Gambling: Women's Hottest New Pastime?

Long gone are the days of playing Bridge, women are opting for internet gambling, the new hot craze. Haven't you noticed all the napkins, dishes, purses, et al with a 'gambling motif' recently?

And with Las Vegas' plans for new shopping districts and casino projects, and the World Series of Poker with a $7.5 million pot, and some toy stores offering 'game tables' for kids to play after school...gambling is going mainstream at an unprecedented rate.

It's gambling on the Internet with it's high-speed connections which allow online players quicker and easier playing...and the chance to win. And according to CBN's Scott Presson, women gamble for different reasons than men:

"Debbie said, 'It was almost like having a lover, like having a boyfriend. As a matter of fact, my husband, when he started realizing there was some kind of a problem, he actually thought it was a boyfriend. He could not believe that it was gambling.'

Figures show that more than half of online casino players are now women, a statistic that has even taken the online gambling community by surprise. And the anonymity of the Internet makes it even more attractive to women.

Barrett Duke is vice president for Public Policy and Research for the Southern Baptist Convention and a board member of the National Coalition against Legalized Gambling. He said, "Women gamble to escape. Men tend to gamble for the excitement of it, for the challenge. They want to see who they can beat…and women tend to gamble generally as an escape mechanism."

Casino Watch reports that gambling brings an increase in bankruptcies, divorces, child abuse, and domestic violence, costing pathological gamblers $13,586 each per year.

They also report on Elderly Addiction and the details of Casino marketing to senior citizens, including cheap buffets, coupons and drug discounts.

It's not a pretty, or healthy picture.

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Shocking: Bodies of Fetuses Clog Sewers

The bodies of 20 newborn babies and fetuses are found every week in the sewers of Harare, the capitol of Zimbabwe. Blaming shortages of money and gasoline for causing 'crippled utilities and garbage collection services,' the state Herald quotes Town Clerk Nomutsa Chideya saying, "Apart from upsetting the normal flow of waste, it is not right from a moral standpoint. Some of the things that are happening now are shocking."

Ah...I would say so!

Open Doors is one organization of many that are trying to make a difference.

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MySpace.com Unsafe for Teens

Teens are at risk on websites, experts say. For instance, MySpace.com is not just a place for teens to find others who share mutual interests. According to the AP:

"They can also find out where their online friends live, where they attend school, even what they look like. And so can adults. Police in Middletown, Conn., are investigating recent reports that as many as seven local girls were sexually assaulted by men in their 20s who contacted them through MySpace pretending to be teenagers.One girl allowed a man into her room while her parents were home, police said, underscoring just how in the dark parents often are about one of the most popular Web activities for teens today."

MySpace.com has 54 million users, with 1/4 of them teens...that's over 13 million.

Connecticut Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano, reported that he was surprised to learn that his own 10 and 12 yr old children had been contacted by possible pedophiles over the internet, and warns, "You wouldn't leave your kid on the side of the highway without supervision. You shouldn't put them on the Internet highway without the same type of supervision."

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Harvard President Quits and Yale Holds Sex Week

This week two of America's 'top' universities made the headlines:

Harvard's President quit. The former member of Clinton's administration said he couldn't work with Harvard's faculty. FOX News had a segment on this yesterday reporting in essence that for this liberal university, this liberal president was not liberal enough! The main problems were with the Arts & Sciences Dept.

Here's the first paragraph of his resignation letter:

"President Lawrence H. Summers
February 21, 2006

Dear Members of the Harvard Community,

I have notified the Harvard Corporation that I will resign as President of the University as of June 30, 2006. Working closely with all parts of the Harvard community, and especially with our remarkable students, has been one of the great joys of my professional life. However, I have reluctantly concluded that the rifts between me and segments of the Arts and Sciences faculty make it infeasible for me to advance the agenda of renewal that I see as crucial to Harvard's future. I believe, therefore, that it is best for the University to have new leadership." Read it all here.

Yale held sex toy classes. A middle-aged saleswoman demonstrated sex toys at the biennual Sex Week at Yale, that the Boston Globe reports:

"...has become one of the most provocative campus events in the country. 'I want you to close your eyes,' Patty Brisben playfully instructs a young man in a pink polo shirt as she rubs scented lotion into his forearm and, to raucous laughter, reaches for an electric toy and a glove.'

Organizers say Sex Week gets students talking about sex in a way that's more relevant than middle-school film strips, more honest than movies and television and more fun than requisite college health lectures.

'To get people's attention, we do have to do things a little risque and a little different than other sex education programs,' said junior Dain Lewis, who was inspired to direct Sex Week 2006 after attending the 2004 event.

Yale's event, which ends Saturday, includes lectures from dating specialists, a sex therapist and a discussion of homosexuality with a former Catholic priest. More provocative sessions include a panel of porn stars and stripping lessons from a Playboy Channel hostess."

Are our universities in trouble? Well......yes......and it goes beyond liberal Presidents and these kinds of 'sex classes'.

How about former felons and 'slave' cult leaders as professors? David Horowitz talks about 101 professors in his new book, The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America, whose backgrounds and mentalities are so shocking there aren't words...except to say...get the book and read for yourself.

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Carter's At it Again

While terror leaders say more missles are on their way to 'bring hell' to Israelis after a rocket attack was thwarted, and that 'a 3rd Intifada' is on the way, Jimmy Carter says Hamas will be 'peaceful' and advocates the U.S. and Israel give money to the UN to give to the new Hamas-led government.

Despite the fact that PA leaders continue to back Israel's destruction, and that Hamas' political leader, Khaled Meshaal, said at Tehran University, after their election victory, "Resistance will continue as long as the occupation and aggression continues. There is no recognition of Israel, no matter what the cost is," Carter told CNN's Situation Room that Hamas is a 'disciplined' group, and that Israel and the United States 'should be positive about the changes that will come.' (Expose the Left has the video here).

Captain's Quarters points out that advocating the U.S. and Israel re-institute funding of the PA government, as Carter is doing, is the same as asking Israel to fund their enemy... that wants to kill them. And might I add, asking America to fund the enemy that wants to kill their long-time friend.

Besides, does anyone really think our funding them will keep Hamas from working with others such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who publicly called for Israel to be wiped off the map, and told Khaled Mashaal during his recent visit to the anti-Israel, anti-American country, not to worry about money, that "If you work for God, he will provide for you." In other words, stick with our plan against Israel and we'll fund you?

This isn't the first time that Carter has suggested such insanity in the name of diplomacy.Ankle Biting Pundits points out similar recommendations of his, such as:

- In 1991, he wrote a letter to the UN asking them to stop President Bush 41 from removing Saddam from Kuwait.

- He stymied the attempt of President Clinton to stop North Korea from getting nuclear weapons, saying of Kim Jong Il: "I found him to be vigorous, intelligent, surprisingly well-informed about the technical issues and in charge of the decisions about this country."

- Vouched for Fidel Castro's statement that Cuba did not have the capability to produce biological weapons.

- Backed Hugo Chavez's claim that the Venezuelan elections were fair in the face of numerous reports to the contrary by respected election monitors and polling companies.

He also warned Americans against an "irrational fear of communism."

Though Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she will ask Arab allies in her upcoming trip to put pressure on the new Hamas-led government to 'abandon terrorism and accept Israel,' will they agree, and if they do, will they be successful?

Look, it's one thing to be willing to work with a repentant government, and an entirely different thing to treat one that is still bent on your destruction as if they were nice guys. Hamas has shown no such signs.

So, WHAT IS THE DEAL?! This blindness is the same kind that existed when Hitler was rising to power, and though he was defeated, Israel and the world has lived with the consequences of that blindness to this day. It's way past time for eyes to be opened.

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HOT OFF THE SHOW! Black Leaders - Farrakhan

We re-aired our Black History Month Special today, talking about the contributions various black leaders have made to American society.

In the meantime Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, is getting ready for his annual Saviours' Day, this week entitled, "The Birth of a Nation."

His website claims he is the reason for the growth of Islam in America...

And John Lee Clary summarizes significant points about Farrakhan such as:

- His saying the reason so many people died in New Orleans was because the flooding was a deliberate plot by the White man to kill Black people and that George Bush was behind it all because he hates black people. (Remember, the Mayor of New Orleans met with Farrakhan following the floods?)

- One of the most controversial statements made by Farrakhan in response to a Jewish journalist at the Village Voice referring to him as a "Black Hitler", and which led to him being censured unanimously by the United States Senate:

"So I said to the members of the press, 'Why won't you go and look into what we are saying about the threats on Reverend Jackson's life?' Here the Jews don't like Farrakhan and so they call me 'Hitler.' Well that's a good name. Hitler was a very great man."

He is known for his anti-semitic statements such as:

"You're not the true Jew .... You are a European strain of people whocrawled around on your all fours in the caves and hills of Europe, eating juniper roots and eating each other."

Although raised in a Christian family Farrakhan became a Muslim who followed Malcom X. Today his writings and preaching reflect a a strange mixture of the two religions, which causes some black Christians to ignorantly follow him, including in the Million Man March a few years back, despite the fact that he has claimed to be be Jesus Christ, and that there is no need to look for Christ's 2nd coming, because 'he is here.'

Related:
Farrakhan in his own words
Billy Graham on Farrakhan


Hear the show (See 2/20/05)

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Worst Presidential Errors

This is a twist on honoring Presidents on President's Day...pointing out what they did wrong. Scholars rated worst Presidential errors in a survey of the top 10 presidential blunders, which were announced Saturday during a President's Day weekend conference called "Presidential Moments."

The conference was held at the McConnell Center, University of Louisville, "for teachers, students, and citizens to explore some major decisions presidents have made...Bringing together some of today’s leading experts on the field of the presidency...and helping us all use them to understand American history..."

Political scientist and McConnell Center Director Gary Gregg said,
"We can probably learn just as much — or maybe even more — by looking at the mistakes rather than looking at why they were great."

Who do you think made the top ten? Clinton? Bush? Reagan? Find out here.

What a way to honor Presidents. Just think what would happen if the same thing was done for Black History Month...having a conference on what black leaders did wrong...or during Gay Pride month...the 10 top errors of the gay community...et al!

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Can Netanyahu Win In Israel's Election Next Month?

There are 5,014,622eligible voters in Israel

Israel's election for Prime Minister will take place on March 28th. My friend, Audrey Russo at Ediblog, says Netanyahu is the only reality for Israel:

"Likud Party Chairman, Binyamin "BiBi" Netanyahu, told Israeli Army Radio that Acting Prime Minister "Olmert is detached from reality." He feels that Olmert is dangerously ignoring Hamas' rise to power.

And a great danger it is.

Mr. Netanyahu continued, "We have just undergone a veritable earthquake, with the rise of a fundamentalist-Islamic terrorist organization to power, giving it the ability to create another Iran right on our border - and we just pass over it as if it were nothing."

The Kadima Party has already proven that it does not understand the depth of peril that it is aiming the Jewish State into. Their disgraceful and violent behavior toward the citizens of Amona and their purported plans of evicting citizens from Judea and Samaria is an indication of Olmert's inability to perceive the peril.

There is only one man who has the experience and comprehension of the current situation in Israel, and is capable of protecting the citizens and the land: Netanyahu.

He is the only reality for Israel."

Leader of the Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu is focusing his campaign on the Hamas threat, which has continued to refuse to renounce violence or end its calls for Israel's destruction after its victory in the recent Palestinian election.

Netanyahu's main opponent is Ehuh Olmert, who took over as acting Prime Minister following Ariel Sharon's major stroke and inability to lead the nation. Olmert is a member of Kadima, the Party formed by Sharon.

More to come...

Audrey is also a regular contributor to WOMANTalk, both on the show and blogsite.

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Watch! A New Way of Car-Jacking

THIS NOT A JOKE: It is from the Florida Highway Patrol. Please pass this on to all the women you know. Use the email icon at the end of this article.

There's a new way of car-jacking that we want to alert you about. Here's how it happens:

You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. Then you lock all your doors, start the engine andshift into REVERSE, and you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space and you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into PARK, unlock your doors and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, that is when the car-jackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off! Your engine was running, and ladies would have their purse in the car.

BE AWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME THAT IS BEING USED. If this happens to you just drive away and remove the paper that is stuck to your window later. Please pass this information to others. A purse contains all of your identification, including your home address. They already HAVE your keys!

From Lieutenant Tony Bartolome
Bureau of Investigations
Florida Highway Patrol
P.O. Box 593527
Orlando, FL 32859

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I'm Back - What a Weekend!

I decided to take a couple of extra days off after the WIC (Women in Christ) retreat I spoke at this past weekend, since I will be gone this coming weekend at the California Eagle Forum Annual Conference with Congressman Tom Tancredo and Phyllis Schlafly, both of whom I will do live interviews with for our radio show; and the following weekend I'll be at the California RWF Convention with talk show host, Jeff Katz, where I'll be speaking on the Rob Reiner mandatory pre-school initiative.

But what a weekend with WIC it was! Since almost 100% of my speaking engagements now have to do with political/cultural issues, it was great being able to share on a different venue out of my personal background on the subjects of Rejection & Acceptance. And on Saturday we had a WOMENTalk Live 'show' with the conference room transformed into a television studio where I was able to interview the speakers after hearing their stories and the audience could ask questions. WIC did a fantastic job with fun commercial breaks, awesome 'chocolate goodies' for everyone and more. According to the response it was a hit.

Brave stories were told by the speakers, like Keli, who shared what it was like being a surrogate mother for her friend who was unable to have a child after her baby was stillborn. We hope to have her and others on the show soon, so watch for the announcements.

Heather Powers did the music. What an incredible voice! Just back from Nashville, she also has quiet a story to tell that we want to bring to you in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out her music here.



If you belong to a group that would be interested in these subjects let me know and we'll send you more information. Email us here.

HOT OFF THE SHOW: China - Who Is Watching?

I interviewed Fred Stakelbeck, journalist today on China. We talked about Beijing's army of 30,000 internet secret police which monitor Chinese bloggers, and the growing concern of China's ability to launch a cyber-attack against the U.S. which it considers its enemy, to fracture the stability of global financial markets, interrupt our international communications, damage interconnected security networks and harm the overall effectiveness and rapid response capabilities of the U.S. military.

This is one of the most important shows we've done and I highly recommend you listen to what Fred has to say. While all eyes are on the Muslim world, China is moving forward with its agenda, without a doubt.

Related:
The Great FireWall
Worried about the threat of a global cyber attack
US Congressman takes Google to task on China
RFID in China and how they will use it to track its citizens
Beijing preparing new cyber-attacks
Cyber Fraud
Chinese Cyber threats to U.S. national security

WEEKLY QUICK HITS 2/15/06

Unheard of!
Grammar School Cartoon Protest
Hamas gave students day off to denounce the West/cartoons

Saddam Announces Hunger Strike
Dictator says no more junk food!


Unbelievable!
Group 'Delighted' Wal-Mart Must Stock 'Morning-After' Pill
NARAL sent over 26,000 messages from all 50 states to Wal-Mart

Sen. Harry Reid Wants to Keep Focus on Cheney
Libs want VP to hold press conference on his accidental shooting


Outrageous!
Al Gore Slanders America to Arabs
Former VP told Saudi audience U.S. committed "terrible abuses"


Iran's President Ahmadinejad threatens to remove Israel again

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HOT OFF THE SHOW: The Contrast is Striking

Rocco DiPippo asks at FrontPageMag.com, "When did Christians storm government buildings threatening to behead blasphemous artists?"

As horrible as the response to the 'Danish cartoons' have been, should we be surprised? Wisdom knows her enemy.

I interviewed Philip Lawler, editor of Catholic World News and asked him these questions:

What did the Vatican say about the cartoons?

Did the statement chastise the violent protestors?

Could the statement lead to reconciliation?

What is the Vatican’s comment on the Turkish priest’s killing?

Has the Pope said anything about these matters?

Amidst Muslim violence that escalated with stonings in Beirut, the burning of Western Embassy buildings, and the killing of Turkish Priest Andrea Santaro, the Vatican responded, and an Iranian newspaper announced its contest for 'Holocaust cartoons.'


Hear the show (See 2/13/05)

Related:
The murder of Father Santoro
Pope prays priest’s murder may foster interreligious dialogue
Bishop in Turkey Links Priest's Murder to Muslim Protests
Conflict over the Danish cartoons, and the crisis behind it
Leader of cartoon rally warns of 'fire throughout the world'

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CW Poll Results: Teachers on Gay Marriage

Three weeks ago we began an online poll on where California and the nation's teachers stand on the issue of gay marriage. As you can see, in California teachers are almost tied, with the majority of teachers outside of California opposing gay marriage. The poll was conducted in conjunction with my article regarding the CTA's letter of endorsement of gay marriage apart from their members' vote, because I was unable to find any statistics showing teachers' position on the issue.

Here are the results:

Changing Worldviews National Poll Results

For Teachers Only: Do you favor gay marraige?

California Yes 19%

California No 21%

Other States Yes 23%

Other States No 38%

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Vatican Response to Murder of Priest

A Roman Catholic priest, Andrea Santaro, was shot dead in his church in Turkey on February 6, 2006, by a Muslim teenager who said it was because of the 'Danish Mohammed cartoons'. Father Santaro was shot in the chest following Sunday mass, at the 19th Century Santa Maria Church.

Michelle Malkin reports the news on this:

Turkish security forces arrested a high school student on Tuesday over the killing of an Italian Catholic priest and Turkish television said the teenager had confessed to a crime which has shocked this Muslim nation.

The student told police he was influenced by cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammad, NTV commercial television said. The report could not be immediately confirmed.

The state Anatolian news agency said the student, aged 16, had been carrying a 9 mm pistol when he was captured in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, where Andrea Santoro, 61, was gunned down on Sunday while praying.

...Turkey, with a population of 72 million, is overwhelmingly Muslim and its tiny Christian population is barely 60,000. Turkey has seen street protests against the cartoons, but they have been peaceful, in contrast to some Muslim countries...

I interviewed Philip Lawler of Catholic World News today on the Vatican's response to both this killing and the Danish/European publishing of the 12 cartoons of Mohammed. It will air on Monday, February 13th.

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WEEKLY QUICK HITS 2/8/06

Unheard of!
Newspapers wrapped with customer credit-card info
240,000 subscribers of The Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram & Gazette

School will allow Muslims to pray
After confrontation by CAIR, because part of their religion.


Unbelievable!
**See article below "What's Wrong with These People?"

'Terror U.' in former Jewish capital
Hamas plans huge campus in Gaza evacuated by Israelis


Outrageous!
Soros Infiltrates Conservative Movement
CPAC Invites Soros to speak at annual convention, huh?

Pornographers target young iPod users
Porn producer says, "We're calling this porn on the pod."

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What's Wrong with These People?

(Pic: thanks to Free Republic) See video at Expose the Left

Will it ever cease to amaze? The peanut farmer may be soft spoken but what comes out of his mouth speaks loud and clear! Jimmy Carter used the funeral of Coretta Scott King to bash Bush:

"It was difficult for them [the King family] then personally with the civilliberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps."

Carter also brought up the government response to Katrina saying,

"We only have to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi" to know that inequality exists.

(Excuse me? literally 50% of Katrina victims were black, the other half were...white)

Lowrey did the same:

"We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we knew that there were weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance, poverty abound, for war billions more, but no more for the poor."

The AP headlined with "Bush Praises King for Changing the Country" recounting the President's leading remarks of praise for Mrs. King:

"We knew Mrs. King in all the seasons, and there was grace and beauty in every season. As a great movement of history took shape, her dignity was a daily rebuke to the pettiness and cruelty of segregation."

As well as observations of the President and his father when liberals used the occasion for political purposes, and the crowd's responses to the Clintons:

And both Bush and his father winced as they sat behind the pulpit and heard the Rev. Joseph Lowery, who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr., take several jabs at foreign and domestic policies. Bush's father tried to defuse any political tension by joking that Lowery used to challenge him when he was president, too. "I kept score in the Oval Office desk — Lowery 21, Bush 3," former President George H.W. Bush said. "It wasn't a fair fight."

The audience showed where its allegiance lay when former President Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, came to the podium to wild cheers and a long standing ovation. He opened by saying that he was honored to be with the other former presidents. Someone in the crowd yelled out, "Future president!" in reference to his wife's possible 2008 bid.

The last paragraph aside, I don't care what anyone says, the contrast of character is obvious. Selah.

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Boycotting the Danish

Jordanian woman with a message on her mobile phone saying "If we keep boycotting Danish Products till next summer they will lose at least 36 billion EURO." (Amman Jordan, Febuary 1, 2006). A French newspaper reprinted 12 Danish newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad that has caused an uproar in the Muslim world, including Saudi Arabia recalling its ambassador to Denmark. (hat tip Junkyardblog)

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HOT OFF THE SHOW! Radical Professors

David Horowitz has a new book, The Professors -- The 101 Most Dangerous.
Ward Churchill, the Colorado professor who compared the victims of 9/11 to Nazis and said they deserved what they got, isn't the only one of his kind. David Horowitz writes that radical professors like Churchill aren't the exception at American colleges and universities -- they're legion.

Here's s few examples he gives:

~At Cal State-Long Beach: Ron Karenga is a Professor and Chairman of the Black Studies Department. He’s also a convicted torturer and inventor of Kwanzaa.

~At the University of Texas-Arlington: Jose Angel Gutierrez is a Political Science Professor. He’s also the founder of La Raza Unida, a racist Hispanic organization that calls on Hispanics and Mexican immigrants to seize U.S. land. Among his more notable racists rants is his repeated pronouncement that calls for the elimination of "the gringo, and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst, we have to kill him."

~At City University of New York: Leonard Jeffries is Professor and one-time Chairman of that schools Black Studies Department. He regularly lectures students that blacks are "sun people" and morally and culturally superior to "ice people" -- whites. "Jews," Jeffries says, "are a race of skunks...."

~At Brandeis University: Robert Reich is a Professor of Social and Economic Policy. He was Bill Clinton’s Labor Secretary and is a multi-millionaire. That doesn’t keep from telling his students that the U.S. has "fallen under the sway of radical conservatives who, by the malicious application of intolerant moral precepts, intended to secure the "reign of the rich" at the expense of most Americans.

~There are more of course: MIT professor Noam Chomsky, who has made himself rich calling for the destruction of his country; Columbia University’s Nicholas De Genova, who led an anti-war demonstration by wishing for deaths of thousands of American troops; and, Texas Journalism Professor Robert Jensen, who rabidly hates the United States, and recently told his students, "The United States has lost the war in Iraq and that’s a good thing."

This was the topic of our show today with Asaf Romirowsky of Campus Watch...particularly zeroing in on those who teach a benign view of radical Islam and paint those who disagree as prejudiced. Some unbelievable information!


Hear the show (See 2/6/05)

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Left-Wing Gives Ammo to Conservatives

What was liberal LA Times Columnist, Joel Stein, thinking when he admitted recently in his article, "Warriors & Wussies", what conservatives have been saying all along - that you can't say you support the troops and be against the war? Did he not know the ammunition he would be placing in their hands when he said:

"I DON'T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on....But I'm not for the war. And being against the war and saying you support the troops is one of the wussiest positions the pacifists have ever taken — and they're wussy by definition....But when you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you're not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you're willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism, for better or worse. Sometimes you get lucky and get to fight ethnic genocide in Kosovo, but other times it's Vietnam."

While there are no words to describe how egregious (conspicuously bad or offensive, blatant or ridiculous to an extraordinary degree, outrageously bad or reprehensible) Stein's comments are, at least they're honest, more honest than the great majority of liberals who say they support the troops but not the war in Iraq.

This wasn't always the case. Following the attacks of 9/11 and prior to the campaigning of the 2004 elections, liberals were saying the same things about Saddem Hussein as conservatives were. Even if they changed their position on the war, for whatever reason, they need to be intellectually honest about what it means to 'support our troops.' For the record, remember? ...

"Whereas Iraq has consistently breached its cease-fire agreement between Iraq and the United States, entered into on March 3, 1991, by failing to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction program, and refusing to permit monitoring and verification by United Nations inspections; Whereas Iraq has developed weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological capabilities, and has made positive progress toward developing nuclear weapons capabilities" - From a joint resolution submitted by Tom Harkin and Arlen Specter, July 18, 2002.

"Iraq made commitments after the Gulf War to completely dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, and unfortunately, Iraq has not lived up to its agreement." - Barbara Boxer, November 8, 2002.

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retained some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capability. Intelligence reports also indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons, but has not yet achieved nuclear capability." - Robert Byrd, October 2002.

"There's no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat... Yes, he has chemical and biological weapons. He's had those for a long time. But the United States right now is on a very much different defensive posture than we were before September 11th of 2001... He is, as far as we know, actively pursuing nuclear capabilities, though he doesn't have nuclear warheads yet. If he were to acquire nuclear weapons, I think our friends in the region would face greatly increased risks as would we." - Wesley Clark, September 26, 2002.

Read rest of article.

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Spielberg Criticizes Munich Critics

Going to the movies this weekend? In case you plan to see 'Munich' here's some interesting info from James Hirsen at Hollywood Confidential:

Steven Spielberg Calls Critics of 'Munich' 'Extreme'

Steven Spielberg recently let off some steam to German news weekly Der Spiegel, complaining about critics of his latest film "Munich."

"Should you leave the debate to the great over-simplifiers? The extreme Jews and extreme Palestinians who consider any kind of negotiated settlement to be a kind of treason?" the famed filmmaker asked.

"I wanted to use the medium of film to make the audience have a very intimate confrontation with a subject that they generally only know about in an abstract way, or only see in a one-sided way," Spielberg shared.

One of the critics of "Munich" happens to be yours truly. I was troubled by the film's historical inaccuracy and said so in my review. I also found fault in the equating of Israeli assassins and Palestinian militants.

Spielberg responded to movie reviews like mine by characterizing the critiques as "nonsense."

"These critics are acting as if we were all missing a moral compass. Of course it is a horrible, abominable crime when people are taken hostage and killed like in Munich," he said.

"But it does not excuse the fact when you ask what the motives of the perpetrators were and show that they were also individuals with families and a history.... Understanding does not mean forgiving. Understanding does not mean being soft, it is a courageous and strong stance."

The Left Coast Report is thankful that during WWII most filmmakers weren't trying to "understand" Adolf.

Haven't seen the movie yet but who couldn't say here-here and Amen! to James' last sentence?

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Good News Out of Iraq and Afghanistan

Don't miss the awesome video below sent by one of our readers

Has anyone heard the liberals site the following results of a recent BBC survey? Why don't they blame Bush for this...

While Italians, the people of Zimbabwe and the Congo are the most pessimistic about their future...

The people of Iraq and Afghanistan are among the most optimistic people in the world in regards to their personal and national future.

70% of Afghans say their personal circumstances are improving, and 57% are positive about their country's future.

In Iraq 65% believe their personal circumstances are getting better, and 56% are optimistic about their country's economy. (hat tip Kaslin, Free Republic)

Bear in mind, there's still a war going on on their soil.

More Good News:

Iraq's Army is Getting Stronger according to the Associated Press dated January 26, 2006.

The Iraqi army is emerging "as a lightly armed counter-insurgency force that may control more of the country than the U.S.-led coalition by this spring, U.S. military officials say." Thanks to the United States.

"They're not going to be the 101st Airborne anytime soon," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Fred Wellman, spokesman for the military transition command in Baghdad. "But in 2006, this is the year that the majority of Iraq will be secured by Iraqis."

And the following pretty much clinches the deal on how, at least the 3rd Infantry Division of our military, sees the U.S. military's efforts.

Enjoy this powerful video: I Am An American Soldier

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