Thursday, September 23, 2010

They say we're morons...maybe we are!

Source: Campaign For Liberty

Breaking News: DISCLOSE Vote Today!
Posted by Tim Shoemaker on 09/22/10 09:42 AM
Last updated 09/23/10 10:22 AM

The Hill reports that Senate Democrats will once again attempt to shove the First Amendment-shredding DISCLOSE Act (a.k.a. The Establishment Protection Act) down our throats.  A top spokesman for Harry Reid, Jim Manley, tweeted this afternoon that the Senate would debate DISCLOSE tomorrow, with a vote likely Thursday. 
At the end of July, the liberty movement was able to hold off DISCLOSE by just one vote!  We knew they would bring it back up in an attempt to catch us off guard.  This is the time for the movement to stand tall in the face of statism and deal this bill a final blow.
For more information on this egregious affront to our personal liberties, visit our past blogs on the topic.  This bill will force non-profits like C4L to turn over a donor list to the federal government and make it publicly available on our website.  This will expose donors to "controversial" issue advocacy organizations to intimidation and harassment (every issue is controversial to someone).  It would force organizations to adopt needless layers of bureaucracy in order to comply with the paperwork and filing deadlines of the new bill.  It will restrict our free speech by placing vague, arbitrary restrictions on the language of our communications (even with our own members).  Additionally, it further blurs the line between issue advocacy and express endorsements of a candidate, leaving the determination up to the federal government.  
C4L's Kevin Brett put together the following video just before the Senate voted in July recapping the House debate and providing some insight into why the Democrats are pushing such legislation now.

Contact your senators today and demand they OPPOSE DISCLOSE!


Comparative Analysis: Morning vs Mourning

As is from Monkey In The Middle

Mourning In America

Hat tip to Wake Up America

In 1984, the Reagan reelection campaign set the standard for modern political advertising with its fabled "Morning in America" series, which included one of the greatest political ads of all time -- "Better, Prouder, Stronger." The ad captured the zeitgeist -- America under President Reagan was coming back, full of optimism and confidence in the future.

Today, the zeitgeist is exactly the opposite. Americans are worried about their future, and about a government determined to implement policies that just don't work. But like its predecessor, "Mourning in America" offers a new hope -- if we can just get our government to return to time-tested policies that can spark a rebirth of liberty.

Mourning



The Original Morning



How have times changed!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Randomly came across this... - You don't have it so bad after all. - Also, two eyewitnesses; the commentator and the commenter.

Source: Notes From Abroad

Power Perspective

I read an article recently about power interruptions in Maryland. People were complaining that over a six month period, the power had flickered off for ten seconds or so -- more than half a dozen times. Other outages lasted a few minutes or an hour.

If only we experienced those outages in Timor!

Power interruptions are a daily occurrence. Today, the power went off around lunch time -- it's now 7:30pm and it's still off.  Yesterday, the power was off for five hours -- the day before -- 4 hours -- and so on and so on.

No one seems to know why the power goes out so often.

It used to be better. It only went off on Sundays for about five hours. Now, it's daily.

But we're lucky here in Dili compared to those living in the districts. Their power is on from 6pm until midnight -- every day.

Let's hear it for backup generators!

1 comments:


Storm'n Norm'n said...
I used to live in Belpasso, Sicily back in '78. The owner of the condo we rented would turn the heat on when it got pretty cold in the winter...at 7 PM til 10 PM...the remainder of the time had to be spent wrapped in blankets or clothed like you were outside. Another thing that I experienced while living on that Island is that marble floors radiate cold like you would not believe...especially when there's no insulation below. Lucky that the winters are very short...even though it was more than halfway up Mount Etna...the volcano, but that's another story. Norm
__________________________


Witness

I saw a little boy dragged by a taxi this morning.

It is not easy to write about -- I didn't actually see the taxi hit the child -- what I witnessed or heard, first,  was a muffled, scraping sound -- then I saw something stuck under the car -- being dragged on the asphalt. Then, I heard frantic shouts from someone in a red shirt running toward the car.

At first, I thought it was a piece of cardboard under the car -- then it appeared to be a dog. The car didn't immediately stop and once it did -- the boy's body lay in the middle of the street. He wasn't moving. The taxi driver reluctantly stopped some 10 yards up the road. I say reluctantly because he kept slowing down and then finally stopped.

A man, presumably the father or a relative, in the red shirt, ran screaming and crying into the street and hugged the boy's body -- other witnesses stopped traffic -- and several people approached the driver -- who didn't immediately get out of the car.Still others ran to help the child.

It happened just after sunup this morning -- and there were a number of others who witnessed this horrible tragedy and came running to offer help.

I still find it difficult to believe and process what I witnessed -- all in a matter of seconds.

I don't know the details of what happened -- for instance -- how fast the taxi was moving -- although when I noticed it -- the car was moving slowly. I also don't know if the child was crossing the street or playing in the street.  I did see the taxi driver's face -- just after the boy's body cleared the under-part of the car -- and from his expression -- he appeared not to know what he'd hit.

I don't know if the child survived -- although his little body appeared lifeless.

1 comments:


Storm'n Norm'n said...
I once witnessed a jeep hitting a child..saw the entire incident! It was downtown Saigon around 1970 or '71. While walking with three Air Force officers one of them exclaimed, "That kid! He's going to get hit!" And at an instant, I turned to witness the horrible event. A Vietnamese military jeep struck the young lad with the passenger side of the vehicle...the bumber hit somewhere in the hip or waist area knocking the child down into a prone (face down) position. Instinctively the child raised his head has the right front wheel ran over his chest thus slamming the the head into the pavement. The rear wheel repeated the roll-over before the jeep came to a stop. An adult rushed to grasp the child in her arms but as we could judge from our distance the child was already dead. All these years and I still remember the details...forgot them for awhile until you reminded me with this post. This is the first time I've been to your blog and I got here by starting at my blog and simply clicking 'Next Blog' at the top of the page. Norm

Harry Reid Can't Be Serious...but he is! - Islam the religion of peace?...not hardly!

What planet does Harry Reid Live on?

Harry Reid: I Have Two Serious Muslim Friends

Imam Harry Reid extols the virtues of Islam. Apparently, Reid knows two Muslim doctors who actually treat patients, unlike Muslim doctors who blow up on subways in London. This is good news, of sorts, but burning the Koran is at least as legal as planting an Islamic supremacist mosque at Ground Zero.
Say Harry!  Say Harrieeeee!  Here's one of those "...misdirected guys around the world" Check 'em out!  This guy is definetly giving the religion a bad name!
______________________

Harry, In case you missed some of the virtues of Islam let me bring you up to date...

1.  More people are killed by Islamists each year than in all 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition combined.
2.  Islamic terrorists murder more people every day than the Ku Klux Klan has in the last 50 years.
3.  More civilians were killed by Muslim extremists in two hours on September 11th than in the 36 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.
4.  Nineteen Muslim hijackers killed more innocents in two hours on September 11th than the number of American criminals executed in the last 65 years.
______________________
According to Qur’an 3:167, Muslims who refuse to fight in the name of Allah are hypocrites. Believers answer the call of Jihad to fight in Allah’s cause. Muhammad, Islam’s only Prophet, labels non-believers “infidels” – enemies of Allah. He orders Muslims to fight, murder and enslave them until the whole world surrenders to Islam. The order to fight infidels is clear, open ended and retractable only by Allah.
Qur’an 8:039 – And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah.
Qur’an 9:005 – Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush.
__________________________
1) In 1968, Sen. Robert Kennedy was shot and killed by:
Answer: A Muslim, male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40
2) In 1972 at the Olympics in Munich, Germany, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
3) In 1979, the U.S embassy in Iran was taken over by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

4) During the 1980s, a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

5) In 1983, U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut were blown up by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

6) In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70-year-old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

7) In 1985, TWA Flight 847 was hijacked in Athens, and a U.S. Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

8) In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

9) In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

10) In 1998, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

11) On Sept. 11, 2001, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Center. Of the remaining two, one crashed into the U.S. Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by: Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

12) In 2002, the U.S. fought a war in Afghanistan against:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

13) In 2002, reported Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
Answer: Muslim, male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

Footnote: At Fort Hood, Texas, another Muslim, 39, killed 13 people and wounded 30 others.
_______________________


Coming to your nation's capitol...


Egyptians See Themselves In New Leadership Role...are they trying to fool you or themselves

Source: CNN
Altered photograph in Egyptian newspaper continues to make waves
From Ben Wedeman, CNN
September 17, 2010 -- Updated 1731 GMT (0131 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The newspaper swaps the picture to show Mubarak leading the group
  • The original picture has Obama walking ahead
  • Al-Ahram reflects the position of the Egyptian government
RELATED TOPICS
  • Egypt
  • Hosni Mubarak
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Three days after an Egyptian newspaper ran an altered photograph that suggested President Hosni Mubarak led the recent Middle East peace talks, the digital manipulation continues to make waves here.
"I'm amazed at the reaction," said blogger Wael Khalil, who first spotted the altered photograph, on Friday. "Why is everyone so surprised at this?"
On Tuesday, the government-majority owned Al-Ahram newspaper published a picture showing Mubarak leading U.S. President Barack Obama, Jordanian King Abdullah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the red carpet, with the words "The route to Sharm Al-Sheikh" beneath it. The phrase referred to the Sharm Al-Sheikh peace talks on that same day.
The original photo, taken September 1, had Obama leading the group. Khalil discovered the altered image had swapped Mubarak for Obama.
Read my blog on why the doctored photo flap is a lesson to old media
Altered picture published in Al-Ahram
Al-Ahram generally reflects the position of the government. Editor Osama Saraya wrote Friday that the controversial picture was "expressive" and it underscored Egypt's historic role in the peace process.
But Hisham Qasim, an independent newspaper publisher and human rights activist, did not mince words.
"The editors of Al-Ahram have gone over the top. They are making Mubarak look silly worldwide," he said. "It's amazing how much coverage Mubarak is getting. It has become the joke of journalism.
"I don't know what the editors can do. Any explanation will make them look even sillier," he added.