US politics, social issues & opinion

Gas Prices Rise! We're Doomed!
By Alan Caruba
Monday, April 17, 2006
In early April, however, oil prices rose more than a $1 per barrel, a high point over the past seven months, and the mainstream media went berserk with reports that seemed to say that our entire economy was in free fall.

Pickpockets are stealing our flag
By John Burtis
Sunday, April 16, 2006
In San Diego recently, Malia Fontana, a sophomore at Fallbrook High School, received a disciplinary letter for displaying a small American flag in her back pocket.

They're coming undone
By John Burtis
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Troubles in the air and two very different men are looking at crushed toothpaste tubes, sodden piles of dentifrice and wondering whats next.

Immigration Reform or “Cooking the Apportionment Books”
By Frank Salvato
Saturday, April 15, 2006
 I have been saying for quite some time that border security and immigration reform are two separate issues. True, these two issues share a common catalyst, illegal immigration, but this does not marry the two.

Dirty Pool
By John Burtis
Friday, April 14, 2006
The Democratic party's character assassination of Maryland's Lieutenant Govenor, Michael Steele.

After the fox from the easy chair
By John Burtis
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Well, in this sad and sorry case, cry foul planning and drop the leashes on the affenpinschers of political expediency and set them after the wily old fox, the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld, to yip and nip at his polished wingtips.

What Illegal Immigrants?:
All I see is a new voting bloc up for grabs
by J.B. Williams
Thursday, April 13, 2006
As you watch ILLEGAL immigrants, our uninvited house guests, march in the streets demanding their rights to FREE health care, FREE schooling and FREE admission to the greatest lifestyle on earth, take special note of why our borders are wide open today, who is behind it, and for what purpose.

The law is colorblind
by Klaus Rohrich
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Democrats like Chuck Schumer, Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton are demagoguing the issue by fanning the flames of hatred against those who want to insist that immigrants enter the U.S. legally.

The Ongoing Absurdity of the Immigration Issue
By Felicia (Fee) Benamon
Thursday, April 13, 2006
How hard is it to understand that the majority of the American people want a crackdown on illegal immigration, for illegals to leave?!  And for our borders to be secured?!

Polishing the apple, dusting the pumpkin
By John Burtis
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
From a wild mob to a religious pilgrimage. The scripting a better protest.

American flag appropriated by illegal immigrants
By Michael M. Bates
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
"We are not criminals," was constantly intoned at rallies around the country Monday. Thats nonsense.

May Day and reverse Polish notation
By John Burtis
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
So, in three short years the population of illegals has gone up 70% --from 7 to 12 million.

Open Letter to Americas Youth:
Re: Immigration
by J.B. Williams
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Listen kids, I know how hard it is to pass up a good party, oops I mean protest rally, especially when your school offers class credit just for showing up.

A battle cry for Freedom
By Nancy Salvato,
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Superior civic education: Preparing citizens for government

Testing for elected officials?
Henry Lamb
Monday, April 10, 2006

Pennsylvania lawmaker, James Rhoades, has introduced a bill in the state legislature that would require elected school board members to take a 40-hour training course and pass a test, in order to serve as an unpaid local school board member. "We ask school directors to deal with some pretty complicated stuff," says the staff director of the Education Committee.

I have been trying to figure out why we havent had a second 9-11 since 2001. One would think that al Qaeda, to whom is attributed vast intellect, funding, and an invisible international network of operatives, would have delivered a second devastating blow by now? Are we just lucky? Are we more secure?

I used to wonder just how desperate Americas socialist left would become once completely rejected from power in both houses of congress, most state governor mansions, the White House and the Supreme Court. I used to try to imagine just how far the lamestream press would go to unseat politicians at odds with their anti-America socialist one-world open-pervert-society agenda. And I often pondered the depth and breadth of ignorance in the average American, limited to lamestream news as their only source of knowledge. Today, I have the answers to all of these questions&

Nance worries a lot about her people. And she has so very many on her mind all the time - the homeless, the felons, the drug addled, the undocumented workers who will provide her with so many new voters, the dead - who vote like Swiss clockwork in so many heavily Democratic counties - the union members, teachers, the porn industry, members of MoveOn.org, trial lawyers, Al Gore groupies, ward heelers, Hollywood actors, friends of Hillary, crank left-wing professors, the NAACP, Harry Belafonte and his calypso party-goers, folks who called it splits-ville with Louis Farrakhan and the other sainted members of the new Democratic party.

Censure the Race Baiter
By Frank Salvato
Saturday, April 8, 2006
How many nanoseconds do you think it would take for a police officer to crack you up-side the head if you punched him in the stomach after he apprehended you for ignoring his command to stop?

Katie Couric: The girl's all left
By John Burtis
Friday, April 7, 2006
Katie Couric has never been one to let her cartoonish liberal biases get in the way of her outright slanted reporting

Senseless in Marblehead
By John Burtis
Thursday, April 6, 2006
John Kerry's latest piece in the New York Times.

MoveOn.Al
By John Burtis
Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Sometime ago it was found on good authority that Al Gore got into some rather alkaline water before his long diatribe last February in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which left him rather diaphoretic and queasy, to say nothing of inchoate in his ramblings about certain far-fetched claims about Arab treatment in America after 9/11, and before his speech.

For the past few weeks there has been an uproar surrounding immigration policy. On the one hand, it is maintained, truthfully, that immigration is an important part of our national survival, while on the other there is a virtual invasion of illegal immigrants entering the United States at an alarming rate. Much of the debate rages over what to do with the nearly 12 million illegals currently estimated to reside in the U.S. and how to deter further breaches of the Immigration Act.

John Adams, our second President, cautioned, "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

Last week, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney found a new way to multitask with her cellphone. Its alleged the Georgia Democrat poked a U.S. Capitol Police officer with her phone when he thoughtlessly challenged her for bypassing a House office metal detector.

There are some celebrities who simply cannot bring themselves to shy away from the spotlight--even years after their popularity has faded.  Of course, theres pop singer Britney Spears, who cant seem to stay out of the tabloids&actor Alec Baldwin, who somehow believes that his political utterances are being followed by millions&and actress Sharon Stone, whos still making headlines on the Drudge Report long after her movie career faded.

While the nation faces protests from illegal immigrants and their supporters on the right for illegals to remain in the U.S., Americans are saying that enough is enough. We've dealt with the illegal immigration problem for far too long now. 

Dont worry, Im not going to drag out the true meaning of illegal immigration and how itll make the blind see and the lame walk.

Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets last week to oppose legislation designed to stop or reduce illegal immigration.

Twice in the last couple of months, Ive had the privilege of listening to two WWII veterans speak of their experiences in the war.

Ive never seen a down and out US Senator staggering around on LAs skid row with a snoot full in my time as a cop, just as there are a real scarcity of news articles in the few remaining newspapers or on cable television - which vacuum cleans the country for moronic tid-bits of sheer idiocy and three headed lambs and such - about retired US Senators in a soup line, in detox, losing their yacht to the repo men or having too little dough to set up their third or fourth wives after a nasty divorce.

The Fab Four trotted out their sweeping plan and let the really big shoe drop on the massive mind-blowing and sophisticated Democratic power play designed to rocket the scintillating Democratic hopes for a resurrection to dictatorial power into the living rooms of common folk and directly into the voting machines of America--where the new favorite Democratic constituents, the citizens of Mexico as well as the good old solid base--will weep and go weak at its simplicity and pull the levers of approval in November, signaling its sublime acceptance. Republicans, finally sensing power, and tired of their ho-hum lives of conservative drudgery and the many Bush failures and signs of total incompetence, will join in its triumphant affirmation and see its clarity instantaneously with its final release.

The current US unemployment rate is 4.8%, with 7.2 million eligible US workers out of work.

Meanwhile, the federal government estimates between 11 and 12 million illegal immigrant workers, currently gainfully employed in the US.

"There is very little of honor, dignity, or justice in this country today. You are inconsequential, you act without thinking, and you think without acting," said Israel Zangwill, a British playwright and author during a monologue at Town Hall in New York City in November of 1923 - though his sad sentiments could be used to describe the cliched horseplay, reckless backslapping and all the tittering awash in the aisles of the US Senate today during the great illegal immigrant debate.

It appears that Americas open arms policy towards immigration has lost its luster after 230 years, especially after 9/11. Under increasing pressure from constituents to do something about the massive illegal immigration problems at our borders, legislators begin the process of doing what they do best, nothing. Well, nothing outside of igniting a pre-election firestorm that is&

Believe it or not, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals may have finally gone too far.

The exhibit went by the bizarre title, "Are Animals the New Slaves?"  It compared the lynching of black Americans to the killing of animals for food.  Twelve panels showed such images as noosed black men hanging from trees, juxtaposed with shots of slaughtered cows.   

Sometimes its not easy being a tailor. Just ask poor Silas Marner, the tailor of Raveloe, who had his gold stolen and suffered at the hands of the local lads. Other times its not quite so bad.

In today's society, in the year 2006, the issue of race is still a sensitive subject at times. Either we are dividing each other through political correctness (African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, etc.), or some of us still have hang-ups over races mingling together, or we use race for political gain and to push controversy. Aren't we all supposed to be American?!

Washington, DC Political scandals seem to have become the norm in Washington DC. From Jack Abramoff to President Clinton and Monica Lewinski, the scandals do not appear to follow the party lines--at least on the surface. But a closer look at the history of political scandal reveals something completely different.

"Cmon, show a little backbone, will ya?" said Jock to Indiana Jones, regarding Indys concern about the large constrictor found in his cockpit.

Over the years a lot of folks have given quite a bit of thought to the idea of the backbone and its relationship to America. No, not the kind of backbone meant in the Indiana Jones repartee above, but the idea used to describe the core, the primary support or foundation of our country.

It was interesting to watch the nights of mayhem in Paris as the mobs of unruly students had their go at authority and the police, while the fire department tackled the many burning cars. All the fuss was about the recent laws passed by the French legislature which gave the ok to employers to fire the newly hired for any reason in the first two years of their tenure. Imagine being for fired – for any reason. And I thought it was tough in the private sector over here when you could get the axe and the boot at the same time for anything at all. And I have been, as I’m sure almost everybody has. It’s not easy in the market place, today.

In Part I of The People Still Have Power, I discuss where the peoples power is, why it hasnt worked for quite a while, why the two primary political parties operate independent of their constituents today and how to begin the process of changing that reality.

My initial reaction to the news of a genetic component that predisposes particular people toward anorexia was dismissive; Junk Science! Reflecting on possible causes for the disorder, I immediately attributed it to our culture.

Everyone remembers the horrifying images of September 11, 2001. Anyone alive and aware on that date will live with those images the rest of their life. The scenes of havoc and panic, destruction and slaughter, demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that even though the United States military is the best trained and well equipped in the world, our country remains vulnerable to the wicked.

The American president is currently polling some terrible numbers on his Iraq stance. Polls go down and polls go up. But, suppose the political climate in the United States changes dramatically over the next year and leads the U.S. to reverse itself and backpedal as fast as possible from its commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

My old man, now in his 90s, is a World War II naval veteran and recalls a steel navy, flush with a hundred aircraft carriers of all sizes, rows of battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, anti-aircraft cruisers, destroyers, destroyer escorts, PT-boats, submarines, to say nothing of the hundreds of auxiliaries and literally thousands of aircraft--patrol bombers, dive bombers, scout bombers, fighters, sea planes--an incredible panoply of stout military power that filled two oceans and drove the Axis from the above and below the seas.

I'm always amazed that among the absolute madding chaos of words churned out by the Democrats, the main stream media, their willing hand maidens, former Democratic Presidents--enfeebled or otherwise--unhinged one-time Democratic Vice Presidents, Hollywood “actors”, associated hangers on, peace activists, nutters, repressed liberal Satanists, progressives with an axe to grind, San Francisco city councilors, exalted members of the NAACP, teachers' unions, the ACLU, members of the 9th Circuit, apologists for Hugo Chavez, folks from MoveOn.org, anybody from Berkeley, CNN commentators, Chris Matthews.

In a recent article entitled, Flunking The Electoral College Once Again, (http://www.swnewsherald.com/online_content/2006/03/031406ov_sob_electoral.php)

Daniel Sobieski writes about a proposed election reform, "The Campaign for a National Popular Vote" in which, "a group of states would agree to award their states electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of who carried their state."

It has long been a foundation of the liberal philosophy that anyone with provable progressive credentials--of whatever educational achievement, whether or not they have ever served in the military, regardless of their ability to express their point of view effectively--makes them effete critics of every single verifiable aspect of military affairs, doctrines, strategy, tactical operations, weapons systems and lethality, personal protective systems, battle dress, ammunition, sleep wear, education, logistics, recreation, identification, communications, night vision systems, global positioning systems, electronic countermeasures, the efficacy of the battleship in today's battlefield, use of depleted uranium weapons and what have you.

Most Americans are quite naturally conservative by virtue of being American, and they are in search of a political party to represent their will, since none of the existing political parties seem to have even the slightest concern for their will.

Blogosphere liberals were chuckling to themselves this week. I don't begrudge them that. It's a refreshing change of pace from talking to themselves.

As time goes on, the media continues to be content with spinning the WMD tale...that there were none, even when information has been disclosed to indicate that Saddam Hussein, in fact, had WMDs in his possession.

There is an old saw in street fighting, never bring a knife to a gun fight. And there is a sad, sorry and somewhat blurry download making its way around the internet illustrating the initially debilitating and thoroughly messy results experienced by a gentleman noted for this fatal error in judgment.

If you grew up in America, chances are, at some time in your youth, your parents handed you a few dollars along with the message, "This is your allowance."  You learned quickly that your allowance could disappear in a hurry if you a.) raided the local drug store for candy; b.) persisted in acting up at school; or c.) decided to talk back to your father at an especially inopportune moment.

Having received XM Satellite radio for Christmas and still not quite used to the million of channels it receives, the lack of advertisements, the remote control, the ability to get two channels of Fox News--well, I mean one channel of real news and one channel of Fox chat and America Right--to say nothing of all the other options, music, sports, new wave, C&W and what have you, I heard the most surprising thing.

Its bad enough that the Middle East has us over a barrel of oil thanks to our continued dependency on access to its huge reservoirs of crude, but largely unknown to most Americans, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Islamic Development Bank have a long-term goal of replacing the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency for world trade.

  Reacting to the Danish editorial cartoons that depicted images of Muhammad, the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri initiated an editorial cartoon contest of its own. In an attempt to illustrate the hypocrisy of the West’s dedication to free speech, the editors of Hamshahri called on “artists” from around the world to enter editorial cartoons about the Nazi slaughter of over 6 million Jews during World War II; the Holocaust.

The cars envisioned in LA Woman were black and white--of course they were. The police cars in the long running TV series Adam-12 were black and white. Broderick Crawford always called for a black and white from his tricked out Buick Roadmaster in the Highway Patrol show. Youd never catch Jack Webb and Harry Morgan calling for anything other than a black and white to back them up on Dragnet. Its the way things are supposed to be.

Things are really coming to a head lately. Bad news, bad moons, bad breath and pure fiction are on the rise, while at the little outposts of the truth--those small islands where the occupants allow both feet to reside on the ground, where some credit is given to the power of mother nature, where the mob mentality is kept at bay, where some small credence is still given to a belief in science and where witchcraft is only allowed to flourish on the farthest periphery--some credence is still given to facts.

After four decades as the minority party in both houses of Congress, Republicans finally gained control in 1994, a direct result of the Newt Gingrich "Contract with America" which promised to balance the federal budget for the first time since 1960 under Eisenhower. Six years later, in 2000, Republicans delivered on that promise with the first balanced budget in 40 years.

The Republican gubernatorial primary in Illinois has reached the boiling point, and the purported front runner, liberal Judy Baar Topinka, is apparently quite worried that opponent Jim Oberweis is poised to overtake her delicate lead just as she reaches the finish line. In Dupage County, and throughout Illinois, Oberweis yard signs, 4X4s, and 4X8s have mysteriously gone missing, and in their place Topinka signs have miraculously appeared.

I recently heard Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid talking about the need for a "government of reconciliation" in Iraq. I think thats Democratese for throwing up ones hands in surrender and in rejoicing in defeat. I say "rejoicing in defeat" because it appears thats one thing the Democrats tend to do best, as when America does poorly, the Democrats tend to do well. So the current bumps experienced in our war on terror are good news to Reid and his fellow Democrats.

Rather than tip-toeing around Iran like the Democrats prefer, with our socks worn on the outside of our shoes, Howard Dean style, Im recommending that Project Pluto be re-opened, re-funded, put back on track and that Iran be welcomed into the great uproarious and knee slapping group of nuclear armed countries.

The 8th grade students at my school are studying WWII; correspondingly, they are writing papers about a variety of people, places, and ideas that occurred in Germany during the prelude to the war up until the very end. Similar to my own experience, when I first learned about the travesties that were allowed to occur under Hitler’s rule, they are shocked and awed by what they read and hear regarding the Holocaust and the "final solution".

All the available Democratic diving boards have been closed due the alarmingly high number of recreational swimmers splashing around in the deep end of the liberal pool.

If Hillary Clinton were to be the Democrat Party candidate for President in 2008, one issue alone could defeat her. No matter who the Republicans run for President, one issue alone will prove an obstacle to victory. That issue is illegal immigration.

Like New York Senator Hillary Clinton, Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold has been busy the last few years trying to establish a more moderate public image, sometimes distancing himself from the far left extreme base in control of todays Democratic Party, often working with folks across the aisle like Arizona Senator John McCain, who have already established themselves as world class RINOs, (Republican In Name Only).

Memphis,TN--I was fortunate enough to be able to attend and report on the Southern Republican Leadership Conference here in Memphis, TN.

Each election year, youll find a candidate who says we desperately need to pour more money into our public schools. Ignoring the property tax burdens on senior citizens, the candidate will say that taxpayers need to be prepared to spend more on educationeven if it entails incredible sacrifice.

In the past few days, Senator Hillary Clinton - avoiding the use of the image of Madame Dufarge and the shadow of the guillotine - has accused the Republican Party of creating a police state with their support for the latest in a long line of bills aimed at stemming the flood tide of illegal immigration reliably said to be inundating the United States with terrorists and felons.

Boy, everybodys pretty doggone glad that Mr. Jay Bennish has been reprieved for his prescient and pungent remarks comparing President George Bush to Adolf Hitler, his deep and meaningful critique of American foreign policy and his specious imputations that capitalism "is at odds with human rights." And being a teacher in a classroom full of impressionable kids, Mr. Bennish, luckily for all involved, including the poor wretched "journalists" writing the unadulterated pap in Bennishs defense, needed to provide no concrete evidence for of all these imputations and slurs other than really serious feelings of wrong doings and of scholarly discussions overheard in teachers lounges and locker rooms.

It has been stated by leading psychologists that it is common for children to have imaginary friends during their early years of development, although it is deemed unhealthy for the child to continue playing with these apparitions as he reaches adulthood and beyond.

With the Dubai Ports Internationals agreement late Thursday afternoon to sell their interest to a US business entity, the latest and greatest Democratic inroad into the Republican domination of the national defense issue began its long slow slide into oblivion, and with it, the burgeoning Democratic hopes for a red carpeted cakewalk to absolute power.

There is a finite life-cycle attached to everything, from the F-14 Tomcat jet fighter, the last of which retired a few days ago, to the Maytag washing machine in the basement, which will be replaced in a few years. Just as there is a finite circuition on the great wheel of life for Air America--the long awaited, highly advertised, liberal media colossus, which bestrode the airwaves in direct competition to those lightweight conservative talk hosts like Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Snow and Ingraham, which were to be so easily displaced.

A year ago I wrote an article titled: “Why the Media Miss the Stem Cell Story.” It discussed the almost total disregard of adult stem cells (ASCs) and the glorification of “miraculous” human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) - notwithstanding that the adult ones treat over 80 human diseases while embryonics haven't even made it to human testing.

We all, I'm sure, remember the smattering of muffled dialogue over dubbed in the Beatles masterpiece, Yellow Submarine, especially the nasally, “Captain, Captain…”

It looks like we are going to be dealing with this ports controversy for some time.  I was against Dubai Ports World gaining control over operations at ports in the U.S. from the beginning, and I'm still against it. Why?

Feeling drowsy recently, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg took a 15-minute nap. That would have been unremarkable except it occurred while the court was in session, hearing arguments on a congressional redistricting case.

There is growing concern about the actions needed to get the Iranian state back in line on the issue of nuclear weapons, with a clear and decisive advantage in the next election said to be going to the candidate with the most intelligible plan on the process.

The United States is, without a doubt, the most generous country in the world. We are generous in times of natural disaster, donating untold amounts of dollars to help rebuild the lives of those devastated by tsunamis, earthquakes, and other emergencies. We are generous in the defense of freedom, offering military aid to oppressed peoples longing for democracy.

If it hasnt occurred to most Americans by now, Arabs dont think like us. They see the world in very different terms. Rationality, logic, and common sense do not rate high among their priorities.

There is a somewhat blurry video tape of a pilots first aerial victory, taken through the gun camera on his F-4C Phantom II, which shows an AIM-9 Sidewinder zeroing in on a Mig-21 Fishbeds heat signature as the Soviet made fighter tries to elude the Mach 2.5 missile by turning away low and to the left. As the action continues, the missile - easily followed by the tell tale smoke trail from its solid rocket motor - acquires, locks, and then flies up the jet exhaust of the fleeing aircraft, and detonates, blowing off the tail section of the opposing plane, the remains of which crash into the paddies and explode.

With the Toledo boys indicted, with the Lackawanna lads in the can for safekeeping, with a growing number of Islamist charities shut down, and with America up to its ears in war, the US Department of Justice is now going after the dreaded and scofflaw infected online music industry with a major look see aimed at the major players in the burgeoning enterprise, where the subpoenas are said to be falling like this winters snow in the High Sierras.

President Bush places a great deal of value on the loyalty of those who surround him, especially those who serve in his inner circle and on the White House staff. He promotes from within, rewards those who have earned it and gives credit where credit is due. While valuing commitment and fidelity is an honorable trait, it can also become a blazing tire hanging from around your neck when those charged with executing a duty fall short. Such is the case with the Bush White House Communications Office.

I am finding myself caught between the proverbial rock and hard place these days in regard to the United Arab Emirates shipping terminal deal. On the one hand, I find it unconscionable that the U.S. would allow an Arab country free access to shipping terminals, especially in light of the facts that this same country was among only three nations to recognize the Taliban and that this countrys banking system is a notorious conduit of terrorist funding.

General Robert L. Scott, fighter ace, best selling author and boyhood hero of mine, passed away this past Monday at 97.

As a kid, I began to amass a small assemblage of ideals based on my reading, discussions around the dinner table and talks with friends. In the imagined room I constructed, with the sepia toned photos, heroic busts, lit by the yellow light cast from those old clear bulbs hidden behind the heavy cloth shades attached to the ancient lamps, arranged on sturdy tables, decorated with large leather bound volumes on heavy bookcases, above a busy thoroughfare, not unlike Baker Street, I gathered my champions with the all care that childhood would allow--Achilles, Odysseus, George Washington, Phil Sheridan, Teddy Roosevelt, Frank Luke, Richard E. Byrd, Richard Halliburton, Jimmy Doolittle and Robert L. Scott.

With all of the strange events surrounding the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, the scandals and the many falls of Olympic medal hopefuls, there has been little attention put on athletes who went to the games and overcame obstacles and achieved a medal.  Still there are some who went to the games not necessarily coming out with a medal, but they learned something about themselves, and they enjoyed mingling with the great athletes around the world. It wasn't all about winning medals to them.   

I guess Im sort of glad that the mullahs from Iran have finally outed Tom and Jerry and the real meaning behind their intrepid hijinx, dialogue and Jerrys episodic escapes from Toms sadistic clutches. For some period of time a lot of people had been somewhat suspicious of a common mouse who had continually gotten the better of a large, glib, boisterous and obviously erudite cat. But thanks to the heroic mullahs, who are operating with what appears to be a lot of time on their hands and with unparalleled access to the American cartoon industry - on a scale we never imagined possible - we now know that the diminutive Jerry represents a wily, Semitic mouse, with all the problematic and illusory dangers the righteous purveyors of current Iranian thought can attach to him. While Tom remains a simple, but touching, cat-- a pet like, oh, say Tehrans Hamas or Hezbollah.

Maybe theres a special place in the afterlife for Don Knotts. His comic genius gave us Barney Fife, undoubtedly one of the most memorable characters in television history.

Years ago, it used to take the Gestapo, the NKVD or the Kempitei and a lot of coercion, force and propaganda to insure that everybody expressed himself in the politically correct fashion. Midnight raids, informers, hero children and show trials were all trotted out to illustrate the proper path. Dissenters, Jehovahs Witnesses, deviationists, the work-shy, wreckers, cosmopolitans, defeatists, and anybody else who failed to toe the line were rounded up, leaned on and dispatched to corrective labor camps or shot out of hand for their failure to get with the program--Hitlers, Stalins or Tojos politically correct policy of communication.

The Republican Party has become deeply divided. In recent years, the conservative pro-life/pro-family base of the GOP has not only had to stand its ground against the Democratic Party, but now finds itself constantly having to fight off liberal, pro-abortion/anti-family interlopers within the Republican Party.

To be completely honest; I am excited over Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn's proposal, the "I-Connect Initiative", initially intended to provide a personal laptop computer for all 169,000 seventh grade students in Illinois public schools.

Theres something going around about the definition of addiction and doing the same thing over and over again while vainly hoping for a different outcome.

The Olympic Games offer us a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate our American pride.  There is, in fact, nothing better than cheering on Team USA through figure skating competitions and other Olympic events.  When an American captures a gold medal, and we hear the strains of our national anthem, it can be a truly electrifying moment.

The world skidded to a halt Thursday when the Medway Golf Club, in Melbourne, Australia, declined the former President’s request for immediate play – believing the crude and outlandish demand to be a hoax - that he be allowed to cut in line with the full panoply of his traveling entourage during the hectic mid-week championships. A rebuffed and chastened Clinton, it was reported, slunk off to muscle his way in at the neighboring, and his second choice, Lakes Golf Club at Point Cook, where, it appears, the membership was far more understanding of the social gaffes attached to the poor taste involved in the strident demands. Point Cook’s management, noted for their imperturbability and their vows of discretion, kept the actual number of mulligans, lost tees, injured Wallabies, missing flags, broken clubs and balls used by quixotic Clinton caravan under their collective hats. Perhaps Mr Clinton should stick more exclusively to the Clinton money machine and pay less attention to the terror on the links.

Conservatives on both sides of the border are suddenly having massive brain cramps on national security issues.

George W. Bush's move to allow a state-run company from the United Arab Emirates to operate six major American ports has achieved the impossible: Some lefties opposed to the proposal have finally caught up with common sense and come out in favour of Middle Eastern profiling, and the issue of port security is now on the front burner for the first time. Damn, that Karl Rove is a mad genius!

Common sense dictates that it is unwise to fund those who want to do you harm. It makes no sense to buy bullets for a gun that will be shot at you. In fact, it wouldn’t be out of line to say that funding those who have declared you are the enemy, for any reason, is a pretty stupid move. In light of this bit of logic, why is the United States, or any other free nation for that matter, still mulling the possibility of funding a Hamas-led Palestinian government?

It looks like the steam generated over the Dubai Ports World contract to manage terminals in six US ports has served as the obsequy for Dick Cheney, Harry Whittington, the hunting incident and the shot heard ‘round the beltway. It finally appears that the whole sorry affair and its affiliated industries may be finally chased from the pages of the New York Times by the grave incidents surrounding our ports ‘o call.

Your father always seems larger than life. I recall listening to my old man as he gave a speech on community economics to a local men’s club and thinking that someday I wanted to be just like him – to hold a group of similarly attired businessmen, decked out in club ties and poplin suits, in rapt attention. But time moved on and I had to cut my own swath in life, leaving those youthful dreams to dissipate in the old country club hall like early morning fog in the face of summer sun.

When I was a kid, the boys next door were always building something--a soap box racer, an intricate box kite, a telescope or a sail boat. Joe and DB were marvels and were always tinkering with some gizmo, trying to put it together out of a million parts, and usually succeeded. The smaller kids in the neighborhood would watch for hours, fascinated, as the boys worked in their backyard.

When I was a kid and used to go down town with my folks to shop, one of the treats was catching a glimpse of Mr Peanut, the permanent fixture at the Planter’s store during the Christmas season. Clad in his distinctive peanut suit, sporting his signature monocle and top hat, Mr Peanut would offer the customers and passers-by a meet and greet and a jolly ho-ho-ho. At no time, however, was Mr Peanut expected to expound on critical world events, render a long discourse on political trends or offer a snappy explanation on the perils of nuclear proliferation.

In last week’s column I wrote that if Illinois’ governor succeeds with his preschool scheme, the kiddies would be sent "off for a fun filled day of government indoctrination on the state’s dime." A teacher who disagrees kindly took the time to tell me why I’m wrong about that.

I seem to recall when Hollywood actors studied stagecraft, maintained some manner of decorum and could be counted on at the box office for entertainment. And if not, at least they could be remembered for a bit of titillation, gossip and sex appeal off screen.

As a kid I can recollect the professionals like George Sanders, Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn doing yeoman’s work and, if anything, having a bit of fun, sometimes too much so, off camera. And ditto for the women of that era, beginning with Mae West and moving to Myrna Loy, Carol Lombard and Susan Hayward.

Nearly every week, there is a new poll released that says some percentage of the American public believes that the country is "headed in the wrong direction." The percentage number is usually more than half, which means that most of the time, most of the people agree that national policy should be changed. The problem is, that there is little agreement on which policies should be changed, or in which direction these policies should move.

The U.S. Supreme Court, with its nine black-draped justices, is at the pinnacle of America's third branch of government. It wields immense power, but has sometimes stumbled badly in exercising its influence.

When Harry Whittington strode out of the Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, wearing a blazer, a crisp white shirt and a smile, as well as a bruise and a few small scabs, to face the media last Thursday, the whole artful and painfully constructed edifice of the liberal communications industry and their Democratic hand maidens came crashing down around them.

We are all so pleased that the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) has announced, with the usual fanfare reserved in the liberal press for the activities of any left-wing dictator anywhere (like a Hugo Chavez seizing a US oil company, or a Kim Jong Il grabbing a US warship in international waters), the grave concerns about the missing seven dollar stamp on Dick Cheneys hunting license, and the gravitas involving Michael Browns call to Andy Card in the post-Katrina madness, that the activities at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center amount to violence, detainee violations and ill treatment.

The American people simply have no idea what it's like to live in a totalitarian society. We go where we want; watch movies and television shows or any kind; start new businesses on a whim; shop in huge supermarkets that carry any item imaginable; even sit in public places and say anything we want about political leaders.

Its a testament to something well not good, that 19 years after I first started debunking the "were all at risk" theory of HIV/AIDS there are still those who insist that contagious diseases must follow political ideologies. And theyre not shy about fabricating numbers to shoehorn them into the politically correct fit.

PeTA gave Pat Buchanan an award ostensibly because he saved the life of a turtle. In actuality, they are using him and his compassion for animals to promote their sick and twisted agenda.

It has been reported, in the back channels between the kitchen and the larder, that it all began with a problem in translation for Al Gore and his loyal staff in the high end hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, what with all the varsity wait staff and room service folks out of town participating in the ongoing cartoon rampage in neighboring Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Coretta S. King was a dignified, wonderful lady in every since of the word.  So as she departed this world, the order of her funeral should have reflected that.  Bitter partisan politicking from a few Ex-Presidents and Civil Rights leaders were mixed in with singing and praise of Coretta S. King.  As President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush sat behind their attackers, the lashing began.  From the Rev. Joseph Lowery came the rebuke:

Isnt Al the Grand Poop-Head of Americas lunatic left, who has been asking why we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq instead of bombing Saudi Arabia, since most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi? Isnt this the guy in charge of the tree-hugging whale-saving baby-killing constituency who accused the Bush Administration of letting Saudi diplomats flee war torn American shores in the hours following the 9/11 attacks? 

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wants to be president. The most recent indication is the $7,500 he paid last December to an Iowa political consultant who just coincidentally ran Al Gores winning operation there in 2000.

This Conflict Has Little to Do with Drawn Lines
by Frank Salvato
Saturday, February 11, 2006
I have often felt that the comics section was the most poignant and meaningful section in any newspaper. On those pages many of society’s ills are addressed, presented in a fashion that allows us all to dismiss anything we may find to be offensive or distasteful as nothing more than a poorly drawn, and less than completely thought out joke. After all, comics – or cartoons – are drawn in parody. It would seem the innocence of "the cartoon" is now to be added to the myriad things denied to us by those possessing the bull-horn mentality and the saif.

Money changes everything
By John Burtis
Friday, February 10, 2006

Weve all seen the Rube Goldberg apparatus where the money is dumped into a funnel at one end, goes round and round in a maze of gears, tubing and inter-connected steaming kettles, and bingo, out pops some sort of product at the other end.

It was recently announced on the news that Americans are turning in ever greater numbers to the use of prescription sleep aids, despite the decided drawbacks to their long term dosage.

Inappropriate. Thats the kindest word one could use to describe some of the comments made by leading Democrats at the funeral of Coretta Scott King. Chief among them was, of course, former President Jim-ah, whose lambasting of George W. Bush, who was sitting three feet behind him as he spoke, was nothing short of an angry diatribe from a sore loser.

Back in 1739, England declared war against Spain in what was initially known as the War of Jenkins Ear, which involved the alleged Spanish mistreatment of English sailors and featured British seaman Robert Jenkins display of his severed ear before an astonished and quickly aroused Parliament.

Are things not going well for you? Are you experiencing problems of any kind in your life?

In the famous words of Ronald Reagan, "here they go again"& The United Nations is once again being given the chance to prove itself more than an obsolete international debating society made up of third world dictators, first world perpetual negotiators and second class wannabe despots.

I am concerned about the buildup of nuclear tensions, and the ability for certain regimes to acquire nuclear weapons. The "jihad" rhetoric has been stepped up in recent weeks, and a move towards confronting our democratic ally Israel is in the works.

During the Revolutionary War, Continental officers were forced to tie hay around the left feet of recruits and straw around the right because many did not know left from right and were therefore unable to follow the necessary commands for the proper order of drill.

In the midst of all the hypocritical and self-righteous talk about the fact that the National Security Agency actually listens to calls from known or suspected terrorists talking to someone in the United States or vice versa, is the fact that every single American is under surveillance these days. It begins with the Social Security number that is issued to newborn infants!