Liberty Bell

What to do if you happen upon a peace rally by stupid naive hemp-shirt-wearing college idiots, to teach them why force is sometimes needed:

1) Approach dumb, rich, ignorant student talking about “peace” and saying there should be, “no retaliation.”
2) Engage in brief conversation, ask if military force is appropriate.
3) When he says “No,” ask, “Why not?”
4) Wait until he says something to the effect of, “Because that would just cause more innocent deaths, which would be awful and we should not cause more violence.”
5) When he’s in mid sentence, punch him in the face as hard as you can.
6) When he gets back up to punch you, point out that it would be a mistake and contrary to his values to strike you, because that would, “be awful and he should not cause more violence.”
7) Wait until he agrees that he has pledged not to commit additional violence.
8) Punch him in the face again, harder this time.

Repeat steps 5 through 8 until they understand that sometimes it is necessary to punch back!

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
— Emma Lazarus, on the Statue of Liberty

America has been a country of freedom and hope for many years. And because of that, it has drawn and continues to draw people from other nations to it. Most are longing for a better life. They believe America will provide it.

They see America as a great nation. They hear people talk of a glorious land - possibly a paradise on earth. They hear job opportunities, not shortage of jobs. They hear about food and free health care - not about the American citizens with no health insurance, and others who struggle to provide for their families.

I know many didn’t realize the problems with America. I know because the people my Dad work with (Turks) viewed America as a great nation. And when they visited, and realize how much Katrina had affected people’s lives, they were shocked. They hadn’t heard of the homeless people, the starving people, the out-of-work people…

America! America!

Now America is facing problems regarding immigration. And we see people who are in the U.S. illegally (mostly Mexicans), take jobs and get health care where U.S. citizens can’t. And we hear people talking Spanish and wonder what they’re saying - realizing that because we can’t understand them, we might be the ones out of a job.

I know another family, who moved to Washington State from California. The dad’s an out-of-work white electrician. Not because he’s lazy - he tried very hard to find work. But because when he tried to find a job, he was rejected because he couldn’t speak Spanish.

God shed his grace on thee…

There was an article on Think and Ask, called Free Los Angeles, Go Fix Mexico. It’s copyrighted - “reproduction of any kind is not permitted without written consent” - which I don’t have. But it’s a good article and I wanted to use a few paragraphs:

What is wrong with Mexico? Gotta dictator? Can’t put food on the table? No jobs to be found? Well, join the club, for life is no better in the United States for poor and middle class blacks and whites.

The only difference is now we whites and blacks have to pay socially and financially for those Mexicans who enter this country and work for cash while they avoid paying income, property, and school taxes. But Mexicans get healthcare and public school education — for free. If we tried avoiding taxes the IRS would be on our door before you could say si si. If we show up at hospital expecting free assistance we’d die while waiting in the emergency room without health insurance.

Here is one possible all encompassing answer: Life is easy for the Mexicans. It is easy to enter the United States illegally and stay under the radar. It is easy to come to the United States and pop-out a baby to gain citizenship and apply for welfare. It is easy to work here for $8-per hour cash, pile-up 20 illegals in a one-bedroom apartment to save rent and split the cost of a beer keg on the weekends. It is easy to build political clout with the sheer influx of immigrants along with the baby boom that follows with each new family.

It seems ironic that illegal aliens gathered such steam in Los Angeles to march, considering they offer no intellectual exchange to advance innovation in this nation…other than halting laws that infringe upon their own special cause. Be proud of Mexico: Go home to build a life your children can boast was the effort of their parents’ hard work and reform. Meanwhile, rest assured, we are telling our children that there is no free ride in the United States…unless one is here illegally from Mexico.

And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

President Bush Talks Immigration at Naturalization Ceremony

President Bush:

Newcomers have a special way of appreciating the opportunities of America. And when they seize those opportunities, our whole nation benefits.

In the 1790s, an immigrant from Ireland designed the White House, right where Laura and I live, and he helped build the Capitol.

In the 1990s, an immigrant from Russia helped create the Internet search engine Google.

In between, new citizens have made contributions in virtually every professional field and millions of newcomers have strengthened their communities through quiet lives of hard work and family and faith.

America’s welcoming society is more than cultural tradition; it is a fundamental promise of our democracy.

Our Constitution does not limit citizenship by background or birth. Instead, our nation is bound together by shared love of liberty and a conviction that all people are created with dignity and value.

Through the generations, Americans have upheld that vision by welcoming new citizens from across the globe, and that has made us stand apart.

One of my predecessors, President Ronald Reagan, used to say this: “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Japan, but you cannot become Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the world, can come to live in America and be an American.”

Then later on…

America is a nation of immigrants, and we’re also a nation of laws. All of you are here because you followed the rules and you waited your turn in the citizenship line.

Yet some violate our immigration laws and enter our country illegally. And that undermines the system for all of us.

America should not have to choose between being a welcoming society and being a lawful society. We can be both at the same time.

And so, to keep the promise of America, we must enforce the laws of America. We must also reform those laws.

No one is served by an immigration system that allows large numbers of people to sneak across the border illegally. Nobody benefits when the illegal immigrants live in the shadows of society. Everyone suffers when people seeking to provide for their families are left at the mercy of criminals or stuffed in the back of 18-wheelers or abandoned in the desert to die.

America needs comprehensive immigration reform. I’ve laid out a proposal for comprehensive immigration reform that includes three critical elements: securing the border, strengthening immigration enforcement inside our country, and creating a temporary worker program.

The rest of the speech contains his three guidelines and explains them. It’s worth reading.

Although it has been months since London’s July 7th bombings, and years since 9/11, people are still struggling from the effects of these terrorist attacks. British Reverend Julie Nicholson and Alexander Briley, an American Baptist minister, are still struggling.

Both have children who died during the terrorist attacks. Both are ministers and as such have had to tell others to forgive, to move on. And they struggle, as others, to practice what they preach.

Reverand Julie Nicholson, the priest-in-charge at St Aidan Church in Bristol, has decided to resign her position. Since her daughter Jenny was killed in London’s July 7 bombings she can no longer stand behind an altar preaching forgiveness when she herself cannot forgive.

While Alexander Briley has continued preaching, as the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy is approaching, he has still not come to terms with the manner of his son’s dying. “I can’t talk about it,” he says. “My life’s work is telling people that they have to go on after tragedy, but I can’t do it for myself.”

Alexander Briley is the father of the late Jonathan Briley, a 43-year-old who worked in a restaurant at the top of the north tower. Jonathan had just been another victim for these years, until recently when he was indentified as “The Falling Man.”

This news has not, and cannot, be confirmed. We are left knowing what we have known all along.

Yes, Jonathan Briley might be the Falling Man. But the only certainty we have is the certainty we had at the start: At fifteen seconds after 9:41 a.m., on September 11, 2001, a photographer named Richard Drew took a picture of a man falling through the sky—falling through time as well as through space. The picture went all around the world, and then disappeared, as if we willed it away. One of the most famous photographs in human history became an unmarked grave, and the man buried inside its frame—the Falling Man—became the Unknown Soldier in a war whose end we have not yet seen. Richard Drew’s photograph is all we know of him, and yet all we know of him becomes a measure of what we know of ourselves. The picture is his cenotaph, and like the monuments dedicated to the memory of unknown soldiers everywhere, it asks that we look at it, and make one simple acknowledgment.

That we have known who the Falling Man is all along.

But as Jonathan’s sister, Gwendolyn, says: “It’s not about trying to find out who he is, but what his death says to all of us.” And what it says is … never again.

The Falling Man - one of the pictures

Terri Schiavo

Nearly a year after her death, her parents and husband are releasing opposing books that will continue the debate over the decision to remove the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo. Terri Schiavo died on March 31, 2005, at the age of 41. 13 days before, her feeding tube had been removed under a legal order granted to her husband, Michael. Terri’s death was caused by a mix of dehydration and starvation.

Michael Schiavo fought the Schindlers (her parents) in court for eight years over the removal of Terri’s life support, arguing she would not have wanted to be kept alive in what doctors called a persistent vegetative state.

The Schindlers argued that she retained some level of consciousness. “Don’t let anybody tell you that Terri did not know who was in that room,” Mary Schindler told The St. Petersburg Times in an interview published Saturday.

In their book, “A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo - A Lesson for Us All,” the Schindlers continue the debate, saying Michael Schiavo abused Terri and say she wouldn’t have wanted her feeding tube removed.

In Michael Schiavo’s book, “Terri: The Truth,” he says he was determined to carry out his wife’s wishes despite death threats and other pressures.

“Terri: The Truth” is being released Monday. “A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo - A Lesson for Us All” will be released the day after. It will be interesting to read the different sides presented by family members.

But very interesting: (h/t to Brutally Honest)

While every lost serviceman and servicewoman is certainly tragic and should be mourned, the actual statistics tell quite a different tale from the MSM and Democratic doom-and-gloom outlook. Comparing the numbers of lost US military personnel to past years, and past presidential terms, may even be a shock to supporters of the war.

Take a look at the actual US Military Casualty figures since 1980. If you do the math, you wil find quite a few surpises. First of all, let’s compare numbers of US Military personnel that died during the first term of the last four presidents.

George W. Bush . . . . . 5187 (2001-2004)
Bill Clinton . . . . . . . . . 4302 (1993-1996)
George H.W. Bush . . . . 6223 (1989-1992)
Ronald Reagan . . . . . . 9163 (1981-1984)

Even during the (per MSM) utopic peacetime of Bill Clinton’s term, we lost 4302 service personnel. H.W. Bush and Reagan actually lost significantly more personnel while never fighting an extensive war, much less a simulaltaneous war on two theaters (Iraq and Afghanistan). Even the dovish Carter lost more people duing his last year in office, in 1980 lost 2392, than W. has lost in any single year of his presidency.

The Sammenhold Blog has a post: We Stand With the Danes that is well worth reading.

In 1943, right in the thick of World War II, the occupying Nazi-controlled goverment of Denmark resolved to exterminate Denmark’s Jewish population. Owing to the courage of the Danishpeople, who stood in solidarity with their Jewish neighbors, the Danish Jews disappeared overnight, hidden by their neighbors from the Nazis’ view, despite the grave risk to all involved. Once their complicity was uncovered, many of the rescuers paid the ultimate price. Later, Israel would award members of the movement who arranged the rescue the honor Righteous Among the Nations. At their own request, the rescuers are officially recognized, in solidarity, as a collective group. The Danish have a word for it: The word is SAMMENHOLD.

For the complete article, go here.

I would also like to formally apologize to the Sammenhold Blog. Some of you may know I had posted the entire piece in its original form - without permission from those at the Sammenhold Blog. It was wrong for me to do that. I have corrected the post in what I hope is a satisfactory way. Again, I’m sorry.

U.S., British Troops Rescue Iraq Hostages

U.S. and British troops Thursday freed three Christian peace activists in rural Iraq without firing a shot, ending a four-month hostage drama in which an American among the group was shot to death and dumped on a Baghdad street.

Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the U.S. military spokesman, said the hostages were being held by a “kidnapping cell” in a house, and the operation to free the Canadian and British captives was based on information from a man captured by U.S. forces only three hours earlier.

“They were bound, they were together, there were no kidnappers in the areas,” Lynch told a news briefing.

He also said military operations concerning other hostages were ongoing, “probably as a result of what we’re finding at this time.”

The freed hostages were Canadians, but members of the Chicago-based Christian Peacemaker Teams. Although Tony Blair and others have thanked the soldiers, the Canadians and the Christian Peacemaker Teams have not done so.

In regards to a statement on their web-page:

Not once do they thank or even reference the fact that a Special Forces team rescued these guys. In fact, the only reference to military at all is blaming them for the kidnapping in the first place. Nice!

Also on their home page is a long statement about how terribly treated terrorists are when detained by evil soldiers.

They have faith in the power of God and his protection. “If you have the faith to love your enemies, you might consider loving your friends and rescuers too.”

The Christian Peacemaker Teams said the activists went to Iraq “motivated by a passion for justice and peace.” Group volunteers have been in Iraq since October 2002, investigating allegations of abuse against Iraqi detainees by coalition forces. Its teams promote peaceful solutions in conflict zones.

“They knew that their only protection was in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers,” Pritchard said.

He also called for coalition forces to leave the country.

“We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq,” Pritchard said

There’s a story/joke I know about a Marine just released from active duty and newly registered in a class taught by an avowed Atheist. The teacher shocked several of his students when he flatly stated he was going to prove there was no God. Addressing the ceiling he shouted: “God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I’ll give you 15 minutes!”

The lecture room fell silent. You could have heard a pin fall. Ten minutes went by. Again he taunted God, saying, “Here I am, God. I’m still waiting.”

His count-down got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine walked up to the professor, hit him full force in the face, and sent him tumbling from his lofty platform, knocking him out cold. At first, the students were shocked and babbled in confusion. The young Marine took a seat in the front row and sat silent. The class fell silent…waiting.

Eventually, the professor came to, shaken. He looked at the young Marine in the front row. When the professor regained his senses and could speak he asked: “What’s the matter with you? Why did you do that?”

“God was busy. He sent me.”

Thank-you.

Other bloggers posting on this subject: Christian Peacemaker Teams is not Pro-Peace, TALK ABOUT UNGRATEFUL, US and British troops rescue ‘Peace’ hostages