University Suckers

Farewell

2008-09-27T01:03:00.006-05:00

It's been a blast and I appreciate all of the support and intellectual insight from the last 3 years. I may or may not start another blog in the future, only time will tell.

Take care,
Daniel

I Guess The Russians Will Never Learn

2008-09-25T08:21:00.004-05:00

Yet again, freedom is being stripped away from the Russian people.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Pornographic, extremist and immoral -- that's how Russian prosecutors are describing popular US cartoons like The Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park...The channel that carries them has been forced to suspend broadcasts of the offending programmes pending legal action and throngs of teenagers have taken to the streets to demand their favourite cartoons back.[http://tinyurl.com/3fu4ba]

Will they ever learn? I guess not.

The Answer Lies In The Mirror

2008-09-24T10:29:00.005-05:00

This keeps getting worse.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration, The Associated Press has learned.[http://tinyurl.com/4hcvfq]

You can bet your bottom dollar that the FBI, or any other governmental agency, will not be able to identify the true culprit of this financial meltdown. Instead, they will likely use businessmen as the scapegoats for the government's ineptitude (once again).

Stiglitz Is Wrong

2008-09-17T10:47:00.013-05:00

Jesus Christ; how easy is it to get a Nobel prize now-a-days?

Joseph E. Stiglitz, professor at Columbia University, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001 for his work on the economics of information and was on the climate change panel that shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.[http://tinyurl.com/6qjbqp]

Nothing a miss here, until he proposes his "6 ways to fix the financial system". Observe:

1. We need first to correct incentives for executives, reducing the scope for conflicts of interest and improving shareholder information about dilution in share value as a result of stock options. We should mitigate the incentives for excessive risk-taking and the short-term focus that has so long prevailed, for instance, by requiring bonuses to be paid on the basis of, say, five-year returns, rather than annual returns.
2. Secondly, we need to create a financial product safety commission, to make sure that products bought and sold by banks, pension funds, etc. are safe for "human consumption." Consenting adults should be given great freedom to do whatever they want, but that does not mean they should gamble with other people's money. Some may worry that this may stifle innovation. But that may be a good thing considering the kind of innovation we had -- attempting to subvert accounting and regulations. What we need is more innovation addressing the needs of ordinary Americans, so they can stay in their homes when economic conditions change.
3. We need to create a financial systems stability commission to take an overview of the entire financial system, recognizing the interrelations among the various parts, and to prevent the excessive systemic leveraging that we have just experienced.
4. We need to impose other regulations to improve the safety and soundness of our financial system, such as "speed bumps" to limit borrowing. Historically, rapid expansion of lending has been responsible for a large fraction of crises and this crisis is no exception.
5. We need better consumer protection laws, including laws that prevent predatory lending.
6. We need better competition laws. The financial institutions have been able to prey on consumers through credit cards partly because of the absence of competition. But even more importantly, we should not be in situations where a firm is "too big to fail." If it is that big, it should be broken up.
These reforms will not guarantee that we will not have another crisis. The ingenuity of those in the financial markets is impressive. Eventually, they will figure out how to circumvent whatever regulations are imposed. But these reforms will make another crisis of this kind less likely, and, should it occur, make it less severe than it otherwise would be.[bold added]

How does he wish to accomplish his economic goals? Force, no doubt. Who's "requiring" who? Who's "imposing" what? Who's "breaking up" what? Who's "preying" on whom? While these questions seem very simplistic, they are the most essential. Force does not belong in the marketplace, period. These are indeed strange times in the market, but government regulation will not fix anything; it will only make everything worse.

The only thing that these "reforms" guarantee is another crisis. Again. And Again. And Again. Ad infinitum.

How do you win a Nobel prize in economics without knowing what supply and demand is?

Economic Ignorance

2008-09-12T14:37:00.003-05:00

This video is the compilation of all sort of different evils. Marxism, malthusianism, environmentalism, & collectivism just to name a few.

The video is fitting, especially since I recently had an argument over a post I wrote two years ago on the same subject.

I am embarrassed that I watched the entire thing.

7 Years

2008-09-11T19:58:00.003-05:00

Today is the seventh anniversary of September 11th. For some crazy reason the people that brought the World Trade Center(s) down still exist. The reason why they ares still around eludes me seven years later. Here's a collection of other rational posts about this most sacred of days:

-At NoodleFood, Paul Hsieh asks "Do Americans Want Victory?" I'd say the majority of Americans claim they do, but in reality are not willing to take the measures to insure the protection of our country.

-John David Lewis' essay "No Substitute for Victory" is still relevant today - especially concerning September 11th - so I posted it again. In addition, it is one of my favorite Objectivist essays.

-At Born to Identify, Adam Reed has an insightful post about 9/11 and the following religious outrage that followed on September 14th. To quote:

It sets my teeth on edge whenever some timid weasel speaks of the Al Queda attacks of September 11, 2001 as a "tragedy." It was not a tragedy - which would mean something that was not the perpetrators' design. It was a massacre, a crime, an outrage. It was followed by a second outrage on September 13, when Christianist sociopaths Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson broadcast their endorsement of the perpetrators' "reasons" for the massacre. The real tragedy came on September 14, when President George W. Bush sponsored a "National Day of Prayer and Remembrance" at the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

It was one of the most offensive rants I have ever heard.

-Myrhaf's "Twilight of the West" is also a very good post about September 11th. He said:

My reasoning went like this: In World War II we faced a totalitarian ideology that wanted to destroy the west. We went toe to toe with fascism and destroyed it instead. In the Cold War we faced another totalitarian ideology that wanted to destroy the west: communism. Although we were undermined by pragmatism on the right and anti-Americanism on the left, we managed to win in the long run because of the weakness of communism.
Now we face yet another totalitarian ideology that wants to destroy the west, Islam -- or Islamofascism, militant Islam, Islamicism, whatever (the fact that we still have not settled on a name for the enemy is symbolic of the mess we are in). Unlike fascism and communism, which are based on the idiotic economic fantasies of Karl Marx, Islam is more dangerous because it is based on religious fantasies that cannot be easily disproved in this world -- at least, not to those who place faith above reason. Our enemies are willing to blow themselves up to get to heaven.

It is important to remember that Islam did not attack us because of our interests in the Middle East. Islam, by its nature, is a infectious evil that is bent on eradicating freedom and liberty to satisfy some fictitious deity, so says the pervert anyways. That is their basis for attack, not our ties with Israel.

Inflation Is No Good

2008-08-12T10:58:00.018-05:00

Inflation in the UK has risen to 4.4% in July. I find this coincidental, especially since I started reading Henry Hazlitt's What You Should Know About Inflation last night. As Hazlitt points out in his essay, which is still relevant almost 50 years later, is that the definition of inflation has 'dual' meanings - even though there is still only one true definition. Observe:

If you turn to the American College Dictionary, for example, you will find the first definition of inflation given as follows: "Undue expansion of increase of the currency of a country, esp. by the issuing of paper money not redeemable in specie."

The second definition being: "A substantial rise of prices caused by undue expansion in paper money or bank credit." However, as Hazlitt identifies, the second definition has of the American College Dictionary is completely different than the first:

Now obviously a rise of prices caused by an expansion of the money supply is not the same thing as the expansion of the money supply itself. A cause or condition is clearly not identical with one of its consequences. The use of the word "inflation" with these two quite different meanings leads to endless confusion.

Inflation is the increase of the supply of money and bank credit relative to the production of goods and services of a specific country. Knowing the correct definition of inflation, it is easy to identify when some people, whether they're in special interest groups or not, try to skew the definition by blaming inflation on something like the "shortage of goods". Indeed, prices climb by an increase in the money supply or because of a shortage of goods. Prices usually increase with a shortage specifically to goods that are experiencing the shortage. Inflation causes a general increase in the prices of all goods, regardless of the category. Seldom can we identify when the shortage of goods has produced a general level of price increase all across the board, even in war time. However, identifying inflation as a consequence of the shortage of goods does not fly. Hazlitt offers an example:

Yet so stubborn is the fallacy that inflation is caused by the "shortage of goods," that even in the Germany of 1923, after prices had soared hundreds of billions of times, high officials and millions of Germans were blaming the whole thing on a general "shortage of goods" - at the very moment when foreigners were coming in and buying German goods with gold or their own currencies at prices lower than those of equivalent goods at home.

Keeping in mind the example above, as well as the rest of my post, observe how the article below almost mirrors Hazlitt's example, and almost completely avoids identifying the true cause of inflation:

The statistics office said that the strongest upward pressure on prices came from nonalcoholic beverages and food, especially meat, bread, cereals and vegetables. Inflation was also pushed up by rising transport costs resulting from spiking fuel prices.

However, a major concern is that the rise could not be solely attributed to higher food and energy prices.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as energy and food, jumped to 1.9 percent from 1.6 percent, indicating that higher energy and food prices are having second-round inflationary effects.

The prices were pushed up due to monetary injections made by the UK. The increase of prices is not from the shortage of goods, but from the government's expansion of money supply and credit relative to its production. If there is too much money chasing too few goods, prices must rise to ensure that shortages do not occur. However, it is different when prices increase from inflation than when they increase just from a shortage of goods.

In conclusion, inflation is brought on by governmental interference. By eliminating the gold standard, the government has illegalized the only method to objectively determine the proper money supply as well as calibrating proper interest rates. When governments take their country off of the gold standard and thus create inflation, several consequences unavoidably follow: The depreciation of the monetary unit, an increase in the cost of living (which in turn decreases the standard of living), the annihilation of past savings, the discouragment of future savings, the redistribution of wealth, and an overall undermining of confidence in the economy, which effects its future growth and value.

Yaron Brook Q&A

2008-07-14T14:49:00.003-05:00

I've stumbled across some good videos on youtube recently:

In video #1, Dr. Brook explains how interest rates can be held without the existence of the Federal Reserve.

In video #2, Dr. Brook answers whether or not there is a connection between anti-antisemitism and altruism.

In video #3, Yaron Brook confronts the charge that unregulated capitalism causes pollution and inadequate healthcare for children.

These are just a few of the videos that ARI has posted onto the internet via youtube. To view more, you can simple view and/or subscribe to their youtube channel here.

Jesus, Man

2008-07-10T18:06:00.007-05:00

Through Christian Pwnage, I've learned of a slightly funny and ridiculous story of a UCF student who "stole" the eucharist from Roman Catholic mass one evening. What really brings out the hilarity, is that the student, Webster Cook, received death threats because of this.

"We don’t know 100% what Mr. Cooks motivation was,” said Susan Fani a spokesperson with the local Catholic diocese. “However, if anything were to qualify as a hate crime, to us this seems like this might be it.”

We just expect the University to take this seriously,” she added “To send a message to not just Mr. Cook but the whole community that this kind of really complete sacrilege will not be tolerated.”[http://tinyurl.com/5wkcol]

A hate crime? Jesus, man. It's a freaking cracker...calm down.

Imagine what the "message" would have been for Cook if the church led the state like back in the Dark Ages!

Patriotism?

2008-07-03T14:35:00.006-05:00

On the day before July 4th, both of a presidential candidates have posted their views on what patriotism is. Needless to say, they are both very off kilter. Presidential candidate Barack Obama's main point is this:

In the end, it may be this quality that best describes patriotism in my mind — not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular love for, and faith in, one another as Americans.[http://tinyurl.com/3zbja5]

Since when has patriotism been rooted in how Americans interact? This makes zero sense.

The greatness of our country — its victories in war, its enormous wealth, its scientific and cultural achievements — have resulted from the toil, drive, struggle, restlessness, humor, and quiet heroism of the American people.

Obama refuses to acknowledge the central cause for all of our successes as a country; rational self-interest. I'm pretty sure it was excluded intentionally. But have no fear, John McCain mentions it!

Today, politics is derided for its self-interest, combativeness, duplicity, and triviality. But such failings are not unique to our age.[http://tinyurl.com/5ffkte]

Oh right, it's a "failing". McCain continues by making his central point:

Patriotism is deeper than its symbolic expressions, than sentiments about place and kinship that move us to hold our hands over our hearts during the national anthem. It is putting the country first, before party or personal ambition, before anything. It is the willing acceptance of Americans, both those whose roots here extend back over generations and those who arrived only yesterday, to try to make a nation in which all people share in the promise and responsibilities of freedom.[bold added]

No, John McCain. What you just described is nationalism, not patriotism. Nationalism is the blind endorsement of an individual's country's actions. Nazi Germany was nationalist. To finish up on the topic of patriotism, here's part of Rand's speech to the 1974 graduating class of West Point:

There is a special reason why you, the future leaders of the United States Army, need to be philosophically armed today. You are the target of a special attack by the Kantian-Hegelian-collectivist establishment that dominates our cultural institutions at present...

I feel deeply honored by the opportunity to address you. I can say--not as a patriotic bromide, but with full knowledge of the necessary metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, political and esthetic roots--that the United States of America is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the only moral country in the history of the world...

You have chosen to risk your lives for the defense of this country. I will not insult you by saying that you are dedicated to selfless service--it is not a virtue in my morality. In my morality, the defense of one's country means that a man is personally unwilling to live as the conquered slave of any enemy, foreign or domestic. This is an enormous virtue.

At this point, one must ask themselves, who is more wrong?

Death 2, The Followers of Christ Church 0

2008-06-19T14:22:00.008-05:00

And yet, I am no longer surprised any longer at instances such as this:

GLADSTONE, Ore. — Authorities say a teenager from a faith-healing family died from an illness that could have been easily treated, just a few months after a toddler cousin of his died in a case that has led to criminal charges.

We are not living in caves any longer people. Civilization has moved on. Witchdoctors throwing random animal bones over a sacred plate will not solve anything, especially medical issues.

Tuesday's death of 16-year-old Neil Beagley, however, may not be a crime because Oregon law allows minors 14 and older to decide for themselves whether to accept medical treatment.

"All of the interviews from last night are that he did in fact refuse treatment," police Sgt. Lynne Benton said Wednesday. "Unless we can disprove that, charges probably won't be filed in this case."

An autopsy Wednesday showed Beagley died of heart failure caused by a urinary tract blockage.[bold added]

What can be said? What did Neil Beagley and his parents expect to happen? Did he deserve to die? While I cannot say that he did, simply because I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn't an initiator of force, he did perish by his own doing. His death is no one else's fault but his own. Neil, as well as his family, certainly didn't expect for him to be healed. After all, God works in mysterious ways.

...Right?

The worst part of this whole ordeal is that, apparently, this isn't the first time an incident like this (i.e. unnecessary death) has occurred with these prehistoric-minded cave-people:

In March, the boy's 15-month-old cousin Ava Worthington died at home from bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection.

Her parents, Carl and Raylene Worthington, also belong to the church. They have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and criminal mistreatment, and their defense attorneys have indicated they will use a religious freedom defense.

The proof of this group's incompetence lies not only within their willingness to sacrifice their followers to their false ideals, but also that they're willing to do this continually. These guardians of Ava should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Neil Beagley had the ability to voice his disapproval of modern medicine, as inept as that decision was. Ava Worthington did not, and was forced to pay the price of a premature death in exchange for nonsensical, ancient mysticism.

No Possessions, No Dice

2008-06-15T09:35:00.006-05:00

I must admit, Imagine is a catchy tune. I can say that I enjoy the music, but not the song itself, because of what it stands for. This is because of its partially detestable lyrics:

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

We don't have to imagine anything John.

Edit: Stuart Hayashi sent me the link to the video above, so I thought it was appropriate enough to post here.

Warren Buffett Is Bad For Business

2008-05-27T18:38:00.017-05:00

"OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Billionaire Warren Buffett said Monday that the U.S. economy is essentially in a recession even if it hasn't met the technical definition of one yet."

Buffett said in an interview with cable network CNBC the reports he gets from the retail businesses his holding company owns show a significant slowdown in purchases."[bold added]

A recession, according to the technical definition, is "two consecutive quarters of negative growth in the nation's gross domestic product." Buffett, if anyone, should know the definition of the term. Why label the economy as something it has yet to become? Why skew the definition? Buffett's statements are taken with too much weight as it is; imagine if they always possessed incorrect information like this.

It's not like his record as a businessman is ideal either:

Tom: You've talked about in your own office, for example, you pay a much lower tax rate with all of your wealth than, say, a receptionist does.
Warren: That's exactly right, Tom, and I think the only way to do it is with specifics. In our office 15 people cooperated in a survey, out of 18, I didn't make anybody do it. And my total taxes paid, payroll taxes plus income tax, mine came to 17.7 percent. The average for the office was 32.9 percent. There wasn't anybody in the office, from the receptionist on, who paid a lower tax rate. And I have no tax planning, I don't have an accountant, I don't have tax shelters. I just follow what the U.S. Congress tells me to do.[bold added]

Perhaps if Congress instructed Buffett to break into other people's houses and steal their savings from under their mattresses he would. He probably doesn't view breaking and entering and taxation in relation to one another. Maybe he needs the government to seize the majority of his income to open his eyes. I bet his tune would change then.

Businessmen are wealthy for a reason, usually because they earned their wealth. The concept of actually earning various things in the world may be foreign to some, but it is possible. And businessmen are the proof of such a claim. Warren Buffet continues to become a burden upon the very people that he is suppose to typify: American businessmen. You know; the individuals responsible for the increase in the standard of living, new technologies, enough food to feed every household in America, not to mention an innumerable amount other accomplishments. But instead of praising such individuals, others bleat of "exploitation", "greediness", and "manipulation". When will this madness stop?

Who would have thought the richest man in the world would be one of them?

Study Methods & Motivation

2008-05-14T16:57:00.005-05:00

I've recently learned, through a friend, of Dr. Edwin Locke's Study Methods & Motivation which - sadly - is currently out of stock at the Ayn Rand bookstore.

I can see why.

I'm only four chapters deep into the book and I've already detected errors in my own studying habits, particularly my reading methods. As a sampler into the book, I'll state how Dr. Locke breaks reading down into four categories:

Perceptual Reading
Concrete-Bound Reading
Abstract Reading
Abstract Integrative Reading

Dr. Locke also stresses the point that perceptual "reading" is not truly reading, but merely looking at the letters/symbols on the page. Concrete-bound reading is merely the memorization of absolute facts. The highest form of reading is abstract integrative, which...

involves relating concepts of ideas to other concepts or ideas, e.g., other ideas reported in the same chapter, in other chapters of the same book, in other books, ideas presented in lectures, knowledge which the student has gained from personal experience, from his own reasoning, etc. Integrative reading presupposes that one has done abstract reading (or at least has grasped the individual concepts involved by some means), since one cannot integrate concepts which one does not understand.

Dr. Locke also has chapters dealing with test anxiety, and how to cope if one were to - unfortunately - fail an exam.

The reason this book is taking so long for me to get through is because I want to study the methods within it, which is why I've begun writing down the book, objective fact by objective fact, and chapter by chapter, so I can truly absorb the material.

Even from my current minimal gain, I can still vouch for the quality of this book (no need to buy it from me Mr. Smith!) It is a must have for students as well as anyone else interested in objectively obtaining, along with retaining, information.

Starbucks Does Not Support Freedom

2008-04-21T15:41:00.010-05:00

Starbucks, a company who I've defended in the past, has now crossed the line with their anti-freedom drivel.

But when my friend Roger Ream, president of the Fund for American Studies, received a Starbucks gift card for Christmas, he found there was a limit to how personalized a card could be. His card required him to customize it on the company's Web site. So he went to the site and requested that the phrase "Laissez Faire" be printed on his card. A few days later he was informed that the company couldn't issue such a card because the wording violated company policy.

Starbucks's company policy is this: "We review each Card before printing it to make sure it meets our personalization policy. We accept most personalization requests, but we can't honor every one. Some requests may contain trademarks that we don't have the right to use. Others may contain material that we consider inappropriate (such as threatening remarks, derogatory terms, or overtly political commentary) or wouldn't want to see on Starbucks-branded products.[bold added]

What is offensive about the phase "let alone"? What is wrong with freedom? Laissez-faire is a term used to describe economic freedom, not enslavement or serfdom. Why does Starbucks not want to promote freedom, the one concept that continually allows Starbucks to exist?

Maybe Starbucks considers the phrase inappropriate because it's "overtly political commentary"? Certainly my friend regards it as a firm statement of political philosophy.

And so, at my suggestion, my friend went back to the Web site and asked that his card be issued with the phrase "People Not Profits." Bingo! Starbucks had no problem with that phrase, and the card arrived in a few days.[bold added]

Words relating to freedom become cast aside to allow words representing socialist force (i.e. "people not profits") to emerge. I can say that I've never been a fan of coffee, but now I can say without reservation, that I am no fan of Starbucks. The hypocrisy is palpable and offensive.

The Cost of Silence

2008-04-12T22:17:00.002-05:00

Here's some proof that our legal system needs reform. How one attempts to pay this man back the 26 years of wrongful imprisonment - that could have been easily avoided during this case's inception - I'll never know.

Time is an extremely valuable resource; it's scarce, non-retrievable, and in some instances (i.e. Mr. Alton Logan's case), very costly. I find this ironic because for the first time in about four years I watched the movie Life with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, which is a comedy based around their wrongful imprisonment throughout most of 20th century.

I love Eddie Murphy.

Observation 2

2008-04-07T13:36:00.011-05:00

From time to time I've heard of people talk of how technology makes people lazy. This is blantatly false. Technology doesn't force/make people do anything.

Technology simply allows individuals to do the same amount, if not better, work in less time. Time is scarce; there are only so many hours in a day. Advancements in technology allow individuals to complete a task in an hour, where it used to take them three. How those individuals choose to allocate the rest of their time, in this case the remaining two hours, is up to the individual. They may choose utilize their extra time more productively or they may choose to do nothing; how they wish to be productive or not is their decision. In fact, technological advancements are one of the limited ways to expand the Production Possiblities Curve in Macroeconomics. With an expansion in the PPC, more work has the ability to be accomplished, pointing to technology actually promoting more work, not inducing laziness and non-productive behavior.

Technology acts as a catalyst for more productive efforts to become accomplished. It makes goods and services better, faster, and more reliable, period.

Taxation Failure

2008-04-03T13:23:00.006-05:00

I go to the Fail Blog quite often. I went there today and cannot help but post this picture:

As an objectivist, this photograph holds a special place in my heart. Unnecessary government intrusion - in this case taxation - will be met by other, more accommodating substitutions by rational people.

An example that immediately comes to mind is the illegal practice of ticket scalping. Individuals can legally purchase a bag containing a cheeseburger and "unknowingly" two tickets to the event that happen to be placed in there, whether by mistake, sorcery, or - *gasp* - the intention to actually make a profit.

Observation 1

2008-03-18T10:29:00.001-05:00

I’m going to begin documenting small observations I come across, and inform the rest of the world with them. Here’s the first:

Austrian Economists, Libertarians and the like are more proficient at pointing out the economic shortcomings of socialism and other statist systems than acting as guardians of capitalism. There is a difference; arguing on principle is far superior to just pointing out the incompetence of the opposing viewpoint. These alleged champions of “free choice” neglect to freely choose, time after time, the only superior argument for capitalism; morality. Instead, the buzz-words “utility” and “social welfare” get thrown out into the mix while lacking any real philosophical substance.

It is true that the public does prosper more so under a free-trading society, but this is of secondary importance to capitalism being the only moral social system. Any other defense of capitalism is simply inadequate.

2007 Accomplishments

2008-03-10T17:17:00.006-05:00

Due to being on ARI's official mailing list, Dr. Yaron Brook has sent me - as well as everyone else on the list - ARI's accomplishments for 2007. The two most significant ones will be listed in bold.

"First, we have secured first-year funding for ARI's proposed expansion of its policy advocacy work - and with it, the establishment of a presence for the Institute in Washington, D.C."
The Institute has reached yet another important milestonefor their Free Books to Teachers program by shipping their one-millionth free copy of an Ayn Rand work to an educator for his or her classroom.
The fiscal year of 2007 ended with a total of $6,817,128, a more than 36% increase compared to 2006's $5,002,304. Revenues from the Ayn Rand bookstore and other Objectivist Conferences rose to just below $7.9 million.
Highschool teachers requested 292,000 copies of Anthem and The Fountainhead.
More than 25,000 copies of Atlas Shrugged were shipped to highschools across the nation.
More than 800,000 copies of Rand's novels have been sent to educators since 2002.
Ayn Rand's novels are being taught in approximately 25,000 highschools in the United States and Canada.
It is estimated that 4-million students will be introduced to Anthem and/or The Fountainhead as a result of ARI's efforts.
Anthem and The Fountainhead essay contests broke the record by attracting more than 20,000 entrants in 2007.
Two websites were launched for teachers and their students to understand and "enhance their appreciation of" Ayn Rand and her ideas.
More than 120 Objectivist clubs at universities are now registered with ARI.
The college-level essay contest of Atlas Shrugged showed a 25% increase in participation in 2007 compared to that of 2006.
ARI participated in 41 campus talks last year.
ARI secured a total of 16 national TV interviews; every Wednesday, Dr. Yaron Brook will appear on the Fox Business Network.
The Ayn Rand Institute's op-ed program "saw 59 different pieces written by ARI staff intellectuals appear 611 times in 257 newspapers and Web sites - reaching an estimated cumlative circulation of more than 14.7 million people.
ARI's letters-to-the-editors had a record-breaking year: they recieved the greatest number of "hits" in major newspapers - 48 - and the largest number of estimated readers - 27 million - in ARI's history.
To mark the 50th Anniversary of Atlas Shrugged, ARI's media department "offered free copies of the novel to more than 1,500 journalists, media professionals, and radio and TV talk show producers and hosts."
Penguin Publishing reports that their gross sale of Ayn Rand's four novels in 2006 was 702,163 - an all-time high and up 2% from 2005. If these numbers include ARI's orders as well, "sales by Penguin otherwise increased by 8 percent from 2005."
"Paperback sales of Atlas Shrugged increased by 2 percent to 127,352. Excluding ARI orders from both years, sales by Penguin increased by 10 percent over the previous year. Annual sales of Atlas Shrugged are higher today than when the first hardcover or paperback edition were published."
Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged has sold more than 100,000 copies annually.
This Fall, an additional 50 students entered the OAC program.
"OAC's arrangment with Chapman University in Orange County, California, continues into its third year."
A new website is launched for the OAC.
ARI co-funded a special workshop at the University of Pittsburgh for OAC graduate students in philosophy.

...and many more. Whew that was a task!

Sartre & Che

2008-02-13T10:38:00.002-05:00

...And people say that philosophy has nothing to do with reality, action, or behavior. Sheesh.

Gordon Fiebig, My Friend

2008-02-08T12:30:00.002-05:00

Last night I found out that my Muay Thai instructor, Gordon Fiebig, died while training at Black Trunks MMA on Wednesday night. Apparently, he was training and stated that he didn't feel well, and a few seconds later he just passed out. An autopsy was ran yesterday, I'm still not sure of the results.

This tragic event serves as a solemn reminder that anyone anywhere can go at anytime. From this point on, I will begin to value time more so than I have in the past, in remembrance of Gordon's life and for his love for Muay Thai.

Gordon was originally from Germany, but moved to the states sometime ago. He was roughly 6'4", and was the prime example of a what a true athlete should be. He worked out constantly; sometimes I contemplated whether he was man or machine. He loved Muay Thai very much; I remember having a conversation with him a while ago about it. He said, in a very rough, Germanic accent "Man, I love this Muay Thai, I can't imagine doing anything else." Aside from his intimidating exterior, he was a very kind individual. His instruction perfectly resembled the concept of 'tough-love'; he was a one of a kind instructor. I will miss him, just as I'm sure everyone that ever met him will as well.

R.I.P. Gordon, we'll miss you.

A Glimpse Of Hope

2008-02-07T13:22:00.001-05:00

If you've read my blog in the past, you may have noticed a sense of pessimism when I write about the future of our nation, philosophy, or society; most of the time my worries are not completely unfounded. However, in light of a couple of new discoveries at Florida Gulf Coast University, I'm beginning to think more positively about the future of philosophy, I'll tell you why:

Last week I was fumbling around the philosophy section of the library, searching for objectivist readings. While doing this I felt like I was wasting my time; who carries objectivist books? Hell, aside from Atlas Shrugged & The Fountainhead, the public libraries (who are on an inter-library loan system) didn't have any. Then I saw the section dedicated to Ayn Rand. It contained books I've never even heard about, around twenty CD's, Introduction to Objectivist Ethics, and - for what I've found the biggest benefit from it so far - The Glossary for Objectivist Terms and Definitions. Every single one of those items were donated to Florida Gulf Coast University by a couple named Jim & Kathryn Eickhoff-Smith. In the front of every book it says:

"Given in honor of Ayn Rand, novelist and philosopher."
Apparently the Eickhoff-Smith's didn't want to stop with donating literature. I was on the first floor of the library today and saw a booth donated by them in dedication to Ayn Rand as well. What's really particular is that I do not remember the books or the booth being dedicated to Rand last semester; I'm guessing that all of these contributions occured within the recent past and I can't but help to wonder if the Eickhoff-Smith's will be donating more things in the future.

This next issue may be the most significant. I was in my Macroeconomics class a week ago and showed up to class about a half-an-hour early. My teacher was already there, so naturally we struck up some free-market conversation. Out of the blue she asks "Do you read Rand?" I almost jumped out of my seat. She continues, "You have to meet my colleague, I'll get you two together." She runs out to her car and on the way back to the classroom bumps into the professor she way telling me about and tells him to stop by the classroom so we can talk. He shows up about ten minutes after class is in session and I go out of the classroom to talk with him. What he told me may blow your mind (because it did to me): after some introductions and small talk he informed me that BB&T is on its way to giving a grant to FGCU to teach "The Moral Foundations of Capitalism" as an economics course! To think that this university, as small as it is, can have such a solid beginning (its inception was barely ten years ago) in the realm of modern academia, is amazing.

Who knows what's next? I have a feeling that the best is yet to come.

Sifting Around The Web 8

2008-01-22T10:58:00.000-05:00

I know that I haven't been on here in a great while, so I'll try to get all of this stuff out of the way...

Regarding the fast food realm, I've always thought that Burger King was far superior to its competitors, McDonalds and Wendy's, etc. Now, because of this, I am glad that I wasn't wrong in my choice to continually purchase from 'The King.'

"The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is organizing a statewide tour with rallies to get Burger King to agree to pay a penny more to farmworkers who harvest their tomatoes...Today, in the wake of the Yum! Brands and McDonald’s agreements, we stand on the threshold of a more modern, more humane agricultural industry in Florida,” Gerardo Reyes, a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, wrote in an e-mail.

Yet, facing this historic opportunity, Burger King seems to have chosen business as usual over progress - continued exploitation over justice, Reyes wrote."

Hate to break the news to you Gerardo, but no one is being 'exploited' if they applied for the job and approached it freely, i.e. wasn't forced to serve Burger King; slavery and employment are not the same thing.

...

I'm also happy to report that in 2006, PETA killed a whooping 2,981 animals that were under its care, resulting in death for 97% of the animals PETA claims to have 'saved.'

...

I've started the daunting task of reading George Reisman's Capitalism. The book is massive in the physical sense as well as the digital one; it's over 1000 pages long and nearly 15 Megabytes in size! Dr. Reisman is offering it for free in .pdf format here.

...

I hate Keynesian economic thought more than well, pretty much anything else on Earth. The faulty premises lead to disaster in reality. When will it end?

Gangrene

2007-11-30T08:47:00.000-05:00

This country is becoming infected.

"Those lights are also eco-friendly. They’ve energy-saving LEDs. The solar panels are part of a project to make all of Rockefeller Plaza more environmentally sound."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/2g4yn7]

Burning Greatness

2007-11-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

Searching through youtube for objectivist-related material, I ran across a video named, "burn Atlas Shrugged Burn." I'll post the video here.

The issue surrounding this video doesn't deal with whether or not this individual should be allowed to light a book on fire. Ayn Rand was a huge advocate for personal property (which includes how one chooses to dispense of it). The problem I have when viewing this is why someone would want to burn one of the last, if not only, books defending what this very same someone is doing.

Such actions can not be explained through reason.

Spaghetheology

2007-10-24T08:13:00.000-05:00

It's true, the Flying Spaghetti Monster exists. Here's how:

1. Flying Spaghetti Monster exists in the understanding but not in reality. (Assumption for reductio)

2. Existence in reality is greater than existence in the understanding alone. (Premise)

3. A being having all of Flying Spaghetti Monster's properties plus existence in reality can be conceived. (Premise)

4. A being having all of Flying Spaghetti Monster's properties plus existence in reality is greater than Flying Spaghetti Monster (From (1) and (2).)

5. A being greater than Flying Spaghetti Monster can be conceived. (From (3) and (4).)

6. It is false that a being greater than Flying Spaghetti Monster can be conceived. (From definition of "Flying Spaghetti Monster".)

7. Hence, it is false that Flying Spaghetti Monster exists in the understanding but not in reality. (From (1), (5), (6).)

8. Flying Spaghetti Monster exists in the understanding. (Premise, to which even the Fool agrees.)

9. Hence Flying Spaghetti Monster exists in reality. (From (7), (8).)

Wow, I totally see everything in a brand-new light now.

How can people be so blind? Why can't people see that he gave us everything?

Notes:

I pulled the original ontological argument from here.

Hillary's Crowd

2007-10-04T09:22:00.001-05:00

I found this today while online...

Kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it?

Farewell

2007-10-04T09:13:00.000-05:00

I'm sad to say that I've been too busy to notice Cox and Forkum's recent departure from the editorial cartoon business. I visited their website today and left a comment to let them know how much I've enjoyed their work.

Good luck guys,

Daniel R.

Pinko Cartoons

2007-09-14T08:05:00.000-05:00

I found these little cartoons while I was surfing...

and this one...

The caption, that someone else wrote, under where I got this picture says:

"In between politically motivated killings and fighting off the American pig-dogs, I like to reach for a nice, cold Coca-Cola. Always Coca-Cola. VIVA LA COCA-COLA!"

Not to mention that Coca-Cola is one of America's largest corporations. Aside from that, I don't even care if Che - or any other anti-capitalist "revolutionaries" for that matter - use the products or not. I just want to make sure that they are consistently reminded of doing so. What foolish hypocrites.

...and finally my favorite:

It appears that Stalin is way too cool for this crowd. Check out Marx; what an animal!

Vrag Naroda...

2007-09-07T08:15:00.000-05:00

The title for my new pro-second amendment blog is...

::drumroll::

..."vrag naroda". "Vrag naroda" is a Russian term the communists coined to describe people who didn't willfully submit to their commands; its literal translation is "enemy of the people". I look forward to becoming one.

The link will appear next week!

Fallacious Nonsense

2007-08-24T07:25:00.000-05:00

I was in the library yesterday and stumbled across a webpage dedicated to nothing but criticisms on Objectivism. While I'm not an expert on Objectivist thought, I did notice that most of the essays - which are written by people with some serious academic 'umph' - are pretty easy to crack, even for me. One of the links that really caught my eye was this one. Observe:

"True self-reliance has been misconstrued by Ayn Rand and like-minded people. What they are truly advocating is self-indulgence! The true Randian thought is "I've got mine, I'm going to keep it, and to hell with everyone else!" One of the more frightening examples of Ms. Rand and her follower's self indulgence was when Ayn Rand's casket was draped in dollar bills at her 1982 funeral!
Ayn Rand and people of like minded principles, have referred to people in need as "parasites" and "non-producers." Can there be any doubt that this line of thinking flies in the face of true Christianity?"

Or...

"Let us take the displeasure of the Objectivist a step further. If they are true to their principles, no one should help them if they are in dire need. If an Objectivist has a car accident and their car is on fire and they are trapped, no one should give up their time long enough to pull them out! If one of their children are drowning in a swimming pool, a person has no moral obligation to jump in and save them. The thousands of rescue workers who volunteered night and day following the tragedy of September 11th, 2001, were wrongly giving up their time! Those New York City fire fighters who worked even when off the clock must be fools in the eyes of the Randian's."

It's more than obvious that this person didn't read one page of Ayn Rand's work. The author did get something right; towards the very end of the article the author said "You can either be a follower of Ayn Rand or you can follow Jesus Christ. You cannot serve God and man." The choice is easy.

The Gruesome Acts of Socialism

2007-08-21T07:53:00.000-05:00

If you watch this video will you soon noticed that most of (if not all) the facts do not pertain to America.

I couldn't resist commenting on the film and because of me not being able to hold my tongue, I got this:

Heh, talk about educating ourselves when all your "facts" are so ridiculously opinionated... it's almost disgusting. Capitalism is not freedom... capitalism is whats preventing what you call "socialsit" nations from developing. You're a fucking idiot if you think the U.K. is socialist. They are a parliamentarian nation, they elect a "president" also called a Prime Minister. You're stupidity is flabbergasting and really horrible, just proves your indoctrination in the schools of the U.S. went perfectly well, but you get all A's or some shit."Free people" wouldn't allow themselves to let people live like that. If you had a twelve-year old sister and you gave them a cell phone you'd see how outrageous the action really is while "half of the world's population have to live on $2 a day"... oh sorry you couldn't come up with a rebuttal for that one. Neither could you rebut the fact that the CEO of Disney makes almost 9,500 more dollars than the worker who makes his products that make him profit. I wish you could even define communism and socialism. Most of the world is capitalist.. or to say most of the governmental economies. Look at what capitalism did with the U.S.S.R., yes it was a capitalist nation just a form of state capitalism. You should get yourself educated buddy before you go around accusing the U.K. as a socialist nation and also Canada... how the fuck is Canada socialist... lol you make me sick. Easy for you to say that you can start your own business when you're disabled.. yeah good luck with that, the majority of "self-employed" people end up working their asses off because they are competing with the multi-nationals. Try to start a business selling groceries when theres a Walmart or Dominicks a block a way. You'll fail within a week. Capitalism is what is holding the world back from freedom and prosperity, not giving it to the world. Go read then come back and argue, I would be happy to rebuke your reply.

Anarchy and Peace!

My reply*:

"Heh, talk about educating ourselves when all your "facts" are so ridiculously opinionated... it's almost disgusting"

Facts cannot be opinionated.

"Capitalism is not freedom... capitalism is whats preventing what you call "socialsit" nations from developing."

Capitalism is the freedom to choice to buy something or not. How isn't this freedom?

"You're a fucking idiot if you think the U.K. is socialist. They are a parliamentarian nation, they elect a "president" also called a Prime Minister."

Because a country has a president does not mean that the country is not socialist. Doesn't Venezuela have a president (Hugo Chavez) and didn't Nazi Germany have a Prime Minister (Adolf Hitler) as well? Here's a clue; the term "Nazi" is a condensed version of the phrase "National Socialist". Pick up a book.

"You're stupidity is flabbergasting and really horrible, just proves your indoctrination in the schools of the U.S. went perfectly well, but you get all A's or some shit."

I'm glad you rely on personal attacks rather than reason.

"Free people" wouldn't allow themselves to let people live like that."

Isn't that the opposite of freedom? Do you even know what freedom is? By being free, I am not obligated to another. Welcome to the definition of freedom.

"Neither could you rebut the fact that the CEO of Disney makes almost 9,500 more dollars than the worker who makes his products that make him profit."

So you think the answer to this "problem" is to force the CEO of Disney to fork over his money? And again, the worker is not a slave; he is free to quit his job whenever he wishes, possibly to find another one that pays more.

"Most of the world is capitalist.. or to say most of the governmental economies."

No it isn't. To be capitalist is to hold a laissez-faire system. Laissez-faire translates from French to English as "Hands off", pertaining directly to the government. Your definition of capitalism as "governmental economies" is completely invalid since it contradicts the true definition of what capitalism is. Furthermore, I will agree with you that most of the world does have mixed economies as well as socialist ones. That's why the video represents how shitty the rest of the world, that is steering away from capitalism, really is.

"Look at what capitalism did with the U.S.S.R., yes it was a capitalist nation just a form of state capitalism. You should get yourself educated buddy before you go around accusing the U.K. as a socialist nation and also Canada... how the fuck is Canada socialist... lol you make me sick."

The U.S.S.R. was communist. If you don't believe that then, well, all is lost for you. Canada has socialist tendencies because it practices universal health care. You have to jump on a waiting list forever just to see a doctor. In Canada your dog can get a hip replacement before you can. Sounds like a great nation to me.

"Try to start a business selling groceries when theres a Walmart or Dominicks a block a way. You'll fail within a week."

It's not Walmart's fault that they offer the lowest prices possible and people willing, and freely choose to shop there. The fact is this: smaller companies can compete, but when they do fail, they want the government to keep them afloat even when they don't deserve to be. To show that smaller companies can compete, take under-armor for example. This company started out with a stock worth around $12 a couple of years ago and competed against the world's biggest sport-clothing manufacturer, Nike. Now their stock is around $55 a share and Nike has tried to buy them out more than once and under-armour resfuses to sell. Case and point.

"Anarchy and Peace!"

There will never be peace with anarchy.

It's obvious that you're brainwashed. Either write back using intelligible English, or don't waste your time.

Thanks.

And to think their healthcare system is bad! Their countries health-plan looks incredible when standing next to their educational one!

And could anyone out there, define what 'state capitalism' is? Please?**

*Minor edits.

**I have a hunch that a definition doesn't exist since 'state capitalism' is a contradiction in terms.

2nd Amendment Stuff

2007-08-20T08:36:00.000-05:00

An accurate picture I ran across. This summer has been very hectic for me. I've been working the entire time - I know it's no excuse - but it does explain my lack of dedication to blogging.

Over the course of the summer, I've read nothing but books on the evils of gun control. After reading The Seven Myths of Gun Control, More Guns, Less Crime, and Target Switzerland I am more than convinced that the 2nd Amendment is the most overlooked issue in politics today. Neither party wants anything to do with the topic; they could all care less. This is why, later in the week I will be putting together another blog, dedicated solely to the preservation of the 2nd Amendment.

Update

2007-05-19T09:51:00.000-05:00

Good news. I see myself getting back on the grind very, very soon.

Stick around.

Daniel.

Change? Got Any Change?

2007-04-24T19:40:00.000-05:00

Do to an unknown stipulation in my leasing agreement, I will be homeless tomorrow starting at around 5:30 PM. This is especially bad because I have SO much work to do this week, not only in preparation for finals, but for actually doing take-home finals as well. Since I don't even have a home, you cannot expect me to be blogging either. This is very convenient, especially for the most recent episode of Southpark.

So fitting.

Daniel.

Islam's 12 Year Old Murderer

2007-04-21T16:23:00.002-05:00

No other Islamic video has made me feel as ill as the one posted below (it is NOT for the faint of heart.)

Speechless? Yeah, me too.

HT:(LGF)

Reality Vs. Mysticism

2007-04-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

I do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I love it. However, there are many other aspects of the fighting game including striking, wrestling, etc. When they are all combined together, it is simply known as "Mixed Martial Arts" or as the acronym "MMA". Bruce Lee stressed that tradition and ki (pronounced as "chee", which means "life-force") are useless in a real fight scenario. Bruce Lee's martial art of Jeet Kune Do is a collaboration of all of the effective parts of different martial art forms; MMA is essentially Jeet Kune Do.

Observe how far ki gets you in a real fight. Apparently the Kiai Master doesn't even need to come in contact with his opponents to defeat them. Something surely doesn't make sense here...

As you can see, ki and the like get you nowhere. They do not exist. I chose this because it is a prime example of illogical myths and tradition versus stone-cold reality. Face it.

The Massacre At VT

2007-04-17T18:34:00.000-05:00

I hope this doesn't lead to more gun controls.

As genuine as the tragedy at Virginia Tech is, the accessibility to guns is not to blame. The psychotic lunatic behind the trigger is. He could have just as easily walked around with a kitchen knife and murdered people; are we suppose to put ridiculous controls on those as well?

Meanwhile, I've found some gun control facts.

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million 'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
It has now been 12 months [possibly longer now] since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars.
The first year results are now in: Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent
Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent!)
In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent.
(Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!)

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months,since the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.

There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY.

Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in "successfully ridding Australian society of guns."[Source:http://www.sickone.com/gunfacts.html]

On The Mark

2007-04-05T14:53:00.000-05:00

What is beyond me is how people in America, the freest nation in the world, still don't speak out as righteously as this woman does; she's in a location where she has everything to lose and it doesn't stop her at all.

I hope she's still alive.

The Mystical Notion of "Fair Trade"

2007-04-04T19:21:00.000-05:00

I go to the library a lot. It's conveniently located at the heart of all my classes, so when I have a break between American History and Existentialism, I wander in there and socialize and possibly even study. Outside of the library different organizations usually collect, promoting some leftist and/or "progressive" ideal. I'm used to PETA and Greenpeace nuts being out there, but last week, I noticed a new group set up shop. They were promoting what is called "fair trade". I inquired further. The conversation went something like this:

(Me): "So what is fair trade? Is it like free trade, because I know what that is." (playing clueless, naturally)
(Socialist Progressive Nut): "::Laughs:: No it's not free trade. We want to make sure companies like Starbucks are paying the people who pick their coffee beans fairly. They don't get paid hardly anything, and Starbucks pretty much exploits this.
(Me): "Don't the workers apply for the jobs? I'm sure that the workers can quit whenever they want. The workers wouldn't stay on the job if they felt that it wasn't worth it.
(Socialist Progressive Nut): "...Man, I sure am an idiot."

And so forth. No one is being exploited. I can't believe that people actually refer to this practice of intimidation as "fair". Attempting to force a company to pay any other wage than that previously agreed upon is not fair, it is force. The only "fair trade" is free trade. Both parties agreed to the terms without coercion; that's as fair as it gets.

Conclusion: If you can afford it, the next time you go to Starbucks, or any other "oppressive, evil corporation" for that matter, buy two cappuccinos and throw the second one in the trash right in front of androgynous creature known only as "Starchild".

Propaganda, Plain and Simple

2007-04-04T08:14:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple pictures of Cuban propaganda that I've ran across.

The one above translates to "ideas are the essential weapon in the fight of humanity".

This one above means "victory of the ideas".

It's too bad that Castro's ideas are all seriously misdirected.

Castro sure is eloquent; check out this man's rhetoric:

"As a result of this economic order, over 75 percent of the world population lives in underdevelopment, and extreme poverty has already reached 1.2 billion people in the Third World. So, far from narrowing the gap is widening. The revenue of the richest nations that in 1960 was 37 times larger than that of the poorest is now 74 times larger. The situation has reached such extremes that the assets of the three wealthiest persons in the world amount to the GDP of the 48 poorest countries combined. The number of people actually starving was 826 million in the year 2001. There are at the moment 854 million illiterate adults while 325 million children do not attend school. There are 2 billion people who have no access to low cost medications and 2.4 billion lack the basic sanitation conditions. No less than 11 million children under the age of 5 perish every year from preventable causes while half a million go blind for lack of vitamin A."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/3d54wr]

That is some seriously sly talking. Castro seems to know firsthand about the suffering of all kinds of different people. I can't but help to wonder how many of those poor people were under his own rule.

"Oh, Baby, Baby, It's a Wild World"; I Guess So!

2007-03-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

I must say that I used to be a fan of Cat Stevens; the word "used" was purposely placed in past tense. Cat Stevens is better known today as Yusuf Islam. Yusuf refused to speak to a female guide on March 25th, 2007 when he "received a special prize at the Echo Awards last night in Berlin for his musical, social and political work and was praised as a bridge-builder between the West and the Islamic world."

"However, when the Father and Son singer, 58, rehearsed his appearance the day before the prize giving, he acted rather narrow minded, according to German publication B.Z. When the hostesses approached Islam, who arrived with his management and his veiled wife Faezia, telling him that they were his guides, he simply ignored them and didn't even take a look at the women. Islam's manager explains, "Mr Islam doesn't speak with women except his wife. Least of all if they don't wear a headscarf. Things like that only happen via an intermediary."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/34sppf]

So let's get this straight; Cat Stevens was in Berlin for his bridge-building skills of the West and the Islamic world, but still exerted his Muslim ideals on a German woman?

Wow, I'm totally shocked; that sounds like something a Muslim would never do.

HT: (The Religion Of Peace)

Human Rights Nightmare

2007-03-26T21:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a video that every rational individual needs to see:

Luis Alfonso De Alba is a worthless P.O.S. for even considering censoring the very justified Hillel Neuer.

HT:(LGF)

General Patton's Speech

2007-03-23T15:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a speech by General Patton that my friend sent me; I liked it so much that I decided to post it here. Notice how he not once implies appeasement.

"Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American.You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. Americans pride themselves on being He Men and they ARE He Men. Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. They are not supermen. All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call "chicken shit drilling". That, like everything else in this Army, has a definite purpose. That purpose is alertness. Alertness must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who's not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn't be here. You are ready for what's to come. A man must be alert at all times if he expects to stay alive. If you're not alert, sometime, a German son-of-an-asshole-bitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you to death with a sockful of shit!"There are four hundred neatly marked graves somewhere in Sicily, all because one man went to sleep on the job. But they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did. An Army is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure horse shit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about fucking!We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world. Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we're going up against. By God, I do."My men don't surrender. I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he has been hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight back. That's not just bull shit either. The kind of man that I want in my command is just like the lieutenant in Libya, who, with a Luger against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the gun aside with one hand, and busted the hell out of the Kraut with his helmet. Then he jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German before they knew what the hell was coming off. And, all of that time, this man had a bullet through a lung. There was a real man!All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain. What if every truck driver suddenly decided that he didn't like the whine of those shells overhead, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, "Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands". But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our country, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like? No, Goddamnit, Americans don't think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on K.P. has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the 'G.I. Shits'.Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men. One of the bravest men that I ever saw was a fellow on top of a telegraph pole in the midst of a furious fire fight in Tunisia. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at a time like that. He answered, "Fixing the wire, Sir". I asked, "Isn't that a little unhealthy right about now?" He answered, "Yes Sir, but the Goddamned wire has to be fixed". I asked, "Don't those planes strafing the road bother you?" And he answered, "No, Sir, but you sure as hell do!" Now, there was a real man. A real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time, no matter how great the odds. And you should have seen those trucks on the rode to Tunisia. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with shells bursting all around them all of the time. We got through on good old American guts. Many of those men drove for over forty consecutive hours. These men weren't combat men, but they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it, and in one hell of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without team effort, without them, the fight would have been lost. All of the links in the chain pulled together and the chain became unbreakable.Don't forget, you men don't know that I'm here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be here in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Germans. Some day I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ, it's the Goddamned Third Army again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Patton'."We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit.Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a German will get to him eventually. The hell with that idea. The hell with taking it. My men don't dig foxholes. I don't want them to. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don't give the enemy time to dig one either. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we've got more guts than they have; or ever will have. We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!I don't want to get any messages saying, "I am holding my position." We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!From time to time there will be some complaints that we are pushing our people too hard. I don't give a good Goddamn about such complaints. I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder WE push, the more Germans we will kill. The more Germans we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed. Pushing means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that.There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, "Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana." No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, "Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie Patton!"

What a real man.

Global Freezing?

2007-03-19T15:20:00.000-05:00

-This is hysterical.

"A North Pole expedition meant to bring attention to global warming was called off after one of the explorers got frostbite. The explorers, Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, on Saturday called off what was intended to be a 530-mile trek across the Arctic Ocean after Arnesen suffered frostbite in three of her toes, and extreme cold temperatures drained the batteries in some of their electronic equipment."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/2lwwt4]

It drained the batteries in some of their electronic equipment; that has to be pretty freakin' cold. Maybe they'll think twice before talking about how "warm" the world is getting.

HT: (Hoyt Chang*)

*He doesn't have a blog, but he is an acquaintance of mine.

300=Greatest Movie Ever

2007-03-17T22:57:00.000-05:00

Think of The Patriot, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan and E.T. balled up into one amazing movie. That one movie is 300. If you haven't seen it, go to fandango immediately and purchase a viewing for 30 minutes from now. Go.

Returning

2007-03-17T22:55:00.000-05:00

-I've returned to Tampa from time spent at home (Ft. Myers) for my Spring break. It wasn't much of a break; I spent the entire week in Barnes & Noble planning and drafting an essay for my existentialism class. My professor gave me the prompt the day before my vacation which really pisses me off. So yeah, new stuff coming soon.

Get Man Off The Hook!

2007-03-04T16:16:00.000-05:00

"Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a natural—and not a human- induced—cause, according to one scientist's controversial theory."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/24k59w]

...there you go.

Another

2007-03-03T23:09:00.000-05:00

Another good anti-Chomsky website:

http://www.wernercohn.com/Chomsky.html

Check it out.

One Way Road To Hell

2007-02-28T12:25:00.000-05:00

-I found this picture quite interesting:

HT: (Jeremayakovka)

Regarding The Post Below...

2007-02-24T01:27:00.000-05:00

-After I recieved flak from the post itself along with four commentators at Nofactzone.net, I tried to defend my case by posting a comment. Normally this would be fine, except whoever operates the website obviously regulates what is allowed to be said, which explains why there is no defense of my statement. I also noticed, by sheer coincidence, that the same video is now at NoodleFood, here.

The False Depiction Of Objectivism

2007-02-22T00:15:00.000-05:00

-I've never been a fan of Jon Stewart and now I am no fan of Steven Colbert because of this*.

-It seems like every time objectivism becomes displayed to the masses (another good example would be episode 61 of The Simpsons) it is mindlessly ridiculed, always without substance.

Jonathan Swift: "When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him."

*I couldn't directly load it from youtube because the owners, Viacom, took it off due to copyright laws.

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Corrections:
(1)Obtained the video from The No Fact Zone.Net/Stephen Colbert fansite.

The BBC Is A Joke

2007-02-20T22:56:00.001-05:00

-Let's take a look at what Martin Bell of the BBC has to say about news-reporting:

"Let me dispose of the objectivity myth right now," said the BBC's Bell. "There cannot be such a thing - all journalists are human beings, what you report comes through the filter of your senses and your memory and your experiences."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/yw4nxc]

-This translates simply into newsworthy events being dictated not by an objective reality, but rather by how someone feels about it. Objectivity cannot exist, according to Bell, because each person feels different about a specific occurence which in turn influences them in different, subjective ways. He makes this clear when he says "...what you report comes through the filter of your senses and your memory and your experiences." Reality is not objective; rather it is controlled by the way each individual feels about it. If one were to accept Bell's belief, it is also to be said that every journalist is bound by some cosmic force that is out of their ability to control; the mystic assertion that the journalists' do not have the ability to stop, halt or pause the "filter" of their senses to determine the objectivity of a certain event.

-The bottom-line: Events either happened or they didn't. There is no middle-man. It is the media's job to report what literally happened. The truth will find its way to the surface.

-The BBC is trying to make excuses for being slanted, since no one - according to Martin Bell - can be objective.

-It is safe to say that Martin Bell thinks that "There can be no such thing as objectivity"; wouldn't you agree? The statement itself seems pretty objective.

It Looks Like Christmas Is Coming Early!

2007-02-20T21:17:00.000-05:00

-This is a gift for anyone who wishes to expose Noam Chomsky for the piece of shit that he undoubtedly is. I would also like to note that this post was inspired entirely by a critic in my comment section two posts down. This link catches Noam on every back-sliding, context-dropping, communist-endorsing statement that he's ever been a part of. As you can imagine, there are quite a few.

http://www.paulbogdanor.com/100chomskylies.pdf

-If you're looking for direct sources, check this one out too:

http://www.paulbogdanor.com/chomskyhoax.html

---------

-Enjoy.

An Upcoming Islamic Conference

2007-02-18T01:17:00.000-05:00

-I guess living in Tampa does have its perks (sometimes):

The Secular Islam Summit will be held in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 4-5. Speakers include notable experts Ibn Warraq, Walid Phares, Amir Taheri, Nonie Darwish, and Irshad Manji, among many others.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/2e8fs5]

-I will be there as well and as a bonus it's open to the public! For more information, check out the brochure here.

Noam Chomsky & America

2007-02-16T12:53:00.000-05:00

-It seems, according to Chomsky anyways, that it is a "totalitarian notion" to be labeled anti-American. It is not. A "totalitarian notion" would be to bar Chomsky from ever speaking again. Good ole' Noam doesn't like being called anti-American and criticizes the people that call him that. But that's what free speech is all about. People do have the ability to be anti-American (Chomsky is one of them).

-I really hate him. Why is he even in this country? He would fit in so much better in Europe, joyfully serving others until the day he dies (which is seemingly not too far away).

O Rly?

2007-02-09T15:01:00.000-05:00

-The rest of America may be catching on:

Serial numbers and markings on explosives used in Iraq provide "pretty good" evidence that Iran is providing either weapons or technology for militants there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates asserted Friday.

Offering some of the first public details of evidence the military has collected, Gates said, "I think there's some serial numbers, there may be some markings on some of the projectile fragments that we found," that point to Iran.

At the same time, however, he said he was somewhat surprised that recent raids by coalition and Iraqi forces in Iraq swept up some Iranians.

Just last week, Gates said that U.S. military officers in Baghdad were planning to brief reporters on what is known about Iranian involvement in Iraq but that he and other senior administration officials had intervened to delay the briefing in order to assure that the information provided was accurate.

Speaking to reporters at a defense ministers conference here, Gates said Friday, "I don't think there was surprise that the Iranians were actually involved, I think there was surprise we actually picked up some."

He and other U.S. officials have said for some time that Iranians, and possibly the government of Iran, have been providing weapons technology, and possibly some explosives to Iraqi insurgents.

The improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have been a leading killer of U.S. forces in Iraq, where more than 3,000 servicemen and women have died in the nearly four-year-old war.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/39fzz9]

-"He and other U.S. officials have said for some time that Iranians, and possibly the government of Iran, have been providing weapons technology, and possibly some explosives to Iraqi insurgents"...

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"What Are You Going To Do About It?"

2007-02-08T16:00:00.000-05:00

"The comments by Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came the same day that another top official, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Javad Zarif, warned in a column in The New York Times that efforts to isolate Iran would simply backfire on the United States, increasing sectarian tensions in the volatile Middle East, including Iraq.

Speaking to a gathering of Iranian air force commanders, Khamenei said: "The enemy knows well that any invasion would be followed by a comprehensive reaction to the invaders and their interests all over the world."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/3x3ydk]

-Is that suppose to intimidate America into being afraid of destroying evil?

"Some people say that the U.S. president is not prone to calculating the consequences of his actions," Khamenei said in remarks broadcast on state television, "but it is possible to bring this kind of person to wisdom."

"U.S. policymakers and analysts know that the Iranian nation would not let an invasion go without a response," Khamenei added."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/3x3ydk]

-Evil requires the sanction of the victim. Iran is evil and it does what it wants (read: constantly undermining freedom and individual rights for everyone; mostly the West). After threatening and acting against America in several different instances, it has the audacity to passively threaten us again by basically saying "What are you going to do about it?"

-Destroy you, that's what.

Jesse Jackson: "Slam-Dunk!"

2007-02-03T01:29:00.000-05:00

I found this video on Tookie Williams' execution:
-Jesse Jackson asks a very important question:

"Why kill him 25 years later? He is no threat to society. What value is he dead?"

-I agree with Jackson (even if it's in a different context); Williams should have been killed 25 years ago on the day of his conviction. To keep Williams alive longer would allow him to eat better than citizens of 3rd world countries, pursue academic degrees, watch T.V., etc. all on the taxes the government collects over its people. With that being said, I'll have to pose a question for Jackson; what "value" is Williams if he stays alive?

-There is none. He murdered four people and it's a shame that it took so long to put him down like the animal he was.

Legalized Theft

2007-02-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

-One of the many reasons why I will never vote for her - or for that matter - any liberal. Ever.

"I wanna take those profits and I wanna put them into a strategic energy fund that will begin to fund alternative, smart energy..."

There's nothing more to be said.

True Love

2007-02-02T22:09:00.000-05:00

-I like this one.

-I've been really busy so far into the semester which is why I haven't been posting as much as I'd like to. I'm almost back on track.

Woman Problems? Buy A Rod!

2007-01-30T23:33:00.000-05:00

-Here's some pointers to deal with your wife.

-I may have to adopt some of those methods!

Everyone Should Be Scared Of Freedom, Respect For Individual Rights And Massive Wealth

2007-01-29T22:03:00.000-05:00

-Here it is, Hugo Chavez once again speaking out against freedom, and individual wealth:

"Nobody should allow themselves to be imbued with fear. If anybody should be scared, we should be scared of capitalism, which destroys society, people and the planet," said Chavez, speaking during his weekly television and radio program "Hello President."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/2hpsv9]

-Chavez is the only person that should be afraid of capitalism; it would put him out of business.

-Only time will tell if he decides to seize public land for "the common good"; I wouldn't put my money against it.

-Nationalization works, just look at how successful the USSR was.

Holy God

2007-01-28T14:53:00.001-05:00

-This is what I call talent:-Man I wish I could do that.

Who Are You Voting For?

2007-01-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

-I have a facebook and other people who have facebook can create groups. These can range from groups with serious political interest to groups like "Dodge's Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots commercial is SO overplayed."*(literally). There is this one group that I've kept my eye on for the last week and it brings concern to me. The group is called "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)"* and it is growing astronomically. As of now it has 129,883 members; that number will not stay for long. Yesterday I saw it when it was roughly at 105,000. The reason that I'm writing about this is because facebook is mostly comprised of young college students, i.e. the future of America. One student said (I'm not sure if he's serious or not) "I'm pretty sure obama is a white sox fan so he's got my vote". Pssh.

-Let us not forget that Barack Obama is that man that said:

"I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country," Obama told a conference of Families USA, a health care advocacy group.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/22vs4d]

-How does he plan on making healthcare "universal"? By taking money away from someone to give to someone else? George Bernard Shaw once said that "A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul."; I can't think of a more truthful example than what Obama is trying to do. Why would people favor him? Is it because he wants to please the masses in order to get elected? Or is it because he has a nice smile? It's probably a combination of the two.

*If you do not have facebook I'm not sure if you can access these pages.

Frank Miller

2007-01-27T11:15:00.000-05:00

-I was going to see 300 in the IMAX theater anyways, but now I'm going to be sure to see it because I love what Frank Miller has to say.

HT: (LGF)

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Is A Liar

2007-01-24T09:21:00.000-05:00

-The president of Iran is caught spouting evil once again.

"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... assured that the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel will soon come to the end of their lives," the Iranian president was quoted as saying. "Sparking discord among Muslims, especially between the Shiites and Sunnis, is a plot hatched by the Zionists and the US for dominating regional nations and looting their resources," Ahmadinejad added, according to the report.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/2y2zvq]

-Here's the problem:

"Iran is determined to go ahead with its nuclear enrichment work for peaceful purposes[bold added]," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, told students news agency ISNA. "The Iranian nation will not let us give it up."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/zrst8]

-Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been caught more lying more times than I can count and people still think we can get along. Who will stand up to him?

Pope Innocent III & Jim Jones

2007-01-20T13:55:00.000-05:00

-The infinite wisdom of the 13th century Pope Innocent III:

...For sure man was formed out of earth, conceived in guilt, born to punishment. What he does is depraved and illicit, is shameful and improper, vain and unprofitable. He will become fuel for the eternal fires, food for worms, a mass of rottenness.

I shall try to make my explanation clearer and my treatment fuller. Man was formed of dust, slime, and ashes; what is even more vile, of the filthiest seed. He was conceived from the itch of the flesh, in the heat of passion and the stench of lust, and worse yet, with the stain of sin. He was born to toil, dread, and trouble; and more wretched still, was born only to die. He commits depraved acts by which he offends God, his neighbor, and himself, shameful acts by which he defiles his name, his person, and his conscience; and vain acts by which he ignores all things important, useful, and necessary. He will become fuel for those fires which are forever hot and burn forever bright; food for the worm which forever nibbles and digests; a mass of rottenness which will forever stink and reek...[Source:http://tinyurl.com/yw8vy7]

-Now for the former leader of The People's Temple, Jim Jones, to offer his sentiments involving what life is truly about:

So be patient. Be patient. Death is--I tell you, I don't care how many screams you hear. I don't care how many anguished cries. Death is a million times preferable to ten more days of this life. If you knew what was ahead of you--if you knew what was ahead of you, you'd be glad to be stepping over tonight.

Death, death, death is common to people. And the Eskimos, they take death in their stride. Let's be digni--let's be dignified. If you quit tell them they're dying--if you adults would stop some of this nonsense. Adults, adults, adults. I call on you to stop this nonsense. I call on you to quit exciting your children when all they're doing is going to a quiet rest. I call on you to stop this now if you have any respect at all. Are we black, proud, and Socialist, or what are we? Now stop this nonsense. Don't carry this on anymore. You're exciting your children.

No, no sorrow--that it's all over. I'm glad it's over. Hurry, hurry my children. Hurry. All I think (inaudible) from the hands of the enemy. Hurry, my children. Hurry. There are seniors out here that I'm concerned about. Hurry. I don't want to leave my seniors to this mess. Only quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly.... Good knowing you.

No more pain now. No more pain, I said (inaudible). No more pain. Jim Cobb28 is laying on the airfield dead at this moment. (Applause.) Remember the Oliver woman said she--she'd come over and kill me if her son wouldn't stop her? These, these are the people--the peddlers of hate. All we're doing is laying down our lives. We're not letting them take our lives. We're laying down our lives. Peace in their lives. They just want peace. (Music.)[Source:http://tinyurl.com/85rxf]

(Inaudible.) ... Don't, don't fail to follow my advice. You'll be sorry. You'll be sorry. If we do it, than that they do it. Have trust. You have to step across. (Music.) We used to think this world was--this world was not our home--well, it sure isn't--we were saying--it sure wasn't.

He doesn't want to tell them. All he's doing--if they will tell them-- assure these kids. Can't some people assure these children of the relaxation of stepping over to the next plane? They set an example for others. We said --one thousand people who said, we don't like the way the world is.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/85rxf]

Take our life from us. We laid it down. We got tired. We didn't commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/85rxf]

-What both of these nut-jobs had in common, besides hating humans for erroneous reasons, was that they were both very religious. Do you think that religion may have something do to with their unjustified hatred for man?

-Absolutely.

Simple Arguments

2007-01-18T18:26:00.000-05:00

-Upon reading through Anton Thorn's website again, I stumbled across a webpage labeled "How to debate a Christian". As for having a simple debate with someone on the subject, I like it.

Ironically enough, not only is the Bible the #1 tool that you can use to contradict Christian, but it seems that reading the Bible is a great conversion tool. Many are the testimonies of ex-preachers and fervent believers who converted after deciding to read it from front to cover. Encouraging the believer to read his Bible thouroughly might just help him !

You will almost invariably get the following rebuttal when you quote Bible verses :

You're taking it out of context !

Short answer : So do you.

Long answer :
Now, what makes you say that ? The verse in itself is quite explicit. Prove that I am out of context, or you have no reason to complain whatsoever.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/yww8mh]

-As you can tell it doesn't go in as much depth as Anton Thorn or Dawson Bethrick would. I still think it's worth posting.

Correction On The Previous Article

2007-01-18T15:35:00.000-05:00

-I was reading The Oracle again today an apparently Jorgenson didn't grab him by putting both of his hands around Armstrong's neck, but by pulling on his tie. I also saw Jorgenson as someone pointed him out to me today. He's roughly 5'11 maybe 200 lbs. Even those these points are still irrelevant because Jorgenson still initiated force upon Armstrong, I still like to be as accurate as possible.

-Finding the wild exaggeration about Jorgenson within The Oracle brings back fond memories of when I first started this blog out...

-Which reminds me; David Guidi, your job is to report the news, not try and audition for The National Enquirer.

The First Amendment Is #1

2007-01-17T23:06:00.000-05:00

-Every once and a while Micah Armstrong comes out in front of one of USF's main buildings (Cooper Hall) and preaches sermons on how everyone is going to hell. There's a video online with him at USF, but some idiot dubbed over it with music. Here he is in action, at UCF I believe.

I know that what he does is purely shock treatment because I've sat next to the guy before and listened in on him having a very polite, calm conversation with someone else. When Armstrong's at rest he usually has another evangelist fill his space for a little while. Yesterday, something different on campus happened:

Around 12:45 p.m. in the courtyard outside Cooper Hall, USF student Steve Jorgenson rushed evangelist Micah Armstrong, wrapped his hands around the preacher's throat and choked him for several seconds. Jorgenson then yanked off Armstrong's blue-and-yellow sandwich sign and snapped it over his knee. The front of the sign read "God Hates Sin."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/3cujks]

-Who initiated the violence? Not the fanatical Christian guy. Guess what happened to the Jorgenson (which by the way is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound flanker for the USF rugby team)? Absolutely nothing.

Shortly after Jorgenson and Engert left the courtyard and Armstrong continued his sermon, University Police officer Sgt. Drew Cafarelli questioned them about the incident. Cafarelli responded to a third-party complaint of a disturbance and assault received by UP and used a camcorder to document the remainder of Armstrong's sermon.

"When you get into a woman's face and call her a whore, slut, bitch and tell her she's going to hell without knowing her, there's a limit," Cafarelli said.

Engert was not the only student Armstrong insulted. Abdullah Ramadham, an exchange student from Saudi Arabia, said Armstrong called him a "terrorist."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/3cujks]

-I guess a University Police officer has the capability to render the 1st Amendment applicable and inapplicable whenever they feel like it. I personally find the worst part of this whole ordeal to be the fact that every comment on the Oracle's website (when I first looked at it earlier today) is for Armstrong being choked out and silenced! This is America, right?

-Here's one of the comments on the forum, to help you visualize what I am talking about.

This preacher should be thrown off campus for provoking trouble. This is NOT freedom of speech. Is it fine for the KKK or Nazi's to do this on campus? These so called preachers intend to provoke and make trouble. If someone has such a pig mouth I say cart him off to jail! Certainly off campus![Source:http://tinyurl.com/3acnbl]

-Off to jail?! Are you f*&@%$^ kidding me?!

-Here's what Mr. Armstrong, who happens to have his own website which I came across, has to say about what happened, via The Oracle comment board.

Jorgenson is definitely not a Christian. He and his girlfriend openly admitted to being involved in premarital sex. This is fornication and fornicators will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). His girlfriend got up and called herself a sorority slut and I merely repeated what she called herself by warning the young men about loose women. If they are willing to repent of premarital sex, and turn their lives to Jesus Christ and live in obedience to God's commands they can become Christians but until then they are sinners headed towards hell.

It is such a shame most people have heard so much of a false image of God for so long that they don't know the truth when they hear it. Or they do know the truth and that is why they are mad.

Jesus said the world hated Him because He spoke against the sins of the world (John 7:7).

God is holy, and a person cannot go to heaven unless they live holy (...without holiness no man shall see the Lord) Hebrews 12:14.

Fornication is not holy. It is sin. He that commits sin is of the devil (1 John 3:8).[Source:http://tinyurl.com/3acnbl]

-As much as I disagree with what Armstrong (in red above) says, I still know that he should be allowed to say it.

-I must say I was kind of glad - in a weird way - to see him back out there again today.

Snap Shot

2007-01-17T15:48:00.000-05:00

-Check it:

-Because I see SO much liberal crap everyday on campus I am honestly thinking of opening another blog, much like Zombietime, and posting pictures (like the one above that I took today) on it along with some witty commentary. The next time I return home I'm going to retrieve my camera and start.

-Keep in mind that even though this picture isn't on the same level as someone hanging a poster of Mao on the wall, I see about 15-20 mildly "revolutionary" themes like this on a daily basis. Sometimes it gets pretty interesting. For example, there was a guy in my class yesterday who had this shirt on:

-Expose what about Exxon, their success?

Jihad Is Legitimate

2007-01-15T00:33:00.000-05:00

-Even though Bill O'Reilly isn't the most objective/intelligent anchor around, I thought he was asking all the right questions in his interview with Nihad Awad, the executive director of CAIR.

O'REILLY: No, we said Italy and Germany were fascist states. And right now, we're fighting a stateless enemy.

AWAD: Yes.

O'REILLY: ...but they are all Muslims. 100 percent of the terrorists that we're facing are Muslims.

AWAD: OK. But their actions are not inspired by Islam[bold added]. And this is very important for you.

O'REILLY: Well, what is the jihad then?

AWAD: Jihad is a legitimate self-defense like the United States if it's attacked it defends itself, but terrorism is not Islamic. And terrorism is not inspired by Islam[bold added on all three].

O'REILLY: Then why are all the terrorists Muslims?

AWAD: They are Muslim, but they're not Islamic. Their actions are not inspired by Islam[bold added]. It's like Islam philosophy.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/y7776o]

-I had no idea that "Jihad is a legitimate self-defense..." I guess we learn something new everyday.

-Jihad is the polar opposite of legitimate, in fact it is "A holy war undertaken as a sacred duty by Muslims." That's all there is to it.

-"It's like Islam philosophy." Exactly! Do you see what the "...Islam Philosophy..." [read: ethical subjectivism] does? Now "Jihad is a legitimate self-defense..." and black is white.

-"They are Muslim, but they're not Islamic."...What? Man this is getting really confusing.

-Do not overlook how Awad, in a matter of roughly 20 seconds, managed to slither in four brief statements about how terrorism and Islam are not connected in the least. This is clearly false; pick up a koran.

-This next segment is my favorite verbal exchange; O'Reilly gets kudos for it.

AWAD: We should not alienate them because mainstream Muslims see themselves as offended.

O'REILLY: I don't want to alienate anybody, but I'm not going to play a politically correct game in the middle of a War on Terror.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/y7776o]

-Good; anyone who loves freedom, individual rights, America and wealth wouldn't either.

What Ever Happened To Condemning Evil?

2007-01-15T00:16:00.000-05:00

-The current administration is just postponing the inevitable.

Asked whether the United States is preparing for a potential military conflict with Iran, President Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley told NBC's "Meet the Press," "No, the president has said very clearly that the issues we have with Iran should be solved diplomatically."[Source:http://tinyurl.com/yhzwa6]

-The longer Iran exists - in its current state - the longer America is going to fight terrorism, it's just that simple.

They Probably Needed A Bigger Animal

2007-01-14T15:12:00.000-05:00

-I found this news story pretty funny. Observe:

According to the Reuters news agency: "At least 1,413 people - referred to as 'amateur butchers' by the Turkish media - were treated at hospitals across the country, most suffering cuts to their hands and legs, the Anatolia news agency reported."

I was troubled by that number of 1,413.

It's just for the reported hospital admissions, only for Turkey and only for the first day. Around the globe, how many injuries or fatalities - reported or not - were there of Muslims trying to off an unsuspecting moo cow?[Source:http://tinyurl.com/ydorpq]

-Even though the article itself has a non-serious slant it's still worth reading.

Pretty Impressive

2007-01-13T22:13:00.000-05:00

-In the beginning I was a bit skeptical; I sure was mistaken.

Captain Obvious

2007-01-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

-Another side item that I found funny about this picture is that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is just as primitive as a gorilla is; I wonder if that was intentional. Either way it's still a great cartoon.

...

-Going off on a tangent, I would like to take this state that this is my 100th post since I started this blog off a little more than a year ago. I want to thank the entire rational blogging community, chiefly Gus Van Horn. There is so much great reading to do and because of that I haven't been bored in over a year. Thank you all.

The Curtain Has Been Lifted

2007-01-13T14:13:00.000-05:00

-If you're curious about placing a face on the writings of this blog, well you're in luck, check out the profile.

-Daniel

Free Speech Vs. CAIR

2007-01-13T13:36:00.000-05:00

-I found this article while looking into Joe Kaufman's website. It finally looks like some people are starting to get it.

The stated goal of the Islamic faith is to kill us, the ‘infidels,’ Mary Ann Hogan wrote. She penned the note to criticize the county for using personnel and equipment to assist a recent Ramadan festival at a local mosque.[Source:http://tinyurl.com/y6g63k]

-Have a look-see at the "logical" comparison Ahmed Bedier, the executive director of the Tampa Chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations of CAIR*, makes concerning Catholicism and Islam:

Brown-Waite recalled in the letter that Bedier had told her, “Catholic priests pose more of a terrorism threat by having sex with young altar boys than those who flew planes into the World Trade Center.”[Source:http://tinyurl.com/y6g63k]

-Coming from CAIR, or Muslims rather, this wild analogy doesn't suprise me in the least. Consider another valid point made by Brown-Waite:

At that meeting, Brown-Waite claims that Bedier and CAIR were seeking a member of Congress sympathetic to their views. She was not that person, she said, because “neither I, nor my constituents, felt that the American Muslims or CAIR had adequately disavowed past terrorist acts.”[Source:http://tinyurl.com/y6g63k]

-Good, because they haven't and they never will. I'm glad to see that no one gave into the mob-like pressure CAIR tried to put on them.

*Which is less than a mile from where I currently live.

Demotivation

2007-01-12T12:53:00.000-05:00

-I'm starting to love these spoofs on those irritating motivational posters that every office in America seems to have.

-That's good, especially for my mindset. Check more out at Despair.com.

Due Time

2007-01-12T12:48:00.000-05:00

-It's about time someone stands up to CAIR. Notice the defender's inability to condemn those terrorist organizations. I wonder why.

(HT:LGF)

Existentialism Is A Close Cousin Of Retardation

2007-01-10T09:51:00.000-05:00

- I have to get this out of my system now. I have to take existentialism for a philosophy minor and I already hate it. Here's what my book for the class looks like:

-I couldn't have thought of a better picture for the cover of an existentialism book if I tried! The pier above doesn't connect to land much like how the philosophy itself doesn't have any ties to reality. The useless pier in the picture above is just as pointless as the philosophy itself.

North Korea Is A Dump

2007-01-09T12:44:00.000-05:00

Hahaha. It's a little late, but wow.

(HT:Thrutch)

Wowzers

2007-01-08T21:33:00.000-05:00

-My first day of classes for the semester started today. I am in disbelief at how blantantly foolish two of my professors are.

My first class of the day is "Modern European History" and my professor had the cajones to say that "There is nothing objective about history, everything is open for interpretation." While I was in class I began to wonder if 9/11 really happened; I finally wound up concluding that 9/11 didn't occur because I interpreted it that way.
This next instance should be more shocking than my previous experience. At 2:00 I started an "Introduction To Formal Logic", where the professor was, to say the least, far from logical. He went on to spout something like "Logic has no real function in reality, etc." I wonder if he thinks the same thing when he goes home to type up his John Dewey (get it?) analysis on pragmatism using his computer which - **shockingly** - uses logic gates to function. He probably didn't.

-What my schedule holds for me tomorrow: Existentialism (oh yay!), American History and Ancient/Medieval History. I know for a fact that existentialism will be the worst class of all, I just hope that my American History professor is good because it's the one class (now that logic is clearly out of the picture) that really captivated my interest from the get-go.

A Question For All

2007-01-07T22:24:00.000-05:00

-Is it wrong for me to immediately think of affirmative action when I see this picture? I don't think so.

René Gruss

2007-01-04T01:47:00.000-05:00

-Normally I wouldn't say anything about this sort of thing, but three days ago I purchased an amazing CD. The title of the CD is simply named "Bellatrix". It was created by a man named René Gruss and it is simply amazing.

-Since I've been playing classical guitar for upwards of eight years now, I've had my share of classical music listening. No other CD has had more of an immediate impact to me than this eight track wonder. I listened to three samples and was compelled to buy the music (I didn't order the actual CD, I downloaded his music from the website after purchase). If you're a moderate fan of classical music this collection is a wonderful experience and as you can tell, I highly recommend it.

-And no he didn't pay me to say that.

Way To Kick The New Year Off

2007-01-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

-Well, here it is; Keith Ellison:

The first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, attacked for planning to use the Quran at his swearing-in instead of a Bible, will use a copy of the Muslim holy book once owned by Thomas Jefferson, an official said on Wednesday.[source:http://tinyurl.com/y2noke]

-Even though the Koran is a very violent text, I could care less if he's swore in on that or the bible. Afterall, the bible isn't exactly the most non-violent book in the world (i.e. Luke 19:27) The biggest concern I have is that this guy, Keith Ellison, will try to use his newly gained political power to push some sort of islamic agenda.

-God damn it.

...

-It looks like it's going to be a long year.

WASHINGTON - Two of the Democrats' top goals - a higher minimum wage and federal funding of embryonic stem cell research - enjoy broad public support as the party takes control of Congress for the first time in a dozen years.

The survey results come as the 110th Congress is set to convene at noon Thursday, with Democrats eager to keep their promises to pass several pieces of legislation in the first 100 hours of business, including the minimum wage increase and stem cell research funding.

A boost to the $5.15-an-hour federal minimum wage would be the first since 1997. Democratic leaders have proposed raising it in stages to $7.25 an hour.[source:http://tinyurl.com/yax7s6]

-Liberals have no concept of where money comes from. They must not realize that when minimum wage rises so does unemployment. Unlike the government, businesses have to answer to the customers. All the government has to do is raise taxes to cover its loss. It goes without saying that businesses can't and that they must find alternate ways of saving and making money. Here's a Walter Williams example:

Place yourself in the position of an employer and ask: If a worker costs me, say, $7 in wages, plus mandated fringes such as Social Security, unemployment compensation, sick and vacation leave, making the true hourly cost of hiring a worker $9 an hour, does it pay me to hire a worker who's so unfortunate to have skills that enable him to produce only $5 or $6 worth of value per hour? Most employers would conclude that doing so would be a losing economic proposition.[source:http://tinyurl.com/yd7fb5]

-Also, I wonder where if the liberals plan on sponsoring stem-cell research with tax money; I'm willing to bet that they are.

Here's Daniel...

2007-01-02T23:07:00.000-05:00

-I am back in Tampa and as much as I would like to get back to business and start blogging again, I can't. I've contracted a serious head-cold over the break and will begin posting new stuff sometime this week. Thanks.

-Daniel.

Gone

2006-12-14T11:07:00.000-05:00

-Since winter break has now arrived, I won't be blogging much (read: barely, if any). I'll be back at my apartment somewhere between late December and early January. Enjoy the holiday, I know I'm going to.

-Daniel.

Refresher Course

2006-12-10T21:44:00.000-05:00

-I found this letter back from 2002 in which Osama Bin Laden writes to America. I chose post it as sort of a refresher course displaying the kinds of animals America must deal with (read: eliminate). Try to disregard the length.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,

"Permission to fight (against disbelievers) is given to those (believers) who are fought against, because they have been wronged and surely, Allah is Able to give them (believers) victory" [Quran 22:39]

"Those who believe, fight in the Cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve, fight in the cause of Taghut (anything worshipped other than Allah e.g. Satan). So fight you against the friends of Satan; ever feeble is indeed the plot of Satan."[Quran 4:76]

Article continues
Some American writers have published articles under the title 'On what basis are we fighting?' These articles have generated a number of responses, some of which adhered to the truth and were based on Islamic Law, and others which have not. Here we wanted to outline the truth - as an explanation and warning - hoping for Allah's reward, seeking success and support from Him.

While seeking Allah's help, we form our reply based on two questions directed at the Americans:

(Q1) Why are we fighting and opposing you?
Q2)What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you?

As for the first question: Why are we fighting and opposing you? The answer is very simple:

(1) Because you attacked us and continue to attack us.

a) You attacked us in Palestine:

(i) Palestine, which has sunk under military occupation for more than 80 years. The British handed over Palestine, with your help and your support, to the Jews, who have occupied it for more than 50 years; years overflowing with oppression, tyranny, crimes, killing, expulsion, destruction and devastation. The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals. And of course there is no need to explain and prove the degree of American support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased. Each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the contribution towards this crime must pay its*price, and pay for it heavily.

(ii) It brings us both laughter and tears to see that you have not yet tired of repeating your fabricated lies that the Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in the Torah. Anyone who disputes with them on this alleged fact is accused of anti-semitism. This is one of the most fallacious, widely-circulated fabrications in history. The people of Palestine are pure Arabs and original Semites. It is the Muslims who are the inheritors of Moses (peace be upon him) and the inheritors of the real Torah that has not been changed. Muslims believe in all of the Prophets, including Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all. If the followers of Moses have been promised a right to Palestine in the Torah, then the Muslims are the most worthy nation of this.

When the Muslims conquered Palestine and drove out the Romans, Palestine and Jerusalem returned to Islaam, the religion of all the Prophets peace be upon them. Therefore, the call to a historical right to Palestine cannot be raised against the Islamic Ummah that believes in all the Prophets of Allah (peace and blessings be upon them) - and we make no distinction between them.

(iii) The blood pouring out of Palestine must be equally revenged. You must know that the Palestinians do not cry alone; their women are not widowed alone; their sons are not orphaned alone.

(b) You attacked us in Somalia; you supported the Russian atrocities against us in Chechnya, the Indian oppression against us in Kashmir, and the Jewish aggression against us in Lebanon.

(c) Under your supervision, consent and orders, the governments of our countries which act as your agents, attack us on a daily basis;

(i) These governments prevent our people from establishing the Islamic Shariah, using violence and lies to do so.

(ii) These governments give us a taste of humiliation, and places us in a large prison of fear and subdual.

(iii) These governments steal our Ummah's wealth and sell them to you at a paltry price.

(iv) These governments have surrendered to the Jews, and handed them most of Palestine, acknowledging the existence of their state over the dismembered limbs of their own people.

(v) The removal of these governments is an obligation upon us, and a necessary step to free the Ummah, to make the Shariah the supreme law and to regain Palestine. And our fight against these governments is not separate from out fight against you.

(d) You steal our wealth and oil at paltry prices because of you international influence and military threats. This theft is indeed the biggest theft ever witnessed by mankind in the history of the world.

(e) Your forces occupy our countries; you spread your military bases throughout them; you corrupt our lands, and you besiege our sanctities, to protect the security of the Jews and to ensure the continuity of your pillage of our treasures.

(f) You have starved the Muslims of Iraq, where children die every day. It is a wonder that more than 1.5 million Iraqi children have died as a result of your sanctions, and you did not show concern. Yet when 3000 of your people died, the entire world rises and has not yet sat down.

(g) You have supported the Jews in their idea that Jerusalem is their eternal capital, and agreed to move your embassy there. With your help and under your protection, the Israelis are planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque. Under the protection of your weapons, Sharon entered the Al-Aqsa mosque, to pollute it as a preparation to capture and destroy it.

(2) These tragedies and calamities are only a few examples of your oppression and aggression against us. It is commanded by our religion and intellect that the oppressed have a right to return the aggression. Do not await anything from us but Jihad, resistance and revenge. Is it in any way rational to expect that after America has attacked us for more than half a century, that we will then leave her to live in security and peace?!!

(3) You may then dispute that all the above does not justify aggression against civilians, for crimes they did not commit and offenses in which they did not partake:

(a) This argument contradicts your continuous repetition that America is the land of freedom, and its leaders in this world. Therefore, the American people are the ones who choose their government by way of their own free will; a choice which stems from their agreement to its policies. Thus the American people have chosen, consented to, and affirmed their support for the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, the occupation and usurpation of their land, and its continuous killing, torture, punishment and expulsion of the Palestinians. The American people have the ability and choice to refuse the policies of their Government and even to change it if they want.

(b) The American people are the ones who pay the taxes which fund the planes that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq. These tax dollars are given to Israel for it to continue to attack us and penetrate our lands. So the American people are the ones who fund the attacks against us, and they are the ones who oversee the expenditure of these monies in the way they wish, through their elected candidates.

(c) Also the American army is part of the American people. It is this very same people who are shamelessly helping the Jews fight against us.

(d) The American people are the ones who employ both their men and their women in the American Forces which attack us.

(e) This is why the American people cannot be not innocent of all the crimes committed by the Americans and Jews against us.

(f) Allah, the Almighty, legislated the permission and the option to take revenge. Thus, if we are attacked, then we have the right to attack back. Whoever has destroyed our villages and towns, then we have the right to destroy their villages and towns. Whoever has stolen our wealth, then we have the right to destroy their economy. And whoever has killed our civilians, then we have the right to kill theirs.

The American Government and press still refuses to answer the question:

Why did they attack us in New York and Washington?

If Sharon is a man of peace in the eyes of Bush, then we are also men of peace!!! America does not understand the language of manners and principles, so we are addressing it using the language it understands.

(Q2) As for the second question that we want to answer: What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you?

(1) The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam.

(a) The religion of the Unification of God; of freedom from associating partners with Him, and rejection of this; of complete love of Him, the Exalted; of complete submission to His Laws; and of the discarding of all the opinions, orders, theories and religions which contradict with the religion He sent down to His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Islam is the religion of all the prophets, and makes no distinction between them - peace be upon them all.

It is to this religion that we call you; the seal of all the previous religions. It is the religion of Unification of God, sincerity, the best of manners, righteousness, mercy, honour, purity, and piety. It is the religion of showing kindness to others, establishing justice between them, granting them their rights, and defending the oppressed and the persecuted. It is the religion of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil with the hand, tongue and heart. It is the religion of Jihad in the way of Allah so that Allah's Word and religion reign Supreme. And it is the religion of unity and agreement on the obedience to Allah, and total equality between all people, without regarding their colour, sex, or language.

(b) It is the religion whose book - the Quran - will remained preserved and unchanged, after the other Divine books and messages have been changed. The Quran is the miracle until the Day of Judgment. Allah has challenged anyone to bring a book like the Quran or even ten verses like it.

(2) The second thing we call you to, is to stop your oppression, lies, immorality and debauchery that has spread among you.

(a) We call you to be a people of manners, principles, honour, and purity; to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling's, and trading with interest.

We call you to all of this that you may be freed from that which you have become caught up in; that you may be freed from the deceptive lies that you are a great nation, that your leaders spread amongst you to conceal from you the despicable state to which you have reached.

(b) It is saddening to tell you that you are the worst civilization witnessed by the history of mankind:

(i) You are the nation who, rather than ruling by the Shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws, choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire. You separate religion from your policies, contradicting the pure nature which affirms Absolute Authority to the Lord and your Creator. You flee from the embarrassing question posed to you: How is it possible for Allah the Almighty to create His creation, grant them power over all the creatures and land, grant them all the amenities of life, and then deny them that which they are most in need of: knowledge of the laws which govern their lives?

(ii) You are the nation that permits Usury, which has been forbidden by all the religions. Yet you build your economy and investments on Usury. As a result of this, in all its different forms and guises, the Jews have taken control of your economy, through which they have then taken control of your media, and now control all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense; precisely what Benjamin Franklin warned you against.

(iii) You are a nation that permits the production, trading and usage of intoxicants. You also permit drugs, and only forbid the trade of them, even though your nation is the largest consumer of them.

(iv) You are a nation that permits acts of immorality, and you consider them to be pillars of personal freedom. You have continued to sink down this abyss from level to level until incest has spread amongst you, in the face of which neither your sense of honour nor your laws object.

Who can forget your President Clinton's immoral acts committed in the official Oval office? After that you did not even bring him to account, other than that he 'made a mistake', after which everything passed with no punishment. Is there a worse kind of event for which your name will go down in history and remembered by nations?

(v) You are a nation that permits gambling in its all forms. The companies practice this as well, resulting in the investments becoming active and the criminals becoming rich.

(vi) You are a nation that exploits women like consumer products or advertising tools calling upon customers to purchase them. You use women to serve passengers, visitors, and strangers to increase your profit margins. You then rant that you support the liberation of women.

(vii) You are a nation that practices the trade of sex in all its forms, directly and indirectly. Giant corporations and establishments are established on this, under the name of art, entertainment, tourism and freedom, and other deceptive names you attribute to it.

(viii) And because of all this, you have been described in history as a nation that spreads diseases that were unknown to man in the past. Go ahead and boast to the nations of man, that you brought them AIDS as a Satanic American Invention.

(xi) You have destroyed nature with your industrial waste and gases more than any other nation in history. Despite this, you refuse to sign the Kyoto agreement so that you can secure the profit of your greedy companies and*industries.

(x) Your law is the law of the rich and wealthy people, who hold sway in their political parties, and fund their election campaigns with their gifts. Behind them stand the Jews, who control your policies, media and economy.

(xi) That which you are singled out for in the history of mankind, is that you have used your force to destroy mankind more than any other nation in history; not to defend principles and values, but to hasten to secure your interests and profits. You who dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan, even though Japan was ready to negotiate an end to the war. How many acts of oppression, tyranny and injustice have you carried out, O callers to freedom?

(xii) Let us not forget one of your major characteristics: your duality in both manners and values; your hypocrisy in manners and principles. All*manners, principles and values have two scales: one for you and one for the others.

(a)The freedom and democracy that you call to is for yourselves and for white race only; as for the rest of the world, you impose upon them your monstrous, destructive policies and Governments, which you call the 'American friends'. Yet you prevent them from establishing democracies. When the Islamic party in Algeria wanted to practice democracy and they won the election, you unleashed your agents in the Algerian army onto them, and to attack them with tanks and guns, to imprison them and torture them - a new lesson from the 'American book of democracy'!!!

(b)Your policy on prohibiting and forcibly removing weapons of mass destruction to ensure world peace: it only applies to those countries which you do not permit to possess such weapons. As for the countries you consent to, such as Israel, then they are allowed to keep and use such weapons to defend their security. Anyone else who you suspect might be manufacturing or keeping these kinds of weapons, you call them criminals and you take military action against them.

(c)You are the last ones to respect the resolutions and policies of International Law, yet you claim to want to selectively punish anyone else who does the same. Israel has for more than 50 years been pushing UN resolutions and rules against the wall with the full support of America.

(d)As for the war criminals which you censure and form criminal courts for - you shamelessly ask that your own are granted immunity!! However, history will not forget the war crimes that you committed against the Muslims and the rest of the world; those you have killed in Japan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon and Iraq will remain a shame that you will never be able to escape. It will suffice to remind you of your latest war crimes in Afghanistan, in which densely populated innocent civilian villages were destroyed, bombs were dropped on mosques causing the roof of the mosque to come crashing down on the heads of the Muslims praying inside. You are the ones who broke the agreement with the Mujahideen when they left Qunduz, bombing them in Jangi fort, and killing more than 1,000 of your prisoners through suffocation and thirst. Allah alone knows how many people have died by torture at the hands of you and your agents. Your planes remain in the Afghan skies, looking for anyone remotely suspicious.

(e)You have claimed to be the vanguards of Human Rights, and your Ministry of Foreign affairs issues annual reports containing statistics of those countries that violate any Human Rights. However, all these things vanished when the Mujahideen hit you, and you then implemented the methods of the same documented governments that you used to curse. In America, you captured thousands the Muslims and Arabs, took them into custody with neither reason, court trial, nor even disclosing their names. You issued newer, harsher laws.

What happens in Guatanamo is a historical embarrassment to America and its values, and it screams into your faces - you hypocrites, "What is the value of your signature on any agreement or treaty?"

(3) What we call you to thirdly is to take an honest stance with yourselves - and I doubt you will do so - to discover that you are a nation without principles or manners, and that the values and principles to you are something which you merely demand from others, not that which you yourself must adhere to.

(4) We also advise you to stop supporting Israel, and to end your support of the Indians in Kashmir, the Russians against the Chechens and to also cease supporting the Manila Government against the Muslims in Southern Philippines.

(5) We also advise you to pack your luggage and get out of our lands. We desire for your goodness, guidance, and righteousness, so do not force us to send you back as cargo in coffins.

(6) Sixthly, we call upon you to end your support of the corrupt leaders in our countries. Do not interfere in our politics and method of education. Leave us alone, or else expect us in New York and Washington.

(7) We also call you to deal with us and interact with us on the basis of mutual interests and benefits, rather than the policies of sub dual, theft and occupation, and not to continue your policy of supporting the Jews because this will result in more disasters for you.

If you fail to respond to all these conditions, then prepare for fight with the Islamic Nation. The Nation of Monotheism, that puts complete trust on Allah and fears none other than Him. The Nation which is addressed by its Quran with the words: "Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him if you are believers. Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of believing people. And remove the anger of their (believers') hearts. Allah accepts the repentance of whom He wills. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise." [Quran9:13-1]

The Nation of honour and respect:

"But honour, power and glory belong to Allah, and to His Messenger (Muhammad- peace be upon him) and to the believers." [Quran 63:8]

"So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be*superior ( in victory )if you are indeed (true) believers" [Quran 3:139]

The Nation of Martyrdom; the Nation that desires death more than you desire life:

"Think not of those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive with their Lord, and they are being provided for. They rejoice in what Allah has bestowed upon them from His bounty and rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are left behind (not yet martyred) that on them no fear shall come, nor shall they grieve. They rejoice in a grace and a bounty from Allah, and that Allah will not waste the reward of the believers." [Quran 3:169-171]

The Nation of victory and success that Allah has promised:

"It is He Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it victorious over all other religions even though the Polytheists hate it." [Quran 61:9]

"Allah has decreed that 'Verily it is I and My Messengers who shall be victorious.' Verily Allah is All-Powerful, All-Mighty." [Quran 58:21]

The Islamic Nation that was able to dismiss and destroy the previous evil Empires like yourself; the Nation that rejects your attacks, wishes to remove your evils, and is prepared to fight you. You are well aware that the Islamic Nation, from the very core of its soul, despises your haughtiness and arrogance.

If the Americans refuse to listen to our advice and the goodness, guidance and righteousness that we call them to, then be aware that you will lose this Crusade Bush began, just like the other previous Crusades in which you were humiliated by the hands of the Mujahideen, fleeing to your home in great silence and disgrace. If the Americans do not respond, then their fate will be that of the Soviets who fled from Afghanistan to deal with their military defeat, political breakup, ideological downfall, and economic bankruptcy.

This is our message to the Americans, as an answer to theirs. Do they now know why we fight them and over which form of ignorance, by the permission of Allah, we shall be victorious?[source:http://tinyurl.com/y8zwsy]

-People want to destroy you; face it. Terrorism exists whether you wish to acknowledge its existence or not.

(HT: The Fiftieth Star )

Matthew Shepard and Individual Rights

2006-12-09T13:55:00.000-05:00

-Gays don't deserve rights because they are gay. Whites do not deserve rights because they are white. Blacks don't deserve rights for being black...do you see the pattern? Judy Shepard doesn't.

-What happened to Matthew Shepard on October 7th, 1998 was an unforgivable act rooted in hate. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson murdered Matthew Shepard for being different...for being gay. This is where the conflict lies: The act of giving people seperate rights (i.e. "gay rights", "black rights", etc.) implies that those people are different and that they do deserve some kind of treatment on a preferential basis. Individual rights which give individuals power and freedom, not groups.

A Convenient Lie: A Brief Glimpse Into Al Gore's Picture Book Of Misanthrope

2006-12-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

The hysteria surrounding global warming is gaining popularity by leaps and bounds due to Al Gore's recently published manual for tree-huggers called An Inconvenient Truth. Upon finishing this book, the truth was more than evident: global warming does not exist.

With Gore making such powerful statements like: "The atmosphere is thin enough that we are capable of changing its composition", "Also in 2004, the all-time record for tornadoes in the United States was broken", and "Almost 30% of the CO2 released into the atmosphere each year is a result of the burning of brushland for subsistence agriculture and wood fires used for cooking.", one would think that he would leave some kind of way to validate his ground-breaking claims. Not so: Gore's 325 page book has a grand total of 37 in-text citations. Thomas Sowell's book, Black Rednecks and White Liberals, has exactly 289 in-text citations within the first 63 pages alone; Gore's book has two. If global warming is such an eminent threat to the safety of all mankind and if it is as blatantly destructive as Gore says it is, why can't he - at least - provide a legitimate amount of references?

Beyond the book's weak credibility, An Inconvenient Truth relies heavily on appeals to authority: "What makes this kind of dishonesty intolerable is that there is so much at stake. On June 21, 2004 48 Nobel Prize-winning scientists accused President Bush and his administration of distorting science. By ignoring scientific consensus on critical issues such as global climate change, [President Bush and his administration] are threatening the Earth's future." Out of those 48 scientists' listed none were meteorologists, oceanographers, climatologists, or geologists. In fact; out of the 48 scientists that Gore names, none have any expertise involving the environment! Instead, Gore goes on to name his "authorities" as 12 chemists, 19 physicists, and for some unknown reason, 12 biomedical scientists. The "48 Nobel Prize-winning scientists" may seem like enough credibility; the only problem is that every one of his "authorities" are unqualified to make pronouncements about our atmosphere. Furthermore, 48 scientists (even if they are unqualified) is very small when it stands next to the 15,000 qualified scientists who signed a petition in 1997 against the signing of the Kyoto treaty because "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate."

The holes in Gore's reasoning do not stop with his appeals to authority; Gore goes on to make absurd appeals to emotion. He accomplishes this by dedicating 12 pages of An Inconvenient Truth to the devastation of hurricane Katrina. The most memorable segment of those 12 pages was a photograph showing a dead child face down in a large puddle. Surely, if human productiveness caused global warming then it must have, in turn, caused the hurricane which resulted in the death of that young adolescent. Gore's use of that picture as a rhetorical tool not only says an infinite amount about his character, but also demonstrates that he cannot prove his case with the only things that matter: facts and evidence. Instead of providing proof, Gore must resort to using heart wrenching photographs in an attempt persuade the public that global warming does exist and does pose an immediate threat. It appears that Gore is willing to do whatever it takes, misleading or not, to push the deceitful agenda of global warming.

Gore is serious enough about global warming to classify the dangers of it next to terrorism: "Is it possible that we should prepare for other serious threats in addition to terrorism? Maybe it's time to focus on other dangers as well." The very act of Al Gore appealing to fear, emotion and authority is rationally invalid and confirms his inability to legitimately make his case for the existence of global warming. What side of the global warming debate you are on is irrelevant; Gore resorts to using rhetorical babble instead of facts to persuade the public of his message.

Considering Gore's poor documentation and his illogical appeals to authority and emotion, one might expect that whatever evidence he provides will be suspect. One would be correct. For one of the examples Gore attempts to "prove" the existence of global warming's impact with a pair of pictures taken of Mt. Kilimanjaro. What Gore points out is how that the level of snow has drastically decreased from the first picture - taken in 1970 - to that of the second picture, taken in 2000. This may seem rationally cohesive to some, but there is one segment of vital information that is missing here - literally - from this picture: the time of the year that each picture was taken. Gore fails to notify the reader of whether the pictures are both taken during the winter or if one is taken in the summer, or for that matter, some other season. If the second picture was taken in any other season besides winter, less snow would have to be expected.

The two independent photographs of Mt. Kilimanjaro are just one of the countless deceptive examples Gore uses throughout his book in an attempt to persuade the reader that "The climate crisis is indeed, extremely dangerous. In fact is it a true planetary emergency."

After hundreds of years of driving ourselves out of a primitive, muddy, dirt-filled existence, Gore wants to push us - face first - back into it. After endless generations of senselessly praying for rain, Gore wants to force us to get back onto our knees. After years of successful production and human progress, Gore wants us to trade in our mansions and skyscrapers for cob huts and tree forts. An Inconvenient Truth is an attempt to make man feel guilty for all of his past successes and to strip man of any future accomplishments by advocating legal restrictions on the usage of the environment as a means of production. People everywhere need to know that the truth isn't as inconvenient as Gore would like it to be.

(Thanks: GVH & Victoria)

Zombietime Is Real Time

2006-12-06T21:36:00.000-05:00

-My friend David introduced me to this new wesbite that you can now find on my sidebar called Zombietime. It's about this former liberal who now attends all sorts of rallies/protests that he used to take seriously and now takes tons of pictures of their foolishness and absolute retardation. From an interview on a blog about it:

"The whole thing started on February 16, 2003. I had just bought my first digital camera the day before, and I had not yet used it. Coincidentally, I had intended to go to an anti-war rally that Saturday, and I thought to myself -- hey, why not bring the camera and test it out?

It seems a little hard to imagine in retrospect, but I was attending this anti-war rally in all sincerity, sympathizing with its goals. At least so I thought. I had been "left-wing" (for lack of a better term) all my life and had been to many protests of various sorts over the years. I was sort of going to this one out of habit. The Iraq War had not yet started -- the goal of the protest was to prevent it.

Yet somewhere in the back of my mind I was feeling ambivalent. The events of 9/11 had kindled new political feelings in me, but they still weren't completely formed, even over a year later. I was going for the purpose of protesting the war, but was that really how I felt? I was confused."

-The pictures and the funny commentary offered on the website are very informative and entertaining. I'll provide a few:

"Terrorist sympathizer at the April 10, 2004 rally."

"Young child holding a sign accusing Jews of stealing organs from dead Palestinians, at the Bus 19 anti-terror rally in Berkeley on January 16, 2005. "

"Cindy Sheehan and the leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party at the "World Can't Wait" rally on November 2, 2005."

-The pictures I provided are tame considering some of the others (i.e old naked hippies practicing "...scrotal inflation at the Anarchist Bookfair on March 26, 2005"...it's no joke). I like to keep the blog at least semi clean.

-For the record, I searched the entire Zombietime website for contact information on asking him if I could reproduce these pictures; no such information was provided, so I assume it's alright considering I'm giving him more traffic. If it isn't O.K. with "zombie" consider these photos take down as soon as I hear it from him.

The Lie That Is Recycling

2006-12-06T10:59:00.000-05:00

-Ever since Gus Van Horn posted that bit on recycling a while ago, I've been meaning to post this Penn & Teller video (be prepared for some adult language).

-These guys are awesome. The only disagreement I found in the video was when he said something to the like of: "We all fell for these lies about recycling." Not this guy.

Sifting Around The Web 7

2006-12-04T17:26:00.000-05:00

-Through Student Of Objectivism I have discovered a very funny news story regarding the construction of a mosque. Youtube provides the video:

-It's the perfect way to approach this situation.

...

-Since I'm almost done with The Death Of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America, I'll go on to tell you all about how disappointed I was with the entire thing. Save your money, the book isn't worth it. The author, Philip K. Howard, blames the current legal situation in America on laws being "too rational", observe:

"Rationalism looms before us with more logic and reasons than we can possibly repsond to, demanding almost all our energy, but ultimately not making any sense. We must kill it again. This time, however, it will take no cold war or arms race: All we have to do is recognize it for what it is. "The era of absolutist reason is drawing to a close," Havel warned the Western democracies in 1992, and "it is high time to draw conclusions from that fact."

-Aside from sounding dangerous close to Hitler, what Howard fails to realize is that all of those laws which he talks about are not ridiculous because they are "too rational"; they are ridiculous because they are irrational. It is because of irrational facts like "Federal statutes and formal rules now total about 100 million words", which makes America legal system stink.

-"The era of absolutist reason is drawing to a close," Havel warned the Western democracies in 1992, and "it is high time to draw conclusions from that fact." I wonder how Havel came to that conclusion? Maybe through logic and rational thinking? That sentence alone is not only self-defeating but comical to say the least.

-There are only two reasons on why I insist on finishing this book. One of the reasons is because I like to finish what I start. The second reason, which is far more important, is because this book has wonderful facts about government spending that would even blow John Kerry's mind.

"...to the U.S. Department of Defense spending $2 billion on travel and $2.2 billion processing that paperwork for that travel..."

...ETC.

-Other than this book being a treasure chest of facts telling of government mismanagement and wastefulness, it doesn't offer much else.

...

-I'm ripping this off of Witch Doctor Repellent nasty, but this pisses me off SO much that I have to post it here.

-I'll also add that I am not suprised that people were clapping in the background; afterall it's all of our fault that slavery existed and that black people are 8.5 times more likely to go to prison than us white people.

-But then again, who am I? Just another "white man" trying to get you down, I'm sure. Do yourselves and America a favor and start educating each other instead of using the race card as a crutch.

...

-This is completely unbelievable.

"NEW YORK — More than 650 economists, including five winners of the Nobel Prize for economics, called Wednesday for an increase in the minimum wage, saying the value of the last increase, in 1997, has been "fully eroded."
Economists including Nobel prize winners Kenneth Arrow of Stanford University, Lawrence Klein of the University of Pennsylvania, Robert Solow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Joseph Stiglitz at Columbia University and Clive Granger of the University of California-San Diego said in a statement released Wednesday that the real value of today's federal minimum wage is less than it has been at any time since 1951.
Federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have set their minimum wages above the federal level."[source:http://tinyurl.com/yep5oj]

-I'll tell you what; I am no Ivy-League economist but I do know that the rise in minimum wage is one of the dumbest ideas ever. Who are these people?!

Jesus Christ

2006-12-03T18:12:00.000-05:00

-By pure mistake, I have ran across the most annoying video on the face of this planet. Watch with discretion:

...hahahaha. It's not funny. I'll be back tomorrow with some political stuff. Until then.

Racism and America

2006-11-30T15:03:00.000-05:00

-Correct me if I'm wrong, but I could have sworn that it was perfectly legal to be racist in America?

"Black leaders challenged the entertainment industry, including rap artists, actors and major studios, to stop the use of the racial slur that triggered the scandal involving "Seinfeld" comic actor Michael Richards.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader, and others said Monday they will meet with TV networks, film companies and musicians to discuss banning the racial slur that is a derogatory term for blacks. They also sought an effort by the public to stop using the term."[source:http://tinyurl.com/vsne8]

-Apparently not.

-Cox and Forkum wrote some stuff about this issue on hand as well as another.

Enlightenment Thinking

2006-11-29T18:16:00.000-05:00

-The Ancient Greeks were so awesome.

"The new analysis reveals that the device's front dials had pointers for the sun and moon — called the "golden little sphere" and "little sphere," respectively — and markings which coincided with the zodiac and solar calendars. The back dials, meanwhile, appear to have been used for predicting solar and lunar eclipses.

The researchers also show that the device could mechanically replicate the irregular motions of the moon, caused by its elliptical orbit around Earth, using a clever design involving two superimposed gear-wheels, one slightly off-center, that are connected by a pin-and-slot device."[source:http://tinyurl.com/ynadru]

-I know I'm not speaking for myself when I say that logical thinking needs to be implemented back into our schools, however, it's just a shame when it needs to go back into science itself.

Only In America

2006-11-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

-I found this story initially shocking, but then I remembered that we're in a country run by idiots; I don't know if that made me feel better or worse. Sometimes I hate our representation.

"Mayfield and his family later sued the U.S. government for damages. The Portland-area attorney contended that he was a victim of profiling because he is a Muslim convert.

The Justice Department denied the profiling allegation in a prepared statement on Wednesday.

The settlement includes not only a $2 million payment, but an apology, said Mayfield's attorney, Elden Rosenthal."[source:http://tinyurl.com/yxfjdo]

-America was sued for protecting itself from terrorism; its only purpose. For the United States doing its job - examining a suspected terrorist - tax money was put into the pocket of a Brandon Mayfield. Being Muslim is not enough to find someone guilty of murder; however, the fact that every single Middle-Eastern terrorist is Muslim cannot be ignored. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists happen - maybe by some kind of freak, cosmic accident - to be Muslim. I, on the other hand, doubt that this is just a coincidence. People need to start identifying the source of terrorists' action and they can start with the "holy" koran:

-I want that shirt because that's exactly how I feel about the religion of hate. The book belongs in the toilet.

-Aside from America getting sued for a hefty chunk of change, an apology from the Justice Department was offered!

"The United States of America apologizes to Mr. Brandon Mayfield and his family for the suffering caused by the FBI's misidentification of Mr. Mayfield's fingerprint and the resulting investigation of Mr. Mayfield, including his arrest as a material witness in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the execution of search warrants and other court orders in the Mayfield family home and in Mr. Mayfield's law office."[source:http://tinyurl.com/yxfjdo]

-This is the one of the biggest problems with the United States today. A moral nation would pursue evil and eradicate it with no apology. This passive attitude will not destroy terrorism; it will only permit islam and extremism to burrow their malicious, destructive roots deeper into the once solid foundation America was founded upon: individual rights.

-The message:

Eradicate terrorism now - with no apology. America's future depends on it; there can be no compromise.