A View on Israel’s Response

Hamas is an organization dedicated to killing all Jews and the destruction of Israel. In an area where might makes right, especially with the Arabs, forceful action is the only way to get respect. Hamas declared an end to a truce to which they have never adhered to either actually or in spirit. At that time the number of rockets hurled at Israeli citizens accelerated. Israel had no other choice but to meet force with greater force. How Hamas is viewed depends on the how far Israelis carry their offensive. If Hamas is decimated they will lose any support by the occupants of Gaza. That will make it feasible for the Palestinians to form a government that can get along with Israel and Israel can help build up the area. This would be a monumental step towards peace in the area. If they are still able to function then Israel’s efforts will be wasted, Hamas will rearm, and it will start all over again.

Israel Hit Me Back First

To Westerners the Muslim mind is an enigma. Muslims do not see the treachery of heaving up to 60 mortars at civilian populations, indiscriminately hitting homes, schools, and childcare centers. Muslims seem not to mind being put into the lines of fire by the stationing of rocket launchers, weapons cashes, and other military activity right in the middle of civilians.

But when the victimized citizen’s military retaliates, as Israel did on December 27th 2008, against Muslim terror activities, they cry foul. They demand the condemnation of Israel, calling the Israelis murderers and terrorists. They refuse to acknowledge that all that has to happen to prevent military strikes is just to stop firing missals at the Israeli population.

They elevate those that murder innocents, like the one who opened fire on religious students indiscriminately, to hero status. They hail their leaders that spend money and manpower on acts of terror and complain that the west does not help them more. What goes through the mind of a person who kills innocent women, men, and children and then complains that the country of those they have just terrorized cuts off their electricity?

The explanation is not that difficult. It just boggles the mind. A Muslim does not consider a non-Muslim as human. Only a Muslim is qualified to have the respect afforded to humans. The rest of us are Infidels not worthy any consideration. To a Muslim the killing of a non-Muslim is like squashing a bug, trapping vermin, or getting rid of some other nuisance. A Muslim is ruled by the Koran and Shari’ah Law and does not need to answer to or abide by the laws of any country. Anything in the possession of an Infidel is for the taking by a Muslim. An Infidel is expected to acquiesce to the demands of a Muslim and cower in his presence.

This is the attitude that has spurred Islam in its attempt to conquer the world. A quest that started over 1,400 years ago by Mohammed and perpetuated by Islamic leaders through to today by the Ayatollah Khomeini, Yasser Arafat, Ahmadinejad, and others. Without a reformation within Islam this quest will continue until they are vanquished or they conquer us all.

A Danger Denied

Despite the surging of secularism and atheism in the western nations, Judeo-Christian beliefs are deeply rooted in our psyche. Too many are hard to comprehend that a religion with its roots in Jewish tradition could be so brutal in modern times. After all the Judeo-Christian ethics are the basis of true democracy, justice, and moral behavior. Before if affects us directly it is also easier to pretend that a danger does not exist rather than to face it. Facing a danger requires action and that would take away form our self indulgent quests.

The leaders of the west are fearful that if the true and barbaric teachings of Islam are realized a back lash could trigger mass retaliation, causing havoc. Governments are leery of disgruntled populations. There has never been a revolution by a content populous. An informed populous might demand action that just might be to difficult for a government to take on.

There are those in our government that feel a reformation in Islam will happen and happen in the not too distant future. There is even a think tank that addresses this expected eventuality on a regular basis. The facts all around the world do not, in my opinion, support this theory. Quite the opposite, we hear the call to world conquest and see the actions of Islamic rulers around the world. Putting murderous hostile actions aside, where ever there is even a small Islamic presence in the west, there are demands on the non-Muslims to aqueous to the ways of Islam such as making prayer areas available in schools and workplaces to Muslims. Islam demands privileges that are denied to other religions, especially Christianity. Many Islamic communities demand that local rule of law be super ceded by Sharia Law and many municipalities, rather than have a significant portion if their constituents unhappy (they want to be re-elected) go along with it. Sharia Law has some very draconian concepts that all good Muslims adhere to. If the west continues to ignore these facts (as is happening all over Europe) western nations will end up being ruled like Iran. A country where the Islamic leaders have absolute power over the government and Sharia Law super cedes all.

An Islamic Caliphate is the biggest danger the world is facing. For over 1,400 years Islam has been on a quest to eradicate any and all other beliefs or none beliefs. If the West does not wake up and soon, the status of women will that of property of the father, then the husband, and then her children. All independent thought will be denied and severely punished. Scientific and social advancement will regress and the masses will be kept stupid and at the mercy of the Mullahs.

How will the Obama Administration do?

The next four years are going to be the most perilous the world has encountered since the Nazi threat of the 1930’s. Obama may or may not be aware of the road he chose to the White house.

First he is in debt to some very nasty people like the corrupt Chicago political machine, Chicago gangsters, and socialist revolutionaries. His view of world politics is at best naïve and at worst despicable. If one refuses to see the enemy he is doomed and so is the country he is governing. Domestically his stated goals are to decimate our military and create an armed National Civilian Security Force. This is reminiscent of Hitler’s youth movement, the Brown Shirts, and the SS, organizations that spied on the populous and then terrified the nation. Nationalizing health care is another very scary proposal. All over the world this way of administrating health care is a huge failure, without exception.

Currently he is confusing people on all sides of the political spectrum. Most of his promise of “change” has taken a back seat to the very established Clinton era with a splash of very left wing radical views. He has accepted as fact his total ignorance of military strategy by keeping (at least for now) the current leadership.

This man needs very close scrutiny in all his actions. His command of rhetoric (which is highly polished and honed) is of no use in decision and policy making. The result of his presidency is dependent on to what extent he will pay back those that have put him in the White House and if he is willing to learn and accept the reality that is facing him. He has the capability learn. We will have to wait and see the path he takes.

What Can Save Our Auto Industry?

The American auto industry has moved away from a capitalist and entrepreneurish system to one based on the demands of consumption. The UAW kept making demands for wages that had nothing to do with the ability to produce a product that the consumer would buy. The management is also not invested in the product but in the value of the stock. Stock value is what has determined their pay, bonuses, and options. The focus has not been on what product will sell at what price but on how much can we suck out of the industry.

Capitalism is based on investment and risk. The investment has been minimal and the risks have not been accounted for. Constantly borrowing to pay wages and benefits without concern for the profitability of the operation is what put the industry in the situation they are in.

To prevent a total collapse of the industry (including suppliers) a rework of operations is necessary, without that no matter how much money is sunk into it, it will collapse completely. Salaries and benefits of management must be based on performance and not stock value or how long they can manage to borrow money to keep afloat. Wages need to be based on the profitability of the product produced. The product lines need to be evaluated as to salability and reduced to those that are profitable.

Once the SOP of the industry is changed then and only then should the government step in with loans to allow the industry to achieve profitability and stabilize the economy.
It is interesting that in the last 30 years Ford Motor Company has been moving production to other countries while Toyota has built 12 new plants in this country. This has produced a $4 billion profit for Toyota in the last reporting period while Ford has lost $9 billion.

Islam is not compatible with the rest of the world

I see very little hope for Islam and the rest of the world to get along. First of all non-secular Islamic regimes are run by Sharia Law. Sharia Law leaves no wiggle room for reformists and governs with strict interpretation of the Koran. In the past any candidate with any reform ideas has been disqualified from any election by the religious leaders (Iran is an example).

Second are two edicts in the Koran. Islam is dedicated to create a World Caliphate ruling the world with Sharia Law that does not allow any opposition. The meaning of Islam is to submit. This means that one becomes a Muslim or accepts dhimmitude. Although the Koran expects Muslims to be truthful with each other it is a different story when dealing with Infidels. According to the Koran it is almost mandatory to lei and use deceit when dealing with Infidels if there is an advantage to Islam to do so. This destroys the creditability of the “moderates”.

Third is that a bad Muslim does not follow the Koran and a good Muslim does.

Capitalism: The Remix?

On December 4, 2008 Sebastian Mallaby wrote in the Washington Post:
The nastier this recession gets, the more people will talk about the discrediting of markets and the failure of deregulation. So the next time the Dow dives off a cliff, splash your face with ice water and remember two things: This end-of-capitalism talk is bunk, and it distracts us from the debate we should be having. The real question is how to manage the necessary shift in the balance of our mixed economy. Outlandish though it may sound now, red-blooded capitalism must be part of the answer.

My comment is:
Capitalism must be more than just a (small) part of the economy. Capitalism’s base are the small entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks and go into business. This becomes very difficult when huge corporations are propped up by governments using taxpayers’ money. When the government becomes the owner or part owner of these huge entities, competition is stifled. This is socialism, a system that does not allow capitalism and is doomed to failure. The production of unwanted/unneeded products or service just consumes. An economy based on consumption can not survive.

All these CEO’s begging the government for bailouts are not capitalists. They have no capital invested in these businesses. They are just trying to protect their enormous salaries and bonuses. They are like government bureaucrats doing all they can to feed an enormous beast at the expense of the taxpayer.

Under a capitalist system people are allowed to succeed and to fail. If the product is needed by the consumer and is affordable the enterprise succeeds. If there is no demand for the product it fails; no matter how much money is infused. In this case it deserves to fail. Only in a socialist system are businesses artificially propped up to keep them going.

The only interference that should be allowed in a capitalist system is not to allow any one business to become so big (a monopoly of sorts) that “it can not be afforded to fail”. In a society with 100 banks, when one fails the impact is small. If there is only one bank and it fails, the impact becomes a calamity.

Social Issues Have Validity in Politics

We have allowed for social issues to become irrelevant and take a back seat in politics for too long. Social issues are what make up the fabric of society. Once society loses its faith and morality it will loose restraint. When that happens too many, not all but many feel no restraint in any endeavor.

Sanctity of life is one of many examples. Ever since abortion was made legal in its present form, it became a form of birth control. I have known women attending UCLA that had a half a dozen abortions prior to graduation. For a student attending UCLA they were free. None of these women considered using protection of any kind. The result is where a large part of society feels no consequences for their actions, no restraint to urges, and loses of nurturing. The last in most instances is a masking of remorse. “Doing the right thing” becomes irrelevant. Self indulgence takes its place. This creates a nation of consumers and production and the desire to achieve is decreased. That is what a socialist state is and an immoral conscienceless society becomes.

Pragmatically social issues can not be the forefront of a political campaign but to maintain a cohesive and productive society they must not be discarded completely. Restraint must be practiced so not to have the government control the populous too far in any direction. Government can not be allowed to legislate morality but should be an example of high moral values and self restraint. It definitely should not facilitate the abdication of responsibility.

America the greatest, most prosperous and generous country’s founding was based on Judeo-Christian values which have played a major part in its success. Those who minimize these values, in order to absolve them selves of guilt for their own success, have tried to replace charity and a helping hand with socialist substitutes mandated by government. We must not abandon that which made this country the most prosperous, most generous, and a champion of freedom and liberty.

Sultan Knish

Sultan Knish

ACLU and the Media Ecstatic over Obama Closing Guantanamo

ACLU and the media are cheering Obama’s upcoming closing Guantanamo where Islamic combatants have been held. If he does close Guantanamo what will he do with the combatants?

If they are transferred to the U.S., it is highly likely that they will go in front of a civilian court, thus endangering our intelligence operations by revealing sources and methods of intelligence gathering.

This will be in line with Obama’s desire to decimate our intelligence and military structure. Without an intelligence network, it will be impossible to have an effective method of combating Islamic terror. We will be at great risk.

When this happens, Obama will have an excuse for his Civilian National Security Force. He will ask the citizens to spy on each other, make reports to the government, and intimidate us all into going along with his other plans. If you do not go along you may be jeopardizing your livelihood, and worse even be incarcerated. Remember he intends to arm some of this cadre.

Sometimes You Just Have to Start Over

As a company grows bigger and bigger it can loose sight of its objective, to make a profit. This can happen when the many and large departments of the company become more concerned with their own predominance rather than the company’s. This is called mismanagement. When a company is mismanaged and spends more money than it makes it borrows money. If it continues to out spend its revenues it will go into receivership and better (hopefully) management restructures the company. The first thing to happen in restructuring a company, is to stop all the un-necessary (fat) expenditures. Then a determination is made if the company is viable. If determined to be so, new operating procedures and checks and balances are put into place to assure fiscal responsibility.

This procedure needs to be applied to governments that have lost sight of their purpose and begin to over feed them selves. Their purpose becomes self perpetuating and instead of serving the people it only feeds on them. At a certain point it becomes a beast with an insatiable appetite that the people can’t afford to feed. A restructuring is in order. It is too bad that there is no entity to order such a restructuring. The only ones to take action are the people. This is called a revolution.

No Guilt Here

The Democrat Party has been a master of propaganda and brain washing ever since the end of the Civil War. All up through the 50’s they have worked on convincing American Blacks (and Whites) that there is no place for black people in “White America” and that they have a grievance with Republicans who want to keep them down while at the same time telling them that they are not good enough to take car of them selves. They have been told that since they are not as smart as the whites they need special advantages to get into and graduate from college and that they need special advantages in getting jobs. Rather than giving the blacks a hand up they insisted on giving handouts. Thus keeping them in poverty.

The guilt should be with the Democrats only. Besides, there are more white people that came to America after the Civil War then there were when slavery was rampant. These people like me came to America with no animosity towards the black community. It was the Democrats that kept the blacks segregated and told us to watch out for them.

Like me their first introduction to blacks was in the bible. They were wise, wealthy, and generous. Yes I am talking about the three wise men. That is the impression that I came with to this country. Why the hell should I and all those that came here after the civil war feel guilty. And by the way, how can children be held responsible for the sins of their elders? All (or the majority of) those that were born since the sixties have grown up without the insanity of hatred based on race.

Now that the Democrats have a political base of several generations of citizens convinced that they are disenfranchised (and many affluent ones that agree) they are working on creating a socialist state that will control all the population. The party that says it will “bring us together”, is the same party that has been the single biggest divisive force in this country keeping us apart and at odds.

The Battle is Changing

The speculation as to how the coming Obama administration will handle the defense against Islamic terror is going official. The Washington Post published an article written by Karen De Young entitled “Obama to Explore New Approach in Afghanistan War”. It starts out:

The incoming Obama administration plans to explore a more regional strategy to
the war in Afghanistan -- including possible talks with Iran -- and looks
favorably on the nascent dialogue between the Afghan government and
"reconcilable" elements of the Taliban, according to Obama national security advisers.

From what Obama sources say (who refuse to be identified) focus will be on Afghanistan and away from Iraq. Obama is dead set on getting out of Iraq ASAP. Part of the focus looks like will be to include the Taliban in the Afghan government. Taliban is the faction that ruled Afghanistan with an iron Sharia fist, where the people were not allowed radios, television, playing of music, women getting educated, and murders were sanctioned. They plunged the country into the 7th century.

The focus will narrow primarily on bin Laden. This suggests to me that if he is caught or killed, the Obama administration consider that the end to the campaign on Terror. This does not set well with U.S. military. The article goes on:

Obama, advisers said, plans to intensify the U.S. military and intelligence
focus on al-Qaeda and bin Laden. Intelligence officials say the search is
already as intensive as ever, even as they emphasize that the decentralized
al-Qaeda network would remain a threat without him.

NATO politics (whining) is expressed as the article continues:

Some NATO military officials said enhanced U.S. leadership would be welcome, as
long as it was not seen as a "takeover bid," said one senior European officer
whose country has troops fighting as part of the NATO coalition in Afghanistan.
While the U.S. military has long criticized some NATO members for lacking combat
zeal and expertise in Afghanistan, many European officers resent what they see
as U.S. arrogance.

The NATO officer suggested that Obama, whose election was greeted with wide approval in Europe, may have more success than Bush in persuading other alliance members to increase their fighting forces in Afghanistan. "I think you'll find the new president would then be able to persuade a number of European nations who have not liked this administration's way of doing business to come in behind them," he said.

International military politics has hampered every war effort the U.S. has been involved. In WW I the humiliation of Germany and the cutting up of the spoils of war left many nations very bitter. WW II was a constant battle of who will be in charge and almost cost the allies to lose and at the end left the world divided between western powers and the Soviet Union. The world was under a constant threat of nuclear destruction.

The result of political bickering in this conflict will most assuredly leave the world under more threats. A pull out form Iraq and secession of the battle after the capture or death of bin Laden will plunge Afghanistan and Pakistan into Islamic Sharia rule, empower Iran, jeopardize the sovereignty (existence) of Israel, and leave the world at risk of an Islamic predominance.

Never Ever Give Up.

Now that the price of oil futures is down to around $60.00 a barrel, we must not rest and demand that we drill, drill now, drill deep, and drill everywhere. We can not afford to rest on our laurels and neglect the energy issue like we did in the 70’s after prices of oil began to stabilize. Had we taken the issue seriously then we would not have the crises we have now.

We must urge government and private business to continue with the quest for domestic oil, nuclear, solar, coal, wind, ocean, and other sources of energy. We can not let up if we are to stabilize energy prices, dilute the power of Middle Eastern countries and Russia, and be an active and influential entity in world energy.

Right after the inauguration of the “Chosen One”, we must inundate our state and federal government with letters, emails, phone calls, and faxes with demands for domestic oil production, more nuclear and coal power plants, and tax breaks for research, development of wind and ocean energy sources.

We must also be in touch with talk radio and push the same policies, not only to the conservative programs but to all the programs. If we fall asleep on this we can be assured of more energy crisis to come and with much greater consequences. This is a way to maintain a semblance of the life style America should have. We need not fall to the standards of the rest of the world.

Effective Tactics in the New Political Environment

Those that want to be an effective force in politics will have to learn how to maneuver in a Marxist environment. If Obama maneuvers within our government the same way he did getting to the White House, the changes that will happen in America will necessitate a totally different method to counter the socialist government.

All open opposition will be under great pressure. The Obama White House will use the full power of the government in an attempt to stifle all dissidence. He will use all kinds of tactics to crush opposition.

In his drive to the Illinois Senate, he sued all his competition and won the seat with the help of the courts. In his run for the Senate of the United States he managed to have divorce records released by a California judge to ruin the Republican candidate’s chance (which were excellent) to be elected.

His campaign was financed with money from dubious sources where people used fictitious names to donate multiple times, thus being able to donate more than is allowed per individual by law. Donations of less than $100.00 came to him form around the world, some from governments hostile to America. “Non-partisan” organization supporting Obama were used to lobby and register voters to his side. He used organizations to intimidate voters at voting stations. His oratory was reminiscent of the scapegoating used in the 30’s Germany. He successfully pitted blacks against other races and the working class against businesses that employ them. A Marxist strategy he learned from Bill Ayers. His party managed to decimate our economy to pave a way for “hope” and “change”.

He is a brilliant manipulator of facts and people. This is what he brings with him to the White House. The only way to bring him down is to prevent him from satiating the desires of his varied backers. By preventing him from accomplishing his promises, and he made plenty to many, we can weaken his power. What needs to be done is to turn the various factions in his cadre against each other and him. As long as they are working together we have an insurmountable task.

Overt action must be kept to the minimum but not discarded completely. Covert methods need to be employed. The McCain gentlemen style needs to be put aside for a while.

The Choir Needs Tuning

We really have to get to work. We need to keep our heads clear and not succumb to the socialist propaganda.

Why did so many “Conservative Republicans” who advocate “smaller government” vote for Proposition 2, a proposition bringing us closer to Big Brother style of government and killing individual initiative? This proposition allows anyone to go on private property, “inspect” how a person “treats” its animals, and if they decide that it is not friendly enough have that person fined, demand he makes changes that they feel are necessary, or even arrested. You are not allowed to interfere with their “inspection”.

The economic effect is huge. First we have just pushed more businesses to leave California and dealt a death nail to any businesses to come to this state. This will put many Californians out of work, lower the state’s revenues, and increase the cost of eggs and chickens. Terrific work you “conservatives”.

Don’t ever feel that you are preaching to the choir because not all the members are singing in tune.

These members felt sorry for those poor chickens without knowing all the facts. A chicken spends its whole day looking for food, eating, defecating, and sleeping. That is all it requires out of life. A chicken does not care for the theater or to jump rope or any other activity other than finding food and eating. Instinct makes a chicken sit on its eggs but once hatched a chicken does nothing to nurture the chicks. Its brain can’t comprehend anything else.

Our job is not only to promote conservatism among non-conservatives. We need to reinforce conservatism among our own ranks. Conservatism is not the name of a football team. It is what this country was based on. This country has surpassed all others economical, socially, and politically. We are losing the battle to stay free. We are giving away our freedom for promises that sound good but in the end will destroy democracy. If the Unites States falls to socialism, the world will not have a champion to protect liberty. Remember if it were not for a capitalist America, Germany and Japan would have ended up ruling the world. If it were not for a capitalist America the Soviet Union would be ruling the world. If there is no capitalist America, Islam will rule the world with Sharia Law.

It's the economy stupid!

The US economy is suffering and even more so in California. California is faced with dramatic budget over runs and Californian’s are too stupid to recognize it. Citizens in this state voted for more spending and tighter restrictions on business, what morons. The Sacramento scene was not changed for the better by the voters. The same people that got us into this mess and exasperated it are back. We could have had more conservatives to do what is necessary but we failed. We failed to present the facts and that our candidates are the solution.

I have warned our candidates and their supporters and the CRP that the huge economic disaster we are facing is not recognized by the people. Our job has to be to bring out the severity of the situation and then present solutions. We must hammer home the severity of this crisis and that it is up to the people to make the changes to fix things and prevent future bankruptcy of our state.

The reason for the state’s revenue being down are two fold. First the unnatural inflation of property values was not checked. Property values went up, revenue went up, and Sacramento was spending more and more. When the unnatural boom tanked and property values dropped revenues dried up and our deficit loomed to unimaginable heights. Plus Sacramento’s anti-business laws have chased companies to leave our state in droves and kept new ones from setting up businesses. This anti-business attitude of Sacramento has to stop and stop now.

At the moment there is precious little that can be done about property values. Even with the down turn in values, very few people can afford to buy houses. Prudent formula for being able to buy a house is, it can not cost more than three times a house hold’s income. This means that to buy a very small house (about $200,000.00) one needs an income of $66,666.67.

We can do something about the business climate in California. By ending the ridiculous restrictions off shore drilling building new refineries, California will be able to raise huge amounts of revenue from the oil industry. Environmental restrictions are the biggest barrier to the expansion of business. We need to get realistic about this. The only people that can live in pristine ocean view mansions are those that have more money than they know what to do with. They (like B. Streisand and other spoiled rich brats) don’t care if California becomes barren. They can afford to have their eggs and other things shipped in from other states and other countries. The rest of us can’t. Our gas costs more because we have to have special formulated gas and diesel (twice a year). Our cars cost more (and will even more in the future) because of the emission doodads that California demands. That needs to stop. We must make it easier for new business to move to California. We must give business incentives to pack up from other states and move here. We have to get rid of the many (and duplicate) licenses now required of small businesses. Reduce the state sales tax expense of living here by removing sales tax from fast food and all labor. These measures will actually result in greater revenues and more prosperity.


We must repeal automatic escalation of funds for existing projects. All on going projects must be reviewed and funds allocated based on expected revenues. We must stop issuing bonds, except for emergencies, for new projects. If revenues can’t cut it, we can’t have it. Operating costs must be cut. There are plenty of unnecessary expenses the can and must be cut. We should start with legislator’s perks.

I am interested in your opinions and solutions to our economic mess

The People Have Spoken

The people have spoken and have no clue as to what they have really said. They swallowed promises of jelly beans and ice cream by a vendor who has never produced anything but a shiny brightly colored facade from which he is selling empty air. Actually it took Middle Eastern money, Marxist subversives, corrupt Chicago Political Machine, Chicago mobsters, and a lot of hard, devious work on the behalf of Obama Husain Obama to convince “don’t confuse me with the facts” masses to pull the lever for a man who has no accomplishments in his wake except for self promotion.

The reason Obama won was not because he is the better person to be president. He won because he had one goal and one goal only and that was to win. He started his ascendency a long time ago. Republicans have not been watchful and let things get out of control. He organized and made coalitions with as many groups he found that could help him. He cared not what the groups stood for or their goals. He befriended them, used them, and discarded them as it benefited him. The Republican candidate has a moral view of “fairness” that guided his campaign. This and the events that lead to the economic condition defeated our candidate.

The main reason for McCain’s defeat was that the word Republican became synonymous with failed policies, over spending, greed, and a general disregard for the people. Strange because it is the Democrats who are guilty of all these things, not that our Republican legislators and administration didn’t contribute to that Republican image. For the last three decades the American public has been programmed by our educational system for a class struggle pitting the all citizens against those who have succeeded more than the rest of us.

This has fermented a mental state where the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness has been expanded to a right of property and goods that others may possess. It is easy to persuade a public that is dissatisfied with the current situation. Remember there has never been a revolution by a satisfied public. When the public does not feel empowered it is difficult to convince them that they should be self-reliant. Regardless of the reasons or whose fault, Americans saw the surge in our country’s wealth turn into foreclosures and bankruptcies. The public felt powerless and our government’s efforts failed to make a turn around.

Distribution of wealth became very attractive. Whether that will ultimately be the result or not is to be seen. What will happen is that taxes will be increased and spending on things that can not be seen as a direct and immediate benefit to the people (such as military expenditures etc.) will be cut drastically. A definite push towards more of a socialistic America will be made starting with an attempt to socialize the health services. It will happen more slowly than some expected but the trend will start almost immediately.

One wonders what is worse, the things that he said he would do (raise taxes, bankrupt the coal industry, cut military spending including future weapons development, socialize medicine, etc), the things that he may do since he has no experience in anything but self promotion, or waiting for both of these events to happen. I have decided not to worry about what might happen or when (easy to say but hard to do). I will prepare myself to act at the time that this empty suit attempts to mess up this country. Hopefully you all, who now feel disenfranchised, will join me in this endeavor. We must be prepared to counter his attempts to put this country on a path to socialism and destruction. We have to have courage and not be afraid to put our names on petitions, letters, faxes, and emails to all the legislators and government officials. United we will be able to stem the destruction of our Constitution that was so well thought out by our forefathers, fought for, and defended by men and women who risked all to create a new and different way of life that has not been seen before.

Now is the time to start. Now is the time to seek out and mold new and inspiring men and women to represent us. The Democrats got into power in California by seeding the ground. Step by step slowly they moved in. By grooming and electing their own to the school boards, community colleges, city councils, police chiefs, mayors, assembly, and the state senate.
© V. V. Cymbal 2008; all rights reserved

Is Allah Arabic for our Judeo-Christian God?

Allah is the Arabic word for God. Islam which had its base in Judeo-Christian teachings was bastardized when it became a religion of convenience. This happened after the death of Mohammed’s wife. It was then that Mohammed decided to take 12 year old girls (even nine years old but did not consummate until she was 12) and realized that he could recruit hundreds of young unemployable men who only knew how to rob, plunder, pillage, and rape by telling them they can continue with their ways but now they can do it in the name of Allah and be rewarded in heaven. Surprise, surprise, just about every male scumbag around became a Muslim. Just in case some of these “pious” converts would have a change of heart, Mohammed, under instructions form Allah made it a crime punishable by a horrible death to abandon Islam. Beheading, stoning, and other forms of murder were installed in Islam as punishment for all kinds of infractions. Another perversion in Islam is the concept of charity which originally means to aid the poor. In Islam it was used to force merchants (those who would not take up arms to conquer the infidels) to support his band of despot armies.

We should all read the Koran, not for enlightenment but as a study of the corruption of basic Judeo-Christian teachings. You need to get beyond seemingly moral values (good only for Muslims) to the real core of Islam. It is based on the violent destruction of societies and the establishment of a World Caliphate to rule with heavy hand of Sharia Law.

No, Allah is not our God. Praising Allah is praising an abomination.

Obama’s Vision

Ever since I heard Senator Obama’s speeches, checked into his background, and political beginnings I knew where he will take this country if he ascends to the White House. I have warned on my blog, articles in various outlets, and many article comments that this man will plunge us into a socialist abyss that this country, as great as it is, might never be able to climb out of.

His (armed) National Civilian Security Force (reminiscent of Hitler’s Brown Shirts) while dismantling our military, desire to punish individual success (a communist pension), and threats to those who oppose him are things for us all to fear. He forbade his surrogates to debate Larry Greenfield and any other Republican Jewish Coalition member (because he knows that Obama’s platform is full of holes), kicked the reporters, covering his campaign, from the Washington Times and others who endorsed Senator McCain off his plane, and has people working for him like those who sick the Secrete Service on citizens who oppose him.

This is a man who had contempt for the American Spirit that made this country great. He will shred our Constitution and replace it with a Marxist manifesto. Do not trust this man. The people of Cuba trusted a man who promised Change and Hope. The change was to poverty and the hope now is for a better life with individual liberty and freedom.

Saving California

The way out of our fiscal mess is actually very simple. First cut all administrative expenditures and legislative perks (per diem, travel, etc.) in half. Do not allow retirement plans for all government employees to exceed the amount of ten percent of their salary being invested in 401K type plans. Repeal business restricting laws; all of them including off shore drilling, building refineries, allow for nuclear plants to be built, and reduce environmental restraints in half.

Then trim all non-essential governmental expenses to expected revenues. Stop the acceleration of government project if revenues can’t meet the costs. Create a safe account for revenues that exceed budgets and allow using that money only if the year’s revenues fall bellow expectations.

Pass a law restricting union political activity specifically and directly to only those measures that affect union members directly, excluding social and other programs.

The Republic is in Danger

There is one big difference facing the voters today that they have not faced before. Senator Obama’s unabashed socialist ways seem to appeal to enough people to make some drastic changes in this country should he be elected. Working with the leadership of the Senate and Congress he will reshape America for decades, if not forever.

He stated he intends to reduce our standing military to a mere fraction of what it is now and stop all advance weapons development . This same action was taken by President Carter and the US got smacked around like the kid with Coke bottle bottoms for glasses in the school yard. Obama wants to replace our military with his own private army he calls the National Civilian Security Force (NCSF) pitting citizen against citizen as they spy on each other.

A national one source healthcare system he wants to enact will be stamped in metal by the end of his first term, with no turning it around. Canada is spending $1 billion a year sending its patients to doctors in North East part of the U.S. Canada’s socialist healthcare system can not handle its patient load.

His redistribution of wealth will punish those that succeed and reward those that don’t, many of whom are right now not paying one cent for the cost of government. This will create a nation of freeloaders. We know this from the fact that we now have a third generation of recipients of welfare in several parts of this country. These people have become used to government taking care of them and have no incentive to take care of them selves. No country can survive for long when the initiative to succeed is removed.

It will take more than an other Reagan to dig us out this kind of a hole.

Dark Clouds on the Horizon

For weeks now the US and World economy has been heading down a whirlpool in the toilet. The US stock market started loosing by as much as 700 plus points per day. At around the same time Barack Obama has made some significant gains in the polls. When the government took measures to correct the situation the market took a sharp turn around and started heading back up. Obama still gained in the polls showing more and more his socialist stand. The market started to tank again is still tanking.

Could it be that the business community and individual investors see a black cloud of Socialism looming over the horizon? Could it be that they see a climate of big government nationalizing private business? Could that be the reason why no one wants to invest in a system that will be run by Big Brother government? Our legislators keep pointing fingers on big business as the bad guys but the banks and insurance companies have been working under the pressure of the legislators to do what has caused this mess. My 401K plan is now worth less then what was put into it. Forget about any interest. If Barack Obama gets elected, we are in for some very bad times both domestically and world wide.

There May Be No Turning Back

For those of you that think we will be able to recover from a Barack Husain Obama presidency, I got some news for you. Once a country takes just one step towards socialism it is almost impossible to reverse the trend. Look at social security (which was instituted with the expectation that most people would not live long enough to collect – it was set up as hidden TAX). Millions of people are now dependent on it for a meager pittance. Every attempt to change the system has been blocked. The citizens of Canada know that their health care system sucks. Changing it is impossible.

Even when every one knows that the system is bad, as in Cuba, changing it is impossible because a socialist state has control of the people. Look at the control Obama has on his people. Obama sends out an order that no one is allowed to debate any member of the RJC. Like good Brown Shirts they obey. He has organizations like the media and ACORN that are totally under his domination. He has allies in congress that will help him decimate our military and create the National Citizen’s Security Force (NCSF) to take its place.

His administration will do more harm to the USA than the Carter administration did. The Carter administration is the single cause of Islam now threatening the Western World when he helped to overthrow the Shaw of Iran and install Ayatollah Khomeini. The Obama administration will destroy our Constitutional Rights and destroy all the efforts of our founding fathers. When you distribute the wealth, those that have created it will stop producing and soon there is no wealth to distribute. That will be the fait of America.

What will America be After Nov. 4th 2008

If any one thinks that BHO is not anti-American by the things he does, the things he has said, the people that he hangs with, how his career started and where it is going then you have drunk the cool aid. I give no credence to anything that comes out of his mouth. He says what is appropriate at the time and what he thinks will advance his career.

What makes us (all Americans) look foolish is that some of us actually believe that he has good intentions. He espouses those same things as Hitler, Stalin, Castro, and others who have fooled misguided people before.

I have seen this happen before. I have lived it. You who doubt my words will be learning this lesson the hard way. The change to a total socialist dictatorship will not happen over night, but it will happen if we allow BHO, the media, and the rest of the supporters of Marxism to take control as they are working on.

Take a look at the organization that are on his side; ACORN and others. His suggestion of a National Citizens Security Force (NCSF) should sound an alarm to us all. His disdain of our military and his promise to down size it and stop all new weapons development is because he feels that he can not control our current military industry. He will create a new one that will be totally under his control.

He is a control freak. Look how he controls his campaign. He knows that Larry Greenfield of the RJC can beat his people in a debate so he forbade his people form debating anyone of the RJC.

I am not worried about looking foolish or being called foolish. I am worried about BHO, his machine, and what their plans for America are.

BHO’s political roots are imbedded deep in the murky shadows of Marxist methods and Islamic beliefs. Remember he distended him self form his grandmother who raised him and admired his Muslim father who kept abandoning his children and wives, a man who was part of a bloody coup in Africa.

Oh yea who will not see,

We the People Not You Ruler

The first Continental Congress, a meeting of 56 delegates who affirmed the right of the colonies to life, liberty and property. They sent a letter to the King of England asking him to stop the blockade, and at the same time approved resolutions calling on the people of Massachusetts to arm them selves and stop trading with Britain. As colonists gathered arms and ammunition, the commander in chief of the British forces, General Sir Thomas Gage became concerned. On the night of April 18, 1775, he ordered his troops to seize some of the supplies and arrest two of the militia's leaders, Sam Adams and John Hancock. Thanks to the early warnings of Paul Revere and William Dawes, the militia was waiting and so started the American Revolution.

This was not a revolution mounted by one strong leader with an army to put him self in control of a country or people. It was a revolution away from how countries have been ruled and many still are. It truly was a revolution from the subjugation of the people and the beginning of a totally different way of thinking. It was the beginning of Self Rule; a concept so alien at the time that most people could not comprehend it. Up to this time the people of the world had always pledged allegiance to a specific ruler or deity. This new concept was based on the reliance of many individuals organized with elected representatives rather than the assumption of rule by the most powerful. As stated in our Preamble of our Constitution, it was we the people for ourselves and not for some king or other ruler. To the world this was like saying up is down and down is up but it turned out to be the ideal of the people of the world and many countries adopted this form of government every time they had a chance to do so.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The wording of the Preamble is a beautiful and well thought out beginning to the new concept of self governing. Because we are so used to individual liberty, it is hard for the modern American to conceive servitude to a king or other ruler and how precious our freedom is. We seem to just take it for granted so much that many of us are forgetting the value of what we have. We have the most precious gift of man, which is freedom, and we find ourselves discontent with what we have and forget the sacrifices by so many so we can live our lives with out fear of persecution from a government. The rights and freedom we have now did not come easily or cheaply.

Our forefathers knew that this new way of life needs to come to fruition step by step. At first only the land owners were allowed to vote. But soon through education of the masses voting rights were earned by all “free men”. It took another very bloody struggle where good men risked their careers, wealth, and their lives to abolish slavery. Not all good came from this war of the states. Most slaves were not ready for this new freedom and were easy pray by people that would cheat them and those that wanted to keep them as less than whole American citizens with all the rights owed them.

Many states passed laws that kept many former salves and their descendents living as second class citizens. This was injustice but determination of men and women fought to finally, around a 150 years after the American Declaration of Independence, afford the same rights to all citizens of the US.

In 1865 the push to give women the vote began and in 1920 women got the right to vote. Looking back at these events we wonder how it could be that women couldn’t vote until 144 years after the birth of our nation. Why did people buy and sell other people as if they were property? Prior to the brave men who concocted this new fangled way of government, that was the way things were done all over the world. All the people of the world (our ancestors included) were beholding to and under the forced rule of a selected few. In many parts of the world (not just backward areas) women are considered property and the unfortunate of both genders are bought and sold every day.

We take our freedoms so much for granted that we are losing the self reliance that made America the envy of the world. From the very beginning of the sovereignty of this country people have forsaken their birth home to come here. Never in our history were American citizens trying to flee to other countries (except for criminals seeking refuge from the law). Many of us are now turning to “entitlements”. We have begun to expect things with out earning them and envying those who have accomplished more than we. But more than that many now expect that the successful ones should give up their rightfully earned prosperity and dole it out to those who have less. In our society even the “poor” have cell phones and iPods. Thomas Jefferson said “I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” Many of us have become estranged from reality.

Self reliance, desire for individual liberty and freedom are being replaced by demands that the government take care of us. Those that ignore the alternative to our way of life are inviting the shadows of socialism to take over America. The people of Russia were promised a distribution of wealth. What they got was what they always have had; despotic totalitarianism. Communism, which ruled almost half the world, is a form of socialism. Every country that was able to shake the yoke of the Soviet Union has opted for a free society and the people are much better off. Those that stayed with it such as China, North Korea, and Cuba are all suffering terrible hardships. The people of these countries know that when you depend on a single source of all you need that source owns you and when the government can give you all you want, it can also take it away.

You probably have not read our Constitution of the United States. It is the most wonderful document ever put together by man. Read it, study it, and be grateful for it. For without it you would not be free, not have the opportunities you have now, and your life would be much less than it is now. Emory Law School: Historical Documents - Constitution of the ... Really, read it. You’ll be better off.

jillosophy: Islamism is a Socio-Political Virus

jillosophy: Islamism is a Socio-Political Virus

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as fuel for your car

Before you all get too enamored with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as fuel for your car, there are a few facts you should know.

Converting to CNG costs around $2,000.00. It adds over a hundred pounds and cuts trunk space in half.

Our infrastructure is not ready for this type of fuel. It takes 20 hours to fully charge a tank that will give you a maximum if 250 miles. Ops, that won’t make it to Las Vegas or San Francisco. Ok so you might find a location some where along the way to charge up (you might have to go out of the way a bit). Ok so you find a place that takes you only ten miles out of your way. You will have to have to spend the night while you fill up. An overnight fill up will get you an additional 100 miles. Since Las Vegas is over 400 miles you will need to make another stop to partially fill the tank. This makes your trip to Las Vegas three days and two nights. Ops that is the same time that the hotel’s special rate covers. So unless you plan to sleep in your car while you are recharging your tank, you are now spending more money at flea bag motels then your Las Vegas stay.

CNG powered vehicles makes sense only for large fleet owners (like the MTA) with local runs.

It looks like that the only ones who would benefit from a mass conversion to CNG powered vehicles is Boone T. Pickens, his company, associates, and partners. Why do you think he is spending over $50 million promoting? It isn’t that he has your best interests in mind.

Indiscriminateness is a Disease

This article is a comment on article by “Yid with a Lid”, part of which is listed below.

If there is anything worse than a self-hating Jew[it] is a self-hating Jewish university. Brandeis, bills itself as a non-sectarian Jewish University. Jews work so hard to make sure that all voices are heard, but there is a line where it becomes ridiculous. Incredibly Brandeis, a supposed institution of higher education, has absolutely no idea where that line is. Brandies has a long history of graduating terrorists and now it provides sanctuary [to] the Islamic kind.

Today Brandeis hosts the influential pro-Palestinian Crown Center for Middle East Studies, run by a Jew (who else?). The Crown Center recently hired Arab scholar Khalil Shikaki. Testimony from a trial of another Arab professor, Sami Al-Arian from the University of South Florida, shows that Shikaki, while no terrorist himself, was a key distributor of funds and information between terrorists from the Palestinian Authority area and other Arab professors here in America who themselves were raising money for Palestinian Islamic Jihad. So at the very least, Shikaki is simply another “fixer.”


People with very good intentions make some big mistakes that have disastrous results. That is happening all over the Western World. Indiscriminateness, a result of denying to judge for fear of alienation and retaliation, has created a state of impotence within the society trying to get along with all including those that mean to do us all harm.

Indiscriminateness is a disease. Yes it is a mental disease that has caused the mind to arrive at the wrong conclusion. We tend to judge the actions that will be taken under certain conditions to act/react the same as we would. We expect kindness, tolerance, and understanding to achieve the same from others because that is what we have been thought to believe. Good people have a hard time accepting harsh reactions form those that profess goodness and higher ideals, even when they have evidence of bad behavior.

Can this disease be cured? In some people it can in others not. It is a battle for the mind of those that can’t see or are unwilling to accept the truth. Those that don’t see it are curable. The unwilling may be doomed to ignorance. The rest of us must make sure that they do not take us and Judeo-Christian values with them to oblivion. We all must speak up, present the evidence of the futility of indiscriminate thinking, and not give up until there more of us who got it right than there are of those who through stupidity would help ruin our way of life. We must recognize and never forget that there is good and evil in the universe and we have no other option but to choose good over evil.

Could We be Starving for Spiritual Fulfillment?

European and other Western youths are turning to Islam for more than just weird thrills. Secularism, which is good for governing a democratic society has crept into the every day life of the people. This intrusion into our lives is creating a vacuum in the human spirit. This is not to say that there are not those among us who can go through life perfectly happy faithless.

Throughout history and all over the world humans have found a way to quench their thirst for something more than what we are as individuals. We have always searched for a reason of being. This search has lead us to worshiping a power greater than anything we can explain. Early societies have turned to worshiping mythical gods or spirits such as those embodied in animals, other things of nature such as trees, star constellations, and finally monolithic beings.

Each of these beliefs answered the quest for understanding the why things are and the things that happen over which we have no control. They also gave us a logical reason to behave in an orderly and cooperative manner. It gave us a nucleus from which to build on. This gave us a way to determine just rules to live our lives by. It allowed us to label actions as being good or evil. We were able to develop laws, what is illegal, and how to deal with unacceptable behavior.

Through innovation and scientific discovery the different societies and consequently their faith’s, began to interact with each other and peoples of varying beliefs ended up living next to each other. This presented a situation of potential conflict of ideas and has been so throughout history and man faced a choice, war or tolerance. In the Judeo-Christian ethic (and most other faiths) tolerance of others and their belief system became part of that faith system. To further allow freedom to choose one’s faith the idea of government not mandating the individual beliefs, liberties, and freedoms of the people, secular governments evolved where religious beliefs are not mingled or part of the rules and laws of the state.

Not being ruled by a theocracy gave us more freedom of thought since religious teachings are left to the leaders of these faiths. This made following our faith voluntary. As our lives became more and more complicated, pursuit of material and personal fulfillment took up more and more time, and the concern for allowing freedom of thought took over parental authority, religious practices became less and less a part of our lives. So that after a few generations the decision to practice and even to choose a faith was left to children of parents that were too busy to practice any faith.

Without direction from our parents and the many distractions in modern times, our youth did not learn to dedicate them selves and their time to practicing any faith. This has worked for some but there are many others who without knowing what it was, feel they are missing something on their lives. Since the authority figure, their parents, have obviously rejected their own religion (by not practicing it) it must not be that fulfilling. The only religion that is vigorously perused by clergy, teachers, and parents is Islam and it offers spiritual fulfillment without, at first, emphasizing its dark side. These young converts may not even be aware of what they are searching for. As in the past some converts get into the faith while others accept only the “exciting” portions that Islam has to offer which is the violence that comes with Jihad.

What is needed in the West is for the re-acceptance and the assertion of parental authority and responsibility for fulfilling spiritual direction in their children. If this does not happen, the state will take over this responsibility by instilling a socialist order where the people look towards their government for all their needs. This will lead to a more and more totalitarian state where the individual is nothing and the sate is every thing. Soon any resistance to this will be futile and we all will be forced to conform.

Non-discriminative Thinking Will Lead to Dhimmitude

If anyone agrees that we are engaged in a “so-called war on international terrorism” then they need to open their eyes and pay attention to what is going on. This is a real war that has spanned hundreds of years and several continents. Terror has been a tool of Islam’s consistent war with all non-Muslims of the world since 650 A.D. One can verify this by reading “The Life and Religion of Mohammed” and later history books on Islam. By brutally ravaging, raping and pillaging neighbouring towns and villages, Islam has terrorized people into submitting a seventh century mindset of tyrannical rule. A mind set that treats women as property, discounts all facts that are not mentioned in the Koran, stifles individual thought and liberty, and is menacingly intolerant of any other faith or non faith to the point of demanding their elimination. This mindset demands the most draconian punishment for innocuous infractions of the Koran and Sharia Law. Surah 9:5 demands the murder of all non-Muslims where ever they may be found. Anyone guilty of leaving the Muslim faith must recant or face a horrible death. These and other edicts of Islam are in direct opposition of modern enlightened thought.

If the current liberal thought of non-discrimination prevails, as it appears to be in Canada, Great Britain, and other European nations, we will be faced with submission to Islam or elimination. When the Taliban and Al-Qaida took over Afghanistan, the country was plunged into the seventh century. All historical and religious non-Muslim artefacts were destroyed; modern ways such as radios, telephones, and communication with rest of the world were outlawed to the general populous, women were not allowed an education resulting in the death and suffering of countless number of women unable to get medical care since male doctors were not allowed to examine women and there were no women educated in medicine. This is what is in store for the world if we do not use fact, logic, and reason when looking at Islam’s assault on the Western World soundly and emphatically rejecting it.

Islam is trying to terrorize the world into submission to Islam as converts or accept a life of dhimmitude. Dhimmitude is willingly living as second class citizens, paying tribute to Islamic rulers, accept Muslim’s right to your property and other belongings, and having your word discounted if in dispute with a Muslim. In Saudi Arabia one can be arrested for having religious service (even just praying by your self) other than Islamic. Coptic Christians in Egypt are attacked and beaten while the police stand by and watch. Iran which used to have a secular government with Islam as the main religion has been step by step denying religious freedom and is in progress of implementing laws that will punish non-Muslim worshipers. The days of the Dhimmis in Iran are numbered. This is what Islam has in store for the rest of the world.

THE ROOT OF TERRORISM A LA ISLAMIC STYLE V « The Truth Of Islam

THE ROOT OF TERRORISM A LA ISLAMIC STYLE V « The Truth Of Islam

Terror and the Connection to Islam

Between August 15th and September 8th of 2008 there were 351 acts of terror world wide with 1,803 deaths and 3,546 injuries. These were all committed by Muslims yelling Allahu Akbar.

Surah 9:5 demands that Muslims kill the Infidels where ever they are found. Islam detests all other beliefs or non-beliefs and considers itself being attacked when others practice or preach what they believe. There are countless numbers of attacks on people wearing Crucifix or the Star of David. Women are attacked and raped because they do not dress the way Muslims want them to. Islam demands adherence to Sharia Law and ignores the laws of the lands that they live in.

All these acts of intolerance are based on the teachings of Islam. What form of “logic” is used to say that these acts of terror are not motivated and directed directly by Islam? Only a fool or liar can say that Islam is not at the root of these acts of terror.

Kill All the Old People

Back in 1976 there was a movie called “Logan’s Run”; a science fiction story about over population and how the world governments would deal with it. It got great reviews but I did not like it because of the solution that people came up with. The people, or most all of them, accepted that no one deserved to live for more that 30 years. Those of us who value life never imagined that the day would come when people would be advocating such mass murder.

Well there are people in high places that are advocating just that. They say that some of us have a Duty to Die. That’s right, certain members of our society should just kill them selves and if they don’t agree then it would be up to the rest of us to murder them.

Baroness Warnock, official advisor to the British government and considered one of the most influential experts on medical ethics, is a long time advocate of euthanasia and in her latest article says elderly people have a duty to die. She states that it is a waste of resources to take care of people with dementia and other disabling conditions. She even went further as a proponent of mandatory killing of the elderly. She is not the only one advocating the mass murder of the elderly. Former Governor of Colorado Richard Lamm suggested that old people have a duty to die.

Secular pragmatism on a path to obliterate all Judeo-Christian values and ethics and not enough people are countering this trend. When you go to your poling place to vote or fill out your vote by mail ballot, take this into consideration of who you want to run your government. Ask yourself will this person advocate snuffing out your life because your continued existence has become an inconvenience for some one?

Russia’s Quest for Dominance Means Dire Consequences for the World

There are some very dark foreboding clouds of war looming in the horizon. Russia’s insistence on being a major player on the world scene and having influence over her former Soviet States and satellite countries is pushing it towards a major confrontation with the West in general and the United States in particular.

Russia talks a lot about having the right to dominate Georgia, the Ukraine, and other countries but when push comes to shove they will back down form a direct hot conflict with the U.S. They know that is a conflict they can not win and will suffer dramatically. But they are not above using others as surrogates to fight America. This is a very safe way for them to challenge us. If things go bad they can just let their surrogates take all the heat; after all Russians were just engaged in comers what the customer does with their purchases is not their concern.

So Russia is selling arms of all kinds to Venezuela, Syria, and Iran; three avowed enemies of America. I am not talking just about Kalashnikovs. This shopping cart is full of heavy tanks, missiles (of all types), the latest jets Russia has, and Venezuela for sure is trying to buy submarines. I am sure that in the case of a major war breaking out in the Middle East Iran is a panting customer for submarines to mess with the Strait of Hormuz.

The following scenario is really not far fetched. Syria and Hizbollah attack Israel. Israel retaliates and kicks serious but all the way to Syria. Iran goes to “defend” its alia and lobs some bodacious long range missals into Israel. Not all missals reach their target but tiny Israel is decimated. Their military already strained by war in the north and is in no position to fully retaliate against Iran. The U.S. comes to the aid of Israel which Iran anticipated so they block the Strait of Hormuz, fires missals at Saudi oil fields and civilian populations creating havoc. Iraq is not spared either; the oil fields are all blown up. The world has most of its source of oil stopped up. Turkey refuses to allow the use of its air fields and air space. Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan all denounce U.S. and Israel for aggression.

On America’s southern flank Chavez in Venezuela rants outrage and prepares its missals for attack. He may not have serious intentions to fire but knows that it will force the U.S. to prepare for another front distracting it for the Middle East. Politicians of both parties in Washington start to make political hey from the situation. Congress is turmoil.

Russia just sits back and watches things unfold and prepares to take major advantage of the situation. It overthrows the governments of its former Soviet States and satellites. The U.S. can’t do anything about it and Europe is frozen by indecision but is not speechless. Most of Europe condemns and blames the U.S.

The U.S. is faced with engaging in an all out war on several fronts, including Russia, or retreating to defend it self and salvage as much as possible. That decision will be up to the administration. Will it use the might of the American military and decimate Russia or retreat, allow Russia to become dominate in Europe and the Middle East, and give South America to Hugo Chavez? Will the U.S. be able to survive either scenario and still be the same America?

We are in a time of extreme danger. What action both political and military the U.S. takes will determine the state of the world for decades to come. This is not the time for appeasement or for foolish bravado.

It is time to put the CIA covert operation back into action. Although Hugo has a large circle of support, most of the Venezuelan people are not too happy with him and the morning period of his decent from power would last about thirty New York seconds. He needs to be over thrown and now. This would make the Argentine government think twice before they raise their Marxist colors too high.

The Iranian regime has many internal and external enemies. That situation needs to be exploited and Ahmadinejad along with his cohorts sent to the gallows. That’s right, permanent removal from this life and sent to the land of 72 virgins. If history has thought us anything is that exiling people like them just postpones catastrophic events. Who knows when another Jimmy Carter shows up and reverses all this hard work?

These two actions will take the teeth out of the smelly bear. Syria is of not much good to Russia since it won’t have Iran to back it up. As matter of fact it is more likely that Syria will make an about face and make peace with Israel. I don’t mean to infer that Russia will give up its aspirations but it will make things so difficult that it won’t be a problem for a long time. By then things will get screwed up in other parts of the world.

You can plan ahead only so much. The Soviet Union proved that. Before a five year plan comes to fruition things have changed so much that the original plan is as useful as spiting into the wind.

© 2008 by V.V. Cymbal

Democrats still blocking our energy independence

The Democrats are still not ready to do the job they were sent to do. Ever since the Democrats attained the majority in both houses, they have done every thing else but take care of the business of running this country. They have stalled urgent legislation, wasted time trying to impeach President Bush, and have been peddling gloom and doom.

They had a chance to help the economy, bring the price of gas to a semblance of reality, reduce the strangle hold that OPEC has on the oil market, and pull the rug out from Russia bullying Europe with the threat of cutting off gas supplies, and make us energy independent. So did they grab at this chance? No they just insulted us by going through the motions of pretending to do the job they were sent to Washington to do. They came up with a drill, drill now, drill REALLY, REALLY deep, and far, far away. They have “removed” restrictions from drilling 100 miles off American coasts. THE OIL IS JUST A LITTLE BIT CLOSER, like just out of sight of Barbara Streisand’s ocean view.

Their bill, passed in the house, hasn’t got a snow ball’s chance in hell of passing the senate.
The bill removes congress’ restrictions and the states can still say no to drilling off their shores. And they will because there is not incentive for them. They will not be allowed to share in the revenue. That is the real death knell right there.

Off the coast of California there is oil and natural gas seeping into the ocean and the Democrats won’t let the oil companies drill for it. We have to get active and inundate the legislators with phone calls, letters, faxes, and emails. Folks, this is no minor issue. We are talking about $10.00/gallon gas prices and continued support of our enemies. Get active and help protect this country. DO IT NOW!

Understanding Islam: A Primer for the Masses

Part One – How it all started

The Setting for the Prophet of Arbistan
The birthplace of Mohammed, the founder of the religion that is again threatening the world with catastrophic implications, is now called Arabia, the modern name for Arabistan. This large tract of land between the Euphrates, the Persian Gulf, the Sindian, the Indian and Red Sea, and part of the Mediterranean Sea is where this degrading, abusive, and militant belief first started to fester.

The modern Arabians are sprung from two stocks, the Kahatan or Jokatan, the son of Eber mentioned in Genesis (x. 26) and the other descended from Adnan, descended from Ismael the son of Abraham by Hagar an Egyptian slave. The Joktan descendants are called Al Arab al Ariba that is pure Arabs, while the descendents of Adnan are called Al Arab al Mosterba. The later can not claim to be pure Arabs because their origin and language was Hebrew. One can divide the classes into those that wander and are called Bedouins or dwellers in tents in the desert; and those that settled and live in cities.

The Arabs living between the populations of Asia and Africa were influenced and had aspects of their religion in common with adjacent peoples. The Arabs originally believed in the existence of one God, creator of the all whom they called Allaha Taala, the highest God. However they soon lost their early monotheism and fell to idolatry, fetishism, animal, and star worship. They began to worship the hosts of heaven, known as Sabeanism. They began to ascribe divine powers to the stars as they observed their risings and settings and changes in the weather.

The ancient Arabs worshiped seven temples dedicated to the seven planets. This star worship became corrupted and other deities, superstitions, and idolatrous practices crept in. Ancient Arabia was a refuge for all sorts of religious fugitives. Each group added its own flavor to the stock of religious beliefs. Arabs took for their own abodes and haunts of gods; marked as sacred by pillars smeared with sacrificial blood where bloodshed, cutting of trees, hunting game was forbidden. This was the origin of Haramain (sacred territory) around Mecca and Medina.

The Persians by their proximity to Arabs introduced the Magian religion to some. The Jews fleeing from Roman destruction in great numbers into Arabia also introduced the Jewish religion to many Arab tribes. Before the birth of Mohamed, Christianity had also permutated among Arabia. So it wasn’t long before Arabia was peopled by those who espoused ascetic anchorites, whose perfect retirement from the world, dedicating their lives to austerities and pious practices and whose steadfast preparation for the life to come had impressed the Arabs. So many religions and practices frequently conflicted with one another, produced the necessity of a re-conciliatory religion that could be adapted to the nature of people. Hanifs was the outcome of this quest. It was adopted by a small number of Arabs who worshipped only Allah, rejecting polytheism and searched for freedom from sin and resignation to God’s will. Hanifism was a step to Islam. That was the state of religion in Arabia before Mohammed who called this “the time of ignorance”. This is how the ground was set for the prophet of Islam.

The other aspect of Arab society that prepared the way for Mohamedism was the lack of any one national loyalty. Divided among them selves, the different tribes of Arabia were independent of each other and the influx of refugees from Greek and Roman tyranny had increased the strength of some these tribes. Arabia at the time of Mohamed was the center of many political schemes and plots. It would have been impossible to establish and propagate this new religion in a united Arabia with social and civil powers. Things were ripe for a Mohamed’s extraordinary success.

Mohamed – the Early Life
Mohamed was born in 570AD to Abdullah the great-great-grandson of Abdul Muttalib whose father, Kussai, was the Koreish (naturalized Arabs) tribe. While out on a trading expedition, Abdullah died at Medina, shortly before the birth of the prophet of Islam. Mohamed’s grandfather gave the child the name Mohamed, the Praised One. The grief form the death of her husband caused his mother’s milk to dry up and besides it was the custom at the time for Koreishite mothers to give their infants to be nursed by Bedouins. They dwelt in Arabia’s desert and this way the infant’s health will be secured by the desert air. Halima, the Bedouin nurse took charge of Mohamed for five years.

In his fifth year Mohamed started having (later diagnosed as) epileptic fits. Since such attacks were attributed to evil spirits it alarmed Halima greatly. She resolved to get rid of this child and he was returned to Amina his mother. On a visit to Medina his mother died. The slave Baraka brought Mohamed to his grandfather Abdul Muttalib was now obliged to care for Mohamed until his own death. He made arrangements to have his eldest son Abu Talib care for Mohamed which he did. Abu trained Mohamed in his trade as a merchant. At the age of twelve Abu took Mohamed on a trading expedition with a caravan into Syria. All along Mohamed was catered to with great affection. Mohamed learned what it was like to be lordly and to exercise power and never to forget it. For the rest of his youth Mohamed’s life was without incident. When he was not on trading expeditions, Mohamed would spend his time tending sheep and goats like others of his age. These were fond memories of Mohamed. He would later lament “no prophet has been raised up, who has not first done the work of a shepherd”.

At the age of twenty, he was involved in the “sacrilegious war” between the Koreish and the Hawagin tribes. This war occurred within the sacred months and in the sacred territory. He was quoted “In this war I discharge arrows at the enemy and I do not regret it”.

Khadija, a rich widow of Mecca and also a descended of Kussai accepted Mohammed, on the recommendation of his uncle Abu Talib, and put him in charge of one of her trading caravans to Bostra, sixty miles east of Jordan on the road to Damascus. He led the caravan north. Judiciously he bartered with merchants of Bostra, Alleppo, and Damascus, mostly Syrians. He managed to double Khadija’s expected profits. This pleased her very much. His bartering success, attractive personal qualities, and his favorable looks caused Khadija to marry Mohammed, even though at the time she was forty years old and twice married before. This marriage raised Mohammed to equal status with the richest in Mecca. Being of strong mind and mature experience, she kept Mohammed in check even to the point of not taking any other wife for as long as she lived. In his old age Mohammed partook in having many wives even taking them, some times by force, from their husbands at the time. Khadija bore him six children, two sons who died young and four daughters; Zeinale, Rockeya, Kolthum, and Fatima. Fatima turned out to be the most famous.

Prior to his life as a profit of Allah, Mohammed lived in a time filled with blood feuds common among whole tribes and revenge being a religious duty. Female infanticide was rampant in Arabia. At first it was due to poverty and famine. Later it became a social custom to limit population growth. Because wars and feuds decimated the male population there were too many females. Women in general were respected and burying them alive with a veil was unknown before this custom was later introduced by Mohammed. Polygamy and polyandry were both practiced with right of divorce for both men and women. Temporary marriages were quickly made and just as quickly dissolved. Idolatry, divination, bloody sacrifices, and sensualism were prevalent. No one knows if Mohammed was tempted by these happenings but he surely must have been curious. Most likely it was her influence over Mohammed that strengthened his attachment to monotheism. Mohammed trusted her implicitly and in return she was a true believer. When just about all called him a fake, she stood by him and freely stated he was the Apostle if Allah.

The Kaaba and Mohammed
Circumstance seemed to be good to Mohammed. The Kaaba (a small stone building in the court of the Great Mosque at Mecca that contains a sacred black stone and is the goal of Islamic pilgrimage and the point toward which Muslims turn in when praying) was endangered by a flood. The locals decided to rebuild the walls and add a roof. A disagreement arose as to who would have the honor to place the stone in the new walls. Before they came to blows, they decided that it should be decided by the first person to enter the sacred place via the gate of Beni-Sheyba. To be sure Mohammed was the first to reach the sacred spot and was chosen to make the decision. Mohammed had a knack for tact, diplomacy, and ingratiating himself and forming warm friendships. He took off his mantel and placed the sacred stone on it. He then directed that one from each of the four groups arguing about who should have the honor, to come forth and each raise a corner of the mantel. He then guided the stone to its new place. This decision heightened his popularity and influence among the tribesmen.
This occurrence served to confirm his belief in the divineness of his mission and strengthened his faith and adherents in the after days. It was at this time he decided to adopt his cousin Ali the son of his uncle Abu Talib. He admitted to also adopting Zeid, a slave presented to him by Khadija. These two acts he did to make up for the lose of his own two sons, it is believed.

This is what Muslims who count feel and their goals.

When ever you are challenged about the goals of Islam and the desires of all Muslims, think of this article. What is happening in Great Britain is beginning to happened here.

Lebanese Islamist Sheikh Omar Bakri: Britain's Problem - 'Its Law Is Not the Law Sent Down by Allah'; Terrorism by Mujahideen is 'Blessed'; 'Within 20 Years, British Society Will Have a Muslim Majority'.

"When they saw that Islam was spreading in British universities at an unprecedented rate, and that the non-Muslims - the Hindus, the Christians and the Jews - were accepting Islam at an average rate of 21 people a day, it began to endanger their society. Within 20 years, British society will have a Muslim majority. Of course, this cannot be allowed by this secular regime, which wants to strip society of any religious values connected to Allah.

"I belong to Islam. I did not belong to Britain when I lived there. I was a Muslim living in Britain, now I am a Muslim living in Lebanon, and tomorrow I will be a Muslim living in Iraq. God only knows, I may be a Muslim in prison."

They took away my right to become a citizen. They didn't give me a passport because I refused to pledge allegiance to the queen. My wife and children got passports because they were born there. I refused to swear that I would obey the queen or the laws. I obey only Allah and His Messenger."

Somalis win prayer case at Gold n Plump

Somali taxi drivers took one on the chin recently, but their friends and family at Gold’n Plump have successfully forced sharia law on their employer. Somali’s have made it clear they have no intention of integrating into American society - only forcing sharia law on Americans.

It is bad enough to allow Muslims to be governed by Sharia Law in the United States but to force it on non-Muslims is an outrage of Tsunami proportions. Now I have no problem with people worshiping their religion as long as that is all it is, which clearly is not as Islam demands the submission of all including standing laws. But this is a case of trumping our local, state, and constitutional law. If I won’t be served pork in a restaurant, market, or cafeteria, it will irritate me and most likely I won’t be customer of that place too often after that incident. If the owner of that establishment decides not to serve pork on his own, hey that’s ok by me. But if it is forced upon him, we got a problem and it is beyond me how this can happen. The only explanation I can see is, the attorney is greedy and the government officials are afraid at best and down right anti-American at worst.

By allowing one part of Sharia Law we are opening the flood door to the rest of that barbaric, seventh century mentality. Soon people wearing a Crucifix or the Star of David will be cursed, ridiculed, beaten up, and even killed; women will be raped because they do not dress the way Islam demands or killed because they won’t want to be given away to strangers; this is happening right now (for quite some time) in Europe.
It is too bad that we Americans are so comfortable with our own lot that we can not see the danger to us if events do not touch us directly. I’m afraid that it will take several more occurrences of a 9/11 attack before we wake up and realize that we and the future of America are in dire danger. The longer we allow this attack on us to continue without standing up for our Constitution and Judeo-Christian values the harder it will be to push the enemy back.

When they can not argue facts

The left wing Liberals conceded the fact that Sarah Palin has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined. They have acknowledged that Sarah fought corruption. They agree that she puts country ahead of party politics.

They have lost all arguments against Sarah Palin so they have resorted to character assassination and name calling. Her husband got a D.U.I. Yes but that was over two decades ago and the Democrat presidential candidate admitted to doing ‘blow’. Gee that might not work too well. Well then, maybe her baby is not really hers, it could be her daughter’s; liar, liar pants on fire. What about her belonging to a radical political party that wanted Alaska to succeed from the union? Uh, that never happened. Her 17 year old daughter got pregnant. Happens in the best of families; she will be married and keep the child. What, she won’t kill the child? How dare she allow her daughter to be punished by bearing a child? Nah, that’s not a good argument. How dare she try to be vice president with having five children and one with possible disabilities? She is a strong woman who can handle life’s responsibilities. Well then, she wares glasses; four eyes.

It seems that life is just not fair when you are a stuck on stupid Liberal.

How we misunderstand terrorism

The only way to defeat terrorism is to release preconceived notions of its causes.
By Adam Garfinkle for FPRI (02/09/08)

Auguste Comte once wrote that "intellectual confusion is at the bottom of every historical crisis." Insofar as the United States finds itself in a foreign policy crisis, intellectual confusion is indeed the cause, and in this case it is three-part.

First, two post-Cold War US administrations have misconstrued the implications of a unipolar world. Both the Clinton and Bush administrations thought American influence would grow as a result of the US victory in the Cold War, but the opposite has been the case.

Second, there is a widespread American misunderstanding of both the origin and scope of Islamist apocalyptic terrorism. That threat is enabled to some degree by poverty and social injustice, by grievances over Western policies, and by the authoritarian political cultures of the Muslim world. But it is not caused by any of these. Its underlying cause is the inability of most Muslim - and especially Arab - societies to effectively adapt to the growing pressures of modernization.

Third, there is the dominant cadence of our own political culture: Enlightenment universalism. Our belief in the universal applicability of what is actually a parochial point of view obscures awareness of the true source of Islamic terrorism.

The error of assuming greater US influence when there is actually less has compounded the misunderstanding of terrorism, producing counterproductive policies that have reduced US influence still further. Only by escaping our confusion can we end the crisis.

Neither poverty nor tyranny
When confronted with a novel challenge, the human mind reasons by analogy. We then become prone to reading the world in ways that reaffirm the choice we have made. Since 9/11 most Americans (and many others) have tended to reason by analogy about Islamist terrorism in two basic tropes, both idealist in nature - one quintessentially liberal and one quintessentially conservative.

The liberal idealist approach is to alleviate the poverty and social injustice thought to be the "root cause" of terrorist violence and address the supposedly legitimate grievances of those who hate us in the Middle East. Those who took the poverty approach to deal with terrorism were simply recapitulating the Cold War catechism: Communism festers when impoverished people lack hope in the future.

But the idea that stimulating rapid economic growth in Middle Eastern countries would reduce the generation of terrorism is ahistorical. Rapid economic growth invariably brings disruptive social change in its wake. It does not "settle down" societies; at base, change - even progress - that comes too rapidly to be assimilated is the problem.

As to grievances, there is a general tendency to exaggerate the role of Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab conflicts in the broader Middle Eastern context. The idea that an Israeli-Palestinian peace arrangement, could one be produced, would reduce the terrorist threat to the United States and the West is delusional. Indeed, Western brokerage of a settlement that leaves a Jewish State of Israel in any borders whatsoever would increase, not reduce, terrorism. In fact, the depredations of Arab autocracies are better accelerators of the frustrations that can congeal into terrorist violence than anything that goes on in Israel/Palestine. Moreover, just as rapid economic growth would produce more angst and, hence, more terror recruits, making Israel the scapegoat to appease radical Muslim demands would only help radicals in their internal social battle against more moderate and traditional forces. Those who think that alleviating poverty in the Middle East and "addressing the grievances" of our enemies are the best policies to deal with Islamist terror would only substitute different counterproductive policies for current ones.

That said, the counterproductive potential of current policies is undeniable. The "democracy deficit" trope of conservative idealism analogizes the oppression of Soviet and East European societies to that of societies abused by authoritarian governments in the Muslim and especially the Arab worlds. President Bush's frequent assertion that freedom is a gift of God universally applicable to all people is the clearest example of this highly moralized view of international politics. Combined with a simplified version of democratic peace theory, this view encompasses a secular messianist vision of permanent world peace. Its core theory is that terrorists arise because other avenues of political participation are closed off. These violent malcontents blame the West, the United States in particular, for the stultified environments in which they suffer.

Liberal templates for understanding Islamist terrorism have fallen behind the "democracy deficit" analogue in recent years. Not only did the poverty approach fly in the face of obvious facts about 9/11 and other terrorists, but conservative idealists have controlled the bully pulpit and employed talented White House speechwriters to make use of it. However, the democracy deficit template remains a misleading analogue for understanding Islamist terrorism.

Social injustice and acute income stratification have been features of authoritarian Arab and Muslim societies for the entire modern independence era, and even before that. Yet the sort of terrorism we experienced on 9/11 is new; al-Qaeda was founded only in 1988. How can conditions that have existed for decades and even centuries explain this recent phenomenon?

The Bush administration's policies have produced predictably counterproductive outcomes in Gaza, for example, and in Iraq, where a premature election strengthened a proclivity for sectarian voting. This has reinforced the downward spiral where decision-makers continue to see the world through the prism of their chosen analogue.

The real problem.
The root causes of apocalyptical terrorism have to do with a condition of blocked or distorted modernization. A monumental, culture-cracking collision between the Muslim world and "Westernization" has been ongoing for a century and more, gaining momentum in the last two post-Cold War decades with the accelerating Western cultural penetration of the Muslim world. Mostly traditional societies are being increasingly stressed by external pressures even as changes well up within from greater urbanization, literacy and social mobility. To various degrees, these societies are being pluralized, and this is placing enormous strains on established ways of thinking and behaving.

Pluralization—a process in which people become aware that there are multiple ways to interpret and act in society—tends to divide traditional societies into three basic groups: a minority that wants "in" to the modern world; nativists who fear for the identity of their society and use religious symbols to mobilize people against the alien intrusion; and those seeking a living tradition to negotiate entry into modernity on culturally acceptable non-Western terms. Western historians of the many precedential movements sometimes refer to them as chiliastic, or end-of-the-world, millenarian religious risings. Such movements are generally quietist and inward-turned. Sometimes, however, they turn their energies outward into mad and often suicidal violence against real or perceived enemies. At such times, believers usually think that violence is part of a divine plan to hasten the end of the world, bring the messiah, re-establish the Caliphate, or whatever the theology requires. Such movements generally arise at times of disruptive change, anything that renders normal frameworks of social understanding obsolete.

One reason many Middle Eastern societies have problems dealing with the stresses induced by rapid change: the endogamous family structure. Endogamy generally means marrying close to one's family, but in the Middle East, it defines a tribe. It refers to the strong preference for marriage within extended family defined by strongly patriarchal lineages, and it even provides a survival rationale for men having multiple wives. These "segmentary lineages" shift about with cousin marriage to give rise to a kind of internal balance of power among subunits.

In most Arab societies, everyone knows where they fit into the overall structure. Loyalty is to extended family, individual agency is weak, and the entire structure tends to resist outside influence. Religion is organic to birth and reinforces the authority of the patriarchal system. However, it is the social structure, which predated Islam, that comes first. Assaults to tribe and family, real or imagined, are therefore assaults against religion, and vice versa.

Endogamous social organization helps explain why these societies tend to split into factions when they come under pressure. The Taliban, which most Westerners consider motivated by religion, are as much driven by concern over their tribal structures' viability. Westerners divide politics from religion and religion from social structure by second nature, but these divisions have no parallel in the Middle East.

Why do they hate us?' They don't. Sometimes we disgust them because of what they consider our materialist, impatient and promiscuous ways. But mainly they fear us. They are afraid that our cultural-economic intrusion into their social space will destroy their corporate identity and undo the authority structures that for thousands of years have protected them against the vicissitudes of history. They interpret the threat through the prism of religion and use religious pride to mobilize resistance. But at base this has nothing to do with theology as Westerners understand the term.

In times of stress, joining chiliastic movements is not the only mode of coping. Many react instead by becoming more conventionally religious. This is why rapid upward mobility is frequently associated in the Muslim world with greater piety, not less. This is the opposite of what postwar Western modernization theory expected, an error caused by a spasm of unreflective universalism that led its practitioners to superimpose Western templates on non-Western societies.

Alas, we Americans don't often bother distinguishing between pious traditionalists and politicized nativists, and we generally don't realize how scary we are to traditional peoples. Now, when large enough chunks of any society generate outward-turned chiliastic movements, all hell is liable to break lose. But the real targets are always close to home, with the exception of those, e.g. Mohammad Atta, living in Europe, uncomfortably suspended between the old and the new. We in the West are primarily props in their arguments.

The motivation for 9/11 came from nativists attacking the "far enemy" to undermine those of their countrymen who opposed both their views and approaches to cleansing their societies. The presence of US forces on Saudi soil provided a handy pretext, the end of the Cold War made the United States the only obvious target of such an attack, and modern transportation and communication technologies provided the means. The hope, clearly expressed by Al Qaeda principals, was that US forces would be lured subsequently into Afghanistan and smashed as were Soviet forces before them.

If there is any good news in this account of our terrorism problem, it is that episodes of chiliastic violence invariably burn themselves out. They require lots of un- or under-employed young men to constitute the armies of protest, but young men grow up fast. Above all, suicidal violence tends to create self-limiting organizations. So even if salafi groups were better organized than most are, the threat they pose is limited by the time horizon. To call this conflict a "long war" is therefore exactly wrong. It will only become a "long war" if we act in such a way as to make it one.

The bad news is that a policy of exporting democracy will not curb chiliastic violence. Indeed, by threatening and weakening the very Arab and Muslim state elites which we need to contain these movements, we make the prospects of that violence worse. By implying that we are politically and morally superior to them, again, we help nativists in their internal struggles with those who are our natural allies. It is, therefore, good that the Bush administration's "forward strategy for freedom" in the Middle East has been quieted, because further efforts to promote it would have been disastrous.

What we must do.
If we substitute a blocked-modernization understanding of the problem for a democracy-deficit understanding, what would change in US foreign policy?

First, we would rethink efforts to promote economic growth and political liberalization in the Muslim world. It is fine to want to alleviate poverty and spread liberal institutions and democratic government to others. But it is hard for outsiders to do liberal good works in places where the institutional and attitudinal precursors - a pervasive sense of individual agency and the idea of equality before the law; belief in an intrinsic source of moral-political authority; and the existence of a concept of a loyal opposition - are largely absent.

More than that, introducing democratic forms prematurely can be counterproductive to the eventual success of liberal institutions. For example, elections, interjected into heterogeneous societies not used to individual political agency, can drive societies back toward their tribal roots. The January 2008 election in Kenya seems a case in point.

Therefore, we should cease the rhetorical policy of promoting democracy in the Muslim world. Traditional Muslims do not accept distinctions between theology and ideology. In this they are consonant with the flow of history, in which political theology has always been a fact of life. More than that, "democracy" carries baggage in the Muslim world, much of it negative. To some, democracy vaguely means government that is not arbitrary and corrupt. To many pious Muslims, however, it is vaguely associated with apostasy. In his anti-election campaign in Iraq in 2005, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi suggested that voting was tantamount to participation in a Christian religious ritual.

Moreover, when US officials claim that our way of doing politics is sanctioned by God, they are saying in effect that traditional Muslim concepts of government are not sanctioned by God. This turns the conflict into a more explicitly religious dispute that helps radical nativists for whom the religious pride of ordinary people is a natural ally.

US policy, therefore, requires a low-profile, long-term emphasis on assisting gradual, sustainable economic reform, and on promoting locally acceptable forms of the rule of law. This is in our interest not just because alleviating poverty and promoting justice are good in and of themselves, or because such programs will stamp out terrorism in the short run (they won't), but because we need stronger states in the region to contain religious energies and movements.

For the time being, then, first, we should prefer "soft" authoritarian rule to weak and warlike young democracies. We should save our high-profile rhetoric and any muscular action for states actively supporting or abetting terrorist violence.

Second, with we should stigmatize terrorism, using indigenous sources of authority to do so, but without linking that effort to democratization. We should patiently pursue a state-strengthening liberalization agenda even as we separately pursue a terrorism-stigmatization campaign.

Third is public diplomacy. We have botched this in the Middle East over the past six years. We have been worried about our image, but the problem is the failure of most Muslim societies to audibly condemn terrorism—a practice that is abhorrent to any reasonable reading of Islam. We should have been quietly networking traditional Muslim intellectuals and clerics to help them articulate that terrorism is morally wrong. We have done some of this, mainly at the Defense Department, but the State Department has wasted years perseverating on the wrong question. In an absentminded fit of post-Cold War economizing, Congress destroyed the institution arguably best suited for the purpose - the United States Information Agency - and tried unsuccessfully to stuff its remains into the Department of State. One solution would be to re-establish USIA, but a new public-private partnership of some kind is probably the better way to go.

Fourth, we should try not to lose, or appear to lose, the war in Iraq. Being seen to lose in Iraq is the single most effective way to help al-Qaida recruit an ample next generation of terrorists. Not losing is the best way to deflate its conviction that God is on its side. Nor should we lose the struggle in Afghanistan, which may turn out to be harder than Iraq. And we should not underestimate the huge symbolic value of finding and killing bin-Laden and al-Zawahiri. But this does not mean we should stay in Iraq in full military strength until we have helped midwife a liberal democracy. Rather, we should seek an Iraq that holds together in a federal state, and that is neither so strong as to threaten its neighbors nor so weak as to entice violence from them.

It is safe and wise to set minimalist goals for US Iraq policy for two reasons. First, Iraqi society will probably not collapse into acute sectarian violence if the US reduces its military profile there; and the regional consequences of negative events in Iraq would not in any event be as significant as many fear. National leaderships in that part of the world are generally cautious and conservative, aware of their own weakness and the neighborhood's dangers. More important, if we keep assuming that small shifts in what we do will have outsized regional consequences, we will become in perpetuity a nation of caring and hence incompetent imperialists. An "indispensable nation" attitude of this sort for the Middle East is a formula for protracted disaster.

Fifth, if we understand that rapid social change occasionally produces violent chiliastic movements, we should expect to see more such movements over the next several decades. We should also expect that if the US remains the number-one power, we will remain the prime target for such groups. This leads to an important observation: When we think of a nexus between WMD and terrorism we typically think of nuclear weapons. But nuclear weapons are hard to make, hide, transfer and use compared to bioweapons. By all means we should continue efforts to contain the nuclear weapons proliferation threat. But if the future WMD of choice will likely be bio-weapons, we need to devise ways to better control the uses of bioscience. We need an international regime to both monitor and set standards for bioscience research, and we probably should criminalize certain behaviors.

Lastly, we must take the full measure of what the crisis of modernity in the Arab/Muslim world means for the Western approach to the region. As a rule, we should make ourselves scarce, and when we cannot, try to join with our European, Asian and Middle Eastern allies.

Of course, whether the US government keeps its profile high or low, it cannot tell NGOs what to do or tell US-based corporations where to buy, sell and invest. The products of American entertainment culture, especially action films, do a lot of damage. They convey images of American society wildly at variance with reality. We need to reconsider what, if anything, we can do about this as a matter of public policy.

We need also to adjust homeland security policy. Terrorism sets a trap that requires the object of its attention to conspire in its own undoing. We have fallen into that trap. What should we do now to reverse the errors we have made?

First, the US government must stop injecting fear into the American population. It should eliminate Orwellian security announcements in our subway systems and avoid messages telling us vaguely to "report suspicious activities." Such policies tell all potential terrorists that it doesn't take much to rattle us. They constitute not deterrents but incentives to strike us.

Second, we need to stop treating so many visitors to our country as potential terrorists. We are alienating our best potential friends abroad with bureaucratized paranoia. We must also stop violating international legal norms regarding prisoners and detainees. It is true that the Geneva Conventions no longer speak adequately to the times, but we should err on the side of compliance wherever a question of interpretation arises.

Third, we should examine whether the FBI can ever mount a serious effort at domestic counterterrorism. We may need a new organization, comparable to Britain's MI5, for this purpose.

Fourth, we must get a handle on immigration. The US Customs and Immigration Service cannot possibly be expected to find the "signal" of terrorism crossing our borders when the "noise" of 12-14 million illegal immigrants eats up its resources. Congress needs to fix the problem, but it won't unless the next White House forces the issue.

Fifth, we need to re-conceive the structures of both the Directorate for National Intelligence and the Homeland Security Department. Both of these "reforms" are over-centralized, over-layered bureaucratic monstrosities that probably make us less safe. We need, instead, to become a more resilient nation, both to deal with contemporary Salafi terrorism and with the more daunting prospects of post-Salafi bioterror in the future.

Sixth, as we need to say less from our bully pulpits about the danger of terrorism, we need quietly to do more about it. We need to reduce the number of lawyers in the Defense Department who keep telling US Special Forces units what they cannot do, for example, with Predator missiles.

Seventh and finally, if the problem of apocalyptical terrorism is a "war of ideas," then as with any war someone needs to be in charge of it. The US government needs unity of command, but today no one is in charge. No one has even undertaken the elementary exercise of working up a functional budget to show what resources we are spending across half a dozen Executive departments and agencies. The preparation of such a functional budget would make a worthy exercise for a transition team between an election and an inauguration.