Wednesday, December 31, 2008

1600 Murdered in Juarez in 2008!!!!

A Very Sad year for our sister city!!

In brief: Juárez respite ends as 2 men are slain
El Paso Times Staff
Posted: 12/31/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

Juárez respite ends as 2 men are slain
A man was shot and killed in the ProNaF tourist area of Juárez on Tuesday, ending a two-day span without a homicide in the troubled city, Chihuahua state police said.
The unidentified man was left for dead about 3:30 p.m. in the middle of the street not far from the building housing the Mexican attorney general's office, or PGR, on Avenida Abraham Lincoln.
At 12:15 p.m., a man identified as Armando González, 43, died after being taken to a the Santa Maria medical clinic with a gunshot wound, police said.
About 1,600 homicides have occurred in the city so far this year. Many are related to a drug war.
Daniel Borunda

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_11340816?IADID=Search-www.elpasotimes.com-www.elpasotimes.com

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

UCG Blogs!!!!!- Bumped

I wanted to let you know about some UCG blogs. The first list is by some who are not ministers that you might want to read to understand how lay people follow God. Most of these weave a member's other interests into how they follow God. The other is by ministers or from the official church, so that you can be in the know. You can subscribe to these by RSS feed. Also if I missed one, let me know and if you start one yourself, definitely let me know!

Lay Members
http://itsapaulworld.blogspot.com/
http://bloggingmilford.blogspot.com/
http://myittybittylittlecorner.blogspot.com/
http://braveanonymousposter.blogspot.com/
http://contenttowait.blogspot.com/
http://nathanalbright.blogspot.com/
http://thisisrich.blogspot.com/
http://uycjordan08.blogspot.com/

Ministers & Official UCG
http://feeds.feedburner.com/United-Church-of-God
http://feeds.feedburner.com/GoodNewsMagazine
http://feeds.feedburner.com/VerticalThought
http://www.beyondtoday.tv/
http://members.ucg.org/fathersbusiness/
http://wnponline.wordpress.com/
http://www.kubik.org/
http://vkubik.livejournal.com/
http://www.lifenets.org//

And, of course, my own blog here
http://brianleesblog.blogspot.com/

By the way, I've included all of the ones listed above on the "Check this out" portion of my own blog in case you misplace this

Watch Al Franken Steal an Election!

I previously posted about this race here
http://brianleesblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/rebuilding-conservative-movement-what.html and here
http://brianleesblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/click-here-first-httpbrianleesblog.html
and yet, it does look like this Senate seat will be STOLEN which does show how the representative republic form of government is eroding in this nation. I hope this shocks you into realizing what is happening in this nation!

ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS 20 EXTRA VOTES FOR FRANKEN
by Ann Coulter
It's bad enough that the Republican Party can't prevent Democrats from voting in its primaries and saddling us with The New York Times' favorite Republican as our presidential nominee. If the Republican Party can't protect an election won by the incumbent U.S. senator in Minnesota, there is no point in donating to the Republican Party. The day after the November election, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman had won his re-election to the U.S. Senate, beating challenger Al Franken by 725 votes. Then one heavily Democratic town miraculously discovered 100 missing ballots. And, in another marvel, they were all for Al Franken! It was like a completely evil version of a Christmas miracle. As strange as it was that all 100 post-election, "discovered" ballots would be for one candidate, it was even stranger that the official time stamp for the miracle ballots printed out by the voting machine on the miracle ballots showed that the votes had been cast on Nov. 2 -- two days before the election. Democratic election officials in the miracle-ballot county simply announced that their voting machine must have been broken. Don't worry about it -- they were sure those 100 votes for Franken were legit. Then another 400-odd statistically improbable "corrections" were made in other Democratic strongholds until -- by the end of election week -- Coleman's lead had been whittled down to a mere 215 votes. Since then, highly irregular counting methods have added to Franken's total bit by bit, to the point that Coleman is now ahead by only 188 votes. As long as Coleman maintains any lead at all, Republicans don't seem to care that Coleman's advantage is being shrunk by laughable ballot "discoveries" and disreputable standard-switching from precinct to precinct -- depending on which method of counting ballots is most advantageous to Franken. Consider a few other chilling examples of Democrats thieving their way to victory over the years. In 1974, Republican Louis Wyman won his race for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, beating Democrat John Durkin by 355 votes. Durkin demanded a recount -- which went back and forth by a handful of votes until the state's Ballot Law Commission concluded that Wyman had indeed won by (at least) two votes. Wyman was certified the winner by the New Hampshire secretary of state and was on his way to Washington when ... the overwhelmingly Democratic U.S. Senate refused to seat Wyman. Despite New Hampshire's certification of Wyman as the winner of the election, this was the post-Watergate Senate, when Democrats could get away with anything -- up to and including a prank known as "President Jimmy Carter." The U.S. Senate spent months examining disputed ballots from the New Hampshire election. Unable to come up with a method to declare the Democrat the winner that didn't require a guillotine, the Senate forced New Hampshire to hold another election. It was a breathtaking abuse of power. New Hampshire had certified a winner of its Senate election, but it was a Republican, so the Democratic Senate simply ordered a new election. Demoralized Republicans stayed away from the race and, this time, the Democrat won the re-vote. Even more egregious was the Indiana House race in 1984. On election night, the incumbent Democrat Frank McCloskey appeared to have won a narrow victory of 72 votes. But after a correction was made in one county, it turned out his Republican opponent, Richard McIntyre, had won by 34 votes. McIntyre was certified the winner -- which is when the trouble usually starts for a Republican. Again, a majority Democrat House refused to seat the certified winner in a close election. I'm sure it was just a coincidence that the winner was a Republican. Consequently, Indiana performed yet another recount of the entire district, which again showed that Republican McIntyre was the winner -- this time by 418 votes. Now he was really asking for it. The nerve of this guy! Hey, buddy, do you mind? We're trying to throw an election over here! As The Washington Post reported at the time: There were "no allegations of fraud" in the recount and 90 percent of ballot disqualifications had been agreed to "by election commissions dominated by Democrats." So naturally the House refused to seat the Republican even though he had received the most votes (hereinafter referred to as "the winner"). The House proceeded to conduct its own recount. (If you haven't detected a pattern by this point, please ask your doctor if Prilosec is right for you.) This time, instead of ordering the district to hold another election, the Democratic House saved all concerned a lot of time and money by simply declaring Democrat Frank McCloskey the winner by four votes. The vote-theft most like Minnesota this year was the infamous 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington State. The Republican won the race on election night, but ballots favoring the Democrat kept being "discovered" until the Democrat finally eked out a majority. At that point, the recount was immediately halted and the Democrat declared the victor. You would have to go back to Reconstruction to find an election that was stolen by the Republicans this way, but it's all in a day's work for the Democrats. That's why they were so testy about the 2000 Florida election. It was the one time in the last century Republicans wouldn't let Democrats steal an election they lost by less than a thousand votes. No matter how many times Democrats steal elections, Republicans keep thinking the next time will be different. Minnesota is famously clean, isn't it? It must be different. It's not different. It's still the Democrats.
www.anncoulter.com

Sarah Palin - Conservative of the Year

As you know, I have blogged extensively on Sarah Palin this year. Now she is getting recognition for her stances that she has taken as one of the most maligned political figures since W.

Sarah Palin: Conservative of the Year
by Ann Coulter
12/22/2008
Sarah Palin wins HUMAN EVENTS’ prestigious “Conservative of the Year” Award for 2008 for her genius at annoying all the right people. The last woman to get liberals this hot under the collar would have been … let's see now … oh, yeah: Me! The entire presidential election year was kind of a downer for conservatives. Once the “maverick” John McCain won the nomination, the rest of the year was like watching a slow motion car crash. Except at least a slow-motion car crash is occasionally entertaining. So it was going to be a long year. Until Palin.

story continues here http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29995#continueA

Kwanzaa's Creator

If you are thinking about Kwanzaa, read this!

Kwanzaa Created by a Rapist and Torturer?
Several years ago, the Houston Chronicle got in the act with a piece by Leslie Casimir titled "Learning about Kwanzaa from the holiday's creator." This one, though, was a bit off the usual track of the how-great-is-Kwanzaa theme because this particular piece celebrated the inventor of the faux holiday, Maulana Karenga, himself. So, instead of merely celebrating this manufactured holiday Casimir amazingly made a hero of the rapist, race monger and violent thug who created it!
Casimir waxed all a glow about how wonderful Maulana Karenga is and her column followed a gullible parent who, with kid in tow, went to see the man at a local community center.
Thomasine Johnson needed to get the record straight about Kwanzaa, a cultural holiday steeped in African traditions that celebrates family, ethnic pride and community.
With her 11-year-old grandson in tow, the Missouri City interior designer on Saturday brought her video camera to S.H.A.P.E. community center to hear from Father Kwanzaa " Maulana Karenga " in the flesh."
Of course, it happens that his real name is not "Maulana Karenga," but is instead Ronald McKinley Everett, AKA Maulana Ron Karenga. We'll soon see that subterfuge, reinvention and smoke-and-mirrors is "Karenga's" stock in trade.
Casimir gave us her version of the history of this "holiday," and a short history it is indeed.
Created in 1966 by Karenga, a professor of black studies at California State University at Long Beach, Kwanzaa was born out of the black freedom movement of the 1960s, when the Watts riots rocked Los Angeles. It starts the day after Christmas and ends on the first day of the new year.
I love how Casimir employed the euphemism "black freedom movement" for the group that Ronald McKinley Everett "Karenga" was in when he created Kwanzaa. In the 60s, "Karenga" was in an organization called US (as in "us" -- blacks, against "them" -- whites), a black power militant group that he founded, one that frequently clashed in violence with police and even other black power groups. Members of his group even killed two Black Panthers in 1969.
Sounds like they really cared about "freedom," eh?
Yes, kindly professor Maulana Karenga. What a great guy.
Casimir seemed not to understand why people would doubt this man, though.
Still, many people don't know much about Kwanzaa or the elusive Karenga, who shuns giving interviews to the mainstream press.
Well, it's not surprising that he doesn't want to give too many interviews what with his disgusting record as a violent felon and sexual criminal and all. Karenga, in truth, has a long criminal record, indeed. In 1971 Everett served time in jail for assault. By then Everett had changed his name to Maulana Ron Karenga and began to affect a pseudo African costume and act the part of a native African -- even though he had been born in the USA.
Oh, and it wasn't mere assault he was convicted of, either. It was sexual assault and torture perpetrated against some of his own female followers. The L.A. Times then reported that he placed a hot soldering iron in one woman's mouth and used a vise to crush another's toe.
As writer Lynn Woolley wrote of Professor "Karenga":
And so this is Kwanzaa. The militant past of the creator is now ignored in favor of the so-called seven principles of Nguza Saba " principles such as unity, family and self-determination that could have come from Bill Bennett's "Book of Virtues." The word "Kwanzaa" is Swahili, meaning something like "fresh fruits of harvest."
No one remembers the part about "re-Africanization" or the sevenfold path of blackness that Dr. Karenga once espoused. Hardly anyone remembers the shootings, the beatings, the tortures and the prison terms that were once the center of his life. It's just not PC to bring that sort of stuff up now that Kwanzaa is commercialized and making big bucks.
But, Casimir offer us Karenga's prattle anyway, treating it as the advice of the sages:
"As part of the black freedom movement, we were using this to return to our history and culture," Karenga said.
He spoke to a crowd of about 100 people " young and old " at the Third Ward community center, headed by Deloyd Parker, an avid promoter of Kwanzaa's Afrocentric traditions and beliefs.
"We have to wake up that history, we have to remember ourselves in a more expansive way," Karenga said. "To liberate ourselves as ghetto dwellers."
In a day when the black middle class numbers in the millions and when more whites than blacks are interested in voting for a black man for president, for "Karenga" to claim that blacks are still relegated to the "ghettos" smacks of his race baiting and trying to "keep hope alive" so that he can continue to cause hatred between whites and blacks.
And the Houston Chronicle was all too happy to assist him in that "holiday" endeavor.
Happy Kwanzaa, indeed!
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/12/23/kwanzaa-created-rapist-torturer

A Native American Indian looks at Hanukkah

I thought you might find this article to be interesting.

December 21, 2008
Hanukkah 2008
So, how does a Gentile relate to a Jewish holiday, one that's not based on a command from the Torah, yet one that is hugely popular among modern Jews? No country with a sizable Jewish population can go too long without knowing something about Hanukkah, the "festival of lights." It is a day that celebrates a miracle during the days of the Maccabees, who led the Jewish resistance against the Greco-Syrian culture whose leaders (like Antiochus IV) were dominating ancient Palestine, and coercing their ways upon the Jews there, in the second century before the time of Christ.
The traditional Hanukkah menorah.
In most online accounts, we're taught about how to celebrate the day. Games, gifts, foods, customs, etc., are rendered in great detail. To many Gentiles, Hanukkah seems very much like a Jewish Christmas. Lights, shining things, fancy wrapping paper, and above all, family. Like Christmas, Hanukkah is very much about family.
But, the truth is, Hanukkah is about war. Hanukkah is a military holiday. Yes, there was a miracle involved (the Temple lamps continued burning for eight days, when there was enough oil only for one day), but, the reason for the crisis was in fact war.
Hanukkah is about religious persecution, and the victory thereover by faith.
Hanukkah is about faith!
The Jews, in their own homeland, refused to bow to the customs of the world, or the dominant world view, or the cultural trends thereof. That is the lesson of Hanukkah. That is powerful medicine, for any people. Yet, it is precisely the lesson all people need to learn, if they are to preserve themselves as a people.
Judas Maccabeus, archetype patriot.
Our world today is in the midst of a global trend of multiculturalism--the dissolution of nationhood. This is the Communist doctrine, in fact. But on the street level, among the low-minded politicians and the people, there is a conscious craze for the mix, the cultural mix, the sexual mix, racial mix, political mix, and certainly the theological mix. All are one. And there is one "god" over all.
But the Jews would have none of it. Not on their own land, not in their own Temple. That's right. They weren't going to allow the same "sins" of Solomon to be committed again (1 Kings 11;10). There would be no foreign 'statuary' brought into the Temple, or anywhere near it. There would be no alien 'gods' honored in the Temple of the Most High. Never again.
The Almighty was not an abstraction, not a summation, nor a congolmerate of human thought. He was the living Father, the Creator in Heaven. Ther was no compromise or interpretation. There could be no surrender of principle in the name of cultural cooperation or "peace." The Jews would have war, rather,--at least, the Maccabee family and their followers.
In a way, Hanukkah should become a very American holiday. Hanukkah stands for what needs to be stood for--the preservation of nationhood, and that includes the nation's religion.
But perhaps I err in this notion. Perhaps the American Jewish people would not have this emphasis. I don't know. I know I care about them, very deeply. It would never be my intent or purpose to bring offense upon them, or cause injury or difficulty in any way. I know I have celebrated many a Hanukkah in Connecticut. But, that was back in the '80's. I don't remember any political application of Hanukkah then.
Times have changed, though. Today American needs political instruction and guidance more than ever before. Our leaders have literally abondoned our Constitution! They have let loose that which defines America. With the alluring influence of mass media, our leaders are completely side-tracked from their duty. They are blinded by self-importance, power, honor, and that grossly immature and arrogant Clintonian notion of "legacy." They try to write the history of themselves and their effects--before that history has even occurred. That is presumption of the most egregious order.
Hanukkah would not have this. The festival of national preservation would never see such egotistical nonsense. Hanukkah would measure the devotion of the man to the nation, nothing else. It appears that there are few Maccabees among us today. The line of 'Judah' has dried up in country. Or, so it appears.
For me, I'll celebrate Hanukkah as a national warning. National encouragement, rather. Hunukkah tells us what to do, and tells us that it is honorable. We can trust any future legacy to that. Any other basis for legacy will end in shame and infamy, no doubt.
So, Happy Hanukkah, all. Happy American Nation Day.
http://www.badeagle.com/journal/archives/2008_12.html#001306

Monday, December 22, 2008

Ft. Dix 5 Guilty!

This article shows another conviction against domestic terror plots. See also http://brianleesblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/media-snoozes-while-jihadi-terrorists.html


Fort Dix 5 Found Guilty Of Plot To Kill GIs
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/fort-dix-5-found-guilty-of-plot-to-kill-gis
From the New Jersey Star-Ledger:
Fort Dix five guilty of conspiracy to kill soldiers
by John P. Martin/The Star-Ledger
Monday December 22, 2008
Five Muslim immigrants from South Jersey were convicted today of plotting to kill American soldiers, a crime that prosecutors said demonstrated how Al Qaeda was using the Internet to recruit, train and incite supporters for attacks in the United States and around the world.
Jurors at federal district court in Camden deliberated into a sixth day before declaring the men guilty of conspiracy. The jurors, however, acquitted the men of an additional charge of attempted murder…
The Fort Dix five include brothers Eljvir, Dritan and Shain Duka, ethnic Albanians who worked at a family roofing business; Mohamad Shnewer, a Jordanian who drove a cab and worked at his family’s market in Pennsauken, and Serdar Tatar, a native of Turkey who was an assistant manager at a Philadelphia 7-Eleven.
Each faces up to life in prison on the conspiracy charge. Sentencing was set for April 22 and 23..
The Fort Dix probe began in January 2006 when an electronics store clerk in South Jersey gave police a copy of a customer’s videotape that showed the men firing rifles and shouting Islamic battle cries. FBI agents and two paid cooperators then spent 15 months shadowing the suspects, recording their conversations and examining their computers.
The evidence indicated that the men gathered weekly at a Palmyra mosque and regularly watched and discussed Al Qaeda videos extolling jihads and depicting deadly attacks against U.S. forces. In January 2006 and February 2007, they rented a house in the Pocono Mountains, where investigators said they trained for an attack by riding horses, shooting weapons at a rifle range and playing war games with paintball.
Prosecutors conceded the men had not settled on a target or a timetable for their strike, but called them "radical Islamists" with a shared goal: a jihad to kill American troops. They played for jurors hidden videos of the lead defendant, Shnewer, traveling with an FBI informant to Fort Dix, Dover Air Force Base and other sites in August 2006.
"This is exactly what we are looking for," Shnewer told the informant, Mahmoud Omar, as they passed the Burlington County base, a staging point for troops headed to Iraq. "You hit four, five or six Humvees and light the whole place (up) and retreat completely without any losses."
In other conversations, Shnewer proposed commandeering a gasoline tanker for a suicide mission at a military installation or firing a rocket into the Philadelphia Naval Base around the time of the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia.
Agents enlisted a second informant to ingratiate himself with three other suspects, brothers Dritan, Shain and Eljvir Duka of Cherry Hill, like him ethnic Albanians who snuck in the country. They planted that informant at a Dunkin Donuts in Cinnaminson where the brothers gathered each Friday after mosque services.
Prosecutors said the fifth defendant, Serdar Tatar, whose father owned a pizzeria that delivered to Fort Dix, aided the plot by giving the informant a map of the base interior.
Defense attorneys insisted there was no conspiracy. They portrayed Shnewer, a Jordanian and the only naturalized U.S. citizen among the defendants, as a pathetic loner, encouraged and emboldened by an FBI informant who showered him with attention and advice like an older brother. They acknowledged Shnewer talked a lot and collected jihadist videos - particularly after meeting the informant — but said he speaking without the knowledge or approval of the others…
Eljvir Duka declared he wanted to "train sniper" and wondered how far he would have to stand from the White House to shoot the president.
In addition to the terror conspiracy, authorities indicted them on charges of illegal weapons possession. The Dukas are illegal immigrants; Tatar is a legal permanent resident.
Also arrested with them in May 2007 was a sixth suspect, an ethnic Albanian named Agron Abdullahu, whom authorities said provided guns but wasn’t part of the terror conspiracy. Abdullahu pleaded guilty later that year to weapons charges and was sentenced to 20 months in prison…
How long before we hear the cries of “Free The Fort Dix 5”?
Related Articles:
WaPo: Ft Dix Plot "Shatters" Terrorist Stereotypes
Six "Islamic Militants" Arrested For Fort Dix Plot

Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi - In Memory of!

Death of Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi December 20, 2008
From Scott Ashley, Arvada, Colorado. ShareThis
Since many of us are familiar with the work of this great Sabbatarian scholar, I pass this message on with considerable sadness. He had been ill from liver cancer for the last several years, but even in his illness had been able to publish his final book, Popular Beliefs: Are They Biblical?, earlier this year before his passing. We wouldn't agree with him on everything, but his works on the Sabbath are a great resource to Sabbatarians worldwide and he did a great deal to advance Sabbath-keeping.
Here is an announcement from his family---

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our precious father and husband. Shortly after midnight on Saturday, December 20, Samuele Bacchiocchi breathed his last breath. During his last breaths, he was surrounded by his three children and wife of 47 years (today would have been his 47th wedding anniversary), and we read together 2 Timothy 4:6-8: "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." This quote sums up the life of a man who sacrificed practically all of his time and energy to help others understand the Bible more fully, even up to end as he gave his last seminar in England the Sabbath before being taken to the emergency room. We are very grateful that we could all be together at this time and believe that it is fitting that God chose the Sabbath day, the day that he loved most and spent his life preaching and writing about, to be the day that he entered into his final earthly rest. We take comfort in the fact that the next time he will open his eyes he will see his Lord and Savior, and that we will be reunited with him in heaven. His incredible journey here on earth has come to an end, but may we continue his legacy until Jesus returns! The funeral services will be held this coming Sabbath, December 27, at 4:00 pm at the Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.
We would like to thank each and every one of you again for the incredible outpouring of love and prayers that have provided us with supernatural peace and comfort during this difficult time. We are privileged to be a part of this extraordinary community of faith.

If any of you would like to send a message to the Bacchiocchi Family, we encourage you to send it to any of the following addresses of his children:
Loretta Bacchiocchi, at loretta_bacchiocchi@fhchs.edu,
Gianlucca Bacchiocchi atbacchiocchi@gmail.com,
or Daniel Bacchiocchi at dbacch@sbcglobal.net.

May God richly bless you all,The Bacchiocchi Family

Friday, December 19, 2008

Do We Need Another Bible?

I wanted to let you know about this article from about new Bibles that are coming out. I hope you find this interesting.


Do We Need Another New Bible?
You don't need a new illustrated or politically correct version of the Bible. Judging by statistics, you have a perfectly
perfectly good version at home. It's the word of God. All you need to do is pick it up and start reading. When I graduated from high school and was accepted to a Christian College, my parents gave me a good quality, well-made Bible. I still have it. As you can see, it is now well-worn, and marked up with plenty of notes in the margins. I've used it now over forty years. I bet you have a Bible or grew up with one in your household.From this Bible I learned about God, Jesus Christ, and God's plan for mankind. This book has been the greatest influence in my life and has formed my values and my worldview. I learned that "All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (II Timothy. 3:16) Did you know the Bible is the best-selling book of the year, every year for as long as anyone can remember? In the past few weeks two new Bibles have hit bookstores to join the endless parade of special interest Bibles. My question is DO WE NEED ANOTHER VERSION OF THE BIBLE? This one is a slick, illustrated, coffee-table version of the New Testament. The Illuminated Bible is a post modern version filled with edgy photos designed to grab the attention of younger people. It is produced by a non-religious advertising professional; not a theologian. The other new Bible is an environmentally friendly edition that takes advantage of the popularity of the green movement. This Green Bible, made of recycled materials, uses green letters to highlight the scriptures that address issues concerning the environment. It reminds me alot of the comments made by the Apostle Paul when he wrote of those, "...who worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator..." (Romans 1:25)You know you don't need a new illustrated or politically correct version of the Bible. Judging by statistics, you have a perfectly good version at home. It's the Word of God. All you need to do is pick it up and start reading. What are you waiting for?!?
http://www.gnmagazine.org/

Mosque in Tours

I wanted to let you know about this link http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/024001.php.

It makes you think about how things have changed since Mr. Martel.

Obama's Cabinet - NO MODERATES!!!

"We Are All Americans, Whether You Are Legalized Or Not."
By Joe Guzzardi
As Barack Obama’s "Change you can believe in" Cabinet team takes to the field next month, here’s the starting line-up he’s put up against America’s immigration reform patriots:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, immigration grade "D-".
Clinton on immigration: "We have to, though, remain faithful to our condition as a beacon for people around the world seeking a better life." Readers will recall that Clinton supports more than just a standard variety of amnesty and illegal alien benefits. In her heart of hearts, she much wants more—as she proved when she advanced the concept of "baby bonds" for each of the four million children born in the U.S. every year. That would, of course, have included illegal aliens and provided more incentives for illegal immigrants to cross the border and have children on the American taxpayers tab. And Hillary is married to the globalist, anti-American Bill whose financial disclosure records—3,000 pages long and released on Thursday—reveal that the former president has raised millions from foreign governments in the Middle East (mainly Saudi Arabia) and Asia. One example from many: various donations to the Clinton foundation ranging between $1 million and $5 million are from Amar Singh, an Indian politician who has been embroiled in ethics controversies, and other individuals in India. That’s great for India but, like so many other things the Clintons have done and would like to keep doing, rotten for America.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
A notorious pro-immigration Arizona Governor and long-time open borders advocate.
Two months ago, in my series of columns about Michael Chertoff, I warned readers that they would miss Chertoff when he and his vigorous interior enforcement policies were gone when Obama takes over. Is there anyone out there today who would trade Napolitano for Chertoff even up?

Secretary of Health and Human Services and former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle.
How can a South Dakota resident be bad enough on immigration to have a career "F" grade? Beats me, but Daschle did it.
Even 9/11 isn’t enough to temper Daschle’s pro-immigration agenda. Here’s what he had to say during a 2001 trip to Mexico, referring to aliens as "citizens":
"We want to ensure that those people who have come from Puebla (Mexico) to the Northeast and want to stay in the U.S. as citizens can do so. We wanted to make as strong a statement as we could that our mutual agenda has not been lost in the aftermath of the disaster of Sept. 11. Our agenda regarding our mutual relationship is every bit as important and our commitment every bit as strong."

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson.
Immigration ranking "abysmal." Perhaps the most audacious of the new Cabinet, Richardson had the gall to speak Spanish while accepting his position. When it comes to amnesty, as far as Richardson is concerned, "Si, se puede" .

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Another solid "F" . Although Colorado Senator Salazar is a fifth generation American, you would never know it from his immigration voting record. Salazar is so bad that he actually scored "F-" in two critical areas, chain migration and amnesty.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Harkin
At first glance, Iowa Senator Harkin looks like a breath of fresh air with his "D" grade. But when I looked closer, I saw that Harkin is only fractionally better than Salazar on chain migration and amnesty, scoring "F" in both.

Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood
Although the only Republican (RINO) in the Cabinet, even Illinois Representative La Hood gets no better than a stinking C, his grade dragged down by a F- in chain migration and amnesty, two of VDARE.COM’s main targets for elimination as we go into 2009.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Saving his most disgraceful pick for last, Obama chose California Representative and Mechista Hilda Solis—"F"— as Labor Secretary.
Solis’s most infamous quote:
"We are all Americans, whether you are legalized or not."
Let’s hope Solis remembers that in her new job she controls labor certifications for legal workers—not the amnesty seekers she supports.
To top it all off, look who has Obama’s ear more than his White House Chief of Staff:

Rahm Emanuel.
Currently an Illinois Congressman, Emanuel has an "F" across the board and a "F-" on border control.
Even the strongest advocates of amnesty like John McCain make token statements—sound bites, really—about the need to reinforce our borders. But not Emanuel! He supports unchecked immigration all the way.
Of course, there’s the main man, the Commander-in-chief—president-elect Barack Obama, a D-.
And Obama’s Vice President Joe Biden, also a D-.
The threat our own government presents to our sovereignty could not be clearer.
As tough as it will be, we at VDARE.COM working together with you our faithful readers can defeat this treasonous Cabinet.
We can stymie its eagerness to abolish America—but only with your bighearted help.
We hate to ask for money. But we need it to keep the battle going.
I’m in the lucky position of seeing what an America without immigration is like. In July I moved to Pittsburgh, PA from California where immigration has changed entirely (for the worse) the state’s demographics. Mexicans in California represent the largest foreign-born group. They arrive in a completely uncontrolled fashion, accounting for 44 percent of the state’s non-U.S.-born.
In Los Angeles alone, as of 2005, nearly 35 percent of residents were born outside of the U.S.
For a native Californian like me, this is an unspeakable tragedy.
But moving to back to Pittsburgh where I studied, took my first post-college job and have children and grandchildren is an awakening.
As someone said to me the other day, "It’s like coming home to America for you."
And it is.
We in Pittsburgh don’t have immigration—specifically Hispanic immigration. As of 2000, our Hispanic population was only 0.7 percent, the lowest of any major US city. By national and benchmark norms, Pittsburgh’s Hispanic population and its overall rate of in-migration is infinitesimal.
The result—Americans get our jobs, our school children and teachers speak English and we celebrate American traditions and values.
Unless you live in a border state town, Pittsburgh is what your America can look like.
And if you do live in an immigration-heavy city, then VDARE.COM can help you control mass immigration by raising your awareness about the dangers posed by our subversive federal government through our timely and insightful columns, blogs and daily letters.

More than any other site, VDARE.COM has repeatedly pointed out that legal immigration, mostly through our disastrous visa system, is equal to or a greater threat than illegal immigration in terms of its impact on our society.

We were the first to report on the biased mainstream media coverage and have exposed dozens of unprofessional reporters and editors. Our annual "Worst Immigration Reporter" award has a wide following—in the media although no one from any major newspaper will admit it!


I’m appealing to you as an immigration reform patriot of long standing. I’ve been focused on the immigration scandal for more than two decades.
And although my columns have appeared in California daily newspapers and on other webzines, it is only at VDARE.COM that I have been able to expose in complete candor the totality of the immigration crisis.
The VDARE.COM editorial collective is just like you: we’re concerned Americans who want to save the country for our children and grandchildren.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Media Snoozes While Jihadi Terrorists Infest America

http://www.vdare.com/walker/081216_terrorists.htm


Media Snoozes While Jihadi Terrorists Infest America
By Brenda Walker
Because of the usual Main Stream Media malfeasance, you may have missed the excellent news Thanksgiving week: one of the most important terror trials since 9/11 went well for the side of civilization against barbarism. It was a notable setback for terrorist financiers and a success for the Justice Department that was years in the making.
The Dallas trial unmasked one face of the Islamic fifth column in America by showing the largest Muslim charity in the United States—the Holy Land Foundation—was actually a front group that illegally funneled more than $12 million to support Hamas, the Palestinian terror group.
Despite the usual complaints the accused Muslims of "Islamophobia", the prosecution got guilty verdicts on all 108 separate charges—an outstanding result.
All five of the guilty HLF officials are Muslims born in the Middle East who set up their Dallas-based terror-financing organization to use America's wealth and freedom to fund Islamic murderers.
There is general agreement that this year's trial was more streamlined than the 2007 prosecution that ended in a mistrial. Many observers thought the earlier case overwhelmed the jury with details. The recent one focused on the headlines and didn't pursue the HLF’s peripheral activities.
The 100 percent conviction rate proves the wisdom of that strategy. And while terror funders might not have the dramatic cachet of bombers, a lot of evil can be done with $12 million.
Attempted terror incidents across the country are largely ignored by the MSM, in much the same way that the press neglects crimes committed by illegal aliens against Americans. Jihadist activity is reported locally only, and their overall criminal pattern is not examined. (A map of terrorist cells in the United States from the Investigative Project shows the bad guys are spread all over the country.) Violent acts committed by immigrants either for personal gain or to promote jihadist philosophy are given short shrift by the press so the illusion of happy diversity won't be disturbed by the unpleasant truth.
For example, a search of CBS News turned up zero coverage of the Holy Land trial's verdicts, though the network did carry an AP report of the October 2007 conclusion [Mistrial In Muslim Terror-Funding Case, October 22, 2007].
But a victory for Bush’s Justice Department? CBS did not consider that worth reporting.
In 2005, the Washington Times reported that numerous terrorists had been thwarted since 9/11
“Criminal Division prosecutors and investigators, working with state and local authorities, have disrupted more than 150 terrorist cells and threats from Portland, Ore., to Lackawanna, N.Y., incapacitating more than 3,000 known operatives. They also have charged 375 persons in terrorism-related cases, 195 of whom already have pleaded guilty or been convicted, and removed from the country more than 500 people linked to September 11.
“The targeted terrorists have included members of al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas as part of an effort to prevent and prosecute those who commit or intend to commit terrorist acts against the United States.” [Terrorists will fail, official says, by Jerry Seper, May 3, 2005]
The DOJ Fact Sheet, Justice Department Counter-Terrorism Efforts Since 9/11 , didn't have a total number of terror convictions or prosecutions since 9/11.
However, the paper did note "more than 800 incidents involving violence, threats, vandalism or arson against Arab Americans, Muslims, Sikhs, South Asian Americans or other individuals perceived to be of Middle Eastern origin" and 35 convictions to date on those cases.
Judging by DOJ's own publication, assuring easily miffed Muslims that pursuing so-called "hate crimes" is more important than apprising citizens of terrorist activity in their own country.
Fortunately for inquiring minds, more current information is available in the 2008 Terrorist Trial Report Card, compiled by the Center for Law and Security at the New York University. That study counts 418 defendants in the total convicted category since 9/11.
That number’s significance stands out when you consider that only 19 Muslims were able to kill nearly 3000 on 9/11.
The MSM narrative that underlies today's terrorism coverage: “9/11 was a lucky, one-time shot—we Americans don't have to worry about Muslims living in the United States because they are assimilated and don't want to blow anyone up.”
Actually, a 2007 Pew poll found that a significant portion of the younger generation of Muslims is hostile to Western values. For example, 26 percent of young Muslims believe that suicide bombing against infidel targets is acceptable. (See Muslim Fifth Column Polled for more.)
The signs of a vibrant terrorist community in America are there to see if you lift the rock up (or read VDARE.com).
Over the past few years I have used these pages to spotlight terrorist arrests and convictions that the MSM ignores:
In 2005, I compiled an illustrative, diverse list that toted up around a dozen bad guys:

America Infiltrated by Jihadi Terrorists: Box Score.
Three jihad-minded fellows living in Ohio were found guilty last summer of plotting to kill American soldiers in Iraq, and two Muslims attending college in Florida admitted in a plea agreement that they provided material support to terrorists. (The media was happy to accept the perps' initial description of pipe bombs in their car trunk as "fireworks".)
In November 2007, Somali immigrant Nuradin Abdi was convicted of conspiring to blow up a shopping center in Ohio.
In June 2007, four Muslims originally from the Caribbean were charged with plotting to blow up the 40-mile-long jet fuel pipeline that runs to JFK Airport in New York.

Other cases include likely instances of "Sudden Jihad Syndrome" where Muslims apparently acted in violent, Islamic ways.
Afghan immigrant Omeed Aziz Popal went on a murderous driving rampage on August 29, 2006, killing one man in Fremont, California, and attempted to kill 16 people in San Francisco by running them down with his SUV. In May of this year he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
An 18-year-old Bosnian Muslim refugee, Sulejman Talovic, killed six people in a Salt Lake shopping mall shooting spree in February 2007 before he was shot by an off-duty policeman.
Far from being an assimilation paradise filled with cheerful Muslim immigrants achieving the American Dream, this country is fraught with jihadist violence and terrorism prevented by diligent U.S. authorities.
Significantly, there is another important terrorist trial occurring right now: the Fort Dix Six jihadists who planned to enter that military base and murder dozens of American soldiers. Local newspapers, particularly the Star-Ledger of Newark, NJ, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, have provided extensive reporting.
Here's a December 2 snippet from the Star-Ledger that paints a clear and disturbing picture
“In one conversation, Eljvir Duka told the others he wanted to become a sniper and ‘die fighting.’ His older brother, Dritan, told another friend that he had ‘three or four months’ to decide whether or not to join a jihad.
“Prosecutors played the tapes for jurors in Camden, where the Dukas, their brother Shain, and two others, Mohamad Shnewer and Serdar Tatar, face trial on conspiracy and weapons charges. Authorities say the men, all Muslim immigrants, were plotting an attack against Fort Dix or another U.S. installation.” [Fort Dix trial recordings talk of sniper training, martyrdom, By John P. Martin, The Star-Ledger Tuesday December 2, 2008,]:
When a half-dozen Muslim immigrants plan the mass murder of American soldiers in order to pursue jihad and martyrdom—that's newsworthy in my book. And it merits more than local press coverage
The argument can be made that big media doesn't want to affect the verdict in a highly charged trial. However, there is no shortage of daily news reports from courtrooms where the latest celebrity trial is playing. Take a look, for example, at the O.J. Simpson trail.
America is overrun with would-be terrorists, thanks to multicultural immigration. Rep Ed Royce (R-CA) noted another indicator of terror cells taken down by US authorities. He appeared at a Nov 15 forum at the Restoration Weekend and referred to Osama bin Laden in the following quote:
“Now, we know the reality of where he's going in terms of his efforts to obtain WMD, and his focus on putting cells into the United States. We have knocked down 13 Islamic cells in the U.S. effectively. And this is the reality of where we are in the world, and we have effectively stopped attacks in Israel and effectively stopped most of the attacks in Britain through the use of our electronic surveillance and other methodologies like this.”
My emphasis. When do you ever see any mention in the MSM of terror cells operating in the United States?
You don't.
The government and the media don't want citizens to know that terrorist activity is actually quite common. Furthermore, the nature of the enemy—Islamists who desire their own martyrdom in the murder of infidels—make them different from our earlier ideological foes. The wise and prudent course is to keep them out of our country, not welcome them.
If the people knew the extent of the danger, and how the government has not done what is necessary to protect the country, then Americans would demand adequate safeguards—above all, an end to Muslim immigration.

How to Pick a Good Movie

I wanted to send you this article from this website which shows how to choose a good movie; if you haven't read this article before, you should find it interesting, especially if you are a continual movie watcher!

How to Choose a Good Movie
Almost everyone enjoys seeing a movie on occasion. But how does it affect you? More importantly, how do you decide which ones to see?

How to Choose a Good Movie
Almost everyone enjoys seeing a movie on occasion. But how does it affect you? More importantly, how do you decide which ones to see?
by Amanda Stiver
Have you ever been confused by a large array of movies about which you know nothing? How do you decide?
With 6-inch letters screaming the title and an impressive cast list, the larger-than-life movie poster beckons passersby into the theater at the local mall. One of your friends turns to you and asks if you've seen the big summer blockbuster.
"No, not yet," you reply. "Well, we've got time to kill," your friend announces to the group. "Let's go see it!"
The decision seems harmless enough. Everyone saunters up to the ticket window, then shuffles into the theater. A hush falls over the crowd as the previews begin. You may not realize it, but what you're about to see may affect you long after you leave the theater.
When we watch a movie, our brains participate in what we are seeing. The movie draws an emotional response from us and prompts both thoughts and feelings.
Knowing this, we must heed God's command to guard our minds by making informed choices before we buy a ticket or pick up a DVD. This doesn't mean we are limited to reruns of The Ten Commandments for the rest of our lives, but it does mean we need to put some thought and analysis into our decisions.
Read before you watchIf we plan ahead, we can start our analysis before we get to the theater or go to a video/DVD rental store.
• The Internet has a number of sites such as the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/) that provide basic plot information about virtually every movie ever made, as well as links to the official Web sites for newer movies. While these sites are made to promote the film, they often contain extra, behind-the-scenes information that gives us more insight into the movie's message.
• Web sites such as PluggedInOnline.com, ScreenIt.com, MovieGuide.org and ChristianityToday.com/movies post reviews that may be helpful. Check the reviewer's values or biases, using the review site or other searches. If their values are similar to God's, then their reviews are likely to be good barometers for good, clean entertainment.
• Finally, check the movie's rating (G, PG, PG-13, etc.). The Classification and Ratings Administration (http://www.filmratings.com/), which was founded in 1968, rates movies for violence, sexual content and profanity. While their standards have slid over the years, their ratings are a good way of determining the film's target audience.
On-the-spot decision making
If you're already at the theater or the video/DVD rental store, you can still do a simple analysis. Take a look at the promotional poster or DVD case and consider a few points:
• Glance at the graphics. If the images depict gratuitous violence or low moral standards, there's a good chance the film itself will follow suit.
• Who are the actors, directors and producers? If they have been involved with morally acceptable movies in the past, they might make similar productions again.
• Read the plot synopsis. Does the story line glorify the breaking of God's laws?
The final sceneWhat is the litmus test for a movie? If Jesus were one of your friends in the opening scenario, would He be willing to watch the movie with you? This question may seem trite; however, it's highly relevant.
God sees all, and will one day call us to account for everything we do. While He may not be sitting in the theater with us, He's very aware of what's in our hearts and minds. And He does send His holy angels to accompany us.
So plan ahead, choose wisely, watch carefully and make sure the movie you choose is worthy of the time and space in your mind!

http://www.verticalthought.org/issues/vt11/goodmovie.htm

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Egypt's Female Mayor!!

I wanted to send you this article about a lady who became a mayor in Egypt. The lady is a Coptic Christian in this increasingly Muslim country. I hope you find this interesting.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/023960.php

Egypt's first female mayor
Eva Habil
Good luck! "Egypt's first woman mayor takes role in her stride," from AFP, December 15 (thanks to Janet):
KOMBOHA, Egypt (AFP) — Eva Habil has just become Egypt's first female mayor but already she seems relaxed in her pioneering role as she strolls around her community clad in jeans and a pink sweater.[...]
Habil, a 53 year-old Christian lawyer, beat five male candidates, including her younger brother, to become mayor of the predominantly Coptic Christian town of Komboha in southern Egypt.
The appointment of a woman to the top civic role in the community of stockbreeders, defying the trend in the increasingly conservative Muslim nation, was confirmed by the interior ministry in November.
"I don't believe it. I am the first woman mayor of Egypt," she says as a band of children swarm around her, smiling in admiration.
"My father was mayor (of Komboha). I was born here. I was not parachuted out of nowhere," said Habil. She admits, however, that the older generation supported her more than the young of the town of 10,000 people.Must be the infamous (Muslim) youth.
Her appointment has certainly shaken the norms in Egypt, where women lag far behind men in politics.Not to mention nearly everything else outside the kitchen.
Although Egypt was the first Arab country to give women the franchise in 1956, their progress in the public sphere has been slow over the decades amid increasing conservatism and an Islamist revival.
Today there are only nine female MPs in Egypt's 454-seat parliament. Four were elected while the five others were appointed under presidential decree.
Habil's nomination as mayor echoes a long tradition in rural Egypt that administrative positions are handed down from father to son, even if this time the daughter got the top job.
"My mother was unhappy when I was born because she had wanted a boy," the new mayor recalled.
As a woman, and a Christian at that, Habil knew she would have to face up to huge challenges as she battled her way into the male-oriented politics of Egypt, a Sunni Muslim dominated country.
"When I was a student at Ain Shams University in Cairo in the 1970s, mini-skirts were in fashion and the emancipation of women was on the horizon," she said.
But Islamic revival more than three decades ago shattered her youthful hopes and those of her secular Muslim friends.
"My Muslim friends and I felt the shock waves," she said.
While a growing number of Muslim women from all walks of life opted for wearing scarfs to cover their heads in keeping with a strict religious dress code, Christians wore crosses to set themselves apart.
"Copts began wearing chains with huge crosses in reaction," to the Islamic revival, said Habil who insists that citizenship should prevail over religious differences.
"We must, first and foremost, proclaim ourselves Egyptians."
Egypt's Copts -- the largest Christian community in the Middle East -- account for an estimated six to 10 percent of the country's 80 million inhabitants.
Tensions often run high between Egypt's Muslim and Christian communities.
Fearing that Egypt's small secular opposition parties were being flouted by the influential Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, Habil joined the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak.
In recent days, party members like Amal Abdul Gawad have come to Komboha, a village located between the fertile banks of the Nile village and arid desert mountains, to congratulate Habil.
Abdul Gawad wears a niqab, a veil that covers her entire face except for two slits that show her eyes, and gloves on her hands.
Her husband Wahid has accompanied her and cuts in when she is asked if she would like to emulate Habil and become a mayor one day. "I won't allow it. I am her husband."...
Koran 4.34: “Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Governors Races 2010

An analysis here about the 2010 race. See a previous post here:http://brianleesblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/should-conservatives-have-really-wanted.html


Why 2010 Will be Good for Republicans
State Budget Troubles Put Democrat Governors on Defensive

Thirty-six states have gubernatorial elections in 2010; twenty of those statehouses are currently held by Democrats, against just sixteen held by Republicans. And according to the National Governors’ Association, state balance sheets are collapsing across the board:
The recession has taken its toll on states, with over half projecting a total of at least $30 billion in budget shortfalls for FY09 that will force significant budget cuts, according to a biennual fiscal survey released today by the National Association of State Budget Officers and the National Governors Association. The situation will only get worse as the economy deteriorates and demand grows for Medicaid, food stamps and other programs, said NASBO Executive Director Scott Pattison in a conference call with reporters. The survey’s data were collected during the fall and reflect actual FY07 state budgets and preliminary FY08 budgets. Pattison said the $30 billion figure for states is a partial number, representing only 31 states. Most states’ fiscal years begin July 1, and most states are constitutionally required to balance their budgets. More states “will probably announce shortfalls as they go into their legislative sessions in January,” said NGA Executive Director Raymond Scheppach, adding he sees shortfalls for the two-year period running in the $180 billion to $200 billion range.
With more gubernatorial seats to defend — a result of the strong Democratic year in 2006 — Democrats are more heavily exposed in 2010. Many will be forced to increase taxes or reduce spending in the next two years, likely leaving voters ready for a change of course. Plus, a look at the races to be held in 2010 suggests that the Democrats are defending more seats in red and purple states (Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wyoming, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Ohio), than Republicans do (California, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Vermont).

Friday, December 12, 2008

Obama book - Half-Blood Prince

I wanted to send you this article which connects to a link to an e-book about our President elect. It does seem to be a fair book in covering him, not too pro and not too anti. This book goes through the two books written by our President-Elect, Audacity and Dreams, and gives a Cliffs Notes version of them. Since this gentleman is our expected president for the next four to eight years, I think you might find this interesting.

Steve Sailer's book now available in paperback - click here! Also as FREE pdf download.

UCG Blogs - UYC Jordan

I wanted to let you know about this UCG blog. It is run by Youth in our church who post what they are doing on their blog. I put one of their more spiritual blog entries and one of their more reflective entries below. If you'd like to visit their blog it is at http://uycjordan08.blogspot.com/.


The Dead Sea -- Zach
3 days and 2 nights at a 5 star hotel at the Dead Sea sounded like a pretty nice get away. The catch? Take 14 students with you! Last week I got to tag along with Lewis and the Robotics team to the annual First Lego League robotics competition at the Dead Sea. The students had been practicing for a couple months to come compete against 58 other teams from Jordan & some neighboring countries. Lewis is the coach for one of the 2 robotics teams at ABS, and I volunteered to help supervise...field trip mom was my official title. We got to spend a lot of time with the small group of students and get to know them a little better. I haven't laughed as much as I did in those three days in awhile. There were definitely frustrating moments too though. The boys found it hillarious to try to teach Lewis & I some new Arabic words, telling us they meant one thing when they meant something totally different (as if Arabic isn't hard enough!), but one of them would always flash a sneaky smirk or let out a giggle, so we knew something was up. It's amazing how you can go to the other side of the world and kids are still kids! We enjoyed the warm hotel room, hot showers, swimming in December, and the beautiful view of the sea, but the best part was spending time with the students. Sometimes they are challenging and they test my patience, but for some reason I always want to come back to them. The good out weighs the bad I guess, or maybe it is because I see in them myself just a few years back...
Posted by Jordan Crew 08 at 12:40 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Growing Older -- Lena
Today was my birthday, or rather, it still is, for a few more hours at least, and this has put me in a philosophical mood, well, as philosophical as I get. You see 29 years ago today I graced my family with my presence (trust me, this is said with a good deal of smirkiness, and very little seriousness). This makes me the oldest of our little group here. Well, I've always been the oldest, but since there aren't anymore birthdays for a few months, it feels as though I've widened the gap. It has been a very good birthday. I had the opportunity to speak with my parents briefly on the phone, some of my fellow teachers at the Bunyat Centre threw me a little party and gave me some delightful gifts, and my wonderful Jordan Crew family baked me a cake and gave me some invaluable gifts (chocolate and warm socks). I'm not sure what 29 is supposed to be like, but hopefully I do a good job of it. I had just gotten comfy with 28, but I suppose time stops for no man (or woman). If someone had asked me at 19 where I would be in 10 years, I doubt Amman, Jordan would have been anywhere on the list. This is the beauty of life, we never know where God might lead us, I've been truly blessed that my path has been fairly scenic, and graced with so many wonderful friends and family. I've included a couple of pictures of me and my family when I was at my cutest. What are families for, if not to post embarrassing photos for all the world to see?!
Posted by Jordan Crew 08 at 11:12 AM 1 comments

UCG Blogs - This is Rich

I wanted to let you know about another UCG blog run by a lay member. I am including a sample article about a spiritual topic as well as a second about one of his interests to bridge to non-church members.I hope you find this interesting about one of your spiritual brothers is doing. You can visit his blog here http://thisisrich.blogspot.com/.


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Contrary to Popular Belief, You're NOT # 1
My advertising exec daughter brought this well produced site to my attention. It's called I Am Second, which begs the question, huh?I don't know who's behind this site but they're doing the Lord's work. Go there! Listen to a couple of the featured guests. You might come away from there a different person.This is a really neat website. It's the future! If not, we have none!



Sirius XM struggles...for now!
Three months after merger, Sirius XM is struggling as a result of slow car sales. It's in new cars, after all, where people listen to satellite radio.Well, just hang in there for a little while because as soon as the Fairness Doctrine is implemented satellite radio will become the home of Talk Radio, read, Rush, Sean, Levin, Glenn Beck, Boortz, Laura Ingraham, Hugh Hewitt, Dennis Prager, Mike Gallagher, Bill Cunningham et al, ad infinitum, not to mention all the local talkers. Where else are they going to go?Thanks to the authoritarian leftists in Congress and the White House, who hate free political speech, AM radio, as we now know it, is going to go bye bye and satellite radio is going to go crazy like it's never gone before. So, hang on guys, it's about to skyrocket!The loyal and numerous listeners to Talk Radio aren't about to do without our Talkers. They're have become one of our main means of information (along with the Internet) and will continue to do so, which is why they are so hated and feared by those in Big Govt and the lapdog media.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Chicago - Real Estate and MORE!!

A very big HAT TIP to Vdare.com for this insightful and relevent article!! Click through to the links in the article!

Race, Real Estate, And Immigration On Chicago’s South Side
By Steve Sailer
Real estate is a preoccupation of most American adults in their private lives. Yet it is almost ignored in our public discourse… at least until it becomes unavoidable, as during the current subprime mortgage meltdown, which is endangering the entire economy.
Real estate is famously all about “location, location, location”, which generally means “neighbors, neighbors, neighbors”. In our era of cheap electronic playthings, the worst aspect of being poor is not that you can’t buy enough stuff—it’s that you have to live next to other poor people.
In urban America, “location” is in large part about race. Thus, our elites, when choosing where to live and where to send their children to school, exhibit the same race realism in their personal affairs that they persecute when a James Watson displays it in public.
Fortunately, a book by sociologists William Julius Wilson and Richard P. Taub, There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America, bridges the gaping Real Estate Chasm in American intellectual life by profiling in detail four unfashionable neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. It’s based on field observations conducted by nine grad students from 1993 through 1995. (No explanation is given for why they waited so long before publishing their results.)
Having lived in Chicago for 18 years, I find There Goes the Neighborhood rings true to me. But it tends to slide over the underlying explanations, which I’ll try to supply from my family history at the end of this article.
Although he moved from the University of Chicago to Harvard in 1996, William Julius Wilson is the prime representative today of the most famous tradition of academic sociology in America: the Chicago School. In fact, University of Chicago sociologists defined the 77 neighborhoods of Chicago back in the 1920s.
Wilson, who is black, first became prominent with his 1978 book The Declining Significance of Race. It argued that class is becoming more important than race in the workplace.
Amusingly, that book made Wilson the bête noire of Senator Barack Obama’s spiritual advisor, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.. He told the young community organizer in the late 1980s:
“These miseducated brothers, like that sociologist at the University of Chicago, talking about ‘the declining significance of race.’ Now, what country is he living in?”
(P. 283 of Obama’s autobiography Dreams From My Father).
And, judging from Wilson’s latest book, Obama’s Rev. Dr. has a point, at least when it comes to housing. (Indeed, one of the side benefits of There Goes the Neighborhood is that it offers a perspective that the Main Stream Media has been reluctant to share with you about where the supposedly “postracial” Democratic Presidential contender from the South Side is actually coming from.)
Wilson and Taub conclude:
“Indeed, many citizens still cling to the notion that the residential desegregation of neighborhoods is achievable. The research conducted for this book, however, strongly suggests that neighborhoods in urban America, especially in large metropolitan areas like Chicago, are likely to remain divided, racially and culturally.”
In these four neighborhoods, each of which was virtually all white in 1960, race remains an obsession. Homeowners who get along OK with people of other races in the workplace do not want their colleagues moving onto their street.
Wilson and Taub give pseudonyms to the four neighborhoods profiled in the book. According to Google, nobody has previously broken their code. It’s easy to do, however, just by entering each district’s reported population from the 2000 Census into a search engine. For the benefit of Chicagoans, I’ll use the real names of the neighborhoods.
First, the book’s “Beltway” is actually the Clearing neighborhood on the far Southwestern border of Chicago, out beyond Midway Airport.
As of the 2000 Census, Clearing is 76 percent white and 21 percent Latino, but less than 1 percent black—and the residents intend to keep it that way. The authors comment:
“Residents felt that Beltway [Clearing] was one of the last places where white working-class Chicagoans could live among people whom they felt shared their backgrounds, experiences, and values.”
The white Clearingites have built an impressive collection of institutions to put on events such as block parties, church festivals, picnics, and parades. The implicit goal is to make Clearing a friendly, effective community ... for the people who already live there. Homeowners work hard to foster local pride and make sure that everybody keeps their property up, instantly painting over graffiti so that the forces of disorder and decay cannot undermine property values and allow in less house-proud people, which could set off a vicious cycle that might turn Clearing into a slum.
The Wilson-Taub team’s observations confirm the finding of prominent Harvard political scientist Robert D. Putnam, the author of the bestseller Bowling Alone on the decline of social capital, that ethnic diversity (especially immigration) undermines trust. In 2006, Putnam blurted out (to his subsequent regret):
“In the presence of diversity, we hunker down. We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been imagined.”
Second, “Dover” is Brighton Park, a closer-in Southwestern neighborhood that was once the Bohemian capital of Chicago.
(That’s Bohemian with a capital “B”, as in Good King Wenceslas—the small “b” bohemians congregate in Wicker Park and Bucktown, the hipster havens made notorious by alternative rocker Liz Phair’s 1993 album Exile in Guyville.)
In contrast to Clearing, where whites were still holding on as the majority, in Brighton by 2000 an influx of Hispanics had left the demographic balance Park almost exactly the reverse of Clearing. Latinos were dominant.
Brighton Park is lacking in the kind of community spirit found in Clearing. Most non-religious organizations, such as Kiwanis, are dying because Hispanics don’t volunteer much.
Wilson and Taub note:
“However, whites and Latinos in Dover [Brighton Park] did find common ground in their response to African Americans. Latinos in Dover—even the recent immigrants—were no more open to living with black Americans than were the white residents.”
Mexican-Americans and the remaining whites of Brighton Park did come together—to protest their kids being bused from Brighton Park’s over-crowded schools to schools in Chicago’s black neighborhoods.
Of course, the reason Brighton Park’s public schools are overcrowded is because so many Mexicans with large families have moved in. But many are second generation, and they have started to assimilate toward American norms, such as playing the race card to avoid taking responsibility. A local Latino newspaper framed the overcrowding as the result of … anti-Hispanic discrimination. It editorialized:
“We have 40 to 50 kids in a classroom. Next year they’ll be taking the library and the computer room. This is how they discriminate against our kids.”
It’s worth noting that the Mexicans didn’t themselves start crying “discrimination!” White liberals, such as a local school principal, introduced the idea to them. Having heard it, Hispanics hoping to build ethnic activist careers for themselves took it from there.
Third, Wilson’s “Archer Park” is actually South Lawndale, which is perhaps better known as Little Village.
Whatever you want to call it, Little Village shows the likely future of Brighton Park … and Clearing, too, if Clearing’s residents let down their guard. This chapter in the book is entitled “A Taste of Mexico in Chicago”.
Little Village is virtually all-Hispanic except for a few elderly whites too poor to move; and an all-black strip along its north edge. It suffers from “extreme overcrowding” and is so depressing that, the authors remark, “it was not a neighborhood that held even the Mexican residents”. If the residents of Little Village could get organized enough to agree on a neighborhood motto, it would be “Sal Si Puedes”—“Leave If You Can”.
But they can’t get organized. Little Village has almost nothing in the way of community associations. In a footnote, Wilson and Taub admit, “Residents of Archer Park [Little Village] do not tend to organize outside of kinship…”
Government officials’ attempts to get residents to take some responsibility for their own community have been a complete bust. Indeed,
“Even when people were giving things away, though, organized activity came from the top down and did not necessarily draw a crowd. In a telling example, a city government-organized neighborhood festival at a local park served hamburgers and hot dogs instead of Mexican food. The few neighborhood people who attended brought their own tacos, tamales, and the like with them.”
While Clearing bustles with get-togethers of local groups, the coordinating meetings for Little Village’s social services organizations were held in downtown Chicago on the top floor of the skyscraper of the First Chicago Bank (which was trying to win pro-minority Brownie points with federal bank regulators):
“The people who seemed most concerned about the community were … service providers who did not live there, but were there in their professional roles rather than as concerned citizens. Meetings could be held downtown at the start of the working day because, in effect, people were being paid to attend them.”
Fourth, “Groveland” is Avalon Park on the Southeast Side, a small, pleasant, all-black lower-middle class neighborhood.
Avalon Park is a photographic negative of Clearing. It features many community organizations that are also intended to keep poor blacks out. While Clearing’s clubs are have a covert racial agenda, Avalon Park’s are overtly so, even though nobody except other blacks is threatening to move in. (Judging from the Afrocentrist attitudes expressed in the book, I would guess that more than a few Avalon Park residents attend Rev. Dr. Wright’s megachurch on 95th St.)
Both Clearing and Avalon Park benefit from Chicago’s law requiring municipal employees to live in the city. These two places are about as suburban as you can get within Chicago, so government workers comprise 21 percent of the workforce in white Clearing and 27 percent in black Avalon Park.
Civil servants tend to make good, stable neighbors. They have to pass tests to get their jobs, so they can’t be really stupid. They don’t get fired, so they can put down roots in one place. Many don’t work long hours, so they have time to volunteer.
Ironically, the two decent neighborhoods in the study, Clearing and Avalon Park, have been preserved because Chicago’s countless bad neighborhoods need so many government workers to babysit their dysfunctions. For instance, There Goes the Neighborhood explains that in heavily immigrant Little Village:
“There was a vast array of paid service providers in the neighborhood. … There was a school for at-risk youth, and clubs … for youth not particularly at risk.”
The book goes on to list some of the other taxpayer-supported programs in this neighborhood full of illegal immigrants: programs for pregnant women, for parents, for AIDS patients, for people who don’t yet have AIDS, for sick people, for the mentally ill, for gang-prevention, for seniors, for high school graduates, for high school dropouts, and for people who never went to high school and want to learn English so they can vote.
Not many of the Mexican immigrants do become voters, though. So it’s easy to see why white and black politicians want more of them, no matter how much the general citizenry doesn’t. Illegal immigrants and their descendents provide countless jobs for politically well-connected white and black civil servants, while only very slowly grabbing political power themselves.
Keep in mind that Chicago is, compared to, say, Detroit or Cleveland, a successful city. Under the Daley Dynasty’s crooked but sensible leadership, Chicago has been able to hang on to many tax-generating big corporations and tax-consuming but neighborhood-preserving civil servants.
In the long run, though—which might prove to be arriving shortly—this tax gold mine is going to run out. Wilson and Taub warn:
“Moreover, with minorities, notably Latinos, displacing whites as a growing share of the population, the implications for urban tax bases are profound.”
Still, as refreshing as There Goes the Neighborhood is in an intellectual culture starved of clear thinking (or any thinking, for that matter) about real estate, it could be even more explicit about the underlying logic.
So, let me tell you some personal real estate stories to illustrate how the world really works.
To begin: Why, besides alliteration, does Lakefront and Liberal always go together in Chicago?
Home prices are so high near Chicago’s main asset, Lake Michigan, that only upper-middle class people can afford to live there. Thus, race doesn’t much matter. In lower rent districts, however, race trumps class. As many Chicagoans testify in There Goes the Neighborhood, among working class people the traits that make a good neighbor—such as having children who don’t commit crimes and who aren’t disruptive in school—are most often found among whites, followed by Latinos, followed by African-Americans. (Asians would probably come in first, but they don’t live in these four areas.) And whites are distributed higher on the class spectrum on average.
When my wife and I bought a condominium in Chicago in 1988, we picked highly diverse Uptown on the northern lakefront by following the “value investing” logic devised by Warren Buffett’s mentor Benjamin Graham: look for stocks that are underpriced relative to their intrinsic value. If the people running the company currently are no good, they are likely to be replaced.
Similarly, we reasoned that Chicago’s foremost intrinsic asset is its magnificent lakefront, with parks running for 18 miles along Lake Michigan. In Uptown we could buy a condo on the first block in from the waterfront park, just a ten minute stroll to two beaches, for a small fraction of what we’d pay three miles to the south in stylish Lincoln Park.
The downside was that our neighborhood hadn’t been “discovered” yet. So we’d have to put up with a lot of dicey neighbors just a block or two away, until the whole neighborhood was inevitably gentrified.
That was our thinking. But for ten long years the price of condos in the neighborhood was almost dead flat. We kept telling ourselves that the market was wrong, that the intrinsic appeal of living 90 seconds from Lake Shore Drive, with its 20 minute commute to the Loop, would eventually overrule faddish whims that were propelling prices in innately crummy neighborhoods like Bucktown into the stratosphere.
Finally, in the late 1990s, the world suddenly came to agree with us, and we sold out in 2000 at a decent profit.
On the other hand, even in 1988, we still had to pay far more per square foot in Uptown than in Wilson and Taub’s four neighborhoods. So we were assured of genteel neighbors, whatever their race. One of the two black owners of units in our six-flat had an MBA from the University of Chicago and the other was a CPA from Trinidad.
Away from the lake, though, there are fewer intrinsic assets to distinguish one area from another other than the people who live there and the strength of their will to stay there.
The architectural quality of the housing stock only matters in extreme cases. The now-poorer South Side often has better-designed vintage buildings than the now-richer North Side.
Yet, there’s one place in the Chicago area where architecture really did make a difference. When I moved to Chicago to take a job in 1982, my father wanted to visit his old house in Oak Park, the first suburb west of the worst ghettos of Chicago, which he had lived in until his family moved to California in 1929. I tried to talk him out of it, assuming that his neighborhood in Oak Park would now be a slum.
Yet when we arrived at 1028 Superior St., the sidewalk was full of tourists snapping photographs—not of his house, although it was beautifully preserved, but of the one next door at 333 Forest. This Moore-Dugal House was originally designed by America’s most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, in 1895 as a large Tudor cottage. After it burned in a Christmas Day fire 85 years ago that my father still remembers, Wright rebuilt it for the Moores as an immense Anglo-Japanese curiosity. There are a dozen other Wright-designed homes, including Wright’s own house, within two blocks.
Oak Park, where Wright invented his “Prairie Style”, survived the racial changes of the 1960s and 1970s, when much of adjacent Chicago, including the Austin neighborhood right across the street, turned into a giant slum.
Why? Because, with a total of 25 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings as well as many other superb structures, it has the most architecturally significant housing stock in America.
Oak Park homeowners, with so much to lose, successfully resisted tipping to all black by instituting "a black a block" program in which real estate agents were only allowed to sell one home per block to blacks. It was flagrantly illegal under the 1968 Fair Housing Act, but it did save America’s most aesthetically important neighborhood. [Reconsidering The Oak Park Strategy: The Conundrums Of Integration, by Evan McKenzie and Jay Ruby, (PDF)]
In contrast, Chicago’s working class Austin neighborhood, just to the east of Oak Park, didn’t have any epochal architecture. So it wasn’t as lucky. There, my in-laws suffered the dire consequences of rapid ethnic change.
My late father-in-law was a classical musician and union leader and my late mother-in-law, who may have been an even better musician but who suffered too much stage fright to play concerts, was a public school special education teacher. As late as 1966, Austin was all-white, with so little crime that my future wife walked a mile to first grade with her third grade sister every day. After school, the sidewalks of this neighborhood of three story condominiums were packed with children out playing while their mothers made dinner. (These days, when kids are chauffeured everywhere by their parents, the old Austin sounds like it was a paradise for both children and parents.)
After World War One, most blacks in Chicago had been restricted by chicanery and violence to living in a small, densely populated district on the South Side. This complete segregation broke down in the late 1950s. And then the increase in welfare payments in the progressive Illinois of the 1960s brought up from the rural South a lower class of blacks.
When Austin started to integrate around 1966, many of my in-laws’ friends told them to sell out as soon as possible, before the neighborhood went all black.
But, as good liberals, my in-laws stood up for integration. And the first blacks moving in were middle class. So, they joined an anti-tipping liberal group of neighborhood home-owners started by fellow musician Father Edward McKenna—a composer who has written a couple of Irish-themed operas with librettos by Father Andrew Greeley. Members swore to each other they wouldn't sell no matter how black the neighborhood got.
Well, the crime rate, which had been non-existent when the neighborhood was all white, started to soar. Housing prices fell, and soon the middle class blacks were selling out because underclass blacks were moving in. The members of the pro-integration group started to break their promises and move out. My in-laws stuck with their vows. But, then in 1968, rioters looted all the stores in the neighborhood after Martin Luther King was murdered. (My future wife called her mother to the window: “Hey, Mom! Look—free TVs! Let’s get some!” Her mother sent her to her room). And their small children, my future wife included, were mugged three times on their street.
So, my in-laws finally sold, losing about half of their life savings. They bought a farm 65 miles out of town, where they didn't have indoor plumbing for their first two years of fixing it up.
The last time I visited Austin—in the 1990s, three decades later—it looked like a war zone, with about one third of the houses abandoned or torn down.
Today, immigration causes similar, although perhaps generally not quite as tumultuous, disruptions in the lives of American citizens.
It has been exhaustively demonstrated that there is no economic rationale for the post-1965 influx.
Why do we need the aggravation?
[Steve Sailer (email him) is founder of the Human Biodiversity Institute and movie critic for The American Conservative. His website http://www.isteve.blogspot.com/ features his daily blog.]