I read a letter to the editor in my local newspaper on Saturday.  As I started to read, I really thought that the writer was using satire to make some point.  But then, to my chagrin, I realized that the letter was written in earnest…by an “Oblivion of the First Type” (see commentary from January 8, 2008).  As you will recall, Oblivions of the First Type are those who are just ignorant of the facts, either due to any number of personal or intellectual limitations or due to lack of study or laziness.  They don’t mean to misdirect or fabricate.  They just don’t know any better.

The writer of the letter to the editor was responding to an editorial by Clifford May (StarTribune, 1/25/08).  In his original writing, May wrote of the threat posed by islamofascists, comparing Osama bin Ladin to Hitler in some ways.  In reply, our newly identified Oblivion, Tom Obert (Alexandria, MN) wrote the following (excerpted):

“…please tell Clifford May to just go into his bomb shelter where he and his paranoia can stop bothering the rest of us.  To keep trying to compare Osama bin Laden, et. al., with Adolf Hitler is absolutely ridiculous.  Hitler was the leader of an entire country with a huge, modern…military.  Bin Laden is the alleged leader (he’s been hiding in the mountains for years) of an organization that has no navy, has no air force, has no army, and its 7,000 miles and a huge ocean away from us….to continue to imply that this country is in mortal danger is nothing more than fear-mongering.  We’re sick of it.

“Our saddest memory of this war is of a mother in San Diego who had just lost a son in Iraq.  She still insisted the war was justified because she did not want to wear a burqa.  A burqa?  In San Diego?  That is what the Clifford Mays of the world have wrought!  It is well past the time to remind ourselves that ‘The Mouse That Roared’ was a piece of fiction.”

I find two main points in this moronic discourse.  First, the writer believes that islamofascists do not have the power or means to destroy us militarily.  Due to lack of leadership, lack of a military and due to distance, this writer believes we have little to fear from bin Laden and his followers.  Of course, bin Laden is underground.  He also has a very well organized communication system with his Lieutenants.  Of course bin laden lacks an organized military.  But, islamofascists gain their power from that very fact.  They attack without uniform and without ceremony.  They kill to kill.  They kill to frighten.  Bin Laden is the leader of the underbelly of an entire culture/religion.  To minimize this reality is remarkably naïve at best.  Islamofascists hold power that in some ways is far beyond anything Hitler could have dreamed of.

Secondly, the writer asserts that there is no way that a woman living in San Diego could ever be forced to wear a burqa by islamofascists.  People in San Diego and people across the country (and the globe) are already being forced to acquiesce to the demands of Muslims.  We are forced to listen to their morning call to prayer over loud speakers.  We are forced to build special “prayer rooms” in schools and businesses.  We are forced to hide our celebration of Christmas and other Judeo-Christian traditions.  And these requirements come from the demands of so-called mainstream Muslims.  It is the goal of Islamic terrorists to take all of this to the extreme and turn the world into a world that follows Sharia.  For Mr. Obert’s benefit, this is the law of Islam…and it is NOT a pretty thing.  (ever had a hand cut off for masturbating?...ever had your mother stoned to death for being raped?)

We must all remember two things.  The attack by islamofascists upon Western values and ideals comes from two directions.  The first front is violence…terroristic violence.  The second front is social/religious.  Both of those fronts bring danger to every American and every person who believes in Western values and ideals. 

If they continue to con Oblivions of the First Type like Tom Obert into believing that we are not in danger, either militarily or socially, islamofascists will have won.  And Mr. Obert WILL be wearing a turban and his mother or wife WILL be wearing a burqa.

I received this in an email yesterday.  I have no idea if it is authentic…but to tell you the truth, I don’t care.  That is because the words and the sentiment are EXACTLY mine.  So I am printing this as I received it.  If Prime Minister Howard wrote it, GOOD FOR HIM!  If someone else wrote it…well, I agree wholeheartedly!

Quotes attributed to Australian Prime Minister John Howard…writer of article unknown.

“Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

“Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom  We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society …Learn the language!'

“'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

“'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

“'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom,  THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

“'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'”

Well, what more can anyone add to that.  We need Americans and Canadians to stand up and say the same thing.  Muslims joined OUR club and therefore they are required to adhere to OUR rules.  If they don’t like it, then they can get to hell out.

Jack is out of jail for his little DUI deal.  I predicted he would break out in five days...but he ended up finishing his 48 day sentence.  But that is okay.  After all, he has had an incredibly bad 24 hours, over and over again.  He was stressed, traumatized, lost a wife, his daughter is an idiot...everyone who backs him up is killed...he has had to kill several bosses...heck of a life.  But he walked out of jail yesterday and he is looking fine...fit and recharged for the next 24 hour trauma.

I have posted some Bauer-isms in the past, some copied and some original (April 13, 2006, May 13, 2006, March 26, 2006).  Refer back if interested.  In the meantime here are a few:

·        Jack Bauer once tortured his mother just for practice.  In the process he learned who his real father was.  It was Jack Bauer.

·        If you think Jack Bauer can be killed, you don’t know Jack.

·        Jack Bauer only fathered Kim Bauer to piss everyone off.

·        Jack Bauer really hated his wife but married her so the Bosnians would kill her.

·        Jack Bauer has never had a uniformed backup that lived.  And that’s the way he likes it.

·        Jack Bauer killed one boss, watched another die from radiation poisoning, and is working on the next one.

·        Jack Bauer is not good at taking direction.

·        Jack Bauer once tortured himself, just for practice.  He learned very little but lost a leg which he sewed back on. 

·        Jack Bauer’s cell phone never needs to be recharged…because he said so.

·        Jack Bauer hasn’t slept in five years and that just makes him more pissed off.

·        Jack Bauer would kill any man that dates his daughter…because they really deserve it.  But he doesn’t because Kim would whine and that is worse than dealing with her boyfriends.

·        Jack Bauer knows that CTU hires at least one terrorist every year.  He lives for that.

·        Jack Bauer knows that all bosses are ignorant bureaucrats and therefore chooses to ignore them, until he has to kill them.

·        Jack Bauer never has to use the toilet because he can’t waste the time.

·        Jack Bauer once Tasered himself just for fun.  He saw God, tortured Him, and learned all the secrets of the universe.  Jack Bauer then tortured himself to be sure he wouldn’t tell anyone else.  He did tell Edgar, which is why Edgar is dead.

·        Jack Bauer is having frequent sex with Chloe, but he is so fast, she doesn’t know it.  It is because of her frequent orgasms that her brow is always furrowed.

·        Jack Bauer is surrounded by idiots.

·        Jack Bauer can blow things up with Scotch tape and bubble gum.  And that is just for show.

·        Jack Bauer once destroyed the entire Russian army.  Oh wait, President Reagan did that.  Oh wait; Jack Bauer was President Reagan in disguise.  Jack Bauer once destroyed the entire Russian army. 

·        If Jack Bauer kills you, you deserved it.

Added, April 11, 2006.

-- Jack Bauer doesn't "come in peacefully" until he is ready. 

-- Jack Bauer will shoot your wife in the leg just to get your attention.

-- Jack Bauer knows President Logan and he is no John F. Kennedy.

So let's all take a moment to show our respect for this American hero...he spent 48 days in jail to recuperate...ALL FOR US!!!  So he can get back in the swing and get rid of the rest of the bad guys!

So, Thank You Jack Bauer for All That You Do!

The 2008 election will be the most important election in many, many a generation.  Will America turn and run in the face of islamofascists?  Will we leave our borders unsecured against illegal immigrants?  Will we continue the trend of allowing leftists to take away our individual rights?  Will we continue to allow those same leftists to “disarm” the Second Amendment?  Will we go back to the trend of allowing Europe to decide our future and our actions?  Will we continue to limit the military in its efforts to defend us?  These are just a few of the critical decisions facing this country in the next decade and beyond. 

I found the following fable to be very interesting, poignant, and timely.  It was sent to me by a good friend who goes by the name of Tim…although I think his real name is Genius. 

Here is the fable.

GRASSHOPPER & THE ANT

TRADITIONAL VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long,building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dancesand plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper hasno food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long,building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dancesand plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conferenceand demands to know why the ant should be warm and well fed while othersare cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of theshivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable homewith a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, thatin a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to sufferso?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper andeverybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton stage a demonstration in front ofthe ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'Weshall overcome.'

Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God forthegrasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, & Harry Reid exclaim in an interviewwith Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of thegrasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity andAnti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer!

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number ofgreen bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, hishome is confiscated by the government.

Hillary Clinton gets her old law firm to represent thegrasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is triedbefore a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed and ajuror list of single-parent welfare recipients.

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the lastbits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which justhappens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn'tmaintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow on the way to another landwhere to start a new life again!!!

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident andthe house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders whoterrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008

More than one writer has used the term “Oblivion” to describe a group of characters who go through life with no real understanding of what is going on around them.  I can’t think of a better term to describe those on the far left of the political spectrum.

Actually, there are two kinds of Oblivions.  Those of the first group (Type 1) are just ignorant of the facts either because they don’t take the time to learn or because they are incapable of comprehending the facts.  Those who form the second group (Type 2) are people who chose to edit out information that doesn’t fit their own world view or political agenda.

It is this last group which is the most disturbing.  I personally know people with Ph.D.s and Masters Degrees who are Oblivions and who fit this latter description perfectly.  I also know teachers, lawyers, business people, social service providers, and custodians who also fit the description.  The sad part is that Type 2 Oblivions will never admit what and who they really are.

Here is the most recent example of Type 2 Oblivions at work.  Far leftists constantly whine about the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  They focus on the wording that begins the clause…”A well regulated Militia, being necessary...” in order to try to erase our Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms”.  They overlook two important facts.  First of all, due to its placement in the sentence, the first clause (“A well regulated Militia being necessary”) does not serve as a limiting clause.  More importantly, they overlook the fact that the Bill of Rights is the part of the Constitution that addresses INDIVIDUAL rights…not the rights of the State or any Militia.  This important distinction was brought to my awareness by Bob Maginnis in the Minneapolis StarTribune letter section on January 7, 2008.  It would have made no sense to include this one Amendment specifically to define the government’s right to arm people to form a Militia.  This Amendment clearly refers to the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms. 

Should there be any doubt, Mr. Maginnis went on to quote James Madison (a principal author of the Constitution) who wrote the following in the Federalist Papers.  (I checked the quote myself and it is accurate.)  James Madison wrote: “The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation…forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition more insurmountable than any…”

There it is right from the horse’s mouth.  Two facts ignored by the far leftist Type 2 Oblivions.  The purpose of the Second Amendment is to ensure the right of Americans to keep and bear arms so that we can preserve our liberty in the face of the “ambitions” of those who would take it away.  That group is large and includes not only our external enemies but also our internal enemies.  Since those on the far left are among that list of internal enemies, it is of little surprise that they are the loudest in the quest to disarm law abiding American citizens.

This is why we must hold fast and be tough.  No compromise is allowable because once we give even a little they will take it all.  Just look at what has happened with seat belts, smoking, property rights…the list goes on and on.  The gun issue is even more important than any of the other infringements of freedom on that list…because without the right to keep and bear arms the enemy can simply come to our doors and take what they want.  We can never let that happen.

By the way, I think Madison made one additional important point in the Federalist Papers citation.  He noted that Americans are at an advantage over people from other nations in the right to keep and bear arms.  Nations like Canada should beware.  You are not allowed to keep or bear handguns.  Even hunting rifles and shotguns have to be registered in Canada.  The government knows what arms you have.  Should the wrong government be elected…I hate to think of the consequences.

During the upcoming Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, anarchists have vowed to shut down the city.  Granted, Minneapolis is not much of a city and shutting it down will have little impact on the course of the nation.  The real goal, according to the anarchists is to dissuade other cities from ever hosting a political convention again.  They are seeking a permit to protest, march, and otherwise cause mayhem. 

Remember that the Encarta Dictionary definition of anarchist is “somebody who believes that governments should be abolished as unnecessary”.  Given this, it is clear why the anarchists want to prevent the election process from going forward, now or in the future.

The anarchists talk out of both sides of their mouths.  First they talk about disrupting the election process.  Then they say that they are just protestors who have the right to legal political protest.  Of course we all support legitimate political debate…even protests to some degrees…as long as they remain nonviolent and do not disrupt the day-to-day lives of people who work for a living.  (Obviously these anarchists do not work at real jobs or they wouldn’t have time to protest during the day.)  These people are not legitimate protestors.  They are dedicated to creating serious disruption and they are dedicated to violence in order to create that disruption.

It is clear why the anarchists want a permit to protest.  If they have one they will be legitimized by the government…the very government they want to overthrow.  What is less clear, at first, is why they have gained the support of the American Civil Liberties Union in their quest for a permit.  After all, isn’t the ACLU dedicated to preserving our Constitutional rights?  By that I mean the rights of all of us.  To allow a group of hoodlums to control the streets prevents me from exercising my rights as an American.  Doesn’t the ACLU care about that?

Of course not!  That is because the ACLU is dedicated to the same cause as that of the anarchists.  They too are working for the destruction of America.  Yes, they want to replace it with another form of government…communism…but they still want an end to America as we know it. 

It is my guess that the ACLU and the hoodlum will win and they will be allowed to protest and commit violence that could well take lives.  In New York during the Democrat convention in 2004, they almost succeeded to bringing the city to its knees.  Minneapolis is a much weaker adversary than the city of New York.  This will be bad.  That is practically a foregone conclusion. 

So here is the question for the day.  Where will the Democrats stand on this issue?  Will they stand up with the Republicans to condemn the violence?  Will they urge the city to limit protests to certain areas and to certain numbers?  Will they stand up against their longtime allies, the ACLU and the far leftists that make up much of their base?  Will they take a stand at all?

We will have to wait and see, but I will not be holding my breath.