Quote of the Day

Jay from Project Jay:

This is God's way of punishing me for being an Atheist.

La Politics

The Dead Pelican reports that Mary Landrieu's numbers are slipping while David Vitter's are rising.

FEB. 22, 2006 4:00 PM CT

SURVEYUSA NEWS MEDIA TRACKING POLL

SENATOR VITTER

Do you approve or disapprove of the job David Vitter is doing as United States Senator?

58% APPROVE
35% DISAPPROVE
7% NOT SURE


SENATOR LANDRIEU

Do you approve or disapprove of the job Mary Landrieu is doing as United States Senator?

46% APPROVE
49% DISAPPROVE
5% NOT SURE


HER APPROVAL RATING IN THE PAST MONTH DROPPED FROM 56% TO 46% (-10%), WHILE HER DISAPPROVAL RATING WENT UP FROM 40% TO 49% (-9).

Quick, let's hold an election. Before you know it all the dead folks in New Orleans that like to vote and collect state checks will be back in business again.

Sunday's Cartoon

Continuing my daily cartoon posting for the sake of solidarity against the fanatics:
See here for a historical analysis on The Boston Globes contradictory stances on freedom of expression depending on the religion being criticized. Because let's be clear here folks. Mohammed has not been depicted in any degrading way in the cartoons that were published in newpapers. Valid points of criticsms of any religion are being illustrated in a way that would normally spark discussion. If someone challenged me on the merits of my religion, I would welcome a robust debate; why not these guys?

And LGF's ask: Where did all the Danish flags come from? Good question.

U.S. State Department Sides with Appeasement over Cartoons?

Not so fast cowboys. LGFs has the transcript from the State Department briefing that the MSM and bloggers have been claiming that the U.S. sides with appeasement over the Danish cartoons.

It ain't quite so if you read the briefing transcript. Very different in fact.

Hit that LGF link and read the transcripted truth for yourself and decide. Lord knows we don't need the MSM doing any thinking for us.

There's a Robbing Going on in Louisiana

My good friend GlenB sent me this link to a video giving you a close up view of the utter devastation that hit New Orleans and South Louisiana. It is not for the weak at heart.

A few colleges have managed to reopen but businesses are struggling to survive. The public school system is a complete mess and people lives have been destroyed. At my son's school this morning I met a couple who were forced from their homes by the hurricanes and have not yet gone back. They described how their complete support structure has disappeared. Family, friends and colleagues are scattered and nothing will be the same again for huge numbers of people.

It is no secret that Louisiana is beyond broke. Deep cuts are everywhere and all have been asked to sacrifice as it should be.

But what if I described an insane situation where the state is about to be asked to bond $30 million dollars to build and provide a service that is completely being provided by a private entity. Philanthropists and corporations are trying to build a Children's hospital in Shreveport, La and the group of this effort has not only offered the local state hospital a free-ride in using the equipment and facilities as a training hospital for their residents, but also offered them a substantial cash collaboration fee. A win-win situation right?

Here's the local paper's story today:

BATON ROUGE -- An LSU Board of Supervisors committee Thursday gave the green light to the LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport Foundation to finance, design and build a $35 million "free-leaning" children's hospital connected to Shriners Hospital for Children.

The meat of the story is at the end:

The $35 million in bonds include some bonds that are tax exempt to the buyer and some so-called "new market tax credit" bonds available only to nonprofits that provide federal income tax credit to the investors, Babin said. LSUHSC-Shreveport will lease the hospital space from the foundation, which will use the income to pay off the bonds.

In addition, Willis-Knighton has pledged $5 million -- $1 million a year for five years -- for operating costs, King said. "The LSUHSC in Shreveport has had a children's hospital-within-a-hospital since 1995."

King said those who supported the LSU-Shriners project include Charles Penn, chairman of the board of Shriners Hospital for Children-Shreveport; Dr. Donald Mack, a Shreveport pediatrician on the board of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., that has a cooperating affiliation with LSUHSC-Shreveport; and Dr. Bill Parker of Shreveport, president of the Northwest Louisiana Pediatric Society.

Joe Pain, administrator of Christus Schumpert Hospital in Shreveport, asked the committee to postpone approval of the LSUHSC-Shreveport Foundation project.

"We suggested that we weren't there to oppose their project but to suggest a better way," said Dr. John Ponthie, administrator of Sutton's Children's Hospital.

"We have repeatedly offered Sutton's Children's as a training site for LSU. And we would welcome collaboration with them, at no cost to the taxpayers of Louisiana," Croom said. "We're hoping with the right kind of input, somebody will realize that's a genuine offer that's best for the community. "Hopefully, some wisdom will prevail."

It boils down to good 'ol boy politics and loyalites and old grudges. An individual is attempting to get the state of Louisiana in $30 Million dollars of debt for a bargain of $5 million.

A private hospital will give you the same service for nothing and take care of ALL children regardless of insurance/financial status, and Louisiana is headed toward removing a significant amount of bonding capacity of the state to duplicate this service. Taxpayers beware!

BTW, in case you were wondering if LSUHSC-Shreveport needs help with their pediatric training program, consider that for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 only 10 other accredited programs had a 50% or lower pass rate on the Pediatric board exam.

Where are you Moon Griffon? Where are the investigative reporters asking hard questions?

Wake up Louisiana, your about to be 30 million dollars poorer for no reason. Can anyone think of another use of that money right now? I can.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I Present to You the Religion of Peace:

Pictures via Michelle Malkin where there are even more.

Are ya feeling the peace yet?

While we're at it, here's my cartoon of the day:


An excellent post on this sudden dramatic awakening to what is at stake can be found here at The Face of Mohammed.

For 1400 years, Islam has waged war on all surrounding non-Muslim civilizations. During the course of history, Christianity was reformed, dictators lived, reigned and died, and totalitarian regimes emerged and vanished.

But Islam endured. Unreformed. And today, it imprisons more than 1 billion people, moderate and radical souls alike, in a huge gap of difference to the rest of us. Across political divides, across national boundaries, across various degrees of freedom, across race, people or religion, black or white, rich or poor; it stands out as our opposite. Only Muslim reformists seek to lessen the gap. And their voices are quickly silenced.

Go get it all.

Cartoon Fall-out

"The War is On" reads the title. And it seems that apologies are no longer in order over the Muhammed cartoons:

Yesterday (Thursday) Mullah Krekar, the alleged leader of the Islamist group Ansar al-Islam who has been living in Norway as a refugee since 1991, said that the publication of the Muhammad cartoons was a declaration of war. “The war has begun,” he told Norwegian journalists. Mr Krekar said Muslims in Norway are preparing to fight. It does not matter if the governments of Norway and Denmark apologize, the war is on. [Ed: Note to Norway: See the thanks you get for allowing a terrorist to reside in your country as a 'refugee'.]

Islamist organizations all over the world are issuing threats towards Europeans. The Islamist terrorist group Hizbollah announced that it is preparing suicide attacks in Denmark and Norway. A senior imam in Kuwait, Nazem al-Masbah, said that those who have published cartoons of Muhammad should be murdered. He also threatened all citizens of the countries where the twelve Danish cartoons [see them all here, halfway down the page] have been published with death.

It is important, however, to stress again that there are Muslims of great courage. While it is risky to publish the Muhammad cartoons in Europe, it is even riskier to do so in the Middle East. Yet the Jordanian independent tabloid al-Shihan published three of the twelve Muhammad cartoons yesterday. The editor of al-Shihan, Jihad al-Momani, said he decided to publish the cartoons to show what the issue was all about. In an editorial under the headline “Muslims of the world, be reasonable” he pointed out that Jyllands-Posten had apologized for offending Muslims. He deplored that few in the Islamic world seem to be willing to listen to this. “What brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony in Amman?” the editor asked.

The spokesman of the Jordanian government, however, said that the editor had done a great mistake by publishing the cartoons and announced that the government is considering suing the newspaper. Before the day was over the paper’s owners had sacked Mr Momani.(emphasis mine)

This is the second editor to lose his job by my count. At least it is for one of the most fundamental human rights ever fought for. We're truly lucky in that we get to fight for this right in words and internet pages versus our brave soldiers in past and current wars who fight for this right with their blood and lives. "Publishing in Solidarity" is the least I can do.

However, it is my hope and prayer that Mr. Monani's calm, sensible words catch on and this can all end before anyone gets hurt.

Thursday's Cartoon

Today's cartoon, as I continue to stand in solidarity with Denmark and all others resisting capitulation to the fanatics:

Here's a disturbing quote from Hamid Karzai on the controversy:

“Any insult to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is an insult to more than 1bn Muslims and an act like this must never be allowed to be repeated,” said Hamid Karzai, Afghan president, strong western ally and moderate Muslim leader.

Gunmen in Gaza surrounded the local European Union office and threatened to kidnap citizens of countries where newspapers had published the cartoons.

Back in Jordan a paper actually joins us:

Meanwhile, a Jordanian gossip tabloid on defiantly published three of the cartoons that have triggered outrage in the Arab and Muslim world.

"Muslims of the world, be reasonable," said the editor-in-chief of the weekly independent newspaper Al-Shihan in an editorial alongside the cartoons, including the one showing the Muslim religion's founder wearing a bomb-shaped turban.

"What brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony in Amman?" wrote Jihad Momani.

And this common sense from a guy actually named Jihad.

The brave French editor loses his job for reprinting the cartoons. Looks like his paper is owned by an Egyptian:

The issue opened divisions among European Union governments. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said EU leaders have a responsibility to "clearly condemn" insults to any religion. But French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said he preferred "an excess of caricature to an excess of censorship."

Sarkozy joined journalists in rallying around the editorial director of France Soir, who was fired by the newspaper's Egyptian owner. France Soir and several other newspapers across Europe reprinted the caricatures this week in a show of support for freedom of expression. (emphasis mine)

What's up with the Austrians? I guess anyone who threatens to name their arena Tookie Williams Stadium has pretty clouded judgement all around.

Even the BBC is standing in solidarity, on the sly that is. So that their viewers can understand what all the stink is about you see. Wink, wink.

London - The BBC broadcast irreverent cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed on Thursday to help audiences understand "the strong feelings" sparked by a report of a Muslim backlash provoked by their original publication in Denmark.

Whatever BBC. I'm just glad you did it.

Solidarity in Demand

Earlier today I posted on the importance to standing strong in solidarity with those the fanatics would silence. The Radio Equalizer has an exclusive interview with Bill Handel, the DJ currently underfire from CAIR for making light of the muslim victims of a stampede during hajj on their way to a stoning.

What? Doesn't everyone get in a hurry for the stoning exhibitions? Please. Don't even act like you don't know. Just what will everyone be wearing? Some years it's the dressy black cocktail outfit or sometimes it's the bermuda shorts kind of thingy. It is just so hard.

Handel's response to CAIR is precious:

On his program yesterday, Handel said he would apologize, but only if CAIR agreed to denounce "all bombing or attacks where intended victims are innocent citizens," to acknowledge Israeli sovereignty and to verify that the group has never had connections with any terrorist group or sponsor.

If those conditions are met, "I'll be more than happy to apologize for offending people, I'll apologize all day long," Handel said in a live 12-minute response to CAIR's complaint.

In the RadioEqualizer's interview Handel had this to say:

I think this has given us an opportunity to really look at CAIR and see what they really stand for. And I also think this has given us an opportunity to look at ourselves and see what we really stand for.

The First Amendment is extremely important, and that's what we stand for. One other thing: try going to Google, type in "CAIR terror" and see what pops up!

Amen brother. I've never listened to this guy in my life, but I'm loving his thought processes here.

Look here to see those google results.

Spread the word to your friends and neighbors. Handel and Denmark standing up to these bullies is a refreshing turn of events.

Spines, spines, everywhere are spines...

(Well except for Bill Clinton that is! When do you think it's going to hit him that he clumsily jumped off the wrong talking point without properly vetting the breezy polling data? The old boy is getting rusty I tell ya!)

Domestic Goddesses at the Cotillion

Girl on the Right has this weeks cotillion up with lots of home-baking goodness. Go check it out.

A Cartoon a Day...

Everyday I plan on posting a cartoon depicting Mohammed. They may be repeats from before if I run out of cartoons, but I intend to stand up to fascist fanatics in any way possible. Cox and Forkum has this brilliant point to make to the muslim world:


Newspapers across the world are starting to print these cartoons to make a stand, and Michelle Malkin asks how long until the U.S. MSM catches on that they too are being threatened in the same way as Denmark.

Grow a spine MSM!!

Cartoon of the day:


I encourage all bloggers to post a cartoon a day. This is what makes it all worth it - Standing up.