Archive for November, 2009

In June the SC state legislature authorized the “I Believe” specialized license plate. And of course, within days a so-called separation of church and state group filed suit in Federal Court, citing the plates were discriminatory and unlawful. Yesterday, a federal court agreed.

A federal district court ruled Tuesday that the “I Believe” license plate approved by the South Carolina Legislature violates the constitutional separation of church and state and cannot be issued.

In a summary judgment ruling, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie said the plate was based on a discriminatory law. “Such a law amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular,” Currie said.

Here’s the thing, this plate is one of four dozen other plates drivers can chose from. This is a matter of choice not endorsement of one religion. Private groups in SC have a right to create plates if they paid $4000 or have 400 prepaid applications, Lt. Gov. AndrDe Bauer put up the $4000 from private funds, and again the Circus Court of Appeals dumps on Christianity.  What about this plate, Judge; would there be any issues with this one; or would political correctness win again?

From the Wounded Warrior Project.

On February 22, 2006, Specialist Dan Perry was severely injured in a bunker west of Ramadi, referred to as Position 3-South. Position 3-South was a wooden bunker fortified by sandbags, strategically placed directly on top of two parallel railroad lines. Along with two other soldiers, Sergeant Schladweiler and Specialist Fisher, all three were going about their regular duties and had completed about four hours of a five-hour shift.

At about 3:15 pm, they began receiving small-arms fire from the north, northeast, and northwest. Spc. Fisher called to position 3-East (approximately 300 meters to the northwest of position 3-South) and reported that the small-arms fire was coming from a car that was driving down a road. At the same time, Sgt. Schladweiler called in a fire mission for artillery. Then, four or five rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) hit the bunker position at 3-South. Spc. Fisher was injured during the RPG attack, and it is believed that Sgt. Schladweiler and Dan were pulling him out of the bunker while still returning fire, as all seven of their 30-round magazines were later found used. While their attention was diverted to the north, a motorized railroad cart with three 170mm improvised explosive devices (IEDs) slammed into the east side of the bunker, causing it to explode and collapse on the three soldiers.

At position 3-East, Sergeant Garza, Sergeant Tyree, and Specialist Flynt had responded to Spc. Fisher’s call and were returning fire at the oncoming car. Spc. Flynt was knocked out of the turret by an explosion (the RPGs at 3-South) and then felt a second larger explosion (the IEDs at 3-South). Sgt. Tyree attempted to call Spc. Fisher, and when no answer was received, he looked out the window to see that 3-South was leveled.

Sgt. Garza, Sgt. Tyree, and Spc. Flynt ran up the hill towards 3-South while still receiving enemy fire. When they got to the exploded bunker, only Sgt. Schladweiler could be seen with his head just above the sandbags. Spc. Fisher could be heard from under what used to be the roof. After Sgt. Schladweiler was pulled out, they saw Dan’s arm under a pile of sandbags. Dan was found unconscious, with his breathing passages severely injured by the weight of sandbags on top of him. Nothing could be done for Dan with the first aid supplies on hand, so Spc. Flynt sat on top of the hill holding Dan’s head in his lap to help him breath, waiting for the medics to arrive.

First they were transported by Humvee to their camp, and in the process, Dan was given an emergency tracheotomy.  Then, Sgt. Schladweiler, Spc. Fisher, and Dan were taken by medevac to Balad. In Balad, Dan received a shunt to relieve the pressure on his injured and swelling brain. When Dan arrived in Germany the day following his injury, he was stabilized to fly to Walter Reed Army Medical Center along with Sgt. Schladweiler. Dan stayed at Walter Reed for seven weeks, where he had numerous surgeries and a skin graft.

Dan’s injuries include a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, shrapnel and powder tattooing to the left side of his face, neck, upper arms, shoulders, and other parts of his body. He has physical damage to his left ear, and inner-, middle- and outer-ear damage with permanent hearing loss. He broke his right thumb, wrist and arm, and sustained other open wounds and lacerations which have since healed. He has permanent vision loss and damage to his left eye, and nerve damage on several areas of his body.

In early April, Dan was transferred to the Palo Alto VA Medical Center, where he underwent testing and treatment for his traumatic brain injury, as well as his other physical injuries. In August, Dan returned home to Connecticut. Dan has since been receiving medical treatment and therapy at Mt. Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital. Dan has also made several trips to Walter Reed Hospital for appointments, symposiums, and surgery. In April of 2007, he was medically retired from the military.

There are 30,000 other stories similar to this one. This Veterans Day, along with saying “thanks” to a soldier, please consider donating to the Wounded Warrior Project. The WWP provides services to the most seriously injured soldiers as they readjust to civilian life.

FoxNews.com is reporting that a Senate panel investing the increasing threat of domestic terrorism, not from “ring-wing extremists,” but from homegrown jihadists, warned of a Fort Hood type scenario years ago.

More than a year before the massacre at Fort Hood, a Senate panel conducting an extensive investigation into the threat of homegrown terrorism warned that “radicalization” had spread beyond Afghanistan training camps to the United States and that lone wolves fueled by Internet propaganda would present a growing threat.The Senate committee report warned that the Internet was serving as a “virtual terrorist training camp,” and cited that as a contributing factor in the United States becoming more and more susceptible to homegrown extremists.

Though the report said that the lack of a “sympathetic audience” and presence of an integrated Muslim community historically has made homegrown terrorism less likely in the United States, it cited recent homegrown plots — like a foiled plot against Fort Dix, N.J. — as an “early warning” that the trend is reversing.

The “sympathetic audience” is now the political establishment and the mainstream media. More and more information is being released about the events leading up to the Fort Hood shootings, and the some of the media is suggesting the Major Hasan just snapped, still asking if this was preplanned, still trading carefully on the “terror” word.

“Radicalization is no longer confined to training camps in Afghanistan or other locations far from our shores; it is also occurring right here in the United States,” the report stated.

Mike Baker, a former CIA covert operations officer, said Hasan — particularly as a member of the U.S. military — would have made an “attractive candidate” for radicals overseas. If he was influenced by such elements, Baker said, Hasan would be more than just an “unhinged fellow” accused of going on a shooting rampage.

If so, the attack certainly did not follow the Sept. 11 model, where hijackers were recruited from overseas in the Middle East. As the 2008 report detailed, “the violent Islamist threat to the homeland has evolved and expanded.”

Imagine that, the enemy is changing tactics, and somehow we can’t. Jihadists can apparently only be Middle Easterners who hijack planes or blow up things in the war zone; they can’t be American, they can’t act alone, they have to fit the mold, otherwise we’re just stereotyping. Here’s a thought, read the evidence!

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News that it appears the “red flags” surrounding Hasan should have prompted an investigation.

“Certainly it’s worrisome if red flags were ignored, if behavior issues were not targeted for further review,” Collins said Tuesday. “This is something we have to have a no-holds-barred investigation of.”

Have you ever read Desperate State and thought you’d like to write something? If so, now’s your chance. Desperate State is looking for a few additional writers to submit posts. If you’re interested in current events, especially politics, and would like to speak your mind on this site, please send an email to blog@desperatestate.com; include your name, email, and an example of what your thinking.

If you wish to participate, please stick to current issues in a wide range of topics, and remember we will not accept posts that are defamatory, personally malicious, or misleading or untrue. All posts will be verified before posting and corrected if needed; please also remember that we desire to share the truth about all subjects regardless of affiliation or political leaning.

Thank you for your contributions.

the Berlin Wall came down.

While, Bush 41 was there and helped facilitate the dismantling of the Wall, it was Ronald Reagan’s speech nearly 18 months earlier at the Brandenburg Gate that started the process. Reagan was called a cowboy, an instigator, a rebel, and countless other names; because of his stance, he was ridiculed and maligned. His opponents were sure he’d ignited WW III when he referred to the USSR as the “evil empire,” and yet, now the world is better place for it.

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberation: come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

I was only six years old when the Wall came down, but I still remember very well the unbelievable and dramatic events of fall 1989 that fortunately ended the infamous division of my country. My own background, originating from a large family of seven in East Germany – the second dictatorship on German soil in the 20th century – and the close study of oppressive systems provided me with an understanding of what freedom, inter alia freedom of speech, religious freedom, free movement, free trade, and academic freedom really means. I am more than convinced that oppression never works and that no such system can survive in the long run.

Conrad Rein

Visit the Reagan Library for more information.

Pamela Gellar, like many others, says “political correctness is going to rout this country,” and she’s right, but that’s not the worst part.  We can’t say the crazed lunatic who shot up Fort Hood yesterday was a jihadist, that’s being stereotypical, that’s profiling, that’s not being tolerant, it’s true, but it’s giving way to hate speech.

According to NPR, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was put on probation while at the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD for proselytizing about his Muslim faith with patients and colleagues. Apparently, the authorities knew he was an extremist six months ago, but didn’t act on the information in fear of religious and community repercussions – political correctness.

Director Roland Emmerich of Independence Day and Day After Tomorrow fame, elected to not destroy an Islamic icon is his new movie 2012. “I will not have a fatwa on my head because of a movie.” We are remember the last fatwa that was issued by Osama bin Laden in 1998 and called for Muslims to execute Americans and their allies. Emmerich went on to say, “We have to all in the Western world think about this. You can actually let Christian symbols fall apart, but if you would do this with [an] Arab symbol, you would have a fatwa, and that sounds a little bit like what the state of this world is.” We don’t care about the Christians, but we has be careful of the mullahs.

And yet another example of the dangerous political correctness is the UN resolution on hates crimes that the US cosponsored with Egypt. I can only imagine how those highly respected countries on the Human Rights Council will reprimand Iran and Syria when they again call for Israeli elimination or Zionist destruction.

There is no need for Al Quaeda to fund another mass hijacking or risk sneaking in a dirty bomb, political correctness is the new 9-11. When a killer like Major Hasan can historically make extremist remarks glorifying other attackers, empty out his apartment, and execute 13 soldiers at a military installation in Texas while shouting “Allah Akbar,” and the President and FBI say it’s not terrorist related, then the enemy just needs to sit back and watch the absurdity.

“Everybody says this is going to create a lot of jobs. We feel strongly that it’s going to be in the three to four million range.”

Those were Christina Romer’s (Obama’s top economic advisor) words nine months ago in a February press conference, touting the $789 billion White House stimulus package. So where do we stand now? According to the Labor Department’s number this morning, that “the three to four million range” is actually how many jobs eliminated.

But these numbers are based strictly on unemployment claims, and are a little misleading. There millions of Americans who’s unemployment compensation has, and millions more who have settled for a part-time job.  So, in reality, the number of jobs eliminated is more like 14.5 million jobs gone or 17.5 percent.

How’s the $789 million working for you?

Well here we go. Apparently, the management of TWA, Delta, and other airlines who already have bans on laptops and other electronic devices in the cockpit can’t properly enforce their own policy; so Congress, America’s police force, is considering making it against the law. Yes folks, the two Northwest pilots who are now out of work and unlicensed would also be criminals if the legislation goes through.

In response to that incident, members of the Senate and House are actively considering legislation which would make it illegal for pilots to have any consumer electronics device in active use while they are flying a commercial plane. In a statement, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), chairman of the aviation subcommittee, told the press: “We now understand from this flight at least that this can happen and there ought to be a more clear understanding by everyone in the cockpit that there is a national standard that would prohibit this and that they need to take it seriously.”

I wasn’t aware this was such a national catastrophe; they overshot the runway by 150 miles, they turned around, no one got hurt, right? Did I miss something?

But, like steroids in baseball, the college football playoff system, executive pay, and many more private business issues, Congress thinks we’re all morons and can’t manage ourselves without them. I guess next Congress will debate banning large backyard balloons.

From DailyFinance

Today on the House floor, Minority Leader Boehner said the GOP has it’s own health care reform bill. It’s about freaking time.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, the American people have said that the number one thing they’re concerned about with regard to health care is the cost of health care.  And the Speaker’s 1,990-page government takeover of health care, raises the cost of insurance for America’s families and it will add to our already exploding debt.   The cost of the Speaker’s bill is now at $1.3 trillion and counting.  It’s a debt that’s going to be paid for by our kids and our grandkids.  And to make matters worse, it will increase taxes, impose job-killing mandates and cut seniors’ Medicare benefits.  There’s a better way.

Republicans have outlined a plan to lower costs and expand access at a price our nation can afford.  This includes letting families buy health insurance across state lines, allowing small businesses to pool together and offer health insurance to their employees at much lower costs, just like big businesses and unions can today, giving states the tools to create innovative reforms that lower costs and ending junk lawsuits that contribute to high health care costs.  Given all that’s at stake, the American people deserve to see the Republicans’ smart, fiscally responsible plans debated here on the House floor side-by-side with the Speaker’s 1,990-page bill.   And I hope we will see that debate and a vote as soon as possible.

Buying across state lines, small business pooling, tort reform… brilliant. I wonder why it only took them ten months to write down the ideas of every conservative pundit in America.

Conservatives have a problem, and the NY-23 congressional race is only making it worse. Don’t get me wrong, I am pulling for Doug Hoffman, and if I lived in the district I’d certainly vote for him. But, there is the dilemma – stick with the GOP or go third party. The Republican Party has moved to the left, and conservatives are understandably feeling abandoned, after all there hasn’t been a real conservative candidate in over 20 years.

We must be careful though, we’ve been down this road before.

Remember, we all thought Bush 41 was going to be alright; he’d been the Gipper’s VP for eight years. But, that “no new taxes” campaign promise… I can still see those Saturday Night Live skits; Dana Carvey’s spot on, “it wouldn’t be prudent.” It was because of that broken promise many of us voted for Perot in 1992; good or bad, had we all stuck with 41, he’d have served a second term.

Here’s the problem, the Democrats own their base. The Republicans have sold theirs out. If you’re a liberal, you’re a Democrat; if you’re a socialist or a statist, you’re a Democrat. If you’re pro-choice, pro-union, pro-gun control, you’re a Democrat. If you’re a conservative, you might be a Republican, or a Libertarian, maybe Conservative Party member, or the American Conservative Party, or perhaps you’re a Constitutionist, or maybe you’re none of the above.

I know there are exceptions to the rule, Joe Liberman, Zell Miller, etc. The point is the Democrat Party has moved toward its money base, and the Republican Party has moved away from its. And yes, unfortunately, it is about the money.

You can say it’s about principal and not party, and to a certain degree, you’re right. But, at some point you have to look at party affiliation, it does serve its purpose. Without party affiliation there is no majority; without a majority there are no committee chairmanships; without committee chairmanships there is no agenda. If conservative groups write off the GOP, they must either find a way to band together into one major affiliation or risk remaining in the minority for another 40 years.

But then again perhaps the NY-23 election is a warning shot across the bow that turns the GOP ship around. I guess only time will tell.