We all know how piercingly sharp Ann Coulter can be, and she does not disappoint in this piece at Human Events.

Ann makes a case I have been making for a long time-the illegal immigration issue is a clash of civilizations, one we are going to lose if we don`t take it seriously.  She argues that American culture IS exceptional beyond comprehension, and that this exceptionalism has been tossed away in favor of novelty and experimentation.  We no longer have the will to defend and communicate our beliefs, and the invading horde will annihilate what we have created since they are bringing Latin America with them rather than leaving their own culture at the door.

If this nation does not wake up soon all will be lost.  The problem is that too many Americans are incapable of distinguishing reality from the many fantasies they indulge in, and the concept of ``subjective reality`` makes it impossible for them to believe that, yes, the golden age they live in can end.  I`ve got news for everyone; most golden ages don`t last but a few decades, and ours has been longer than most.  The technology which has made our lives so healthy and prosperous also provides the tools of destruction to our enemies, and excessive prosperity leads to what we have today-decadence.  We are too fat, oversexed, too lazy to do our own work (or so the elites tell us), too involved with trivial matters, petty bickering, games and sports, etc. We have, in short, become the late Romans or post-Pelopenesian War Greeks. 

Nobody wants to hear that, though, and so we continue to live in our narcisstic bubble, worrying about metrosexual concerns, about Brittany and Lindsay and Paris, or chasing after will-of-the-whisps like global warming, which most people know in their hearts is detached from reality.  We play political games, we worry about liver spots, we talk about our 401K`s all with a certainty that what we have is immortal, and will never end.  I hate to say it, but it`s ending as we speak.

What Americans are ignoring can kill them; the Islamic world is deadly serious about eradicating the ``Great Satan`` and they have the missiles-and soon the nuclear weapons-to do it.  We are ignoring the invasion of millions of people who have no intention of becoming members of our civilization and will partition it when they get the numbers.  We have out-of-control bioscience which is on the verge of opening Pandora`s box, letting the Pale Horseman come forth from the abysse.  We have an increasingly divided nation where those who were once considered the lunatic fringe of the Left are now calling the shots on their side of the divide, and these are people who hate America and all she stands for.  Don`t forget Russia, our erstwhile ally and former bitter enemy has new, post-cold war weapons and no love for us.  Ditto the Chinese. Europe, our great friend, won`t lift a finger to help us because they resent the upstart becoming the senior partner in the Atlantic coalition. We have a nation which has become actively hostile to God, and thinks there will be no consequences.

These are all symptoms of a seriously ill nation, yet few recognize it and even fewer want to do something about it.  Controlling the border is the most fundamental function of a nation-state, and our unwillingness to do so is like jaundice to a hepatitis patient; it is illustrative of a dangerous interior malady. 

The recent death of Jerry Falwell should have been a time to consider these issues, and realize that what Falwell did was far more constructive than our Republican President and Congress have accomplished.  Falwell sparked a religious revival as well as a political movement.  He offered ``comprehensive reform`` in the way of finding spiritual medicines for a spiritually ill nation.  He helped awaken a segment of the population that had been asleep (the majority of protestants in America voted for Carter for crying out loud!) He was the spiritual prophet who anointed a king (Reagan) who ignited a political movement of those who understand the perils we are in.  Unfortunately, that awakening was not complete, and many of the dozers have returned to their slumber.

We need comprehensive immigration reform.  Not the pseudo-CIR the President speaks of, but one which deals with the problems in their entirety.  We must first admit we have a problem; we have lost faith in our way of life.  We must then set about to remedy this by returning to the successful principles which worked in the past.  Schools must be required to teach real history.  Students should be required to recite the pledge of allegiance.  Prayer should be reinstituted in schools. We  need regime change in the mainstream media so that people would not be inundated with lies and propaganda; conservatives should set up funds to purchase news outlets and services.  We must stop the encroachment by government on our freedoms. These things are not impossible-merely difficult.  If Americans knew, if they understood the importance of what we have here, they would fight to the last man to retain it.  We would care about saving this precious thing. We do not resist the erosion of our way of life because we do not understand that it is under assault.

Great things such as golden ages are very fragile, and vigilance is necessary to retain them. We have scoffed at the idea of America, of the essence of that greatness which so requires our attention.  This unrestricted invasions of aliens is a prime example of white guilt and self-hatred.  It will be the end of us-if the jihadists don`t get us first!

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NASA`s Chandra X-ray observatory has a truly epic energy event, probably the collision between two galaxies.  Go here to see intergalactic armageddon.

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Tom Joseph sent me this piece by Deal W. Hudson about the ``gang of 18`` Democrat lawmakers who are unhappy with Pope Benedict`s decision to hold Catholics accountable to the teachings of the Church on abortion and other serious matters.  He gives the record of votes by these ``Catholics`` which either hold with or oppose the Church`s position. I have shrunk the table he uses down considerably due to formatting problems, but I include their percentages. 

Tom has some thoughts at the end as well:

Deal W. Hudson

What that really means is anybody’s guess. Perhaps they, just like Guiliani, don’t want to get into ``debates with the Pope.`` Or perhaps they are realizing that Catholics and all Americans have more respect for the Pope and Church teaching than Reps. DeLauro and Kennedy.

**********************************

Tom Joseph states:
 

Also, Reuters did an article "Vatican doctrine office needs overhaul: theologians" (5-25-07).

It seems German ?theologians? are a bit ticked because Benedict's doctrinal office, Congregation for the Doctine of the Faith (CDF), censured Father Jon Sobrino, "a leading liberation theology proponent", in March.  One would think that such capable ?theologians? could present a logical theological argument to the Vatican instead of going to the press.  Unfortunately, these ?theologians? seem to be also playing the newly popular consensus card.  Which, I guess, means they don't want to talk about it to the CDF.

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Just a quick thought on the Miss Universe Pageant last night. I caught a small portion of that exercise in vain vacuity, and watched as the finalists (or maybe semi-finalists? I neither know nor particularly care) were selected from the clone pool. (Ever notice how those girls really don`t have any individuality? The black girl from, say, Namibia, looks like a darkened version of the girl from Sweden, or what-have-you.) Something nagged at me for the few minutes I watched the show, and I realized what it was when I saw Miss Venezuela and Miss Nicaragua selected for the finals; there was a huge preponderance of women from Latin America making the cut.

Now, granted, they eventually selected Miss Japan as the winner (according to my wife, who flipped it on at the end) but the small portion I caught was an exercise in Latino celebration; it was held in Mexico City and hosted by latino-Americans. Miss Mexico was selected, as were the Uberwomen of the Marxist regimes of Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega. The air was thick with conversational Spanish, and the women glittered with ornamentation of Mayan or Aztec ancestry.

Mind you, I don`t mind such things, and, yes, the girls were beautiful in a Latin Stepford-Wife style, but the sense a Joe-sixpack would take from this was that we should invite more Mexicans and other Latinos into the United States so we can enjoy more of this eye candy. I smelled a rat; could the organizers of this pageant be trying to influence the American public? It`s interesting that this celebration of things Latino should occur at this particular time, while we are in a bare-knuckle brawl over illegal immigration. Why, it`s almost as if someone were trying to influence the outcome of this debate!

Of course, the Miss Universe Pageant has always been an attempt to influence people`s thinking, and was designed to promote peace and harmony and international good will. Frankly, I may find it a bit silly but do not fault the goody-two-shoes intent; they have usually conducted it in a manner which was above such mundane matters as politics (sometimes, but not always-please no long sermons of why I am wrong). I was just struck by the sense that a good many of the finalists were tan of skin and Iberian of speech. It seemed odd that this year would feature so many women from Central and South America while the United States was imbroughled in this battle over those people who have come here illegally who are tan of skin and Iberian of speech.

In short, it was rather like watching a commercial for Latin Americans aimed at the voting public in the United States. It did not make any sort of argument, for argument is for those whose minds are of that particular bent; the appeal of sexy young women in bathing suits is far more persuasive to those who do not mind the arguments. It is an attempt to get people thinking with their, er, primitive mammalian instincts. ``See! Latinos aren`t soo bad! Wouldn`t YOU want one of these hot young babes moving in next door to you!``

I may be getting carried away, suspecting some deep, dark plot by the organizers of the pageant. (Maybe I`ve been hearing too much of Rosie O`Donnell and the other conspiracy nuts.) Maybe these girls were just the better of the crop, after all. I don`t know. What I do know is that I watched that program for all of 5 minutes and that was the impression I walked away with.

But, knowing the highly politicized world we live in, and knowing the way liberals try to manipulate everything to their advantage, and knowing that anyone who would believe that a Miss Universe pageant is doing some good for world peace is probably a liberal, I see no reason to doubt that certain efforts were made to ``change the world``. It wouldn`t be the first time.

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I want to take this opportunity to thank all veterans in these United States, without whom I would not have the freedom to write this blog. You have sacrificed for me and mine, and I enjoy unparalleled freedom and prosperity because of it.  You are heroes, each and every one of you, and I hope you understand that there are still Americans out here who believe in you and hold you in high regard.

The sacrifices of the fallen are not forgotten.

Thank you all! 

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Jack Kemp (not the politician) sent this to me:

It's about time the Bush Admin. fights back at Democrat hypocracy. In fact, they should have started years ago.

Sebelius' office told this column that she was out of the state with her family to attend the New Orleans Jazzfest 2007 on May 4, when the tornado hit Kansas. She returned on a plane loaned by Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Sebelius would be a top vice-presidential possibility if anyone other than Sen. Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee for president

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Tim speaking:

Unfortunately, President Bush is constitutionally incapable of fighting back; his ``new tone`` stems from any one of a number of issues.  His born-again Christianity means turning the other cheek, he has always been successful with a non-confrontational style and finds it hard to change, he was a successful corporate manager and expects government business to be conducted in a professional manner, etc.  Bush just doesn`t think of suggesting the log be removed from his brother`s eye when he himself has a speck. 

I think the fact that the President had an alcohol problem is vital to understanding Mr. Bush.  I was complaining bitterly to my wife about ``Comprehensive Immigration Reform`` and compared what we have been doing to co-dependents of alcoholics; we have been the enablers for Mexico to remain an impoverished hell-hole by allowing their poorest to come to the United States.  Mexico can continue to play their socialist games, freed of the burden of actually providing for their poor, and Mr. Bush keeps trying to sell his policy as an act of moral decency with such phrases as ``family values don`t stop at the Rio Grande`` while what he is doing is far more unkind-the poor laborers coming here are doing so because they cannot make a living in their own country, are forced to wander the Earth to feed their families.  Is that moral? Is it moral to hire people to work 12-16 hours a day at paltry pay? Is it moral to force our own poor into unemployment because someone else`s poor takes their jobs, or uses social services they aren`t replenishing?  No.

We are enabling Mexico, plain and simple.  I said as much to my wife, who reminded me that, indeed, George W. Bush had an alcohol problem himself.  So many of the puzzling aspects of the President stem from this! 

He is seeking redress for his own wrongs, and judges not others.  He seeks ``serenity for things he cannot change`` and so will not engage in partisan scrapping with those who will not agree with him. He believes that his Greater Power-his Christian faith-will overcome if he keeps plugging away.  He attempts to make amends by giving amnesty to the poor and destitute who make their way into this country.  

Here are the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous:

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

You can see exactly how they apply to the President.  Of course, his search for the Higher Power is in the context of a Christian spirituality, and the two reinforce each-other. 

For instance, according to the Gospel of Matthew;

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,

also;

Luke 6:29
29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.

and

[Luke 6:37
 37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.[/i]

So President Bush cannot simply ignore the plight of those Mexican poor, or take steps the necessary steps to reform the Mexican government.  He cannot fire back at his enemies for their hypocrisy.  He is constrained by his faith, which is a function of his recovering alcoholism.  This is the key to understanding some of the more odd aspects of his style.  Remember when Clinton`s White House Staph (pun intended) trashed the computer room?  The new President denied it happened.  Whenever he is attacked he first remains silent, then grudgingly deals with the issue when it metastasizes.  Why?  Because that was how Jesus dealt with HIS political enemies.  He is often unwilling to condemn others, so bends over backwards to be kind to the ``moderate Moslems`` while fighting a War on radical Islam. 
There is something to be said for his style, too; the President`s low key looks to casual observers mature, and his forgiving ways seem enlightened.  Unfortunately, he has been so low key and so forgiving that his enemies (with the complicity of the left wing press) have completely redefined him to the public, making him out to be a vicious plutocrat engaged in killing for his own amusement.  There is a certain point after which one must defend ones-self, and the President has never been willing to do that. 

Especially with the alien invasion issue, I bitterly disagree with the President.  I don`t believe he is doing anyone any good, and his policy will wreck the Republican party and the country.  Sometimes one has to take a more aggressive approach-especially a leader in hard times-and the greater good will be served by ending this idiotic policy of open borders, culture non-assimilation, and economic exploitation.  Mr. Bush does not allow himself to see this, because he dares not judge others and does not wish to concern himself with the speck in his southern brother`s eye. 

Now, it could be argued that the War on Terror disproved my whole theory since the President is judging terrorists and attacking them.  That is true, but it is done for the same reason the President wants to let Mexicans come here; he is trying to protect the poor and downtrodden from what he believes is a great moral evil.  You will note the very measured way he deals with the war; he is unwilling to kill even the butchers he has captured, and is most unwilling to hurt innocent bystanders.  A huge part of the problem in Iraq and Afghanistan has been this very gentle approach, for war is not waged gently but must be hard.  A gentle war is a long war, and more are hurt in the long run than a quick, decisive thrust.  But the President is not willing to hurt people if he can avoid it, and so he insists on a ``kinder, gentler`` compassionate war.  He sees himself as the protector of the weak against the unjust armies, and he fears becomming the oppressor. 

In another era, President Bush would have been wildly successful with his approach.  Unfortunately, we are living in a different time, a highly polarized period where Machiavelli is more in vogue.  That does not mean that a peace-loving man such as Bush cannot strive for understanding and unity, but it does mean that certain enemies must be destroyed as surely as one must shoot a rabid dog in the street lest it hurt many people.  The President has always had the power to do that; he could have destroyed the entire Democratic Party had he (and his Republican Party) played his cards right.  But he didn`t, because he doesn`t function that way, and his enemies perceive his decency as weakness.  In some ways they are right.

Granted, there are other things at work with Mr. Bush; he grew up a member of the elites, and some of their views can be seen.  The open borders suggest a vision of the world in line with an internationalism advocated by powerful businessmen. Nurturing business is important; economic factors are a powerful influence and a strong economy is a matter of charity in many way.  People suffer and die from recessions.  Keeping the economy humming is an important consideration for the president.

Still, I think the crux of his philosophy stems from his alcoholism and subsequent rehabilitation/spiritual awakening.  I don`t expect him to change, either.  In many ways, Bush`s departure from the helm will be welcome, provided the Republicans can win the White House with a stronger candidate.  He has done his work.  It`s time for a different approach.

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Dr. Paul Biggs is an Oncology researcher at the University of Birmingham in the U.K., and he has access to cutting-edge research being conducted worldwide. He comes across some real gems-like this piece I turned into an American Thinker blogpost  The other day he e-mailed me the following:

Nature 447, 465-468 (24 May 2007) | doi :10.1038/nature0583 4; Received 21 November 2006; Accepted 10 April 2007

Paul Biggs

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A new method has been developed to detect an oncoming solar storm, according to [link]http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/25may_costep.htm?list1010788[this report[/link] from NASA.

Solar storms are nasty business to astronauts, as well as damaging to complex electronics, and a one-hour warning would be very beneficial.

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The United States is giving monetary grants to Mosques as part of a program designed to beef up security against terrorism, according to this piece in World Net Daily.

Political correctness is going to be the death of us yet!

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Increasingly, the Iraqi`s are stepping up to the plate.  This article from Centcom illustrates that assertion, as does this piece from the Weekly Standard. 

What is needed is time.  The surge fundamentally shifted tactics from the Rumsfeldian ``small footprint``, the concept that minimal force be used to take a neighborhood and then let the Iraqi`s defend it, to one of actually patrolling and securing the territory in question.  The problem with Rumsfeld`s view was that it was far too optimistic; it presupposed a rather liberal worldview that said a people oppressed for  decades would rise up if circumstances were more favorable.  This view is, in my humble estimation, fundamentally wrong.  Not that the Iraqis don`t yearn for freedom, or are incapable of establishing a democratic system, but that they have no experience with it and there are many, many Iraqis (and foreigner fighters) who want a return to the status quo.  You can`t just extract a tyrannical government and expect a full-blown democracy to take it`s place.  If that were the case Hitler would never have come to power in Germany, because the Weimar Republic would have been successful.  It wasn`t because the Germans didn`t have experience with that kind of government and too many groups were tugging in different directions.  What is first needed is stability.

That is why Germany accepted Hitler, it is why Italy accepted Mussolini, and Spain Franco.  It is why Mexico had Santa Ana, why Argentina had Perone, why post-colonial Africa had their numerous dictators and strong men (such as Idi Amin).  People do not like chaos, and there reaches a point where the difficulties of the Democratic experiment expand beyond the apparent worth.  What is the point of voting if you are being killed, or starving, or are forced to hide your entire life? 

People are not inherently good, and a change in government will not necessarily be beneficial whether that government is an elected body or not.  The people themselves have to change, have to grow into their role as an uppity voting body.  The United States didn`t even fare so well under the old Articles of Confederation, and the Union would probably have broken for good if the much stronger Constitution hadn`t been adopted.  We certainly almost fell during the Civil War, in which half of the country tried to leave-and the other half forced them to stay at the price of tens of thousands of dead Americans!  If we had so much trouble, with a long tradition of democratic institutions, why are we surprised that a people who have been repressed by different overlords for hundreds of years, and by an overloard of their own, should suddenly create a full-blown democracy in a few years? 

No, what was needed-and will be needed for quite some time-are dilligent efforts to secure the safety of the public and public leaders.  With a safe environment the public will grow more confident, come to believe that the institutions they just put in place will work. Success breeds success, and the Iraqis WILL take over in maintaining their own security in time. 

Considering the fact that we are still in Bosnia, still in Germany, Still in Korea, why did anyone think we would be out of Iraq in just a few years?  We are still in Germany because we saw what happened after the First World War, and are loathe to allow it again.  So we occupy these lands to maintain order, and no-one thinks anything of it.  We have become military guardians for these peoples.  But the Democrats and the Left in this country want us to bail on the Iraqis and leave them to sink, which they surely will do with all the foreign fighters, all the money and supplies coming in, and the largely untouched remnant of Saddam`s regime still working to regain power.  What did everybody think?

Time is not on our side here; the endless drumbeat of the media, the body counts, the slow-bleed policy of the Democrats, are all strangling our efforts.  The surge was never given a chance because the Left is still fighting the election of 2000, and will do anything to make President Bush irrelevant.  If it hurts the country, so much the better to many of the kook fringe, who see the U.S. as a big mean bully needing to be taken down a peg. The Moveon.ogr crowd would be gleeful if the U.S. should suffer major losses.  They beleive that our projection of power is some kind of colonialism exercised by the (gasp!) military/industrial complex to make Bush and his friends rich. The fact that we haven`t rebuilt the Iraqi oil industry and milked it never enters their demented little minds; they are convinced that this is ``blood for oil`` and absolutely intolerable. 

We really are racing the clock.  I fear time is going to run out before we are successful, and Americans will have beaten themselves in this war.  A pullout from Iraq means we will no longer have anyone willing to stick their necks out for us, and means the war comes to these shores.  The importance of what we are doing is lost on far too many-even decent Americans.  Everyone is bored with this war movie.  They aren`t going to like what they see when they change channels, for they will be the guest stars in a very frightening horror film, one that many will desperately want to get out of but can`t. 

America has always been known as an impatient place, a place where everything is in easy reach.  People come here to make their fortunes, knowing that it is possible to do so quickly.  Americans created fast food, fast cars, fast communications of every sort, fast airplanes and spacecraft.  Television news running 24/7 gives them a sense of news cycle timing of events, and television entertainment is wrapped up in an hour, at most.  Why can`t the war be wrapped up in this timely fashion? 

It can`t and won`t.  Our enemies understand our impatience, and are doing their best to exploit it.  We have to commit ourselves to the long haul. We did it with the Cold War, we can do it again.

This is our choice, our calling.  We can choose the broad easy path, the more pleasant prospect, or we can choose to accept toil and tears. Do we have the wisdom to understand that one must pass through toil and tears if one is to attain greatness?  If one is to survive at all?

Time is not on our side.

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Ahh, the country, so relaxing, so peaceful.  The Ozark Hilton was, as always, a pleasure to visit; elegent yet rustic, the picture of grace and charm.

I made the three hour drive on Friday night after work, but so did everyone else in the state of Missouri; I felt like I was in a parade. Fortunately, they all turned off on the road leading to Clearwater Lake, so I only had to drive behind them for 132 miles.  It wasn`t so bad; most of the drivers weren`t too happy with my 75 in a 60 speed, and so were regularly passing me while simultaneously flipping the bird, so I didn`t have to worry about anyone riding my tail. The constant pressure to drive far too fast on those country roads kept the long trek interesting, to say the least!

I arrived about 9:30 p.m. and lit my lanterns.  The place was, as always, dark to the point of blindness until I got my lights going, but I always bring down a couple of electric lights for just this reason. I brought in the bare necessities (p.j.`s and a cooler full of beer) and promptly plopped down in my plastic chair on my ``deck`` which is nothing but several pallets sitting in front of the summer house.  I got my propane lantern going, so had plenty of light to read, and I dived into a book and a beer with relish. 

Shortly after sitting down I heard something moving in the brush, coming up from behind the cabin.  When I heard it stepping on a piece of sheetmetal on the ground directly behind me, I had to turn to see what it was.  It was a huge possum, as big as a medium-sized dog! It was trying to climb underneath the cabin, but was too large to force it`s way under.  I could have fed a family of 6 on the roast that behemoth would have produced (if I were a possum-eating man, as most of my neighbors down there are.)

I was leaning too far over, and those pallets that compose the deck have been outside for too many years; one of the planks collapsed, spilling me onto my side and knocking the wind out of me.  (The possum may have been too fat as possums go, but HE didn`t break any boards! What does that say about me? I think I need to go on a diet...) The possum, finding this spot a bit too entertaining, promptly headed back into the woods, leaving me with a sore back and shoulder. (I swear I only had one beer.)

The next morning I decided to cook breakfast-something I never bother doing when I`m at the resort.  I couldn`t get my fire going (the stove at the Hilton is rather primitive), and breakfast was a bit delayed; three hours later I was eating some burnt toast and unevenly cooked bacon.  The coffee I made had a funny taste, too. 

So, I did some chores and decided to go to the lake for a swim.  I popped in a cd by the Electric Light Orchestra, and the first song was Mr. Blue Sky, which brought a smile to my face and set my toes to tapping.  All was right with the world! No sooner had I left when the sky darkened and a deluge descended from the  Heavens.  I pressed on grimly, until lightening began streaking across the sky and deafening thunderclaps immediately followed.  (Mr. Blue Sky, indeed!) I was beaten!  I turned the truck around and headed back to the cabin in the pouring rain.  As soon as I pulled into my parking spot the rain began letting up, and within minutes it was once again a bright, sunny day. I didn`t have it in me to try again, and ended up staying at the cabin for the rest of the trip.

It rained off and on Saturday, but never very hard.  I had to chase wasps out of the cabin, as well as spiders.  The wasps are strange; they aren`t the least aggressive, and will leave if you pester them enough.  Since I removed the tarps I was using for a roof there are numerous gaps in boards where insects can enter.  I spent much of Saturday filling those gaps to minimize my insect museum.  I once even found something that I can only believe was a tarantula outside the cabin!  It was the size of my hand, and hairy.  I`m lucky, in that I don`t have any mosquitos (which is nice in the evenings) although I have ticks galore and chiggers.  I had to pull several ticks off me this weekend, something I hate to do.  I know there are scorpions in the woods as well, although I haven`t encountered any thus far.  Wish me luck!

So Saturday night I was chased inside by a cloudburst, and ended up reading in my leather armchair (which I obtained from an apartment hurriedly vacated by a tenant being evicted).  The temperature was kind, and the air clean and crip as usual.  I was going to barbeque, but didn`t feel like queing in the rain, so ended up eating a lunchmeat sandwhich and washing it down with a cold beer.  I slept like a baby-as usual!

I`ve taken some pictures of the cabin with a digital camera, and also made up a travelogue of things in the area.  If I can work it out I will post them on my site-if I can work it out.  I fear my computer skills are meager, at best, and I may not be able to work it.  I never was able to figure out how to post on Blogger, but Pixel at Mee.nu has a sizable user`s guide, and I may make it happen yet! 

Anyway, I`m back from the deep woods a little sore, but none the worse for wear.  I have a lot of things backed up, and will post more tomorrow morning.  Please stay tuned!

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I`ll be heading down to the Manor House in the woods tonight, and will be home Sunday morning, so there we shall have bloggus interuptus until then.  I have some great stuff waiting in the wings, including my take on President Bush`s strange obsession with ``comprehensive immigration reform`` and some new global warming news. Please be patient.

Of course, given the circumstances at the Ozark Hilton, I may end up attacked by yellowjackets, or wasps, or have a pack of wolves tear at me.  Nearby is Bear Mountain, and I don`t want to think about what may inhabit that place!  Still, if I am able I will return to post a-plenty.

See y`all Sunday! (A little Hillbilly lingo.)

Tim

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WELCOME AMERICAN THINKER READERS

I have turned my blogpiece about the lack of increased precipitation into a post at the American Thinker. This is one more Bronx Cheer for the groupies of Al Gore`s travelling tent revival and voter registration drive, which warns of Noah`s flood after the `08 elections.

I want to thank Dr. Paul Biggs from the University of Birmingham (U.K.) for posting the abstract from Smith et. al. at CCNet, and for kindly e-mailing me the series of comments by Roger Pielke Sr. explaining the water vapor cycle.  It was very nice of him to take time out from his busy day to assist some American he didn`t know from Adam.

Thanks also to reader Dan for an intelligent argument and thoughtful disagreement! That is the stuff of interesting blogging.

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While we are on Global Warming, I`d like to link this piece from Junk Science which my good friend David from Ultima Thule thoughtfully e-mailed me this morning.  According to the article world temperatures are not rising at the rate of CO2 according to a report by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Climatic Data Center.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 06:53 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The tired refrain from the Democrats is that Republican policy benefits the rich on the backs of the poor.  We have been hearing this since the days of Reagan and even before, and, we are told, it is especially true of the Bush economy.  Bush`s tax cuts were ``for the rich`` and the poor just keep getting poorer under the rule of the plutochrats.  But is this true?

Not according to this piece in the Wall Street Journal which our friend Wil Wirtanen has kindly provided:

The Poor Get Richer
May 23, 2007
It's been a rough week for John Edwards, and now comes more bad news for his "two Americas" campaign theme. A new study by the Congressional Budget Office says the poor have been getting less poor. On average, CBO found that low-wage households with children had incomes after inflation that were more than one-third higher in 2005 than in 1991.

It's probably asking way too much for this dose of economic reality to slow down the class envy lobby in Washington. But it's worth a try.

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So, the poor have actually gotten richer! Why isn`t the mainstream press reporting this?  Agenda, anyone?

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 06:40 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Ann Coulter echoes my sentiments on the similarities between our current illegal alien economy and slavery at a piece in Human Events.

We may not have an actual slave economy, but illegal labor bears a striking similarity-and causes many of the same problems.  Slave labor destroyed the antebellum economy and culture of the old South by depressing wages, stifling initiative, and ossifying a dysfunctional culture, and I believe that the cheap labor supplied by the illegal aliens (or by legalized ``guest workers``) will do the same.  It certainly worked that way in the Northern Mariana Islands where a guest worker program has been in place for decades and has decimated the local culture. 

The problem with any such thing-slavery or cheap imported labor-is that it may start as a handy shortcut but the slaver or employer becomes dependent on it over time.  Eventually, all else must be sacrificed to keep the labor costs down and the employer will not seek new, creative ways to cut cost or increase production because he has so much invested in the human factor, and that factor has base requirements which he must work dilligently to maintain. Everyone in the old South understood that slaves were more expensive than they were worth, but the big cotton producers or tobacco growers simply could not compete against those who had them; a freeman would do more work, but had to be paid much more while the slaveholder simply supplied room and board (and poor room and board at that.)  As a result, no changes to the Southern economy could occur, because nobody could risk complete bankruptcy.  This wasn`t true in the North where businesses all paid employees, and there was competition for jobs-and for good workers.  This lead to innovation and better working conditions, and thus the North was far more prosperous (there being more good paying jobs for the working class and better help for employers) and flexible than the South.

The same holds true for this immigrant labor; many employers are fighting for ``comprehensive reform`` because they realize they can`t compete with those who employ illegals for lilliputian wages.  Of course this guarantees an industry-wide lower standard and freezes out working-class natives from decent employment.  Nobody would dare experiment with expensive innovations while the job can be done cheaply using migrant help, so the industry will stagnate.

Of course, who is ultimately paying for all of this?  The taxpayers and the American consumer, that`s who. We may get cheaper lettuce but at the expense of higher taxes and higher prices elsewhere in the economy since the working-class Americans either cannot find work or are forced to work for lower pay.  They will use more of the social services (as, of course, will the illegals), will pay less in taxes, will buy fewer goods. Businesses in other industries will pay higher taxes to support this form of ``corporate welfare`` and so will be forced to raise their prices accordingly.  The big winners are the employers of illegals and the Democrats, who will develop a new partner for the old Roosevelt coalition.  If anybody thinks ``guest workers`` are going to support Republicans they need their heads examined; these people are here to make money and take advantage of our system, and the Democrats are the ones offering the freebies.  They will be loyal Democrats, I assure you. (Oh, by the way, I work with a number of immigrants from Bosnia, Albania, and a number of other places, and they are all loyal Democrats!)

President Bush is going to destroy his own party and do irreperable damage with this insane idea, yet he blunders forth to satisfy his internationalist and corporate friends at our collective peril.  When a ``conservative`` Republican president has the opposition party as his main supporters on a policy you can bet he is wrong.  Do we really think Ted Kennedy would back him if it did any good?  This is a fancy form of suicide for the Republicans.  Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, after all!

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 06:34 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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It is interesting how far Americans have to go to get information about things happening in our own country; I learned about recent hate-crimes legislation H.R.1592 from Morris in Australia, for instance.  Why is that?  Because the American press chooses not to report things that do not fit their particular template, which do not help them advance their agenda.

This article is a case in point; while the information came from Reuters, I hadn`t seen any reporting about this in the mainstream media, but had to read about it in Pravda, of all places! Why?  Because the Antenoran American press is trying to erase the War on Terror, and this would demolish their argument that we really aren`t in a war.  An M.D. in Florida swearing allegiance to Al Qaeda and promising to treat casualties to send them back into battle against American troops is something that would forcefully remind everyone that we have treason in our midst, and that, yes, we are in a real war with people who have sworn to kill us.  They are here, and we allow them to live among us. 

What is really frustrating is that this doctor received a scant 13 years in prison.  Congress made terrorism subject to the death-penalty back in the `70`s, yet we how many have we executed in the war?  We cannot keep playing footsie with these people. They have nothing to fear from us, as things stand. 

Of course, the media has made it impossible to fight this war effectively by denying it is happening at all, and by demanding kid-glove treatment of these thugs when they fall into our hands.  Dr. Rafiq Abdus Sabir is a traitor and abettor of terrorism, and is a prime candidate for the death penalty, if you ask me.  There is no sensible reason to put him in the pokey for a few years.  He should be an object lesson to other would-be traitors and abettors of terrorism.  Of course, execution would mean admitting we are at war, and the press will simply not allow that.

This war, the greater war, is lost unless we change our course drastically, and soon.  These people are absolutely determined to win, and many of us won`t even admit to the truth of the situation.  Time is not on our side.

The treason of the media should have been dealt with as well.  Why didn`t the Justice Department pursue the Times for releasing classified information?  President Bush still thinks he will win over his political enemies.  With all due respect, he is being quite foolish. These people see HIM as the Enemy, not the terrorists who try to kill us. In war, the president must ``put a chill`` on over-eager negative reporting.  He isn`t doing his job if he allows the media to run roughshod over the national interest, and it is well past time that those who betray our national security for their own purposes be dealt with.  We cannot continue to allow treason in our midst.

We had better get serious on this, and soon.  Time is running out.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 07:17 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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The United Nations, ever a corrupt institution, has been forced to conduct an internal investigation regarding illegal trafficking of weapons and precious metals by ``peacekeepers`` stationed in the Congo.

This is just one more example of U.N. corruption; we had the raping of pubescent girls by U.N. peacekeepers in Africa a few years ago, and the recent Oil-for-Food scandal which reached all the way into the family of former Secretary General Kofi Annon.  The United Nations is hopelessly corrupt.

It is totally incapable of performing it`s primary function, also.  About all the U.N. can accomplish is to stay the hand of those who actually would do something about enforcing peace.  They have prevented action against Iran, action against North Korea, action against every dictator and thug.  The United States bankrolls this worse-than-useless organization, and it repays the U.S. by thwarting every effort to make the world a safer and freer place.

How long must we suffer the corruption and futility of this useless institution?

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 06:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Scipio has several outstanding essays on the immigration issue and where it is leading the United States.  Go here, here, and here for some truly wise analysis.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 06:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The American Thinker is featuring a piece by J.R. Dunn explaining the vicious hatred of Jerry Falwell. As we have witnessed here, the disciples of love and dispassionate seekers after truth crowed with glee when the Rev. Falwell passed to his eternal reward, and it is a bit puzzling why they hated the man so much.  Dunn offers a solid explanation.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 07:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Our old friend Wil Wirtanen forward this to me; I thought it would be a good thing for everyone to see:

Subject: Young Girl With a Shotgun vs. Illegal Alien Home Invaders

Here is a very interesting website with lots of links.  If truth offends ya, don't bother lookin': "http://www.notgovernmentapproved.com"

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 06:52 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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