Ok, from yesterday’s serious dissertation on the Middle East to today’s humor… check out Mr. Completely for the Redneck Weinie Roast picture of the day.

6pence

He gives a hat tip to Mary S., so I will too! Well done, folks! 

Having had some liberal tendencies in my youth, I understand the sentiment of those on the left who decry the current war. To the casual observer, the plight of the Lebanese is the fault of the Israelis. It is, after all, the mighty Israeli Defense Force (IDF) which is attacking the civilian targets inside Lebanon, right? WRONG — Islamic Fascists are to blame!

The dictionary defines fascisms as:

fas·cism n. (fshzm)

1. often Fascism

a. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

b. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.

2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.

This is exactly what Sheik Hassan Nasrallah does through a “shadow government”. Nasrallah is not the elected leader of any government in the region. He is the leader of the para-military religious organization called Hezbollah (or Hizbollah, which mean “party of God”) which dominates the entire socio-economic spectrum in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah runs the schools. Hezbollah runs the hospitals. Hezbollah controls the neighborhoods and infra-structure of that part of southern Lebanon. While there are other inhabitants in the region, (such as Christians, orothodox Sunni Muslims, and peaceful Shi’ite Muslims), they are definitely “outsiders” in the grand scheme of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is a radical arm of the Shi’ite Muslim culture/religion. Shi’ite Muslims and Sunni Muslims have traditionally been at odds which each other in the Middle East. The Shi’ites (or followers of Shia) represent less than 10% of the Muslim population and include Iran (following the revolution byAyatollah Khomeini in 1979), parts of Iraq, and militant factions such as Hezbollah. The Sunni Muslims are the majority (about 90% of Muslims) of the population and represent Saudi Arabia, Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party (although Iraq also has a significant Shi’ite population too), and Afgahnistan (including Al Qaeda and the Taliban). The most fundamentalist Sunni followers (including al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden) are often called Wahhabi-Salafists.

(Correction: I transposed my Muslim sects and have now updated it. — 6pence) 

Salafist (roughly) translates to “pious forebears” and refers to the teachings and practices of Muslims during, and immediately after, the time of the Prophets. Wahhabi refers to a muslim cleric, Muhammad ibn Abdl-Wahhab, who taught that pure Islam must be followed and infidels must be erradicated. Traditional (orthodox) Sunni Muslims believe Wahhabi-Salafasts do not follow the Islamic sources (the Qur’an and the Sunnah) authentically, but the wrong interpretations of the founder of the Wahhabi movement who appeared in the 1700s. Sunnis, and other Wahhabi detractors, have labeled them as Wahhabis to differentiate them from orthodox Sunnis. A Wahhabi would not call himself by that moniker, he would call himself a Sunni.Where does all this leave Israel? They are faced with Hezbollah, who want to establish a Wahhabi-like state in Lebanon, on their immediate northern border and who do not recognize Israel’s right to exist. They are faced with daily rocket attacks onto their sovereign nation and with the kidnapping of IDF soldiers. If the Israelis and the US allow Hezbollah to gain a stronger foothold (both in terms of civilian and military strength) in Lebanon, then the Wahhabi will continue to consolidate power in the Middle East. If Israel is defeated and driven into the sea (as the Wahhabi would like) who will their next targets be? The secular Muslims? The Europeans? The Americans?

The Global War on Terror is not about territory. It is not about oil (although the US certianly does have a national interest in that aspect too). It is about diversity! It’s about cultural acceptance! It is about the God-given right to life (and in my mind, liberty and the pursuit of happiness)! The Wahhabi-Salafist do not recognize nor accept you as a free man or woman. To them, you are an infidel and infidels must die! They do not recognize your right to practice the religion of your ancestors (let alone the religion of your choice!). You are either a (Wahhabi) Sunni Muslim or you are an infidel and infidels must die! (DO YOU SEE THE PATTERN HERE??)

On one hand, you have Israel, who has allowed access to sacred Islamic sites under their control; who allow arab businesses inside their borders; who accept Islam as a major religion and are willing to coexists with it. On the other hand you have Hamas, Hezbollah and the Wahhabis who do not recognize Israel’s right to exist. Who have declined peace negotiations for decades and who only yield to military power. That’s how they define this World War. Now we, the freedom-loving men and women of the world, must win the war. Not only for ourselves and our grandchildren’s sake, but for the secular Muslims, the Buddhists, the Taoist, and any other religion not meeting the Wahhabi’s approval.

One final point in regard to Israel — Hezbollah and the civilian population are, in many instances, one and the same. The Islamic Fascists put anti-aircraft guns on top of hospitals and rocket launchers inside homes, then cry “murderous zionist pigs” when the Israelis retaliate against these targets. This cartoon from Beth at the Blue Star Chronicles sums it up pretty well… to Hezbollah, there are NO innocent civilians — there are only shields and targets.

6pence

Update: While I don’t vouch for all of these sites, here are some links to interesting resources on the subject:

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/islam.htm

http://www.eurolegal.org/terrorism/terror103.htm

http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/islam/0000139.php

Postscript: By the way, in the twentieth century, there was another well-known dictatorship which felt their culture was superior and the only true pure race — we called those fascists Nazis and they too tried to destroy the Jewish community…

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Here are the people responsible for IL HB2414:

Representatives: Edward J. Acevedo - Lovana Jones - Karen A. Yarbrough - Harry Osterman - Barbara Flynn Currie, Linda Chapa LaVia, Deborah L. Graham, Sara Feigenholtz, Mary E. Flowers, Richard T. Bradley, Joseph M. Lyons, Michelle Chavez, Charles E. Jefferson, Elizabeth Coulson, Kathleen A. Ryg, Cynthia Soto, William Delgado, Susana A Mendoza, Maria Antonia Berrios, Kenneth Dunkin, Milton Patterson, Calvin L. Giles, Eddie Washington, Constance A. Howard, William Davis, Arthur L. Turner, John D’Amico, Elaine Nekritz, Marlow H. Colvin, Jack McGuire, George Scully Jr., Julie Hamos, Robin Kelly, James D. Brosnahan, Daniel J. Burke, Annazette Collins, Robert S. Molaro, Karen May, Larry McKeon, Monique D. Davis and Esther Golar.

I find it interesting that: 40 of the 41 sponsors are Democrats (Elizabeth Coulson is a Republican from Glenview Distrcit 17), most are from the Cook County/Chicagoland area, and most are a member of an ethnic or gender “minority” — very few are traditional “white male liberals” such as Mayor Daley.

In reply to these elitist fools, I would urge them to consider the following quote used by Thmoas Jefferson as he said it far more eloquently than I:

“False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils, except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Can it be supposed that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity, the most important of the code, will respect the less important and arbitrary ones, which can be violated with ease and impunity, and which, if strictly obeyed, would put an end to personal liberty — so dear to men, so dear to the enlightened legislator — and subject innocent persons to all the vexations that the guilty alone ought to suffer? Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”

– Cesare Beccaria, in On Crimes And Punishments
(later quoted by Thomas Jefferson)

As evidence of this phenomenon, just look at Chicago’s anti-gun laws and the incidence of murder in the City. Stop this House Bill NOW!

6pence

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Why am I not seeing this in the mainstream press?? Kim du Toit, from The Other Side of Kim, has a post about Illinois Democrat Governor Rod Blagoyevich equating gun owners living north of I-80 as being “gangbangers” and “up to no good”. Days later, Cook County Board member Joseph Moreno called for “…house to house searches to pull every gun out of Cook County.” WTF, are these guys living in Lebanon or the United States of America??? Isn’t it bad enough the Illinoisans can’t carry concealed weapons? Isn’t bad enough that you can’t own or posess a handgun in the City of Chicago? Isn’t it bad enough that Chicago is STILL the murder capital on the US??

No, according to Richard Pearson, of the Illinois State Rifle Association, there is a House Bill (24140) awaiting a vote. Pearson says “If passed into law, HB2414 would result in the banning and forced confiscation of millions of lawfully-acquired firearms from law-abiding Illinois citizens. The raids would be aided by a database of firearm owners being maintained illegally by the Illinois State Police.”

Wake up America! We need HELP right here inside this country!! The Democrat machine has such a death grip on Illinois politics that we are in serious jeopardy of losing our Second Amendment Rights! Send the NRA. Send the Second Amendment Foundation. Send the Gun Owners of America. Send someone with a brain!!!!
6pence

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Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House, had interesting comments on Meet the Press which I missed this weekend. You can read the article at World Net Daily. I believe it was also in the Seattle Times. His assertion that I liked the best was:

“Imagine we woke up this morning, and 500 Americans were dead in Miami from missiles fired from Cuba. Do you think any American would say, ‘No, we should have proportionate response. We shouldn’t overreact.’? No we would say, ‘Get rid of the missiles.’ And John F. Kennedy, a Democrat who understood the importance of power in the world, was prepared to go to nuclear war to stop missiles from being in Cuba.”

I totally agree! If we aren’t going to explicitly help Israel in this effort, at least don’t hinder them! Let Israel get rid of the missiles and we ought to start focusing on Iran’s role in this!

Support Israel

Footnote: the “500 dead” figure is a proportional number of citizens, based on the populations of Israel and the U.S.A.

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