Jaw Dropper of the Moment

Are you ready for the next drop away descent on this roller coaster of alternate periods of hopeful sanity and 180° looniness? (When was the last actual move or gesture that seemed sensibly protective and fruitful anyway??)

Try this:

"Members of the most active West Bank terror organization are set to participate in security forces being deployed to protect President Bush during his visit to the Palestinian territories next month...

According to Israeli security officials coordinating deployments of forces with the PA for Bush's Ramallah visit, members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah's declared military wing, have been called upon by the PA to participate in the protection of Bush's convoy and in securing the perimeter during the meeting with Abbas.

The Brigades is listed as a terror organization by the U.S. State Department. The group took credit along with the Islamic Jihad terror organization for every suicide bombing in Israel between 2005 and 2006, and is responsible for thousands of shootings and rocket firings. Statistically, the Al Aqsa Brigades perpetuated more terrorism from the West Bank than Hamas, according to the Israeli Defense Forces..."

I struggle to find words to describe this incredibly blatant move of stupidity! How can Bush and Co. be so utterly naive and place this country at such a perilous doorstep inviting catastrophe? How does this game of all inclusiveness in the name of the Cult of PC trump our knowledge of the history of such terrorists? On the heels of the Bhutto assassination, has Jorge become suicidal also?

You will never get to the end of the list of the atrocities committed by the Al Aqsa Brigades, but in the interest of illustration I will point you to this exceptionally well organized timeline presented by LindaSog of 'Something... and Half of Something'. If you are not a reader of her excellent anti-Islamicist blog, the following excerpts from her post will give you a strong whiff of her unwavering grasp of the here and now:

"I understand your concern but remember, President Bush has given Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah his official Seal of Approval. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is the military arm of Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party and they are armed and trained by the US, using US tax dollars.

I'm tired of the double standard, why does the War on Terror stop at Israel's border?

Given President Bush's support of Abbas and his merry band of terrorists, he should put his life into their hands, just as he has asked Israeli citizens to do. If there are consequences, well, he should suffer them. If something horrible happens, I would say he has reaped what he has sown.

And if Fatah does kill him, well, they'll just blame it on Hamas.

The "moderate" Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigages is President Bush's pet terrorist group and they have been killing Jews for over 40 years.

Its a funny thing about terrorists, whether you call them extremist or moderate, no matter which brand of terrorist kills you, you are still dead, as are all of these innocent people killed by Israel's Partners in Peace™ - Mahmoud Abbas's moderates, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades..."

If Jorge Bush were just some regular schmo whose death would be just another notch in the gun barrel of some crazed terrorist, it would still be very bad. But he is our fricken' President, and to even ignore the message that his act of foolishness will send, sans his very possible death at the hands of the snakes he attempts to charm, is an inexcusable disservice to America and the people who have placed the office in his hands. The social, economic and security implications of his potential murder, at the hands of these barbarians he seeks to cast in a civilized light, are completely off the scale! This is very simply unconscionable.

What the hell has happened to reason, reality and recognition? God, once again... save us.

Next?

Today, December 28th, 2007...

• A symbolic former Prime Minister's voice, who spoke loudly against the existing militaristic, totalitarian regime, is buried after completely predictable, prescient and successful assassination.



• The country is populated with 161 million people (98% Muslim, comprising 11% of the 1.3 billion world Islamic population). It was estimated in February of 2007 that 79% are supportive of sharia law and 67% want to "keep Western values out".



• Our current administration either did not recognize, or otherwise ignored, the imperative to keep Benazir Bhutto alive, if for no other basic reason than to avoid the likely civil war (and higher level of chaos than is normal there) that this murder may well now propel.



• Meanwhile, in the aftermath of political traction control as they motor over the fallout, we have beaming intellectual offerings such as this tidbit:
  
  

  Obama, campaigning in Williamsburg, Iowa, said Washington should cut military aid to Pakistan, until Musharraf embraced democracy, and said the US invasion of Iraq was a distraction from the "war on terror."


[Yeah, another quaking Democratic wisdom... Translation: Given that Musharraf is already between our influence to combat Al Qaeda (GOOD) and Al Qaeda's pressure to yield to them (ummmmmm...BAD!), let's take away our support and incentives and leave him with but one place to turn... that'll show him!]


• The Heffalump "demands" the timelessly classic liberal afterthought:
  
  

  "I'm calling for a full, independent, international investigation," Clinton said in an interview with CNN.
  
  "I think it's critically important that we get answers and really those are due first and foremost to the people of Pakistan"



• Something slightly more realistically important might be this:
  
  

  The U.S. has few options in Pakistan. One thing is clear, says Peter Galbraith, senior fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation: It is "not a good idea to have 70 nuclear weapons in the hands of a country that is falling apart."

What if we quietly squeezed Musharraf behind the scenes until he gave us the wink on using his air space to allow bombing the crap out of the 40+ known, located and identified terrorist training camps in the remote northwestern Khyber regions of Pakistan and Waziristan?

What if we covertly, effectively guarded the life of the next Bhutto who might offer a long term solution to Musharraf?

What if we kept Musharraf well preserved, too, at least until such time that we have a better confirmed alternative? When the bar you are in is full of bad guys and you get in a fight, anybody that will stand and fight at your back with you should be immune from complaints about bad breath or needs for plastic surgery, at least for the duration of the fight!

How about some extra effort on our part to keep Nawaz Sharif alive? Even if it means removing him from Pakistan?

Outrageous, crazy thoughts? Maybe, but perhaps we should consider the importance of not screwing up a couple more of these 'situations'.

If it is not already an ignited powder keg, with NUKES onboard that can disappear fast and frisky into Al Qaeda hands during more turmoil... shall we just sit around and casually wait to see what happens next?

This situation is much bigger than the "sadness" and "tragedy" surrounding the loss of Benazir Bhutto's life. Ignoring that fact will only unlock more doors, doors that might well be un-closeable, to a much bigger cauldron.

"...what bothers me is not the technical security of the nuclear weapons at the moment; it's the possibility of losing command and control over them or having control over them fall into the hands of militant Islamists within the Pakistani military. That's a very grave danger at the moment, I believe."

-John Bolton on H&C December 27th, 2007

As the cold winter sets in...





And children play...













And many things settle for a long, snowy nap...










We wish you all those wonderful, little things that make us remember the true spirit of Christmas...









and what makes it so timelessly special...





From our home to yours...







We sincerely wish you good cheer!





May God bless and keep our great nation!

Denial...
and Coming Attractions

So someone finally remained calm, worked their brain (instead of their sprinting legs) and concentrated on carefully using offensive gun fire to stop another madman hell bent on killing masses of innocents. I wouldn't want to say I told ya' so, along with millions of other law abiding citizen/gun owners, but WE sure DID!

Jeanne Assam, a church member who volunteers as a security guard, shot and killed [another nobody], who was found with a rifle and two handguns, police said. The pastor called her "a real hero."

I bet she hates being called a hero. She is an excellent citizen.

Ummm, but, did anybody read that? He had a rifle and two handguns, but he was stopped when he was hit by a few well placed rounds by this lone woman. That is the key here. These idiots fall down and die when hit by accurate return fire. This is much better than our friends and family members dying at the bloody hands of these random murderers.

This is not a sick plague of death wish cultists that we cannot resist and frequently stop. We simply need to have some responsible members of our society trained and armed if and when they wish to be. Just like the Second Amendment mentioned rather specifically.

"When the shots were fired, she rushed toward the scene and encountered the attacker there in a hallway. He never got more than 50 feet inside our building," he said. "There could have been a great loss of life yesterday, and she probably saved over 100 lives." [emphasis mine]

And now it is being reported that the non-specific Earth scum finally offed himself after, and only after Ms. Assam hit him several times with her controlled deadly fire.

He wouldn't have done it unless she had first fired and hit him. Or if he had been boxed in by some other equal opposing force. Like the police and/or the SWAT team maybe, but several minutes and numerous victims later. The difference was an armed individual already on the scene... not armed police trying desperately to show up before it's too late. Ask the folks who know they were next, but lived this time to be asked.

I bet the no life's last thoughts were disappointment that someone, in a church of all places, would be armed and cause his rampage to end so soon with such a low body count, but, too late...poof.

*YAWN*

Where's a common thug have to go to find a "criminal safe" gun free zone to shoot innocent people in anymore?? Somebody surprised about what happened when Mr. Spineless met resistance??

Those bullet holes in him probably hurt a lot, and after all, this madness he inflicted upon people at prayer was all about "healing" his pain, right? 'Cause it's all about him! And by administering death randomly, permanently, upon people he views as merely worthless targets, he treats them like he correctly regards himself. Then he throws his own light switch to stop it all when HE feels real pain.

Too damn bad he didn't just stay in his bedroom and 'take care of his pain' by himself instead of killing four unknown innocents first. Less... than... worm.

"About 7,000 people were in and around the church the time of the shooting", Boyd said.

But he was stopped and he is dead. And a whole bunch of potential victims aren't. He was stopped by a trained individual with a firearm. These are facts.

End of the Dark Ages of Denial? Gun owner vindication? Hardly. This is certainly not the first time that a killer has been stopped by deadly force. But just watch how it gets twisted.

Predictions...

***Ms. Assam will be found, "upon further investigation into her background", to be a raving nutcase, who has been seething to find her first self defense "kill opportunity" literally all her life!

***"See, she was a former police officer and security guard, and everybody knows only those 'not-ordinary-citizens' are trained, capable and special enough to defend the herd."

***If the security guard had just left him alone, he would have had time to think things over and realize he really shouldn't kill any more than the four tragically unfortunate victims he had already. He probably would have surrendered after that...



***UPDATE***

Benning of Benning's Writing Pad has mentioned another story I was unaware of (many thanks, Benning!) pertaining to two other "security" guards on the scene ahead of Ms. Assam... Here are some highlights from the story he included in his comment, which I thought should get more direct attention:

'Bourbonnais, 59, had just finished up a hamburger in the cafeteria on the sprawling church campus when he heard gunfire, he recalled.

He headed in the direction of the shots as frightened people ran past him looking to escape to safety.

"Where's the shooter? Where's the shooter?" Bourbonnais kept yelling, he recalled.

Near an entryway in the church, Bourbonnais came upon the gunman and an armed male church security guard who was there with his gun drawn but not firing, he said.

Bourbonnais said he pleaded with the armed guard to give him his weapon.

"Give me your handgun. I've been in combat, and I'm going to take this guy out," Bourbonnais recalled telling the guard. "He kept yelling, 'Get behind me! Get behind me!' He wouldn't hand me his weapon, but he wouldn't do anything."

There was an additional armed security guard there, another man, who also didn't fire, Bourbonnais said.

Bourbonnais yelled at the gunman to draw his attention, he said.

"First, I called him 'Coward' then I called him 'S---head' " Bourbonnais said. "I probably shouldn't have been saying that in church."

That's when the shooter pointed one of his guns at Bourbonnais and fired, he said.

Bourbonnais ducked behind a hollow, decorative pillar and was hit in the arm by a bullet and fragments of the pillar.

So we also have examples of supposedly trained security guards who could not, or would not, do their jobs. These are the same folks that many gun control advocates would point to as the only "reasonable" answer to the question of armed responses to criminal assault.

We also have a trained ex-military citizen who still could not break the guards from their stupor and allow placement of the tool (they could not bring themselves to use) in capable hands. Indeed, this was quite a condensed incident which displayed many lessons in a short time.

Wouldn't you just hope a few formerly blind folks might open their eyes as a result?

Christmas Strife?
I Have a Friend...

I was standing in a very long, crowded line of folks waiting to cash out their purchases, in a busy store, in a relatively small town by most modern city definitions. There was the usual, expected array of faces and expressions. Most looked tired... stressed... taxed. People. People with lives, concerns, expectations, schedules and responsibilities. I silently told myself there was nothing unusual going on here. I only had a couple of things to pay for, but there were no 'short' lines, so I relaxed and waited quietly.

A well dressed, stunningly pretty lady stood just ahead of me with a small child of perhaps three or four years old in her arms. I had seen the woman hastily snatch the little girl from the shopping cart ahead of her... it was piled high with what were assumably Christmas gifts, leaving almost no room for the brightly snowsuit clad baby. The woman was impatient and scolded the little girl as she repeatedly reached for all those little hangy things on the aisle pegboards that wall in the funnels to each checkout register. The child, who was as beautiful as her mother, looked a bit confused as to why her mother was so irritated, but continued to paw at the shiny items that captured nearly her entire attention otherwise. Afterall, it's in her contract, right?

The woman continued to become more irritated by the slow, distant cashier's progress, the normal child antics of her daughter, a person in front of her that didn't close up the opening in the line ahead of her as quickly as she thought it should have been, etc.. She was obviously very susceptible to any additional perceived annoyances. She swore under her breath, shook her head with gloom while looking at the floor and repeated warnings to her little girl with a tone that became increasingly more strained.

Suddenly, the woman looked up at the ceiling and asked aloud, "God, why am I so unlucky that you burden me with such always impossible tasks?"

I shocked myself by reactively reaching out and gently squeezing the shoulder of that lady. She turned and shot me a laser look that would have sliced other bodies behind me in half, long after it obliterated me. I felt awkward and very pressured to justify my unsolicited gesture, yet the words just spilled from me calmly, in a low voice that only the two of us would really hear. I think I was as surprised as she was. What I said to her was something very close to this:

"Ma'am, I have a friend who repairs my vehicles. He does so with an ever present smile and an optimism that always makes me look hard in my mirror. He lives alone and is long divorced now. I think many people take advantage of his kindness and good will, I strongly suspect perhaps even some of his own flesh and blood. But he is stubbornly undaunted by anything and everything. He is also a double amputee at the hips. I don't pity him in the slightest... he would never want or allow that. Rather, I admire him highly."

"And Ma'am, I have a friend who was in an ultra light plane accident at the age of only 23. He has lived his last 29 years as a quadraplegic in a wheelchair. In September, he was operated on for colon cancer and is now recovering. He has a beautiful, intelligent wife who holds a PHD. He always has a smile and a ribald joke... or three. He never complains, he just lives, happily and without self pity, and pushes every boundary he can with unstoppable determination. He is an inspiration to me."

Her face had softened and she already had a tear trickling down her cheek. I tried to speak in an intentionally kind, gentle tone... yet my words kept coming.

"Ma'am, I too have a friend for whom Christmas is a real challenge of inner strength, tenacity, faith... and endurance. His wife was killed in a motorcycle accident two years ago this Christmas Eve. She was young and vibrant and always took life by the horns. And God suddenly took her without warning or explanation. He is one of my dearest, long time friends in this world, though I struggle to grasp his pain and anguish while wondering how I might handle it if the situation was my own. He will never have another 'normal' Christmas. He sets a high bar of courage for me."

"And Ma'am, I had a friend who dearly loved and cared for his wife. She chose to deceive him and had an affair with one of his faux 'friends'. She let him down and she let their beautiful daughter down. In early October, he let us all down by tragically committing suicide. As much as I loved him and now understand his misery, I cannot forgive him for that. He will never have another Christmas. His daughter will never have another Christmas with Daddy. He has left us all with a hurtful, lasting lesson."

The lady stood before me wide eyed with disbelief. I patted her shoulder again to try to reassure her and gently pushed her shopping cart foreward a few feet to close the gap ahead of her that had opened in the long line without her noticing. I realized that a pair of elderly ladies behind me had become silent and were also listening to what I was saying.

"Ma'am, I see a lovely, well dressed and groomed woman in front of me. I see a gorgeous little girl, healthy, well kept and as pretty as her mother. I see a shopping cart full of gifts for those you care about and love... and I'm sure they love you back just as much. I see a large, elaborate engagement and wedding ring pair on your finger, telling me there is a husband for whom you two surely mean the world. Can you not see what I see, Ma'am? Has God really treated you so unjustly?"

I didn't know if I was going to be slapped, reported to management for some perceived infraction or just what. Without a sound she turned and repositioned the items in her shopping cart. She then placed the little girl back in the child seat.

I thought at that point that we were done, and I might escape this encounter without being insulted, hit or arrested. Much to my amazement, she turned and gave me a full, tight embrace and thanked me.

"Sometimes, Sir, we each need help to truly see."

All I could stammer was "Merry Christmas, Ma'am". She returned the sentiment in a loud voice and it was then echoed again from behind me. I turned and saw wide, approving smiles on the faces of the old ladies.

It was the most genuinely moving Christmas moment I have experienced in many, many years. This happened about a week ago and I have wrestled with writing about it since. Finally, I just decided to do it anyway, even if it is viewed as too corny and mushy by some. I probably haven't done a very good job of conveying it here, but I have some great readers who might get the idea regardless. Sometimes, we just have to gamble, you know?

Merry Christmas everybody. Take inventory of your blessings and be thankful.

Same as the Old Song

"The better approach is to achieve that kind of defense [HA!] ...through the lawful collection of information that gives us advance warning that an attack may occur."

Yeah, sure... We'll just surveil everyone until we become clairvoyant and can see a threat coming in our crystal ball...

"These random acts of violence can strike anywhere -- at schools, office buildings, post offices -- anywhere law-abiding citizens are present," Simon Property Group, which owns several US malls, said in a statement.

"Law enforcement and security prevention measures, no matter how good, cannot forestall a tragedy such as this from happening...".

A sliver of truth emerges from the gray of smoke and mirrors!

ONE trained law abiding ARMED citizen, in the midst of these scampering, universally unarmed sea of 'victims by choice'... could have prevented eight funerals and eight clusters of family and friends for whom Christmas will now forever be a period of mourning! It is so sad to continue to watch our people in a perpetual state of denial. Meanwhile, we insist on fearing the law abiding rather than the unmerciful vermin who continue to perpetrate death and violence upon all of us.

All together now, Sheeple...

Baaaaaaaaaaah !!!

...and the beat goes on.

Truth From ABC??

My sweet wife would say, "How did it happen?"

Respectfully stolen, with credit to Tammi at Sunflower Desert