A Thanksgiving gift ... from Islamists who "get it"

This from here:

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan's King Abdullah II urged his new prime minister Thursday to launch an all-out war against Islamic militancy in the wake of the triple hotel bombings earlier this month that killed 63 people.

In a letter to newly appointed Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit, Abdullah said the Nov. 9 bombings "increase our determination to stick to our reform and democratization process, which is irreversible."

"At the same time, it reaffirms our need to adopt a comprehensive strategy to confront the Takfiri culture," Abdullah said, referring to the ideology adopted by Al Qaeda and other militants who condone the killing of those they consider infidels.

This comes as welcome news. It is lucky for us that Al Zarqawi decided to have a major brain fart, and unmasked himself for the whole Islamic world to see. He is now reaping what he sowed, and it would appear that this may be the beginning of the end of Islamic indifference to atrocities committed by their radical brethren.

It's only too bad that it required an attack on their own in order for them to start seeing the light.

(Filed under Religion of Peace?, Iraq, World Affairs)

Want to catch up on what's happening,,,around the MOBosphere?

The Minnesota Organization of Bloggers is a group of what I would call tightly knit bloggers of varying political persuasions (though admittedly mostly conservative). A trip around the MOB blogroll (in the left column) will treat a reader with a variety of insights into national and local matters, as well as writing that will make you laugh until milk comes out of your nose.

Now there is a clearinghouse of the latest posts of the MOBosphere. The Minnesota Organization of Blogs put together by Doug Bass, has blog listings, as well as the last three posts of each blog in the MOB.

It's a great digest when you're on the run and you want to keep up with the vast amount of talent that's yours for the reading, in the "State where nothing is allowed." :)


(Filed under Fun with da MOB)

Anything to help out a fellow-blogger

Surly Dave is calling on his readers to bring about some friendly pressure for the New MOB mayor to confer upon Dave an at once meaningless yet important sounding title.

Never let it be said that the Psycmeistr leaves his friends in a... errr... lurch.






Your Honor, you are so notified.

(Hey, I am a mob member, and I'm Sicilian-Italian.. it's gotta carry some weight).


(Filed under Fun with Da Mob)

Just one more aside.. and WOW...

Fellow St. Cloud blogger. Gary Gross at Let Freedom Ring had something happen that the rest of us bloggers can only dream about.. an avalanche of traffic from Instapundit for a link to this post that gave him more visitors in one day than I have gotten this entire year. I am jealous.


Congratulations, Gary!!

(Filed under Fun w/da MOB)

Happy Thanksgiving

A very happy Thanksgiving to all of our dear readers from all of us at the Ice Palace (yeah, I guess I can speak for all of my alleged "contributors" as well) :)

I wish all of you an abundance of God's blessings and good health throughout the coming Christmas season, and throughout the coming years.

And I can't say it enough... I am at once thrilled and humbled at the prospect of people taking time out of their busy days to read these screeds... For that I am truly thankful.

I'll try to blog once in a while this weekend, but probably not alot. I'll be helping my sister in law in Virginia, Minnesota complete her moving tasks..

Have a great weekend!

-Leo-

(Filed under Housekeeping)

Give to the MDE legal fund...

As I have written here, Minnesota Democrats Exposed is fighting a frivolous lawsuit filed in a lame attempt to out his/her true identity. This is a gross mis-use of our legal system, not to mention what I call a "jack booted tactic" to rain retribution by an intellectually-bankrupt "threatened" political enemy. I call on all who decry the "if you can't win in the arena of ideas, then kill them in court" mentality, to visit MDE and click on the "donate here" link on the blog's header.

(Filed under Fun with Da MOB, Moonbat Adventures)

I'm no King Banaian, but..

From here:

WASHINGTON — While the hurricanes of 2005 brought loss and suffering to hundreds of thousands of people, they also brought record profits for oil companies that benefited from higher prices while offshore rigs and pipelines were shut down.

The result has spawned some curious politics. Last week, Senate Republicans tucked a $4 billion dollar tax increase on giant oil companies into a bill providing $60 billion in tax cuts to victims of Hurricane Katrina, various U.S. industries and upper-middle class families.

The White House immediately vowed to veto the Senate bill, placing it in the awkward position of sacrificing tax cuts for millions of Americans in order to shield oil companies from higher taxes even after they racked up more than $32 billion in third-quarter profits.

Now, please feel free to tell me if I'm mistaken, but when the tax rate is increased on a corporate entity, just who ends up paying the tax? Higher taxes=higher costs of doing business. Higher costs of doing business=decreased profits. Decreased profits=bad report to shareholders. What's left to do? Raise prices. Who pays the tax? We do! Not to mention relaxed competition for foreign producers, who may be immune from this tax increase, and thus less-likely to hold the line on their own prices. And not to mention the decreased incentive for further production and exploration. Perhaps King can shed some more light on this, but at least that's my feeble understanding of economics.

Although the expedient political advantages in such a move are more than evident at face value (i.e., "get even" with the "greedy" oil companies); to my understanding, feeble as it is, this "feelgood" measure will only serve to apply upward pressure on the cost of oil and gas, and will only serve to further damage our economy in both the short and the long run.


(Filed under Energy Madness)

Reporting for... err duty

From Fox News:

Kerry Gets Jury Duty, Elected Foreman Wednesday, November 23, 2005

BOSTON — Sen. John Kerry's public profile and prosecutorial past didn't spare him from performing that most mundane of civic responsibilities — jury duty. Kerry was not only chosen this week to sit on a jury in Suffolk Superior Court, but also was elected foreman.

Fast forward to 2008:

"It was seaaared... seaared in my mind... Christmas, 2005.. I was in Cambodia (err.. John--that was Suffolk)...err.. yeah.. Suffolk...

(enter Suffolk Juror Veterans for Truth)

Curtain.

Another adventure in the life of the left-winged moonbat...

From here:

CRAWFORD, Texas — A dozen war protesters were arrested Wednesday for setting up camp near President Bush's ranch in defiance of new local bans on roadside camping and parking.

About four hours after the group pitched six tents and huddled in sleeping bags and blankets, McLennan County sheriff's deputies arrested them for criminal trespassing.

Another dozen or so demonstrators left the public right of way after deputies warned them they would be arrested.

The protest was set to coincide with Bush's Thanksgiving ranch visit.

The arrests were made by more than two dozen deputies who calmly approached the demonstrators in their tents and asked if they wanted to walk out on their own or be carried. Two chose to be carried. They were to be taken to jail for booking.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan wasn't among the protesters Wednesday because of a family emergency in California, but she planned to be at the camp later in the week.(emphases mine)

Heh... likely excuse!

(on phone) "Hi... yes, this is mother moonbat... you what? Ohh.. you're in Crawford now..? That's nice. Uhh huh? Ohhh... where am I? Well.. you see, I kinda like had this... err.. family emergency... yeah... errr uhh...I was, err.. like in the middle of making this tofu turkey? Yeah... the ones that were, like, on sale at Mother Earth co-op.. and...uhh... it like, burned really bad and... uhhh.. we had smoke damage... and uh... I'm waiting for the insurance adjustor... No, no... don't wait on my account...you go right ahead! We can't have my... err... our agenda sidetracked... What? The police are coming? Well... you just give 'em hell.. and I'll take the credit...errr.. I'll be with you in spirit? K? Well.. the insurance adjustor should be here any minute., ..so... like, I gotta kinda get going.. Oh... be a dear and tell that cute jailer at cellblock 8 I said hi, and tell her that I think she's like, really hot. Hugs n kisses, now! (click)

They lied.

From here (subscription may be required)

ALBRIGHT (February 18, 1998): Iraq is a long way from Ohio, but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face, and it is a threat against which we must and will stand firm.

BILL CLINTON (February 17, 1998): Or we take some ambiguous third route which gives him yet more opportunities to develop this program of weapons of mass destruction and continue to press for the release of sanctions and continue to ignore the solemn commitments that he made. DEAN (January 31, 1998): Iraq is an international outlaw. I'm not sure China is one, but I'm quite sure Iran and Iraq are.

SANDY BURGLAR (February 18, 1998): He will rebuild his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. And someday, some way, I am certain, he will use that arsenal again, as he has ten times since 1983.

PELOSI (November 17, 2002): Saddam Hussein certainly has chemical and biological weapons, there's no question about that.

ROCKEFELLER (October 10, 2002): There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years. We also should remember, we have always underestimated the progress that Saddam Hussein has been able to make in the development of weapons of mass destruction.

BIDEN (August 4, 2002): We know he continues to attempt to gain access to additional capability, including nuclear capability. There is a real debate how far off that is, whether it's a matter of years, or whether it's a matter of less than that. And so there's much we don't know.

REID (September 18, 2002): Saddam Hussein in effect has thumbed his nose at the world community. And I think that the president's approaching this in the right fashion.

TIM RUSSERT (September 15, 2002): Do you believe we could have disarmament without regime change? HILLARY: I doubt it. I can support the president. I can support an action against Saddam Hussein because I think it's in the long-term interests of our national security.

JOHNNY "THE BRECK GIRL" EDWARDS (January 7, 2003): Serving on the intelligence committee and seeing day after day, week after week, briefings on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and his plans on using those weapons, he cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons. It's just that simple.(emphases added)

BAYH (March 17, 2003) : Bill, I support the president's efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein. I think he was right on in his speech tonight. The lessons we learned following September the 11th were that we can't wait to be attacked again, particularly when it involves weapons of mass destruction. So, regrettably, Saddam has not done the right thing, which is disarm, and we're left with no alternative but to -- but to take action.

Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?

This from here:

QUINCY, Mass. — Thousands of low-income Massachusetts residents will receive discounted home heating oil this winter under an agreement signed Tuesday with Venezuela, whose government is a political adversary of the Bush administration.

A subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company will supply oil at 40 percent below market prices. It will be distributed by two nonprofit organizations, Citizens Energy Corp. and the Mass Energy Consumer Alliance.

The agreement gives President Hugo Chavez's government standing as a provider of heating assistance to poor U.S. residents at a time when U.S. oil companies have been reluctant to do so and Congress has failed to expand aid in response to rising oil prices.

U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., met with Chavez in August and helped broker the deal. He said his constituents' needs for heating assistance trump any political points the Chavez administration can score.

"This is a humanitarian gesture," Delahunt said, speaking after a news conference with Venezuelan officials outside the home of a constituent who will receive heating aid.

I hate our current energy situation. I hate having to deal with people who would just as soon see the people in your nation rot or die but take our money just the same. That's why I am so adamant that we tap our own domestic oil reserves, wherever we can find them. I just wish our elected Minnesota Republican representatives would see things the same way.

In the "With friends like these.... Department...

Fox news has This story:

Iranian Leader Wants U.S. Pullout Wednesday, November 23, 2005

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's supreme leader urged the Iraqi president on Tuesday to seek a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, saying the American presence harms the country.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who is paying a three-day visit to Iran, a country the United States accuses of meddling in Iraq but that is closely allied to Iraq's new Shiite and Kurd-dominated leadership.

But with a friend like this, does the new Iraqi leadership need any enemies?

Also, Do you think that the Iraqis have only the most pure, altruistic intentions for their Islamic neighbors, or do you think that this call may be possibly due to the fact that the Iranian leadership is quite uncomfortable with the U.S. presence breathing down their neck and wrecking their buzz?

(Filed under Iraq, World Affairs)

MDE under attack?

It would appear that Minnesota Democrats Exposed, an anonymous blogger whose identity is largely unknown by those on the left and right side of the aisle alike, is attacked via lawsuit, apparently in an attempt to have his host server out his/her name. The controversy apparently centers around a photo originally posted on IMP that was removed upon request of MDE's web host via Inside Minnesota. Despite MDE's timely removal of the photo in question, IMP has proceeded with a lawsuit. Mayor Doug has sounded a clarion call for other Minnesota bloggers to come to MDE's side, in supporting MDE with a legal defense fund. The folks at KAR have also come to MDE's defense, as has Kevin Ecker

I am not a legal scholar by any stretch of the imagination, but it is clear to me that the agenda of Inside Minnesota Politics is unmistakable: that is to stifle debate through jack-booted tactics vs. the natural engagement of debate in the arena of ideas that is the blogosphere.

If you are an attorney familiar with copyright law, please contact MDE.

(Filed under Moonbat Adventures)

What a difference a couple of generations make...

From John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, 20 January, 1961.

Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge—and more.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do—for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom—and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

Right now, I think ol' JFK is rolling in his grave.

(Filed under Moonbat Adventures, Iraq)

Would that they defend the unborn with such vigor

From here:

Humane Society Sues Over Poultry Slaughter
Nov 21 6:14 PM US/Eastern

By LIBBY QUAID AP Food and Farm Writer

WASHINGTON

Chickens and turkeys should be covered by the same law as cows, pigs and other animals when they are slaughtered, the Humane Society of the United States said in a lawsuit filed Monday against the Agriculture Department.

Before becoming T-bone steak or pork ribs, livestock must be stunned or otherwise unable to feel pain, according to the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. However, the Agriculture Department maintains that the 47-year-old law does not apply to poultry.

The Humane Society argues that common methods of slaughtering poultry are not only cruel; they increase the risk of contamination that leads to food poisoning. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Typically, birds arriving at a slaughterhouse are dumped from their crates onto conveyor belts, then shackled upside down on a conveyor line, the Humane Society said. The humane slaughter act specifically prohibits shackling and hanging of conscious animals by their legs, the Humane Society said.

I wonder.. I just wonder how many of the Humane Society are equally opposed to the pain that these other living beings feel. Do not these most helpless among us deserve at least the same deference as cows, pigs, chickens, or other animals?