Posted on September 21, 2011

Should we laugh or cry over the president’s latest proposed solution to the country’s economic malaise?

Michael Medved likens it to the “Wimpy” philosophy of fiscal irresponsibility: “Wimpy” Logic Rules Washington

Monday’s dramatic revelation of President Obama’s brilliant plan to pay for his priorities (“Tax the Rich—and then tax them some more!”) did nothing to dethrone Wimpy as the administration’s chief economic advisor. Even if he gets all the tax increases he seeks, they are projected to generate only $1.5 trillion over ten years—or just $150 billion a year –while the cost of his jobs bill would be $447 billion next year alone!


 
And after all that profligate spending will Americans be back to work? No – we’ll probably be facing even higher unemployment. That’s what happens when you punish job creators, as Curtis Dubay at Heritage Foundation points out: Obama’s Jobs Plan: Permanent Tax Hikes on Job Creators
 

This tax hike would negate any benefits of the President’s jobs policies. Capping deductions as President Obama’s plan does would raise the marginal effective tax rate of these important job creators and therefore reduce their incentives to invest and take on new risk— permanently. Less investment and less risk-taking means fewer new jobs created.
 
Since it is likely President Obama’s job proposals would create few, if any permanent, positions, taken together with the tax hike on job creators, his plan would likely reduce employment in the long term.

 
For a taste of the real impact of job-killing big government overreach and over-regulation check out this video from MRCtv ~ I Was Fined Because I Hired Too Many People:

This is Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, testifying before the congressional Oversight & Reform Committee on September 13th. He says he was fined $15,000, incurred $500,000 in legal bills and had to impose a 3-year hiring freeze because he “hired too many people”. Market demand is up, and he could be growing his business – if it weren’t for the government regulations getting in the way!

 
This administration’s foolishly destructive policies are no joke.
At least Popeye cartoons were entertaining. But even as kids we were able to recognize the absurdity of “Wimpy Logic.”
 

Posted in Fruits of Their Labors, Unvarnished | Leave a comment

Exploding Turban

Posted on September 21, 2011

And in Afghanistan yesterday… a representative of the “Religion of Peace” murdered the country’s former president, Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Rabbani had been serving as the head of the government’s “High Peace Council.”
 
From AOL News: Turban bomber kills ex-Afghan President

The turban bomber entered Rabbani’s house in the evening and blew himself up inside, said Mohammad Zahir, the chief of criminal investigation for the Kabul police. Fazel Karim Aimaq, former lawmaker from Kunduz province and a friend of Rabbani’s, told reporters outside the former president’s home that a man who arrived to meet Rabbani was not properly searched. The visitor shook Rabbani’s hand and bowed as a sign of respect, Aimaq said.
 
“Then his turban exploded,” he said.

 
Oh the irony.
 

Posted in Good vs.Evil, Unvarnished | 1 Comment

Palestine – the Reality

Posted on September 21, 2011

 

For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a lamp that burns.
~ Isaiah 62:1 ~

 
Short and sweet – the historical facts of the West Bank and Palestine:

 

 

Posted in Unvarnished | 4 Comments

Virtually Awesome

Posted on September 20, 2011

Composer/conductor Eric Whitacre says it was the video a young soloist sent him that inspired him. After holding online auditions, he wound up with 185 voices – from 12 different countries – and combined them into one “virtual choir”.
 
Here they are performing Whitacre’s original composition: “Sleep”. Pretty cool!
 

• Although the video is 9 minutes long – the song’s over around the 5 minute mark.
• Turn up the volume!
• If you maximize your screen you can read the names of the various countries represented by the choir members.

 
You can watch a brief introduction to the project HERE.
For more info about Whitacre and the choir, check out his website.

[One caveat for Christians ~ Whitacre may be a Tedster]

 

Posted in Comfort & Joy | Leave a comment

“Daze” of Rage?

Posted on September 19, 2011

Well, it appears that the anti-banking jihad began with a whimper instead of the hoped-for bang. Zombie has a photo/commentary from the NY, SF and LA “Days of Rage” protests. Not exactly the cast of thousands the organizers were anticipating. Just looks like the usual collection of assorted misfits and malcontents.
 
Could it be that turnout was so low because prospective attendees weren’t sure exactly what they were supposed to be doing with their “non-violent rage”? Or weren’t clear on what the collective message was going to be? Dazed and confused…

“…right off the bat, the protest’s completely mixed message was glaringly apparent. Half the protesters wanted more government…while the other half wanted less…”
 
Basically, the distinction is between communist theory and the anarchist approach.
 
In American politics there are two strong currents of anti-capitalist thought: Marxism/communism/socialism versus Anarchism/far-left-libertarianism. The problem is that these two ideologies are fundamentally at odds; one advocates hyper-centralization of political and economic power, while the other advocates hyper-decentralization.
 
In earlier times, the communists and the anarchists hated each other; they are natural enemies. But in recent decades they have formed an uneasy and deeply unstable alliance; since they both hate the status quo of American capitalism, they feel they ought to band together and smash the system as a unified front, and worry about how to pick up the pieces later.

 

 
Lyndon LaRouche supporters, always happy to help muddle issues further, showed up at all three of the protests that Zombie & Co. covered. After giving the Tea Party a black eye by waving their Obama-as-Hitler signs at conservative rallies, I guess the LaRouchesters have decided it’s time to embrace “the Rage”.
 
Check out Zombie’s article for a better look at what the civilized world is up against…

Intense anger + severe mental illness + political indoctrination = a whole heap of trouble for this country.
 
While their numbers are small now – their intentions aren’t good. Let’s hope the “Ragers” remain just an amusing fringe element.
 
See also: Seattle’s rally was pretty much a bust too.
 

Posted in Arrested Development, Cultural Erosion, Good vs.Evil | Leave a comment

The Largest Sea Evacuation in History

Posted on September 18, 2011

We must always remember that amid the horror and chaos on 9-11 were untold numbers of brave Americans who unselfishly stepped up and did the right thing. Like the unsung heroes of the amazing “Boatlift”.
I hadn’t really heard or seen much about this tale from that tragic day. It’s a story of ordinary Americans who courageously and without hesitation, did all they could to help total strangers, ultimately evacuating close to 500,000 people from lower Manhattan in only 9 hours ~ “Doing what they had to do.” Awesome!
 

“BOATLIFT, a 9/11 Tale of Resilience” was produced by The Road to Resilience a website launched as part of the nation’s commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The organization’s mission:

…building the reflexes and instincts necessary at every level of American society to respond quickly and wisely to future crises.
 
Drawing on the policy lessons of the past decade and the momentum generated by our partners’ founding event, the 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Summit: Remembrance, Renewal, Resilience, held on Sept. 8, 2011 in Washington, D.C., Road2Resilience aims to advance the cause of national resilience by highlighting innovative ideas in emergency management, homeland security and crisis planning.
With daily recommended readings, blog posts, Twitter and Facebook feeds, Road2Resilience tracks the policy debate at every level, from the international to the individual.

 
Their new website has other inspiring videos, including one about how the people of Gander, Newfoundland opened their town and their hearts to stranded travelers after 9-11.
 
Road2Resiliance.org ~ bookmarked for days when I need a shot of optimism!
 

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Constitution Day – Sustaining Liberty

Posted on September 17, 2011

“We may be tossed upon an ocean where we can see no land — nor, perhaps, the sun or stars. But there is a chart and a compass for us to study, to consult, and to obey. The chart is the Constitution.” ~ Daniel Webster ~

 

 
The oldest constitution still in effect – the United States Constitution – was signed 224 years ago on September 17, 1787. Guaranteeing freedom, equality, justice and opportunity for hundreds of millions of Americans, it’s become a model of limited government for nations around the world.
 

“The Constitution of the United States of America has endured over two centuries. It remains the object of reverence for nearly all Americans and an object of admiration by peoples around the world. Unfortunately, the assault by 20th century liberal theorists and activist judges has seriously undermined respect for America’s core principles, denigrating some constitutional rights they disagree with and making up others.
Fortunately, there has been a renewed interest in the Constitution in recent years, as Americans seek to understand the founding principles and enduring truths that form the bedrock of our chosen form of self-government. Clearly, the future of liberty depends on America reclaiming its constitutional first principles.”
 
~ former Attorney General Ed Meese ~
 

Posted in Comfort & Joy, Timeless Principles | Leave a comment

Saturday Shorts 9-17-11

Posted on September 17, 2011

Random links of interest, concern or curiosity from the past week or so, that deserve at least a SHORT mention:

 
Federally Funded Boulders for Nevada ~ The feds don’t need to waste more money on rocks in the Silver State – Harry Reid already has enough in his head.
 
Armed Services chairman: Obama is anti-military ~ California Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, voicing his concern over the intentions of the congressional deficit-reduction committee – “It is my suspicion that the White House and congressional Democrats” designed the supercommittee process “for one purpose: to force Republicans to choose between raising taxes or gutting defense…
President Obama’s policies often seem reflective of an ideology that treats American power as the principal adversary, not ally, to world peace.”
 
John McCain celebrated Libyan rebellion at site of rebels’ public beheading ~ So let’s see John…U.S. waterboarding ➡ BAD; Muslim public beheading ➡ GOOD.
 
A bride’s welded bliss: How she built Porsche from wrecked VW for her big day ~ Six years, and plenty of elbow grease – pretty impressive!
 
Obama sticker led cops to shooting suspect ~ The headline caught my attention, but it’s not the real kicker of this story. This scumbag murdered a convenience store clerk while on parole from a life sentence for the 1971 murder of another convenience store clerk. They should be prosecuting the parole board!
 
Medal of Honor awardee saved 36 troops in Afghanistan ~ A 21 year-old Marine. Wow – just Wow!
 

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Days of RAGE – coming tomorrow to a town near you?

Posted on September 16, 2011

Well this should be interesting.
Seems the current incarnation of the 60’s radicals (you know – Bill Ayers and other assorted malcontents, agitators and anarchists) are planning a “peaceful” protest beginning tomorrow, September 17th, ironically billed as the “U.S. Days of Rage“.
The movement’s websites (US Day of Rage & Occupy Wall Street) are filled with a lot of incoherent ramblings, making it rather difficult to determine what exactly they’re hoping to achieve…
 

On September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat our one simple demand until Barack Obama capitulates.

 
Oddly enough, they don’t say anywhere what the “one simple demand” is.
 
If they are able to set up camp for “months” they’re apparently jobless – yet they seem to have decided that wealth creation is the single biggest threat to mankind. And that if the wealth creation machine (Wall Street, and other financial centers) is taken down, worldwide peace and harmony will spontaneously break out.
 
Or something…

 
Hoping that the “event” will spark “the beginning of the anti-banking jihad” (now doesn’t that sound “peaceful”)the organizers are calling for similar simultaneous protests in the financial districts of other major cities including: Madison, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Madrid, Toronto, London, Sydney, Frankfurt and Tokyo.
 
At this point you may be wondering who “they” are. Tiffany Gabbay has a detailed post at Business Insider addressing that very question; Who Is Behind The ‘US Day Of Rage’ Against Wall Street? Reportedly, the group of radicals includes SEIU’s Stephen Lerner and ACORN founder Wade Rathke (who, coincidentally, formerly served as president of SEIU’s local New Orleans branch). Surprise, surprise.
 
Gabbay also mentions how the “Days of Rage” rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of the Weathermen’s (Bill Ayers & pals) 1969 Chicago riots:
 

…despite Ayers’ initial claim that his Day of Rage, too, would be “non-violent,” during the four day rampage that started in Chicago’s historic Lincoln Park, the Weathermen arrived in full-clad battle gear, helmets and weapons in tow, and called on activists to kill the rich and even their own parents.
 
During an interview with Chicago Mag, Ayers, with no regrets, summed up his riot’s intended purpose, stating, ”kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents—that‘s where it’s really at.”

 
“Peaceful Rage”?… Oxy-MORONS.
 
Behind the feigned righteous indignation, it seems the real aim of “Days of Rage” is simply to hasten the downfall of the civil society.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related:
Mayor Bloomberg must have had a premonition: NYC Mayor Bloomberg Warns of Cairo-Style Riots: ‘Don’t Want Those Here’. On his radio show this morning the mayor worried: “We have a lot of kids graduating college, can’t find jobs… that’s what happened in Cairo. That’s what happened in Madrid. You don’t want those kinds of riots here.”
Hope he’s got the NYPD on full alert.
 

Posted in Arrested Development, Cultural Erosion, Good vs.Evil | 5 Comments