Friday, February 23, 2007

CAIR ask Imams to lie....

CAIR, the erroneous muslim civil rights group, sent an urgent whine-o-gram yesterday asking imams to whip the RoP faithful into a frenzy at Friday prayers. The whine-o-gram claims the repairs being made to an entrance ramp near the Western (or Wailing) Wall will damage the Al-Aqsa's foundations and is another attempt by Israel to change the religious character of the holy city. But that's not the topic of my rant today. The lie this terrorist support group is promoting is that Jerusalem is mentioned in the koran. It's not, and Daniel Pipes offered one million dollars to anyone who could find the word "Jerusalem" in the koran. To date, there's been no payout.

The father of modern terrorism, Yasser Arafat, constantly repeated that there can be no peace without Jerusalem as the capital of "Palestine" and total muslim sovereignty over the Temple Mount. Perpetuating the islamic myth to a historical claim to the holy city.

One of the action alert bullet points instruct imams to discuss Jerusalem's importance to islam and muslims.

* Jerusalem is mentioned in the Quran and in Islamic traditions. One hadith states that prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque are multiplied 500 times. Another hadith states: "Once I asked Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) what was the first mosque established on earth; he said Al-Masjid Al-Haram (in Mecca). Then I asked him: Then which mosque? He replied: Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa."

I don't have the time, right now, to really get into this on a historic level. I will predict (as reported by the MSM) a non-religious, violent, incident involving someone with a middle eastern name. Maybe a crazed cabbie running down infidels, college students renting the largest vehicle they can or a new convert to the RoP is caught before he blows up a mall. And let's not forget about those mentally disturbed people (with middle eastern names) who lurk outside Jewish centers waiting for the right time to enter and shoot as many Jews as possible, all in the name of allah.

We may need to raise the terror alert as imams have been instructed to inform their flock of the "insult" to islam.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

So much for that global warming thing Mr. Gore...

As I monitor the "winter storm watch" from the my palatial estate in the path of this inconvenient weather, me and my crack staffer take a much needed break this evening. The poor guy could only stand in awe of Mother Nature. Perhaps he'll "go" in the morning, if he can wait.... Here's the "You Heard it Here" deck-o-meter. Hershey dare not try the steps today, it's thru the garage if we want to make it to the yard.
The view from my bedroom looking at the deck through the flakes of white stuff we call snow.

The view from my family room. This should help insulate and keep me warm. The snow is about 6 inches above the window which is about 6 inches from the ground. When I was in school that equates to 12 inches. I'll never sell my house if this keeps up, you can hardly see the "for sale" yard sign in the foreground.

Here's Christopher's car in the street this morning after he came home from work. He had to shovel the drive before he could pull in because he couldn't find the drive.

Much better, but not for long. Some school boys looking to make some money this afternoon had to re-shovel the drive that had 4 more inches by 2:00pm.

This was at the height of the blizzard that paid NEO a quick visit this morning. The tracks in my neighbors drive were covered by the time the entrepreneurial schoolboys came to take advantage of the Mother Natures gift.

This is northeast Ohio, we're used to this kind of weather. It reminds me of the winters of my youth, and I love it!

Monday, February 12, 2007

Alone again, but only for 10 more days!

At 7 o'clock last night Nick step outside to warm up his Jeep. I pulled the frozen meals out and packed them for travel. Bread, check. Cereal, check. New shoes (purchased at my mother-in-laws for 30% off), check, check, check and check (Nick got 4 pair and I got 2). Hershey sits in the foyer as if to say "don't forget about me." I top off the travel mug with coffee and walk to the door where the last of his belongings are waiting to be put in the truck. I kiss his cheek and tell him to be careful, call me when you get there. He hugs me tight and promises to drive slow. One last kiss and I close the storm door so Hershey doesn't decide at the last second he wants to go too. One last wave as I follow his taillights to the end of the street and I lock the door. What to do now? Fold clothes or clean the bathroom? I have to get back into 1 hour mode just in case someone wants to view the house. Perhaps I'll check my email, write a new post, I have the time now. Should I finish watching Mythbusters on the History Channel? Maybe I'll wash these coffee cups and ready the machine for the morning, only 6 cups, I'm alone again.

We'll only have to repeat this scene one more time before we have a place to call home. Next weekend will be the last time I'll say a silent prayer for his safety as he heads off into the night. We sign our closing papers on the 22nd and take possession on the 24th. Ten more days and this will be over and a new journey will begin. I want to start making the Obetz house our home. I can't wait to prepare dinner in that huge kitchen. I want to furniture shop, picking out a guest bedroom set, entertainment center and eating area Bistro table and chairs. We also have to purchase a new washer, even though the sellers plan to leave their set, there's a Laundromat in Columbus missing washer number 4 and I have it in the basement of my new house. I'm sure it'll do until we find the local Lowes or Home Depot, washing only our jeans and towels, maybe a few flannel or sweat shirts. I can't put anything delicate in if I want it to come out and not look like it was washed on a rock in Alum Creek. (check a map or Google it)

I fell asleep around midnight after I washed my family room blankets. Sleeping on the couch isn't doing my back or the couch any good. I hate sleeping alone in the bed. I could let Hershey sleep with me during the week, but it'll only make it more difficult for him to sleep in his own bed during the weekend. For now I continue to make my bed in the family room, until I'm no longer alone.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Those crazy muslims threaten to attack Israel, again

Let me say up front, if you don't already know, I'm a Christian. I believe the Bible (and the Torah) is the word of God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The koran and the muslim religion for that matter, (I can't called it "faith" because it's a religion of works and deeds) are not true or correct. That said, people who say Christians, Jews and muslims believe in the same God are misinformed. Either the koran is true or the Bible is true. They can both be false but they both can't be true. Islam, in my opinion, is evil. Their prophet adopted Torah and Bible accounts then twisted them to fit his new religion. Establishing justification to Jewish and Christian holy sites, such as the Temple Mount and the city of Jerusalem, where history and archeology aptly indicate Israel’s homeland.

But I'm getting way off topic.

Not that those crazy muslims need a reason to attack Jews or Israel, however, the rationale for the latest "fatwa" is the planned construction to repair an earthen ramp that partially collapsed in a snowstorm three years ago. When word reached Iran, the grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said "The world of Islam should show a serious reaction to the Zionist regime’s insult to Al-Aqsa Mosque." The sad fact about this is muslims have done far more irreparable damage to the Temple Mount area over the past 30 years, weakening foundational areas to expand their mosque and destroying archaeological treasures. The bridge in question leads from the plaza leading to the Western Wall up to the Temple Mount, and is considered a safety hazard in its current condition. Israel's Antiquities Authority is carrying out archaeological works there in anticipation of its refurbishing. Muslims around the country have taken advantage of the situation to accuse Israel of trying to destroy the Temple Mount complex, and have called for a response more extreme than the previous intifadas. Never let it be said that muslims will pass up an opportunity to launch rockets, throw rock and burn tires. If the palestinians ever acquire the state they claim to desire, what will happen to their violent tendencies?

Yaakov Lappin has a great op-ed in Ynet news. Lappin also tells the true history regarding the mosque and Temple Mount, but the truth doesn't matter when it comes to claims of insulting islam.

If you want to see the destruction that's been done to the Temple Mount by muslims, you can go to this website and see for yourself.

Historical evidence means nothing to muslims and islamic sympathizers. The facts are clear, all we have to do is listen to what muslims have been saying for decades, "Death to Israel" and "Death to America."

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Smooth sailing, not so much!

It all began Saturday afternoon with a call from our Columbus realtor. "Lindsey" had received a reply from the sellers regarding our request to remedy unsatisfactory conditions the home inspection discovered. There were 8 items of concern and the inspectors took it upon themselves to correct 1 of the items, 6 others were what the sellers called "handyman" fixes and the last issue deals with the furnace carbon monoxide return vent. A very serious issue. Well, the sellers, who are already flustered because they're losing money on the sale, said they'll have the furnace looked at and extend a $200 credit at closing because the rest of the remedies are "just handyman fixes that the buyers can complete."

Here's where a little background info is needed. The sellers, Rodrick and Billy, were one of the first people to pick out their lot and buy a house from the developers. They had a ton of extras built into the house and as expected, they paid for it big time. Eight years later they want to sell the house. The first time they had the house on the market for 216 days with no takers. They lowered their asking price and had it up only 13 days when we made them an offer. As with everything, we did our homework and our bid turned out to be exactly the same as the appraisal and to the sellers dismay, was $10,000.00 less than they paid 8 years ago. Just as we expected they countered. Their counter offer was only $500.00 (and $4500.00 more than the appraised value of the house) less than their asking price with the option to back out if they received a better offer within 48 hours. We accepted their counter offer and the folks who looked at the house that Monday afternoon didn't make an offer, so the contract was drawn up and signatures all around. We thought the next 4 weeks would be smooth sailing.

After 3 hours of back and forth over the furnace, handyman fixes and me in tears, Nick took control of the situation. Let me tell you, it takes a lot to anger Nick and this pushed him to the line. He took the next call from the realtor and told her all other offers were off the table and we wanted a receipt for the furnace repair and a check for $750.00 at closing, that was our final offer and if they declined we're walking away from the deal. Nick explained that we were already paying $4500.00 to much for the house and if they don't have a check, not a credit, at closing "they could put the house where the sun don't shine." Lindsey agreed, she reminded the buyers how we agreed to all their previous demands and we had no problem getting a "handyman" for the other issues but we're not budging on the furnace problem. A receipt and a $750.00 check, for the handymen we have to hire, is expected at closing. Once they were aware of the appraisal, Rodrick and Billy realised this was the best they were going to get and agreed to our final contract stipulations.

I can't tell you when I've worked with such uncooperative people. Either they want to sell the house or they don't, it's that simple. To put icing on the cake, Columbus has what they call "round table" closings. The buyers and sellers, along with their realtors, meet to sign the closing papers with a mortgage representative to answer any questions should they arise. When Lindsey told us about the closing details Nick and I promised her we would be on our best behavior and not embarrass her in front of these people. That was the first time she laughed in 2 days.

Hopefully, this will be last bump in the road on our way to Columbus.