Happy Halloween!

Halloween in our new house, our new town. This is the 5th holiday we’ll spend here, if you call Halloween a holiday and if you celebrate. I like Halloween, not like I love the Thanksgiving to New Years Eve season. I don’t decorate like I do for the November through December holidays. I did purchase a small pumpkin this year for the porch, un-carved of course. The last couple years I'd use a battery operated Jack-O-Lantern, blinking from within the poly-resin sphere.

When Christopher was little, I would take him to a farm and let him pick a pumpkin. By the power of a knife and little hands (to scoop out the seeds) the former pumpkin would become a “Jack-o-Lantern”. Usually a week before Halloween on a Sunday after church we would head down to the canal in Valley View and see who had pumpkins for sale. One or two Jack-O-Lanterns would be the extent of my decorations.

Our first house was on a hill with 20+ steps leading to the front door which was a deterrent to most Trick-Or-Treaters. Only the heartiest candy grabbers would make the trek to the house on the hill. If we got little ones it was because the evening was warm and the parent carried them. If it was cold or rainy I could plan on taking candy to work the next day to place in the cafeteria for coworkers to enjoy. Most years only a handful of ghouls and goblins would come calling. Those hearty enough to endure the stairs would receive a handful of treats. I figured if you did climb the stairs you deserved a little something extra for your endeavor.

As a tot, Christopher would dress up and venture out for about 45 minutes to an hour. A pumpkin, ninja turtle and batman for a few years. He’s not a big candy eater, butterfingers and peanut butter cups are his favorites, and let’s not forget about the money. He liked the change at the bottom of his bag or Jack-O-Lantern bucket.

Here's Christopher in his first Halloween costume, a puppy dog. His partner for the evening was Brittney, my best friend's daughter, born 12 days before Christopher. September 2nd and the 14th respectively. It was nice being with child with a friend.

Christopher's second Halloween donning a homemade pumpkin outfit. His partner this year was his cousin, my brother's daughter Stephanie. Peeps, a name given by my father when she was born because she had big blue eyes, was wearing the hand-me-down puppy costume.

When he got older and would go out with his friends and the costumes went from cute to ghoulish, as scene here in 2001 with "Broken-Bike-Mike" his school buddy. Here's their attempt at the Insane Clown Posse, a musical group. This night was more for show and maybe they hit a few house's for a snack. It was a night to walk the neighborhood with friends incognito. Good times!

I wish everyone who celebrate this holiday, the old fashioned way that is completely politically incorrect, a safe and Happy Halloween!

Who's in bed with who?

Yesterday a late day whine-o-gram alerted me to the republican rhetoric on the campaign trail, a right wing attempt to pin terrorism to islam.

CAIR points to this WSJ article alleging the elephants are calling the enemy by name while the asses continue to skirt the issue. A candidates stump speech can make or break their career, just look at howlin’ Howard Dean and his “shout heard ‘round the world” in Iowa. WSJ indicate the disparity between the two groups, focusing on Mitt Romney and his “extreme” language regarding the threat we face today. At least that’s what CAIR would like you to think.

If you compare the two links you find CAIR left out 4 paragraphs or 277 words. Though nothing was added to the WSJ article on the CAIR site, leaving out the context of Romney's speeches, TV ads and town hall events serves their evasive purpose. Every time an imam or islamic spokesman is caught on tape encouraging jihad and death to Israel, we're told it was taken out of context. CAIR has used this tactic many times to influence or inflame the ummah.

Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director is disturbed by “the interpretation of jihad as extremist and violent” and says “Mr. Romney's use of jihad legitimizes claims by terrorists that they are fighting on behalf of Islam.” Well, if it blows up like a martyr then it’s jihad.

The feigned outrage never ceases to amaze me. What I can’t understand, however, is how an islamic family living the American dream can be lead around by the nose by this un-indicted terror co-conspirator.

If we listen to the rhetoric coming from OBL, the Iranian nutter in chief and many in the CAIR organization, we’d hear them denounce the west for our promiscuous, immoral ways. A culture that shrouds half of their populous, considered property not people, never to gain full membership in society. A culture where homosexuality and adultery is punishable by death and abortion is unthinkable. Donning the facade of an ultra-pious culture stuck in the 7th century, oppressed by religious tyrants who refuse reformation where religion dictates social policy.

You have to ask why a hyper-conservative community, such as the ummah, would endorse the values held by the democrat party. I don’t believe they’re behind the liberal push for a welfare state, the gay marriage issue and abortion rights.

Code pink, move on dot org and 9/11 “truthers” hanging out on the fringes of the left, they decry this country for humanitarian rights abuses, remaining silent while women are stoned to death and gays are hanged. How can moderate, religious muslims align themselves with such groups? Could they be closer than we think, is there a common objective? The democrat policy of appeasement has been the vehicle of global tyrants. While we focus on the micro they look at the macro, nothing changes over-night. Change comes in dribs and drabs, one step at a time.

Appealing to the UN to legitimize martyrdom operations against the Zionist occupiers in Palestine and their puppet master, the Great Satan now occupying Iraq. Anti-Americanism has reached a fever pitch and moral equivalence has replaced reason.

The quest for globalization is their common bond. As Iran attains nuclear technology to eliminate Israel, the liberal democrats want to cut the defense budget and eradicate our nuclear weapons. Remember John Kerry made the nuclear proliferation pledge and our national security had to pass a global test. Excuse me?

Our culture and traditions are no longer tolerated. The 10 commandments are removed from every civic area while foot baths are being stalled in public restrooms across the nation.

The muslims student association can erect a wall on university campuses to symbolize the occupation of Palestinians, in the name of free speech. Conservative speakers are verbally and physically attacked in an attempt to convey opposing views, in the name of free speech.

Astonished parishioners watch as the sisters of perpetual indulgence violate a Catholic mass and receive communion in clothing that mock the religious habit. Why don’t they don a mocking kufi and violate a mosque. The liberal doctrine of acceptance forbids judgement, and the event was never exposed.

Is it a purposeful alignment with the left in an effort to disrupt our moral compass. Love of country and patriotism is now called xenophobia. Naming the enemy is racist and profiling. Saddam gases his own people and America is immoral when trying to stop it. Israel is constantly condemned by the global community for defending herself from a religious doctrine that wants nothing more than to drive her into the sea.

The far left has this vision of global oneness, a feelings based rational. And the caliphate champions are following in the shadows, waiting to fill the moral void amidst the carnage.

Oklahoma lawmakers say NO to korans

The need for CAIR to create controversy where there is none seems to be a never-ending quest. The latest insult to the RoP came from Oklahoma lawmakers and their decision to return copies of the koran, a gift from the Governor’s Ethnic American Advisory Council.

Rep. Rex Duncan had this to say, in a letter to colleagues, about the offer, "Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology,". One can argue the point that islam is an ideology and from what I see, the ideaology is a murderous death cult.

Council chair-woman Marjaneh Seirafi-Pour, herself a muslim, denounced Duncan's assessment, saying "I know he referred to Islam as an ideology. That is not a fact. It is a religion. It is very peaceful, very inclusive,".

I'm in agreement with Mr. Duncan, and I bet these folks are as well. Danny Pearl, Nick Berg, the 4 Blackwater contractors (who were burned, beaten and hung from a bridge in Fallujah) just to name a few victims of the inclusive, peaceful nature of islam.

Today, CAIR is conducting a news conference "with the Islamic Society of Tulsa and interfaith leaders in reaction to Islamophobic remarks by lawmakers in that state who rejected Qurans sent as gifts from an ethnic advisory council." And made this statement, "In rejecting the Qurans, Islam's revealed text, some lawmakers made stereotypical and offensive remarks that falsely linked the faith of Islam to violence."

Instead of condemning the actions of the Oklahoma lawmakers for declining a free koran, perhaps changing the muslim stereotype would go a long way in swaying the hearts and minds in the statehouse and nationwide.

Mistrial in HLF terror funding case

After 19 days of deliberations and a two-month trial, jurors in the Dallas federal courthouse remained divided on most of the 197 terrorism-financing charges against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which has ties to Hamas. US District Judge Joe Fish, in accordance with federal law which requires a unanimous decision of the jury to convict a suspect, was forced to declare a mistrial on Monday.

Nihad Awad, CAIR executive director, had this to say "today's declaration of a mistrial in the case against the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation (HLF) Muslim charity a "stunning defeat" for the prosecution." and said the jury agreed with other "observers of the trial who believe the charges were built on fear, not facts." Touting the Texas trial as their latest victory against the government, "failed in Chicago, it failed in Florida, it failed in Texas," You may recall, CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the case.

In early October, nine days into deliberations, jurors indicated that a member of the panel was refusing to vote. There are 3 possibilities for the reluctant juror,

1) Fear of retaliation by the terrorist groups whose financiers are on trial. 2) Religious sympathy with the accused. 3) Some liberal notion of moral equivalence.

The verdicts, which were handed in by the jury on Thursday and read by the court on Monday, were voided after Judge Fish polled the jurors and discovered that three of them disagreed with the verdicts as they were submitted. After the judge allocated time for further deliberations to break the deadlock, 11 of 12 jurors agreed that their decisions were no longer subject to change, leading to the mistrial. Prosecutors said they would probably retry the case against five out of the six defendants from the foundation.

It seems to me the government overplayed their hand. They had so much evidence against the defendants, the jury couldn't see the forest for the trees. I would like to know a little more about the juror who refused to pass judgement on the defendants. Next time the prosecutors need to keep it simple, a cut and dry case.

October book review

I just finished reading "If I did it; Confessions of The Killer" written by Pablo F. Fenjves. It's the book OJ Simpson was going to publish before the Goldman family was awarded the rights and proceeds. Events described prior to the June 12, 1994 murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are as OJ Simpson remembers them, only his side of the story is given. Simpson outlines his relationship with Nicole from the time they met up to and including her funeral and the low speed chase. The narcissistic manner in which Simpson portrays incidents, painting himself the victim, is sickening. Simpson implies Nicole was a drug user and bi-polar to explain her erratic behavior and claims she was jealous and obsessive, not him. One can clearly see he's psychotic. In the chapter detailing with the murders, which Simpson claims is a fictional account, OJ is joined by his friend "Charlie" who stood watch as OJ murdered Nicole and Ron.
I admit, I was sucked in by the media hype and wanted to read OJ's confession. All proceeds from the sale of this book go to the Goldman family to help satisfy the civil judgement that has risen, with interest, to over 38 million dollars.

The second book I read this month was "If Democrats Had Any Brains They'd Be Republicans" by Ann Coulter. If you're a fan of Coulter you enjoy this book. It is full of her quotes on everything from airport security to the war on terrorism. It's a compilation of her greatest hits, so to speak. Coulter tells the truth, she says out loud what we're all thinking. It's the best free publicity she could get every time they say; "she's gone too far" or "this time she's crossed the line", the liberals have been singing her swan song for the last 5 years while she's appearing everywhere and her books travel to the top. The book is also a quick read and her quotes really make you think. It's witty, cleaver and real. I highly recommend it if you're an Ann Coulter fan or if you want to see what the left has been whining about.

Promoting the education of the ummah!

Every time muslims are involved in nefarious acts we’re told the west needs a greater understanding of the islamic community, America needs to be educated in the ways of islam. Claims that islamophobia is running a-muck in our country whenever a link between the religion of peace and the perpetrator completes the circle. The answer to what ills the ummah, according to muslim special interest groups, always consist of education and understanding, for the kafir. Descent from former muslims are vilified for nothing more than speaking the truth.

The fear of a nonexistent backlash against muslims always lead to placing blame on the victim. Riots in France, cartoonist death threats and endless demands for apologies because somehow islam has been offended. Anytime a muslim is involved, he is portrayed as the victim and law enforcement is coerced into a hate crime investigation. CAIR and other groups claim incident after incident are always racially motivated regardless of the facts.

If progress is going to be made, the bridge-building, education and dialogue needs to be within muslim community. The constant rhetoric painting the ummah as one big “misunderstood” populace entitled to special consideration only serves to encourage the vicimhood mentality and behavior. Western societies have grown used to islamic “temper tantrums” and find it necessary to tippy toe around muslim sensitivities, thus becoming enablers. Negotiating with terrorist only promotes bad behavior. When we’re forced, by muslim civil rights groups, to scrutinize crimes against anything islamic we're no longer a free nation. No one is free from being offended or insulted, even islam. They all need to grow a thicker skin.

Columbus jihadi pulls a "bait and switch" on school board

Columbus is a hotbed of jihad activity and Patrick Poole has got it covered. Poole is a columnist for Front Page Mag and runs the Central Ohioans Against Terror blog where his investigative reports have put him in the jihadi cross hairs.

Poole just uncovered an unadvertised event to be held at the Ohio State Capitol later this month featuring a known hamas operative with multiple immediate connections to designated terrorists. In his article "HAMAS in the house" Poole discovered that "not only are taxpayers partially footing the bill for the event, but yet another speaker at the event also has multiple terror ties". The October 28th event, "Many Faces of Islam”, is being sponsored by IACO, however, they failed to include it on their event information page.

Poole has a complete resume of one of the speakers, Anisa Abd El Fattah, the chair of the National Association of Muslim American Women based in Columbus, but that's not all as Poole outlines. Fattah also "headed an organization that one convicted terrorist leader described as "the political command for HAMAS in the United States", which was named by federal prosecutors this past May as unindicted co-conspirator in the current Holy Land Foundation terror finance trial; and she co-authored two books with the current spokesman for HAMAS, Ahmed Yousef, who fled the US in 2005 and immediately reappeared in Gaza in his new position within the HAMAS leadership."

But the spider-web is just getting started. In a victim laced letter to the editor that ran in September 15 edition of the Columbus Dispatch, Fattah says Israelis in Gaza aren't civilians. The venomous op-ed drew Pooles attention. In the course of his investigation, Poole discovered Fattah had interviewed for a Columbus School Board position, not as Anisa Abd El Fattah, but as Caroline F. Keeble. How did her terror credentials escape the 15th largest school district in the country?

"Thus far, there is no indication that anyone with the Columbus Public Schools or the establishment media was ever aware of anything in Fattah/Keeble’s political activist background. Even though she was not selected by the school board to fill the open seat (she had also applied for a previous board opening) - by maintaining dual identities and doing most of her work promoting Hamas under her Arabic name, she had been able to evade the scrutiny of local counter-terror researchers" including Poole.

With the terror threat facing our nations schools finally on the security radar, how can we keep our children safe when those responsible aren't doing their due diligence?

I tip my hat to Patrick Poole for a job well done.

Gore is now in "nobel" company

I'm sure you've all heard the news, Al Gore won the Nobel Prize for peace. Gore can add this to his list of meaningless achievements. The MSM is all abuzz over the news, showing their bias, as if he were the second coming. Missing from their praise news, however, was the British court ruling that found 9 scientific errors or omissions in the Gore documentary. But why ruin the party with facts.

The Nobel Prize has lost some of its reverence over the years. Notable past recipients include Jimmy Carter (2002) and Yasser Arafat (1994) for their anti-Semitic global contributions towards peace. Other distinguished laureates have included Kofi Annan and the United Nations "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world" recognized in 2001. Obviously, running the oil for food scandal had no effect on their ability to con the prize committee. And lets not forget the 2005 winners, IAEA and Mohamed El Baradei, "for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way". Yes, were still trying to put the genie back in the bottle after the toothless atomic watchdog stalled long enough to allow Iran to pass the point of no return.


I guess the prize committee thought Irena Sendler, a 97 year old woman who saved Jewish children from Nazi death camps, wasn't a peaceful cause in light of what Mr. Gore has accomplished. Saving Jewish children, saving polar bears, I can see the moral dilemma they were faced with in making their selection. Maybe they'll revisit her feat next year. If Gore had a conscience he'd relinquish the award and admit Sendler is more deserving. Then again if Gore had a conscience he would actually be conserving energy instead of buying carbon credits to alleviate his guilt, while padding his carbon offset business portfolio.

Israel and palestinian peace talks

Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, is wasting time. Peace talks between Israel and the palestinian terror leaders will lead to nothing. Abbas, speaking at a ramadan fest breaking meal,
"I don't want 'peace at any price, but rather a peace as called for by legitimate international [UN] decisions." He then laid down some of his conditions: "There won't be a [Palestinian] state without Jerusalem... We want, without word games, an end to the conquest of the lands from 1967..."



And, Abbas also wants the "right of return" for those refugees living in camps (where host countries have refused to allow them to emigrate, instead freely providing them tarps and bags of flour, sitting idle waiting to use their house keys) since 1948. So much for this set of talks.



Is should be clear, these refugees and the terrorist who represent them don't want peace with Israel. If they did, Arafish would have taken the deal in Oslo. The victim mentality of the ummah garners more global financial support than actually creating a self-governing nation. When your GDP is young muslim men with bombs straped to their bodies its hard to acquire worldwide compassion. But the loony left has rationalized the suicide bombers plight as their only weapon against the Israeli war machine.

If the arab refugees and their descendants are allowed to return, it would be a demographic disaster for Israel's decreasing Jewish majority.

Also on the table, the future of Jerusalem. Abbas claims there can only be one capital for the palestinian state and that's Jerusalem. And it seems the Olmert government all to happy to hand it over to the terrorists.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Dutch Salman Rushdie

Would you be afraid of this murderer and his cohorts? Like other jihadis, they've stated their intention to murder you, in a five page fatwa plunged into the chest of Theo van Gogh.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali had just returned to the Netherlands, for (lack of) security reasons, when she was told to go back America, for security reasons. Dutch justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin told Hirsi Ali she was not in any "specific" danger in the US. The Dutch, unlike the British who continue to protect Rushdie, are ending their round the clock security regardless of her address.

For little over a year the former Dutch MP has been living in the US, working for American Enterprise Institute a Washington think tank. Like Salman Rushdie, another critic of the religion of peace, Hirsi Ali fears for her life. She has been under the protection of the Dutch government since the 2004 murder of Theo van Gogh by an offended, muslim immigrant on the streets of Amsterdam. A five page note stabbed into the film makers chest called for the murder of Hirsi Ali. The penalty for contempt of islam and their holy prophet …is death and nothing else.

In her book, Infidel, Hirsi Ali chronicles her life in Somalia, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kenya. The arranged marriage that took her to Europe and her escape to the Netherlands where Ayaan found freedom and broke the chains of islamic oppression. She recounts her rise to political prominence and her life after the murder of Theo van Gogh. In her quest to understand the culture and religion of her birth, Ayaan looked around and asked the question, why couldn't muslims govern themselves and create a functioning government if islam was the answer to everything, the one true path. It's a gripping read that keeps you turning the pages, I read it in 4 days.

A quick Google search will give you the headlines relating to this story from several countries. One such article is Hiiraan Online, a Somali news outlet. The article was short, reporting the basic information about one of Somalia's own. But the thing I found shocking was the comments attached to the article. They have a simple solution to the security issue facing Ayaan Hirsi Ali, renounce past statements criticizing islam and all will be forgiven.

Right, does anyone believe that?

It's quite disturbing when you read comments like these and hear muslim apologists repeat the standard mantra, islam means peace. How can you defend the tag-line, islam is tolerant, and have views like this in our face?

Banning Halloween, Christmas and Jell-O!

The slow erosion of American traditions and culture has made its way to the heartland. But parents in Illinois are standing up to an attempt to mainstream islam, via ramadan decorations.

America has one national holiday that is religious, that's Christmas. Other national holidays are secular and with the exception of Jehovah's Witness, are celebrated or recognized by most Americans regardless of their faith.

On the heels of an announcement by Oak Lawn schools banning pork items and Jell-O from the lunch menu to accommodate muslim students, that controversy is dwarfed by the Christmas and halloween debate. Wednesday evening, police had to be called to the Columbus Manor School to intervene in a shouting match among parents, tempers ran high over the issue.

The current debate stems from a request made by parent Elizabeth Zahdan. Zahdan wanted to decorate the school for ramadan. When her request was denied, the muslim community was crying foul, the solution, rename or eliminate traditional school holidays. Halloween will be the Fall Festival and Christmas will be Winter Break. Superintendent Tom Smyth said, "I go back to our policy which says that public schools are to remain neutral in this respect.", however, muslim students are allowed to pray during their lunch period. So much for neutrality.

Resident Bryan Schapiro argued that long-standing traditions are under attack."For a number of years now I've seen something change every year because it goes against Muslim beliefs," and "Traditions that have been beloved by children in America for centuries are now being taken away little by little because the Muslims want the school day, menu and social traditions tailored to their needs."
Is ramadan a holiday or an observance and what are ramadan decorations? A picture of food with a slash though it? Come on!

Only 30 percent of the district pupils are muslim, not the 50 percent cited by CAIR executive director Ahmed Rehab. Appearing on the Glenn Beck show last night, Beck asked Rehab about a comment he made describing the parents and residents; "Some of the locals don`t come across as incredibly educated. There`s Budweiser anger there." Rehad elaborated and came out and called them racist. I bet that comment won't be debated on the senate floor. There won't be a letter telling CAIR to fire Rehab or at least issue an apology for his remarks.

Beck had a great comment closing out the segment, "If we`re going to put foot baths in our schools for Muslim students, which we are in some colleges, we should be able to put the Ten Commandments in the front of our courthouse."

Why are we contorting ourselves to accommodate the 30% minority instead of demanding they assimilate to our cultural traditions. 70% is still a majority.