Avoiding Conflict Creates Unavoidable Conflict

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is advocating for financial assistance to the Hamas Terrorist group. WHAT!!!! Mr. Carter's theory seems to be that if they are properly funded and pacified they will start behaving themselves. From the Jerusalem Post:

Carter, who has long supported the participation of Hamas in the Palestinian elections, voiced the hope that the Islamic terror group would act "responsibly" now that it had won the elections.

We have seen Mr. Carter take this tact before. I have serious doubts that wanting them to change will make them change. Hamas leaders say they won't renounce their violent ideology. Hamas Says It Will Not Change. The U.S. administration and Israel are saying they will not deal with Hamas unless and until they denounce their committment to destroying Israel. Brent Roo's Blog has this excert of the Hamas "Martyr's Oath"

"Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious...The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realized... "The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said: 'The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews. When the Jew will hide behind stones and trees, the stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him...' "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. "The day The Palestinian Liberation Organization adopts Islam as its way of life, we will become its soldiers, and fuel for its fire that will burn the enemies... "The Zionist invasion is a vicious invasion... It relies greatly in its infiltration and espionage operations on the secret organizations it gave rise to, such as the Freemasons, The Rotary and Lions clubs, and other sabotage groups. "We should not forget to remind every Muslim that when the Jews conquered the Holy City in 1967, they stood on the threshold of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and proclaimed that 'Mohammed is dead, and his descendants are all women.' "Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Muslim people. 'May the cowards never sleep.'"

Judging from this 'Martyr's Oath' and Hamas stated organizational purpose of destroying Israel and Jews, I think Mr. Carter's plan does not have a very good prognosis. I don't know that pumping enough money and power into a terrorist group will persuade them to stop bombing Israel. Besides, how much is enough? Avoiding conflict creates unavoidable conflict. I would have thought that would have been obvious from his negotiations with Iran in 1980. Go here for some background on Hamas Terrorists Organization Other's writing on this: Brent Roo's Blog - Jimmy Carter Hopes to Fund Hamas Stop The ACLU - The Gun Toting Liberal Sanity's Bluff - The World is Teetering on the Edge of Sanity's Bluff Right Wing Nation - Open TrackBacks In The Bull Pen - Jihad As Usual for Hamas Michelle Malkin - The Hamas Victory The Uncooperative Blogger - Open Trackback

Hamas Official: Secularism Allows Homosexuality Excerpt: ... Weblog: In the Bullpen Tracked: 01.29.06 - 2:47 pm

An American Soldier

My daughter's friend is currently serving in Iraq. Here are a couple of photos of an American Soldier terrorizing Iraqi children .....

Weekend Specials Excerpt: Weblog: Jo's Cafe Tracked: 01.29.06 - 4:34 am

Peace Activists Kidnapped in a War Zone

My heart aches for the various men and women who have been kidnapped in Iraq by terrorists. I hope they are somehow saved unharmed from their imprisonment.

But here is what really irritates me. Why would 'Christian Peace Activists' go into a war zone where people live who have sworn to kill Christians and Jews. Not only that, but they go without security and without any way of defending themselves. AND, call themselves Christian Peace Activists!

They look gaunt and pitiful in the pictures released today.

And now they beg for help.

Who do they think can help them? Who will be expected to help them?

The only people who can help them are American Soldiers. American Soldiers will try to help them. American Soldiers will put themselvs in harms way to do what they can to pull these men and women from the clutches of their tortureres. From the clutches of the people they tried to 'understand' and 'sypathize with' and 'show that all Americans aren't ugly' and 'prove that Jews, Christians and Muslims can get along'.

Did it work? Do the Muslims appreciate your efforts on their behalf? And against your own country?

If they are saved they will be saved by the very people so many of them have dispised.

If they are saved, it will be him or one of his buddies that will save them.

Saving The Peace Activists Excerpt: Beth over at Blue Star Chronicles (A personal favorite, by the way) has a new post about the Christian Peace Activists that are held captive by Iraqi (presumably) terrorists. She says this:And now they beg for help. Who do they Weblog: The Violence Worker! Tracked: 01.28.06 - 4:02 pm

Hillary Has Hopped on the Train ....

The Black Republican has posted A Slow Motion Train Wreck outlining the breaking apart of the Democratic Party. No sooner did he post this than Hillary announced that she is joining the efforts to filibuster Alito. She's hoping on the train. What's a girl to do? With visions of the White House dancing in her head she has to please her party base. But where is the party base? The democratic party is splitting in two. Part of the party is at least superfically moving toward center, the other is moving farther and farther left, pressured by interest groups and activists. The Washington Post article Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center takes a look at the growing difficulty within the democratic party.

Democrats are getting an early glimpse of an intraparty rift that could complicate efforts to win back the White House: fiery liberals raising their voices on Web sites and in interest groups vs. elected officials trying to appeal to a much broader audience. These activists — spearheaded by battle-ready bloggers and making their influence felt through relentless e-mail campaigns — have denounced what they regard as a flaccid Democratic response to the Supreme Court fight, President Bush’s upcoming State of the Union address and the Iraq war. In every case, they have portrayed party leaders as gutless sellouts. First, liberal Web logs went after Democrats for selecting Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to deliver the response to Bush’s speech next Tuesday. Kaine’s political sins: He was too willing to drape his candidacy in references to religion and too unwilling to speak out aggressively against Bush on the Iraq war. Kaine has been lauded by party officials for finding a victory formula in Bush country by running on faith, values and fiscal discipline. Many Web commentators wanted Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), a leading critic of the Iraq war who advocates a speedy withdrawal, to be the opposition voice on the State of the Union night. Most Democratic lawmakers have distanced themselves from the Murtha position. “What the hell are they thinking?” was the title of liberal blogger Arianna Huffington’s column blasting the Kaine selection. “Blogs can take up a lot of time if you’re on them,” Kaine said to reporters Thursday. “You can get a lot done if you’re not bitterly partisan.” The Virginia Democrat said he will not adjust his speech to placate the party’s base. “I’m not anybody’s mouthpiece or shill or poster boy for that matter. I’m going to say what I think needs to be said and they seem very comfortable with that.” Liberal activists seemed to have slightly more influence with their campaign to persuade Senate Democrats to filibuster the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. Despite several polls showing that the public opposes the effort, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) on Thursday strongly advocated the filibuster plan — and wrote about his choice on the Daily Kos, a Web site popular with liberals. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), a leading liberal and critic of the Iraq war, told reporters Kerry’s viewpoint is not shared by most in a culturally conservative swing state such as West Virginia. Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) also opposes the filibuster. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is another frequent target of the Internet attacks. Code Pink, an antiwar women’s group with a flashy Web site, plans to protest one of Clinton’s weekend fundraisers and is using the Web site to rally people against the New York Democrat. The critics say Clinton has not challenged Bush aggressively enough on Iraq.

It'd be much easier for her if the democratic party would get on the same page. Then she'd know exactly what stance to take on issues. But with things as they are, she's having to work awfully hard at straddling. Bon Voyage Hat Tip: Stop the ACLU Clinton Joins in on Alito Filibuster The Median Sib The Democratic Party - What's Going On? Blogs For Bush - Clinton Supports Filibuster In The Bullpen - Who Says Politics Can't Be Funny Captain's Quarters - The Massachussetts Comedy Duo Call For Filibuster Fullosseousflap Dental Blog - Samuel Alito Watch: Dianne Feinstein Reneges and WILL Vote for Filibuster Big Dog's Weblog - No Filibuster - Vote for it Anyway The Uncooperative Blogger Right Wing Nation

Who Is This American Warrior?

You Betcha I'm a Proud Army Mom sends along this presentation. It doesn't need any commentary! Who Is This American Warrior

What Will We Do About Iran?

I watched the surprise on the progressives faces when commenting on recent polls that indicate 67% of the American people support not sitting on our hands should Iran have nuclear capabilities. 57% of Americans are willing to take care of the Iranian situation through 'whatever means necessary'. Why does this surprise the uber-progressives? It's very clear to me. Most of us are willing to sit back and listen to the goings-on of the likes of John I-actually-think-I-almost-won-the-Presidency Kerry and Edward 'Chappaquiddick-dick' Kennedy. But when there is a real threat, we know we will do what Americans have always done. We will do what we have to do. No one takes pleasure in this. But we know, most of us know, that it's all getting boiled down to just 2 choices. Us or them. We didn't bring it to that. We'd just asoon go on living our lives as we always have. Part of the process of war is dehumanizing the enemy. We've seen that in every war. Our enemy started that process with us long, long ago. We are 'infidels'. Al-Quada operatives are instructed that sawing off the head of a Christian or Jew is nothing more than slaughtering a pig. They won't care if you are progressive, conservative, libertarian or green party. The lines have already been drawn. While we debate the humaniy of it and worry about collateral damage. They plan cruelty and target civilians. There can be no question they intend to completely destroy Israel.

While we deny it is a Holy War, they have loudly and repeatedly declared Jihad. They keep telling us it is Islam vs. Jews and Christians. Why don't we hear them? We have been slow to recognize it, slow to respond, as we always have been. So when it comes down to it. Most of us look at the situation and know we'll do what we have to do. By whatever means necessary. When I look at our children and my husband's grandchildren I don't have to think about it for a nano-second. I suspect if people thought of it in these concrete terms, the polls would show a much higher percentage of Americans saying 'No, no, no, not my kids.' In my heart of hearts, I wish they'd stop. I wish Islam did not want to dominate the world and destroy us. But wishing won't make it go away.

We are Americans. We will not be intimidated. I say, by whatever means necessary. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hat tip:

Right Wing Nation

Code Red: Women for the Troops

Blue Star Blogs Roll Call

Veterans: My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy posts on the Roadmap to Hell. Looks like the Palestinians aren't interested in peace. Are we surprised? Patriot Voices posts updates on real stories about our military. Small Town Veteran has good mix of military information, political views and warm and loving stories about his family. The Violence Worker is an American Air Force veteran who writes passionate posts in support of our military and our country. Military Wives: Please go by and congratulate An Army Wife's Life for being an Award Winning Army Wife and help her out with deciding on some Care Package Themes. Empress Baggie AKA Queen of the World, is totally unexpected and delightful. Jo's Cafe has a rant about Washington getting their (our) priorities in order - I don't care - Get Back to Work for the US Please wouldn't that be new and different! The Patriette has an informative and intellectual blog in support of our military. Today she posts Buy Dinner for a Minnesota National Guard Soldier. She also has a series of posts about the 34th ID. I also like her explanation about her name 'Patriette'. " ... as you may know if you watched "The Smurfs," if you add "ette" to the end of something, it implies that you're a girl." Military Moms: Army Mom In Training posts about her own journey adjusting to having a son in the military. We are fellow travelers. Daily Life of a Marine Mom gives some information on how to help injured soldiers. Kimdergarten has a daughter in the Air Force and another child will be joining soon. PebblePie has a daughter graduating from basic training! Check out Proud Army Mom post on Who is this American Warrior. Also check out this post about her blog. Family: Daddy's Roses has a nice blend of personal and educational posts. I think she was a wonderful teacher! Reasoned Audacity is the wife of a veteran and has a cousin in the service. Ruth Lace is the widow of a World War II Marine veteran, the mother-in-law of a Vietnam veteran and the grandmother of an Army Officer. The Median Sib has one of the most beautiful templates I've ever seen, and I'm not just saying that cause I made it (g). Really, I'm not! Now that I've been shameless about that - how bout checking out her mix of personal, educational, political and support of our military blogging. Friends: Second Twin gives an analysis as to why European Women are Turning to the Islam Religion. She writes, "The death of Muriel Degauque, a Belgian convert who blew herself up in a suicide attack on US troops in Iraq last month, has drawn fresh attention to the rising number of Islamic converts in Europe, most of them women." Whenever I look at A Prairie Rose site I feel warm and cozy just looking at her lovely template. Classical Values not only has a great 'classical' look to his blog, he's a great writer. His is the kind of blog you can get lost in reading. Check out his make-over of Hugo Chevez. Code Red: Women For The Troops. I love her rant on Joel Stein's article Warriors and Wusses, The Foolhardy Wuss. Cozy Reader is getting a blog-lift. Wow! What a new look. Looking forward to what she puts on it! Mark at Knockin' On The Golden Door has must-read about the Stein article on Warriors & Wusses. What Irrepparable Harm

Blue Star Blogroll

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

John Kerry - Yesterday's News

John Yawn Kerry has grabbed the headlines for the day. It seems he is once again trying to lead a rather pathetic charge to filibuster the confirmation of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court. Or, maybe, he's just wanting some attention.

He is joined in his efforts by the other Distinquished Gentleman from Massachusetts, Teddy Kennedy. Really, these two plus a few others are the gift that just keeps on giving to the Republican Party! These people don't seem to realize that most people of the nation are not buying what they are selling. They are so arrogant that they think the problem is the people in the 'fly over country' are just not 'hip'. We just don't understand the issues and fortunately they are here to tell us what to think and how to live. It doesn't seem to occur to them that perhaps, just maybe, they might be out of step with the rest of the nation. So the usual suspects are aligning themselves with the usual ACLU line. No big surprise. When I think of how seriously Kerry takes himself, I can't help but remember the look on his face when a reporter asked his reaction to the revelation that George W. Bush has a higher IQ than his. It was priceless! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 115 blogs already on-board. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more info visit: Stop the ACLU Theodore's World The Uncooperative Blogger Musing Minds RightWinged Don Singleton The Political Pit Bull A Rose By Any Other Name Protein Wisdom Drumwaster's Rant Anthroblogogy Jo's Cafe Parady by Sacred Cow Burgers

You Betcha I'm A Proud Army Mom

Check out You Betcha I'm A Proud Army Mom. She has an excellent post, In Honor of Military Moms. She shares poetry written by an Army vet by the name of Roger Robicheau. She's also got a video Feel The Wrath that gives a sense of the American Military power. I espeically like the tanks! She has many, many interesting, informative and worth-reading posts. I hope you get by there to check her out.

Entertaining Entertainers

One thing you can say about the HobbyWorld crowd is that they are a seemingly never-ending source of real entertainment! Pamela Anderson is not a happy camper today. It seems her plea for clemency for the chickens of Kentucky has been denied. I don't know if she'll appeal. As a celebrity spokesperson for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) she has lead a charge to get a bust of Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, removed from the Kentucky State Captial. Now, making fun of this is so easy that it hardly seems worth doing. Take for example her campaign against the use of leather, while wearing leather from head to toe in her movie 'Barb Wire'. And then there is her campaign to not use animals for medical research, while fundraising for the American Liver Foundation due to her own condition of Hepatitis C. Then there is her interview on Larry King Live. When asked why she's a vegetarian she replies in part:

I don't like meat. I don't like, you know, I don't like meat. I don't like the texture of meat. I don't like where it comes from.... [snip] .... And being involved with PETA so long, you get to know a lot about how meat is prepared and slaughtering and all that stuff.

Then Larry King asked her about leather:

I have a lot of leather shoes actually.

But she goes on to explain that she's working towards getting products produced that doesn't use leather.

But that's the hardest thing is the leather part of it. A lot of things are leather.

Larry King asked her:

Are you against vivisection, the treatment of animals to detect disease?

She stumbled a minute and continued about the slaughtering of animals for KFC. Then she found her footing:

Vivisection. I thought you meant vasectomy. I'm against those, too. No.

But this chicken thing is just too funny to pass up. Last year Pamela complained that chickens raised for food are genetically altered so that they have unnaturally large breasts. She said they are "so top-heavy that they can barely walk." Am I the only one that finds that funny???

Blogging Etiquette

I've still got so much to learn about blogging. There are rules and stuff for crying out loud! I didn't know that! I thought it was just a personal website kind of thing that no one but close friends and family would read. And I figured they would only read it because they felt some kind of obligation. So off I go with wonderful ignorance just blogging away. Then, as I'm reading other blogs, I start realizing that there are things that are considered eitquette in the blogging world. Link swapping for instance. I didn't know that! I kind of thought it was presumptuous for me to think someone would want a link from my little blog. Like you had to reach a certain level of respect before you are worthy to link to someone's blog. I don't know, I think like that. The other thing is leaving comments - or at least remembering where you've been. I was reading blogs last night and saw some things that were really interesting. I thought, 'I'm going to write something about that and link back to this.' But then I followed a link, intending to come back to the original post so I could follow up on it, but then followed another link. I can always hit the back button to get back to the first one. Before I knew it, I was hopelessly lost in the blog cyber world and had read at least 10 posts out of Lord only knows how many that I was going to go back to cause they were so good I wanted to comment on them and link back to them. By the time I realized I couldn't find my way back to the last interesting post I'd read, I knew it was hopeless to even think of trying to find the first 9 I wanted to revisit. I thought of starting from scratch, but couldn't remember where I had started??? So, from now on, I'm going to leave comments in the interesting blogs even if I intend to go back and link to them. Cause I probably won't ever get back there again. I really hate I can't find some of those posts I read last night! This is making my head hurt!

Operation Iraqi Children

Here's something new and different. An actor and author supporting our troops and helping with the effort at rebuilding an infrastructure in Iraq without a political agenda. Education for all people in a society is a foundation for a strong society. Apparently, Gary Sinise, author Laura Hillenbrand and Mary Eisenhower have started and are the Executive Committee of a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide Iraqi children with the basic necessities for obtaining an education. The need for something to be done about this was brought to the world's attention by our Soldiers:

During and after Operation Iraqi Freedom, American soldiers passing through Iraqi villages were horrified at the squalor of Iraqi schools, which had been severely neglected under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Corralled in sweltering one-room buildings without air conditioning, fans, windows, solid floors, or even toilets, Iraqi students lack even the rudimentary supplies that American children take for granted.

I knew I liked Gary Sinise every since I saw him in Stephen King's The Stand! I've never seen him in a movie that I didn't like (at least liked his character - even when he was the bad guy). The non-profit, Operation Iraqi Children is obviously making headway with providing for the educational needs of the children of Iraq. Apparently the Taliban also understand the importance education will have on the children there as they have been targeting schools in their terror attacks.

More Info: National Institute for Truth and Freedom The Paladin Michelle Malkin And a wonderful article by Michael Yon

This is a Must Read .....

Check out The Jawa Report for some shocking news ...... Bad News For The Anti-War Movement

Tanker Brothers Exam Osama's Latest Release

The Tanker Brothers offer their take on Osama's latest release.

This is once again proof of the Cindy Sheehan anti-war clones giving the bad guys rhetorical ammunition. Remember all my posts about terrorists getting a view of our morale as a nation based on the screechings of the Anti-War crazies? Now it's finally coming back to haunt us. When are people like Cindy Sheehan going to learn that undermining the efforts of our Soldiers that are fighting overseas empowers terrorist thugs like Bin Laden? They take these people's quotes and use them to supplement their own propaganda. Now, how many of you out there really think it's going to get the crazies to shut up? I didn't think so.

As far as I'm concerned the jury is still out on the meaning of Osama's statements. He could be shaking in his sandels, or he could be giving the warning required by Islamic law. (don't forget, we didn't listen to his warnings prior to 9/11 - no one but the CIA and the inner-circle of the Clinton Administration knew who he was at the time). That's not to say there wasn't plenty of bravado in the statement. We'll find out which it is soon enough. The point is, he keeps up with American media. My concern is that if people like Seditious Cindy Shinanigans and Michael Moore don't break us down from within, then he or someone like him, will have to take it to the next level. The Muslims are all over the world. They are bent on our destruction and we are seeing the rumblings from all around us, Iran, North Korea and even that maniac in Venezuela. That 60s song with the line, 'The Eastern World, It is exploding', keeps going through my head. How many times do we have to learn that appeasement and isolationism doesn't work? An open letter to Seditious Cindy Shanigans I wrote a couple of months ago.

John Kerry and Our Wrong Side of the Tracks Military

John over at Argghh! has posted an open track party with some goodies in it. Among other things, he points to a post by former Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry. The very long post alledgedly written by Kerry is predictably filled with bitter, very dry, almost endless points as to why he'd have been a better president than George W. Bush. The comment section, however, is very interesting. His following of 1200 or so commenters cry, flail, pander, bow down, worship, adolate and wallow in the shadow of his post. Here's the link to Daily KOS. There are some really funny comments. This is the comment I want to address here though.

I am as liberal as you can get and I support the military. Not the military-industrial complex but the military. The military of Wes Clark and John Kerry and John Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower. The military that is composed of a bunch of our best and birghtest who had the bad luck to be born on the wrong side of the tracks and believed the bullshit ad campaigns that told them the Army was their way out of the ghetto. The military composed of Reservists and National Guard who no way in hell signed up to be shipped off for extended or any tours of Iraq. The all volunteer military that lets liberals like you and all the Young Repuglicans leave the toilet cleaning duty to the less privileged classes.

I've heard this tired, old and decidedly not true argument many times. First. This poster says he supports the military composed of a bunch of kids with the bad luck to be born on the wrong side of the tracks. He mentions, Wes Clark, John Kerry, John Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower. I don't want to embarrass you so I'll type this quietly. Wes Clark, John Kerry, John Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower were not poor little boys born on the wrong side of the tracks who got lured into the military to get out of the ghetto. Just so you know (insert weak smile with near disbelief). Second. What exactly do you think Reservists and National Guard are signing up for? To get a check every month? Well, okay, some do, but that's not the point. The Reserves and National Guard are military personnel who are available when needed. It's a great gig in peace time, in war time they have to do a little more to earn their pay. If they don't know that, then they didn't read their contracts. Just trying to keep you informed, trying to help (weak smile again). Third. Yes, it is an all volunteer Army. That's the point. It's a citizens army. All volunteer. Our sons and daughters, yours and mine, the full spectrum of society are represented in our Armed Forces. And they all clean the toilets, at least during their trainging. I do agree with one point you made later in this post. You said we should have mandatory service. I agree with that. If everyone in this country were required to spend a couple of years in the Armed Forces we'd have a much stronger country. Just one of the advantages to mandatory service is that these kinds of arguments would fall by the wayside because people would get a clue about what kind of people serve in our military. ~~~ Please note some corrections in comments .... thanks :)~~~

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America website is a great site for getting up to date and real information about our troops. The site covers resources available for the troops, gives a voice to the troops through blogs and posts from soldiers who are currently deployed or veterans of this war. It covers issues the troops are facing, daily life in Iraq and Afghanistan and much, much more. It is devoted to getting the real story out directly from the people who are on the front lines and living in the line of fire. It's definitly worth a look. hat tip to Seven at United Bloggers of America