Incident In Seattle...

Mr.Atos

ONGOING UPDATES BELOW ...

BREAKING: Nortwest Cable News reports, Several people shot at Jewish Federation in Seattle

SEATTLE – At least two people have been shot at the Jewish Federation at 2031 Third Ave. in downtown Seattle. One or two people have been taken into custody but it's not known if they are suspects.

One person was reportedly shot in the abdomen and another, a woman, was shot in the arm. They are being taken to Harborview Medical Center. The incident began around 4 p.m.

Part of Third Avenue and Second Avenue have been closed to traffic. Police are urging people to stay away from the area. It's not known if more suspects are at large but policemen were seen handcuffing one person and others were searching the area.

At least three people were seen emerging from the building, escorted by police. It's not known if they were hostages.

Medics, escorted by police, have been taking other people from the building. Police have kept other medics from entering the building. It's not known how many people are left in the building or if more people are injured.

More to come.

It looks like the Sleeper Cells might have gone active. But, it is still early. More to come indeed.

UPDATE:

Free Republic has a thread.

UPDATE:

Do lets recall that Jewish Centers abroad have been targets in the past. Let us all pray for a calm weekend... even as we prepare for the storm that gathers.

KING5 has video:
VIDEO: Raw video shows chaotic scene
VIDEO:Victims flee building

UPDATE:

From Northwest Cable News reports, One Dead, Four Wounded. Police have taken one suspect into custody.

UPDATE:

Fox News...

Amy Wasser-Simpson, vice president for planning and community services at the Jewish Federation told The Seattle Times that a man got through security at the building and told staff members: "I'm Muslim American. I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting.

Anger seems to a valid reason to murder for followers of the religion of peace.

UPDATE:

What are the chances that the yet unnamed 31 year old, Pakistani-American shooter from Pasco, Washington (unconfirmed) attended this rally yesterday? ...then travelled north? Thin, perhaps. But, likely given the encouragement and cover the Northwest fringe Left is providing for butchers to commit slaughter.

Sound Politics notes additional encouragement on the part of local MSM... Seattle Post Intelligencer (HT. Michelle Malkin). Michelle is now on this story as well.

KEPR 19 News out of Pasco, WA reports... Tri-City Man Suspect in Seattle Shooting, and provides this new tragic twist to the story,

The Seattle Times reports that one of the wounded had been described as a 43-year-old woman who was shot in the abdomen while another was described as 17 weeks pregnant.

UPDATE: Live Blogging Seattle Police Press Conference
Streaming on KIRO TV... schedule to start anytime. Standby

841 - Strangely a lot of jocular chatter from the seated reporters preceeding the press conference.

844 - begins... "Sad day in the city of seattle." expression of sympathy.

845 - Expressed as a Crime of hate. Assures the community protection of mosques and synogogues. (Moral equivalency)

- recap of incident details. Suspect asked for manager and then started shooting with a large caliber semiauto HG. He spoke with 911 operator.

- Being treated as homocide and 'Hate Crime.' (sickly amusing)

- Gave up to officers.

- Suspect currently being processed by King County officials.

- White female deceased. All wonded are female.

- Isolated incident by suspect acting alone.

- Protecting Mosques 'in the event of retaliatory incidents.' (Pardon me: But give me a break)

- Reporters ask about Mosques, implying that suspect is Muslim. Unconfirmed! But strongly suggested.

852 - Questions by media... Or not. Video feed abruptly ends.

UPDATE:

Michelle has the morning scoop. The Shooting suspect is one, Naveed Afzal Haq. From the Seattle Times,

A law-enforcement source identified the arrested suspect as Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, who until recently had lived in Everett, and said Haq apparently has a history of mental illness. Court records show Haq has a charge of lewd conduct pending against him in Benton County.

Mental illness! Ya think? Some movements (and political parties) seem to rely on it. One might even say, 'thrive' on it. Everyone else just suffers the nourishing of these monsters.

Hugh Hewitt makes a point on the topic, so profound this morning, that it must simply be repeated,

Five weeks ago seven would-be terrorists, home grown division, were arretsed in Miami. Their stories have largely vanished from the news.

Seven weeks ago 17 would-be terrorists, come grown/Canada division, were arrested in Toronto. Their stories have largely vanished from the news.

So in less than two months we have 25 arrests of terrorists intent on killing in the US, only one of whom succeeded, but the successful one is described by the home town paper as "having a history of mental illness" and the others have dropped off the list of MSM-approved topics for coverage.

Can we agree that all terrorists have some degree of mental illness? Can we also agree that it is completely and utterly irrelevant to the victims of their crimes?

What we need to know --and what the American MSM seems profoundly uninteretsed in-- is where did they come from? What made them terrorists?

Let me also raise the possibility that there are many, many more where the 25 came from, but that we don't know where or how to look for them. Instead of thinking through how such a search can be accomplished without infringement on civil liberties, elite media --the New York Times and Los Angeles Times to be very specific-- are busy hobbling our few non-intrusive investigative techniques.

He concludes...

But the fear of giving offense should not stop the MSM from asking all the hard questions, beginning with "Who is Naveed Afzal Haq and how did he come to become a terrorist?" The same questions, please, for the other 24.

The desire to not believe in monsters, rendered in a perpetual state of denial, will not keep the very real beast in the closet from devouring us all as and when it sees fit.

The Virtue of Discrimination...

Mr.Atos

One image...

... = ten thousand words on the virtue of discrimination. (HT: Michelle Malkin)

New Direction, Same Compass...

Mr.Atos

The Democrats, it would seem, have unveiled a New Direction for America as a map for their 2006 Congressional election strategy.

The American people are facing difficult times. Rising gas and health care costs are taking a toll on family budgets. Wages have not kept pace with inflation. Bright and eager high school graduates can no longer afford to go to college. And record deficits threaten to bury future generations in debt. America needs a New Direction.

The Democrats' new platform consists of several old key objectives:

Real Security... Democrats offer a plan for Real Security to rebuild our military; equip and train our first responders and others on the front lines here at home; provide needed benefits to our troops and veterans; fully man and equip our National Guard; promote alternative fuels and reduce dependence on foreign oil; and, restore Americans' confidence in their government's ability to respond in the face of a terrorist attack or natural disaster.
Note in the entire plan that there is no mention of actually attending to threats, nor any explanation of a foreign policy approach to global aggression. The new stragedy would seem to consist of retreating within the U.S. borders to await what next may come. Recall what that approach yielded previously.

Energize America... While the challenge of the energy crisis is real, American innovation and know-how can be put to work to achieve energy independence from Middle East oil in the next 10 years. America can develop emerging technologies to process homegrown alternative fuels. A sustained investment in research and development is crucial to creating cutting-edge technologies that allow us to develop these clean, sustainable energy alternatives and capitalize on America’s vast renewable natural resources.

And as we see here in Portland, this approach will result in a 15 to 20% increase in already high fuel prices, thereby negating the fundamental argument made for this particular agenda item. Furthermore, the very party that consistently stands opposed to expanded domestic oil exploration, production, refining, and that stands firmly against the development of nuclear energy production would have you believe they now have a viable solution to energy independence. If make less, use less, pay more is their new approach, one wonders how Americans "feeling the pain at the pump, and are worried about the security of our nation and our growing dependence on foreign oil" are going to be energized by the same old bromide. What has changed? What will change? ... except dimishing prosperity and opportunity.

The Innovation Agenda... We must make the decision now to ensure that America remains the world leader. Working with leaders from the high-technology, venture capital, academic, biotech and telecommunications sectors, we have identified and are committed to priorities that will guarantee our national security and prosperity, expand markets for American products, and assert economic leadership throughout the world. Together, America can do better.

Do better than what? America already leads the world in those areas mentioned, despite the anti-progress agenda of the Left. Do Democrats now intend to divorce themselves from the Left and their culture of litigation that has retarded ingenuity? No mention. And quite doubtful. Nevertheless, in their new direction, Democrats have dedicated themselves to a number of Statist approaches to intellectual development with ner a mention of encouragement of intellectual, entreprenuerial, and free-market development. Implement, Educate, Provide, Place, Pay, Institute, Create, Make... these are the verbs they propose in regards to their new direction. Nowhere, however, in their new direction is the word allow. And they certainly do not propose to finally get the hell out of the way of the free market. Governmental dictates and authoritarian management is a fundamental aspect of the Democrat agenda. Is this considered a new approach for Democrats?

Honest Leaders, Open Government... The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act is a comprehensive government reform plan that will clean up and protect the government from the Republican culture of corruption and quid pro quo politics.

Republican culture of corruption, indeed? Do let's ask Representative William Jefferson about the culture of Republican corruption. William Jefferson Blythe Clinton's past record in that regard already reflect's the Democrats dedication to address institutional corruption. Denial is their old appoach as well as their new direction. One might ask, what about, Cisneros, Rostenkowski, and Torricelli . And how about Abramoff and those Enron Democrats? Cynthia McKinney might well serve as their committee chairman in this regard if the Democrat's succeed... or in the very least, as their bouncer. Do note, however, that the accusation of malfeasance does not beget a crime. America might do well to take note of the Democrat Party's inability to recognize the difference... and consider the danger inherent to a ruling party that considers presumption akin to the assumption of guilt. Orwell gave fair warning.

New House Principles: A Congress For All Americans... Today in the House of Representatives, however, the voices of nearly half of the people have been silenced, and the marketplace of ideas has been effectively closed. Too often, incivility and the heavy hand of the majority have substituted for thoughtful debate.

It would seem that the new direction the Democrats propose is to ensure their voice be heard and headed, regardless the will of the people. As for the voice of the minority, do let's review how that party handles ideological dissent, even as it begs political inclusion in the face of popular exclusion.

GI Bill Of Rights... House Democrats are introducing the New GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century to honor the bravery of our troops and the tremendous sacrifices that their families have made. The New GI Bill will repeal unfair tax burdens on military families, provide Veterans with the benefits they deserve like affordable health care, education and job training, strengthen our support for our men and women in uniform and improve benefits for our National Guard/Reservists.

And yet, the Democrats still refuse to support in any way, the GI mission... or the fundamental nature of their sacrifice. There is, no mention whatsoever of the actual tactical intent of a standing military nor an appreciation of its exstence. One might think from the Democrats identification of it's new directives, that the primary objective of America's miltary servicemen is to be a permanent welfare class; Pawns of their pleasures and weapons for their whims.

A Democrat Plan For Retirement And Security... Democrats are fighting to strengthen and safeguard Social Security's guaranteed benefit, but we must do more so that every American has the opportunity to build a secure retirement. Unfortunately, the Republican majority in Congress has done little to help American families save for their retirement years and has failed to protect pension benefits that workers were promised.

And yet the Democrats remain actively and openly opposed to any effective measures aimed at reforming the quickly crumbling federal retirement system, even while proposing a new class of illegal recipients. Perthaps the entirety of their new approach is accelerated failure!

If all of this is a new direction for Democrats, that's only because they have turned the map upside down and followed the exact same compass in the opposite direction. Failure remains their inevitable manifest of destiny. The new approach is the exact same old thing they've always said and done, except different. And they are counting on the fact that America is too stupid to notice.

Well, are you?

Non-Elective Surgery

dueler88

The body of humanity is suffering from the cancer of militant ideology. So afraid is the body of dealing with pain that it continues to let the cancer spread further in to the body. No amount of believing that the tumor might mutate back to normal tissue will change the fact of malignancy. We have no linear accelerators, gamma knives, proton beams or bio-engineered viruses to kill the tumor cells. So we are forced to do things the old-fashioned way - invasive surgery and removal of malignant and, sadly, some of the healthy tissue around the tumor.

When cancers metastasize far enough, the prognosis is always the death of the body.

The Meaning of Peace...

Mr.Atos

One of the most memorable lines in modern movie history belongs to Mandy Patinkin, playing the character of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. At one point, he turns to his boss, Vizzini, and says, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

In modern parlance that word would be, 'peace.' We keep using the word, while hardly affecting the actual condition. Perhaps because it does not mean what we think it means. This is a point that Major Mike makes very well in an earlier post this week, and one Dueler continues to explore. Thomas Sowell takes on the issue today at Townhall.Com. Peace is not, for instance, merely a moratorium on hostility. Two neighbors that viscerally hate one another, yet who do not brawl in the street, do not enjoy in a peaceful co-existence. They are merely engaged in a tenuous state of tolerance; breached perhaps the moment the one's dog craps on the other's lawn.

Peace is a word frequently misused to describe a specific condition that rarely exists. After WW2 at the beginning of the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force named its first new bomber, the B-36 Peacemaker. One of the largest aircraft ever produce, the gargantuan atomic bomber was by no means a vehicle of peace. It was built to maintain that tenuous condition of tolerance among estranged neighbors known as M.A.D. The aircraft may well have been named the B-36 TreadOnUsAndWellBlastTheCrapOutOfYou. But, that would not have been quite so handsome a moniker for the great silver behemoth even as the concept of actual peace was no doubt understood as little more than a marketing gimmick for public consumption by an institution that comprehended the real peril of the condition. So-called peace keepers and peace movements have no such comprehension, as Sowell points out,

There was a time when it would have been suicidal to threaten, much less attack, a nation with much stronger military power because one of the dangers to the attacker would be the prospect of being annihilated.

"World opinion," the U.N. and "peace movements" have eliminated that deterrent. An aggressor today knows that if his aggression fails, he will still be protected from the full retaliatory power and fury of those he attacked because there will be hand-wringers demanding a cease fire, negotiations and concessions.

That has been a formula for never-ending attacks on Israel in the Middle East. The disastrous track record of that approach extends to other times and places -- but who looks at track records?

And what they actually achieve is clearly nothing of the sort. Peace you see, is not merely the absence of hostility, but the presence of genuine respect and comity. Without that, the idea of peace is simply... well, inconceivable.

Total War, Part 2

dueler88

As events continue to unfold in Israel and Lebanon, it seems that we are headed for total war against Militant Islam, whether we like it or not. Total wars bring about total victors and total losers - but not without a horrific dose of pain and suffering.

The first realization that we must come to is the near inevitibility of this total war - simply because we don't want it doesn't mean that isn't on the mind of Militant Islam. After that initial realization, one understands that it is much more favorable to be the victor, rather than the vanquished, in a total war (we're not here yet because we're still trying to decide if our way of life is worth defending). After that, one makes the preparations necessary to effectively fight the enemy, both in mental resolve and adequate investment in weapons technology. After that, one develops a methodology of tactics and strategy to defeat the enemy. Then one implements those tactics and strategies.

But back to this point: I don't think most people comprehend exactly what it would mean to lose to Islamic Militancy. I think most people in the liberal west would have a problem with forced prayer every day, let alone forced religion. I think most women in the liberal west would have a big problem with not being allowed to display their hair. In short, I think most people would have a big problem with not being able to choose their own destiny. THAT is what will happen, in the midst of a horribly broken civilization, if Militant Islam wins.

We are all human, and therefore have the capacity to fight with incredible ferocity. Would that we were able to muster the same ferocity as a Militant Islamist. War is hell, and the choice of violence always entails a loss of some degree of humanity. But what awaits us on the other side? Where liberal democracies are victors, the vanquished are helped back on their feet, and liberal democracy expands. Where totalitarian regimes are victors, the vanquished are murdered or enslaved and liberal democracy contracts or is destroyed.

If we want to live, and live freely, we will learn how to fight, and to win. As it stands now, we haven't decided that we want to live, so what follows remains academic. But academics tends to fall by the wayside when enough people around you start dying.

Total War, Part 1

dueler88

At the request of my blogging partners, I'm sending some of my comments from MajorMike's "Peace Through Victory" post up to the "front page."

Perhaps no other phrase than "Peace Through Victory" more succinctly describes what is at the heart of the confict within western liberal culture.

There are times in our past when the debate we're having now simply didn't happen. 1944 - fascism must be annihilated. 1864 - slavery must be destroyed.

In 1865, the South, weary from years of pain and loss, capitulated to the North. In 1945, the United States was weary enough in inflicting and experienceing hundreds of thousands of casualties that they developed and used a weapon of unimaginable power. The fighting became too gruesome and painful to continue. Lincoln, Roosevelt and Truman knew the repurcussions of victor and vanquished. They also knew, however, that to be the victor was much much more preferable to being the vanquished.

My comments do not come without an intense sense of foreboding. We are at a point in the generational cycle when total war is likely to once again be waged. This time around, however, many players in this conflict have the capability to kill hundreds of thousands within a few seconds. The human mind needs a chance to stop and think about the carnage going on around it in order to make a clear decision to do whatever it takes to end the conflict (note that our enemies appear to only want conflict and not victory). How many nuclear warheads will have to go off before we can stop, think, and muster the resolve to stop our enemies' attacks, once and for all?

The process of war used to be a multi-stepped journey full of contemplation. Assemble the troops. Catalogue and prepare the weapons systems. Gather intelligence. Formulate strategic and tactical plans. Excecute those plans. Adapt to changing conditions. Destroy the enemy's ability to fight. Today, however, it is possible for several nations to skip to the last part - destroy the enemy - within a couple of hours. In the past, if the enemy fired a few shells at a city, the response would be to take a day to take out the people doing the shelling, and then take a week to attempt the destruction of the transportation/manufacturing infrastructure that caused those shells to get there. But now - just what is the response to tens of thousands of civilians dead as a result of one single bomb? I'm not sure I want to think about that.

This whole thing with Israel and Hezbollah/Hamas smells a little too much like July 1914. Better just let the Austro-Hungarians (Israel) take out the Young Bosnians (H&H) before the Russians (Iran) decide to help out.

Peace Through Victory...The Israeli Choice

Major Mike

In trying to bring together my thoughts on the developments in Israel over the past week, I harkened back to my reading of No Victor, No Vanquished back in 1984. And in reviewing it, I was less struck by the content and more struck by the title. For, indeed, the title tells us more about what lies ahead than do any of the tactical or strategic elements in the book.

Ending a conflict with “no victor, no vanquished” is a recipe for the initiation of a follow on action. Stalemates beget further action, for the issues and forces at play in the initiation of the conflict are not removed from the situation, they are only stifled from reaching their dynamic conclusion. Stalemates are often imposed by artificial interventions…political, public opinion, super-power meddling; so such interventions don’t solve the problems, they only delay the inevitable, future realignment of energies, that will result in further conflict.

Our own freedom was not won with a crushing of the British Army, but more a collapse of British will. Without having suffered a crushing defeat, the British were only tempted to try again in 1812.

The resolute defeat of the South that ended the American Civil War, squashed any notion of future secessionist movements in the South.

The politically agreed to Armistice that concluded World War I, only delayed the inevitable, larger war that was necessary to usher out the Franco-Prussian-Anglo-Russo-European martial culture, with its periodic continental conflicts, that had dominated the European landscape for centuries. The crushing defeat of Germany in World War II, the weariness of the rest of the continent, save the USSR, and the costs of fielding a modern army finally ended the near continuous cycle of cross border invasions in Europe. It was the clear defeat of the evil in the Nazi regime, and the coalescing of the good forces of the Allies, that has spared Europe from continental conflict since. An ambiguous outcome would not have provided sixty years of European stability and peace.

The advent of terrorism, coupled with the flooding of weapons into the third world, has given rise to a new type of “modern” army. This is not an army of technological superiority, or of sophisticated weaponry. This is an army of lightly armed, ruthless
Ideologues. It is an army that seeks war when peace is possible. It is an army that launches unguided munitions into non-military target areas. It is an army that manipulates the governments that shield it, the people it represents, international agencies by the score, and the salivating MSM that covers its every move. It is an army that butchers prisoners, and murders innocents. It is an evil force, and as such it must be defeated.

The only way to achieve longstanding peace in the Middle East is to let these forces come to equilibrium on their own terms. This may indeed result in the politically incorrect notion that one party will be defeated, but this is preferable to the false peace of the last 33 years that resulted in hundreds of Israelis being slain innocently in their streets by an endless stream of evil homicide bombers and cross border rocket attacks.

H&H escalated the unstable, costly peace into war. Let them bear every burden of the fury that they have unleashed…they deserve it.

The international community should not interfere, no matter how much the MSM skews the presentation of the facts and ignores its causes. Loss of civilian life is compelling, but no more so than when Israel was losing its citizens when it was supposedly at peace.

Israel needs to press hard and defeat H&H. It is the only way they will see peace. The brokered deals of the past have produced only meaningless Nobel Peace Prizes and no respite from assault…they promise no hope in the future. The only hope is for Israel to vanquish H&H, and for the good nations of the world to coalesce against evil. A stalemate will only delay the inevitable...the convergence of these forces at a point in time when one defeats the other, and the vanquished chooses peace over death. We are on the precipice of being there now. There is no reason for Israel to stop. There is no reason for us to try to stop them.

Israel…A Hobson’s Choice

You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t

Major Mike

Israel showed a great deal of restraint on their invasion into Gaza as a response to the intentional incursion into their territory, by terrorists, with the sole intent of taking an Israeli soldier hostage. Their response, in my opinion was restrained, but appropriate. Personally I would have been much more aggressive is flushing out Hamas as the governmental terror organization that they are.

No matter that is Israeli business.

I also think that Israel made it abundantly clear that there would be no more unequal prisoner swaps into the future. That they would cease the practice of trading hundreds of Palestinian criminals for small numbers of innocent kidnapping victims, or captured soldiers (who, by the way, don’t seem to be treated within the guidelines outlined in the much revered Geneva Convention). So it was clear, via their actions, and their subsequent proclamations, that the Israelis would not be dealing with terrorists in their effort to secure the release of the Hamas hostage.

And then Hezbollah immediately attacks Israel, kill several Israelis, and kidnaps two soldiers and attempts to hold them for ransom.

An obvious, and intentional, aggressive provocation, designed to get Israel to commit on two fronts. And to put the Israeli government on tilt…an expression used by poker players to describe that point in time where the combination of the visible cards and your betting strategy confuses the opponent to the point where he commits an unintentional error, or he simply makes a bad play he wouldn’t typically make.

You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

So Israel is now on tilt, and faced with a Hobson’s choice…aggressively attack in two directions in an attempt secure the release of your illegally kidnapped citizens and soldiers, and to secure your borders; and be reviled by the left leaning press, all of the anti-Semites the world can muster, the retreat-at-all-costs UN and EU, and all of the other blind politikos in the world; OR Israel can continue to allow its citizens to be victimized by ruthless murderers and butchers day in and day out, as those terrorists slowly carry out their widely espoused plan to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

Sadly, many out there still blame Israel. Many still falsely believe that Hamas and Hezbollah will end their attacks when Israel bends to all of their demands. And many don’t comprehend that Israel is being intentionally pushed into war by these two terror organizations in order to turn the press against it.

I know what the choice of most Americans would have been fifty years ago, but I am unsure now. Would we tolerate Canada lobbing arty rounds into Detroit day in and day out, and accept it as the price of life in this country? Of course not. Then how can we not support Israel in their desire to live in peace, when the peace has been intentionally broken by two parties who knew for certain that their methodologies would not garner the results they were supposedly seeking?

Hamas and Hezbellah intentionally provoked Israel into war in an effort to turn public opinion against Israel. Not only are they responsible for the deaths they have directly caused in Israel, but they are also responsible of the death of the citizens, at Israel’s hands, in their own countries.

They knew exactly what Israel’s response would be…in fact they welcomed it. They knew that they had left Israel with only one choice, a Hobson’s choice, and we should not be condemning Israel for making it.

ADD ON: OBTW...when you attack someone, you are not entitled to the response you think you should get...you are entitled to the response that your victim gives you. Enjoy the bombs...you deserve them.

Visions of Die Sturm - A Frisch Dose of Hate

Mr.Atos

Its a Frisch dose of an old hate and its coming our way reports Michelle Malkin,

Deborah Frisch says she is headed to Eugene, Oregon--where she has apparently taught in the past. Schools up there might want to know why she's leaving Arizona.

Some of the comments to blogger Jeff Goldstein by University of Arizona, adjunct Professor Deborah Frisch are quoted below,

"I’d like to hear more about your “tyke” by the way. Girl? Boy? Toddler? Teen? Are you still married to the woman you ephed to give birth to the tyke? Tell all, bro!"

"[...] as I said elsewhere, if I woke up tomorrow and learned that someone else had shot you and your “tyke” it wouldn’t slow me down one iota. You aren’t “human” to me."

" Ooh. Two year old boy. Sounds hot. You live in Colorado, I see. Hope no one JonBenets your baby. Are you still married to the woman you humped to produce the toddler? "

Give your pathetic progeny (I sure hope that mofo got good genes from his mama!) a big fat tongue-filled kiss from me! LOTS AND LOTS OF SALIVA from Auntie MOONBAT, if you don’t mind!

Somehow, Jeffy boy, I think you get off on the possibility of Frenching your pathetic progeny, even if it is a boy. You seem like a VERY, VERY sick mofo to me, bro.

From what we've seen of what is being Left here in Oregon, Deborah Frisch will fit right in. But, not if we can help it.

Other bloggers are all over this one. For the latest info, Michelle is tracking developments as what is being Left sadly continues to congeal around its own fetid core. As the thugs they have become, Die Sturm resorts to threats and violence to continue an argument they have already lost in the arena of ideas... now turning their hate on children to render the parents' silence.

I submit there is no place for it here; not in Oregon or America.


Background: Michelle Malkin , Ace of Spades, Euphoric Reality, Small Dead Animals, Instapundit, and Blackfive.

More: Confederate Yankee. Rick Moran, INDC Journal.

UPDATE:

See Also:
Visions of Die Sturm...
Visions of Die Sturm - A Kos For Alarm...

What Is Being Left v.17.0
What Is Being Left v.16.0
What Is Being Left v.15.0
What Is Being Left v.14.0
What Is Being Left v.13.0
What Is Being Left v.12.0
What Is Being Left v.11.0
What Is Being Left v.10.0
What Is Being Left v.9.0
What Is Being Left v.8.0
What Is Being Left v.7.0
What Is Being Left v.6.0
What Is Being Left v.5.0
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What Is Being Left v.3.0
What Is Being Left v.2.0
What Is Being Left v.1.0

Faith and Understanding

dueler88

Many of my professional colleagues (a liberal profession in an overwhelmingly liberal city) think I’m crazy when I tell them I believe that Islamic Militants are a VERY serious threat – one that is more serious than most of us are aware. So who is right? Am I crazy to believe that Islamic Militants have the power to wreak havoc on, and eventually destroy, the Western World?

I can’t claim to be the most faithful person on the planet; my personal journey of is something that is between God and me. But I should be able to claim at least *some* familiarity with the inner soul-searching and an understanding of how a mind can be influenced by Faith.

To put it simply, I think that a big reason why the danger of Militant Islam is underestimated by so many people is because those great many people don’t fully understand the concept of Faith.

The American Judeo-Christian tradition is one of both deep faith and of tolerance. The few anomalies of this not withstanding, our notion that Faith is not necessarily universal is what roots this tradition. Deep religious faith is arrived upon only through personal soul searching. What then necessarily follows is that no one person can determine the type or depth of faith in any other person. Evangelizing and “testifying” are the only methods that come close to being able to determine the faith of another person. One can speak with as loud a voice as they want, but this does not guarantee that anybody around them will listen and understand.

If a person has never experienced the inner soul-searching of faith, I seriously doubt that they could begin to grasp the depth of motivation on the part of a faithful person. This motivation can result in tremendously uplifting and loving acts of kindness and selflessness towards others. But it can also result in brutally destructive acts of violence and hatred. And often the difference between how one views these acts depends upon one’s personal faith. The act of beheading another human being is repulsive to most of us. But to a Militant Islamist, that act is a profound pronouncement of faith and love towards God. To understand how the meaning of such an act can be so different to two different people, and how that meaning is manifested in faith, is the beginning of being able to see Militant Islam as a serious existential threat.

Today, it is a scimitar beheading a single person. Tomorrow, it could just as easily be a 1-megaton warhead detonated in a major metropolitan area. Motivation and Faith remain. The degree of opportunity to express them is what changes.

Most of us can’t even imagine a situation where we would be compelled to kill one, let alone thousands, of our fellow human beings, with or without remorse. Even a secular humanist, though, can recognize that they would likely kill another person if the safety of their children is at stake. Perhaps a clear understanding of that secular humanist’s internal motivations to protect their children at any cost is the beginning of understanding the threat of Militant Islam.

I would like to caution the reader, however, that a war against Militant Islam could easily morph in to a war against Faith. But we must remember that foremost in our cultural philosophy is the irrevocable right to self-determination. That is, the right to determine our place in the world. Our meaning. Our Faith.

An American Rant

Major Mike

The seeds of this rant, which will likely be unfocused, and likely harsh on my targets, were sown on a call I made to the Hugh Hewitt (now at TownHall) show last week, following Hugh’s coverage of the Supreme Court Hamdam ruling. My on air comments were something like…

“It is getting awful lonely out on the end of the spear,” and “With only the President and the military committed to fighting the GWOT, there is no shaft on the spear,” or words to that effect.

My thoughts were further fomented with the onset of the Fourth of July holiday…a celebration of our forefathers’ courage and commitment to the forming a new kind of government. A government that fosters equality and opportunity. A government that serves the majority, but whose structure protects the minority. A government that can only be sustained through responsible participation, meaningful debate, compromise, moderation, and a commitment to, and a belief in, our founding principles, our frontier heritage, and our unique American persona.

We have been shedding our uniquely American persona since the Sixties. We focused inward on our individualism. We began to shun our military heritage, and indeed, all things patriotic. We started to wallow in empathy and sympathy, rather than encouraging a rugged individual responsibility when times got tough. In short, we were softening as a nation. And now our institutions and governmental entities are abandoning our efforts in the GWOT and ultimately our country.

First I look to the courts. I am no believer in the omnipotent wisdom of the courts. In fact, it is easy to argue that Dred Scott and other cases, show the human, and political, and fallibility of our courts. The courts have moved, on their own, away from the founding principles of the Constitution. The Constitution provides a flexible enough framework to meet the challenges of our nation over time, but it is not meant to be flexible enough to be manipulated by politically motivated judges who desire to overstep their judicial bounds.

Justice Kennedy’s reference to the Geneva Convention in Hamdam, and earlier talk of “international standards” are not subjects to be heard in our court decisions. The foundation for all Constitutional adjudications should always be the Constitution, not some moving target of international or political whim. The battering the Ninth Circuit takes in the Supreme Court is evidence enough of a destructive activism that undercuts Congressional authority, and creates a destructive schism and mistrust between all branches of the government.

The courts also need to recognize that they are crucial in balancing the defense and longevity of the nation against a continually expanding interpretation of “individual rights,” many of which are nowhere to be found in the Constitution. Rulings like Hamdam indicate that the Court is beginning to lose sight of the fact that their rulings are, and have been, critical to the defense of this country. Fundamentally, their decisions must reflect the best interests of the country, and empower those fighting the GWOT, not to hamstring them, and leave them exposed in the field.

For the Press. Sanctimonious. Elitist. Out of touch. Going out of business. Irrelevant. Biased. Ignorant. In denial of their lack of objectivity. Hypocritical. And on and on.

My latest complaint…the NYT exposure of the SWIFT program. They continue to deny that their irresponsible behavior was harmful, but they know the opposite is true, and they are unrepentant. They got the scoop. They sold papers. They are awaiting the awarding of their next, treasonously inspired Pulitzer. Which, they will richly not deserve.

They are hypocrites in two ways. First, they purport to support the troops, however for every SWIFT program or surveillance program they expose, they drive up the need for troops in the field. If we deny Al Qaeda recruiting dollars, that means less Islamofascists in the field. If we deny Al Qaeda access to business partners, that means less IEDs in the field injuring our troops. If we are able to legally track Al Qaeda via international phone records, and dissect their Command and Control system, we diminish their effectiveness on the battlefield, and improve the chances of our soldiers in the field. And ultimately...we could have less, not more troops in the field, exposed to the hazards of battle.

So their “expose” of a legal program, greatly endangers our troops in the field. They can deny this because the know, that no Marine will come back with a piece of shrapnel in his ass with New York Times printed on it, but it might as well be, they help put it their.

Secondly, their uneven and biased reporting is specifically targeting the efforts of the President, and since the military is now the only other American entity, besides the Executive Branch, engaged in the GWOT, they are directly fighting against the efforts of our troops in the field. Hampering the efforts of those that protect the freedoms of your profession is about as hypocritical as it gets.

Congress can climb on board the hypocrite train. Their votes on Iraq don’t align with their public statements. They slice and nuance every issue to woo their constituents. Their doublespeak on Iraq is, literally, un-interpretable. So while they claim to support the troops we have deployed to fight the GWOT, they have publicly projected only an unintelligible babble that our troops can readily discern.

They recognize that Congress is not serious about winning teh GWOT, but only about winning in their next elections. They know that they will be abandoned in the field if the political winds blow the other way. They recognize Congressional members as the opportunists they are, and expect little more. They also recognize that Congress is yet, one more, American institution incapable of acting American, when the times so call for it.

They recognize bullshit when they see and hear it, for they have the soldier’s nose for it…as all who have soldiered do.

Our educational system is also abandoning all things American. Our curricula are deeply apologetic about our frontier activities, and all but ignore the good we have done in this country and around the world.

They have fought against recruiters in our High Schools and Universities and negatively impacted our ability to find and recruit intelligent and dedicated men and women to serve in our Armed Forces. By the time our recruiters are allowed to communicate with high school students, they have been brainwashed about our evil role in the world, and ahve been pointedly focused to all things liberal.

And lastly, our people are losing their American identity. We are forgetting we ARE a rough and tumble nation with unrefined edges. That we ARE tough, and have the fortitude to persevere and overcome. That we can believe in patriotism and righteousness, and not be scorned for it. That this nation is worth defending, and that I am not stupid for having done so if I die in the process. That I am a dedicated patriot to the greatest nation on earth. And that I am so without apology, and without the need to seek international approval.

We ARE different because we were made different. The day we seek to be more French or more European, is the first day of the end of this country, for although many of us come from there, we are an entirely different race of people than those that live there now. When we begin to value our wines and cheeses over our liberties, we are doomed to become the slaves of a more dominate master.

The way we preserve our freedoms is to fight for them as a nation, not to be a cross-purposes with ourselves, and the GWOT is the next obstacle in our path. Our institutions must work together in order for this nation to survive the GWOT, for if we don’t, we will have only squandered the lives of our soldiers on the battlefield.

At that point the press, Congress, the courts, our educational system, and an increasingly liberal population, all contributors to the condition, will be pointing fingers at, and blaming the only two entities left in this country doing anything to protect us from further deadly attacks…the President and the military.

Culpability lies with the culpable…failure in the GWOT will never rest with Bush or the military…it will lie with those elements of our society who have forgotten their role in this country’s survival, and who have squandered a truly good and great nation for their short-sighted and selfish purposes.

God Bless America, and may God help us re-discover our American heritage…we need to find it desperately.

A Declaration...

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

[ body of greivances omitted for brevity]

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.