Venezuelan President (and I use that term rather loosely) Hugo Chavez came to this country yesterday and proceeded to do nothing but insult our president and our nation.

John Bolton, oddly enough, wasn’t present during Chavez’s speech. Bolton later said he wasn’t sure where he was, perhaps balancing his checkbook or cleaning his fishtank. He also said that people understand it was insulting, but on the other hand people need to draw their own conclusions, and that people know he’s not a serious leader. Amen.

And the response from the Mainstream Media? Massive. On front pages everywhere. Outrage! Heresy! Our country insulted! UN out of the US! Never let Chavez back into the country!

Not.

From the LA Times. Predominantly silent.

New York Times? Not even on the home page.

Even former President Clinton on Larry “Elbows” King said that Chavez’s comments were “unhelpful, undignified and it’s not true.” D’ya think?

Would this have happened in the 1950s — even perhaps in the early 1960s? Where is the media in all this? Those on the Left or in the Democratic Party?

Conspicuously silent. But of course they’re “above” it all in any event.

How far have we fallen when we either adamantly refuse to support our own country upon attack, verbal or otherwise, or we shrug our shoulders with indifference.

That’s why I call them the DEM: Defeatist, Elitist Media.

Shame on them but, on the other hand, their subscribers and readers in all forms are plummeting.

BZ

You fund the United Nations.

Perhaps you were not aware, but 5 BILLION of your hard-earned tax dollars are shuttled to the UN every year.

What do you feel you receive for your kind contribution?

In the shadow of the 61st General Assembly, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan felt it was time to, in his farewell speech (10 years as S-G), lay the burden of the world’s entire ills at the feet of the Israelis.

As long as the Palestinians live under occupation, exposed to daily frustration and humiliation; and as long as Israelis are blown up in buses and in dance-halls: so long will passions everywhere be inflamed,” he said.

So you see, it is those horrible JEWS who are solely responsible for the ills of the world.

Ooops, side-rant coming. . .

On that tack, Republican Senator George Allen was excoriated for being a (huge intake of air here!) — dare I write it — JEW! From Hugh Hewitt’s blog:

George Allen and Jim Webb had another debate yesterday. Probably to the relief of many of you, I did not get to see it. But from the clip I did see, and the clip that everyone will see, Allen walked away from this fray the big winner. After running a sub-par campaign and his dreadful appearance on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” Allen caught a huge break, a break that will likely turn the momentum of the race in his direction.

One of the panelists, a woman named Peggy Fox, asked Allen, “It has been reported your grandfather Felix, whom you were given your middle name for, was Jewish. Could you please tell us whether your forebears include Jews and, if so, at which point Jewish identity might have ended?”

The crowd booed, and rightly so. Allen responded with angry indignation, again rightly so. And, I must say, he looked good doing so. The problem with a politician as programmed as George Allen is he often appears phony. This question showed the real man, and it was the best I’ve seen him look during the campaign.

JUDEN! JUDEN!

— “When did you stop beating your wife?”
— “How long have you been a JEW?”

Back to the UN. . .

Admadinnerjacket said at the UN yesterday that the US was behind the Hezbollah-Israel War and questioned the legitimacy of the Security Council itself. “Is it appropriate to expect this generation to submit to[to the Security Council]?” Further, Dinnerjacket said:

I emphatically declare that today’s world more than ever before longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity, and above all longs for the perfect, righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet. [The Twelfth Imam] Oh Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirst for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers among those who strive for his return and his cause.

Huh. I wonder what would have occurred had a Christian invoked God publically before the UN? A coup? Sanctions? Escorted out of the building by armed security personnel, forthwith?

Ah! Your tax dollars at work.

BZ

First:

Gosh! It would appear that Air America is going bankrupt. What? An insufficient audience to keep it going despite a manual infusion of cash on any number of levels from the Democratic Party all the way to Mr. Soros?

Huh! Imagine that. No one willing or wanting to expand the lugubrious audience of such stellar persons as Mr. Franken, et al. From ThinkProgress:

Air America Radio will announce a major restructuring on Friday, which is expected to include a bankruptcy filing, three independent sources have told ThinkProgress.

Air America could remain on the air under the deal, but significant personnel changes are already in the works. Sources say five Air America employees were laid off yesterday and were told there would be no severance without capital infusion or bankruptcy. Also, Air America has ended its relationship with host Jerry Springer.

More information here and here.

Also, “conservative” talk radio is being blames by CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) for an alleged “rise” in so-called hate crimes against Muslims. From WorldNetDaily:

CAIR said it received 1,972 complaints in 2005, the most since it began compiling annual reports after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. About 2,300 reports were received, the group said, but some were found to be illegitimate.

Most of the complaints, according to CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar, were of a “due process” nature, such as racial profiling. Second were denial of religious accommodation and third were employment discrimination.

It should be noted, though, that as WorldNetDaily reported, CAIR’s chairman of the board, Omar Ahmad, was cited by a California newspaper in 1998 as saying that the Quran should be “America’s highest authority.”

Not.

He also was reported to have said Islam is not in America to be equal to any other religion but to be dominant.

How odd, I note, that in the entire WND article I see no clear evidence of overt violence against Muslims. In the rest of the world I see, daily and hourly, violence of Muslim against Muslim and Muslim against others. Consistently. I do hear on much of talk radio, however, words against Islamists and Militant Islam.

Who are the practitioners of real violence, I wonder?

Of final note from Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush’s approval rating has rebounded to 44 percent, the highest level in a year, in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Really? Imagine that.

BZ

Pope Benedict XVI recently made a speech which has now allegedly fanned flames in the Islamic world. YNet, an Israeli webwite, wrote:

Arab op-ed: Pope’s remarks may lead to war

Muslim world newspapers filled with articles slamming pope’s remarks; ‘it is clear that such remarks only contribute to the fueling of the fire raging between Islam and the West,’ op-ed published in al-Sharq al-Awsat says.
Roee Nahmias
Published: 09.16.06, 21:32

The recent remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI on Islam are threatening to ignite the entire Muslim world.

Op-Eds published in the Arab newspapers slammed the pope even after the Vatican’s apology.

The most extreme opinion was voiced by Hani Pahas in the London-based Arabic-language daily newspaper Al-Hayat, who wrote “the pope’s comments may lead to war; we fear that the pope’s statements may lead to a war that we, Muslims and Christians alike, are trying to prevent through dialogue between East and West.”

Pope Benedict was “extremely upset that some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers and have been interpreted in a way that does not at all correspond to his intentions.”

Further, Iranian newspapers said that the Pope’s comments were the result of a US-Israel plot to distract attention from the resistance of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah to Israel’s offensive on Lebanon.

Pope Benedict’s speech in his native Germany on Tuesday, September 12th, referred to a link between Islam and jihad, or “holy war“, and quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said innovations introduced by the Prophet Mohammed were “evil and inhuman.”

The Pope explored the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity, and the relationship between violence and faith, in his speech at Regensburg University.

Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in what is now the Turkish city of Istanbul.

The emperor’s words were, he said: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

Benedict said “I quote” twice to stress the words were not his and added that violence was “incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul.”

“The intention here is not one of retrenchment or negative criticism, but of broadening our concept of reason and its application,” he added in the concluding part of his speech.
“Only thus do we become capable of that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so urgently needed today.”

However, I will say what the Pope cannot: Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire was correct. Muhammad did command that the word of Islam be spread by the sword and, yes, that is evil and inhuman.

What portion of this is difficult to comprehend?

BZ

The United States has created what I shall call an Everlasting War because it dared to stand up against Militant Islam and Islamists.

It is up to every American to realize that, from 9-11 forward, there shall never be any rest for this country and we shall always be in the crosshairs of Islamists from now until eternity or until all of Islam is eliminated. And that, of course, will never happen.

The price we must pay for this has yet to be calculated. When Militant Islam makes threats of acts yet to come, they mean what they say and, given time, some of these acts are bound to acquire fruition if for no other reason than the matter of numbers and the human factor.

Does that mean necessarily that there is another similar “9-11” in our future?

I would answer that question with a resounding yes.

JERUSALEM – The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks were the beginning of the collapse of the American empire, and it is only a question of time before the next “great big event” strikes the United States, a senior Palestinian terror leader who received American training warned during a WND interview today.

“The Americans even now are doing everything to bring our hostility and hatred to higher levels and bring us to wait impatiently for the next great big event,” said Abu Muhammad, a senior leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the northern West Bank city of Jenin. “They deserve one more coup of this kind (like 9/11), and I am sure it is only a question of time. September 11 was the beginning of the collapse of this empire of evil.”

The sooner we understand that completely, the better off we shall be. We cannot even remotely afford to bury our heads in sand.

We dodged a massive bullet on 9-11. We lost 3,000 Americans when, depending upon the day, the time, we could have lost up to 50,000 Americans. At any one time there have been up to 50,000 persons occupying both towers of the World Trade Center in the past. Due to the massive evacuation efforts and the matter of timing and luck, we dodged the 50K bullet.

Will we be so lucky once again?

As I have said before and will say and write until I expire: with a WMD event, Islam has but to win once; conversely, we have to win every time.

You have to admit: our country is remarkably open. Our borders leak illegal immigrants and other determined persons. It is a given that Islamist cells already exist within the contiguous 48. If you are in a population zone there is a chance you live next to some of them. They will do their best to blend because, after all, that is their job.

In an open and free society such as ours we are vulnerable. And I shall relate a recent tale that should make your head spin.

MY AIRLINE TRIPS

Because I have had occasion to make a total of 16 flights between February of this year and now, I have an excellent grasp of security procedures on the west coast with regard to Southwest Airlines and the Sacramento and San Diego airports.

My last three flights have been subject to the newest rules regarding liquids taken aboard aircraft. Going down to San Diego, screened in Sacramento, I packed my Class A law enforcement uniform so I could graduate from my masters class. This uniform contained my original metal Sergeants’ badge, metal commendations, metal shooting medal, metal EVOC pin, American flag pin, and various lifesaving medals I have been awarded over the years. I packed the uniform into my carry-on because I didn’t want unauthorized personnel deciding they would liberate my checked uniform. I wanted the greatest amount of control I could acquire of my uniform. Of course I did not check my Sig sidearm and did not take it.

My bag sailed through Sacramento with a bit of focus; the operator ran my bag through the machine twice, but didn’t demand I open it up. I was not chosen for further TSA/National Guard table scrutiny prior to boarding.

The flight down was great; the graduation cermonies were exquisite and I took many photos during the event. Coming back, I ran the same bag through San Diego’s checkpoints and the screener ran my check-on bag twice, then called for a hand search.

I told the TSA employee that I knew what caused consternation: I had a badge that could be misinterpreted as a throwing star and various metal objects on my uniform. I told him I had nothing to hide and suggested he make a complete search of my bag. I showed him my law enforcement credentials and he found my Class A shirt. I pointed out my camera, my toiletries kit, my PDA, my cell phone and Bluetooth earpiece. I had no problem with him taking everything out and going through it all. I would wonder what I had seen, myself, on the X-ray screens. These people cannot interpret everything without a futher search. That only makes sense.

If they search me that’s fine. I’m not the only person who wants a completely clean Southwest 737 when I fly. I would hope everyone would want the same thing.

It’s not what they found that concerns me; it’s what they didn’t find that makes me shudder.

In the process of unpacking I found what I had purchased in San Diego.

Because I couldn’t carry liquids I had purchased a tube of toothpaste at a local market after I landed in San Diego; I had also purchased some shampoo, some conditioner and thrown a Red Bull into my toiletries kit, thinking that I would drink it on my last day. I forgot about all of these items.

They passed every screening event in San Diego; the X-ray machine and the hand search.

I should have been caught. I didn’t plan it that way; I have no memory and should have been confronted with my items. I was not.

This grievous event gives me pause. I am but one citizen in a continuing stream. Granted, I am white, I am older, I am male, I have no beard, I am not Muslim, I had law enforcement creds with me. But I STILL should not have been carrying liquids with me.

I am guessing that the liquid events are indicating an attempt by various factions to bring innocuous liquids aboard like energy drinks or cartonized quick drinks, perhaps even breaking them down into binary explosives to be mixed on board.

I passed an X-ray search and a hand search. This gives me great pause.

What ELSE are we missing — not only at our airports, but in our ports, on our borders, in our mail, in our very towns and cities?
_________________________________

This is an EVERLASTING WAR. And the enemy shall never give up. Never. Because religion is the GREATEST motivating factor extant.

John Kennedy once said: “He who makes peaceful revolution impossible, makes violent revolution inevitable.”

We can either, as a nation, confront this issue up front, as Jack Kennedy admonishes, or we can wait until it is too late and watch our freedoms, belatedly, become boarded up and inaccessible.

We can choose now.

Because we must choose now.

BZ