Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
Hat tip to ACT for America
The below article is by Christine Brim of Bigpeace dated August 28th. (Liberal viewer warning- Bigpeace is one of Andrew Breitbart's blogs.)It looks like a lot of questionable folks are meeting with our government leaders today at the White House. Objective? Cash in on stimulus grants.
http://bigpeace.com/cbrim/2010/08/29/coming-august-31-direct-access-stimulus-grants-for-the-muslim-brotherhood/
For those of you not up to date on the Muslim Brotherhood. They are a movement based in Egypt that, while proclaiming themselves to be moderate, are the parent organization for all the other radical groups that have sprouted up-including al-Qaida. They are also connected to CAIR, ISNA, the Muslim Student Association(s) and any other organization you can name that has come under suspicion in the US. They were founded by a radical Islamist and their chief ideological spokesperson is radical imam Yusuf al Qaradawi, who lives in Qatar.
If any of the individuals or groups meeting in the White House today have any connection to the Brotherhood, they have no business being in the White House, and they have no business cashing in on government (tax-payer) money.
Why can't the White House reach out to true Muslim moderates like Steven Schwartz and Zuhdi Jasser?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Rauf "Off-Mic"
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
Hat tip to Atlas Shrugs
Atlas Shrugs has posted a fascinating audiotape of a conversation between Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and radio host Mark Sommer in June 2006. The discussion was caught on tape on Sommer's radio show, "A World of Possibilities". It begins at the conclusion of the interview when both speakers assumed the mic was off.
It was not.
The tape runs about 13 minutes, but is well worth it. It gives an insight into Rauf's true agenda. Listen carefully to Rauf's analogies with football.
Let's cut beyond the soft-spoken style of Rauf's words and analyze them carefully. First of all, if this man is a "bridge-builder", whose mission in life is to foster peace and friendship between Islam and the non-Muslim world, then football is a strange analogy to use. What grand strategy is involved in a sincere effort in making friends? What "plays" are needed? Rauf talks about offense and defense. Everybody knows that offenses and defenses are constantly trying to outwit each other with their plays. Everybody knows that the objective in football is victory over the other side.
What possible analogy can be made between building bridges, making friendships and "plays"? What are some of the plays we see in football; the safety blitz, the reverse, double-reverse, statue of liberty, option play, hook and ladder, draw play, etc. All designed to fool the other side, right?
"But wait a minute, Fouse. How do you know that Rauf wasn't talking about soccer?"
Same thing. Soccer has plays and strategies even if we Americans don't understand them. Besides, if he was talking about soccer, what is the reference to sending in a particular player (like President Obama) for a particular play? No, Rauf is talking about American football.
You see, Rauf is talking about deception here. Football is among other things, a game of deception and strategy.
"Take what you can get."
What this tells me is that Mr Rauf is another deceiver, a man who poses as a moderate, a friend, but a man whose eventual goal is a world under Islam. He knows he won't live to see it, of course, but to men like Rauf, it is a long term project which can be accomplished in the long term without bloodshed.
"Give up on Israel."
Of course. In Rauf's vision, the US must abandon Israel eventually. He talks about an eventual accord between Israel and the Palestinians, but it is just another step in the process to the eventual disappearance of the Jewish state.
"Recognize Hamas." Yes, recognize a terrorist organization that categorically rejects any idea of negotiating with the Jewish state.
What Rauf is practicing is nothing more than deception with the West (Taqiyya), making the West think that reconciliation and friendship is the goal, when it is conquest-albeit in a peaceful manner, unlike the bin Ladens of the world. The goal is America as an Islamic state under shariah law, which Rauf has pretty much acknowledged in his comments about America becoming "shariah compliant".
And what is Madeline Albright's "useful idiot" role in all this, pray tell?
And to refer to the presidents of the US, UK and Malaysia as "players sent into a game for a particular play?" That kind of reminds me of when the Steelers had "Slash" Kordell Stewart, who would come in for a play or two and run a double-reverse, option pass or something like that.
Taqiyya or just a "useful idiot" option play?
Building bridges is not a strategy that involves deception and taking what you can get at the moment. It is a sincere, open attempt to live side by side in peace, respecting the other's right to exist as they are. It is not football or even soccer or chess. Football, on the other hand, is something entirely different. Who was it, Vince Lombardi, who said, "There is no substitute for victory"?
This man is no bridge builder.
fousesquawk
Hat tip to Atlas Shrugs
Atlas Shrugs has posted a fascinating audiotape of a conversation between Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and radio host Mark Sommer in June 2006. The discussion was caught on tape on Sommer's radio show, "A World of Possibilities". It begins at the conclusion of the interview when both speakers assumed the mic was off.
It was not.
The tape runs about 13 minutes, but is well worth it. It gives an insight into Rauf's true agenda. Listen carefully to Rauf's analogies with football.
Let's cut beyond the soft-spoken style of Rauf's words and analyze them carefully. First of all, if this man is a "bridge-builder", whose mission in life is to foster peace and friendship between Islam and the non-Muslim world, then football is a strange analogy to use. What grand strategy is involved in a sincere effort in making friends? What "plays" are needed? Rauf talks about offense and defense. Everybody knows that offenses and defenses are constantly trying to outwit each other with their plays. Everybody knows that the objective in football is victory over the other side.
What possible analogy can be made between building bridges, making friendships and "plays"? What are some of the plays we see in football; the safety blitz, the reverse, double-reverse, statue of liberty, option play, hook and ladder, draw play, etc. All designed to fool the other side, right?
"But wait a minute, Fouse. How do you know that Rauf wasn't talking about soccer?"
Same thing. Soccer has plays and strategies even if we Americans don't understand them. Besides, if he was talking about soccer, what is the reference to sending in a particular player (like President Obama) for a particular play? No, Rauf is talking about American football.
You see, Rauf is talking about deception here. Football is among other things, a game of deception and strategy.
"Take what you can get."
What this tells me is that Mr Rauf is another deceiver, a man who poses as a moderate, a friend, but a man whose eventual goal is a world under Islam. He knows he won't live to see it, of course, but to men like Rauf, it is a long term project which can be accomplished in the long term without bloodshed.
"Give up on Israel."
Of course. In Rauf's vision, the US must abandon Israel eventually. He talks about an eventual accord between Israel and the Palestinians, but it is just another step in the process to the eventual disappearance of the Jewish state.
"Recognize Hamas." Yes, recognize a terrorist organization that categorically rejects any idea of negotiating with the Jewish state.
What Rauf is practicing is nothing more than deception with the West (Taqiyya), making the West think that reconciliation and friendship is the goal, when it is conquest-albeit in a peaceful manner, unlike the bin Ladens of the world. The goal is America as an Islamic state under shariah law, which Rauf has pretty much acknowledged in his comments about America becoming "shariah compliant".
And what is Madeline Albright's "useful idiot" role in all this, pray tell?
And to refer to the presidents of the US, UK and Malaysia as "players sent into a game for a particular play?" That kind of reminds me of when the Steelers had "Slash" Kordell Stewart, who would come in for a play or two and run a double-reverse, option pass or something like that.
Taqiyya or just a "useful idiot" option play?
Building bridges is not a strategy that involves deception and taking what you can get at the moment. It is a sincere, open attempt to live side by side in peace, respecting the other's right to exist as they are. It is not football or even soccer or chess. Football, on the other hand, is something entirely different. Who was it, Vince Lombardi, who said, "There is no substitute for victory"?
This man is no bridge builder.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Bloated Universities
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
The below study by the Goldwater Institute was passed on by a friend, and since I work at a university (part-time), it is of interest to me. It concerns the bloated bureaucracy of US universities and explores the reasons.
http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article/4941
Now I am just a humble part-time teacher at the University of California at Irvine, but it sure looks to me that the Goldwater Institute is on to something. University of California campuses are stuffed with chancellors, vice chancellors, deans, asst. deans, and so on. At UCI, we have a vice chancellor retiring this month and nobody knows who is going to replace him-if anybody.
Here's an anecdote; Several years ago, a department at a UC campus blew a couple of hundred grand on some useless software program. To make up the money lost, they had to lay off ten full-time instructors. (Two of them never came back.)
That reminds me; Remember that important job that Michelle Obama had at the University of Chicago Hospital way back when hubby was a rising politician in Illinois?
Remember that huge raise she got when hubby became a US Senator? In 2005, she went from Executive Director of Community Affairs to Vice President of Community and External Affairs (a promotion). Her salary went from $121,910 to $316,962 (which was reduced as she converted to part-time in 2007 due to her husband's presidential aspirations).
(Source: Fact Check).
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/05/michelle-obamas-salary/
"That's a big f----' deal!"
In January 2009, she resigned. And who was chosen as her replacement in this vital position when she left? Well, nobody. The office was reorganized upon her departure.
http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2009/20090109-obama.html
But for all you UC Santa Cruz Community Studies majors, there is good news. The cost of all this is mostly covered by government subsidies.
fousesquawk
The below study by the Goldwater Institute was passed on by a friend, and since I work at a university (part-time), it is of interest to me. It concerns the bloated bureaucracy of US universities and explores the reasons.
http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article/4941
Now I am just a humble part-time teacher at the University of California at Irvine, but it sure looks to me that the Goldwater Institute is on to something. University of California campuses are stuffed with chancellors, vice chancellors, deans, asst. deans, and so on. At UCI, we have a vice chancellor retiring this month and nobody knows who is going to replace him-if anybody.
Here's an anecdote; Several years ago, a department at a UC campus blew a couple of hundred grand on some useless software program. To make up the money lost, they had to lay off ten full-time instructors. (Two of them never came back.)
That reminds me; Remember that important job that Michelle Obama had at the University of Chicago Hospital way back when hubby was a rising politician in Illinois?
Remember that huge raise she got when hubby became a US Senator? In 2005, she went from Executive Director of Community Affairs to Vice President of Community and External Affairs (a promotion). Her salary went from $121,910 to $316,962 (which was reduced as she converted to part-time in 2007 due to her husband's presidential aspirations).
(Source: Fact Check).
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/05/michelle-obamas-salary/
"That's a big f----' deal!"
In January 2009, she resigned. And who was chosen as her replacement in this vital position when she left? Well, nobody. The office was reorganized upon her departure.
http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2009/20090109-obama.html
But for all you UC Santa Cruz Community Studies majors, there is good news. The cost of all this is mostly covered by government subsidies.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Truth Behind The Ground Zero Mosque
By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle
The ruins of the World Trade Center and the ground that they occupied are considered by many people (myself included) sacred ground. Thus the proposal for a Mosque to be built at Ground Zero is offensive to us, due to the nature of the attacks that day, the religion of the attackers and the joy the Muslim world had when the news of the destruction and death of that infamous day was broadcast to them.
The members of the left-wing and their mouthpieces in the media are screaming how the Imam of this Mosque is a moderate, is a bridge-builder, is a true man of peace, a loving man. Just listen to his views:
Why is it that Muslims cannot or will not accept responsibility for this atrocity? In fact they are the biggest deniers of the truth behind 9/11. They claim George Bush, the CIA, the Israelis, MI-5, and or the Mossad all did 9/11 to discredit Islam, attack Afghanistan and Iraq, kill Saddam Hussein and steal the oil of Iraq.
Now those who support this monstrosity have shown their true colors. Listen to their noise, their hatred, their sense of self-righteousness. No where do they check their rhetoric or anti-Semitism, even when it is known that they were being filmed. Keep your eyes open around the 3:55 mark (Hat Tip to Israel Matzav)
For the record: The majority of those you have just seen where bussed in from other cities. It seems that the majority of New Yorkers are AGAINST this Mosque being built at Ground Zero!!
Now I ask you. Who are the real racists? The ones opposing the proposed Mosque or the supporters who blame 9/11 and now this ground swell of opposition on the Jews?
The ruins of the World Trade Center and the ground that they occupied are considered by many people (myself included) sacred ground. Thus the proposal for a Mosque to be built at Ground Zero is offensive to us, due to the nature of the attacks that day, the religion of the attackers and the joy the Muslim world had when the news of the destruction and death of that infamous day was broadcast to them.
The members of the left-wing and their mouthpieces in the media are screaming how the Imam of this Mosque is a moderate, is a bridge-builder, is a true man of peace, a loving man. Just listen to his views:
Why is it that Muslims cannot or will not accept responsibility for this atrocity? In fact they are the biggest deniers of the truth behind 9/11. They claim George Bush, the CIA, the Israelis, MI-5, and or the Mossad all did 9/11 to discredit Islam, attack Afghanistan and Iraq, kill Saddam Hussein and steal the oil of Iraq.
Now those who support this monstrosity have shown their true colors. Listen to their noise, their hatred, their sense of self-righteousness. No where do they check their rhetoric or anti-Semitism, even when it is known that they were being filmed. Keep your eyes open around the 3:55 mark (Hat Tip to Israel Matzav)
For the record: The majority of those you have just seen where bussed in from other cities. It seems that the majority of New Yorkers are AGAINST this Mosque being built at Ground Zero!!
Now I ask you. Who are the real racists? The ones opposing the proposed Mosque or the supporters who blame 9/11 and now this ground swell of opposition on the Jews?
Obama's Stimulus Costs More than Iraq War - Much More than Iraq War!
Mark Tapscott at the Washington Examiner quotes an American Thinker article by Randall Hoven. Obama's failed Stimulus spending cost more than the Iraq war. I was amazed at this for a couple of reasons - one being that I thought the Iraq war was the biggest expenditure known in the history of the modern world, but apparently not.
Here's a handy stat: the stimulus bill passed in Obama's first month in office costs 15% more than the entire Iraq War. Repeating, 15% MORE THAN THE ENTIRE IRAQ WAR.
posted by Maggie @ Maggie's Notebook
Stimulus Costs More than Iraq War
Hoven quotes elitists saying the Iraq War cost $3 trillion. The CBO tells Hoven the entire cost is $709 billion. I don't about you, but I feel much better now. I can think of several who are near and dear to me whom I will assault with these figures - gleefully, and often.
Here's a handy stat: the stimulus bill passed in Obama's first month in office costs 15% more than the entire Iraq War. Repeating, 15% MORE THAN THE ENTIRE IRAQ WAR.
* Obama's stimulus, passed in his first month in office, will cost more than the entire Iraq War -- more than $100 billion (15%) more.
* Just the first two years of Obama's stimulus cost more than the entire cost of the Iraq War under President Bush, or six years of that war.
* Iraq War spending accounted for just 3.2% of all federal spending while it lasted.
* Iraq War spending was not even one quarter of what we spent on Medicare in the same time frame.
* Iraq War spending was not even 15% of the total deficit spending in that time frame. The cumulative deficit, 2003-2010, would have been four-point-something trillion dollars with or without the Iraq War.
* The Iraq War accounts for less than 8% of the federal debt held by the public at the end of 2010 ($9.031 trillion).
* During Bush's Iraq years, 2003-2008, the federal government spent more on education that it did on the Iraq War. (State and local governments spent about ten times more.)How many times can we repeat this between now and midnight November 1st? Read Randall Hoven's Iraq: The War That Bros Us -- Not, it's a handy piece to bookmark.
posted by Maggie @ Maggie's Notebook
Monday, August 23, 2010
Who is Behind the Firing of Prof. James Enstrom at UCLA?
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
Mary D. Nichols
California Air Resources Board
Another troubling story out of California. Last year, I reported on a scandal involving the California Air Resources Board (CARB)and a study they commissioned that reported that diesel oil particulate was causing thousands of deaths. Based on this study by one Hien Tran, new regulations were passed that have resulted in huge monetary losses as well as job losses for the industries involved with diesel engines.
As previously reported, it turned out that Mr Tran had falsified his educational resume claiming he had a PHD from the University of California at Davis. In reality, all he had was a diploma from some diploma mill in London run by a guy who was living in Israel as a fugitive from the US on sex charges.
To make matters worse, the head of CARB, a radical environmental activist named Mary D. Nichols, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger,....
....who commissioned Tran's study, learned of Tran's deception, yet chose not to advise her fellow board members as they were voting on and passing the above-mentioned legislation. In addition, Nichols remains as head of CARB, and Tran-though demoted- is still employed by CARB.
That brings us to this story by investigative reporter Lois Henry of the Bakersfield Californian regarding the recent firing of Professor James Enstrom from the UCLA Environmental Health Studies Department.
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/columnist/henry/x1415295919/Independent-thought-not-wanted-at-UCLA
Henry was interviewed today by the John and Ken radio show (KFI 640 am).
So if you are wondering who is behind the firing of Professor Enstrom, there is more. Enstrom's 2005 study was in contradiction to Tran's findings. In addition, Enstrom gave an interview on the John and Ken radio show, in which he exposed the fraud surrounding Tran and his study. And guess who is still listed as professor-in-residence at the UCLA School of Law and Institute of the Environment.
Mary D. Nichols.
So the question arises; what was Mary Nichols' role, if any, in the decision to fire Professor Enstrom after 34 years at UCLA?
But there is positive news. According to the article my school, UC-Irvine, has someone else not afraid to speak out. I don't know Professor Robert Phalen, but I would be pleased to buy him a beer based on what I read in Henry's article. Of course, one phone call from someone like Nichols, and perhaps, he will be the next to fall.
Or me for that matter.
fousesquawk
Mary D. Nichols
California Air Resources Board
Another troubling story out of California. Last year, I reported on a scandal involving the California Air Resources Board (CARB)and a study they commissioned that reported that diesel oil particulate was causing thousands of deaths. Based on this study by one Hien Tran, new regulations were passed that have resulted in huge monetary losses as well as job losses for the industries involved with diesel engines.
As previously reported, it turned out that Mr Tran had falsified his educational resume claiming he had a PHD from the University of California at Davis. In reality, all he had was a diploma from some diploma mill in London run by a guy who was living in Israel as a fugitive from the US on sex charges.
To make matters worse, the head of CARB, a radical environmental activist named Mary D. Nichols, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger,....
....who commissioned Tran's study, learned of Tran's deception, yet chose not to advise her fellow board members as they were voting on and passing the above-mentioned legislation. In addition, Nichols remains as head of CARB, and Tran-though demoted- is still employed by CARB.
That brings us to this story by investigative reporter Lois Henry of the Bakersfield Californian regarding the recent firing of Professor James Enstrom from the UCLA Environmental Health Studies Department.
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/columnist/henry/x1415295919/Independent-thought-not-wanted-at-UCLA
Henry was interviewed today by the John and Ken radio show (KFI 640 am).
So if you are wondering who is behind the firing of Professor Enstrom, there is more. Enstrom's 2005 study was in contradiction to Tran's findings. In addition, Enstrom gave an interview on the John and Ken radio show, in which he exposed the fraud surrounding Tran and his study. And guess who is still listed as professor-in-residence at the UCLA School of Law and Institute of the Environment.
Mary D. Nichols.
So the question arises; what was Mary Nichols' role, if any, in the decision to fire Professor Enstrom after 34 years at UCLA?
But there is positive news. According to the article my school, UC-Irvine, has someone else not afraid to speak out. I don't know Professor Robert Phalen, but I would be pleased to buy him a beer based on what I read in Henry's article. Of course, one phone call from someone like Nichols, and perhaps, he will be the next to fall.
Or me for that matter.
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Eve of The Revolution
by Norman E. Hooben
It was the eve of the revolution, the Boston Tea Party was just a month away and Stephen Barret was attending school as well as farming the land and also finding time to court his future bride. Stephen was already twenty-four years old although that didn't matter in those days. Among the twenty to thirty young people in this one room were some his age, most between eight and fifteen, and a few as young as six*. All had the desire to learn...can't over emphasize that desire, its sorely missed now-a-days.
Textbooks were scarce but all contained the essentials to better one's self for the times ahead.
Computers were still about three-hundred years away and about the closest thing to Google was probably the almanac. I wonder how many people today even knows what an almanac is? (Whoops there I go again...my English teacher said, "Never end a sentence with a preposition." Well that's one sentence I don't believe in. [ LOL ] )
Well for those that do not know an almanac is a book or pamphlet that you can look up things such as the weather and what its going to be like for the coming spring growing season. Or maybe you want to know when the sun will rise tomorrow morning. Of course all this information was based on historical data that someone recorded for future best-guess scenarios.
Meanwhile back at the one room schoolhouse Stephen Barret was mulling over an arithmetic problem that needed his undivided attention if he was going to run a farm after the war that he wasn't sure was coming... Paul Revere had not yet rode through town yelling, "The British are coming! The British are coming!"
Now without using your calculator (Stephen didn't even have the word calculator in his dictionary in those days.) We are going to see if you are smarter than a fifth grader, so here's the problem (lets see who gets the correct answer...leave it in the comment section and I'll let you know who was the first to get it right.) Are you ready? (from the historical archives here it is)
Textbooks were scarce but all contained the essentials to better one's self for the times ahead.
Well for those that do not know an almanac is a book or pamphlet that you can look up things such as the weather and what its going to be like for the coming spring growing season. Or maybe you want to know when the sun will rise tomorrow morning. Of course all this information was based on historical data that someone recorded for future best-guess scenarios.
Now without using your calculator (Stephen didn't even have the word calculator in his dictionary in those days.) We are going to see if you are smarter than a fifth grader, so here's the problem (lets see who gets the correct answer...leave it in the comment section and I'll let you know who was the first to get it right.) Are you ready? (from the historical archives here it is)
"If you buy a pasture sufficient to summer 15 oxen and 20 young creatures and give 700£ for it, how long will be before you make the money you gave, if you have 3£ per head for summering the creatures?"When you finish your homework get ready for battle...the eve of the revolution is upon us.
* Source: The Minutemen and Their World - Robert A. Gross - 1976
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Al Gore in Retirement
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
It is the year 2030. Al Gore, ex-VP, Oscar winner, Nobel prize winner, now retired, sits in the trophy room of his 45-room mansion in Tennessee-alone except for his faithful poodle, Little Al- and contemplates a lifetime of achievements.
fousesquawk
It is the year 2030. Al Gore, ex-VP, Oscar winner, Nobel prize winner, now retired, sits in the trophy room of his 45-room mansion in Tennessee-alone except for his faithful poodle, Little Al- and contemplates a lifetime of achievements.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Lionheart 4G Warfare - The Ground Zero Mosque: Roger Gardner Tribute
Many of you know Luton, England's Paul Rey, more commonly known on the InterWeb as Lionheart. Paul was persecuted by the Muslims in his hometown not far from London, for speaking out against the outrages in his beloved homeland. He has experienced Islam in a far too personal way. The video is a history of how Islam gains its foothold. It is a raw look at our future. It is a warning we must heed. At the end of the video Lionheart has a short and heartfelt tribute to Roger Gardner, the master blogger at Radarsite who lost his battle with leukemia almost a year ago. Roger was a daily warrior against the Islamification of the United States. He wrote with fierce strokes of his keyboard - an impassioned and public love for our country. His voice was a warning cry. We need it more than ever today.
This video is a fine and sobering work, to be added to the volumes of documentation of Islam produced by Lionheart. If you have a spare minute, go by his blog, Lionheart, browse through the archives where you will find the truth about Islam in Britain, what is coming to America, and leave a message of appreciation.
4G Warfare: Ground Zero Mosque by Lionheart (video)
Monday, August 16, 2010
What Do You Mean We Can't Sing at the Lincoln Memorial?
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
On June 25, a group of visiting high school students began to sing the National Anthem on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial. Suddenly, a Park Ranger rushed over and told them they had to stop. It was not allowed. Proper decorum, they said. They had to be 25 feet away, said the authorities. The students went ahead and sang anyway.
Let's go back to Easter Sunday 1939. Marion Anderson had been denied the right to sing at Constitution Hall because she was African-American. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was outraged and arranged for Miss Anderson to sing in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
I invite the reader to supply his or her own concluding paragraph.
fousesquawk
On June 25, a group of visiting high school students began to sing the National Anthem on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial. Suddenly, a Park Ranger rushed over and told them they had to stop. It was not allowed. Proper decorum, they said. They had to be 25 feet away, said the authorities. The students went ahead and sang anyway.
Let's go back to Easter Sunday 1939. Marion Anderson had been denied the right to sing at Constitution Hall because she was African-American. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was outraged and arranged for Miss Anderson to sing in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
I invite the reader to supply his or her own concluding paragraph.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Flag That Weeps
Cross-posted from Storm'n Norm'n
Can a flag weep? ...one flag can
Source: Essays Of Robert G. Davis
Can a Flag Weep?
Can a flag weep? ...one flag can
Source: Essays Of Robert G. Davis
When I was a boy it was still close to the war. There was a proud reverence for the men in my town who had been to Omaha Beach, Iwo Jima, Midway, Normandy, Bataan, and the scores of other places we had never heard of; and didn't know existed--at least not until we heard the fellows talk about them at the drug store or ball park, domino hall, or family reunions. These men were my heroes, of course. They held a sacred place of respect in my heart.
I thought they had been to the most exotic places in the world; seen things that no one else in my county could have even imagined, and brought back stories that a boy like me could listen to for a lifetime. I grinned when they laughed, and I felt bad when they cried. And yes, they showed me that it was okay for men to cry. And that men could cry for the gentlest of reasons, or weep over some secret memory held close to their heart. Some of them knew pain--great pain. Some of them remembered too much, and it was hard for them. I felt a sadness for them.
But I admired them deeply. I wanted to be like them. They were my ideal of how one should be an American. They were almost a fraternity in themselves. I heard them joke to each other about which branch of the service was best; and I'm not sure some of their stories were always the whole truth. In fact, I suspicious that they could be a little "windy" at times. Maybe their memories relaxed with years. It seemed their stories got a little bigger each time they told them. But I loved to hear them tell them. They had experienced things which went far beyond what we learned about our country in books, or in school.
These wonderful men taught me that being an American was more than just feeling safe and watching parades, and eating hot dogs and skinny-dipping in farm ponds; or going to the baseball game on Saturday nights, or showing livestock at the county fair. These fellows understood. Above everything else, they were deeply patriotic men. And I knew how important that ideal was to them.
You see, I was a trumpet player--and even by the time I got to junior high, I was a good one. These fellows invited me to travel with them throughout the county whenever they needed help in burying a fallen comrade. I played taps. They shot their guns in ritual salute. And they solemnly folded the flag which had been draped over their brother's coffin and handed it to his family. And I knew that his spirit had not died with him. They would keep it alive every time they marched with that flag, every time they displayed it at their own homes, every time they folded it in tribute to another brother. Every time they felt their faith in our democracy needed to be exemplified, the flag was somehow there.
That was a long time ago. Then, not so long ago, I saw people burning that same flag at a demonstration in Washington DC to make a point about something. It was their right to do that, of course; a right ironically given them by the freedom that same flag had secured for them long before they were even born.
I wondered what my heroes (now gone themselves) would think. Can a flag weep? Do we still care enough?
And for a moment--just a fleeting moment--I remember back across the decades to a young lad who, a long time ago in the first grade, always ran the last few blocks to school in the morning. And when his teacher asked why he did so, he gave this simple answer: "Mrs. Huffer, when I pledge allegiance to the flag I can feel my heart."
I thought they had been to the most exotic places in the world; seen things that no one else in my county could have even imagined, and brought back stories that a boy like me could listen to for a lifetime. I grinned when they laughed, and I felt bad when they cried. And yes, they showed me that it was okay for men to cry. And that men could cry for the gentlest of reasons, or weep over some secret memory held close to their heart. Some of them knew pain--great pain. Some of them remembered too much, and it was hard for them. I felt a sadness for them.
But I admired them deeply. I wanted to be like them. They were my ideal of how one should be an American. They were almost a fraternity in themselves. I heard them joke to each other about which branch of the service was best; and I'm not sure some of their stories were always the whole truth. In fact, I suspicious that they could be a little "windy" at times. Maybe their memories relaxed with years. It seemed their stories got a little bigger each time they told them. But I loved to hear them tell them. They had experienced things which went far beyond what we learned about our country in books, or in school.
These wonderful men taught me that being an American was more than just feeling safe and watching parades, and eating hot dogs and skinny-dipping in farm ponds; or going to the baseball game on Saturday nights, or showing livestock at the county fair. These fellows understood. Above everything else, they were deeply patriotic men. And I knew how important that ideal was to them.
You see, I was a trumpet player--and even by the time I got to junior high, I was a good one. These fellows invited me to travel with them throughout the county whenever they needed help in burying a fallen comrade. I played taps. They shot their guns in ritual salute. And they solemnly folded the flag which had been draped over their brother's coffin and handed it to his family. And I knew that his spirit had not died with him. They would keep it alive every time they marched with that flag, every time they displayed it at their own homes, every time they folded it in tribute to another brother. Every time they felt their faith in our democracy needed to be exemplified, the flag was somehow there.
That was a long time ago. Then, not so long ago, I saw people burning that same flag at a demonstration in Washington DC to make a point about something. It was their right to do that, of course; a right ironically given them by the freedom that same flag had secured for them long before they were even born.
I wondered what my heroes (now gone themselves) would think. Can a flag weep? Do we still care enough?
And for a moment--just a fleeting moment--I remember back across the decades to a young lad who, a long time ago in the first grade, always ran the last few blocks to school in the morning. And when his teacher asked why he did so, he gave this simple answer: "Mrs. Huffer, when I pledge allegiance to the flag I can feel my heart."
_____________________
With all do respect for Mr. Davis' wonderful essay I would like to answer the question, "Can a flag weep?"
~ Norman E. Hooben ~
UCLA Office of Residential Life-Is There More Than Housing Going On?
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
A few days ago, I received some troubling news from a friend. One of her friends has a daughter who is a freshman at UCLA. The daughter brought home a book she was given by the school which all incoming freshmen are given to read over the summer. They are then assigned to participate in discussion seminars regarding the book. The book is entitled, "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers. It is part of what is called the "UCLA Common Book", a book selected each year to be given (free) to all incoming freshmen. It is under the auspices of the Office of Residential Life (ORL).
"Zeitoun" is an account of a Syrian-born man named Abdulrahman Zeitoun, who lives in New Orleans with his American-born wife. When Katrina hit New Orleans, Zeitoun remained behind to look after his house and other properties. While paddling his boat from house to house, he is arrested on suspicion of looting and held for about 20 days in a special detention camp set up at the Greyhound bus station before being released. During his time in detention, he was reportedly called "Al-Qaida" and "Taliban" by some of his guards.
http://www.orl.ucla.edu/commonbook/
This is the book given to all incoming freshmen for this academic year. The previous year's selection was entitled, "Mountains beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder. It is the story of an American doctor working in Haiti during the time President Clinton sent in the military as the Haitian military government was being pressured by the US to resign. Here is an excerpt:
http://www.bookbrowse.com/excerpts/index.cfm/book_number/1298/Mountains-Beyond-Mountains
Here is my concern; If these two books are given to students to give them an ideal of two admirable persons who perform inspiring deeds, then that is great. Yet, I have the feeling that the message here is that of injustice in America. What is the intention here-to inspire or to send the message to young students that America is a bad place? What is the purpose of these mandatory discussion groups? Of course, I am not in a position to accuse without seeing this program first-hand. Yet, on the surface, it smells like more indoctrination coming out of our universities. Of course, we have our dark chapters and have made tragic mistakes. We do acknowledge them, however, and educate our young about them so as not to repeat them. Yet, in too many instances, it seems that the teaching point on many university campuses is that America is a deeply flawed country in need of radical change. I disagree. I also question who is paying for all these (hardcover) books to be given to all these students.
So let's take a look at the UCLA entity that is promulgating these book assignments. That would be the Office of Residential Life (ORL) part of the Student Affairs Department and under the directorship of Suzanne "Seppy" Seplow, which would seem to be an innocuous office dedicated to administering student housing, right? Here is their web site.
http://www.orl.ucla.edu/
What I am not clear on is how this office fits in with the UCLA Housing Department, a separate entity. Yet, ORL is clearly involved (and "works closely" with the Housing Office)on housing issues. If you peruse this site, you will see references to "social justice", which is really a modern-day code word for radical leftist change in American society. Note also the themed-housing units on campus, one for African-Americans ("Africa-Diaspora") and another for "Chicano-Latinos". That to me raises red flags. It may well be that both of these dorms are inhabited by a mix of students from different backgrounds, but if they are in effect segregated, I am against it. To me that represents a drastic step backward in terms of integration and can only result in further balkinization in American society-which seems to be the agenda of many in academia.
I am not the first to take notice of the Office of Residential Living at UCLA. Below is an article by Peter Wood of the National Association of Scholars in March 2008:
http://www.nas.org/polArticles.cfm?Doc_Id=53
Let me play Devil's advocate here. There is a plausible reason for African-American themed and Hispanic themed dorms. That is the fact that blacks and Hispanic students are under-represented in the UC system and current affirmative action restrictions exist in California that prevent admissions based on race. The thinking is that many of the black and Hispanic students on campus are coming from environments where they are not used to mixing with peers from all the other groups represented on campus and thus, have a need to be around others with whom they can relate and seek advice. One can agree or disagree with that reasoning. It is my understanding that such dorms are open to anyone from an outside group who has an interest in the particular theme. The danger I see is that the end result will be segregated units on campus and a continuation of tribalization, something I feel is not good for our society.
The final questions I have is what is the true role of the ORL, why a university housing entity is issuing assigned reading to students, and does this department have an ideological agenda that goes far beyond student housing?
Just a few simple questions.
fousesquawk
A few days ago, I received some troubling news from a friend. One of her friends has a daughter who is a freshman at UCLA. The daughter brought home a book she was given by the school which all incoming freshmen are given to read over the summer. They are then assigned to participate in discussion seminars regarding the book. The book is entitled, "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers. It is part of what is called the "UCLA Common Book", a book selected each year to be given (free) to all incoming freshmen. It is under the auspices of the Office of Residential Life (ORL).
"Zeitoun" is an account of a Syrian-born man named Abdulrahman Zeitoun, who lives in New Orleans with his American-born wife. When Katrina hit New Orleans, Zeitoun remained behind to look after his house and other properties. While paddling his boat from house to house, he is arrested on suspicion of looting and held for about 20 days in a special detention camp set up at the Greyhound bus station before being released. During his time in detention, he was reportedly called "Al-Qaida" and "Taliban" by some of his guards.
http://www.orl.ucla.edu/commonbook/
This is the book given to all incoming freshmen for this academic year. The previous year's selection was entitled, "Mountains beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder. It is the story of an American doctor working in Haiti during the time President Clinton sent in the military as the Haitian military government was being pressured by the US to resign. Here is an excerpt:
http://www.bookbrowse.com/excerpts/index.cfm/book_number/1298/Mountains-Beyond-Mountains
Here is my concern; If these two books are given to students to give them an ideal of two admirable persons who perform inspiring deeds, then that is great. Yet, I have the feeling that the message here is that of injustice in America. What is the intention here-to inspire or to send the message to young students that America is a bad place? What is the purpose of these mandatory discussion groups? Of course, I am not in a position to accuse without seeing this program first-hand. Yet, on the surface, it smells like more indoctrination coming out of our universities. Of course, we have our dark chapters and have made tragic mistakes. We do acknowledge them, however, and educate our young about them so as not to repeat them. Yet, in too many instances, it seems that the teaching point on many university campuses is that America is a deeply flawed country in need of radical change. I disagree. I also question who is paying for all these (hardcover) books to be given to all these students.
So let's take a look at the UCLA entity that is promulgating these book assignments. That would be the Office of Residential Life (ORL) part of the Student Affairs Department and under the directorship of Suzanne "Seppy" Seplow, which would seem to be an innocuous office dedicated to administering student housing, right? Here is their web site.
http://www.orl.ucla.edu/
What I am not clear on is how this office fits in with the UCLA Housing Department, a separate entity. Yet, ORL is clearly involved (and "works closely" with the Housing Office)on housing issues. If you peruse this site, you will see references to "social justice", which is really a modern-day code word for radical leftist change in American society. Note also the themed-housing units on campus, one for African-Americans ("Africa-Diaspora") and another for "Chicano-Latinos". That to me raises red flags. It may well be that both of these dorms are inhabited by a mix of students from different backgrounds, but if they are in effect segregated, I am against it. To me that represents a drastic step backward in terms of integration and can only result in further balkinization in American society-which seems to be the agenda of many in academia.
I am not the first to take notice of the Office of Residential Living at UCLA. Below is an article by Peter Wood of the National Association of Scholars in March 2008:
http://www.nas.org/polArticles.cfm?Doc_Id=53
Let me play Devil's advocate here. There is a plausible reason for African-American themed and Hispanic themed dorms. That is the fact that blacks and Hispanic students are under-represented in the UC system and current affirmative action restrictions exist in California that prevent admissions based on race. The thinking is that many of the black and Hispanic students on campus are coming from environments where they are not used to mixing with peers from all the other groups represented on campus and thus, have a need to be around others with whom they can relate and seek advice. One can agree or disagree with that reasoning. It is my understanding that such dorms are open to anyone from an outside group who has an interest in the particular theme. The danger I see is that the end result will be segregated units on campus and a continuation of tribalization, something I feel is not good for our society.
The final questions I have is what is the true role of the ORL, why a university housing entity is issuing assigned reading to students, and does this department have an ideological agenda that goes far beyond student housing?
Just a few simple questions.
The Anchor Baby Issue
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
Today's Orange County Register has an op-ed by Ralph Shaffer a professor emeritua at Cal Poly University at Pomona on the topic of anchor babies, more specifically, the desire of some Republican congressmen to reconsider the amendment of the Constitution that gives automatic citizenship to anyone born in the US-as it would pertain to children of illegal aliens.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/amendment-261700-children-hunter.html
Shaffer's tone implies that the evil conservatives, Republicans and Tea-Partiers simply want to get rid of all the Hispanic illegal aliens through deportation-including their US-born children.
"Hunter argues that deportation of those citizens would be a humane gesture since it would prevent the breakup of families"...
What? Nobody would forcibly break up a family. No one is saying that US-born children (citizens) would not be allowed to accompany their parents back to Mexico.
How simplistic and one-sided coming from a university history professor. Yet, when you think about it, it's not so surprising, is it?
The issue affects in me personally in two ways: first, I am married to a legal Mexican immigrant, and I am very intimate with the ins and outs of the whole illegal alien issue. It is indeed complex and ideally, should have nothing to do with ethnicity. My wife's maternal grandmother happened to be in the US legally when she was pregnant, yet, she deliberately returned to Mexico so that her child (my mother-in-law) would be born in Mexico.
In the 1970s, we were living in Thailand as that country was dealing with refugee camps set up for Vietnamese refugees fleeing the communist regime after the fall of South Viet Nam. Heretofore, anyone born in Thailand was entitled to Thai citizenship. Since many Vietnamese babies were being born in That refugee camps, the nation changed their law in the 1970s to exclude foreign children from automatic Thai citizenship. There was no international human rights outcry about it. In fact, my daughter was born in Bangkok in 1975 not long after the law was changed; thus, she was not entitled to Thai citizenship as she would have been if born a few years earlier.
More recently, a Mexican woman who was in the US illegally was brazenly sheltered in a church in Chicago. When she was picked up in Los Angeles and deported to Tijuana, she made it a point to leave her young US-born son in the care of church officials rather than take him with her to Mexico. She was trying to make a political statement.
Professor Shaffer is trying to paint a picture of parents being separated from their children, being deported to Mexico while their US-born kids are left on the streets like Oliver Twist. That is ridiculous. There is nothing preventing deported parents from taking their children with them back to the home country.
This is an issue that merits serious consideration because our immigration system is being badly abused. As a sovereign nation, we, like every other nation, have a right and a duty to control the immigration process. Obviously, this needs to be done in a humane manner, but simply giving birth to a baby while in the country illegally should not entitle parents to remain in the country. Secondly, it is hardly a human rights violation not to grant citizensgip to every person who happens to be born in your country. Many countries do not grant citizenship to babies of foreigners-even if they are in the country legally.
It's a complex issue with both sides having valid points to make. It seems to Professor Shaffer that it is just a simple case of evil conservatives who don't want Hispanics in America. Is that what he teaches in the classroom?
fousesquawk
Today's Orange County Register has an op-ed by Ralph Shaffer a professor emeritua at Cal Poly University at Pomona on the topic of anchor babies, more specifically, the desire of some Republican congressmen to reconsider the amendment of the Constitution that gives automatic citizenship to anyone born in the US-as it would pertain to children of illegal aliens.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/amendment-261700-children-hunter.html
Shaffer's tone implies that the evil conservatives, Republicans and Tea-Partiers simply want to get rid of all the Hispanic illegal aliens through deportation-including their US-born children.
"Hunter argues that deportation of those citizens would be a humane gesture since it would prevent the breakup of families"...
What? Nobody would forcibly break up a family. No one is saying that US-born children (citizens) would not be allowed to accompany their parents back to Mexico.
How simplistic and one-sided coming from a university history professor. Yet, when you think about it, it's not so surprising, is it?
The issue affects in me personally in two ways: first, I am married to a legal Mexican immigrant, and I am very intimate with the ins and outs of the whole illegal alien issue. It is indeed complex and ideally, should have nothing to do with ethnicity. My wife's maternal grandmother happened to be in the US legally when she was pregnant, yet, she deliberately returned to Mexico so that her child (my mother-in-law) would be born in Mexico.
In the 1970s, we were living in Thailand as that country was dealing with refugee camps set up for Vietnamese refugees fleeing the communist regime after the fall of South Viet Nam. Heretofore, anyone born in Thailand was entitled to Thai citizenship. Since many Vietnamese babies were being born in That refugee camps, the nation changed their law in the 1970s to exclude foreign children from automatic Thai citizenship. There was no international human rights outcry about it. In fact, my daughter was born in Bangkok in 1975 not long after the law was changed; thus, she was not entitled to Thai citizenship as she would have been if born a few years earlier.
More recently, a Mexican woman who was in the US illegally was brazenly sheltered in a church in Chicago. When she was picked up in Los Angeles and deported to Tijuana, she made it a point to leave her young US-born son in the care of church officials rather than take him with her to Mexico. She was trying to make a political statement.
Professor Shaffer is trying to paint a picture of parents being separated from their children, being deported to Mexico while their US-born kids are left on the streets like Oliver Twist. That is ridiculous. There is nothing preventing deported parents from taking their children with them back to the home country.
This is an issue that merits serious consideration because our immigration system is being badly abused. As a sovereign nation, we, like every other nation, have a right and a duty to control the immigration process. Obviously, this needs to be done in a humane manner, but simply giving birth to a baby while in the country illegally should not entitle parents to remain in the country. Secondly, it is hardly a human rights violation not to grant citizensgip to every person who happens to be born in your country. Many countries do not grant citizenship to babies of foreigners-even if they are in the country legally.
It's a complex issue with both sides having valid points to make. It seems to Professor Shaffer that it is just a simple case of evil conservatives who don't want Hispanics in America. Is that what he teaches in the classroom?
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Russians are coming. The Russians are coming. Roger G. is on watch.
Cross-posted from Storm'n Norm'n
The Russians are coming. The Russians are coming. ...Roger G. is still on watch.
Our dear friend Roger Gardner (1936-2009) developed and maintained one of the most respected blog sites of its kind. RadarSite was named after a real radar site in Labrador...Roger was stationed there sometime during the late 50's and the mission, among other watches, was to keep tabs on Russian aircraft that skirted the North American coastline. As with many other political decisions Roger's former radar site was decommissioned (closed) for whatever reasons the politicians rendered. Now that we have weak politicians running the show the Russians are back up to their old tricks and may be testing our resolve, but I have a feeling that Roger is still on watch (he must have signalled the Canadians). ~ Norman E. Hooben
ps: RadarSite continues to be updated by his friends, check it out http://radarsite.blogspot.com/
The following from: Once Upon A Time In The West
ps: RadarSite continues to be updated by his friends, check it out http://radarsite.blogspot.com/
The following from: Once Upon A Time In The West
Communist Bloc Military Updates: Canadian fighter jets repel Russian bombers near Labrador coast, Ottawa's DM: Moscow gave no advance notice
This past Wednesday Canadian fighter jets repelled two Russian strategic bombers near the coast of Labrador. "The response as always was a rapid, effective deterrent," explained Canada's Defence Minister Peter MacKay, adding: "They were in the buffer zone. They did not give us any advance notice. We certainly weren't aware of what if any weapons were on board." One senior Canadian official described the attempted Russian incursion as "not the usual s--t."
Friday, August 6, 2010
Another Textbook Controversy
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
Several months ago, I wrote an article about a controversial 7th grade textbook (History Alive) which was angering parents in various locales, including Lodi, California and Scottsdale, Arizona due to its misleading description of the more controversial aspects of Islam.
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-are-our-kids-being-taught-at.html
I wrote the article after a colleague of mine had complained about the fact that his two sons had been subjected to this text book at an Irvine Middle School. Today, I received an email from a friend who had attended a recent school board meeting in Fountain Valley, California (Orange County) in which residents compalined about another text that was allegedly providing misleading information about Islam. The below account of the meeting was written by Al Rowley of an Orange County chapter of ACT for America.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Al Rowley:
July 23, 2010
Newt Gingrich said it right. "America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization. Sadly, too many of our elites are the willing apologists for those who would destroy them if they could.....The time to take a stand is now!"
Well over 100 citizens did just this at the monthly meeting of the Fountain Valley School District board meeting Thursday evening, July 22. A Resolution had been placed on the Agenda to accept and approve the use of some supplementary instructional material which would provide additional important information and correct some of the mis-information regarding Islam contained in the seventh grade textbook "World History - Medieval to Modern Times". published in 1996 by Holt, Rinehart Winston which is used in this and many other school districts.
The supplementary information has just recently been developed by an advisory board of Textbook Alert, a group of college and university academics who are well aware of the extent to which grade 7 History & Social Studies texts used across the nation have been intentionally propagandized to present a sanitized sugar-coated mis-leading portrayal of Islam and Islamic History, primarily through the efforts of an Islamc activist group, the Council on Islamic Education.
This Council, founded and directed by a Muslim immigrant, Shabbir Mansuri, who holds neither a college degree nor academic qualifications as a historian, educator, or theologian, has been working at this since 1990 by lobbying State Departments of Education to remove anything critical of Islam from their curriculum frameworks and even convincing textbook publishers that his group must be allowed to edit their pre-publication textbook drafts to make sure that nothing offensive to Muslims is present which might impede their adoption by any state or local adoption committee. All major publishers seem to have acquiesced, and several texts even list him as a co-author or consultant. The reason this agenda item was introduced at the Fountain Valley School District is because this District has been providing office space for this Council on Islamic Education since 1993...a relationship which is considered highly inappropriate by many.
An overflow crowd of well over 100 filled the board room and 20 speakers took the opportunity to address the Board during the "public comments" period. While the Board normally allows 4 minute per speaker, Board President Tony McComb surprised those who had signed up to address the Board by arbitrarily announcing they would be limited to two minutes, so many opinions from the public were obviously and intentionally not permitted to be expressed or heard.
Only one speaker, a Fountain Valley High School coach, spoke against the resolution. He voiced his opinion that the kids really seem to be learning all they need to about Islam and he feels there is no need for any supplementary material. A significant number of the other speakers were immigrants from Muslim countries where they have had first-hand experience with Islam and sharia law, some as Muslims, some as persecuted non-Muslims minorities. One of them, a 13 year old 8th grader reported much of what he had been taught in the 7th grade about Islam here was simply not true. The fervent and highly emotional expressions of these speakers brought intense vocal responses and applause from the supportive audience; to the extent that the Board President requested that there be no audible response until each had finished their remarks and that it then be limited to clapping only. It was not lost on the audience that he had not only cut the speakers time in half but also tried to silence even their own expressions of support.
One speaker, noting that the public part of the meeting seemed not to have started with the Pledge of Allegiance invited all to stand and join him in the Pledge. While the audience did, the Board sat and watched uncomfortably until finally one by one some reluctantly rose and joined in.
A former Muslim Iranian Navy Captain, once in charge of all training for the entire Iranian Navy, warned the Board about the intentions of Islam to conquer the entire world and force it to submit to Allah and sharia law.
A member and immediate past president of the Board of the Anaheim Union High School District, Orange Counties largest high school district, admonished board members for not even making eye contact with the speakers and assured them that her board would have passed the resolution and adopted the Supplement without delay. Several Muslims and ex-Muslims warned the board about the true intentions of Islam to conquer America and how it is laying the foundations for conquest by brain-washing America's youth so they will willingly accept Islam.
A member of ACT! for America informed the Board that while ACT! had provided input at two public hearings of the California Curriculum Frameworks Committee, in Sacramento which could well have resulted in changes to the next generation of History books scheduled for 2012, but that State budget cuts have forced the cancellation of all further work on new textbooks for 2012. As a result schools may be forced to continue using their existing flawed texts until possibly 2018 or later. He stressed that the need for correcting supplemental material thus becomes especially critical and important.
A substantial number of the audience remained for over 3 hours until the very end of the meeting when the Board finally addressed the issue of the Resolution. Asked by the Board President to each express their feelings about the Resolution and the supplemental material, none refuted the information therein, but one after another their almost identical objections came forth: Judith Edwards voiced her opinion that any supplemental materials must come down from the State, Ian Collins announced "There is a procedure..." without ever explaining what it was. Christine Alcorn insisted that "this must be done at the State level." New Board member Nicola Weiss echoed. "We must follow proper procedures". Board President Tony McComb mumbled something about not having the procedures or authority to adopt supplemental materials. Several mentioned the fact that the Board couldn't very well adopt supplementary information for one group because then they might have to do it for others as well. The Board then decided that the Resolution, which had apparently only been on the agenda as an "Information item" was not important enough to be placed on the next agenda for further consideration as an "action item". By doing so they have deemed it not even worth further consideration and simply tossed it into the trash can.
The SRO audience was composed of an interesting spectrum of the community. A number were local residents of Fountain Valley, A number were immigrants from Islamic countries who are obviously very concerned about what is being taught to our children about Islam. A number were members of various ACT! for America chapters in the area. The Resolution had been drafted by a well-informed Fountain Valley parent, Steve Jackson, who is not an ACT! member.
There were about a dozen Muslims standing outside in the parking lot near the entrance before the meeting, but they were not seen accosting anyone or entering the Board Room at any time. One attendee suggested, "They probably didn't need to as they knew it was a done deal".
This may well have been the case. The fact that the entire 5 member board, presented with overwhelming community concern and evidence that their grade 7 History textbook contains erroneous and propagandized information about Islam, and also provided with a creditable piece of supplementary instructional material which could balance and correct this AT NO COST, and then unanimously reject it...all for the very same reasons.... seems strongly to indicate that this issue had probably been decided before the meeting.
We think the Board has also lied. Either that or they have been badly mis-informed by their Superintendent. We know of no law or State Education Code requiring that "supplementary instructional materials" (which this clearly was) must be vetted and adopted by any state agency. Most all California school boards have a written board policy regarding the introduction and use of supplementary instructional materials. We'll wager that these need not be State adopted. We find that Fountain Valley School District also has such a Board Policy No. 6161.11, We will be getting it and we plan to review it closely.
As noted, there seemed to be no Muslim protestors present. A 4-column article announcing the board meeting entitled "Activists Clash Over History Text" which appeared in the morning's Orange Country Register included comments by the local CAIR leader and Shabbir Mansuri, founding director of the Council on Islamic Education, so obviously Muslims knew about the meeting and could have turned out in large numbers.
It appears that the Fountain Valley School Board and Superintendent Marc Ecker indeed fit Newt Gingrich's description of "willing apologists for those who would destroy them if they could".
Meanwhile, The O.C. Register's version of last night's board meeting, which didn't seem to make it into this morning's edition, is now up on their web page. You can view it at:
http://www.ocregister.com/news/textbook-259040-district-material.html
You can also send in comments. Their reporter obviously viewed the meeting a bit differently than I did.
Open Attachment SUPPLEMENT_TEXTBOOK ALERT_World History_Holt_.doc
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This, of course, is hardly surprising. Muslim organizations are inserting themselves into positions of influence when it comes to reviews of text books. School officials, naturally, are only too eager to follow the politically-correct line. Our children should be taught tolerance. They should not be taught BS. It is time the public becomes aware of this organization called the Council on Islamic Education and the influence they have over textbooks and schools.
fousesquawk
Several months ago, I wrote an article about a controversial 7th grade textbook (History Alive) which was angering parents in various locales, including Lodi, California and Scottsdale, Arizona due to its misleading description of the more controversial aspects of Islam.
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-are-our-kids-being-taught-at.html
I wrote the article after a colleague of mine had complained about the fact that his two sons had been subjected to this text book at an Irvine Middle School. Today, I received an email from a friend who had attended a recent school board meeting in Fountain Valley, California (Orange County) in which residents compalined about another text that was allegedly providing misleading information about Islam. The below account of the meeting was written by Al Rowley of an Orange County chapter of ACT for America.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Al Rowley:
July 23, 2010
Newt Gingrich said it right. "America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization. Sadly, too many of our elites are the willing apologists for those who would destroy them if they could.....The time to take a stand is now!"
Well over 100 citizens did just this at the monthly meeting of the Fountain Valley School District board meeting Thursday evening, July 22. A Resolution had been placed on the Agenda to accept and approve the use of some supplementary instructional material which would provide additional important information and correct some of the mis-information regarding Islam contained in the seventh grade textbook "World History - Medieval to Modern Times". published in 1996 by Holt, Rinehart Winston which is used in this and many other school districts.
The supplementary information has just recently been developed by an advisory board of Textbook Alert, a group of college and university academics who are well aware of the extent to which grade 7 History & Social Studies texts used across the nation have been intentionally propagandized to present a sanitized sugar-coated mis-leading portrayal of Islam and Islamic History, primarily through the efforts of an Islamc activist group, the Council on Islamic Education.
This Council, founded and directed by a Muslim immigrant, Shabbir Mansuri, who holds neither a college degree nor academic qualifications as a historian, educator, or theologian, has been working at this since 1990 by lobbying State Departments of Education to remove anything critical of Islam from their curriculum frameworks and even convincing textbook publishers that his group must be allowed to edit their pre-publication textbook drafts to make sure that nothing offensive to Muslims is present which might impede their adoption by any state or local adoption committee. All major publishers seem to have acquiesced, and several texts even list him as a co-author or consultant. The reason this agenda item was introduced at the Fountain Valley School District is because this District has been providing office space for this Council on Islamic Education since 1993...a relationship which is considered highly inappropriate by many.
An overflow crowd of well over 100 filled the board room and 20 speakers took the opportunity to address the Board during the "public comments" period. While the Board normally allows 4 minute per speaker, Board President Tony McComb surprised those who had signed up to address the Board by arbitrarily announcing they would be limited to two minutes, so many opinions from the public were obviously and intentionally not permitted to be expressed or heard.
Only one speaker, a Fountain Valley High School coach, spoke against the resolution. He voiced his opinion that the kids really seem to be learning all they need to about Islam and he feels there is no need for any supplementary material. A significant number of the other speakers were immigrants from Muslim countries where they have had first-hand experience with Islam and sharia law, some as Muslims, some as persecuted non-Muslims minorities. One of them, a 13 year old 8th grader reported much of what he had been taught in the 7th grade about Islam here was simply not true. The fervent and highly emotional expressions of these speakers brought intense vocal responses and applause from the supportive audience; to the extent that the Board President requested that there be no audible response until each had finished their remarks and that it then be limited to clapping only. It was not lost on the audience that he had not only cut the speakers time in half but also tried to silence even their own expressions of support.
One speaker, noting that the public part of the meeting seemed not to have started with the Pledge of Allegiance invited all to stand and join him in the Pledge. While the audience did, the Board sat and watched uncomfortably until finally one by one some reluctantly rose and joined in.
A former Muslim Iranian Navy Captain, once in charge of all training for the entire Iranian Navy, warned the Board about the intentions of Islam to conquer the entire world and force it to submit to Allah and sharia law.
A member and immediate past president of the Board of the Anaheim Union High School District, Orange Counties largest high school district, admonished board members for not even making eye contact with the speakers and assured them that her board would have passed the resolution and adopted the Supplement without delay. Several Muslims and ex-Muslims warned the board about the true intentions of Islam to conquer America and how it is laying the foundations for conquest by brain-washing America's youth so they will willingly accept Islam.
A member of ACT! for America informed the Board that while ACT! had provided input at two public hearings of the California Curriculum Frameworks Committee, in Sacramento which could well have resulted in changes to the next generation of History books scheduled for 2012, but that State budget cuts have forced the cancellation of all further work on new textbooks for 2012. As a result schools may be forced to continue using their existing flawed texts until possibly 2018 or later. He stressed that the need for correcting supplemental material thus becomes especially critical and important.
A substantial number of the audience remained for over 3 hours until the very end of the meeting when the Board finally addressed the issue of the Resolution. Asked by the Board President to each express their feelings about the Resolution and the supplemental material, none refuted the information therein, but one after another their almost identical objections came forth: Judith Edwards voiced her opinion that any supplemental materials must come down from the State, Ian Collins announced "There is a procedure..." without ever explaining what it was. Christine Alcorn insisted that "this must be done at the State level." New Board member Nicola Weiss echoed. "We must follow proper procedures". Board President Tony McComb mumbled something about not having the procedures or authority to adopt supplemental materials. Several mentioned the fact that the Board couldn't very well adopt supplementary information for one group because then they might have to do it for others as well. The Board then decided that the Resolution, which had apparently only been on the agenda as an "Information item" was not important enough to be placed on the next agenda for further consideration as an "action item". By doing so they have deemed it not even worth further consideration and simply tossed it into the trash can.
The SRO audience was composed of an interesting spectrum of the community. A number were local residents of Fountain Valley, A number were immigrants from Islamic countries who are obviously very concerned about what is being taught to our children about Islam. A number were members of various ACT! for America chapters in the area. The Resolution had been drafted by a well-informed Fountain Valley parent, Steve Jackson, who is not an ACT! member.
There were about a dozen Muslims standing outside in the parking lot near the entrance before the meeting, but they were not seen accosting anyone or entering the Board Room at any time. One attendee suggested, "They probably didn't need to as they knew it was a done deal".
This may well have been the case. The fact that the entire 5 member board, presented with overwhelming community concern and evidence that their grade 7 History textbook contains erroneous and propagandized information about Islam, and also provided with a creditable piece of supplementary instructional material which could balance and correct this AT NO COST, and then unanimously reject it...all for the very same reasons.... seems strongly to indicate that this issue had probably been decided before the meeting.
We think the Board has also lied. Either that or they have been badly mis-informed by their Superintendent. We know of no law or State Education Code requiring that "supplementary instructional materials" (which this clearly was) must be vetted and adopted by any state agency. Most all California school boards have a written board policy regarding the introduction and use of supplementary instructional materials. We'll wager that these need not be State adopted. We find that Fountain Valley School District also has such a Board Policy No. 6161.11, We will be getting it and we plan to review it closely.
As noted, there seemed to be no Muslim protestors present. A 4-column article announcing the board meeting entitled "Activists Clash Over History Text" which appeared in the morning's Orange Country Register included comments by the local CAIR leader and Shabbir Mansuri, founding director of the Council on Islamic Education, so obviously Muslims knew about the meeting and could have turned out in large numbers.
It appears that the Fountain Valley School Board and Superintendent Marc Ecker indeed fit Newt Gingrich's description of "willing apologists for those who would destroy them if they could".
Meanwhile, The O.C. Register's version of last night's board meeting, which didn't seem to make it into this morning's edition, is now up on their web page. You can view it at:
http://www.ocregister.com/news/textbook-259040-district-material.html
You can also send in comments. Their reporter obviously viewed the meeting a bit differently than I did.
Open Attachment SUPPLEMENT_TEXTBOOK ALERT_World History_Holt_.doc
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This, of course, is hardly surprising. Muslim organizations are inserting themselves into positions of influence when it comes to reviews of text books. School officials, naturally, are only too eager to follow the politically-correct line. Our children should be taught tolerance. They should not be taught BS. It is time the public becomes aware of this organization called the Council on Islamic Education and the influence they have over textbooks and schools.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Revisisted
By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle
65 years ago today the United States did a very unusual bombing raid. It dropped one bomb on the City of Hiroshima. I wrote the following piece 2 years ago, before Obama's election, before the lefts takeover of the United States. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow stands as warning to the world.
Today, a new round of weak,ineffective sanctions has beenimposed issued by the UN on Iran, we have a weak, feeble President who is more content to apologize for this attack then to understand the rational behind it, and North Korea is threatening Nuclear War with the US.
The threats from Iran towards Israel occur on a daily basis, and the US demands Israel to restrain from destroying Iran's nuclear capacity, even to cut funding for Israel's defense (Some Friend!). And now the assessment on Iran is that they will not stop their nuclear program.
Israel knows that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, Iran will use it on any Israeli city. Tel Aviv, Haifa, Dimona, even Jerusalem would and could become the next Hiroshima. Israel's response would be devastating to Iran.
During the Cold War there were many occasions in which the Soviet Union and the United States stood at the prepicite of the abyss. What kept the two nations from going over the edge and taking the world with them was the fact that they would destroy each other and neither side would win. This Mutually Assured Destruction or MAD kept the world from blowing itself apart.
Unfortunately, MAD doesn't work with Iran. Iran is ruled not by sane, rational people, but by religious fanatics who actually believe that the destruction of Israel will bring back their long, lost 12the Iman (the Mahdi). They are eagerly working towards this goal. The Iranian people actually believe that if they were to die in a nuclear holocaust, they would go straight to Paradise and receive 72 virgins each. How do you combat such a mentality?
What happened on August 6, 1945 must not be repeated in the near future. If the world can't stop Iran, Israel must. For it is not only their cities that are at risk, but every city of the Civilized world is at risk.
65 years ago today the United States did a very unusual bombing raid. It dropped one bomb on the City of Hiroshima. I wrote the following piece 2 years ago, before Obama's election, before the lefts takeover of the United States. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow stands as warning to the world.
On August 6, 1945 the Enola Gay dropped one bomb. This bomb, code name Little Boy, exploded over the city of Hiroshima with a force of 12.5 kilotons of explosives. This first atomic weapon was a dirty bomb using less than 10% of its fissionable material. Whether it was right or wrong what the US did is not the point, nor can it be the point. It was done, thousands suffered and a city was destroyed.I wrote that in 2008 when North Korea had just become a member of the nuclear club, (A member who is selling the knowledge of how to make these weapons for hard cash and Hennessy Cognac.) Iran was facing very limited sanctions, and our leadership was strong.
Based on research thus far, it is believed that the atomic bomb exploded approximately 580 meters in the air over the Shima Hospital in Saiku-machi (now Otemachi 1 chome), about 300 meters southeast of the Aioi Bridge. At the instant of detonation, the temperature of the air at the point of explosion exceeded a million degrees Celsius (the maximum temperature of conventional bombs is approximately 5,000 °C). A white-hot fireball appeared millionths of a second after detonation. After 1 second, the fireball reached a diameter of approximately 280 meters. For the following three seconds, it emitted powerful heat rays, and continued to shine visibly for approximately 10 seconds.
At the instant of explosion, intense heat rays and radiation were released in all directions. The pressure on the surrounding air created a blast of unimaginable force. The cloud generated by the explosion rose on powerful updrafts. As the pillar of radiation-laden soot and smoke reached the bottom of the stratosphere, it spread horizontally to a diameter of several kilometers, forming a giant mushroom cap. Of the energy released, about 35% was in the form of heat, 50% was blast, and about 15% was radiation.
Because the A-bomb exploded close to the center of the city, and because 85% of the buildings were within 3 km of the hypocenter, destruction to the city was nearly complete, with 90% of buildings collapsed or burned. (August 1946 Survey by the Hiroshima City Government)The destruction of Hiroshima took less than a minute, its effects are still being felt.
By December of 1945 approximately 140,000 dead (±10,000) as of the end of December 1945. (Of Hiroshima's estimated population of 350,000)
Today, a new round of weak,ineffective sanctions has been
The threats from Iran towards Israel occur on a daily basis, and the US demands Israel to restrain from destroying Iran's nuclear capacity, even to cut funding for Israel's defense (Some Friend!). And now the assessment on Iran is that they will not stop their nuclear program.
Israel knows that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, Iran will use it on any Israeli city. Tel Aviv, Haifa, Dimona, even Jerusalem would and could become the next Hiroshima. Israel's response would be devastating to Iran.
During the Cold War there were many occasions in which the Soviet Union and the United States stood at the prepicite of the abyss. What kept the two nations from going over the edge and taking the world with them was the fact that they would destroy each other and neither side would win. This Mutually Assured Destruction or MAD kept the world from blowing itself apart.
Unfortunately, MAD doesn't work with Iran. Iran is ruled not by sane, rational people, but by religious fanatics who actually believe that the destruction of Israel will bring back their long, lost 12the Iman (the Mahdi). They are eagerly working towards this goal. The Iranian people actually believe that if they were to die in a nuclear holocaust, they would go straight to Paradise and receive 72 virgins each. How do you combat such a mentality?
What happened on August 6, 1945 must not be repeated in the near future. If the world can't stop Iran, Israel must. For it is not only their cities that are at risk, but every city of the Civilized world is at risk.
On this the 65th anniversary of that day we must take a firm stand with Iran and tell them under no circumstances will we allow you to have a nuclear weapon!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The New York Mosque Proceeds
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
Now that the commission in charge of buildings in New York has ruled 9-0 not to give landmark status to the building at the proposed mosque site, the way is clear to demolish the site in preparation for that 15-story Cordoba House (mosque and Islamic center). It appears that there is only one entity that can stop this idea and unfortunately that is the group wanting to build it.
Unfortunately, they show no signs of having any regard whatsoever for the sensitivity of building that center in the shadow of the World Trade Center. Daisy Khan, the wife of Imam Faisel Abdul Rauf, is now telling us that it will include a memorial to the 9-11 victims and that they want to be part "of the healing process".
Nonsense. They are ripping the scab open. I can't speak for anyone else, but I suspect most Americans would tell them to stuff that "memorial to the 9-11 victims."
But public opinion be damned. It's a freedom of religion, freedom of speech issue; they have the ACLU behind them and their message is;
"We're here. Deal with it."
Meanwhile, White House press spokesman and noted comic Robert Gibbs told reporters today that the White House has no interest in getting involved in a "local matter."
I have news for Mr Gibbs; 9-11 is not a local matter anymore than Pearl Harbor was a local matter.
Let us say that Imam Rauf truly intends to build an edifice devoted to peace, interfaith harmony and reconciliation. That goes out the window the first time he stands up in that mosque and repeats statements he has already made about the US becoming "shariah compliant" and US policies bringing on 9-11. Remember this is a guy who has refused to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization. Furthermore, he still won't own up to where all the money is coming from to build it.
Update: Now, this evening, comes the head of CAIR, Nihad Awad, who tells Bill O'Reilly on The Factor there is no connection between Islam and 9-11, and that the opposition to the mosque is simple bigotry. He would not address O'Reilly's question about respecting the feelings of 9-11 families and others who object to the mosque so close to the World Trade Center site. I trust this guy Awad as far as I can throw him.
In the end, this mosque will be a bad thing for US Muslims because it is reviving the anger of 9-11 and will continue to revive anger every time visitors to the area pass by.
On a more positive note, this quote comes today at the University of California Irvine (where I teach). It was made today by an Arab (Muslim) student studying at UCI who just returned from New York and is very angry over the mosque issue. He says, "that mosque should not be built. I want those buildings back" (WTC).
fousesquawk
Now that the commission in charge of buildings in New York has ruled 9-0 not to give landmark status to the building at the proposed mosque site, the way is clear to demolish the site in preparation for that 15-story Cordoba House (mosque and Islamic center). It appears that there is only one entity that can stop this idea and unfortunately that is the group wanting to build it.
Unfortunately, they show no signs of having any regard whatsoever for the sensitivity of building that center in the shadow of the World Trade Center. Daisy Khan, the wife of Imam Faisel Abdul Rauf, is now telling us that it will include a memorial to the 9-11 victims and that they want to be part "of the healing process".
Nonsense. They are ripping the scab open. I can't speak for anyone else, but I suspect most Americans would tell them to stuff that "memorial to the 9-11 victims."
But public opinion be damned. It's a freedom of religion, freedom of speech issue; they have the ACLU behind them and their message is;
"We're here. Deal with it."
Meanwhile, White House press spokesman and noted comic Robert Gibbs told reporters today that the White House has no interest in getting involved in a "local matter."
I have news for Mr Gibbs; 9-11 is not a local matter anymore than Pearl Harbor was a local matter.
Let us say that Imam Rauf truly intends to build an edifice devoted to peace, interfaith harmony and reconciliation. That goes out the window the first time he stands up in that mosque and repeats statements he has already made about the US becoming "shariah compliant" and US policies bringing on 9-11. Remember this is a guy who has refused to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization. Furthermore, he still won't own up to where all the money is coming from to build it.
Update: Now, this evening, comes the head of CAIR, Nihad Awad, who tells Bill O'Reilly on The Factor there is no connection between Islam and 9-11, and that the opposition to the mosque is simple bigotry. He would not address O'Reilly's question about respecting the feelings of 9-11 families and others who object to the mosque so close to the World Trade Center site. I trust this guy Awad as far as I can throw him.
In the end, this mosque will be a bad thing for US Muslims because it is reviving the anger of 9-11 and will continue to revive anger every time visitors to the area pass by.
On a more positive note, this quote comes today at the University of California Irvine (where I teach). It was made today by an Arab (Muslim) student studying at UCI who just returned from New York and is very angry over the mosque issue. He says, "that mosque should not be built. I want those buildings back" (WTC).
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Ethics? What Ethics? Let's Have a Party!
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
"Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday, dear Hermann,
happy birthday to you
..and many more (hee, hee)
Talk about timing. No sooner does the House of Representatives announce an ethics trial for Charlie Rangel, then it is announced there will be a lavish birthday bash for Charlie on August 11.
"It's a big f-----' deal!"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/01/home-state-democrats-reportedly-plan-lavish-birthday-party-rangel/
Here's another interesting side note; the party is being held on August 11 even though Charlie's birthday was June 11. What's that all about? And the Plaza Hotel? That ain't the Motel 6, folks.
I guess any day now, the Dems will announce a big birthday bash for Maxine Waters-also pending trial on House ethics charges. Maybe her personal banker, Barney Frank, can dip into some TARP funds to put on a monster bash for her and her "businessman" hubby Sidney Williams.
Doesn't House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who promised to "drain the swamp" see what this looks like in the public eye? Now the Washington Post is reporting today that the loopy Pelosi is saying she "was out of the loop" in the Rangel investigation.
Is this what President Obama meant when he said this week that he hopes Rangel can end his career with "dignity"?
Dignity.
Talk about "in-your-face", "rub their noses in it" politics.
fousesquawk
"Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday, dear Hermann,
happy birthday to you
..and many more (hee, hee)
Talk about timing. No sooner does the House of Representatives announce an ethics trial for Charlie Rangel, then it is announced there will be a lavish birthday bash for Charlie on August 11.
"It's a big f-----' deal!"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/01/home-state-democrats-reportedly-plan-lavish-birthday-party-rangel/
Here's another interesting side note; the party is being held on August 11 even though Charlie's birthday was June 11. What's that all about? And the Plaza Hotel? That ain't the Motel 6, folks.
I guess any day now, the Dems will announce a big birthday bash for Maxine Waters-also pending trial on House ethics charges. Maybe her personal banker, Barney Frank, can dip into some TARP funds to put on a monster bash for her and her "businessman" hubby Sidney Williams.
Doesn't House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who promised to "drain the swamp" see what this looks like in the public eye? Now the Washington Post is reporting today that the loopy Pelosi is saying she "was out of the loop" in the Rangel investigation.
Is this what President Obama meant when he said this week that he hopes Rangel can end his career with "dignity"?
Dignity.
Talk about "in-your-face", "rub their noses in it" politics.
Sderot- The bomb shelter capital of the world
By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle
For the last week rockets fired from Gaza have been a daily occurrence. Although they have caused limited damage to property and no one has been hurt or killed. (Frayed nerves and a couple of neurotic cats.) It is only a matter of time before someone is killed.
Sderot is the only town and the Western Negav is the only region in the world, where missiles are fired towards civilian population in the 21st Century.--Sderot Media Center
If you are planning a visit to Israel, plan a side visit to Sderot. You can contact the Sderot Media Center for a tour.
For the last week rockets fired from Gaza have been a daily occurrence. Although they have caused limited damage to property and no one has been hurt or killed. (Frayed nerves and a couple of neurotic cats.) It is only a matter of time before someone is killed.
A Grad rocket fired by Gaza terrorists hit an open area near a residential neighborhood in Ashkelon on Friday morning. No physical injuries were reported, although several people suffered shock and required medical attention. A vehicle was also damaged.
Ashkelon had experienced relative quiet following the Cast Lead counterterror operation in Gaza in early 2009.
The attack follows an attack last week that was carried out using an imported rocket more sophisticated than the short-range “Kassam” rockets produced in Gaza. In that case, the rocket failed to explode, and no injuries were reported.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has followed a policy of quick response to attacks from Gaza. Air Force planes have demolished smuggling tunnels and weapons factories in the region following previous rocket attacks.
Sderot is the only town and the Western Negav is the only region in the world, where missiles are fired towards civilian population in the 21st Century.--Sderot Media Center
If you are planning a visit to Israel, plan a side visit to Sderot. You can contact the Sderot Media Center for a tour.
No child should have to endure this. Please help!
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