Got Delta Skymiles You'd Be Willing to Donate?

They're for little Tabarak "Tabby" Mouhamed, and it's Chief Wiggles doing the asking.

She has doctors ready and willing to donate her treatment, folks. All we have to do is get her over here.

Also, the Chief asks: if someone knows tips and tricks for expediting the visa process, please get in touch with him ASAP.

Just follow the link for the details.

Crocodile tears

Nothing more than crocodile tears:
Saddam "begging" for mercy.

That one's sly. He'll do whatever he figures it'll take to get his fat out of the fire.

My two cents' worth? Fry baby, fry.

Different Points of Reference

I was outside just a little while ago, having a smoke. (Yes, yes; I've taken the filthy habit back up. No, I won't apologize for it.)

There were three of us sitting at a table, discussing what we'd each do if we won the Powerball drawing. Mind you, I was already aware of the political affiliations of these people, but the conversation really highlighted the different mindsets between people on the Right or Left.

Me: "It would be cool if I could win the lottery, because then S. and I could be completely out of debt. We would pay off my car and the house. Then, we'd sell the house and just put the cash down on something in a little better shape; like one of those places that just went up on the far south end of town. We'd have next to no house payment, and no debt, so we could both take jobs we'd enjoy, write, and home school The Miss. We'd take care of our folks -- mine have no retirement, so it would be nice to make sure that they don't have to worry. I think I'd splurge by buying S. a new vehicle, and add a few new firearms to the collection. Then we might travel a little. We've always wanted to see the UK. S. would love to see Taiwan. But after that...what do you do with all those millions? You could live comfortably on just the interest. I'd make sure that our daughter's future is taken care of, and then we'd donate the rest to charities."

The other Righty: "I know what you mean about not being able to spend it all. I'm with you -- I don't need much of a house, now that the kids are all grown and gone. I'd help my kids pay off their student loans, and help them get on their feet, and I'd sure see to my folks, too. I'd buy my wife a new car -- she's been driving the same one for the last six or seven years. I have one son who would probably become a professional student, except I don't want my boys to become Trustafarians. It'd be nice to pay off all my debt. We'd do that for sure. I don't care much about travel, myself. I saw it all when I was in the military. I think we'd just give the bulk of it away."

Lefty: "You guys are nuts. I'd spend one or two million on a house, and then I'd buy a new Jaguar every year. I'd travel the world and buy all my clothes in Paris or Italy. I'd buy vacation houses all over, and travel in style. I'd take a private jet to Europe for lunch, or fly to Japan for the weekend. I'd hit Vegas all the time. That would be cool."

Me: "What else would you do with that kind of money?"

Lefty: "Whatever the hell I want. It would be my money."

Me: "Would you assist charity in any way?"

Lefty: "Maybe a few thousand dollars. Mostly, I'd just want to have fun."

That was the conversation. Draw your own conclusions.

Fire Dan Rather

Beldar offers up the most well-reasoned argument why Dan Rather and his cronies should be fired, effective immediately.

A mistake is one thing, stubbornly defending fraudulent documents is another. This has gone beyond the pale of journalistic error, and has ventured into the realm of purposely defrauding the public.

Go read Beldar's post, and add your voice to those taking responsibility for contacting CBS News to demand the immediate release of Dan Rather and the managers and supervisors who gave the go-ahead to the 60 Minutes II broadcast on September 8^th.

It is the only responsible thing for CBS to do.

---------------
Hat tip to my good friend, David of Ripples.

We Won!

The hated semi-auto ban has finally sunset. This is largely thanks to all the efforts of peope like us, at the grassroots level, who let our representation know that we would not tolerate any more anti-gun legislation, and that the semi-auto ban was one of the most absurd bit of legislation passed in the last twenty years.

The Democrats are pissed.

And I'm smiling.

Never Forget.

Thirty-six months have elapsed since Black Tuesday. In that time, we have marched to war, argued fiercely about it, and thrown around accusations and allegations aplenty about our duly elected President's fitness to lead.

In three years, we have not seen another attack on our soil.

I'm taking a break from the ongoing brangle to merely present the pictorial evidence why I cannot forget what happened on 9/11, and why I believe that we must push forward with the War on Terror, or else risk seeing this sort of atrocity again:

Gary Suson's SeptemberEleven.net
Images from Ground Zero
September 11 News
Roll call of the lost.

I stand by the words I wrote last year.

Never forget. Never forgive. Death to terrorists and terrorism the world over.

Chief Wiggles needs our help

Read here.

Tabarak Kasim Mouhamed is nine months old, and is suffering with a cancer that is easily and successfully treated in the United States. All avenues of care have been exhausted in Iraq. The severe and spreading angiomas on her face and neck will likely result in starvation or asphyxiation if the cancer is allowed to progress. Doctors believe that with the speed at which the cancer is spreading, she may have only one or two more months if she is left untreated.

In the US, she has an excellent chance of highly successful therapy through the use of steriods, laser therapy and/or surgery.

However, her family is very poor, and the Chief needs help from people like us, who can donate money to help offset her medical expenses, pediatricians and plastic surgeons to perform the surgeries, a children's hospital to provide services and care, and a visa that will allow her to travel to the USA among other things.

Please help.

UPDATE: 9/13/04 I just checked The Chief's blog this morning for news, and help is on the way. There's still a lot to do: donations are still needed; she needs a visa; flight schedules need to be arranged, and so on. Nevertheless, let's take a moment to say a prayer for Dr. Marcelo Hochman of The Hemangioma Treatment Foundation, who has volunteered to handle of Tabarak's treatment. Here's to that little girl's good health, and here's to Dr. Hochman for stepping forward.

Thank you, doctor.

Inspiration and Rage

Arnold delivered an extremely stirring speech, didn't he? Allow me to quote a little:

Now, many of you out there tonight are "Republican" like me in your hearts and in your beliefs. Maybe you're from Guatemala. Maybe you're from the Philippines. Maybe Europe or the Ivory Coast. Maybe you live in Ohio, Pennsylvania or New Mexico. And maybe just maybe you don't agree with this party on every single issue. I say to you tonight I believe that's not only okay, that's what's great about this country. Here we can respectfully disagree and still be patriotic still be American and still be good Republicans.

My fellow immigrants, my fellow Americans, how do you know if you are a Republican? I'll tell you how.

If you believe that government should be accountable to the people, not the people to the government...then you are a Republican! If you believe a person should be treated as an individual, not as a member of an interest group... then you are a Republican! If you believe your family knows how to spend your money better than the government does... then you are a Republican! If you believe our educational system should be held accountable for the progress of our children ... then you are a Republican! If you believe this country, not the United Nations (news - web sites), is the best hope of democracy in the world ... then you are a Republican! And, ladies and gentlemen ...if you believe we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism ... then you are a Republican!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if you ever doubt what why America is the greatest nation on earth, go ask someone who immigrated and chose citizenship. They'll help you understand.

And while the RNC is going on, the far left is exploding. There have been numerous reports of violence, verbal abuse, obstructionism, and worse. (There was NO REASON to assault and batter that police officer. NONE.)

Compare that to the relative peace enjoyed by the DNC, and it's pretty clear the the moonbat brigades have finally gone off the deep end. I take comfort in the fact that these "activists" and "demonstrators" are hurting their own cause. The American people are seeing this bullshit, and we aren't amused.

In other news, Alan Keyes should stop to think before flapping his piehole.

Then, this is exactly what I feared would happen when Spain folded to terrorist pressure earlier this year. It encouraged the bastards, and now Chechen terrorists are holding a school filled with children. They're threatening to kill fifty children for every one of their team who is killed, and twenty for every man or woman who is wounded. They are demanding the release of fighters seized in neighboring Ingushetia during a raid conducted back in June.

This is the price of appeasement. If you give in or stand down from a bully, he is encouraged to engage in worse crimes. In the last week, Russia has also lost two airliners to terrorist suicide bombs, and on Tuesday, another female suicide bomber blew herself up in Moscow, taking nine people with her, and injuring 51 others.

Some of the terrorists holding the children at the school near Chechnya are strapped with bombs, and have reportedly (unconfirmed) mined the school yard.

My anger is not with the people of the countries who have suffered from terrorist activities this year. I really hold the common people of France and Russia generally blameless. Like me and mine, they mostly want to live their lives with as little upheaval as possible.

Instead, I blame their governments for their policies of appeasement. I also blame Spain, and her people, for giving in to terrorist demands earlier this year. The terrorists used fear tactics to effect political change -- that's what they do, and now their demands grow more and more outrageous, and Spain is not exempt from their activities.

Now these bastards are threatening children. Children. When one considers how badly Putin handled the last hostage crises under his watch, my heart clenches.

All we can do is pray.

The other thing I can do is go on trying to raise public awareness about the very real threat Western civilizaton is facing..

There are ties between Chechen rebels and al-Qaeda. Chechens are a largely Muslim group, who live in the Caucasus region, south of Moscow and north of Iran.

As this article explains, al-Qaeda has funneled millions to Chechen rebels through Khattab, a late Chechen warlord who appeared on videotape with Osama bin Laden in 2000. Also shown on the tape is an appearance by Shamil Basayev, who is responsible for the 2002 hostage situation in a theatre in Moscow. Basayev not only claimed responsibility for the raid, but also says that he has trained women for Jihad -- women like those threatening Russian children today.

I believe that only the naive could doubt the links between these various evildoers.

It is time for the leadership of nations such as Spain, Russia, and France to look at the world and decide whether they would like to survive as free, sovereign nations, or if they mean to cave in truth and consign their children's lives to the whims of Islamic theocracy.

You know, this is exactly why America is at war with terrorism, and why we wage that war overseas. Our uniformed men and women, and our Commander in Chief, strive to make sure that this sort of scenario never plays out on American soil. They are bleeding right now to make sure that no terrorist group can ever hold a scholl filled with our children against us.

I'm resolved. Anyone else?