Liberal Hypocrites Picket O'Neill Home

Fifteen leftist picketers protested in front of the home of Unfit for Command author John O'Neill in Houston today. The stench of hypocrisy was overwhelming.

John Cobarruvias, head of Bay Area New Democrats (BAND), was there, acting as spokesman. He denounced O'Neill in a manner that is so patently absurd that it is virtually impossible to take him seriously (scratch that, I've been reading his letters in the local paper for years -- it is always impossible to take him seriously).

"Who in their right mind would attack a veteran who actually volunteered to go to Vietnam?" protester John Cobarruvias asked. "Attacking a veteran who went to war, who got shot at, is wrong."

But hold it. Isn't John O'Neill ALSO "a veteran who went to war, who got shot at"? Doesn't that give him at least equal right to speak out on matters of public concern, such as the record of the man who Cobarruvias wants to be the next president?

But Cobarruvias didn't stop there.

"They have done the most indespicable (sic) thing that a man could ever do and that is attack an American veteran," Cobarruvias said. "We are going to do whatever it takes within the law to stop this and if it means coming to this man's house and protesting him within the law, that is what we are going to do."

Well maybe that answers my question -- John Kerry must be the ONLY veteran above criticism -- anyone else, including other Vietnam combat veterans who served with Kerry, may not utter a single word to impeach his actions or motives.

O'Neill, who was attending his daughter's wedding, released a statement urging protesters "to read the book and then engage in a civil debate over its contents."

"It is our experience that protests and book burnings occur not against books that are false, but against books that are true," the statement said.

It's tempting to give everyone John Cobarruvias' home address and phone in this posting. I know they are listed and easily found. But maybe it is better that I don't. After all, we conservatives don't feel a need to intimidate and harass our political opponents into silence, the way Mr. Cobarruvias and his BAND of thugs apparently need to do. After all, we have the truth on our side.

You Can't Say That At School!

As a teacher, I hate to hear about kids suing a school. But I've just got to back this young man. For the First Amendment to mean anything, people have to be able to peaceably dissent from and orthodoxy that the government wishes to impose.

Tyler "Chase" Harper had the audacity to dissent from the "Gay is OK" message put forth by his school. When the school sponsored a "Day of Silence" to protest the alleged harassment of homosexuals and others, Chase wore one which read "Homosexuality is shameful" and "Romans 1:27." When he wore it a second day, he was suspended.

"This particular phrase is harmful and offensive to people and shouldn't be permitted," school district attorney Jack Sleeth told U.S. District Judge John Houston.

Really, Mr. Sleeth? Haven't you read Tinker v. DesMoines, which holds that students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door? DO you mean to say that religious speech and speech opposing homosexuality are not constitutionally protected? Or are you contending that Tinker, the landmark student's rights case that permitted students to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam War, was wrongly decided? Or do you mean to say that the precedent only applies to those who espouse a liberal message?

ironically, Sleeth goes on to justify the suspension and ban on the grounds that the district has a goal of promoting, get this, "tolerance of all viewpoints." Well, Mr. Sleeth, why does the district refuse to promote the tolerance of Chase's viewpoint? It seems to me that they are suppressing a viewpoint they don't support, rather than tolerating it. And you can't claim it was causing disruptions in the school, because not one fight or disruption can be documented on the day the shirt was permitted. All you can point to is hurt feelings and people being offended.

As a public school teacher, I hope this bunch goes down hard, and that Tinker gets reaffirmed. Maybe we'll see an end to absurdities like the one at my school, which banned a t-shirt with a "Wanted Dead or Alive" poster of Osama bin Laden, or one worn by a student who was a Civil War buff honoring Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Or the ones at other schools where kids are suspended for wearing Pepsi shirts on Coca Cola day, or a Green Bay Packers shirt on Minnesota Vikings day.

More Unprovoked Democrat Violence Against Republicans

Blogs for Bush links to this piece about unprovoked Democrat violence in Gainseville, Florida.

You see it all started when David McCally saw a life-size cut-out of the president in GOP headquarters as he walked down the street. Not content to go on his way and allow those with whom he disagrees to to have political material he disagrees with in their own office, McCally (an instructor at Santa Fe Community College) entered the office and punched the cut-out in the face.

"I don't like old brother George. Truthfully, I kind of did it lightheartedly. I was just walking over there to order chicken, and I saw the cutout and I just walked in there and punched it.

That's when county GOP chairman Travis Horn stepped outside to confront McCally. Big mistake, but then again, you don't always know when you are dealing with an irrational political extrimist. They tend to blend in with the more "normal" folks in the Democrat party.

When Horn went outside, he said McCally came up to him. "He proceeded to say how he had a Ph.D., and he was smarter than me. I'm a stupid Republican," and other comments laced with obscenities, he said.

Horn said he was hit and knocked into a wall.

His lips were cut and his nose injured.

"I then proceeded to defend myself," he said. "I used the minimum force necessary to subdue him."

The police report states Horn kicked McCally because McCally was holding on to Horn's legs.

Police happened to be pulling into the area at the time, Horn said. A police report states officers saw McCally throw what they later learned was the first punch.

"Of course I'm going to have a restraining order filed against him," Horn said. "I certainly will seek his removal from the classroom. Obviously he's shown a serious lack of judgment."

College officials confirm that McCally has been temporarily suspended, pending an administrative review. As a part-time instructor, it would appear that McCally does not have tenure.

And you have to love Travis Horn's response to all of this.

"If I have to take a beating every day for George W. Bush to be president, I'll do that. My passion for my beliefs continues unabated."

And Here I Thought Objective Journalists Didn't Make Political Donations

We're always told that reporters, editors, and other involved in journalism shouldn't endorse candidates or give donations. Dan Rather broke that rule in Austin a few years ago, but claims it was an accident.

Well, given the current controversy caused by the use of forged and false documents by CBS News, let's see what the employees of that organization are doing politically.

CBS News-ers have donated $17,050 to federal candidates and political action committees since 1982. Of that amount, $10,800 was for Democrats and the DNC; $3,500 went to Lenora Fulani's wacky New Alliance Party; and only $2,750 went to the GOP. The biggest individual recipient was Fulani, who received $3,500 from a CBS News staffer back in the 1980s. The second highest was Sen. Hillary Clinton, who took in $2,250 from three CBS News employees. Among the CBS contributors: the late Charles Kuralt, who gave $1,000 to Harvey Gantt for Senate in 1996; David Garfinkle of "60 Minutes," who gave $1,000 to Bill Bradley's presidential campaign; and "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft, who gave $300 to Ham Fish, Jr.'s race for Congress in 1994.

Now you might argue that these are old donations, not current ones, but notice one significant fact -- the Republican party received less than the New Alliance party of left-wing crackpot Lenora Fulani! Is it that GOP employees are more scrupulous about ethics, or that they are non-existent?

You, Too, Can Have Early Sex Pushed At Your Kids In School -- Just Vote Democrat!

If you want a vision of things to come, take a look at this article I found linked by Mark Shea. The schools in one district in Nova Scotia are about to distribute a sex education manual to all its students in upper grades. Parents are up in arms over statements like this one cited in the article.

". . . a person who is 12 or 13 can consent to sexual activity but only with a person who is less than 2 years older than he or she is."

Can you believe that! They are actually approving kids having sex at age 12! And when little Susie gets knocked up? They go into how to get an abortion without parental knowledge or permission! There is actually a page stating that it is illegal and unethical for doctors to tell parents their kids are sexually active!

If we elect Democrats, who seem to find traditional values and sexual morality troubling, to office this fall, we will soon find stuff like this in our students' backpacks, mandated by Washington, DC.

A Beslan Miracle

We have all seen the picture. I even posted it on my site before. A blood-stained hand of a child clutches a cross following the Beslan school attack.

I've got another picture for you.

A happier one.

Of Viktoria Ktsoyeva.

The girl whose hand and cross touched so many of us.



Here's the story of what she went through in the school. And since I, as a teacher, can't type anything more about Beslan without crying, I'll leave you with this excerpt about the goodness of God.

"I felt that if I had that cross in my hand and if it was still there, then everything would be fine," she said.

The only sign of her injury are three small stitches on the right side of her forehead. But X-rays show a centimetre-sized piece of shrapnel that travelled into her skull and stopped practically in the center of her brain.

Dr Maxim Vladimirov, her neurosurgeon, said the shrapnel could have hit a major artery or affected Viktoria's ability to control her movement if it had gone just 1 millimetre further in any direction. "She's very lucky," Vladimirov said.

For now, doctors are planning to leave the shrapnel inside her skull and will only operate if any future complications develop.

After days of being confined to bed on doctor's orders, Victoria took her first cautious steps again on Wednesday. She's expected to be hospitalised for about a month, and then to travel with her family to a sanatorium for further recuperation.

The cross is now back in her family's apartment in Beslan, still stained with blood.

She didn't have time to remember it when she was taken September 5 to Moscow for treatment, but her father, Sergei, and brother will bring it when they arrive later. She now wears a brown cross given her by a priest who visited the hospital. A couple small icons rest on her windowsill in front of a small menagerie of stuffed animals.

Dan Rather And CBS News Violate Their Own Standards

Dennis E. Powell does a book report about an interesting book he owns.

It's called "The White Book," at least informally. More formally, it is called CBS NEWS STANDARDS, and is a product of an outfit called the CBS News Division. It contains the standards and practices that the Columbia Broadcast System supposedly requires of its of those who gather and report the news for CBS Evening News and other news shows on the network. It seems relevant, given recent allegations against Dan Rather and others associated with the memo story.

Here is what the book says about anonymous sources, on page 37B:

"Anonymous sources should be used only when it is determined (1) that there is no other practicable way to obtain and report the information; (2) that the information is factual and of sufficient newsworthiness to warrant its use despite the fact that we cannot disclose its source; and (3) that the source and his information are highly reliable in the particular instance."

And it goes on.

"Where the use of an anonymous source is necessary, as much information as possible about the nature of the source should be provided to the audience, assuming, of course, that this information would not lead to disclosure of the source. Where the source may have a vested interest in the matter to be reported, it is especially important that information be provided as to the nature and/or motivation of the source."

The reporting in the memo stories and subsequent defenses of the stories seems to be in violation of these standards and practices.

Now I'll concede that Powell owns an older edition, since he left the network some years ago. But one would hope that the standards have not changed so dramatically that deception and obfuscation have become acceptable.

Does This Really Make Us Safer?

Federal and state prosecutors have apparently decided not to prosecute or seek a civil penalty from Katheryn Stover, a special education teacher from Laurel, Maryland, for attempting to bring a "weapon" on a flight in August.

It was an 8 1/2-inch leather strap with small lead weights at each end. You can buy them at any number of bookstores throughout the country without a waiting period or background check.

She had carried it on several flights since the 2001 terrorist attacks, even through Tampa, but screeners had never noticed it, she said.

This time they did, and thought it resembled a weighted weapon that could be used to knock people unconscious. Airport police charged her with carrying a concealed weapon.

"It was a bookmark," Harrington, a special education teacher, told the St. Petersburg Times. "It's not a weapon. I could not understand why I was being handcuffed and put into a police car. I cried for hours."

Harrington, who also is a Sunday school teacher, faced a possible criminal trial, a $10,000 fine and the stigma of being deemed a security risk.

Glad we have taken care of the security threat posed by literate middle-age women. But we still let large groups of Middle Eastern and Muslim men fly together and wander freely about the plane, so we may have a way to go before the skies are safe.

Hero's Family Abused At Leftist "Vigil For Dead Troops"

Leftists from the Dallas Peace Center called it a vigil to honor the 1000th US casualty in Iraq. They didn't actually expect family members of the dead, Chad Drake (killed near Baghdad on September 6) to show up to honor the troops. What happened next?

A family friend said the vigil turned abrasive toward the family members. The friend sent an e-mail message to NBC 5 News that described the alleged treatment some vigil attendees directed at the family.

The family friend's message alleges Drake's mother was "harassed and yelled at, booed and hissed, told her son died for nothing."

Quite a way for those at a vigil to "honor the dead" to treat the family of one of those who had died. These people dishonor the troops, especially those who have died.

But they live in America, where they have the freedom to do such things. In Saddam Hussein's Iraq, they weould all be in prison or dead today.

That is why they should be thankful for men like Chad Drake -- and George W. Bush.

Find Him -- Kill Him

Hey, when you confess to something of this enormous magnitude, it's hard to even justify the expense of a trial.

Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev has claimed responsibility for the deadly school hostage taking in southern Russia, according to a letter posted on a rebel website today.

Rebels commanded by Basayev have "carried out a series of successful military operations...", including "the operation in the town of Beslan", said a letter signed by the notorious warlord and posted on kavkazcenter.com.

The hostage crisis in early September killed more than 330 people, the majority of them children.

Kerry Supporters Destroy Child's Sign

Want one more reasons for considering so many Kerry supporters to be evil? Phil Parlock decided to take his three-year-old daughter to see John Edwards at the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, West Virginia -- and to engage in a little First Amendment protected speech by waving a Bush/Cheney sign. Kerry/Edwards supporters ripped the sign from the little girl and verbally abused her and her father (look at the smirking piece of excrement next to the father and daughter, mocking them).

Great class, folks -- picking on little children. This is why you will lose, because the decent people of America are going to rise up en masse against you.

By the way, Huntington is also the area where gunshots were fired into GOP headquarters as party faithful gathered to watch the president's acceptance speech during the convention. Were kerry supporters at this event questioned for involvement in that terrorist act, given their thuggish behavior today?

Let's Guess Which Candidate This Psycho Supports

A guy out in California running for the Thousand Oaks City Council is causing some real concerns. Both the local sheriff and the Secret Service turned out at this week's City Council meeting. Why?

Daniel Avila, 25, admitted Wednesday that he handed out fliers at the city's Oktoberfest celebration stating, "President George W. Bush Deserves to Be Assassinated." The handbill also called for a sex attack on the president's twin daughters.

Avila, who didn't attend the Tuesday night council session, wouldn't discuss his motives.

"I don't want to give any clue as to whether I'm serious or whether I'm playing around," he said. "I just think people need to allow something they don't like in their society to exist. In general that's what democracy is all about."

This guy needs to be in custody. Especially since in July he passed out bumper stickers advocating the murder of the president when he came to speak at a City Council meeting -- and brought a hatchet with him. He appears to be a danger to himself or others.

The article ends with this little gem.

Asked if he has ever committed a violent act, Avila said he has not.

"But if I did, I wouldn't be honest about it," he said.

Tell it to your cellmate, Danny-Boy.

Let Them Eat Ketchup!

Teresa Heinz Kerry doesn't think folks in the Carribean need clothes following the hurricanes!

"Clothing is wonderful, but let them go naked for a while, at least the kids," said Heinz Kerry, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. "Water is necessary, and then generators, and then food, and then clothes."

Actually, dear, cloting is necessary.

As I see it, there are a couple of possibilities.

First, Teresa could be the sort who gets her jollies looking at naked kids. One would hope not, but you never can be too careful these days.

Second, Teresa could be flashing back to her childhood home in Mozambique, where she and her fellow members of the colonialist oppressor class lived in luxury while the common people did without. She thinks poor little black kids don't need clothes.

Third, Teresa could simply have no clue, and be shooting off her mouth like an ignorant tramp again.

I vote for number three, but wonder about number one. I mean, she is pretty anxious to get those kids naked.

CBS Has Proof Bush Served, But Still Investigates

Look at the sidebar on this CBS story -- it contains a list of documents proving President Bush satisfactorily completed his service. So why are they still investigating? This should be a closed case.

Here they are, for your viewing pleasure.

Also view documents released by the White House reflecting President Bush's National Guard service:

• Memo from retired Lt. Col. Albert C. Lloyd on whether Mr. Bush satisfied Guard requirements

• Personnel Card listing points Mr. Bush earned from May 1972 to May 1973

• Service Record showing days Mr. Bush was credited with service from October 1972 to May 1973

• Service Record showing days Mr. Bush was credited with service from May 1973 to July 1973

• Pay Record listing days of service in 1972 and 1973, along with computer printouts of each quarter

• Dental Record showing the results of a dental examination Mr. Bush had on Jan. 6, 1973.

Is George Soros A Threat To The Republic?

In an unusual infusion of big money into local upstate politics, billionaire George Soros poured cash into the Albany County district attorney's race — and engineered a stunning defeat of the incumbent because the DA supports the strict Rockefeller drug laws.

He's succeeded in destabilizing foreign governments. He's succeeded in taking out a DA. He's trying to buy the presidency for Kerry. So I have to ask -- Is George Soros a threat to the American Republic?

After all, we are told that wealthy Americans pouring large amounts of money into campaigns undermines the system. But that is what Soros does. Consider this race, in which he engineered the defeat of a man whose offense was strongly supporting strong drug laws.

The Soros-founded Drug Policy Alliance Network — which favors repeal of the Rockefeller laws — contributed at least $81,500 to the Working Families Party, which turned around and supported the successful Democratic primary campaign of David Soares.

Trying to become Albany's first black DA, Soares on Tuesday unexpectedly trounced his former boss, incumbent Albany DA Paul Clyne, who has opposed changing the drug laws. The victory was overwhelming: Soares took 62 percent of the Democratic vote.

"This was more than a local race, that's what the [Soros] funding shows," said Assemblyman John McEneny, who supported the challenger's candidacy.

So I guess this means more use of shadowy groups to launder his money and make it appear like a grass-roots campaign to legalize drugs exists. Maybe Speaker Hastert is right, and there are drug groups involved in the Soros fortune.

But the part that makes me worry about our nations is later in the article.

While the Soros family has already donated more than $15 million to get rid of President Bush, it has also turned its attention to New York politics.

The Post recently reported that Soros' son, Robert, and his wife, Melissa Schiff Soros, donated $100,000 to state Senate Democrats.

I guess the folks worried about the integrity of elections don't see a need to protect us from rich Democrat partisans.

No "Ho! Ho! Ho!" At Target For Me!

This word in from Target Corporate headquarters.

National news reports indicate that Target Corp., which operates 1,272 stores in 47 states, decided earlier this year to end a longtime agreement that allowed the Salvation Army to solicit funds at its stores.

A lot of people will do with a lot less this year as social service agencies have to tighten their belt because of the loss of funds.

Let's make sure Target suffers at least as serious a belt-tightening.

Kerrys Among Richest Americans, Pay Little In Taxes

For all Joh Kerry complains about the Bush tax cut, he is more than willing to take advantage of it. Records released today show that they not only avoided paying the highest tax rate by using shelters and otehr loopholes, but they actually paid a lower percentage than the average Middle Class American Kerry professes concern for.

John and Teresa Kerry last year paid only 12% in income taxes. Apparently, Kerry, who rakes in just over $158,000 a year as a U.S. Senator, and his Heinz-heiress wife don't consider themselves "rich."

And it gets even more interesting when one looks at Kerrys state tax returns. Americans for tax Reform

also noted that "John Kerry has declined to pay a small, voluntary tax in his home state. The Massachusetts state income tax code contains a provision allowing payers to contribute an extra .6% of their income to benefit the commonwealth. Kerry has consistently failed to pay the extra money, which would have amounted to $687 dollars last year."

I guess that means that even though you don't need that tax cut, you are still greedy enough to keep it instead of giving it back to the federal government or even to the Massachusetts government. Hypocrite!

What Is Kerry Hiding?

Peter Kirsanow points out in National Review that John Kerry has gone over a month without having any sort of press conference. This is despite his promise on August 3.

"I have a plan that I'm going to have a press conference at least once a month to talk to the nation about what I'm doing because I don't have anything to hide."

Apparently that doesn't include during his time as a candidate, but only if we elect the secretive Mr. Kerry to the presidency.

What kind of things could reporters ask Kerry about? Kirsanow points to the following areas that are ripe for inquiry.

* What is his secret plan for dealing with Iraq? The senator refused to disclose it to George Stephanopolous.

* Senator Kerry still has not released Vietnam journal or authorized the release of all his military records by signing a DD-180. Why not if he wants to show he has experience to make him a strong wartime leader?

* Why won't Kerry allow the disclosure of his attendance records for classified briefings of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to show the American public how serious he has been about the intelligence failures of the last decade?

* Which foreign leaders have told Kerry they want to see him as president rather than Bush? This will tell us who is committed to join us in Iraq if we are no longer going to "go it alone" (and yes, Kirsanow and I both know we aren't).

* Will Kerry give us the details of his 1971 meeting with the Viet Cong in Paris? His involvement with Vietnam Veterans Against the War during the time assassinations and violence were contemplated?

The list goes on and on — secret tax returns, medical files, diplomatic missions, and hats. Senator Kerry is applying for the most powerful job in world. He needs to be interviewed by the media to prove that he's up to the task.

Al Michaels -- Conservative?

I missed this on Thursday night during the Patriots-Colts game in Boston.

When co-announcer John Madden marveled at the seesawing of the score - "This is what you call a flip-flop," he said - Michaels retorted: "You're in the right state for that."

By which Michaels meant Massachusetts, the home state of the Democratic presidential nominee, who's constantly being accused by President Bush's campaign team of "flip-flopping" on the issues.

And apparently James Carville is upset.

"These announcers are getting to think they're some kind of political commentators or pontificators," Carville told me. "But the football fans watch football to hear about football. If Al Michaels wants to give his political opinions, tell him to come on 'Crossfire.'"

Paul Begala, on the other hand, doesn't watch.

"I hardly ever watch ['Monday Night Football'] anymore. It's the television equivalent of Sominex. And they have had all these right-wingers on: Dennis Miller, Rush Limbaugh and Al Michaels - and all it does is drive viewers away."

Fortunately, ABC has the perfect response to this non-issue driven by gossip columnist Lloyd Grove.

"We don't respond to nonsense."

Kerry Claims GOP Plans Racial Vote Suppression

John Kerry again played the race card by claiming that the Bush campaign has a plan to keep blacks from voting and their votes from being counted. He offered no evidence for this assertion.

"We are not going to stand by and allow another million African American votes to go uncounted in this election," the Democratic presidential nominee told the Congressional Black Caucus. "We are not going to stand by and allow acts of voter suppression, and we're hearing those things again in this election."

Kerry has a team of lawyers to examine possible voting problems to try to prevent a repeat of the 2000 election disputes. He also has said he has thousands of lawyers around the country prepared to monitor the polls on election day.

"What they did in Florida in 2000, some say they may be planning to do this year in battleground states all across this country," Kerry said. "Well, we are here to let them know that we will fight tooth and nail to make sure that this time, every vote is counted and every vote counts."

As in the past, Kerry and his campaign failed to offer any evidence to support his assertion that a million blacks were disenfranchised in 2000.

I challenge John Kerry -- any Democrat, for that matter -- to post the evidence of such voter suppression plans on the internet, and to turn over their supporting information to the Justice Department and the relevant state AGs for investigation and prosecution.

But they won't. Kerry and his cronies are acting true to form. After all, we all know that Kerry was merely repeating claims of attrocities he heard at the Winter Soldier hearings -- and that many of the participants engaged in false testimony, with none willing to cooperate with authroities to bring to justice any actual perpetrators. They would rather have an issue to flog.

Did You Know Bush Tried To VolunteerFor Vietnam?

While doing a little research, I came across an intersting article from this past February. At least that is the recollection of William Campenni, a retired Virginia Air National Guard Lieutenant Colonel who served with Bush in the Texas Air National Guard.

According to Campenni, Bush inquired about participating in a volunteer program called Palace Alert that used Air National Guard pilots flying in the F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor jet in Vietnam.

The Air Guard advised Bush he did not have the desired 500 hours of flight time as a pilot to qualify for Palace Alert duty, and, in any event, the program was winding down and not accepting more volunteers.

Campenni also has an explanation of the gaps in the president's service time.

"[Excuses] for employment were common then and are now in the Air Guard, as pilots frequently are in career transitions, and most commanders, as I later was, are flexible in letting their charges take care of career affairs until they return or transfer to another unit near their new employment," said Campenni, who spent 33 years in the Air National Guards of three states as his career as an aerospace engineer took him around the country.

But I guess the word of a 33 year officer who served with President Bush just isn't sufficient for the partisans.

Patriarch Of Alexandria Dead In Helicopter Crash

Patriarch Petros VII of Alexandria and three other Orthodox bishops from Africa have been killed in a helicopter crash while traveling to the monasteries on Mount Athos. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may the light of your face shine upon them.

Nuke Test In North Korea?

A huge explosion occurred near the North Korean border with China on Thursday, apparently producing a mushroom cloud.

Could they be testing their nukes?