Why Islam is Different and Dangerous ... Alan Caruba

Why Islam is Different and Dangerous
By Alan Caruba

Imagine that every day of your life begins with a morning call to prayer from minarets around the city or village in which you live.

Imagine that you are required to pray five times throughout the day, every day.

Imagine that the law of the land is based on Sharia, taken from the Koran.

Imagine that you live in a nation where stoning women, beheading criminals, and other draconian, ancient punishments are deemed acceptable.

Imagine being Muslim and knowing that conversion from Islam is punishable by death.

Imagine saying or doing anything that might be interpreted as disrespect for Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, can get you whipped or killed.

Imagine a religion that has no tolerance for any other religion, even those that existed for two or three thousand years prior to Islam.

Imagine a religion that sanctions suicide if it is done for the purpose of killing others.

Imagine a religion that has routinely taken over the temples and churches of other faiths and builds mosques in their place or a religion that builds its mosques upon the most holy sites of other religions.

Imagine a culture that reduces women to chattel owned by their fathers and their husbands.

Imagine a culture that permits the killing of women for “dishonoring” the family.

Imagine a religion in which a close associate of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, said, “We have not reached parity with them. We have the right to kill four million Americans—two million of them children—and to exile as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, it is our right to fight them with chemical and biological weapons, so as to afflict them with fatal maladies that have afflicted the Muslims because of the (Americans’) chemical and biological weapons.”

Imagine a religion that, on Iranian television, June 25, 2004, says, “May Allah, by virtue of the Hidden Iman, remove the evil America and Israel from humanity.”

A recent news report says “Al-Qaida is on the verge of producing radioactive weapons after sourcing nuclear material and recruiting rogue scientists to build ‘dirty’ bombs, according to leaked diplomatic documents.”

In his book, “In the words of our enemies”, Jed Babbin, wrote “Like the Nazis, the radical Islamists play on the same sense of persecution and cultural inferiority that many people in underdeveloped nations possess because they are oppressed. And, like the Nazis, the Islamists have convinced their followers that the problems of their world are the fault of others. The Islamists blame every ill of their world on America, the West, the Jews, and Israel.”

The Middle East and Northern African nations in which Islam dominates are in a state of turmoil, seeking to overthrow the despots that have ruled for decades. No matter who is selected to replace them, Islam remains the guiding principle in the lives of their people.

Imagine a religion that divides the world into Dar al Islam, the land of Islam, and Dar al Harb, the land of war.
They cannot be accommodated.

They negotiate only with the end goal of achieving domination.

They cannot be deterred except through the use of force.

The translation of the word “Islam” is “submission.”

We share the planet with 1.6 billion Muslims and we must either convert them or defeat them.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

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Alan Caruba's commentaries are posted daily at "Warning Signs" his popular blog and thereafter on dozens of other websites and blogs. If you love to read, visit his monthly report on new books at Bookviews. To visit his Facebook page, click here For information on his professional skills, Caruba.com is the place to visit.

Global Warming? I Don’t THINK So!

Global Warming? I Don’t THINK So!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

As I sit here tapping out theses few thoughts on the keyboard, I am awaiting the arrival of more sleet – and rain—and maybe a few stray snowflakes. And I am in sub-tropical North Carolina -- just four blocks from my city’s own, centrally located, downtown, SWAMP!

Last month we had to shovel four inches of “Global Warming” (which looked suspiciously like snow) off our driveway. That was the second snowstorm this winter in our little piece of paradise where the average temperature is somewhere in the 70’s.

It seems fact is finally catching up to fiction.

Here’s the thing. The truth is, well, THE TRUTH. It has the tendency to stand up to all attempts to distort it, or to suppress it. “The Truth” will out, as the old adage goes. Indeed, it will.
We have been telling you, and anyone who would stand still long enough, that global warming was a hoax; perhaps the greatest hoax ever to be played out on mankind. But the propaganda machine, commonly referred to as the Mainstream Media had latched onto the glamorous ruse and continued to proclaim the mantra that all the earth is going to succumb to rising temperatures and, well, basically we’re all gonna DIE! Scared the hell out of a whole lot of people.

Now, I’m an ole country boy, literally, having been raised on the edge of a pine forest amongst the red clay hills of piedmont South Carolina. I was the first generation off the farm. My father, raised a farmer, taught me to read the weather much as one would read a book. If you look closely, nature will forecast coming climatic events in ways a person not versed in the science of meteorology can interpret in useful ways. Every country boy and gal of my generation knows exactly want I am talking about.

One of the most important lessons my father taught me about projecting changes in the climate was this. Never project more than a day, or two, into the future, and never, ever, expect to be correct in your forecast every time. Rather, expect to be wrong, and plan accordingly.

Even today, I measure and record the rainfall, the relative humidity, the barometric pressure, the dew/frost point, the 24-hour high temperature, the 24-hour low temperature, the direction of the winds and the speed of those winds, as well as the sky conditions every single day. And yes, I do report this information to a major university every day.

I am connected to the weather, I think, because my roots still derive sustenance from my farmer ancestors to whom weather was a way of life, indeed, a deciding factor in whether they fed their families – or not. It was of extreme importance to them and somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I perceive genetic echoes of that importance and feel the urge, yet, to maintain a “weather eye” upon the skies.

I tell you this only to underscore the fact that when I write of the global warming hoax, I am not just making use of someone else’s terminology to, hopefully, sway your political philosophy, one way, or the other. No. I warn of what I honestly believe is a hoax, because I do not see it, nor do I sense it.

In fact, what I DO see and sense, is just the opposite.

Nature is slowly but surely cooling down the earth.

Allow me to make an analogy, if you please. Suppose you threw a ball straight up as hard as you could. When that ball reaches the apogee of its climb, for a very brief moment in time -- it actually stops. It is neither going up, nor down. Then it slowly begins to fall back to earth gaining speed as it falls.

That is where I think the earth is today – the apogee. Temperatures are, generally speaking, flat at the moment. They are not climbing, nor falling.

See, the earth goes through warming and cooling periods – naturally. These run in cycles of roughly 11,500 years.

For a rather long time now, we have been coming out of the latest warming period and are at the point where direction changes (the apogee) and we are about to begin the cooling cycle. I hasten to add that, as my father taught me, I must expect to be wrong. Therefore, I urge you to do your own research on this and satisfy yourself, one way, or the other.

Here’s the thing: If this ole country boy is correct this time, then we can expect more winters like this one – only worse. I expect the winters to slowly lengthen and grow more intense. In fact, I am convinced we are about to begin the slow plunge back into the next cooling period some would call a “new ice age.”

There are all sorts of scientific names for this progression and lots of scientific data supporting and disproving what I have just expressed in the form of an opinion. You may believe – or disbelieve. I wouldn’t blame you either way.

But, I will tell you this: My family is preparing for the expected cooling tend. We are taking sensible steps to prepare our living quarters for the prolonged winters I expect are ahead of us.

The frantic, near hysterical, warnings of a global meltdown, of coastal cities underwater, of polar bears endangered, when in fact their numbers are growing, is nothing more that high comedy, very entertaining, but extremely costly to our nation’s treasury. It will be even more costly when, "the powers that be" discover all the money spent on preparations for global warming was wasted and should have been spent of global cooling.

Hey! I could be wrong. But, experience leads me to believe that we are in for a lot more cold – and – a lot less warm.

J. D. Longstreet

Democracy Is Wrong For Islamic States

Democracy Is Wrong For Islamic States
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Does anyone really believe the government of Egypt will ultimately become a democracy like unto that of the US?? I mean -- anyone other that a few eggheads in Washington and in the cloistered halls of academia, of course.

Naw! Ain’t gonna happen!

When all the smoke finally clears in Egypt the chances are extremely good that another strongman-type government will reign supreme in Egypt. And, honestly, I don’t think that is all bad.

A very astute friend came to visit me today, and as we sat in my office discussing the situation in Egypt and the Middle East, we agreed that the Arab countries and the Persian country of Iran are not what one could describe as “fertile soil” for democracy. Not by a long shot.

Look. For a democratic government to survive it takes commitment by the people of that country to work, every day, at maintaining control of their government… as we Americans are learning today – much to the chagrin of many US citizens!

A people of a democracy must think of themselves as a single entity and not as a member of multiple tribes, or clans, or religions, etc. And that is where democracy crashes and burns in the countries of the Middle East. Democracy hasn’t a chance, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Iran, in Egypt, in Jordan, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Pakistan, in Yemen, in Tunisia, in Saudi Arabia, etc.

Sadly, all the American blood shed in Iraq and in Afghanistan will have been wasted in the attempt to bring democracy to both those countries.

I am convinced that once US troops leave Iraq and Afghanistan, they will revert to their former ways and their former strongman-type governments -- or anarchy and chaos – or all three. In a startlingly short time, I am convinced the attempt to introduce democracy to those countries will be nothing more than a memory and a memory that will fuel only more resentment towards the US.

In the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan, and in Iraq, we advocated a scorched-earth policy on both battlefronts. Utterly destroy the countries, especially their infrastructure, and leave them both as piles of smoking rubble -- and bring the troops home.

As I see it, there was no reason to make efforts to win hearts and minds in that region. It led only to a bog-down and an extended stay, which is costing us great gobs of our treasure for which I see no return on the investment of our blood and money.

I do not support the US government’s policy of promoting democracy and so-called “human rights” by favoring certain Middle Eastern countries with loads of foreign aid, military aid, etc. I also do not support any attempt to spread democracy at the point of the gun or the bayonet.

I live in a part of the United States -- that IS a part of the United States -- as the result of my ancestors having been forced back into the US at the point of that bayonet. I am 150 years removed from that incident -- and it STILL smarts!

A century or so from today, if, and when, the Middle Eastern countries decide they want to experiment with democracy and request our assistance, then, by all means extend a helping hand. Until then, the US, in my estimation, has no business creating a government the people don’t understand, do not respect, and one that appears weak and unstable to them.

Until they are ready and willing to forsake their “tribal mindset” democracy has no chance of a long life in the aforementioned countries.

The US Government could save itself some sleepless nights worrying about protecting the continuous flow of oil from the Middle East if our inept government would allow the oil companies the right to explore for and drill for our own oil beneath our own soil and our own ocean bottom.

It has been established that America has enough oil of its own to service our needs for hundreds of years into the future even at today’s daily consumption of petroleum products including gasoline, and natural gas -- not to mention one of the worlds largest deposits of coal.

We know from experience that the moment our own oil fields are opened and the threat of a decrease in the demand for middle eastern oil drops, even by a tiny bit, the middle eastern oil countries will drop their prices for crude as if it were a white hot stone.

One way to get the ball rolling on our own shores would be for the US Congress to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, or at least, cut its funding to the point that it becomes totally impotent.

If I had any advice to give the US government on the Egyptian crisis, it would be short and simple, and, I believe, would save us some trouble down the road a few years. That advice would be: Stay the hell out of the Egyptian “revolt” and allow it to play out without interference from the US. We can only make more enemies by injecting ourselves into an Egyptian domestic problem.

Another bit of unsolicited advice to the current regime in power in the US would be this: If the Obama regime really wants to do something that would actually be constructive in the Middle East, I would advise bolstering Israel with whatever Israel needs to insure that she is not overrun by the Islamist nations surrounding her.

Unfortunately, we currently have a presidential administration that is hostile to Israel and openly friendly to the Islamist states. That attitude by Obama was seen as an open invitation to mischief by those Islamist states that have sworn to utterly destroy the state of Israel and wipe her from the map.

Mr. President: Fortify Israel – forget Egypt. Egypt will work out its own problems with, or without, input and interference from a US President they have concluded is a weak, naïve, chief of state who will be out of office in a couple of years, in any event.

J. D. Longstreet

Can Spring Be Far Behind a Groundhog's Behind? ... Alan Caruba

Can Spring Be Far Behind a Groundhog's Behind?
By Alan Caruba

When Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on February 2nd, you can be sure that spring will arrive on March 20 this year. Truth is, even if he doesn’t see it, it will still occur on March 20. On some years, it occurs on March 21.

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in both the U.S. and Canada, thus ensuring the eternal bonds between our two, great nations. It well may be celebrated elsewhere, depending on whether a groundhog population exists along with the vicissitudes of winter. It is an import that began as a Pennsylvania German custom in the 18th century.

A nation in which generations have grown old without once stepping foot on a farm or gone hunting in the woods can be forgiven for wondering what the heck Groundhog Day is all about, let alone what a groundhog is.

It has to do with Candlemas, a holiday to celebrate the ritual purification of Mary, forty days after the birth of Jesus. It is one of the four “cross-quarters” of the year, occurring halfway between the first day of winter and the first day of spring.

The tradition was that, if Candlemas was sunny, the remaining six weeks of winter would be stormy. Thus, if the groundhog emerges from hibernation on February 2nd and looks behind himself to see his shadow, it must be sunny.

I have some serious doubts whether a member of the family Sciuridae, that of ground squirrels, can in fact actually look behind himself. My bet is that Marmota monax has to turn his fat little self around entirely for that.

In earlier times, the job of looking behind himself belonged to the badger, but was reassigned to groundhogs which, by the way, are also known as woodchucks.

At this point you’re saying, Alan, you are telling me far more about groundhogs than I ever even wanted to know. Hey, don’t blame me. Blame those Pennsylvania Germans of yesteryear who were, by the way, also called Pennsylvania Dutch.

Someone in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania clearly had an idea to put the little village on the map. A thriving trade in groundhog paraphernalia can be purchased there as well as via the Internet because Groundhog Day has its own website. Of course!

In a nation that is totally snowed and iced-in on Groundhog Day, any indication that winter will come to an end is a welcome one, so we shall all breathlessly wait to see if Phil sees his shadow. Or not.

The cliché is that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. My bet is that winter will linger beyond March 20th this year. Meteorologically speaking, we are all in for longer, harsher winters while Old Man Sun sleeps through the Maunder Minimum, a solar cycle in which there is far less solar radiation.

All the groundhogs in America and Canada will be sleeping in for a while.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

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Alan Caruba's commentaries are posted daily at "Warning Signs" his popular blog and thereafter on dozens of other websites and blogs. If you love to read, visit his monthly report on new books at Bookviews. To visit his Facebook page, click here For information on his professional skills, Caruba.com is the place to visit.

A Bridge Too Far

A Bridge Too Far
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Turns out we conservative bloggers are not as far off the beam as our leftist antagonists would have you believe, right?

We have been decrying ObamaCare as unconstitutional from day one. And now a US District Judge agrees with us.

Federal Judge Roger Vinson wrote of his decision: "I must conclude that the individual mandate and the remaining provisions are all inextricably bound together in purpose and must stand or fall as a single unit…. To now hold that Congress may regulate the so-called ‘economic decision’ to not purchase a product or service in anticipation of future consumption is a ‘bridge too far.’ It is without logical limitation and far exceeds the existing legal boundaries established by Supreme Court precedent.” (SOURCE)

Ok. We now have to wait for the US Supreme Court to rule and that could happen anytime within … oh, 3 years. Obama’s minions have made it clear they have no intention of asking the federal judicial system to put this on the “fast track” for consideration by the Supreme Court. Chances are, it will happen before 2014, in any case. And what takes place in November of 2012? The Presidential Election – that’s what!

So now the stage is being set for the presidential campaigns of both parties and it is beginning to look as if ObamaCare will be the centerpiece of both campaigns. There can be no doubt that the November 2012 election will be another referendum on the increasing size of the federal government and the ever-growing reach of the federal government into the lives of every American.

So how will the Supreme Court rule? I have absolutely no idea. If there is a change on the court, and we lose a single conservative justice, there will be no question the court will rule that ObamaCare IS constitutional. It ought not be that way ... but it IS.

The judicial system in America is as politicized as the Congress. It is obvious to anyone with an ounce of common sense that rulings are handed down these days depending upon the political leanings of the judicial officials.

Where’s the evidence? Try this: “So far, two federal judges — both Clinton appointees — have upheld the individual mandate. Vinson and U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson, who ruled against the requirement last month, were both appointed by Republican presidents.” (SOURCE)

ObamaCare is just flat-out Un-American. It is high socialism masterminded by the socialist branch of the US Government – the executive branch -- and the liberal-socialists in the Democratic Party.

If America is to be saved – then ObamaCare must be stopped. If you think the economy in America is bad NOW… believe me, when socialism becomes the norm in America and capitalism is sent packing, we will have an America with the economy of the former socialist Russia with Americans standing in line for hours to buy a single roll of toilet tissue!

ObamaCare is the vehicle that will speed America into full out socialism. At that point, the America you and I have known will be lost forever.

Much of that America is already gone. I had the good fortune to grow up in an America where people were strong independent individualists who didn’t want the government anywhere near them let alone in their lives from the cradle to the grave. Yet, it is exactly that depth of government involvement that much of the American people seem to crave today.

Over the past seven to eight decades the federal government has grown exponentially until it no longer serves the people of the country, it now demands that the people of the country serve it!

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are instruments designed to limit the power of the federal government over the American people. Unfortunately, the constitution these days is seen as an inconvenience, and an outdated document, or worse, a living, breathing, document.

Yes, the constitution is an inconvenience to liberal-socialists. As more and more Americans become aware of the limits placed on the government by the constitution, they have awakened to the overreaching power grabs of the liberal-socialists of the Democratic Party and the hyper-socialist Obama Regime.

ObamaCare is socialism. It is socialized medicine. If the US Supreme Court does not ultimately strike it down it will enslave America in a form of godless socialism so beloved by leftists in America and in every third-world socialist dung heap country around the globe.

J. D. Longstreet