Don't Mess With Israel

"The left is testing its strength on Israel, but its ultimate target is the United States." ~ David Horowitz

I haven't been able to follow current events as closely as I want or need to lately, due to the fact that I've been very busy with my new job and a new relationship. For that, I apologize.

This latest conflict in the Mid-east has me more than a little concerned, not so much for the instability of the middle east, so much as for what it means for the future of America.

Unless I'm wrong, Israel didn't start this fight, and yet, I keep hearing about the hundreds of casualties being inflicted upon the Lebanese and the Hezbolla terrorists, but I have heard very little about the casualties inflicted upon the Israelis themselves. Not that nothing has been reported regarding Israeli lives lost. But it seems to me there is a lot more concern in the majority of the media for the loss of lives of Israel's enemies, than that of Israel's people.

They simply did what America should have done when terrorists first struck us. They retaliated swiftly and with as much force as they deem necessary.

I am concerned that the American media is backing the wrong horse in this fight.

This is my take:

Israel is the land God gave to the Jews. They are His chosen people. No one, not Palestine, not Hezbollah, not Lebanon, has any right to that land. It is Israel's. It has always been the Jewish people's land. God gave it to the Jews, and that is a fact. Wishing that the Jews lose, as the American media seems to want, doesn't change the fact.

This war will not go well for the enemy of God's chosen people. And it will not go well for any country or any countries media that supports the enemy of Israel.

Anyone that is against God's people is against God.

Any country that turns against God and His people is destined for destruction.

America has long been an ally of Israel and that is how it should be. As my regular readers know, I support America very strongly, but if we ever turn our backs on Israel I will be the first to speak out against America's policies.

It is the height of arrogance to suppose we know better than God.

These media people who seem to be in support of Israel's enemies are courting America's destruction. We need to support Israel in this conflict. The future of America depends on the future of Israel.

In the end, Israel and Israelis' people will win. God will assure that. If America ends up supporting Israel's enemies, America will be no more. The American media would do well to read the Bible and see what eventually happens to Israelis enemies.

Here is what I have to say to America, and to the American media:

If you want America to continue to be the greatest country on Earth, don't mess with Israel!

Social Insecurity

Sorry folks. I have been working such long hours recently, I got lazy and didn't check the facts on an e-mail I received. I just haven't had a lot of time to post and I felt guilty that I hadn't posted something, at least, so I got an e-mail from a friend, and didn't check it out, I just posted it. I apologize. Both for being lazy and for stooping so low as to simply accept a misleading e-mail as fact. I violated my own rules, that I set for myself to never post information without checking it's veracity first, and all I've done is embarrass myself. Also, although I have posted other peoples writings before, I really prefer to post original thoughts. I will be more careful in the future. Sorry again, and I'll try to post something more original and thoughtful in the future.

Entering a New Era (What? Again?)

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." ~ William Shakespeare

"Do you smoke?"

This was the first thing my new boss said to me the very first time I laid eyes upon him.

New boss? Yes, new boss. I suppose an explanation is in order here.

June 30, I was home in the morning eagerly awaiting the arrival of my 22 year old "natural" son, who was driving up here all the way from his home in Wichita, Kansas to spend a week with me and my youngest son, 17 year old John. He was then going to take John back to Wichita with him, to spend the remainder of the summer.

My kids, Anthony and John, before they left

He had called about an hour earlier to let me know he was close and would need to be directed the rest of the way. And then, an hour or so later, he called me from the gas station around the corner from me. Then he arrived and we exchanged pleasantries about his trip and his plans, and the scenery, and whatnot, but it was Friday morning and I still had to work.

For some reason, I wasn't getting a signal on my cell phone inside the house, so I had to go outside and stand across the street to call into my dispatcher and be logged on for the day. So I called.

Then the unthinkable happened.

I called in and one of the dispatchers, Alex, answered. I said, "This is four oh one two. Log me in".

"We don't have any work for you today". Alex said, as if this was not an unusual occurrence.

"Excuse me?" I said, not sure I heard him right.

"He repeated, "We don't have any work for you today."

"What do you mean you don't have any work for me today?"

"We just don't have any work for you today".

"I don't understand, I have a regular route. I always have work!" Growing nervous, "The same work everyday, How could I not have any work today?"

"Well", He said, matter-of-factly, "We don't have any work for you today."

Ok, the conversation went on like this for a while longer, with me getting increasingly anxious and Alex getting increasingly annoying with the same answer for my question, which I continued to ask over and over, but with different inflections and slightly different wording each time. Eventually, he told me he would have the boss call me with an explanation.

About an hour later, the boss called. He said, (and I quote) "We don't have any work for you today."

Eventually I managed to drag the information out of him that I had been summarily released from my contract. Not fired per se, but they had no work for me to do, possibly forever. This on the basis of some questionable reports about my conduct, which, to this day, still remains a mystery as to what I could have said or done to warrant losing my job.

And believe me, I surely have no clue. One thing I am sure about: I did not get the opportunity to defend myself, nor face my accuser, or even know what my particular offense was.

So I made some calls, and contacted some contacts, and the following Monday was filling out a questionnaire about my background for a background check, and interviewing for another position in Baltimore. I was told I had the job pending receipt of a good background check, but was not told any details about the position. Like, How much is the pay, and what would I be doing?

So, I spent the remainder of the week enjoying my impromptu (and unpaid) vacation, and spent much of the time with my sons. They left Thursday the 6th of July, and I called another company and inquired about the possibility of a position with them.

I visited them on Monday last week, and they hired me on the spot, without even reviewing my application. They asked me if I could start tomorrow morning (Tuesday) but I wanted to hear from the first place before I agreed to got to work for them.

I had made two job contacts and was offered both jobs, and now I had a dilemma. Which one should I take?

Easy choice, as it happened.

the first place called me back on Tuesday and told me I could start the very next day, whereupon they told me what my pay would be and what I would be doing.

I chose the second company. The one that was 35 miles closer to where I live.

So when I reported to my first day of work on Wednesday morning, the first words out of the mouth of my new boss, who I had just then laid eyes on for the first time was, "Do you smoke?"

He wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to make the guy who was going to train me miserable, since he doesn't smoke and doesn't want to ride with a smoker.

I don't smoke, and I rode with him.

Halfway through my first day, our truck broke down (bad alternator) and we had to call a tow truck to haul us from Martinsburg, West Virginia, to Frederick Maryland.

And therein lies another tale:

The tow truck driver was a sullen, strong silent type, and as soon as he arrived, he backed his truck up, and had the back end of our truck off the ground before I and my trainer even knew he had attached the mechanism. We scrambled out of our truck and into his just before he got back in his truck and started to move.

I was scrunched up against the driver, and as I am wont to do in such awkward situations, I made a joke. I said, "Hope you used your deodorant!"

To which the driver scowled and spoke the first and only words he was to utter the entire 45 miles back to Frederick:

"Shut the f*** up!"

So, we rode in silence a very uncomfortable 45 miles to Frederick, Maryland. When we arrived, the driver spoke again:

"Well, I don't know where they want it but I know where I'm going to put it!" He laughed and, just like turning on a switch, he suddenly became jovial, cheerful, and talked and laughed as if he hadn't earlier been behaving exactly the opposite.

I don't know. Bi-polar maybe?

Paper Tiger Should Show It's Teeth

"Above all things, never be afraid. The enemy who forces you to retreat is himself afraid of you at that very moment." ~ Andre Maurois

Recently, North Korea test fired some missiles that supposedly did not carry any warheads. From what I understand, the reason for the test was to determine if they had successfully built a missile with the capability of striking targets at long range.

There had been a lot of speculation about what America would do about it, and there was even some speculation that Bush would order the missiles shot down. Fortunately, the order was not necessary as it appears the missile tests were a failure.

So the world can breathe easier now.

Or can it?

I have given the matter some thought, and I will admit, before the tests were done, I was thinking that we really didn't have much choice but to shoot them out of the sky. There are several reasons I thought it was the best thing for us to do.

First, we really don't know what that little pot bellied dictator will do. For all we knew, those missiles were armed with nuclear warheads. What if they were? Could we really trust Ill to not send them up armed? How would we be able to tell if they were or not? If they had been armed and the tests were successful, he could have taken out an entire American city before we could react. Remember, this little dictator is not in his right mind. You can't put anything past a crazy person.

Second, we had to take them out simply to show North Korea that we are not the "paper tiger" that Osama bin Laden says we are. When a bully threatens to take your lunch money, you don't back down and meekly hand it over because he will be waiting there the next day to take it again. You have to stand your ground and make it clear that you cannot be intimidated. Letting that missile test go off unmolested made us appear cowardly, in my opinion.

Also, the other nations of the world were watching. If American wants the support of nations like Russia and Germany and Japan and China in the future, in the preparation of a war or a police action, we had better show them that to get on the wrong side of the United States is a risky decision.

When Muhammed Ali was the world heavyweight boxing champion, he wasn't well liked primarily because he was brash, arrogant, and cocky. He actually would predict the exact round in which he intended to take his opponents out! But guess what? He was able to back up his boasts. If he said he would knock out his opponent in the seventh round, he knocked out his opponent in the seventh round.

He earned respect from both his detractors and his opponents because he was able to prove that he was exactly what he said he was. The greatest of all time. America would be wise to follow Ali's example.

By the same token, if America wants respect from her allies, we had better show them that we have the muscle to get the job done and the willingness to demand their support. Blowing those missiles out of the sky would have proved to them that we are perfectly capable and willing to do whatever it takes to convince our enemies of our strength and capablities.

It was our failure to stick it out and fight in Bosnia that prompted Osama bin Laden to characterize America as a "Paper Tiger" Consequently, we are in a war that, if we had taken a stand and struck back decisively, we may have avoided in the first place. You cannot allow bullies to take your lunch money and expect them to not take further liberties. If you do, they know they can.

Fortunately, the missile tests failed. Perhaps our missile defense system was at the ready in case the course was altered. We may never know. Rush Limbaugh suggested that it is entirely possible that we did shoot the missiles out of the sky, but won't admit it because of national security. That's an interesting theory except for one thing. If we had, the New York Slimes would have already printed that information.

But I think we made a mistake not showing our teeth to North Korea in this case.

CIA Reorganizes

"People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news." ~ A. J. Liebling

Well, the New York Slimes has done it again.

What you may ask?

Now they are reporting that the CIA is no longer interested in pursuing Osama bin Laden. This, in their typical fashion, is misleading. The CIA has not stopped looking for bin Laden. They have simply disbanded a special unit who's mission was to capture him.

They go on to say, "The decision to close the unit was first reported Monday by National Public Radio".

The first indication that should make us examine this story a little closer, is that National Public Radio reported the story. Between them and The New York Slimes, one couldn't find two more subversive, anti-American, anti-Bush News outlets.

Michael Scheuer, a former senior C.I.A. official who was the first head of the unit, said the move reflected a view within the agency that Mr. bin Laden was no longer the threat he once was.

Mr. Scheuer said that view was mistaken.

"This will clearly denigrate our operations against Al Qaeda," he said. "These days at the agency, bin Laden and Al Qaeda appear to be treated merely as first among equals."

I wonder if Mr. Scheur is the mysterious anonymous source from whom the Slimes has been getting all those National security secrets they have been disclosing to our enemies?

In recent years, the war in Iraq has stretched the resources of the intelligence agencies and the Pentagon, generating new priorities for American officials. For instance, much of the military's counterterrorism units, like the Army's Delta Force, had been redirected from the hunt for Mr. bin Laden to the search for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed last month in Iraq.

Leave it to the Slimes to put a negative slant on The war in Iraq. They are attempting to make it look like we are losing, which, of course, we aren't.

An intelligence official who was granted anonymity to discuss classified information said the closing of the bin Laden unit reflected a greater grasp of the organization. "Our understanding of Al Qaeda has greatly evolved from where it was in the late 1990's," the official said, but added, "There are still people who wake up every day with the job of trying to find bin Laden."

Wait. An intelligence official who was granted anonymity to discuss classified information? By whom was this mysterious anonymous official granted anonymity? By the New York Slimes? By NPR? If any official is granted anonymity to discuss classified information, it certainly wouldn't be by a socialist News organization.

In his book "Ghost Wars," which chronicles the agency's efforts to hunt Mr. bin Laden in the years before the Sept. 11 attacks, Steve Coll wrote that some inside the agency likened Alec Station to a cult that became obsessed with Al Qaeda.
"The bin Laden unit's analysts were so intense about their work that they made some of their C.I.A. colleagues uncomfortable," Mr. Coll wrote. Members of Alec Station "called themselves 'the Manson Family' because they had acquired a reputation for crazed alarmism about the rising Al Qaeda threat."

Obsessed? Made their colleagues uncomfortable? Crazed alarmism? Oh yes, throw in another negative zinger which is totally unrelated to the decision to disband the unit.

Obviously, the Slimes is counting on the fact that most Slimes readers haven't the attention span to read the article all the way through the last paragraph. The true reason the unit was disbanded is found in the last paragraph of the article.:

Intelligence officials said Alec Station was disbanded after Robert Grenier, who until February was in charge of the Counterterrorist Center, decided the agency needed to reorganize to better address constant changes in terrorist organizations.

It is simply a re-organization. The Slimes has once again created the proverbial mountain out of the proverbial molehill. But only to create even more animosity toward the United States from the Liberals.

Liberals love to bring up the argument that bin Laden is the only person responsible for terrorist attacks across the globe, and that our focus should be his capture.

In fact, the Liberals love to bring up any argument that can further denigrate America, our troops, and the President.

But as the death of Zarqawi has demonstrated, with or without bin Laden, terrorism will still be the most imminent threat to the safety and security of the world, and will still be the reason our troops are fighting in Iraq.

There is no doubt that the capture of bin Laden is pivotal to sucess in the GWOT, but he is not the only threat to the world.

In fact, because of the constant vigilance of President Bush, and the armed forces of America, and yes, even the CIA, bin Laden has been pretty much neutralized.

The History of Independence Day

"America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens." ~ George W. Bush

In a recent survey, 71% of Conservatives describe themselves as very proud to be American, while only 42% or Liberals said they are very proud of being American. This is no surprise to the Conservatives. When Liberals do everything they can to undermine the efforts of the troops in Iraq, and call their commander-in-chief a war criminal and a liar, is there really any doubt that these people are considered by true mainstream Americans to be un-American?

Today, we celebrate the 230th birthday of the United States of America. This is the greatest country on Earth, in spite of those Americans that hate their own country, the Liberals, this is still the home of the brave and the land of the free, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Independence Day is the national holiday of the United States of America commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At the time of the signing the US consisted of 13 colonies under the rule of England's King George III. Leading up to the signing, there had been growing unrest in the colonies surrounding the taxes that colonists were required to pay to England. The major objection was "Taxation without Representation" -- the colonists had no say in the decisions of English Parliament.

Rather than negotiating, King George sent extra troops to the colonies to help control any rebellion that might be arising. The following timeline will give you a crash course in the history that lead to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and America's break from British rule.

1774 - The 13 colonies send delegates to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to form the First Continental Congress. While unrest was brewing, the colonies were far from ready to declare war.

April 1775 -- King George's troops advance on Concord, Massachusetts, prompting Paul Revere's midnight ride that sounded the alarm "The British are coming, the British are coming."

The subsequent battle of Concord, famous for being the "shot heard round the world," would mark the unofficial beginning of the American Revolution.

May 1776 -- After nearly a year of trying to work our their differences with England, the colonies again send delegates to the Second Continental Congress.

June 1776 -- Admitting that their efforts were hopeless, a committee was formed to compose the formal Declaration of Independence. Headed by Thomas Jefferson, the committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston and Roger Sherman.

June 28, 1776 -- Jefferson presents the first draft of the declaration to congress.

July 4, 1776 -- After various changes to Jefferson's original draft, a vote was taken late in the afternoon of July 4th. Of the 13 colonies, 9 voted in favor of the Declaration; 2, Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted No; Delaware was undecided and New York abstained.

John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. It is said that he signed his name "with a great flourish" so "King George can read that without spectacles!"

July 6, 1776 -- The Pennsylvania Evening Post is the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence.

July 8, 1776 -- The first public reading of the declaration takes place in Philadelphia's Independence Square. The bell in Independence Hall, then known as the "Province Bell" would later be renamed the "Liberty Bell" after its inscription - "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof."

August 1776 - The task begun on July 4, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was not actually completed until August. Nonetheless, the 4th of July has been accepted as the official anniversary of United States independence from Britain.

July 4, 1777 -- The first Independence Day celebration takes place. It's interesting to speculate what those first 4th festivities were like. By the early 1800s the traditions of parades, picnics, and fireworks were firmly established as part of American Independence Day culture


The Star Spangled Banner
The National Anthem of the United States of America, written by Francis Scott Key, is a song that stirs emotion in many a citizen. It can be an uplifting experience to be at a public event and join in the singing of this proud anthem.

But believe it or not, some people don't know all the words to the song. They may know how to fake it, lipsynching and mumbling during the opening festivities at Ball Games. But the fact remains, they do not know the words to the National Anthem!

Friends, don't let this happen to you. Before you head out for 4th of July festivities, take a moment to memorize the lyrics to the nation's most important song.

For the purposes of the average public celebration, knowing the first verse of the anthem is plenty to get you by. True purists, however, will want to know all four verses.



The Star Spangled Banner

By Francis Scott Key

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Happy Independence Day!