35 Inconvenient Truths

EcoWorld has published a piece entitled "35 Inconvenient Truths" by Christopher Monckton, listing 35 critical errors in Al Gore's sci-fi classic "An Inconvenient Truth."

Those errors deal with...

#1 - Sea Level Rising Six Meters
#2 - Pacific islands "drowning"
#3 - Thermohaline circulation "stopping"
#4 - CO2 "driving temperature"
#5 - Snows of Kilimanjaro "melting"
#6 - Lake Chad "drying up"
#7 - Hurricane Katrina "man made"
#8 - Polar bear "dying"
#9 - Coral reefs "bleaching"
#10 - 100 ppmv of CO2 "melting mile-thick ice"
#11 - Hurricane Caterina "manmade"
#12 - Japanese typhoons "a new record"
#13 - Hurricanes "getting stronger"
#14 - Big storm insurances losses "increasing"
#15 - Mumbai "flooding"
#16 - Severe tornadoes "more frequent"
#17 - The sun "heats the Arctic ocean"
#18 - Arctic "warming fastest"
#19 - Greenland ice sheet "unstable"
#20 - Himalayan glacial melt waters "failing"
#21 - Peruvian glaciers "disappearing"
#22 - Mountain glaciers worldwide "disappearing"
#23 - Sahara desert "drying"
#24 - West Antarctic ice sheet "unstable"
#25 - Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves "breaking up"
#26 - Larsen B Ice Shelf "broke up because of 'global warming'"
#27 - Mosquitoes "climbing to higher altitudes"
#28 - Many tropical diseases "spread through 'global warming'"
#29 - West Nile virus in the US "spread through 'global warming'"
#30 - Carbon dioxide is "pollution"
#31 - The European heat wave of 2003 "killed 35,000"
#32 - Pied flycatchers "cannot feed their young"
#33 - Gore's bogus pictures and film footage
#34 - The Thames Barrier "closing more frequently"
#35 - "No fact...in dispute by anybody."

Don't allow yourself to be mislead by Al Gore's quest for significance.

Questions About Another Huckabee Clemency Recipient

From MSNBC, another case of clemency from Mike Huckabee that doesn't seem to pass the smell test.

This one is a little different in that this one seems to have had the full support of the parole board without apparent previous intervention by Huckabee. But other elements of the case seem disturbingly familiar.

Here's the intro:

From NBC’s Amna Nawaz, Investigative Producer
Questions are being raised about then-Gov. Huckabee's 2004 decision to grant clemency to a repeat Driving While Intoxicated offender in Arkansas named Eugene Fields, despite the objections of a law enforcement official at the time. Documents obtained by NBC News reveal Fields' case was handled differently from any other DWI clemency or pardon granted by Huckabee, and some Republicans are now suggesting significant political contributions may have influenced the governor's decision.

Apparently this guy was on his 4th DUI conviction and received a six-year sentence and a $5,000 fine.

But six weeks into serving his sentence, he appealed for clemency and the parole board stated unanimously that they supported approval of this application. Within a few months, Huckabee would grant clemency and then Fields was free to slosh his way around the streets and highways of Arkansas again.

However, the reason-boxes on the clemency forms which the governor would normally check for "excessive sentence" or "correcting an injustice" were passed by and "NA" for "not applicable" was written across the top of the form.

Some officials have stated it was highly unusual for a clemency application to be processed so quickly. And the MADD folks indicated Fields, after his 4th conviction, was definitely a repeat offender. The article notes that along with Fields' application were some tax receipts for donations to various charities. (Maybe this proved what a nice guy he was?)

Well, like a number of other criminals that Huckabee has let off easy, Fields would go on to re-offend. (Are you as surprised as I am?)

But questions about the handling of Fields' case surfaced again in 2006 when he was convicted on another DWI charge, just two years after his release from prison. According to the police report, Fields drove into oncoming traffic on an Arkansas road and into the path of a police officer's car before crossing back into the correct lane.

Once again, the public was placed in jeopardy by a governor who was soft on crime.

The article mentions another factor, in addition to his donations to charitable causes, that may be relevant to Fields' release:

According to Federal Election Commission records, a month after Fields' appeal was denied, his wife made a $5,000 donation to the State Republican Party in June of 2003. A month later, she made an additional $5,000 donation, again to the Republican Party of Arkansas. The following month, Fields reported to prison and began his clemency application process. He was a free man in less than a year.

"In the summer of 2003 there's no real political activity," said the former official. "It's always a tough time to raise money in those periods, and all of sudden $10,000 comes walking through the door when there's no campaign going on? There's no reason to give that kind of money then."

Prior to his wife's donations, Fields had made a $10,000 donation to the Republican Party of Arkansas in October of 2000 under "Fields Investment Company," the name of his business. Both Mrs. Fields' 2003 donations and Mr. Fields' 2000 donation placed them among the largest, individual donors to the Republican Party of Arkansas in those years, on par with donations from members of the Walton family, of the Wal-Mart department store chain. The only other donation made by either Fields to the State Republican Party was in the amount of $500 in August of 2004.

Hmmm. And hmmmm again. Hmmmm, indeed.

NewsBusted

Topics in this show: Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, Dennish Kucinich, paintball for terrorists, and more! NewsBusted is a comedy webcast about the news of the day.

Coronate Her Now!

Listen to Hillary in this video.

Isn't it terrible how Hillary Clinton has to put up with this rube George Bush in the White House right now? All the world leaders call her, trying to find out what that idiot in the White House is doing. Why doesn't he just resign and allow Hillary to assume her rightful place in the universe? She needs to get in there right away to "repair the damage" this pretender has done.

What a terrible thing it must be for the world leaders to have to deal with another person, behind the scenes, being unable to actually talk to the President of the United States.



Let's just skip the election and coronate her now.

This Week in the Pentagon

Operations in Afghanistan, the challenge to implemnt BRAC recommendations, Global Maritime Security Initiatives, Nat'l Guard responds to ice storms and wounded veterans hit the slopes.

Great Inventions: The Fence

This video is a little dated, referencing 1996, but the principle remains the same.



Remember that fantastic marvel known as the Great Wall of China? Most of it was built more than 2,000 years ago, and it is about 4,000 miles long. It helped repel the Huns, who bounced back westward and gave the Roman Empire so much trouble.

And that was before the advent of cameras and infrared, motion and vibration sensors.

We can't keep illegal aliens out of our country? We don't want to keep illegal aliens out of our country.

Religion and Political Discourse

BY STAR PARKER
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
COALITION ON URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATION

A campaign news items du jour is Mike Huckabee's apology to Mitt Romney for his alleged slur about the Mormon religion.

This, of course, is about Huckabee's now-famous question, posed to a New York Times journalist: "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" (Full Article)

Huckabee Foreign Policy: Smile at Terrorists?

From Breitbart.com, Mike Huckabee has joined Democrats and gone on the attack against President Bush.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Mike Huckabee, who has joked about his lack of foreign policy experience, is criticizing the Bush administration's efforts, denouncing a go-it-alone "arrogant bunker mentality" and questioning decisions on Iraq.

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor now running for the Republican presidential nomination, lays out a policy plan that is long on optimism but short on details in the January-February issue of the journal Foreign Affairs, which is published by the Council on Foreign Relations. A copy of his article was released Friday.

"American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out," Huckabee said. "The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States' main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists."

In one specific criticism, Huckabee said Bush did not send enough troops to invade Iraq. And he accused the president of marginalizing Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, who said at the outset of the war that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the invasion. "I would have met with Shinseki privately and carefully weighed his advice," Huckabee said.

As for the "bunker mentality," Huckabee would do well to recall that President Bush came to Washington (perhaps naively and "optimistically") wanting to set a "new tone." He made gracious overtures to the Democrats, even inviting Ted Kennedy to the White House for movies and popcorn. What did he get for his trouble? A drawer full of knives in his back from the Democrats. Having a "bunker mentality" when many of the people around you are out to spill your blood is downright necessary and kinda smart.

I would contend that optimism is the very reason why Bush didn't send more forces to occupy Iraq (we had plenty to invade, too few to control the country). I believe President Bush had too much optimism that the world would united behind the right thing, that they would send additional troops to help, that they wouldn't undermine our efforts to stabilize the country by continual bellyaching and backbiting, that other countries would stand with us to stop foreign terrorists from coming into Iraq as they have from Iran and other places. Bush did not pit the United States against the world; several countries in the world chose to align themselves with Saddam Hussein and with terrorist elements.

But no, Bush expected too much of nations that put their financial interests (Germany, France, Russia, to name a few) ahead of what's right. He expected too much of other Middle Eastern countries that could have benefited from a stable Iraq in the region, but instead couldn't bring themselves to work with an American infidel.

And he was probably too optimistic that certain elements in Iraq would do as most civilized nations do when they're clearly beat: deal with it and move on to rebuild the country. Bush probably expected these certain elements to put the good of their fellow Iraqi countrymen ahead of their thirst for blood.

And Bush was too optimistic about Democrats in our own country. I believe he expected them to do what Americans of all parties used to do in wartime: put aside partisan bickering and pull together for the national cause. He expected them to get behind the troops and present a united, resolved front to international terrorists and other opposition. Bush probably expected all Americans, regardless of party affiliation, to come together and demonstrate to the terrorists that we were not going to allow them to win, instead of constantly giving them hope and encouragement.

So in getting back to Huckabee, since he is far more naive than Bush ever was in recognizing and dealing firmly with evil, I would have to say that the "optimism" that Huckabee might bring to international affairs would be a considerable liability.

When you underestimate evil, people get hurt. When you underestimate evil as a leader in the international community, lots of people get hurt.

Mike Huckabee has already demonstrated, with his overly-optimistic (dare I say cavalier) attitude about evil as governor of Arkansas, with his free-wheeling approach to clemency for dangerous criminals, that he doesn't understand the true nature of evil. His optimism and underestimation of evil cost one or possibly two women in Missouri their lives when he stumped for the release of Wayne Dumond.

In fact, I'm afraid Huckabee's "optimism" could be disastrous on a scale that would make Jimmy Carter's naivete pale in comparison. I remember those years; we don't ever want to go through that again. And incredibly, the world is more dangerous now than it was then.

Informed, intelligent optimism is a good thing. Reckless, blind optimism is dangerous and deadly.

Poll: Most Americans Oppose Bennies for Illegals

The only surprise here is that, after years of politically-correct, multicultural, inclusive mamby-pambiness, this many Americans still hold a sensible position on this issue.

From OneNewsNow:

The poll, published by American Pulse, surveyed nearly 4,100 people and found that most Americans are opposed to any benefits for what the poll describes as "undocumented immigrants." According to the survey, more than four out of five do not think the government should give a driver's license, business license, or housing assistance to illegal aliens -- and similar majorities (roughly three-fourths) feel the same way about educational benefits and job training.

"It's a poll which the mainstream media is not covering that shows that 77 percent of Americans wanted no taxpayer[-provided educational] benefits whatsoever for illegal aliens, and 81 to 83 percent wanted no licenses for illegal aliens. A very significant poll -- but of course, the traditional media ignored [it]," he says.

Recommended Reading

Floyd Red Crow Westerman Dies

From today's Argus Leader, actor, musician and activist Floyd Red Crow Westerman has died at age 71. The article said he had been ill for some time with leukemia.

Westerman was born on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation in the northeast corner of South Dakota, and died in Los Angeles.

Westerman was perhaps best known from his role as Ten Bears in the blockbuster "Dances With Wolves." He was in about 20 other movies including Hidalgo, and numerous television appearances.

He will be interred in Veblen, South Dakota on Monday.

100 Scientists Tell Bali: Warming is a Naturally Recurring Phenomenon

Today on the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works website comes word of a letter signed more than 100 international scientists, many of whom are or have been members of the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). In addition to a copy on the EPW website, the letter was also published in Canada's National Post.

"It is not possible to stop climate change, a natural phenomenon that has affected humanity through the ages. Geological, archaeological, oral and written histories all attest to the dramatic challenges posed to past societies from unanticipated changes in temperature, precipitation, winds and other climatic variables," the scientists wrote.

Al Gore recently blamed his own country for obstructing his global warming sci-fi drama. I would submit, however, that it is the hysteria of Gore and other socialists-with-an-agenda who are obstructing any chance we have of actually determining if global warming is occurring in the first place (there have been numerous stories of flawed data, inaccurate temperature readings, etc.).

And as this letter advises, if it is occurring, we would better spend our time and effort figuring out how to adapt to it, rather than pretending that we can do anything about it. As the warming and cooling trends over the course of millennia indicate (the once-green Greenland, for example?), when it happens it's going to happen with or without our consent.

Besides their transparent attempts to scuttle the economies of the United States and Western civilization, one of the biggest problems with all this hysteria from Al Gore and his cohorts is that if a natural disaster ever does truly befall our planet, we will waste huge amounts of time being sure of what's going on before we can really trust what we're being told

Remember the story of the boy who cried wolf? Gore and his cronies have been crying wolf as loud as they can for decades, and people are finally starting to tune them out. It'd be a real tragedy if a genuine problem actually came upon us...

Thanks to Senator Thune

I received the thank-you card below from Senator John Thune's office today. It was a nice gesture, especially since, as I told Senator Thune's Staff Assistant Dakota Bixler, it was I who was thankful to her and Senator Thune for arranging the tour of the White House for us.

In addition to being able to see the inside of the White House during my trip to Washington D.C. back in October, my friends Dale Bartscher (South Dakota Family Policy Council) and Dennis Schmidt (Dist. 33 State Senator) and I had the unexpected pleasure of seeing the Bush's leave the White House on Marine One from the White House lawn.

Thanks, Dakota and Senator Thune, for a very memorable visit!!!

Iraqi Freedom Minute

Focusing on the latest news from Operation Iraqi Freedom. American Forces Network Iraq presents Iraqi Freedom Minute.

Freedom Watch Afghanistan

The latest from Operation Enduring Freedom showing the activities of American troops in country. Produced by AFN-Afghanistan.

Martyrs for Hillary Clinton?

Clinton rejects official's Obama comment

By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer
23 minutes ago

JOHNSTON, Iowa - Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday denounced the comments of an official in her campaign who resigned after raising questions about drug use by Barack Obama. Clinton was asked about the official's comments about Obama as she campaigned in Iowa, where the controversy has become an issue less than three weeks before the state's leadoff caucuses.

"As soon as I found out that one of my supporters and co-chairs in New Hampshire made a statement, asked a series of questions, I made it clear it was not authorized, it was in no way condoned, I didn't know about it and he stepped down," Clinton said.

(Full Article)

Why is it that the people making such serious blunders have all joined up with Hillary? Is it a coincidence or have some agreed to be martyrs for the Hillary cause? Or perhaps, they thought Hillary could get by with inappropriate behavior, since she has so frequently done so in the past, and it all backfired. Maybe people are tried of there being the rules for the Clinton's and then the rules for everyone else. I know I got tired of it first time around!

Hillary can apologize until she is blue in the face. She can claim she had no clue and act like if she starts pretending it didn't happen that it will simply go away and stop annoying her. But the fact remains that someone high up in her campaign did make inappropriate comments about Obama. High up enough that he should have known her feelings and rules of how "her campaign" was to be run. We are to believe the rule of No hitting below the belt, flew over the head of "Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman for Clinton and a prominent New Hampshire political figure"?

How often have we seen lawyers ask an inappropriate question in a court room, knowing full well there will be an objection with the judge then ordering the jury to disregard? Knowing full well what will happen, but also knowing full well the nature of people -- "Once heard -- always heard"! The seed is planted and hopefully will grow in influence. And that is exactly what it looks like is being pulled on the American people.

Dirty tricks is not something that impresses me, nor gains my vote! I'm also not impressed by Hillary Clinton (or her agents) pointing their righteous fingers at anyone for long ago drug use, when there is that little matter of Bill Clinton trying pot though he wants us to believe he didn't inhale. But then, we are also suppose to believe he didn't realize he had sex with Monica either. Guess that shows how little the Clinton's think of the American people. They think we are too dumb to catch on and dumb enough to be manipulated any which way they like.

Martyrs for Hillary Clinton? Sounds like a book title and seems like what we are watching play out! Time will tell.

SD Conservative Action Council, Republican Party Share Common Principles

Steve Sibson of Sibby Online explains today on his blog and in the Mitchell Daily Republic that the South Dakota Conservative Action Council, of which he is a founding member, pursues smaller government--one that is more in touch with and within the control of the people it serves.

Pat Powers of the South Dakota War College recently expressed a guarded concern that the SDCAC might be a divisive organization like the mostly defunct South Dakota MAINstream Coalition made up of "moderate" (i.e. liberal) Republicans. Given the attempt of that organization to lead the Republican Party astray, such concerns are understandable.

Here is what the SDCAC believes in, according to the principles listed on their website:

The action council promotes deeply held conservative principles about the nature of human dignity and freedom, the importance of family, the need for a limited role of the state, and a solid grasp of economic realities. Some people fear the days of principled conservatism may be a thing of the past.

The Republican Party has long been the party of traditional values, fiscal responsibility (though that reputation has admittedly been tarnished recently), and smaller government.

Since the SDCAC champions all these ideals, I believe that would preclude the organization from becoming the divisive force SDMC was meant to be. The Mainstream Coalition was created to try and pull Republicans away from the traditional ideals of the party. Even though it is not affiliated with the Republican Party, SDCAC intends to focus on the core ideals of the Republican Party.

For those who might have forgotten, those Republican principles are outlined:

I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.

I BELIEVE in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability.

I BELIEVE free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.

I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that the best government is that which governs least.

I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

I BELIEVE Americans retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.

I BELIEVE Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.

Finally, I BELIEVE the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

Note, too, that those principles were elaborated upon in the party platform, affirming things such as recognizing

- our heritage of religious freedom and personal responsibility

- that our country was founded in faith upon the truth that self-government is rooted in religious convictions

- the free exercise of religion

- support and respect for the sanctity of human life, including the unborn, the elderly, the chronically ill and the terminally ill

From what I've seen, the SDCAC would encourage and renew the Republican Party's focus on it's own values, ideals and principles, rather than draw it away from them as the Mainstream Coalition sought to do.

A political party is only useful as long as it reflects and advances the the values of those who belong to that party. I believe the SDCAC will only enhance the long-term viability of the Republican Party as the chief vehicle for conservative, traditional values in South Dakota.

Real Terrorists Don't Surf

My Leftist blogosphere buddy Todd Epp has joined others on the Left in expressing their outrage that American troops and intelligence operatives have poured water on the faces of a few terrorists in the pursuit of saving lives.

Simply for the sake of context, it might be useful to recall that some of the same Leftists who are crying buckets of crocodile tears over waterboarding now, apparently had no problem with it a few years ago.

From the Washington Post:

With one known exception, no formal objections were raised by the lawmakers briefed about the harsh methods during the two years in which waterboarding was employed, from 2002 to 2003, said Democrats and Republicans with direct knowledge of the matter. The lawmakers who held oversight roles during the period included Pelosi and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Sens. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), as well as Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.) and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan).

Individual lawmakers' recollections of the early briefings varied dramatically, but officials present during the meetings described the reaction as mostly quiet acquiescence, if not outright support. "Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing," said Goss, who chaired the House intelligence committee from 1997 to 2004 and then served as CIA director from 2004 to 2006. "And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement."

But back to Todd's post. Todd asks, "What if Al-Qaeda were waterboarding our troops?"

Forgetting for a moment that our special forces troops go through this in their training, it'd be a huge step up on the road to humane behavior if that were all the terrorists were doing to our troops. Instead, these combatants masquerading as innocent civilians in civilian clothes shoot and blow up our troops (and other civilians)...a little more serious than waterboarding.

Beyond what happens on the battlefield, recall the terrorists torture handbook found earlier this year? Al Qaeda has a few things up it's sleeve that are a little more serious and lasting than waterboarding:

...an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like "blowtorch to the skin" and "eye removal." Along with the images, which you'll find on the following pages, soldiers seized various torture implements, like meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters.

I don't recall anything as mild as waterboarding in the terrorist bag of tricks.

Remember, too, how they not only treat our troops, but how they treat our civilians? Recall the incident a couple of years ago where they killed four civilian workers in Iraq, mutilated their bodies and strung them up from a bridge:

The mob had tired of thrashing the two scorched torsos. The body on the south side of the skeletal steel bridge was tied to the girders with electrical cord about five feet above the ground, dismembered and decapitated. The second body hung on the other side of the roadway, feet up, its limbs slack, its head little more than a blackened skull. A few blocks away, another crowd was beating two more burned bodies.

On the bridge, an Arab reporter would raise a camera and a man or boy would climb to pose beside a corpse. Some in the crowd would turn and flash a "V" for victory with their fingers.

If they had only waterboarded these civilians...

Remember the beheadings the terrorists have done on film of journalists and other civilians?

In June 2004, two terrorist beheadings occurred almost simultaneously: the decapitation of Paul Johnson, an American contractor in Saudi Arabia, and Kim Sun-il, a South Korean contractor in Iraq.

Beheading is a little more serious and lasting than waterboarding; you can't overcome that, even with plenty of therapy and hugs. The wives and sons and daughters and fathers and mothers probably wish the terrorists had only waterboarded their loved ones...

Todd seems to be continuing the error started by Bill Clinton in treating war and combat as if it were a law enforcement matter. You might as well make the case that shooting the enemy in battle is unconstitutional because it violates the enemy's right to due process.

It's this kind a idiotic mentality that demonstrated the United States is soft and weak, and made the world ripe for 911 in the first place. It has demonstrated that we don't understand the nature of the evil we face, and we lack the resolve to deal with it firmly and decisively.

Waterboarding a bloodthirsty terrorist to obtain information that may save dozens of lives? I don't have the least problem with that. Nor do I worry that terrorists may do it to our troops, because they already have a track record of doing far worse.

Terrorists waterboard American troops? If only that's all they did...

A Father's Opportunity

I read the Men of Integrity daily devotional from Promise Keepers (not because I am one, but because I want to be one). This week's theme has been "Honoring less-than-perfect parents."

I didn't have the bad parents that some of the people in this week's devotional illustrations had, but like probably everyone, there are things I wish I'd seen from my parents that I didn't. And I'm sure that despite my efforts, my children will feel the same way.

But the "Thought to Apply" from today's devotion touched my heart, and was an inspiration to work harder as a father:

"Our children give us the opportunity to become the parents we always wished we'd had." - Louise Hart (author)

Lord, help me to live up to that opportunity.

Newt Gingrich: NIE Was a Hit Job

Newt Gingrich says what I've suspected all along about the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran: that it's a "shadow government" attack on President Bush.

From the Israeli National News:

The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that downplayed the danger from Iran's nuclear program was "fundamentally dishonest," former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said in an exclusive interview with Israel National Radio's Tovia Singer.

"If you simply change about three words you change the whole report," Gingrich said, adding that the report seems to have been "deliberately written to maximize the pain to the Bush administration." It was written by three former State Department officials who were "deeply opposed to what President Bush is doing," he said, and who wrote the report "to maximize confusion."

Gingrich characterized the NIE as "very misleading, very destructive and very unfortunate… almost a bureaucratic coup d'etat."

For reasons that aren't quite clear to me, there are a number of bureaucrats and functionaries in the State Department and intelligence community who are out to make President Bush look bad.

The State Department, I kind of understand. Since before World War II, the State Department has been filled with communists and other varieties of anti-Americans. They undermine American prestige, strength and resolve at every opportunity under the guise of "diplomacy."

What I find hard to understand is why similar elements exist and operate within the intelligence community. One might think that those who work in intelligence would understand the threat and nature of evil around the world. Then again, how many spies and moles have we uncovered from within our own intelligence arm--and how many remain undiscovered?

We cannot allow ourselves to be fooled by people with a political agenda, and an agenda that is anti-American. Evil doesn't change its stripes overnight, and it doesn't change them without a direct and forceful confrontation. This has not even remotely occurred with Iran; in fact, only appeasement has occurred.

We would do well to remain wary of this powerful supporter of terrorism around the world, and be ready to respond militarily if necessary.

Romney Weak on Marriage

This is one of the reasons I'm not too hot on the idea of Mitt Romney for president.

From the Boston Herald:

Romney, who has cast himself as the staunchest Republican defender of traditional marriage, reportedly signed off on almost 200 one-day certificates allowing gay and lesbian couples to use unlicensed friends to preside over their weddings. Under an obscure state law, the certificates can be granted only to couples that get approval from the governor’s office.

When the Mass. Supreme Court decided to put on their king hat and find a right to homosexual "marriage" in their state constitution, then order the Mass. legislature to make a law which would make this "invisible right" somehow more visible (am I the only one that sees an inconsistency here?), if I had been governor, I'd have told the supreme court they could go pound sand. Judges don't make laws. But apparently Romney, along with the Mass. legislators, acted like obedient subjects of the royal court and did as they were told.

That's not leadership; that's a scared little boy doing what he's told. We don't need a scared little boy in the White House.

Canada: Check Your Freedom of Speech at the Door

The freedom of speech and freedom of religion that we enjoy in the United States has been under attack for some time, as homosexual activists and their "useful idiot" apologists push their "hate crime" and other legislation.

The loss we may face here in the U.S. is already gone in Canada.

From LifeSite.net:

REGINA, Saskatchewan, December 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission's decision to impose a "lifetime" ban on a local Catholic's freedom to publicly criticise homosexuality, was upheld this week in its entirety by Saskatchewan Court of Queens Bench.

Bill Whatcott, a licensed practical nurse who lives in Saskatchewan, is a campaigner against the homosexual political movement that is sweeping the Canadian legal system. In 2006, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) ordered Whatcott to pay $17,500 Cn. to four complainants who complained that their "feelings" and "self-respect" were "injured" by Whatcott's pamphlets denouncing the "gay lifestyle" as immoral and dangerous.

Whatcott responded to the decision, "This fine is for telling the truth [that] homosexual sodomites can change their behaviour and be set free from their sin and depravity through the forgiveness of sins and shed blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

One of the items in Whatcott's literature:

Whatcott himself says he was fined for his pamphlets that used "verbatim" a text from a classified personal advertisement in a local homosexual publication that ran, "Man seeking boys.... age not so relevant".

Apparently pedophilia isn't a problem for the legal system in Canada.

I've been to Canada and to Regina a couple of times. It's a nice country and a beautiful city. What a pity the moral fiber no longer matches the beauty of the area.

Iraqi Freedom Minute

Focusing on the latest news from Operation Iraqi Freedom. American Forces Network Iraq presents Iraqi Freedom Minute.

Four Percent for Freedom

The Heritage Foundation released a paper today entitled "Providing for the Common Defense: Four Percent for Freedom." It points out that our defense spending will fall to just 3.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2012, and raising that to 4% would make a great difference in defending this country of ours.

The federal government has been ignoring the need to develop and build the next generation of weapons and equipment since the early 1990s. The military is facing similar funding dilemmas this decade as modernization needs are displaced by immediate demands to fund military operations, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq, in both the baseline budget and supplemental appropriations. As a direct result of the massive budgetary cuts fol?lowing Operation Desert Storm, today's force is roughly half the size of the military in the early 1990s. The Army has been reduced from 18 divi?sions to 10, the Air Force from 37 tactical air wings to 20, and the Navy from 568 ships in the late 1980s to a fleet of only 276 today.

Yet the number, size, and duration of military deployments have increased dramatically since the end of the Cold War. Many soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are already on--or scheduled for-- their third or fourth overseas tour. Others have served even longer. Providing the proper funds to increase the number of soldiers and marines by 94,000 will considerably alleviate their burden and bolster the nation's ground forces as they continue to meet national security requirements.

I remember that "downsizing" after Desert Storm, when "doing more with less" was the motto of the day. When you live under the illusion of peace, that type of downsizing can seem reasonable (even though I knew at the time it was foolhardy).

Today, however, all but the most deluded Leftists should be able to recognize we do not live in a peaceful world where the "peace dividend" can be cashed in.

We are fighting terrorists on the open battlefield in Afghanistan and Iraq. And even if we can get the Democrats onboard with fighting the bad guys, it'll still take years of fighting them around the globe before we can demonstrate that we have more will to win than they do.

We are likely to face a major military operation, if not open war, with Iran in the next few years over their nuclear program (no, I'm not fooled by recent intelligence reports).

And China, despite all the smiles we send their way with each of our dollars, remains hostile to us and is building a world-class military force with those same dollars we're sending them. It won't be too many years before they're ready to threaten free Taiwan...and us.

I want the United States to remain free from foreign domination. I want it to remain that way for the rest of my life, and for the rest of my children's lives, and for the length of my children's children's lives.

The only way we can guarantee that is to put more emphasis on defense than we do providing things to people that people should be providing for themselves.

Video from Mother of Wayne Dumond Rape Victim

Here's the new video on the Huckabee-Dumond issue. The video features Lois Davidson, the mother of Carol Sue Shields, the woman raped and murdered by Wayne Dumond after Huckabee advocated his release from prison for raping a 17 year old.



Below is a video of an ABC News report on the Huckabee-Dumond case.

Anatomical Difference Helps Women Balance

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Scientists think they have figured out why pregnant women don't lose their balance and topple over despite ever-growing weight up front. Evolution provided them with slight differences from men in their lower backs and hip joints, allowing them to adjust their center of gravity, new research shows.

This elegant engineering is seen only in female humans and our immediate ancestors who walked on two feet, but not in chimps and apes, according to a study published in Thursday's journal Nature.

Isn't that amazing? Isn't evolution smart! You'd almost thing such a difference between men and women, based on their different reproductive roles, was intelligently designed! :-)

Christmas With a Capital "C"

Merry Christmas!



I think everyone needs to see this. I'm sick and tired of the whole "happy holidays" thing. Go Fish explains it much better than I ever could. This is more for the song, as I have provided the lyrics in the video. Enjoy.:D

More Documents on Huckabee-Dumond Surface

The Huffington Post (see my post from last week) has now released several letters written by rape victims and others which appear to be making an appeal to then Governor Mike Huckabee not to release convicted rapist Wayne Dumond from prison.

The HuffPost also posted a transcript from an affidavit filed by the investigating officer of a 1976 case where Dumond was accused of raping a woman and confessed. However, he refused to sign his confession, and due to threats made to the woman by Dumond, the woman was too afraid to file charges.

The suspect's rights were described on the CIS-116 Form were read and explained to him, and his responses were recorded on that form.

WAYNE stated to [REDACTED] that he had removed the screen from the window at the house of [REDACTED] although he didn't know who lived there and it wasn't anything personal.

WAYNE stated that he went upstairs to the bedroom, and that the woman was asleep when he went into the room. WAYNE stated that the woman woke up, and he held a knife on her while he committed the rape, and that the woman's baby was in the bed with her.

WAYNE stated that when he completed the sexual intercourse, he left through the front door.

WAYNE state that the knife that he used to hold against the woman was an Army pocketknife.

At this time, WAYNE DUMOND stated that he desired not to answer any further questions, reference: the rape or attempted rapes of [REDACTED] or the [REDACTED]

The suspect WAYNE DUMOND refused to read, sign, or initial the statement that he had made in the presence of [REDACTED] and this investigator.

The interview was terminated at 7:56 pm, September 28, 1976.

Indications are that Huckabee had access to all this information, yet wanted to see Dumond freed from prison.

This paragraph from a letter to Huckabee from Dumond's first rape victim epitomizes what I find most disgusting about the cavelier attitude Huckabee and others like him have about dealing firmly with dangerous criminals:


Why must victims and law-abiding citizens have to plead so hard with officials to keep dangerous criminals behind bars? (And still see these animals set free)

More Congregations Leaving Episcopal Church

An article in the Ocala Star-Banner talks about the disintegration of the Episcopal Church which has been escalating over the last couple of years.

The Episcopal Church is made up of 110 dioceses, which includes about 7,600 congregations. According to a September 2007 report, 32 congregations have withdrawn from the church and 23 have voted to leave since 2003.

Here's what's been happening in recent years:

Conservative Episcopalians believe the church is losing its biblical and traditional roots because of what they describe as a growing liberal leadership. The division between liberal and conservative Episcopalians centers on issues from Bible interpretation to accepting homosexuals. Most notably was the consecration of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man in a committed relationship, as the Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. Blessings of same-sex unions in some Episcopal churches also have drawn much criticism in the Communion.

But the embrace of homosexuality isn't the root problem the Episcopal Church has.

One of the big problems, Curran said, is the Episcopal Church has worked to "reinterpret" Scripture for its own purpose.

"It's all about doing good works. It's all about loving your neighbor. It's all about reaching out to somebody in need. That's all good stuff. We do that here at Grace . . . but it doesn't reconcile you with the Father," he said. "I mean that comes through the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. That's why we have the cross. The Episcopal Church has lost its understanding of the meaning of the cross, totally lost it."

Any church, whether it's Episcopal, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, or any other denomination, that departs from the foundational doctrines of Christianity as outlined in the Bible, has lost its way.

It's sad when a church or denomination is divided this way; after all, one of Jesus' last prayers for His followers was for unity and oneness. But when a majority or the leadership of a group refuses to follow Christ's teachings, it's better to part ways in order to remain obedient than to stay and be led astray by apostates.

Ooops!... shouldn't have said "that"... but now that it's said...

Campaign Co-Chair Issues Apology for Remarks

Clinton Campaign Official Asserts Youthful Obama Drug Use Makes Him a Target

By JAKE TAPPER

Dec. 12, 2007 —

The Democratic presidential race took on a decidedly nasty and personal turn Wednesday, with the New Hampshire co-chair for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, raising the youthful drug use of her chief rival for the nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Hours after the release of a CNN/WMUR poll showing Obama in a statistical tie with Clinton for the first time among New Hampshire Democratic voters, Billy Shaheen  husband of the former governor and an influential Democrat in the Granite State who is a constant presence by Clinton's side whenever she campaigns there -- told The Washington Post that should Obama get the Democratic nomination, "one of the things Republicans are certainly going to jump on is his drug use."

In his 1996 memoir, "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," Obama wrote candidly about his high school-era drug use: "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though."

Shaheen said Obama's having been so open -- as opposed to then-Gov. George W. Bush, who refused to detail his past drug use during his 2000 presidential campaign -- will "open the door to further queries on the matter.

"It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'" Shaheen said. "There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome."

(Full Article)

Yeah... how dare Obama NOT claim he neither inhaled or that he didn't realize he actually had sex!

If We Are So Dangerously Warming -- Why Are So Many Freezing?

Families Flee Freezing, Powerless Homes
By MURRAY EVANS (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
December 13, 2007 12:52 AM EST

OKLAHOMA CITY - After three nights in a freezing, powerless home, Jeanetta Plunkett couldn't take any more. She picked up her two young grandchildren and sought refuge at a shelter for people who lost electricity after a huge ice storm.

"We've been at home trying to endure, but it wasn't working," said Plunkett, who feared she was getting a cold and noticed the children had runny noses.

Oklahoma was hit hardest by the storm that encrusted the nation's midsection in ice and was blamed for at least 33 deaths. On Wednesday, the state still had a half million homes and businesses without power, and utility officials warned it could take a week to 10 days to get electricity fully restored.

(Full Article)

I can't help but wonder!

Thin Crust Melting Greenland Ice?

Imagine that: a natural cause for ice melting in Greenland.

From Ohio State University Research News:

Scientists have discovered what they think may be another reason why Greenland 's ice is melting: a thin spot in Earth's crust is enabling underground magma to heat the ice.

They have found at least one “hotspot” in the northeast corner of Greenland -- just below a site where an ice stream was recently discovered.

The researchers don't yet know how warm the hotspot is. But if it is warm enough to melt the ice above it even a little, it could be lubricating the base of the ice sheet and enabling the ice to slide more rapidly out to sea.

HT to Free Republic.

The Two Faces of Huckabee on Immigration

Watch this video of what Mike Huckabee says about immigration and border control, now that he's on the campaign trail and wants your vote.



Now take a look at what he's been saying in the past, and ask yourself whether you believe what he's saying now.

Dykstra Makes Campaign Staff Announcement

I received the following press release from Joel Dykstra's campaign for the U.S. Senate today. Go get 'em, Joel!


Canton, SD – In addition to logging more than 25,000 auto miles and attending more than 100 events across the State of South Dakota the past five months, U.S. Senate candidate Joel Dykstra has been busy building his campaign team. Dykstra today announced his campaign staff, praising their experience and South Dakota connections.

Watertown resident Barry Wilfahrt has joined Dykstra’s staff as the Finance Director. Wilfahrt served as President and CEO of the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Watertown for 20 years before beginning his own consulting company in 2005. In his role as a private consultant, he advises multiple clients including Focus Watertown, the Professional Appraisers Association of SD and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate.

Wilfahrt received his Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Studies from Minnesota State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN. Wilfahrt has served on more than 50 non-profit boards in the past 25 years.

Brandon resident Sue Salter is working as Communications Director for the Joel Dykstra for U.S. Senate campaign. A native of Sioux Falls, Salter managed the Sioux Empire Fair from 1998-2003, before starting her own consulting business. She previously worked as the Economic Development Director in Robstown, TX and as the City Administrator in Janesville, MN.

Salter earned her Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of South Dakota, and her Bachelor’s degrees in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science from South Dakota State University. She has served on the SD State Fair Commission since 2003, and on the Sioux Empire Board of the American Red Cross since 2006.

“I am pleased that the campaign has attracted staff people of such high professionalism and experience,” Dykstra said. “I am especially proud of their South Dakota roots and their desire to work for the improvement of America and of this great State.”

Two additional campaign consultants have joined the team, including Minnesota native Scott Cottington and James P. Farwell of New Orleans, LA. Cottington is a general political consultant who has served twice as Political Director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee and was Western Regional Field Director for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). Cottington is a member of the 2008 Republican National Convention host committee, and is also involved with convention planning for a number of corporate clients and trade associations. Farwell serves as Dykstra’s media consultant, and has handled strategy and media production for political campaigns nationally and internationally, including U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s campaign.

The new campaign team joins Campaign Administrator Lanna Teunissen of Sioux Falls, who oversees the day-to-day details of Dykstra’s Canton office headquarters.

“From the start of my campaign, Lanna has expertly handled all of the administrative duties for my campaign as I’ve been traveling around the state,” Dykstra said.

Dykstra said his goal in the coming months leading up to the Republican primary in June of 2008 is to meet as many South Dakota residents as possible, listening to their concerns about the way the federal government impacts their daily lives and learning how they want to have their voices heard in Washington.

“I will give South Dakotans a fresh, energetic perspective in Washington, and will work hard to promote the strong values of the people of South Dakota,” Dykstra said. “I will advocate new views on issues of great importance to our state and our country, including health care reform, energy independence, agriculture, the environment and national security.”

Dykstra brings to his Senate campaign extensive global business experience along with three terms of public service in our state legislature. He was elected assistant house majority leader in 2004, and continues serving in that role today.


*NOTE: Joel Dykstra’s U.S. Senate campaign raised more than $81,000 in its first three months, detailed in the Federal Elections Commission report for the quarter ending September 30, 2007.

Duncan Hunter Iowa GOP Debate 12-12-07

Duncan Hunter in Republican presidential debate in Iowa

Iraqi Freedom Minute

Focusing on the latest news from Operation Iraqi Freedom. American Forces Network Iraq presents Iraqi Freedom Minute.

Freedom Watch Afghanistan

The latest from Operation Enduring Freedom showing the activities of American troops in country. Produced by AFN-Afghanistan.

US Reps Vote For Islamic, Hindu Holidays, Against Christian One

I saw the story earlier today that the U.S. House had passed a bill, as they had previously for Muslim and Hindu holidays, affirming the significance and importance of Christmas. I appreciated it, and found it interesting enough to read, but not worth posting on.

Until I read that some in our government opposed it.

From Fox News:

One Republican House lawmaker is taking offense at nine Democrats for what he said should have been a no-brainer: recognizing the importance of Christians and Christmas.

In the end, the House on Tuesday supported Rep. Steve King's resolution to recognize "the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world" and acknowledge "the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith."

But King, of Iowa, is upset that not everyone voted for his bill two weeks before an estimated 225 million Americans celebrate the Christian holiday even though the vote by usual standards would be a solid margin. The measure passed by a 372-9 vote, with 10 recording a neutral "present" vote and 40 members not voting.

Here are the representatives who voted against it:

Ackerman
Clarke
DeGette
Hastings (FL)
Lee
McDermott
Scott (VA)
Stark
Woolsey

And here are 10 more who answered "present" rather than voting yes or no:

Conyers
Frank (MA)
Holt
Payne
Pence
Schakowsky
Schwartz
Wasserman Schultz
Welch (VT)
Yarmuth


Meanwhile, there were no nays on the recognition of Ramadan, and no nays on the Hindu festival of Diwali.

South Dakota's own Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin gets a "thumbs-up" for voting for the measure.

What is the religion of the people who founded the United States? What has historically been the religion of most Americans? What is still the religion of most Americans? Hint: the answer to all three of these questions is the same religion. Another hint: it's the religion that 9 U.S. representatives said "no" to recognizing, and another 10 refused to take a position on.

Surely they don't have anything against the religion which is the answer to my three questions, do they?

A World Medicated

By Carrie K. Hutchens

A few minutes ago, I heard a commercial on television about depression and some miracle drug to cure it. I couldn't help wonder if any consider there might actually be a "reason" for a person to be depressed? A reason such as the person just losing their job, or perhaps they didn't have any food in the house and no money to buy any, or maybe they have the money, but no way to get to the store? Then again, maybe the credit card company made a mistake and wouldn't listen when it was pointed out to them. Who knows, maybe the spouse promised something special and failed to follow through. Maybe life happened and it wasn't too pleasant!

It's true that there are those who have medical problems that cause depression, but what about all the others? What about the people who simply had a seriously bad day? Should they medicate a natural reaction away? (Full Article)

Questions About Gilchrist's Huckabee Endorsement

When I heard yesterday that Jim Gilchirst, a founder of the Minutemen Project, a border control group, had endorsed Mike Huckabee, I was pretty confused.

I know that Huckabee recently came out with a good border control/illegal immigration plan, but frankly I don't trust politicians who don't see the light until they're on the campaign trail. I have about as much faith in such conversions--once they get in office--as I do if someone told me Colonel Sanders became a vegetarian.

Huckabee has an abysmal record on illegal immigration, having supported driver's licenses for illegals, in-state tuition rates for illegals, and calling plans to stop such benefits "racist" and "bigoted." That's not someone who's friendly to enforcing our nation's laws or borders.

I did hear one thing in that Washington Post piece I linked to above which was welcome, though I can't speak to its sincerity:

"Frankly, Jim I've got to tell you there were times in the early days of the Minutemen I thought what are these guys doing, what are they about," Huckabee said. "I confess I owe you an apology." He said of Gilchrist, "nobody can question his commitment to his country."

But back to the subject of Jim Gilchrist himself, when I read this yesterday, I emailed Carmen Mercer, Vice President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. I met Carmen at one of the functions I attended in Washington D.C. in October, and had a terrific conversation with her about border/immigration issues, and about the current field of candidates.

Carmen told me something I hadn't seen in any "mainstream" media reports: Jim Gilchrist has long ago left their organization and is doing his own thing, these days. So while Gilchrist was a founder of the Minutemen, he is not in any capacity speaking for that organization.

The only candidates who have a positive record on border control/immigration are Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul and Alan Keyes. The rest have a mixed-to-poor record in this area, including Huckabee. So I'm still confused as to Gilchrist's endorsement.

If Huckabee has come around and seen the light, that's great. But remember: people who want your support will sometimes say things they don't really mean in order to get it. I think it's better to consider the walk they've walked, over the talk they talk.

Freedom Journal Iraq

A daily news program produced by American Forces Network Iraq. The program focuses on military missions, operations and U.S. military forces in Iraq.

10 Months of Decreased Violence in Anbar Province

A top commander in Iraq says November marked the tenth straight month of decreasing violence in Anbar province.

Waterboarding Prompts Allah to Visit Terrorist, Command Cooperation

From Time Magazine, a CIA agent testifies that waterboarding isn't something they do "willy nilly," but something that was done for very good reasons.

According to the former agent, waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah got him to talk in less than 35 seconds. The technique, which critics say is torture, probably disrupted "dozens" of planned al-Qaida attacks, said John Kiriakou, a leader of the team that captured Zubaydah, a major al-Qaida figure.

And

Each time CIA agents wished to use waterboarding or any other harsh interrogation technique, they had to present a "well-laid out, well-thought out reason" to top government officials, Kiriakou said. In Zubaydah's case, Kiriakou said the waterboarding had immediate effect. "The next day, he told his interrogator that Allah had visited him in his cell during the night and told him to cooperate," Kiriakou said in an interview first broadcast Monday evening on ABC News' World News. "From that day on, he answered every question. The threat information he provided disrupted a number of attacks, maybe dozens of attacks."

Sometimes it takes tough measures to stop the bad guys and protect innocent people. Waterboarding does no serious and certainly no lasting damage to the terrorist. U.S. interrogation techniques are nothing like what terrorists do to innocent people, involving such peace-loving techniques as blow torches, meat cleavers, whips and eye removal.

Dems See Huckabee as 'The Glass Jaw'

Hmmm. Reverse psychology or leaked strategy? You be the judge.

The Drudge Report has released an exclusive this morning that Democrats are holding their fire in the hopes that Mike Huckabee will get the Republican nomination...and then they'll break his "glass jaw."

Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, insiders reveal.

The Democratic National Committee has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination.

The directive has come down from the highest levels within the party, according to a top source.

Within the DNC, Huckabee is known as the "glass jaw -- and they're just waiting to break it."

The piece points out that the last DNC press release which was critical of Huckabee was on March 2.

Insiders say Dems are calling Huckabee a Republican "McGovern," meaning he's an easy kill. They cite Huckabee's pitiful record of granting clemency in Arkansas and his support of quarantining AIDS patients back in the early 1990s.

I'd have to agree with this assessment. Once large numbers of Republicans find out Huckabee's position on many of the issues (or rather, what his record is, since he's in the process of "redefining" his stated positions on some things), he'll have a hard time getting the support of his base.

Huckabee appears genuinely pro-life and pro-marriage. But beyond that, he has a dreadful record of being soft on crime, soft on illegal immigration, soft on terrorism, fond of big government, fond of taxes, and friendly toward global warming initiatives.

Like Giuliani, but for different reasons, Huckabee is NOT the flagship of Republican values.

And whether this is a "reverse psychology" ploy from the DNC or not, it's plausible because Huckabee's "Willie Horton" clemency proclivity leaves him vulnerable not just with Republicans, but with all but but the most dedicated pro-criminal electorate.

Journal of Climatology Article Guts Global Warming Theory

A recently released report in the International Journal of Climatology of the Royal Meteorological Society by professor David H. Douglass (of the University of Rochester), professor John R. Christy (of the University of Alabama), Benjamin D. Pearson and professor S. Fred Singer (of the University of Virginia) has found that observed temperature disagrees with global warming models and can better be explained through natural factors.

From NewsMax:

According to Dr. Douglass: “The observed pattern of warming, comparing surface and atmospheric temperature trends, does not show the characteristic fingerprint associated with greenhouse warming. The inescapable conclusion is that the human contribution is not significant and that observed increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases make only a negligible contribution to climate warming.”

One of his co-authors, Dr. John Christy, added: “Satellite data and independent balloon data agree that atmospheric warming trends do not exceed those of the surface. Greenhouse models, on the other hand, demand that atmospheric trend values be 2-3 times greater.

Their research finds that the sun, cosmic rays and cyclic climate factors are responsible for any warming. Imagine that!

Their ultimate conclusion lets all the hot air out of Al Gore's and other socialists' fun:

"Our research demonstrates that the ongoing rise of atmospheric CO2 has only a minor influence on climate change. We must conclude, therefore, that attempts to control CO2 emissions are ineffective and pointless — but very costly."

So, are you ready to cough up big bucks for Al Gore's sci-fi serial, or would you prefer the less-costly reality?

Report: Nation’s Wealthy Cruelly Deprived Of True Meaning Of Christmas

Report: Nation�s Wealthy Cruelly Deprived Of True Meaning Of Christmas

Dems on Hillary: Devious, Divisive, Scary

Looks like even Democrats know what the rest of the country has known for about 16 years: Hillary Clinton is bad news.

Bloomberg says a focus group of 11 Democrats from Philadelphia gathered last week to discuss the presidential race.

Here's some of the things the focus group said about Hillary, according to the article:

- The concerns about Clinton, 60, a New York senator, are that she is devious, calculating and, fairly or not, a divisive figure in American politics.

- After praising Clinton's experience and intelligence, they say she would be demanding, difficult, maybe even a little scary.

- Candor and authenticity were repeatedly cited. ``I don't feel like I look at her and see someone who's telling me the whole truth,'' says Allison Lowrey, a 30-year-old human- resources consultant. ``I'd like to see her approach a problem without the polls'' helping her make her decision, says Andrew Alebergo, a 39-year-old tanning-salon operator.

If you do a careful study of what this woman has said outside the mainstream press (and some in it) over the course of her life, the idea of a Hillary Clinton presidency is about the scariest thing I can imagine.

I believe she would be far worse than her husband was. At least when Bill Clinton president, his #1 priority was Bill Clinton. Hillary is a true ideologue. The ideology comes first with her...and her ideology bears almost no resemblance to the ideals this country was founded on, nor how it was designed to operate. Scary? Oh yeah!

Who's Hiding Christmas This Year?

Focus on the Family has released their latest update to their list of retailers who've been naughty and nice.



The link has contact info to thank those who are doing a good job, and to put a bug in the ear of those who are playing politically correct this Christmas season.

Perspective on Waterboarding

Beyond the Leftist hysteria and crocodile tears, a little perspective on waterboarding from NewsMax:

Only three terrorists have been subjected to waterboarding, and the technique has not been employed since 2003.

Furthermore, waterboarding should not be considered torture, as some are claiming. Torture is normally defined as the infliction of severe pain, and while waterboarding induces fear because it simulates drowning, it does not inflict pain.

In fact, U.S. special forces are subjected to waterboarding as part of their training in case they are captured and experience the procedure.

Waterboarding was used only when the CIA believed a second wave of terrorist attacks was imminent. But once the media began disclosing that the CIA was using the technique, it became useless, because if terrorists know they will be subjected to fake “drowning,” they will not respond to it.

The Truth Project in Rapid City

I just learned yesterday that South Canyon Baptist Church in Rapid City will be hosting a Truth Project study for 12 weeks starting January 6, 2008. The study will be from 8:57 am to 10:15 am, so if you attend another church, you could come to the Truth Project and still make your morning worship service elsewhere.

The Truth Project is about a biblical worldview, or seeing the world through God's eyes as revealed by the Scriptures. The course is 12 weeks long. An hour-long DVD is played and then there is discussion of the concepts.

Dale Bartscher of the South Dakota Family Policy Council has been teaching three of these per week at various times and locations around Rapid City for the past three months. Everyone I've talked to who has been through one of these can't say enough good things about it. The study apparently has the potential to radically change one's way of thinking, allowing the participant to recognize aspects of their own worldview which spring from a secular perspective, and what a biblical worldview looks like.

There's no cost to the course, and participants receive handouts with each lesson to take with them. Below is a video which demonstrates what the Truth Project is about.



This is the extended trailer for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project. The Truth Project is an innovative DVD curriculum that teaches viewers how to develop a systematic and comprehensive biblical worldview. Educator Dr. Del Tackett is both engaging and winsome as he teaches Christians to apply biblical truths to every area of life.

Visit www.thetruthproject.org for more information.

Heisman Trophy Winner Might Have Been Aborted

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, University of Florida quarterback, might not have even been here to accomplish this achievement, had his mother listened to doctors who advised her to abort him.

From LifeNews:

Pam Tebow and her husband were Christian missionaries in the Philippines in 1985 and they prayed for "Timmy" before she became pregnant.

Unfortunately, as the Gainesville Sun reports, Pam entered into a coma after she contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in a contaminated food or drink.

The treatment for the medical condition would require strong medications that doctors told Pam had caused irreversible damage to Tim -- so they advised her to have an abortion.

As the Sun reported, Pam Tebow refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted.

Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and, eventually, gave birth to a health baby boy in August 1987.

How many people of accomplishment do we abort each year among more than 1 million children we kill? What's more, whether they would go on to win a Heisman Trophy or not, each one is a human being, created in the image of God, of inestimable value.

Questions About the North Country Gazette

For a year or two now, Carrie Hutchens has been investigating the background behind the Terri Schiavo murder, and she has shared much of that here at Dakota Voice. June Maxam and her publication, the North Country Gazette, have also been taking a closer look at the Schiavo fiasco, as have a number of other organizations across the country, including LifeNews.

Going back almost as long as Carrie has been writing for Dakota Voice, she has encountered periodic "resistance" from June Maxim (I don't think I've been involved in these encounters first hand, but Carrie has told me about them and has forwarded a few of June's emails to me for consideration). Carrie and I have always wondered why June seemed so hostile toward Carrie's work, when many of June's stories on the Schiavo incident were also exposing interesting information about the duplicity of those involved in Terri Schiavo's murder.

Well, yesterday LifeNews published an article which indicates Carrie wasn't the only one getting a hard time from June:

The North Country Gazette is a New York-based web site run by June Maxam. Since her death, NCG has published numerous lengthy articles investigating key players in the debate -- including Michael Schiavo, Judge George Greer and other Florida officials who paved the way to Terri's death.

Those articles have been helpful. Unfortunately, NCG has been repeatedly attacking LifeNews.com and other news sites that report on the aftermath of the debate about Terri.

Maxam's antics began when, in 2006, LifeNews.com posted a well-written editorial she penned concerning Michael's political action committee and his efforts to defeat pro-life politicians who supported Terri and her parents.

Irate that LifeNews.com would afford her column a wider distribution, Maxam emailed a scathing letter asking that the column be removed. We complied immediately.

In an email exchange afterwards, Maxam made it very clear she was not supportive of Terri Schiavo or her parents' efforts to protect her life. Though she had written strong investigative pieces concerning the major players, she appeared to be more interested in the investigative journalism than the cause of protecting disabled people like Terri.

Maxam also publicly indicated she is not pro-life and, in a post on her web site attacking LifeNews.com, wrote, "We are not affiliated with any pro-life [or] right to life group" and added "His causes are not necessarily ours" referring to LifeNews.com's support for Terri and her family.

The LifeNews article goes on to provide quite a bit more background about June's hostility toward anyone else who writes about Terri Schiavo.

I guess we still don't know ultimately what's behind June's hostility. But we know a little more than we did, and we also know it wasn't personal toward Carrie.

Carrie, keep up the good work! It's a pity the quality of June's work is detracted from by her lack of professionalism.

Stunning Education Discovery: Children's Academic Success Starts at Home

A new study tell us what many serious parents already knew: children's academic problems usually start at home.

From yesterday's New York Times:

A new study by the Educational Testing Service — which develops and administers more than 50 million standardized tests annually, including the SAT — concludes that an awful lot of those low scores can be explained by factors that have nothing to do with schools. The study, “The Family: America’s Smallest School,” suggests that a lot of the failure has to do with what takes place in the home, the level of poverty and government’s inadequate support for programs that could make a difference, like high-quality day care and paid maternity leave.

The E.T.S. researchers took four variables that are beyond the control of schools: The percentage of children living with one parent; the percentage of eighth graders absent from school at least three times a month; the percentage of children 5 or younger whose parents read to them daily, and the percentage of eighth graders who watch five or more hours of TV a day. Using just those four variables, the researchers were able to predict each state’s results on the federal eighth-grade reading test with impressive accuracy.

“Together, these four factors account for about two-thirds of the large differences among states,” the report said. In other words, the states that had the lowest test scores tended to be those that had the highest percentages of children from single-parent families, eighth graders watching lots of TV and eighth graders absent a lot, and the lowest percentages of young children being read to regularly, regardless of what was going on in their schools.

I've long said that we unfairly slam teachers for poor academic results, when we're not giving them much to work with. Beyond too much of our education budget going to bureaucrats and other administrative costs, we give our teachers a crop of kids who probably get less attention than the family dog at home, and we expect the teachers to turn out a bunch of Bill Gates' and Zig Ziglars.

Of course, the Times predictably thinks the problem is "government’s inadequate support for programs that could make a difference, like high-quality day care and paid maternity leave."

Now granted, it's not as attractive as having someone else pay for the goods and services we use, but I have an idea that would be cheaper, better for the child, and better for society in the long run: how about having at least one parent stay home with the child, to nurture, guide, discipline and help educate that child?

I know. That'll take something else we as a society don't want to do: exercise caution and responsibility. And accepting responsibility for the consequences of our decisions.

That means we'll have to make better marriage choices (don't marry the lazy scumbag just because he has a cute smile, don't marry the self-absorbed bimbo just because she has a nice wiggle, don't marry the dirtbag who has violent tendencies even if he does have a good job, etc.) so that we increase our odds of staying married to the person we vowed to stay with until death.

And--provided we're not talking about abuse--if, despite foresight and good judgement we still end up married to a jerk or jerkess, we may need to suck it up and stay with an unpleasant husband/wife for the sake of the children. I know, it isn't fun and it isn't nice, but remember: the adults had a choice about the mess they got into, the children didn't.

For those concerned about loss of income, yes, it'll probably mean sacrifice and less family income. But it's not impossible. My parents did it. My family is doing it (we have an old vehicle with a bazillion miles on it, and make other financial sacrifices). Many other families are doing it. We've faced the reality that we can't have our cake and eat it, too. If we want our children to do well, we have to take responsibility for that ourselves.

Sacrifices are necessary. But aren't our children worth it?

HT to the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy.