The International Herald Tribune reports that "President Barack Obama has signed an executive order ending the ban on federal funds for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option. Obama signed it quietly, without coverage by the media, late on Friday afternoon, a contrast to the midday signings with fanfare of executive orders on other subjects earlier in the week." Hmm, I wonder why Obama would sign such an order without the fanfare? Could the reason Obama would sign this order in relative secret be that he realizes that most Americans do not want to fund abortion overseas?
The International Herald Tribune further explains that the ban which George W. Bush had reinstituted stopped "U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of U.S. Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion." For some history on this, the policy was first put in place by Ronald Reagan, but was taken off the books by Bill Clinton in 1993. George W. Bush reinstituted the executive order as one of his first moves as president. Obama has made sure to do away with Bush's executive order as one of his first moves as the new president. I think it speaks volumes about the difference between modern Republican and Democrat presidents that Republicans have stopped federal taxpayer funding for abortion overseas while Democrats have done just the opposite.
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Saturday, January 24, 2009
Obama Ends Ban On U.S. Funds To Aid Abortions
Two Former Gitmo Prisoners Appear In Al-Qaeda Video
Two prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay have appeared in a video posted on a jihadist website. The AFP reports that "one of the two former inmates, a Saudi man identified as Abu Sufyan al-Azdi al-Shahri, or prisoner number 372, has been elevated to the senior ranks of Al-Qaeda in Yemen." Further, "three other men appear in the video, including Abu al-Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi, identified as an Al-Qaeda field commander," a man who was formerly known as prisoner No. 333. "By Allah, imprisonment only increased our persistence in our principles for which we went out, did jihad for, and were imprisoned for," al-Shihri was quoted as saying.
Obama has signed an executive order that Gitmo should be closed within one year. Obama needs to explain immediately what he intends to do with the prisoners. If he intends to free them, or to give them such rights to the point that keeping them imprisoned would be impossible, then he will have blood on his hands. He will be allowing jihadists to return to their holy war. If this is not what he intends to do, then he needs to explain clearly to the American people exactly what policy he plans on implementing.
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Friday, January 23, 2009
Obama Signs Order To Close Guantanamo Within One Year
The Associated Press reports that "President Barack Obama moved quickly Thursday to reshape U.S. national-security policy, ordering the Guantanamo Bay prison camp closed within a year, forbidding the harshest treatment of terror suspects and naming new envoys to the Middle East and Afghanistan-Pakistan."
Meanwhile, the AP reports on another important story that shows some of the dangers that Obama will face if he releases Gitmo prisoners. Obama will have to tread carefully when implementing his executive order to shut down the prison within one year. The AP writes that "U.S. officials believe a detainee who was released after six years in Guantanamo Bay is now a top figure in the Yemen branch of al-Qaida. A U.S. counterterrorism official confirmed Friday that Said Ali al-Shihri was released in 2007 after six years of confinement. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss foreign intelligence, says al-Shihri is one of a one of a small group of deputies in what's known as 'al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.'" An Internet site commonly used by jihadists had announced "that al-Shihri is the group's second-in-command in Yemen. The Internet statement said the detainee returned to his home in Saudi Arabia after his release from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and then went to Yemen to help lead al-Qaida."
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
Ranking Republican House Ways And Means Committee Member Presses Joint Tax Committee Staffer On Job Creation
Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) presses a staffer from the Joint Committee on Taxation about job creation in the Democrats' proposed stimulus bill. He could not confirm that this bill could produce even one job. What's a trillion taxpayer dollars between friends anyway?
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Troubling Early Indications Of Barack Obama's Stance Regarding Israel
This symbolic gesture by President Obama is not good news. That he would choose the leader of Fatah for his first phone call is troubling. There are countries that have stood with us in our fight against Islamoterrorism and it would make more sense for those nations to recieve that first phone call rather than the head of an organization that includes the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
It is important to keep a careful eye out to see what exactly the Obama administration means when they say they are committed to "active engagement." Hopefully this "active engagement" does not come in the form of forcing Israel into concessions, as it usually does. Let us hope that this phone call is not a harbinger of things to come.
In terms of actual policy rather than symbolism, one can already see the beginning of "active engagement." The International Herald Tribune reports that the Obama administration is expected to announce the appointment of George Mitchell "as special envoy to the Middle East, an area where he has worked before. In the waning days of President Bill Clinton's administration he was appointed to lead an international commission to investigate the causes of violence in the Middle East. He released a report in the spring of 2001, during the early days of the Bush administration, that called for a freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank and a Palestinian crackdown on terrorism." A special envoy is useless when it comes to dealing with the conflict in the Middle East, and is even more useless when the envoy is a person that thinks Israeli settlements have anything to do with the current war. The withdrawal of every Israeli settler and soldier from Gaza in 2005 proved that settlements were not the cause of the Palestinian terrorism aimed at destroying Israel.
George Mitchell is credited with helping broker the peace in Northern Ireland. If Obama thinks the Palestinians are like the Irish, he has a lot of learning to do. The International Herald Tribune writes that "Mitchell became Clinton's special envoy to Northern Ireland and played a major role in the peace agreement reached in 1998 - and in getting the process back on track when it collapsed the next year. At one point, Mitchell took the Catholic and Protestant leaders out to dinner and ordered that they talk about anything but politics; eventually, the talk turned to opera. 'You know why I love opera?' Mitchell asked. 'When I go home and put on La Bohème, I know Rodolfo's going to sing the same words every time, and it gets me prepared to come back to Belfast because the one thing I know is that I'm going to have to sit here and listen to you guys saying the same thing over and over again every time.' His listeners were men with no history of enjoying being made fun of. But they laughed." I do not think the Palestinians are going to sit down with Mitchell and talk about opera. The Hamas charter declares that "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." The Palestinian jihadists cannot be talked into making peace with Israel.
Mitchell is wasting his time, because he will not be able to convince Iranian-backed genocidal suicidal Islamists to make peace by sitting down at the negotiation table. On the other hand, that may not be his goal. His goal may be to try and pressure Israel into making further concessions. It may be to hold Israel back from defending her citizens. For now, let us remain optimistic. For all we know, opera talk may just be the missing ingredient to bringing about peace in the Middle East.
The appointment of a high-profile American envoy is not the only step Obama has taken. Barack Obama has drawn another contrast between his presidency and that of his predecessor when it comes to Israel. The Financial Times reports that "President Barack Obama urged Israel on Thursday to open its borders with Gaza" which "signalled the new US administration’s shift from Bush-era policy on the Middle East and the world as a whole. In a high-profile address on his second day in office, just hours after he signed an executive order to close the centre at Guantánamo Bay, Mr Obama proclaimed that the US would 'actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians' in the wake of this month’s Gaza war... Before Mr Obama gave his speech, an Israeli official said there would be tough conditions for any lifting of the blockade, which he linked with the release of Gilad Shalit, a soldier held captive by Hamas since 2006. 'If the opening of the passages strengthens Hamas we will not do it,' the official said."
Suffice it to say that the early indications of Obama's approach to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians are not promising.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Dutch Authorities To File Charges Against Geert Wilders For Hate Speech
The BBC reports that "a Dutch court has ordered prosecutors to put a right-wing politician on trial for making anti-Islamic statements. Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made a controversial film last year equating Islam with violence and has likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. 'In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to… draw a clear line,' the court in Amsterdam said. Mr Wilders said the judgement was an an 'attack on the freedom of expression'." He further said that "participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted."
It is interesting that Geert Wilder's comparisons of Islam and Nazism recieve such condemnation. It is little known what history's greatest opponent of Nazism, Winston Churchill, wrote about Islam:
"How dreadful are the curses which Islam lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Islam is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science - the science against which it had vainly struggled - the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.” (The River War, Volume Two, pages 248-250)
This is not to say that one must agree with either Geert Wilders or Winston Churchill when it comes to Islam. It is certainly odd, however, to think that were Winston Churchill alive today in the Netherlands he would be put on trial for hate speech.
Furthermore, the recent pro-Palestinian rallies from around the world showed protesters dreaming Hitler's dreams as they waved the flag of the genocidal terrorist organization Hamas. From Toronto to Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen protesters were heard proclaiming their anti-Jewish genocidal fantasies for the world to hear. Comparisons between Israel and the Nazis, between Israel's defensive actions against a terrorist enemy and the Holocaust, are not hard to find in pro-Palestinian circles. Yet for some reason there is a special sensitivity to Nazi comparisons made by Geert Wilders?!
The fundamental right to free speech is under attack under the guise of fighting hate speech. Whether one agrees with Wilders's film Fitna or not, charging Wilders with crimes for being critical of Islam is ridiculous. Let the Muslims of the Netherlands speak up and provide the counterarguments to Wilders's assertions. The fact that people filed complaints against Wilders with the Court of Appeal suggests that the preferred method is to silence Wilders by force.
Watch Geert Wilders's fifteen minute film Fitna and decide for yourself whether or not it is hate speech:
FITNA (ENGLISH)
by tongeren92
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Newt Gingrich Urges Republicans To Oppose "Tax Evader" Timothy Geithner From Becoming Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner is President Obama's nominee for Treasury secretary. Before taking the oath of office on Tuesday, Obama called Mr. Geithner's tax problems an "innocent mistake." Geithner's "innocent mistake" includes failure to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told the Washington Times that "Senate Repu
blicans should make it clear that they will not permit a tax evader to become the secretary of the Treasury. Even after he was explicitly sent material telling him he had to pay them he did not do so." Gingrich very logically insists that it "would be wrong for someone who did not pay taxes to become secretary of the Treasury in charge of getting taxes from the rest of us. It would be doubly wrong to appoint him in an administration which intends to raise taxes on the rest of us." It does not bode well that Geithner is being nominated for the cabinet position that actually puts him in charge of running the Internal Revenue Service when he was not paying his own taxes.
Gingrich made another good point when he said that "Geithner has had to pay $33,000 in back taxes and $15,000 in interest. The IRS did not fine him. Ask small businesses how many of them think they could avoid paying self-employment Social Security and Medicare taxes for seven years and not be fined."
Geithner testified today before the Senate that his failure to pay the taxes was "careless" but "unintentional." Many people will find it hard to believe that a man of Geithner's economic savvy was unable to accurately fill out his own return. But allow us to indulge Geithner and imagine that his failure to pay all his taxes was an innocent mistake. What does that say about the U.S. tax code? Philip J. Holthouse, a partner with the tax law and accounting firm Holthouse Carlin & VanTrigt in Santa Monica, California, said that "it speaks volumes about the impracticalities and uncertainties of our tax system that somebody who is considered a stellar nominee for the Treasury Department has struggled mightily -- and with professional help -- and still has trouble getting his own tax return correct."
A great article by Jonah Goldberg on the subject: http://townhall.com/columnists/JonahGoldberg/2009/01/23/a_free_pass_for_the_indispensable_man
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Article On "Hamas's Academic Cheerleaders"
Cinnamon Stillwell, the Northern California Representative for Campus Watch, writes that "if further proof was needed that the field of Middle East studies is marred by a politicized, morally vacuous approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the reaction of many of its leading lights to the current war in Gaza should suffice." She compiles a list of "pearls of wisdom from the academic Middle East studies establishment" that should be read by all those concerned about the anti-Israel bias on college campuses as well as those who would ignorantly deny that such a bias exists.
Visit http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=56D5D10C-F367-43F4-8981-0570E3241560 to see the full article.
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Obama Taking The Oath And Delivering Inaugural Address
Watch Obama and Chief Justice Roberts flub the oath of office: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
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Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Louisiana Passes Rules Implementing "Louisiana Science Education Act" And Texas Schedules Hearing On Evolution
Two developments have taken place regarding the teaching of Darwinism in public schools. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has voted unanimously to pass rules implementing the Louisiana Science Education Act. Visit
http://www.evolutionnews.org/2009/01/louisiana_passes_rules_impleme.html for more details.
If you are interested in some details as well as my initial response concerning the Louisiana State Legislature passing the Act last summer, visit: http://www.stevelackner.com/2008/06/louisiana-senate-unanimously-passes.html
Meanwhile, the Discovery Institute, an Intelligent Design organization, reports that "the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) has scheduled a hearing of scientific experts, including three scientists who are recommending that students should learn about scientific evidence that challenges Darwin’s theory of evolution." For more on this, visit http://www.discovery.org/a/8701.
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WSJ: "Fresh Clues Of Iranian Nuclear Intrigue"
The Wall Street Journal reports on the "fresh evidence of recent efforts by Iran to evade sanctions and acquire metals from China used in high-tech weaponry, including long-range nuclear missiles." See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123206759616688285.html for all the details.
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SNL Mocks Ann Coulter In "Web Exclusive" Clip
"Web Exclusive" is another way of saying this clip was not funny enough to get on prime time SNL. Either way, you be the judge:
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