Who is this Hero Rosa Parks?

Rosa Parks’ passing at the age of 92 triggered many articles of tribute for the woman who helped spark the civil rights revolution in 1955. Los Angeles Times columnist Al Martinez once had the opportunity to spend some time with Parks, and he wrote,

There are few heroes in my life, and she's one of them. It isn't so much her iconic posture, now rooted in the past tense of history, but the quiet, almost whispery nature of her stance. She was a living self-denial of her own courage, understanding it completely but unimpressed by its size.

A dictionary definition of “hero” includes descriptors: warrior; admired for achievements and qualities; great courage; etc. For me, my definition is better: An ordinary person who commits an extraordinary act at an inordinate time for the direct benefit of another at the peril of oneself.

Ellen Barry wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Parks had been incensed by the arrest of a young girl for refusing to give up her seat on a bus,

Parks also had taken note of the case of a 15-year-old black girl, Claudette Colvin, who was arrested for refusing to yield a seat, and discussed its potential as a desegregation test case.

So, I suspect that there was much more going on in Parks’ head than the, "I was just tired of being humiliated and degraded." explanation given to Al Martinez.

Ellen Barry also wrote,

Ivery Giles, 80, worked several doors down from Parks in 1955 and was seated behind her on the bus that afternoon. From her seat, Giles watched as the driver grew angrier. Parks, she said, betrayed no emotion but that of patience.

Whatever the motivating factors that caused her to act that day in Montgomery, she acted in singular defiance. She was a women who had reached her personal crisis point and reacted to the indecent treatment accorded to all those with black skin. It was an act in direct disregard for her personal safety and welfare.

When Parks calmly defied the convention of the time and put herself in physical jeopardy, what could have been going on inside of her? Was her inner self calm and collected as her outer demeanor, or was she awash with fear and anxiety?

To act heroically does not make you immune to the physiological manifestations of the flight or fight conflict as a result of being placed in a fearful environment. Adrenaline dumps into the bloodstream and is instantly delivered to every nook and cranny of the body. The eyes dilate, the heart pounds, and there is a sickening wrenching feeling in the gut. The message delivered to every bodily cell is that there is peril and it is time to fight or get the heck out of Dodge. Yet, Parks, a black woman, sat there in unwavering and deliberate defiance of an angry white man in the Jim Crow south. Parks stoically handled the raging battle within that we all know she was feeling.

I do not believe that Parks acted impulsively which means that the anxiety had to be building within her as she anticipated the breaking of the gathering storm. Once the first verbal blow was received, anger may have taken over and buttressed her resolve.

There are many others who have acted similarly without the benefit of fortuitous timing that triggered a social revolution, and they were not accorded the “hero” appellation. I suspect that Parks understood this fact and accordingly did not take her act of defiance overly auspiciously. Parks’ accomplishment was possible because she had the ability to overcome the anticipatory anxiety preparatory to action. She was a humble person who acted when others would have been paralyzed with fright. To again quote Al Martinez, “She was a living self-denial of her own courage, understanding it completely but unimpressed by its size.”

Shelby Steele Surprised Me

Shelby Steele is one of the bright lights among blacks when it comes to recognizing that the empowerment of blacks in the U.S. will be accomplished by the repudiation of the entitlement mentality that has shackled a portion of blacks to poverty. Referring to the misery of blacks as a result of hurricane Katrina, Steele stated, “I did not like my people being seen this way.”

My people? It did not occur to me that Steele, who has his act so squared away, would think of blacks as his people. If it were not for the fact that Steele made the comment, I would have not seen any reason to point out that he is black. I am white and I don’t think of whites as my people. I think of decent Americans as my people, and that includes a whole lot more people than the blacks who suffered in New Orleans.

The psychologist, Viktor Frankl, survived the holocaust and was subsequently asked if he hated Germans. Frankl replied that he did not because there are only two races of people, the decent and the indecent. Clearly there were decent Germans during the holocaust years, so according to Frankl’s theory it is wrong to condemn the entire German populace. I like that concept and find it far superior to racial, national and religious designations. The problem with that theory is that it requires us to examine each person individually, on the micro level, to determine his classification. Makes it a little hard to do sweeping generalizations.

While Frankl’s theory is morally superior than the alternative, the fact of the matter is that we are stuck with group generalizations, the macro level, as a matter of understanding history and how it influences the current status. From the macro perspective, Steele exams the concept of historical shame separating whites and blacks in the Unite States. Steele wrote, “Probably the single greatest problem between blacks and whites in America is that we are forever witness to each other's great shames.”

Steele makes a powerful argument for the imperative of blacks accepting responsibility for their own destiny.

The black shame of inferiority (the result of oppression, not genetics) cannot be overcome with anything less than a heroic assumption of responsibility on the part of black Americans. In fact, true equality -- an actual parity of wealth and ability between the races -- is now largely a black responsibility. This may not be fair, but historical fairness -- of the sort that resolves history's injustices -- is an idealism that now plagues black America by making black responsibility seem an injustice.

…despite the fact that greater responsibility is the only transforming power that can take blacks to true equality, this is an idea that deeply threatens the 40-year balance of power between the races.

Steele concurred and wrote that Bill Cosby

…not only implied that black responsibility was the great transforming power; he also implied that there was a limit to what white responsibility could do. He said, in effect, that white responsibility cannot overcome black inferiority.

Steele thoroughly examines the intertwining of white shame in the form of guilt and acceptance of responsibility with black shame for the refusal to take responsibility.

And both races live with the permanent anxiety of being held to account for their shames by the other race. So, there is a reflex in both races that reaches for narratives to explain shame away and, thus, disarm the "other."

Read Steele’s excellent discourse on black and white shame.

Barbie vs Fulla, Cultural Clash

Barbie, the sex kitten of little girls’ dreams, profoundly represents the secularized, sexualized Western culture so well personified with the U.S. The Arabic world version of Barbie is named Fulla, and she is a huge hit. Both dolls are made of the same material; they are the same height, 11 ½ inches; and they come with a variety of clothes. If you look for additional similarities, you won’t find them. While Barbie favors suggestive clothing and lots of skin exposed, Fulla wears either a head-to-toe black abaya or “indoor clothing” of a white head scarf and an ankle length coat. Fulla has black hair, auburn eyes and flattened breasts, as compared to Barbie. Fulla is fully accessorized including a prayer rug. Naturally, Fulla does not have a boyfriend, but her manufacturers plan to add a protective brother in the future. No mention was made of a husband, the product of an arranged marriage. Read the news item on Fulla here.

Barbie and Fulla represent either ends of a spectrum, between which most of the rest of the world resides, to one degree or another. Both dolls represent deep and pervasive cultural values. The Arabic/Muslim world takes great offense with the Barbie message, and we are not talking about just the Islamo-fascist minority. And, we are not just talking about Muslims in the Middle East. There are serious reasons why Muslims continue to wear the traditional body-concealing garb even while living amongst the Western culture. They are offended by the display of the human body. Those values may play well in Muslim countries. But, they bode ill in the West where a culturally offended Muslim is not likely to an inclusive member of society.

Each of us chooses to be or not be offended, but it is not a simple matter to disregard cultural biases, which are instilled from birth. And, if a person lives within an environment steeped in what offends him, various coping mechanisms or isolative sub-cultural practices may or may not be sufficient to insure that the person deals with the frustration in a manner healthy for society. Given suitable numbers or sufficient motivation, a frustrated sub-culture may strike out against the dominant culture. More importantly, an isolative sub-culture provides a far greater opportunity for Islamo-fascists to hide and plot in the comfort of a protective community than does on all-inclusive society.

There are many things that Muslims find offensive about the Western culture that is invading and literally destroying the Muslim world, as it has been known for almost 2000 years. If you expect the Islamo-fascists to sit around and do nothing about the Western cultural invasion, you must be visiting from another planet. These people intend to convert or kill you. What do you think that the dominant culture should do about it?

Aljazeera and the Iraqi Constitution Election

In the Arabic world, Aljazeera is a primary and influential news organization. You will note that I did not use the adjective “objective” in the news organization’s description. Here’s an example of Aljazeera’s “objective reporting.”

The U.S. administration has managed to shove the rejected draft charter down the throats of the Iraqi people. The administration’s illegal tactics have been aided by the deliberate failure of the U.S media to investigate Iraq’s recent fraudulent elections. The evidence that this referendum was most certain to be rejected by the Iraqi people is abundant, but the United Nations and the media have chosen to ignore it

.

In one opening paragraph, Aljazeera manages to condemn the U.S. government, the U.S. media and the U.N. Aljazeera must have been asleep at the switch because it forgot to include it’s arch enemy, Israel. The headline of the Aljazeera article is, “Shoving the draft charter down the throats of the Iraqis.”

Shoved down the throat indeed; 63% of Iraq's voters, 9.8 million people, voted 78.5% in favor of the new constitution and 21% against. Not surprisingly, the vote was primarily down religious lines. The yes votes came from Shiite controlled areas and the no votes from the Sunni controlled areas.

Aljazeera writes,

Although the U.S. media has attempted to portray Iraqis’ views of the draft charter as a sharp dichotomous split between Shiites and Kurds on the one hand and Sunni Arabs on the other, the reality is quite different. In fact, people from nearly all major ethnic and religious groups from throughout Iraq have demonstrated widespread opposition to the U.S.-supported draft charter.

I am wondering how it is that the U.S. actually accomplished this shoving down the throats. We must have forced the Iraqis to vote in the affirmative at gun point. An LA Times article included a graphic the Iraqi geographic voting patterns.

New 007 Hates Guns: Me Too

This is London reported that, “Daniel Craig will have a problem playing the new James Bond - because he hates guns.”

Daniel Craig is quoted with this insight, "I hate handguns. Handguns are used to shoot people and as long as they are around, people will shoot each other.”

I’m right there with Craig on this one. And, you can add to the list knives, swords, bats, bow & arrows, cars, poison, rocks, but you get the idea. So if I were Emperor or Despot or whatever designation suits you, here’s what I’d do: confiscate all guns. That way only I would have the guns and no one could challenge me. OK, now go ahead and bring a knife to a gunfight. In the case of Craig, he could just use one of the numerous rocks in his noodle.

Tookie is Not Forgiven by His Victims: It’s Time for Him to Die

Tookie Williams murdered four people in 1979. The LA Times headline reads, “Execution Closer for a “Model of Humanity”.”

Model of humanity? At the time Tookie was a dyed in the wool gang member and co-founder of the infamous black Crips street gang. Since his conviction Tookie has taken advantage of his time in prison awaiting execution to write a number of books encouraging youth to avoid the street gang lifestyle. A laudable effort, but hardly one that redeems him from his responsibility for eliminating four people.

Some anti-death penalty advocates advance the theory that Tookie is rehabilitated and should be spared his date with the executioner. Supporters of Tookie’s pending execution point out that he has never accepted responsibility for his crimes. Neither position is on point. Tookie committed crimes with irretrievable results. He unlawfully took away the lives of others. If Tookie can figure out some way to receive forgiveness from each of his four very dead victims, then maybe society can look a little more kindly upon him. If not, have a nice trip tough guy!

President’s Joke Irks Friends & Foes Alike

For many months the citizens of Ventura County planned and prepared for the dedication of the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Library. A Presidential visit was anticipated to be the keystone event for the celebration. Last Friday was the long awaited day and President Bush stood at the podium, facing the majestic Boeing 707, in front of about 750 special invited guests. The President began his opening remarks and moved to the acknowledgement of key individuals in the crowd. When he got to Simi Valley Mayor Paul Miller, the President said, “I know Mayor Paul Miller is with us. Mr. Mayor, thanks for being here. Appreciate you coming. Only advice I have is fill the potholes.” The audience laughed, but the moans from the television and print audience are still reverberating back and forth off the hills surrounding Simi Valley. Read Pres. Bush’s speech here.

I was not privledged to be in attendance at the event and did not initially see nor hear the President’s remarks, but it did not take long before I heard the jokes and derision aimed at him. Hearing the story recounted I have to admit that I felt that the comment was out of line. That is until I went to Channel 7’s web site and watched a video of the speech. After seeing the President deliver the line it became apparent to me that the President was injecting a little humor into his speech. Of course, I am not speaking for the Mayor. I have no idea how he may have taken the comment.

So why was it that some people took the comment negatively? Well, clearly some people do not like the President and it does not matter what he says; they just plain will not like anything out of his mouth. Then there others of us who felt disappointed, let down by someone we admire immensely. We expected better. But, this has been a reinforcing lesson for me as a reminder that to get the full message we must go to the original, or as close as possible, to capture the nuances of facial expressions and inflection of spoken words.

For those of you still having a hard time with the President’s comment; Get over it; I think the President told a joke.

FBI Suggests Lowering Requirements

I am shaking my head at the latest suggestion that a law enforcement agency is considering lessening its hiring requirements. First it was LAPD and now it’s the FBI.

The FBI, famous for its straight-laced crime-fighting image, is considering whether to relax its hiring rules over how often applicants could have used marijuana or other illegal drugs earlier in life.

The change would ease limits about how often — and how many years ago — applicants for jobs such as intelligence analysts, linguists, computer specialists, accountants and others had used illegal drugs.

The rules, however, would not be relaxed for FBI special agents, the fabled "G-men" who conduct most criminal and terrorism investigations. Also, the new plan would continue to ban current drug use.

Drug use and financial problems are key issues in law enforcement since both can make a person susceptible to corruption and recruitment to treason. Obviously law enforcement agencies can not afford to have officers corrupted. What is amazing is that the FBI considers analysts, linguists, computer specialists, and accountants of lesser importance than sworn officers. Is that an example of sworn officer elitism or FBI bureaucratic ineptitude? A foreign intelligence agent compromising an FBI intelligence analyst could be a far greater coup than compromising a sworn FBI agent.

The FBI is undoubtedly, like law enforcement in general, having a difficult time recruiting quality people. The problem is not that there is a lack of qualified people in the population, but rather a problem of competing with the wages, benefits, and working conditions of private industry.

The public must begin to demand that law enforcement, especially the FBI, maintain and enhance the requirements to be a member of law enforcement. That means that the public must be willing to expend additional resources to make law enforcement competitive with private enterprise.

Gun Makers Shielded from Lawsuits: Anti-Gun Nuts Defeated

Both the Senate and the House approved legislation that shields gun manufacturers and dealers from the lawsuits stemming from victims of gun crimes. The legislation does not relieve the manufacturers from product liability lawsuits. President Bush is expected to sign the bill. Read the article here.

It has taken way too long for this legislation to become law. The premise that a lawful manufacturer or dealer making and selling a lawful product should be liable for the criminal misuse of the product is the height of absurdity. Unfortunately, in their angst to remove all guns from the public, the anti-gun lobby does not care about common sense, much less the rights of the public to own firearms.

Disregarding Second Amendment issues, the argument that there is no need for the public to own and possess firearms is facetious even in the best of times. Post hurricane Katrina, tell the lawful residents of New Orleans about how government will protect you from the criminals.

Death of a Gunfighter?-Birth of a Writer

Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote that “The pen is mightier than the sword.” But, what if he is wrong? Please remind me of that if I whip out my Mont Blanc pen to do battle with a Jihadist intent on dispatching me to where all good infidels go, hell. In the coming years there is an escalating probability that the U.S. will experience a significant amount of shooting terror incidents. It was scheduled to happen in Los Angeles this month. I wrote about it here and here. I guess that Bulwer-Lytton is correct on a macro scale, but he sure missed the boat on the micro scale.

Contrary to my jihadist friend, I consider living to be superior to dying. Mr. Jihad considers it optimal to die and be rewarded in heaven with 72 virgins. I would like to have my virgins here on earth, thank you very much. Not that there is much chance of that. I don’t even know any virgins who would be interested in a 59 year old man. And if there is one, I’d probably run for the hills. Give me one of those deflowered babes any day. She is far more likely to be compassionate and realistic about delicate issues.

So what about this death of a gunfighter and birth of a writer thing? Well, if you’ve got a moment or two, I’ll tell you a story.

First things first. Handguns are defensive weapons, and you don’t take a handgun to a gunfight. The military has known this all along, but not law enforcement. Until recently, law enforcement officers were only armed with handguns and maybe shotguns. Some agencies made the shotguns hard to get or were only deployed by a field supervisor. That’s what happened in the 1997 N. Hollywood bank robbery shoot-out. Officers were confronted with two heavily armed and protected bank robbers who overwhelmed the situation with over 1,100 rounds from fully automatic weapons. The officers were armed with impotent 9 mm. handguns and finally resorted to commandeering rifles from a local gun store to meet the challenge until SWAT was able to arrive and put the suspects down.

When I started in the law enforcement business in the early 70’s, I was trained and deployed with a .38 caliber revolver and a shotgun. I was ok with the revolver and very good with the shotgun. At 50 yards with a shotgun rifled slug, I’ll blow you away baby. These days hardly anyone uses the old wheel guns. We all carry semi-automatic handguns in more efficient calibers than the old .38’s. Nevertheless, the handgun is still only a defensive weapon. In today’s reality, patrol officers have the need to deploy offensively with small caliber urban rifles to defeat the challenges. An example is the active shooter situation demonstrated at Columbine High School. The urgency of the situation requires that patrol officers go offensive and not wait for the deployment of SWAT.

I am a detective and not liable to be working patrol again so there is a lesser chance that I would ever need to deploy offensively. But, since the urban rifle training is optional to all officers, I decided to get certified. Heck, why not. I’ve shot plenty of rifles in my time. I used to be a hunter and did ok even if the last time I hunted was about 20 years ago. So, I signed up for the 3 day course.

The first day of the course was all classroom work. My fellow classmates were all young guys with just a couple of years or more on the job. Most were former Marine Corps with lots of experience with assault weapons. They must have wondered about what an old geezer was doing in the class, but they were polite enough not to say anything within my hearing.

The second day was at the range in the Southern California heat. There was lots of drills and shooting under conditions designed to simulate a combat scenario. We would move and shoot in this position and that position. We even had to run 200 yards full tilt uphill in complete regalia including ballistic vest, side arms, and a heavy pot on our head called a ballistic helmet. The exercise required that you do the run then flop down in a prone position while acquiring your weapon, come onto target and fire off four rounds, all in 75 seconds. I did it in 57 seconds, just slightly slower than my six running mates. Bet that surprised those kids, all less than half my age. Heck, I was pushing a patrol car before they were born.

Wow, my training compadres are great shots. I’d take any one of them as a partner in a shoot-out. I did pretty well at the closer ranges but my patterns fell apart when we stepped back to the hundred yard range. The problem I was having was that I could not rapidly acquire a sharp site picture under timed combat conditions. For those of you not versed in shooting, it is essential that your shooting eye focus clearly and rapidly on the front sight of your weapon. I had trouble.

I had no trouble acquiring the site picture under non-timed shooting conditions because there was ample time for my eye to adjust. I was even able to hit the target out to 400 yards, which is no simple feat when using open or iron sites (no telescopic sight).

So my eye problem is caused by age. Twenty years ago I had corrective eye surgery and my right eye (the one used to site a rifle) was set-up to be a long distance eye while my left eye set to be a reading eye. The concept was that as I got older I would not have to wear reading glasses. It worked and today I do not need any glasses, even reading glasses. The problem is that aging weak eye muscles limit focusing in and out. The end result is that my right long distance rifle shooting eye is focusing beyond the front rifle sight. This is not a good thing when you have to be accurate about bullet placement.

I quickly realized that my shooting techniques are still good, but that I was not going to be able to qualify at the longer shooting ranges. My instructors thought that they could help me on technique until I explained to them the situation. I then decided that it was foolish to remain in the class as I was not liable to immediately correct the situation.

I told my wife that night that I guessed that as a gun fighter I am dead and now only a new born writer. I know that I write constantly in my profession, but it is only in the last 5 months that I’ve escalated my creative writing. My wife allowed as that was perfectly all right with her. She never has cottoned to the gunfighter thing.

The rest of the story is this. I am left handed and like many left handers I learned to do many thing right handed. Archery and rifle shooting are examples. That doesn’t mean that I can’t switch to the left hand given appropriate training and the creation of muscle memory. It turns out that my left eye is perfect for focusing on that front sight. So guess what I’m going to do. Standby my Jihadist friend. After I’ve dispatched you to your 72 virgins, I’ll sit down and write about it.

The Quivering Voice of Weakness

We can stop listening to quivering voices that lack the strength or endurance to find a lasting solution. When the Iraqis can survive the next storms—which of course will come—and also serve as a stable area where people can come to work and live in safety and peace, the “birthplace of civilization,” will be restored to the promise of its motto. Then, we can walk away.

Michael Yon concluded his latest dispatch from the war in Iraq, The Battle for Mosul IV, with the above observation. His work validates the construct that a beaten and subjugated people can arise from their despair and torment and provide for their own care and welfare. All that is needed is a helping hand to give them the necessary hope and breathing space, and they can accomplish the long-term heavy lifting.

There is strength in the human that is tempered in the fires of adversity. And, conversely there is weakness that grows in the lap of luxury. Many Americans seem tormented by today’s world conditions and shrink from any thought of American involvement that becomes a little uncomfortable due to injuries and lost lives.

Thomas Jefferson succinctly stated that, "The tree of life must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." The old saying that “there is no free lunch” seems to be forgotten by a large segment of the American society. And thus, many Americans not only fail to participate in the watering of the tree of life, but they are not grateful for the sacrifices made on their behalf. And make no mistake about it, the sacrifices made by American military personnel not only aids subjected peoples in foreign lands, but it directly supports our continued safety in the homeland.

Samuel Adams had some advice for the ungrateful,

"Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, 'What should be the reward of such sacrifices?' ... If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"

If you do not think that the Islamo-fascists are intent upon and capable of exterminating you, you are ignorant and a self-deluding fool. And, you are an ingrate for enjoying the great benefits of this country and not supporting the costs necessary to guarantee the continuance of those benefits for your children. Reflecting upon the costs paid by so many on your behalf, you are unworthy of calling yourself an American.

So listen up you quivering voices of ingratitude; Heed the words of Samuel Adams and leave the U.S. like you promised with the election of Pres. George W. Bush. Your protestations that you support the troops but oppose the war are hollow, empty words. Of course, if you leave and go to your European philosophical cousins, you will simply hasten you or your progeny’s death. The moral decay of socialized Europe is an easily exploitable weakness attractive to the Islamo-fascists. The Islamo-fascist threat is like no other threat the world has ever seen, and that is saying a lot considering all that happened in the 20th century.

Al Qaeda is Only One Hydra Head

Ever since 9/11/01, the western media, at least in the U.S., has repeated the words “al Qaeda” and “Osama bin Ladin” in a never ending mantra. Yes, al Qaeda is a significant Islamo-fascist opponent, and yes, bin Ladin is the nominal head of al Qaeda. But, don’t get all hung up on these details.

Islamo-fascism is a hydra, the multi-headed serpent of Greek mythology, that grows two new heads every time you cut one off. And, al Qaeda is nothing more than one of the heads, albeit a significant one since not all heads are created equal.

Osama bin Ladin owes his current fame to being involved in a number of significant events targeting the U.S. and having the media and world governments latch onto his name. There are a number of significant Islamo-fascists “leaders” not the least of which is Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman, theBlind Sheik, who sits in a U.S. prison convicted of the first World Trade Center bombing.

Islamo-fascist groups are legion and world-wide ranging from the big and well known to the small and little known. Five examples: al Qaeda, Saudi Arabian based; Muslim Brotherhood-Egyptian branch; Jemaah Islamiyah, Indonesian based; Ansar al-Islam, Kurdish based; Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh, California based; etc, etc, etc.

Pres. Bush reiterated the multiplicity of the problem in his speech to the National Endowment for Democracy,

Many militants are part of global, borderless terrorist organizations like al Qaeda, which spreads propaganda, and provides financing and technical assistance to local extremists, and conducts dramatic and brutal operations like September the 11th. Other militants are found in regional groups, often associated with al Qaeda -- paramilitary insurgencies and separatist movements in places like Somalia, and the Philippines, and Pakistan, and Chechnya, and Kashmir, and Algeria. Still others spring up in local cells, inspired by Islamic radicalism, but not centrally directed. Islamic radicalism is more like a loose network with many branches than an army under a single command. Yet these operatives, fighting on scattered battlefields, share a similar ideology and vision for our world.

A shared ideology is the body of the Islamo-fascist hydra. It springs from and is nourished by a fundamental view of Islam. The hydra targets all infidels, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, in its quest to establish another Caliphate. You can lop off heads all day long; And, you must do so because it is the individual heads that are the troops in the field carrying out the action plans for the establishment of the new Caliphate. But, you will never kill the hydra because the hydra is an idea. The best hope is that the religious tolerant, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, will join forces with secularists in a concerted effort to exterminate as many Islamo-fascists as possible and to render its breeding grounds infertile.

Firefighters Lauded-Let’s Ding Their Benefits

Each year about this time, Southern California virtually explodes as wildfires scorch thousands of acres and try their best to incinerate homes, property, livestock, and everything else in its path. Simi Valley, where I live, just had its east and southern borders burned off in a 27,000 acre Topanga Canyon fire. Two years ago it was the northern and eastern borders. Result to Simi Valley, no homes nor lives lost in two major fires thanks to the efforts of firefighters from all over the state. The local media is full of laudatory comments about the efforts of the firefighters.

On November 8th California is having a special election including Proposition 75, which will drastically reduce the power of public employee unions. It does so be making it much harder for the unions to use the union members’ funds for political purposes. Proponents would have you believe that the proposition is on behalf of union members who might not want a portion of their union dues used for politics. What a bunch of nonsense. The reason for the ballot proposition is a blatant move by political powers that will benefit by the weakening of unions.

There are quite a number of public employee unions which will be damaged by this proposition. The end result will be a lessening of desirability in the eyes of the public for public employment. Two of those public employee unions are critical for the maintenance and improvement in public safety: fire; and police. In this era of world challenge by Islamo-fascism and the annual recurrent natural disasters, do you really want a less than optimal public safety system? If you don’t mind second rate at best or totally incompetent, you could always move to New Orleans. Or, you could vote yes on Proposition 75 and hand the power to Governor Schwarzenegger and corporate interests. This is not some benign proposition on behalf of dissenting union members. Public employee unions recognize the danger to their members and ultimately the safety of the public. The public employee unions are adamantly in opposition to this proposition. In short, there is no free lunch; Make your choice.

Louis Freeh Will Attest that You Can’t Trust a Clinton

Former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh is publishing a book entitled MY FBI which will apparently reveal what it was like to be the Director of the FBI under Pres. Bill Clinton. The book is expected to offer additional evidence of the self-centered president betraying the public that elected him to the most powerful position in the world.

Normally the revelations of the various misdoings of Bill Clinton and his administration are only helpful in evaluating the evolutionary process leading to current affairs. A side benefit could be the development of a political will to conduct the business of the presidency with more decorum and toward more care of the public good.

The understanding of Bill Clinton is of much greater importance than that of most past presidents because the Bill Clinton presidency was never a one man presidency. It was without a doubt a co-presidency of Bill & Hillary. One position was elected and one was inherited by virtue of a deliberate decision by both to work as a team. It goes without saying that the responsibility for the foibles of the Clinton administration should rest equally upon the shoulders of both. Even the Lewinsky affair was in-part a doing of Hillary.

The Clintons are all about power and self-aggrandizement. Together they are the ultimate ruthless and mean-spirited political animal. If you vote for Hillary, you are voting for a return to the Bill Clinton style of leadership. It’s all about them.

Pres Bush Nails It on Islamo-Fascism

Speaking to the National Endowment for Democracy, Pres. Bush nailed the facts down about who our enemy really is.

Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant Jihadism; still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called, this ideology is very different from the religion of Islam. This form of radicalism exploits Islam to serve a violent, political vision: the establishment, by terrorism and subversion and insurgency, of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom. These extremists distort the idea of jihad into a call for terrorist murder against Christians and Jews and Hindus -- and also against Muslims from other traditions, who they regard as heretics.

Nevertheless, three times in his speech he used the term “war on terror.” As I stated in a previous blog, War Against Terrorism Not, we are not in a war against terrorism, which is a process. We are in a war against Islamo-Fascists, who use terrorism.

Local NAACP President Joins the Race Card Dishonor Roll

By now everyone has undoubtedly heard about the alleged racist statement made by the former Education Secretary, Drug Czar and current nationally syndicated talk show host Bill Bennett. That Bennett is conservative and strongly pro-life is without dispute. Furthermore, anyone who listens to Bennett’s radio show knows that he treats all guests and callers with the utmost respect, irrespective of race. Bennett has a strong record to support the contention that he is not a racist. And, a conscientious effort to examine the totality and the context of Bennett’s comments supports the view that Bennett is no racist.

The same can not be easily said for some of his detractors. Take for instance, John R. Hatcher III, president of the NAACP in Ventura County. Hatcher is quoted,

"Bill Bennett is a typical racist, institutional white boy," said John R. Hatcher III, president of the NAACP in Ventura County. "This person who hired him needs to apologize to every black person in America. And I don't mean saying, 'Hey, I'm sorry.' I think he needs to apologize by hiring some black people on his radio station."

So, it seems that Hatcher has no problem playing the race card when denouncing Bennett for an alleged racist statement. Who is this guy Hatcher?

Well, he has been around for quite awhile in his current position with the NAACP. Every once in awhile his name pops up in the news media trying his best to make a racial mountain out of a mole hill, or no hill at all, in Ventura County. I suspect that he is constantly vigilant against the next raid by the pointy heads in the white sheets. Too bad for Hatcher that they don’t exist here.

I wrote in Playing the Race Card Cripples Society,

Racists in the United States come in all colors. Isn’t it interesting that the most prominent racists, when it comes to the extent of media coverage, are from the black leadership.

John Hatcher III, joins the Race Card Dishonor Roll. Perhaps it is time for Hatcher to apologize by hiring some white people in his Ventura County NAACP organization.