6 June 1944

Today is the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, the day in which the US-led Allies invaded the coast of France, beginning the Battle of Normandy during World War II. This invasion began the Allied liberation of Europe, and ultimately resulted in the taking of Berlin, and the end of the war in the European Theater.

D-Day was significant in many ways. It was the largest naval armada in history, consisting of thousands of ships. Nearly 3 million troops were assembled as the invasion force to land in France, and included elements of Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force. The invasion force was made up of several nations including primarily the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, with some participation from Free France and Poland. Allied casualities were high: 45,000 were killed in action, with some 173,000 wounded or missing. German forces lost over 23,000 KIA, 67,000 wounded and 198,000 missing or captured.

Sadly, no mention of this historic event was mentioned in many newspapers. I'm reminded of George Santayana's famous quote: Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Newt Still Makes Sense in '08

Back in September of last year, I posted an interesting offering from Next Gingrich on how to win in November. By implementing just 11 ideas, and running on them, Republicans probably could have turned the election into a roust of the no-ideas Democrats. But that's past, of course, but I think the plan is worth repeating. Here's an updated re-post of Mr. Newt's salient points:

One of the most amazing things I've noticed this election cycle is the complete and utter lack of ideas coming from the left. The Democrats and the media have spent millions of dollars and countless hours to bash this administration and its foreign policy, yet have still not offered up a single idea as counterpoint to what they're whining about. Apart from a complete withdrawal from Iraq, no thought has seemingly been given to the consequences of monumentally bad idea.

Yet one of the brightest minds in Washington has done just that - formulated an 11-point plan that is necessary for "Winning The Future" and which has broad-base support from the American people. Contrast the void on the left with Newt Gingrich's commonsense 11-point plan for a solid Republican win in November.

Make English the Official Language of Government.
The House should pass a bill making English the official language of government, abolishing multilingual ballots and reaffirming that new citizens should be required to pass a test on American history in English.

Control the Borders.
The House should pass a narrowly focused bill to ensure that the United States can control the border.

Keep God in the Pledge.
Congress should take two steps to preserve the right to say "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, a right which is supported by 91% of all Americans. The American people feel deeply that our Declaration of Independence is correct in saying that each of us is endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. It is time to return to a balanced Constitutional system.

Require a Voter ID Card.
The American people overwhelmingly support (85% in one case, 70%-plus even after all the arguments against it are made) having a voter ID card so we can be sure only legal citizens are voting. Passing a bill to require this in all federal elections would be a big step toward more honest elections.

[And eliminate the need for bogus and unconstitutional bills like the shameful McCain-Feingold bill - Ed.]

Repeal the Death Tax, for Good.
The American people have consistently supported the total repeal of the death tax and the House should simply pass it once a week and attach it to various Senate bills to force the Senate to deal with it again and again. Let liberals explain why they oppose something that more than 70% of the country favors.

Restore Property Rights.
The American people are deeply opposed to local politicians' being able to seize a citizen's home or business. The Supreme Court's Kelo decision on eminent domain is one of the most unpopular in recent years and is also one of the most dangerous.

[Another absurd unconstitutional bill that blatantly defies the 4th Amendment. -Ed.]

Achieve Sustainable Energy Independence.
The country is eager for a straightforward new energy strategy for national security, environmental and economic reasons, starting with clean nuclear power using new technologies that are safe and produce little
waste.

Control Spending and Balance the Budget.
The House should pass new budget legislation to control spending, leading to a balanced budget in seven years (the length of time we gave ourselves in the Contract with America and which led to the first four balanced budgets since the 1920s), with special focus on programs liberals will fight to increase spending.

Tie Education Funding to Teacher Accountability.
A major result of the No Child Left Behind legislation has been the clear revelation that a number of schools systems are crippling and destroying children. When the Detroit school system only graduates 21% of entering freshman on time, it is clear the children are being cheated.

Defend America From the Irreconcilable Wing of Islam.

Terrorism is a real threat. Congress should hold hearings on the recent terror activities in Canada, the United Kingdom and Morocco. The House should move bills that strengthen our security from terrorists with increased powers for surveillance, an overruling of the disastrous Hamdan decision and a series of other steps.

[Foreign combatants who are not US citizens are not entitled to the rights enumerated in the US constitution. -Ed]

Focus on Iran and North Korea.
The American people are very prepared to believe we face extraordinary threats from a nuclear North Korea and an Iranian regime actively seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Any actions in Iraq need to be recast in terms of their impact on Iran. A weak America in Iraq will be unable to stop Iran. Stopping Iran is potentially literally a matter of life and death. Everything about Iraq should be debated within this larger and much more dangerous context.

Given the wide field of candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination, and in light of the backlash against the ill-conceived Kennedy-Martinez Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348, aka Amnesty Bill), it seems to me that the best choice so far is the team that hasn't yet announced: Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich.

Hey, I'm just sayin'.

An Open Letter to Senator Mel Martinez

Dear Senator Martinez:

I wish to voice my opposition to SB 1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. This bill is flawed in so many ways it concerns me for several reasons.

The first is that far from enacting any meaningful reform, it actually grants amnesty to perhaps 20,000,000 existing illegal aliens, along with their extended families. This country was established as a nation of laws, but it seems that some, like yourself as co-sponsor of this bill, are willing to subvert that basic tenet, and allow lawbreakers to not only skate free, but to enjoy the benefits of citizenship. What do I tell my grandkids about the rule of law, when half their class contains illegal Mexicans? How did my great grandparents become citizens? How did you become a citizen, Senator Martinez? Is obeying the law no longer a requisite for citizenship? Is that your message?

Secondly, with threats of annihilation being made against the county and its citizens almost daily, the last thing the government should do is to throw open the borders and let these aliens roam free among us. Which one is a simple peasant looking for work, and which is a terrorist with a weapon? Is this a risk worth taking in exchange for the dubious benefit of cheap short term labor, or for 20 million future Democrats?

Lastly, this bill doesn't pass the light-of-day test. Where are the committee hearings? Where's the debate? Americans are generous by nature, and despite the spin by the media, they are not xenophobic. Americans welcome immigrants who come here legally, learn the language, work hard and pay taxes, and assimilate into the culture. They are, however, suspicious of back room deals that try to ram bad legislation like this bill down their throats, in the dark of night.

Shame, Senator Martinez, shame. I could expect socialist bills like this from Ted Kennedy or Harry Reid. I supported and voted for you, but I did not give you license to subvert the nation's rule of law, or its border security. Amnesty didn't work under President Reagan, and it won't work now. I urge you to withdraw your sponsorship of this bill, and to vigorously oppose it.

The Armed Citizen

In a story May 2, two illegal aliens, Ralphel Resindez, 23, and Enrico Garza, 26, probably believed they would easily overpower a home alone eleven year old Patricia Harrington after her father had left their two story home. It seems the two crooks never learned two things: first, they were in Montana, and second, Patricia had been a clay shooting champion since she was nine.

Patricia was in her upstairs bedroom when the two men broke through the front door of the house. She quickly ran to her father's room and grabbed his 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun. Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buck shot from the girl's knee crouch aim. He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals. When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the street where he bled to death before medical help could arrive.

It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen .45 caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. The victim, 50 year old David Burien, was not so lucky as he died from stab wounds to the chest.

Patricia staved off a robbery and potential rape because her parents taught her how to use a gun. Her parents wisely educated her on the power that a firearm provides, and that training made her comfortable around firearms. Ignorance can be deadly, but fortunately for this Montana family, knowledge was power.

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My daughter was taught to be proficient with handguns when she was 13, and that experience helped her in her military career. She remains the only female in history in the 63rd Chemical Company, 801st Battalion, 101 Airborne Division to qualify expert with the 7.62 mm SAW, or Squad Automatic Weapon.

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Proficiency with firearms is not only a requisite in today's world, it's fun too. On occasion I participate in IPSC (International Practical Pistol Confederation) competition, which is fun mixed with training. That competition entails shooting at various targets at various distances, scored by number of hits in the shortest time. This, and most other shooting sports, provides training that is applicable to real-life situations, and can save your life. It did for little Patricia.

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A May 15 story in The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) serves as a good reminder of how a person’s support for gun control often changes after a personal experience with crime.

State Representative Michael DeBose (D-12) of Cleveland was an opponent of Right-to-Carry, having voted against the measure twice. All that changed on the night of May 1, when he was confronted by two men, one of whom was wielding a gun. On that night, Rep. DeBose’s sense of security in his neighborhood changed, as did his view on lawful citizens being able to defend themselves.

Rep. DeBose was lucky—this time—that his running, screaming, and summons for help prevented him from being harmed. When asked how this recent experience may change the prism through which he views Right-to-Carry, Rep. DeBose was crystal clear: "I was wrong. I'm going to get a permit and so is my wife. I've changed my mind. You need a way to protect yourself and your family. I don't want to hurt anyone. But I never again want to be in the position where I'm approached by someone with a gun and I don't have one. There are too many people who are just evil and mean-spirited. They will hurt you for no reason. If more people were packing guns, it might serve as a deterrent.”

Welcome, Rep. DeBose, to the growing list of Right-to-Carry converts. While it is too bad it took a life-threatening situation to convert him, we hope he will share his experience, and his newfound respect for the right to self-defense, with his other colleagues who still don’t get it. It is our hope they won’t have to endure a similar experience to do so.

By What Name Torture?

For all the weak and wobbly who were so concerned about imagined US military abuses of terrorists held at Gitmo, news all but ignored today reveals the existence of a how-to manual for torture. Not for such heinous acts as water-boarding or sleep deprivation, but for the real, medieval variety of torture. Surprisingly, this how-to manual was not issued by the pentagon for field use by US troops. Nope, it's an Al Qaeda issued manual.

In a recent raid on an Al Qaeda safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like “blowtorch to the skin” and “eye removal.” Dragging victims behind a car, and how to electrocute victims were also portrayed. Along with the manual, soldiers seized various torture implements, like meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters.

We will wait patiently while human rights groups and vocal news outlets across the globe decry this barbaric heinous activity. Any minute now. Just be a moment . . . No, there will be no such outcry. Amnesty International, the New York Times and their ilk criticize only US methods of information gathering, which they label "torture." Dismemberment and disfiguration, of course, are perfectly acceptable methods for genuine freedom fighters. And those things are certainly not "torture'.

Meanwhile the insane rabid Islamofascists, with the tacit approval of the global "human rights" community, continue with their barbaric medieval beheadings, the most recent of which forced a 12-year-old boy to do the heinous deed, while his elders give him instructions. Check the actual footage of this barbarism - banned in the western news outlets - if you dare. But be warned, it's real and it's graphic.

But don't wait for the "human rights" community to point out the blatant child abuse, or the savage beheading while still alive of this civilian, or the pure evil and hypocrisy of the "religion of peace."

As hypocrisy sits on its throne and laughs, evil flourishes.

Hat tip to The Jawa Report for the still photos of the beheading.

Bye, Bye, Rosie

Goodbye and good riddance to the loudmouth bully of the View. Rosie O'Donnell took an earlier retirement today from the View, weeks earlier than her canceled contract date.

Generally misinformed, Rosie always lead with her mouth, and relied on her domineering ways to back up her absurd far-left conspiratorial ramblings. One of the most hateful commentators on television, Rosie has uttered such bizarre statements as: the destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11 was an inside job perpetrated by the Bush administration; that US troops are terrorists in Iraq, having killed 650,000 innocent Iraqi civilians; that none of the 9/11 hijackers were Arabs; that no airliner hit the pentagon on 9/11 (rather she alleges it was a planted bomb); and her hatred of the Bush administration and all things Republican is legion.

Thank goodness Rosie and her Jerry Springer brand of shock jock programming is now gone. Hopefully, for good. The culture is under enough stress without having to deal with a mentally unstable, insecure, loudmouthed bully of a self-absorbed, shrill lesbian screaming her twisted and cynical views in our face.

Ciao, Rosita. Darken our doors no more.

More Victories in Iraq

Despite the doomsday pronouncements from the Democrat seditionist Harry Ried, news from Iraq continues to indicate that al Qaeda continues to get, well, beat up. Admiral William Fallon told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. military forces are "working very hard" to stop al Qaeda fighters entering the country through Syria.

"There's little doubt that there was a pipeline coming through Syria that was enabling these people to get into the fight," Adm. Fallon said. "But in the last couple of months, the significant turn to the government and coalition side by people in Anbar I believe has got to be having a detrimental effect on this, because that's the conduit, if you would, where these people were coming."

Admiral Fallon was referring to a number of senior Sunni leaders in Anbar province who have literally switched sides from supporting the terrorist insurgency who now actively support U.S. and Iraqi government troops. What? How can that be? Isn't the war lost? The New York Times must have missed that story. Prominent religious leaders have rejected al Qaeda because the group's indiscriminate bombings are slaughtering innocent Iraqis, according to U.S. military officials. The increased pressure on the underground transit route, the so-called Syrian pipeline "is not particularly hospitable to al Qaeda or foreign fighters; we'd expect to see some positive results from that," Admiral Fallon said.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a speech yesterday that the United States needs to be steadfast in fighting the war against terrorism. That includes in Iraq, in Afghanistan and everywhere Islamofascists strike. He noted Winston Churchill's comment on the United States in 1943 that "the price of greatness is responsibility."

The current mission in Iraq, following the first mission which was the ouster of Saddam Hussein, has been either overlooked or misrepresented by the American mainstream media. This current task is to unite the three major factions - Sunni, Shi'a and Kurd - into a democratic self-government. When that is accomplished there will exist a substantial stability in the middle east. With democratic governments flourishing, al Qaeda and its murderous factions will have no place to train, arm or hide. When the Iraqis themselves fight al Qaeda and its insane dogma, the end of this war will surely be at hand. And they will then understand that responsibility is greatness.

The Alpha Site: Earth II

Twenty light years from Earth, above a calm, dark ocean, a huge, bloated red sun rises in the sky - a full ten times the size of our Sun as seen from Earth. Small waves lap at a sandy shore and on the beach as something stirs. This very well may be the scene on what is possibly the most extraordinary world to have been discovered by astronomers: the first truly Earth-like planet to have been found outside our Solar System. The discovery of the planet, designated Gliese 581c, was announced today by a team of European astronomers, using a telescope in La Silla in the Chilean Andes.

The Earth-like planet that could be covered in oceans and may support life is 20.5 light years away, and has the right temperature to allow liquid water on its surface. The new planet, which orbits a small, red star called Gliese 581, is about one-and-a-half times the diameter of the Earth, and is located in the constellation Libra.

Astrobiologists refer to a climate zone known as the Goldilocks Zone, where it is not so cold that water freezes and not so hot that it boils, but where it can lie on the planet's surface as a liquid. In our solar system, only one planet - Earth - lies in the Goldilocks Zone. Venus is far too hot and Mars is just too cold. This new planet lies bang in the middle of the zone, with average surface temperatures estimated to be between 32 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Lakes, rivers and even oceans are possible.

It is not clear what this planet is made of. If it is rock, like the Earth, then its surface may be land, or a combination of land and ocean. Another possibility is that Gliese 581c was formed mostly from ice far from the star (ice is a very common substance in the Universe), and moved to the close orbit it inhabits today. In which case its entire surface will have melted to form a giant, planet-wide ocean with no land, save perhaps a few rocky islands or icebergs.

The surface gravity is probably around twice that of the Earth and the atmosphere could be similar to ours. Although the new planet is in itself very Earth-like, its solar system is about as alien as could be imagined. The star at the centre - Gliese 581 - is small and dim, only about a third the size of our Sun and about 50 times cooler. The two other planets are huge, Neptune-sized worlds called Gliese 581b and Gliese 581d (there is no "a", to avoid confusion with the star itself). The Earth-like planet orbits its sun at a distance of only six million miles or so, travelling so fast that its "year" only lasts 13 of our days. The parent star would dominate the view from the surface - a huge red ball of fire that must be a spectacular sight.

It is difficult to speculate what - if any - life there is on the planet. If there is life there it would have to cope with the higher gravity and solar radiation from its sun. Just because Gliese 581c is habitable does not mean that it is inhabited, but we do know its sun is an ancient star - in fact, it is one of the oldest stars in the galaxy, and extremely stable. If there is life, it has had many billions of years to evolve.

The real importance is not so much the discovery of this planet itself, but the fact that it shows that Earth-like planets are probably extremely common in the Universe. There are 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone and many astronomers believe most of these stars have planets.

Interestingly, Gliese 581c is so close to the Earth that if its inhabitants only had our level of technology, they could - just about - pick up some of our radio signals, such as the most powerful military transmitters. What would happen if we received a signal from them is unclear.

"There is a protocol, buried away in the United Nations," says Dr Shostak of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in California. "The President would be told first, after the signal was confirmed by other observatories. But we couldn't keep such a discovery secret."

It may be some time before we detect any such signals, but it is just possible that today we are closer than ever to finding life in the stars.

An Open Letter to Senator Reid on His Declaration of Defeat

April 21st, 2007

The following letter was written by Lt. Jason Nichols, a Naval officer who is currently serving in Baghdad. He is also the head of Appeal for Courage, a group of American active duty and reserve service personnel who are appealing to Congress to stay and finish the war.

Senator Reid:

When you say we’ve lost in Iraq, I don’t think you understand the effect of your words. The Iraqis I speak with are the good guys here, fighting to build a stable government. They hear what you say, but they don’t understand it. They don’t know about the political game, they don’t know about a Presidential veto, and they don’t know about party politics.

But they do know that if they help us, they are noticed by terrorists and extremists. They decide to help us if they think we can protect them from those terrorists. They tell us where caches of weapons are hidden. They call and report small groups of men who are strangers to the neighborhood, men that look the same to us, but are obvious to them as a foreign suicide cell.

To be brief, your words are killing us. Your statements make the Iraqis afraid to help us for fear we’ll leave them unprotected in the future. They don’t report a cache, and its weapons blow up my friends in a convoy. They don’t report a foreign fighter, and that fighter sends a mortar onto my base. Your statements are noticed, and they have an effect.

Finally, you are mistaken when you say we are losing. We are winning, I see it every day. However, we will win with fewer casualties if you help us. Will you?

Respectfully,
LT Jason Nichols, USN MNF-I,
Baghdad

Well said, Lieutenant Nichols!

Hattip to Gathering of Eagles http://gatheringofeagles.org/?p=311

Treason in the Senate

Harry Reid, Nevada democrat and senate majority leader, has declared the war in Iraq is "lost." One hundred thirty-five thousand American soldiers, sailors and airmen are taking the fight to the Islamic fanatics, and winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, but Reid, in his most seditionist statement so far, pronounces the war is lost.

So egregious is his statement that soldiers have expressed their shock and revulsion in emails sent throughout the country. In raw and emotional language from the bloody front lines, Cpl. Tyler Rock, of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, skewered Reid for being far removed from the patriotism and progress in Iraq. "Yeah, and I got a quote for that [expletive] Harry Reid. These families need us here," Rock vented in an e-mail to Pat Dollard, a Hollywood agent-turned-war reporter who posted the comment on his Web site, www.patdollard.com. Good on ya, Corporal!

Reid, in his blind hatred of the president and thirst for democrat party power, has let politics trump his patriotism. And that graciously assumes he had any to begin with.

Harry Reid. One despicable individual.

Flying Imams vs. John Doe

Remember those 5 Imams who made a big scene by praying publicly in the terminal at the Minneapolis airport recently? And during the flight they continued to pray loudly and moved about in the passenger cabin. Clearly trying to incite negative attention in order to use politically correct laws against those who reported their suspicious behavior, they've now sued both USAirways and the unknown passengers who reported their shenanigans, named in the complaints as certain "John Does."

Tired of this nonsense? Join up. Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-NM) drafted a bill to protect such John Does from liability. Here is Rep. Pearce's press release:

Today, United States Congressman Steve Pearce introduced H.R. 1640 the "Protecting Americans Fighting Terrorism Act of 2007." If passed, this legislation would protect individuals from being sued for reporting suspicious activities to law enforcement and security personnel.

The language of the Act comes as a direct response to a recent incident in Minneapolis. As reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the imams engaged in a variety of suspicious behaviors while boarding a US Airways flight, according to the airport police report. Some prayed loudly in the gate area, spoke angrily about the United States and Saddam, switched seats and sat in the 9/11 hijackers' configuration, and unnecessarily requested seatbelt extenders that could be used as weapons, according to witness reports and US Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader.

As a result of the aforementioned behavior, citizens contacted airline authorities and the pilot informed law enforcement to have the suspicious parties removed from the aircraft. The original incident occurred in November of 2006; now the group has filed suit against US Airways and the
Minneapolis - St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission on 17 different charges. Included in the lawsuit as defendants, are "John Does" described as citizens who called authorities to report the suspicious behavior of the Imams.

Rep. Pearce commented on introducing the bill: "It is a sad day in America when our own institutions of freedom are being used against us in the battle against terrorism. When I first heard about the lawsuit brought by the 'imams' in Minnesota, it was clear to me that this was an injustice against Americans who were simply trying to protect themselves. These brave citizens should be recognized as heroes for their efforts to report suspicious activity, particularly activity that has been associated with previous terror attacks.

"As Americans, we must not allow ourselves to be bullied by individuals who seek to disrupt our way of life. We can not allow the sympathizers of terrorism to make Americans wonder if they could be sued before reporting possible terrorist activity. Whether it is an intimidation tactic or a full scale attack, Americans have the right and responsibility to protect themselves and their fellow citizens. I introduced this legislation to protect Americans and keep all citizens alert and vocal as they serve on the front line in our battle against terrorism here in America."

Finally some sanity. Terrorism, by definition, includes low-conflict situations like e-coli in our produce, rat poison in Rover's dog food, and certainly intimidation tactics like this ridiculous suit. And any judge who is worth his robes should immediately dismiss this suit - with extreme prejudice.

Some folks I've talked to have a better solution. They call it SOS. It's not a call for help, however. It means Shoot On Sight.

Have a nice day.

Hattip to Michele Malkin and the guys at Powerline

More Iraqi Progress

Tired of the propaganda about Iraq? Take a look in the paper, on the news, and all you'll see countless stories about casualties and destruction. But progress is being made in Iraq, and it's noteworthy. Here are just some of the achievements being made by US and coalition forces that you will not see in AP, NYT, WaPo, or the LA Times:

• The liberal media isn't going to report the fact that 3,100 Iraqi schools have been renovated, 364 are under rehabilitation, 263 new schools are under construction, and 38 new schools have been completed
• The liberal media isn't going to report that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers
• The liberal media isn't going to report that 96 percent of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations
• The liberal media isn't going to report that 47 countries have reestablished their embassies in Iraq
  

Don't believe it? These facts are verifiable on the Department of Defense web site: http://www.defenselink.mil/.

Cassini's Eye on Saturn

Named for the 17th century Italian astronomer and mathematician Giovanni Cassini, the NASA probe bearing his name sent back some astounding images of Saturn, which were released by NASA Thursday. The images show a different perspective of Saturn's rings from a more polar orbit. Taken from a distance of only 800,000 miles, the images show distinctive ring shadows on the surface, and some interesting blue and gold coloration of the planet. The moon Dione can be seen orbiting in the background.

In other cosmic events, aside from the coronal mass ejections emanating from the sun, this evening the moon will rise in full eclipse. As it happens, a lunar eclipse and an opposition of Saturn and Neptune are in the cosmic cards this week. Combined with some bearish market fundamentals, that should keep the world's biggest stock market under a cloud, financial astrologer Arch Crawford wrote to clients. That means stay out of the casinos for a while.

Anyway, it's a good night to look up at the heavens and ponder the majesty of the universe that we've only begun to explore. It'll keep things in the proper perspective.

Solar Activity Threatens Telecommunications

Over the next three years, scientists expect that solar flares will increase in activity and intensity, potentially creating havoc with space-based telecommusications systems. Cell phones and GPS systems are vunerable as satellites are bombardard with radiation from these solar magnetic storms.

Markus Aschwanden, a solar physicist at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, has said, "The solar flares are expected to be at its maximum intensity by the year 2010. These solar flares and Coronoal Mass Ejections from the sun have the ability to travel all the way to the earth and create a blackout of cellular phone services and navigational systems like the GPS. If a solar flare or a CME collides with the Earth, it can cause a geomagnetic storm."

Aschwanden added that large geomagnetic storms have caused electrical power outages and damaged communication satellites. A few years back, these solar flares destroyed the satellite Galaxy 4.

Solar fares and coronal mass ejections occur when magnetic energy built up in the sun's atmosphere is suddenly released. These flares carry a huge amount of energy, and travel very fast, reaching the Earth in a matter of hours. The geomagnetic pulse in 1998 that killed Galaxy 4 caused widespread loss of pager service and other telecommunications problems.

Update: A Man With A Gun

Update: Now the news comes out that the Bosnian-born shooter at the Salt Lake City mall was indeed a muslim. But don't wait for the MSM to report this fact.

A Man With A Gun

Some people may believe that it takes a village to raise a child, or that it takes a police force to protect them. However, in two recent news stories, a single individual with a handgun thwarted what could have been far more serious situations.

In Seminole, Florida on Monday, an armed off duty Pinellas County deputy sheriff shot a 22 year-old man who was about to carjack a BMW, and most probably kidnap or shoot the two occupants.

And today an 18-year old lone gunman shot and killed five innocent people in a mall in Salt Lake City, Utah before he was engaged in a firefight with an armed off duty Ogden policeman.

Some 48 states have some sort of carry laws, but in 39 states, citizens enjoy the right to carry concealed weapons. Florida, my home state, first passed the "shall issue" carry legislation that has become the model for most concealed carry state laws. The graphic to the right shows how states have embraced armed self defense legislation over the last two decades.

Personally I have had a CCW permit for twenty-nine years, and I carry every day. Yet in all that time, I have been lucky - I've never had to present my weapon. But across the nation, a gun prevents a crime or saves a life every day. In Florida, over 50,000 women hold CCW permits, and even more carry guns in their car or purse.

In today's uncertain world, with terrorist cells in many US cities; with unprotected borders allowing smugglers, terrorists, religious radicals and other common criminals to invade our country; with sociopath youths committing burglaries and carjackings becoming commonplace, individual personal self defense is an absolute necessity. You better believe that the bad guys will have guns, and you better have one, too.

As we say down here in the South, "An armed society is a polite society."

War on Terror Global SitRep

As the Global War On Terror continues, some news briefs haven't made the main stream media. The politically correct press continues to shield the Islamofascists and other bad guys from scrutiny.

Russia

Our Russian "ally" delivers Tor-M1 air defense systems to Iran. This system is capable of identifying 48 targets, and firing at two simultaneously. This $700 million sale defies the US arms boycott agreement.

North Korea

As starvation continues this winter, refugees pay $20 to cross into China. China exploits the situation and demands that Pyongyang implement Chinese Communist style government.

China

People's Liberation Army foments terror in Southeast Asia, and the goal is to take the strategic Malaaca Straits. PLA also behind training and arms supply to Islamofascists in India.

Thailand

Islamic terrorists continue to kill innocent Buddhists in drive by shootings.

Philippines

Bounties on terrorists are working! To date, 155 criminals have been caught and $834,000 in bounty has been paid.

Canada

Canada's armed forces are so small that its 2,400 troop NATO deployment in Afghanistan leaves them short for security for the 2010 winter Olympics.

United States

Hawaiian spy ring busted. Indian-born defense contractor indicted for selling B-52 and cruise missile technology to China. Al Qaeda's revolutionary creed is based on Marxism-Leninism, and can be discredited, according to Rand Corp.

Costa Rica

US busts a home-made submarine with 2.7 tons of coke worth $90 million as it headed for the US from Columbia. 4 bad guys arrested.

Ecuador

US takes a hit in the drug war. US to be ousted from a crucial anti-drug base in South America. Ecuadorian government intends to convert the base into an airport.

United Kingdom

Russian dissident Aleksander Litvineneko, author of Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within, a book critical of Russian President Vladmir Putin, was poisoned by radioactive polonium-210. Two other Russian diners with Litvinenko were also poisoned.

Germany

Master Communist spy Marcus Wolf has died. The stalinist's 40-year reign included torture and imprisonment of thousands of defiant East Germans during the cold war.

Turkey

Turk-Iran commission to fight Kurdish PKK terrorism in Turkey and Iran is implemented.

Israel

After losing dozens of Merkava tanks from Russian-made Kornet missiles during last summer's war with Hezbollah, Israel has developed an active missile protection system that can detect incoming missiles with radar.

Iraq

Death squads, made up of female Shiites, head to Baghdad armed with silenced pistols and bayonets. They will be disguised as Sunnis displaced by Shiites, according to Sunni intelligence sources.

Afghanistan

Utilizing smart bomb technology, allies forces eliminated 1,000 Taliban fighters during the summer offensive. Thanks go to coalition A-10 and F-16 drivers.

Saudi Arabia

Taking a cue from the US, perhaps, the Kingdom plans a high-tech, $12 billion wall along its border with Iraq to protect it from invading Islamofascists and other terrorists.

Guinea-Bissau

Law enforcement has all but collapsed in this tiny Atlantic coast African nation. Long known as a drug transit haven, a recent bust of cocaine from South America resulted in the bad guys being turned loose.

Nigeria

In a new twist, Operation Samaria seeks to train and send 50,000 Nigerian Christian missionaries during the next 15 years to evangelize Islamics from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia.

Somalia

Ethiopian troops deployed to support government forces and prevent violent Islamic Courts terrorists from invading Ethiopia. Yemen, Uganda and Kenya join forces against the Islamic Courts.

South Africa
Air Force seeks troop racial mix to 75% black and 25% white, reversing current racial makeup of 81% white. Transition is a problem; government's recruitment of unseasoned pilots has increased air training accidents.

Hat tip to Dr. Martin Brass for his global intel.

Seems Like Old Times

Jane! Hanoi Jane! Gee, it's great to see you protesting a war again, just like back in the 70s. It's like the old days! Look, here we are in front of the capital, with all our loopy friends out there in the crowd. Well, I don't see any Black Panthers, but there's Dick Gregory over there, so that's close. And in lieu of flower-power hippies, we have Code Pink. Code Pink, hey! Over here! "Pull. Out. Now!" That is so heavy. Where's Cindy?

This is so neat! Look, Sean Penn! And there's Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, and Jesse Jackson and Maxine Waters and Dennis Kucinich. All the beautiful, enlightened people are here.

And what else is cool, is we get to spray paint our inane slogans on the capital steps! That will show 'em - it'll really make our voice heard. Back, off Capital pigs! We know our rights! Yeah, those Neo-Cons won't mess with us.

If we just had an Iraqi anti-aircraft gun, or maybe an RPG, to stage some photos with. Oh, well, this rally of useful idiots will just have to do. Well, gotta go. I'm babysitting my grand kids today.

Peace, man!

The Ballad of Smoothride Glide and Lightfoot Cruise; Part II

Every once in while
The stories, they must be told
It keeps the flame alive to spread the news:
So hear ye now the ballad
Of Smoothride Glide and Lightfoot Cruise.

The day was dark and the wind’s a-howlin
Drivin’ the lee rail under
The rigging is singing a mournful song -
So vang the main and sheet the jib -
Hell, storms don’t last long.

Lightfoot’s praying and Smoothride’s laughing
You know how daring serves a fool.
But they’re nicely making way
With forty feet of waterline
Turning gray swells into spray.

The water in the cockpit is ankle deep
And Smoothride’s on the helm.
The jib sheet has gone flying
Lightfoot’s on the for’ard winch
And the halyards are sighing.

Now she may blow down,
And she may not right,
And the mast may crack asunder.
But she’ll make port at her own good speed
Amid laughter that sounds like thunder.

So it’s always a day for sailin’
And it’s always a day for livin’
And a dare fair won dispels the blues.
So take you now this life lesson
From Smoothride Glide and Lightfoot Cruise.

Copyright © 1998-2007 All Rights Reserved

Antikythera Decoded

One of the most intriguing archeological finds this century was the encrusted mechanical device found in 1901 on a 2,000 year-old shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea midway between Greece's Peloponnesian peninsula and the island of Crete.

Although having been studied extensively over the years, it was only recently that sophisicated x-ray and light imaging technology allowed a fuller understanding of the the so-called Antikythera mechanism.

The device, dating from Greece about 200 BC, was a very accurate solar and lunar calculator, able to predict eclipses and identify subtle irregularities in the lunar orbit. The bronze instrument tracked the Metonic cycle, which is based on the near equivalence of 235 lunar months to 19 solar years.

US Sub Hits Fishing Vessel

The nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS Newport News reportedly collided with a Japanese fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea just south of the Straits of Hormuz. No injuries were reported, but there was some damage.

Nuclear High Noon

Israel's secret plan to use tactical nuclear weapons against Iran's uranium enrichment facilities was leaked last week. According to government sources, a single air strike, using tactical nukes roughly one-fifteenth the yield of the relatively small 1945 Hiroshima bomb, would follow conventional "bunker-busters". The small nukes would detonate deep underground, destroying the Iranian facility, while containing radioactive fallout.

The Israeli government has warned repeatedly that it will never allow nuclear weapons to be made in Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has declared that “Israel must be wiped off the map”.

In Iran, Tehran has issued its own warning that anyone attacking them would regret it, while at the same time used the Israeli threat as proof that Israel has nuclear weapons.

Broken Vows

To no one's surprise, after only five days of basking in congressional power, which they believe is their birthright, it comes to light that the Democrats have lied to us.

Campaigning to expand the work week to five days, like those of us in the electorate, Dems are now only working four days a week. Home come? Monday's a holiday because of the Florida-Ohio game. I'm not making this up. And next Monday's a holiday, too, because it's MLK's birthday. Well, we can't expect the anointed to put in the same hours of labor that we mere mortals are expected to produce, can we?

But what's worse is despite Pelosi's campaigning against raising taxes, the very first vote of the 110th congress was to change the house rules in order to circumvent the super-majority rule necessary to enact tax increases. Others have taken notice, too:

"American taxpayers need to hold on to their wallets because the new House rules concerning taxes are not worth the paper they're written on," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).

"After spending an entire year on the campaign trail claiming she will not raise taxes, the first vote Nancy Pelosi brings to the floor for a vote as speaker will open the door to billions and billions of dollars of tax increases over the next two years," Mr. Norquist said.

Democrats cannot get elected by campaigning as who they really are. The midterm elections saw many "moderate" and "conservative" democrats win their races. But once in congress a democrat "grows," and is free to "vote his conscience." And that always means that we the taxpayers will once again foot the bill.

I'm not surprised, and yeah, I told you so.

Harbingers of the New Year?

Well, we're just 15 hours into the new year, and several interesting things have happened, some good, some bad and some just . . . interesting.

Aside from unusual happenings around the ol' homestead, like a stopped-up sewer line early this morning, and the aft davit lift motor on my dock going on the fritz, things are relatively normal. On New Year's Eve, in accordance with generations-old Southern custom, we always make a batch of Hoppin' John, and it was delicious, topped with chopped green onions and liberal dashes of hot sauce. The libations and fine cigars were enjoyed, and all here is well. However, elsewhere . . .

In Japan, a country of staid and conservative social values, a televised New Years Eve music special raised some eyebrows and caused national broadcaster NHK to issue an apology for the special's "topless" dancers. NHK said the dancers were actually wearing body suits, but I watched the video, and well, watched it again, just to be sure. Judge for yourself.

In Denver, just hours after the San Francisco 49ers and Dever Broncos game, Denver Bronco cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in his limousine during a drive by shooting. Others were hit, as well, and were taken to local hospitals. Williams was 24.

In Chicago, witnesses reported the sighting of a UFO over O'Hare Airport. This is notable, because unlike the myriad UFO reports and conspiracy theories posted on Jeff Rense's website, this one made mainstream media. Officials explain the sighting as a weather phenomenon caused by heavy, low-hanging clouds reflecting city and airport light. Right. That's creative. At least they didn't use the old "it's just a weather balloon" cover.

Seems the AP-AOL pollsters can't get it right. A poll by Associated Press-AOL News indicates that most Americans see doom and gloom in the new year. In an Associated Press-AOL News poll, most Americans are optimistic about the new year. OK. Got it.

Mission Accomplished

On or about 2200 hours EST 29 December 2006, Iraqi courts carried out sentence and executed Saddam Hussein and two conspirators. Mission accomplished. Unreported by the mainstream media, the military objectives of Operation Iraqi Freedom consisted of:

• First, ending the regime of Saddam Hussein.
• Second, to identify, isolate and eliminate, Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
• Third, to search for, to capture and to drive out terrorists from the country.
• Fourth, to collect intelligence related to terrorist networks.
• Fifth, to collect such intelligence as is related to the global network of illicit weapons of mass destruction.
• Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian support to the displaced and to many needed citizens.
• Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi people.
• Eighth, to help the Iraqi people create conditions for a transition to a representative self-government

Despite a massive propaganda campaign to the contrary by the media both here and in Iraq, judging from the stated goals above, it looks like we're not only winning, but we have all but won. And contrary to the Iraq Study [Surrender] Group's published reports, newly declassified documentary evidence indicates that Iraq and Hussein had links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban prior to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers.

The United States did the right thing by removing Saddam Hussein, freeing millions of Iraqi people, and initiating a program to instill democracy in the middle east. We're the good guys, and if the 110th congress doesn't arbitrarily surrender to the secular terrorists, we will win this conflict.

Lunar Base? It's About Time!

Supporting President Bush's 2004 call for an off-world manned base, NASA plans to develop a permanent manned Lunar Base by 2020, probably at the moon's poles. One promising location is the Shackleton Crater at the south pole, which, in addition to having an area that is almost permanently sunlit, it is adjacent to a permanently dark area that might yield water ice. A permanently manned base would serve as a staging and operations for sorties on the lunar surface, as well as a launching area for manned missions to Mars. And it's about time!

The last humans to walk on the lunar surface, Astronauts Cernan and Schmitt, were members of the Apollo 17 mission. Why has it taken 34 years to return to Earth's closest neighbor? If the proposed lunar base is established and manned by 2020, it will be nearly a half-century since our return. Why so long? Perhaps, in part, because Apollo missions 12 and 14 photographed strange ruins and artifacts on the surface. Yet NASA has steadfastly denied their existence. Maybe NASA has only now decoded the meaning - if not the origin - of the unusal and otherworldy remains that only a dozen men have ever seen. And maybe now finds it necessary to continue the exploration.

Life on Mars? You bet!

In 1999, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) photographed gullies carved into the sides of Martian slopes. After in-depth studies, scientists believe the gullies were caused by flowing liquid water.

In images sent back by the Surveyor, one gully on a crater wall that was imaged in 2001 was found to have filled with light-coloured material when it was re-imaged in 2005. A similar new light-coloured deposit appears in a 2004 image of crater gullies previously imaged in 1999. The researchers suggest the deposits were made by liquid water flowing out from beneath the surface. The researchers estimate that each flow would have involved 5 to 10 swimming pools' worth of water. The evidence indicates that in the last five years, liquid water is flowing from underground to the Martian surface, and where's there's water, there's most probably life.

Couple this finding with the discovery of crinoids and other fossilized lifeforms, and evidence of life on Mars is strongly indicated. While NASA keeps much of the information coming back from Martian probes very close to its proverbial vest, we do know that the MGS suddenly went silent, and hasn't been heard from since November 5th, 2006. In an unusually open gesture, NASA asked the European Space Agency to help look for the missing orbiting spacecraft.

NASA re-programmed its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) to try to take pictures of MGS on November 17th and again on the 20th. But the images did not reveal the spacecraft, perhaps because MGS had shifted in its orbit since last contact. Mission members say MGS may already be dead, and if so, it will continue orbiting Mars for decades to come. But its orbit is expected to decay with time, causing it to plunge into Mars’s atmosphere after about 40 years. If MGS is still aloft, surely MRO will spot it. If not, it should find the wreckage on the Martian surface. If neither of these instances occur, one can only wonder how a orbiting space craft can just simply disappear.

GWOT SitRep

Not convinced that radical Islam is a world threat? The Global War on Terror (GWOT) continues. Consider:

• Thailand: Islamofascists burn schools in south Thailand, where most teachers are Buddhists.
• United States: Two border patrol agents face up to a dozen years in prison for attempting to stop illegal alien smugglers. One bad guy was shot in the gluteus maximus, fled back to Mexico and subsequently sued USBP for $5 million. Three jurors attested through sworn affidavits that they had been coerced to issue guilty verdicts. The GWOT goes space based, as the US interrupts Islamofascists' GPS, jamming their navigation, radar and money transfers.
• Cuba: Fidel Castro is reported to be at death's door. Back door diplomacy through the Swiss Embassy in Washington may yield a "normalization" of relations with the communist and terrorist-supporting nation. The White House has indicated it will not recognize a government under Raoul Castro, the dying dictator's brother.
• United Kingdom: Al Quaeda seeks nuclear technology to attack UK. Foiled airline plot was designed to down 10 airliners over major American cities, rather than over the Atlantic, as first believed. ABC news reported that the 11 indicted terrorists raised money by selling items on eBay. Civilian deaths in Iraq has been "grossly overestimated" by some half million.
• Germany: Priest protests spread of radical Islam by immolating himself at the Augustine monastery, where Martin Luther spent years as a monk.
• France: With a high population of Muslims, France reports an average of 15 attacks on law enforcement officials by Islamofascist terrorists per day.
• Algeria: Tribesmen from Mali and Niger repel attacks by Islamofascists.
• Nigeria: Sadistic Islamofascists demand parents refuse free polio vaccines for children.
• Ethiopia: President Meles Zenawi says country officially at war with Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), a group of Somali Islamofascists.
• Somalia: Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) found to be supported by Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Islamofascist countries.
• Russia: Nato warns Russia that its proposed oil cartel alliance with Iran, China and other OPEC countries will sway balance of power.
• Lebanon: Unintended consequences arises from Lebanon-Israeli war outcome as Islamofascist Hezbollah demands more seats in Lebanese cabinet in order to gain veto power and ultimate control of the Lebanese government.
• Iraq: 14,000 US supplied small arms weapons have gone missing. DOD supplied rifles, pistols, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers to Iraqi security forces.
• Afghanistan: Taliban chief Mullah Omar on the run in Pakistan, according to Karzai government. Nato troops kill 1,000 Taliban terrorists in September. Afghani drug loads hire European mercenaries to provide military training to the drug cabals.

Never Forget, Again

" . . . December 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy." So spoke President Franklin D. Roosevelt, referring to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 65 years ago today. In just one hour, some 2,403 Americans died in that early morning bombing, 188 planes were destroyed, and 8 battleships sunk, destroyed or crippled. The Amercian Pacific Fleet was nearly wiped out. In the ceremonies that will take place today in Hawaii, 650 survivors and their families will remember the morning of December 7th, those who died, and perhaps will issue a call to this generation, to wake up and resist yet another enemy who has attacked us.

On September 11th, 2001, another sneak attack occurred on US soil. Four commercial airliners were hijacked by Islamic radicals and flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 innocent and unsuspecting Americans lost their lives in this early morning coordinated terrorist act.

The parallels of events leading up to World War II and the present conflicts against terrorism (i.e. Islamic radicalism) are too obvious to ignore. We have our appeasers and castrati now as we did then, calling for "talks" with the enemy. In 1939 Chamberlain returned to Britain with the report that " . . . we can do business with Hitler," despite the fact that eastern Europe was already under siege from the Third Reich.

Today, as we learn of the ISG's recommendations, we can see the enemy is already interpreting this as a sign of weakness on our part, which they most certainly will exploit. We can expect more violence, not less; more demands for land and concessions, not fewer; and more death for infidels as the Islamists have no notion of compromise.

Have we lost the will to respond to our enemy, and to prevail against him with will and resolve, as we did 65 years ago? With the release of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, better named the Iraq Surrender Group, it would seem that we have indeed lost our will to prevail. What we must do is recognize who our enemy is, and how he intends to harm us. No matter how politically incorrect that may be to acknowledge, our sworn enemy is radical Islam, and we must take the fight to him, and destroy him completely. Given the chance, he will certainly do so to us.

Lose An Election? Sue!

There's still one contested election from the midterm, and that's the Florida Congressional District 13 seat. This district covers a Republican-heavy area of Gulfcoast Florida south of Tampa Bay that includes Bradenton, Sarasota, and Venice.

The Republican candidate, Vern Buchanan, won the election by the narrowest of margins, less than 1%. By state law a mandatory recount is required, making the challenger's suit unnecessary. After the recount Buchanan won again, with a slightly higher margin. But that didn't satisfy Democrat Christine Jennings, who now has added the manufacturer of the voting machines to her lawsuit.

At issue is the intent of some 18,000 "undervotes" - people who voted in the election but chose neither Buchanan nor Jennings for the congressional seat. Pending the outcome of the election, both candidates went to Washington to attend the freshman orientation.

However, even having lost the election twice, Jennings will not concede. To make matters worse, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House-elect, allowed the unelected Jennings to cast a vote on a Judicial Committee matter.