IRAQ - HAVE WE TURNED TO CORNER ?

IRAQ - HAVE WE TURNED TO CORNER ?
By Ken Taylor - Contributing Editor
03/11/07


As has been the case for quite some time Iraq is front and center in the news. But an amazing thing is taking place despite the usual rhetoric from the left and some of the media. NBC's Brian Williams recently reported from Iraq during the Nightly News broadcast and more extensive reports on Dateline NBC the evening news magazine show. Williams reported that the , "surge, " the name given the recent troop increase by President Bush, was working.

The shocking aspect of this one simple admission by Williams is that it comes in the midst of a concerted effort by the Main Stream Press and the left to portray anything from Iraq as a total failure and report only bombings, violence and body counts. Also this report aired as Democrats were preparing the latest in a long line of Democrat legislation to pull out of Iraq claiming that the new strategy which has just begun was a failure.

So the question arises, if Williams reported this success, have we then actually turned the corner toward the end game and final victory in Iraq ? Personally this writer understands that there is far more evidence of success in Iraq than failure and that Iraq has come far from the days of Saddam Hussein with ample progress to prove its success. But for the sake of argument let's say Iraq has been a total failure and now the new strategy is turning that around.

General David Petraeus recently appointed commander of multi-national forces in Iraq stated last week that along with the military intervention there must be a successful political solution to the situation in Iraq. To this the MSM and the left misrepresenting the Generals statement immediately followed by claiming even the commanding General admits that the military avenue is failing.

Petraeus was simply stating fact that this as in any war cannot be successful simply by the use of the military but must work in conjunction with a political solution especially in the Iraq situation where an infant government is growing from the diaper stage to that of a toddler.
While the Maliki government has not been exactly flamboyant in its handling of Iraq it is imperative to remember that it IS the duly elected government by the people of Iraq and we as the adult advisor for an infant government do not have the luxury of removing the child since it is the people's choice but to help nurture it through the growing stages of life. As with any infant there are pains in growing and this government is no exception.

During and immediately after our own Revolution our infant government went through several changes that were extremely painful and nearly saw the collapse of the fledgling nation. Our first attempt at organized government under the Articles of Confederation which depended on the combined will of each state was a total failure. After the British surrendered in 1781 the nation suffered through tremendous economic depression, anarchy and even rebellious insurgency which almost ended this , "Grand Experiment." It was not until 1787 with the establishment of the Constitution and then its ratification in 1788 the we began the slow march to full success.

George Washington became the first President in 1789 fully eight years after the surrender of the British and 13 years after Independence was declared giving birth to a new nation. Iraq's government is but FIVE YEARS old and for the first time in the history of this ancient nation which reaches back to ancient Babylon, a free Democracy has risen with all of the growing pains of not only a new nation but a nation that has never experienced this form of government before.

As with any new nation there are many who will fight to prevent change opting to kill rather than accept the new. The insurgency that is taking place is just that, a refusal by many to accept the new and the will of the people. While the factions who fight have rivalries that can be traced for centuries, the root of the trouble is the refusal to accept a Democratic form of government which balances power among all people and does not favor just one faction or group. With Saddam and before Iraq was ruled by the stronger faction whether Shiite or Sunni and now they are by the will of the people seeking a balance in government between the two.

It also now appears through much evidence that the violence associated with the insurgency is decreasing, because of the troop increase and change in strategy allowing troops to operate more freely in areas deemed untouchable before. Muqtada al-Sadr has fled to Iran to avoid possible capture under the new plan. Areas especially around Baghdad are now seeing less violence and a semblance of peace and stability that has not been the case prior to this strategy. Also Al Qaeda has decreased in its attacks with additional capture of higher ranking leaders and the further elimination of terrorist fighters.

Iraq is far from a total success but it is also very far from the complete failure that has been portrayed by the press and the left. Our presence there is a necessary element to insure the completion of the transition from tyrannical government to that of a Democracy. Our troops are successfully training Iraqi Security Forces so that one day soon Iraq will stand and defend her own government with a force trained to handle insurgency, terrorism and rebellion. Pulling out before the government and forces are prepared to handle the situation will only insure the collapse of the freely elected government of the people and the return to a dictatorial regime with Al Qaeda freely operating in the country using it as a operational base.

Energy: Why We’re All On Crack

Energy: Why We’re All On Crack
By Thomas Cefalu - Staff Writer

03/11/07

Energy prices are moving upwards again. As with many other stories, it is improbable that the MSM will report on this in any satisfactory way. Their energy reporting is largely confined to sound bites: oil company profits, people complaining about how expensive it is to fill up their SUV, dire scaremongering that we are running out of fossil fuels and, lately, global warming proselytizing. And don’t forget to catch Al Gore at the Oscars!

So it’s time for some Citizen Journalism. First things first, let’s observe historical trends in energy. Energy prices are set by MARKETS, which are composed of fallible, impressionable and emotional human beings. So in the short term, markets can be distorted by human traits such as the proverbial greed and fear factors. But humans are also intelligent and analytic. Over the longer term, this will push the markets back to rationality and a more accurate reflection of the balance between supply and demand.

The MSM does not care about supply and demand, preferring conspiracy theories and portrayals of dark forces (preferably Republican) victimizing the average citizen. Fortunately, it only concentrates on a few industries. If it covered more territory, we would have a hard time tracking all the nefarious plots. There would be the Christmas Card Conspiracy, whereby boxes of cards selling for $10 on Dec 1 are dumped on the market at $2 by Jan 1. There would be the Corn Conspiracy, where price gouging forces the price from 8 ears for $1.50 in July to one ear for $2 in February. My favorite would be the SuperBowl Coke Conspiracy, where those large thirstbuster bottles get marked up 30% in the days leading up to the great weekend.

Now most people would view such conspiracies as ridiculous. Common sense tells us that prices respond to demand, and demand is both cyclical and seasonal. During upticks in cyclical demand, prices rise. During downticks, they fall. Seasonal factors affect prices in any cycle.
Crude oil is like any other commodity. Wall Streeters make fortunes in constructing black boxes to analyze its price movements. Occasionally they even make money for their clients! But we don’t need those boxes to understand the basics. Simple charts will do. Chart 1 shows crude prices for the 2000-2006 period. The price is rising during the waning months of the 1990’s boom, then drops sharply during the post dot-com bust and recession. Prices rise again as recovery commences, further strengthened by the speculative runup to the Iraq war. After a brief post-war decline, a sustained price increase occurs during the strong economic recovery of 2004-2006. But this should not be a surprise. America’s consumers were using more energy than ever for their increasingly large cars, homes and the PC-Entertainment Complex: that new array of computers, big screen TV’s, DVD players and other gadgets that have become so prominent a feature in daily life. Industrial demand by America and the rest of the West rose as well.. The booming economies of Asia, especially India and China, were entering a period of unprecedented growth in both their industrial and consumer sectors. You would think that the MSM might connect the dots linking the outsourcing phenomenon, the Asian surge and oil prices, but you would be disappointed. It is apparently a mystery to them, but there is no mystery.

The same applies to the even more dramatic price increases of gasoline and heating oil. The markets have established structures to price those products in response to supply and demand. The key statistic here is the crack spread: the price difference between these products and the crude oil from which they are refined. This spread reflects the extra cost of refining, the overhead of storage and distribution, general demand and the supply of the refinery capacity available to produce the product. The crack spread sits on top of the crude price. When you add the two together, one gets close to actual consumer prices.

There is a great deal of seasonality in demand for refined products. As illustrated in Chart 2, gasoline tends to spike in advance of the peak summer driving season. Heating oil tends to peak in anticipation of the winter weather cycle. Jet fuel follows the fortunes of the airline industry, which was depressed during the first three years covered by the chart and recovering during the last three. Speculative activity can intensify the effect of these objective demand patterns. Just ask any futures trader who has to worry about how weather projections affect his heating oil position.
The last three years of the chart are characterized by increasing volatility with crack prices trending upward. This simply reflects the demand and supply patterns in the market. Just as demand for crude has pushed price levels of the base commodity upwards, demand for the refined products has a similar effect on their prices. Oil producers (think OPEC) and the integrated oil companies benefit from the first; integrated oil companies and other refiners benefit from the second.

Supply factors are especially important for crack spreads, because refinery capacity is basically a constant. If demand for oil rises, producers have the option of producing more crude. But if demand for refined products rises, there is no virtually no option to build more refineries: environmentalists and neighborhood opposition make the permit process very difficult. Prices move upward rapidly at the slightest suggestion of shortages.

Weather events provide the final piece to the puzzle. Refinery capacity is concentrated in coastal areas of the US, most of which are vulnerable to hurricanes. The Florida hurricane epidemic in 2004 was the precursor to the “perfect storms” of 2005, when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita knocked out refineries and related infrastructure, including port facilities. Increasing demand and falling supply produced record prices for the refined products. The sudden and dramatic impact on jet fuel prices was the last straw that pushed a number of major airlines into bankruptcy.

The rise in energy prices is very explainable - increased worldwide demand for crude, rising demand for refined products and limited capacity to make those refined products. Speculative activity can enhance the price pressures, but supply and demand is the driving force. The price tag for energy is painful, but that’s what happens when we live on crack.

Go Tell the Spartans…

Go Tell the Spartans…
By Gavin DeFreese - Contributing Editor
03/11/07


that a tale of bravery and the price of freedom, a film about an innovative culture that birthed democracy will not be looked upon kindly by "progressive" movie critics. But wait, I will get back to the big-city boobs after I give you the low down on Zack Snyder's rendition of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 that chronicles the ancient battle of Thermopylae.

I wasn't a big fan of the graphic novels and comic books for which Frank Miller is famous. In fact, I never had heard of the guy until I watched the movie adaptation of Frank Miller's Sin City. I was holed up in my bedroom with a sinus infection, there was a storm raging outside, and I was too tired to sleep so I purchased this odd looking movie thinking it might distract me from my misery. It proved to be more than distracting; it was downright stimulating and uniquely entertaining. The super-sized visualization of all things human, both good and bad but mostly bad, was portrayed so stunningly by the CGI enhanced characters of Basin City that I could have enjoyed the movie even without sound.

I am an avid fan of pulp fiction, paperbacks that is, so I can imagine it is the same thrill and pace of my beloved space operas, science fiction, fantasy, and futuristic military epics that Frank Miller's fans must love about his work. Classical literature is great if you want to ponder life and the mundane, but give me a Harry Dresden, Drizzt Do'Urden, or an Honor Harrington to stimulate my imagination and for an hour or two of escapism any day. These books are meant to be read as if one is participating, at a break neck speed and with raw emotion. Taken in at 100 to 200 page bursts with little long term retention, experienced instead of studied, and enjoyed for what they evoke emotionally, not mentally. Sin City revved up the same emotional treadmill I get from pulp fiction through its cinematography instead of words. 300 cranks its up a notch, straps you into a breastplate, slaps a xiphos into your hand, and hurls you into the bloody Battle of Thermopylae and the famous stand of the Spartans.

If you do not already know the story, then I recommend catching the History Channel's Last Stand of the 300 for a great presentation of one of history's most memorable battles. Here's the gist, 300 Spartans fight hundreds of thousands of Persians in an Alamo-like stand that can only end one way and does, but not before the Spartans put an old fashion thrashing on the much larger force. 300 has a narrator that sounds like he could be reading the text blocks of Miller's novel, and much is explained in this manner from the unique habits of the Spartan warrior culture to the events leading up to the battle. Little of the story is conveyed by the characters, they are there instead
for emotional investment and to pull you into the action. The Spartans are portrayed in the movie as they are drawn Miller; half naked, sculpted pecs, brusque, manly and loud. The Persians are done the same, yet in a grotesque Baron Harkonnen-ish fashion that makes you hate them just as much as you're perversely fascinated. They clash on the CGI sculpted Thermopylae pass in an almost historically accurate (minus the Hollywood bells and whistles) brutal and bloody battle that is artfully choreographed. The blood and severed limbs enhance
ones enjoyment instead of distracting or serving merely as shock value. I know, that's sounds horrible, but it's true!

That is the beauty of this movie.

The lines are cleanly drawn, the Spartans are good and the Persians are bad. One need not waste any grey matter on moral relativism; just pick up a spear and fight! You have freedom and bravery on one side and submission and wickedness on the other. The good guys have all the right one-liners and the bad guys just sneer and look sinister. The movie is almost two hours long, yet it is so fun and engrossing that it feels more like thirty minutes. The end is historically inevitable, but never fear, it is still inspiring and uplifting. There is more to the movie than the battle, yet the rest follows the same line of good versus evil with the bad guys getting their just desserts. And now to get back to the big city boobs who ballyhooed this movie here, here, and here. Take my advice guys, the less you try to make everything a sexual, political, cultural, or racial issue the more likely we will all better get along. If you watched this movie and thought "they shouldn't be dogging the men from NAMBLA" or "not all heroes are white" then you missed the whole point of going to this movie. This movie is meant to be a wild ride that gets your juices pumping, not an analogy for modern day issues. So if you are intent on taking away my visceral, visual, and just plain fun film pleasures then I say… Molon Labe!.

Halliburton Moving to Dubai

The Houston Chronicle is reporting today that oil services giant Halliburton will be relocating its corporate headquarters from Houston to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The move was announced by CEO Dave Lesar from an energy conference he is attending in Bahrain. According to an email obtained by the Associated Press, “The chairman, president and CEO will office from and be based in Dubai to run the company from the UAE.”

“As the CEO, I'm responsible for the global business of Halliburton in both hemispheres and I will continue to spend quite a bit of time in an airplane as I remain attentive to our customers, shareholders and employees around the world,” Lesar explained. “Yes, I will spend the majority of my time in Dubai.”

The Chronicle article continues:

Lesar's announcement appears to signal one of the highest-profile moves by a U.S. corporate leader to Dubai, an Arab boomtown where free-market capitalism has been paired with some of the world's most liberal tax, investment and residency laws.

“The eastern hemisphere is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities and growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton's overall portfolio,” Lesar said.

That the economy of Dubai is booming is hardly in question. Figures for 2005 show Dubai to be the most vibrant economy in the world.

Dubai's economy grew around 16 per cent in 2005 to be worth an estimated $37 billion according to a statement from the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED).
This rate of growth is expected to beat that of China, acknowledged to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world today with a growth rate of 8.5 per cent.

According to Mr. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Director General of the DED, “When compared to $17 billion in 2000, this puts the accumulated annual growth of Dubai's economy in the last decade at among the highest rate of growth in the world.”

As the Chronicle article points out, Halliburton has more than 16,000 of its 45,000 employees, in the Middle East, which accounted for more than 38 percent of Halliburton's $13 billion oil field services revenue in 2006.

The Chronicle article then goes on to link Vice-President Dick Cheney to Halliburton and to more than $2.7 billion in contractor waste and over charging in Iraq.

One Vote Away From Eternal Damnation ...

One Vote Away From Eternal Damnation ...
By Frau Budgie - Staff Writer
03/11/07

Another epistle from the higher eschelon of my own Methodist church, and I shudder every time some of the bishops make a proclamation; they're some of the wackiest group of people I've ever known.

Here's an example from the Institute On Religion and Democracy website:
A small group of United Methodist bishops and ministers is attempting to stop Southern Methodist University from accepting the Bush Presidential Library. Despite the fact that President Bush is an active member of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, over 10,000 people have signed the anti-library petition. This list includes two active and twelve retired United Methodist bishops. Opponents of the Bush library at SMU have cited the Bush Administration's views on national security, war, global warming and same-sex "marriage" as reasons that make such a library unacceptable.

ACTION ALERT: BTW, the link to the petition is at the bottom of this page. There's also a little poll. If you're Methodist, and have feelings, please feel free to weigh in.

I'm Methodist, born and raised in the church, and I've raised my kids in the Methodist church. We've gotten to know several over the years. The church stucture is kind of set up to run without ministers, because the ministers covered vast amounts of territory by horseback, and weren't always there on Sundays.

The other thing about the Methodist chuch is that the congregation can request the minister be re-assigned. In some ways that's good, but about the time you get used to a minister, some body gets a "mad on," you get little groups saying unkind things in whispers, and six months later, you're looking at somebody else in the pulpit. Throughout my life, I'd estimate that the cycle lasts about 4 years.

Of course, the congregations vary. My biggest problem with the church we attended up north was that the roughest year we had as a family was the year the church made this major fund raising drive. I remember this "childen's project" where the children of the church, including mine, had to go through the congregation during services with little baskets to collect money from the crowd; my kids got a kick from extorting money from people they didn't know very well. It was a tough couple of years for my family. I went to church as I've always done in troubled times, for fellowship and spiritual comfort, but instead I found yet another sly weasly hand snaking into my wallet, which was a little lean to begin with. And using my kids to do it. The bright side was this warm, smart, supportive minister who'd call me, but they got rid of him after a year or so.

Then, I remember that my mother's church didn't have two dimes to rub together, yet the spirituality, the warmth and the spirituality was there.

The church we attend now is much, much different. The fellowship's there, they've managed to keep the minister for longer than five years, and I enjoy the comfort and spiritual perspective. I guess the lesson here is to get to know the nature of the congregation before you fall in love with one particular Methodist church or another. You need to know what the church elders are like, because they don't change, and they might get rid of the minister you like.

What's the basic goal of churches in general? Didn't Jesus say something like "Tend my flock, feed my sheep ..." When did He talk about liberal Democrat ideas.

George W. Bush is a Methodist; doesn't that make him part of the flock? It is enraging to see how some upper level Methodist church bishops have tried to disown him thru the years, because of the war in Iraq and "tax cuts for the rich." -- doesn't Jesus love Republicans, too?
The latest condemnation is over the SMU library. I suppose God wants the university to turn down millions of dollars for a worthwhile project.

What does politics have to do with religion, anyway? Didn't Jesus also say "Render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar's, and render unto God that which is God's ..."

The latest incident is the furor over the proposal to build a presidential library. Predictably, the unversity staff opposed it, although alot of the students wanted it. The faculty's objection was that they felt "classified" documents should be included for their perusal. The students at SMU thought it might be a pretty good thing.

There were also property issues with the tiny area called University Park; part of the plan called for the University to expand into a "green belt" park. The University had been trying to get the area for years, for student housing and sports facilities. Then, there's the nutty story I heard a man relate on a local radio show -- apparently SMU owns all the buildings on a block next to SMU, except for one -- and if the deal goes through, they'll get that one building. I haven't been able to find a link to that one.

Methodist bishops, in their wisdom, have circulated petitions against the library, and announced awhile back that our President was not following true Methodist doctrine. There are now "anti-library" activists.

Here's the most troublesome thing: "Tend my flock ..." Bush is Methodist -- isn't he part of the flock? One of the things I like about the President is that he talks about praying, about prayer circles, and has been known to walk around Washington with his Bible under his arm. That makes me feel secure. I prefer a leader who prays, and who talks about it. I'm comfortable with it and I really like that a man who respects God, and prays, is at the helm. These days, I think the county really could use a little help from the Lord.

But, some of these Methodist bishops seem cruel and petty. And what does this have to do with tending the flock?

You hear folks talking about their Church Home. The church is a place to go where you get comfort, perspective, and spiritual guidance. Bush does this, and he's got the guts to talk about it in a time of PC hysteria. It enrages me to see the Methodist bishops pull the rug out from under him; it is a cruel, needless thing. Our country's at war, our President's under pressure and his church is pulling the rug out from under him. This is "tending the flock?" No, some Methodist bishops are just cruel, petty morons. Hey, if you have a problem with Bush, how about phone call and a counseling session. He'd respect you.

I used to watch the Arab newscasts on LinkTV. I remember one newsclip showing Bush strolling out of church, with his Bible tucked under his arm. The Arab newscaster said "With a prayer on his lips ..." The Muslims understand something about faith. Here in the US, we mock and ridicule faith. The Arabs fall on their faces five times a day to worship Allah. In the US, the ACLU punishes schools for having Christmas displays, and you can't mention post the 10 Commandments near a court room.

Now, assuming that there is an Almighty God, and I think there is, whose style of worship is going to be more pleasing to Him, and who do you think the Lord's more likely to lend a Hand to, or give a break?

Here's a link to the WND article way back but if you click here, you'll get a glimmer about the sheep the upper echelon of the Methodist really wants to tend; I don't mean to spoil the suspense, but it's gay people. There was the story awhile back about the lesbian Methodist minister who insisted on sharing information about her lesbian relationship from the pulpit. The congregation took up a petition, and also petitioned to have her "defrocked" but the upper echelon of the Methodist church not only affirmed her right to talk about her "special friend" from the pulpit, but also ruled that she could stay at that church.

::sigh:: of course, the problem is that Bush is Republican. I guess all of us Methodists are just one vote away from temporal disdain and eternal damnation.

Here's a link to the latest from the Annual conference of the Methodist Church. The first one is "Engaging With Islam ...' That scream you hear from N.Texas ways is likely to be mine.

ARGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Is America a Bully?

Is America a Bully?
By Amil Imani - Guest Author
03/10/07

I admit that America is not perfect. Tyrants and populists such as Castro and Chavez in the neighborhood and Iran's Ahmadinejad and North Korea's Kim Jong-II on the other side of the world call America the Big Bad Bully. In a way, to be name-called by "world leaders" like these fellows is a compliment. But, when those who owe their very life to the American "Bully" vilify America and Americans, a response is definitely in order, since remaining silent is often taken as conceding to the accusations. Consider for a moment this patronizing and insulting piece by B. R., published in a London tabloid.

"Were I a Kerry voter, though, I'd feel deep anger, not only at them returning Bush to power, but forallowing the outside world to lump us all into the same category of moronic muppets. The self-righteous, gun-totin', military-lovin', sister-marryin', abortion-hatin', gay-lothin', foreigner-despisin', non-passport ownin' red-necks, who believe God gave America the biggest penis in the world so it could urinate on the rest of us and make their land 'free and strong.'"
And this "tribute" comes to us courtesy of our trans-Atlantic "friends." If this is what our "friends" say about us, then it is understandable that a whole slew of our ill-wishers trip over one anotherto vilify us. Many French, for one, never seem to miss an opportunity to berate and betray us. The Russians are just too happy to do all they can to pain us, in a perverse way of trying to cover their own misery. And of course the Islamists and the mullahs portray America as a brain-dead Great Satan tool of Zionism.

To make matters worse, a vociferous clique of local leftists with a suicide wish are doing all they can to take the country with them to the grave they so earnestly seek. These self-appointed squatters of the higher-ground, on both sides of the Atlantic, are riding so high on their high horse that they are blind to the realities down on earth.

It is a fact that the spiteful Europeans are mired up to their eyeballs in problems that hold every promise of spelling their doom before very long. Instead of focusing on solving their own problems, many Europeans place them at America's doorstep. These "wise" Europeans find it their high calling to lecture and deride us at every opportunity.

To understand what is going on, we need to take a quick look at some of the quirks of the human mind. Venting, blaming, and loathing provide mental relief, at a price. Venting can be a relatively harmless way of expressing frustration, a get-it-off-your-chest exercise, the kind of thing people do with friends, at a bar or on a psychotherapist's couch, for instance.

Yet, when it comes to blaming and loathing, the picture changes considerably. It is common for people to blame themselves, deservedly or not, for their problems. It is also not uncommon for people to actually loath themselves. In extreme cases, the self-loather may destroy his own life. Therefore, loathing is a dangerous energy that must find expression. It is by far safer for the person todischarge his loathing venom on others, particularly at others who are not likely to retaliate.

America has become a safe and convenient target for both the calculating as well as the mindless loather.

Why America? Because America is big enough, powerful enough, successful enough to be envied by every large and small, also-ran and failed individual and nation.

If you are a mercenary journalist who is paid by the word to boost circulation, you had better pick onsomebody big enough for your story to fly. You can't pick on Bangladesh or Haiti. People would laugh you out of town if you do, long before the publisher gets around to firing you.
Another reason is that saying and writing nice things is not provocative, gets no one's attention and isunlikely to get published. If you want to be heard, you need to say nasty things, as nasty as you can and preferably against the biggest target that you can attack and get away with it.
Furthermore, by being venomous you become the voice for the frustrated, resentful and envious. A few words to our European friends are in order.

Your leftist gadflies deride America's way of life while extolling the virtues of your present politicaland social model. They claim that your model is the wave of the glorious future and it will be adopted by the rest of the world. Strangely enough, ordinary Europeans don't seem to think so. Demographic trends show that most Europeans don't even believe in the European ideal in sufficient numbers to want to pass it on to the next generation. According to the European Commission, the average birth rate for the European Union as a whole is now 1.4 children per woman, which is well below the 2.1 replacement rate. According to Germany's Federal Statistics Office, more people died in that country in 2005 than were born.

Not only is Europe declining in number, it is aging as well. According to the US Census Bureau, Europe in 2000 had the highest percentage of people aged 65 and older in the world, and this figure is set to double by 2050. Who is going to work and pay for all the entitlement programs you have become accustomed to?

Economists forecast that European budget deficits will skyrocket as governments strain to reconcile declining tax bases with millions of elderly people who force up spending on pensions, health care, and other services.

Politically, Europe is not much better off. DerSpiegel, a leftist German magazine, recently made thefollowing observation:

"Europe has become a continent of political crises with governments in Italy, France, Britain and Poland all suffering from paralysis or a lack of voter approval. Is the continent about to abandon itsintegration project and return to the old era of national rivalry?"
Question: Weren't these "sister-marryin'", "gun-totin,'" "red-necks" Americans who, not too longago, left their "sisters-wives" behind, picked up their guns and came over and saved you from the Nazis? Weren't there tens of thousands of these same fellows who never made it back home? Did these "foreigner-despisin'" Americans, by tens of thousands, leave their limbs in the trenches of Europe out of contempt for foreigners?

The people you call "moronic muppets" must have earned this designation not only for not demanding war reparations, but for generously giving Europe billions of dollars to help it get back on its feet. In your ethos, generosity of heart is considered moronic?

No sooner were the Nazis defeated, than the Soviets Communists annexed some of the continent and prepared to swallow the rest. Again, it was this "military-lovin'" American nation that paid the lion's share of the bill to defend you against the Soviets' menace while you greedily made money and provided a comfortable life for yourselves under the shield ofthe American forces.

Sadly enough, dear Europeans, you are victims of your own delusions. America is not the Big Bad Bully. The really Terrible Bully is Islamism, and it's right in your midst eroding your social and political fabric bit-by-bit. You don't need to fantasize about your future. Your future is already playing out in the Islamic lands.

Dear gadfly European, to check out your future, you only need to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran, for instance, which is one of the most civilized countriesthat fell to the sword of the Islamists. While you are there, see for yourself how Iran is quivering under the stone-age rules of Sharia. Attend a public hanging, not an uncommon event.

The man's crime, you may ask?

Homosexuality, you are told.

Try hoisting a poster demanding gay rights and see what happens. If you do, you run the risk of beinghanged right there and then as another homosexual. The seriously "gay-lothin'" are the Islamists. They are the very same people who are busily laying the groundwork to perform similar barbaric spectacles in your cities and towns before very long. That's your future as more and more Islamists invade your countries and supplant human rights with Islamic Sharia.
Although I wish you the best of luck, I fear that this time around America can't help you. You are on your own. Say whatever you like about America, while your voice is not yet stilled. Regrettably, your slurs about America seem like the last words of an ungrateful doomed people

Amil Imani is an Iranian-born American citizen and pro-democracy activist residing in the United States of America. Imani is a columnist, literary translator, novelist and an essayist who has been writing and speaking out for the struggling people of his native land, Iran. He maintains a website athttp://amilimani.com/

Fred Thompson - A Man For All Political Seasons

Update

Fred Thompson - A Man For All Political Seasons
By Dave Hinz - Publisher
03/10/07

In the week since I first penned this article about Fred Thompson and his conservative credentials, I have seen his name bandied all about the internet and airwaves as a possible Republican candidate for President.

Whether my piece was prescient or merely timely, it would appear that the former Tennessee Senator is weighing his options and considering a run for that office. Discontent among party conservatives with the current field of candidate leaders has fed speculation that others with more credible conservative credentials are being sought. The name of Fred Thompson appears prominently in this category.

No less an authority than The American Spectator is feeding that speculation:

Thompson chose not to seek a third term in the Senate back in 2002, but his combination of star power, common-sense approach to policy and issues, and gravitas has placed him -- along with
Jeb Bush -- on a conservative wish list for those not happy with the current crop of Republican presidential candidates in 2008.

While a Jeb Bush candidacy is nothing but a pipedream, the American people having become tired of the collective Bush family of candidates, a Fred Thompson presidency is not beyond the realm of possibility. The greatest obstacle, in fact, to such a reality, is seen to be his close friendship with Senator John McCain. According to a quote in that Spectator article:

"He's not going to do it, we've been assured of that," says one John McCain adviser in Washington. "Senator McCain thinks the world of Fred Thompson. They are friends. They've talked."

According to Washington Whispers:

We hear that his buddies are strongly urging him to jump into the already packed GOP race. "The draft- Fred movement grows," says one ally, citing several blogs pushing Thompson, who has been feeding his fans with occasional commentary-laced fill-in work for radio's Paul Harvey.

If McCain is unconcerned by a Thompson candidacy, the other front-runners are. A supporter of Mitt Romney downplays the addition of Thompson into the Presidential race. "We've heard that he isn't interested,
but even if he was it wouldn't matter; we're focused on Governor Romney's campaign and getting his message to as many Americans as possible."

Adding fuel to the speculation, Thompson has begun to take a more public role in the campaign, penning an op-ed in the newspaper and appearing on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.

Another indication of the power of a Fred Thompson Presidential run is the fact that the opposition has begun to notice him, as evidenced by the veiled attack on theHuffington Post blog:

Former Sen. Fred Thompson calls Libby trial "travesty." He's not a prosecutor, but he plays one on TV. And you gotta admit it was fun watching Tim Russert getting grilled on the witness stand.

So often, for the left, reality begins today. They apparently forget his years of service in the Senate, and the years before that as a Prosecuting Attorney. He first came to national attention during the Watergate Commission as minority council.

According to the blog Riehl World View, Thompson was recently discussing the Libby case
with Mark Levin on his radio program when Levin asked him about
a Presidential candidacy.

I'll have more to say about that a little bit down the road.

"Sure, he's hearing the talk about unhappiness with the current field of candidates," says a Thompson supporter,
"but he's just as concerned about how the Republican Party got to this point, and where conservatives can take the party moving forward. He sees a dearth of up and comers out in the statehouses, and he sees a dearth of ideas. If nothing else, I think he wants to get conservatives and the GOP back on track."

There is no better advocate for a movement than the President of the United States. Through that office, President Reagan presided over a rebirth of conservatism that led eventually to control of both houses of congress and the executive branch.

While the beneficiaries of that movement managed to forget their roots and regained their minority status to which they seemed so much more accustomed, a strong conservative leader in the oval office might well reverse that trend.

Again, the question in everyone’s mind: Is Fred Thompson the one who will lead the Republican back to its conservative roots? Or will one of the other front-runners step forward and provide the “movement leadership” the Party faithful crave?