Archive for December, 2009

Herman Cain

It is hard to imagine that we can have a better America in 2010 with all the things that got worse in 2009. The economy got worse. The unemployment rate got much worse. The war in Afghanistan got worse. The national debt got much worse. The annual deficit got worse. The general attitude of the American people got worse. The favorability of Congress got much worse. And the president’s favorability ratings got much worse.

Not so fast.

But we can have a better 2010 than 2009, and here’s how.

First, remember the words of the Declaration of Independence:

“When any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) it is the right of the people to alter or abolish them.”

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Gregory D. Lee

On Christmas Day, 23-year Nigerian national Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines plane in his home country with the intent of killing 278 passengers and crew members aboard. The Associated Press reported that he was on a U.S. terrorism watch list, but he wasn’t on the “no fly” list.

How can this be?

Next gig: State Dept. visa screener

Doesn’t it make sense that if someone is suspected to have terrorist ties, he should not be allowed to fly on a commercial airliner, let alone be given a U.S. visa? This is apparently what happened in Abdulmutallab’s case.

Before a passenger can board a U.S.-bound airliner from anywhere in the world, the airline is required to ensure he has a valid U.S. passport or visa.

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Bob Maistros

In the wake of Northwest Flight 253, a London Telegraph analysis has forwarded the question of the year: “How can a Muslim student, whose name appears on a US law enforcement database, be granted a visa to travel to America, allegedly acquire an explosive device from Yemen, a country awash with al-Qaeda terrorists, and avoid detection from the world’s most sophisticated spy agencies?”

If you liked this . . .

Oops.

The answer will be some time in coming and would involve no end of embarrassment to authorities around the globe, if anything could embarrass governments anymore.  But thank goodness, the airlines and transportation security officials have already leapt into the breach … and we know just how these powers-that-be are planning to make sure near-disaster never happens again.

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Early reports indicate that a Nigerian identifying with Al Qaeda set off a small explosion on board a Northwest Airlines flight bound from Amsterdam to Detroit.

He has been tentatively identified as 23-year-old Abdul Mudallad.

Apparently he intended for a much bigger explosion than he was able to produce, such that passengers thought firecrackers had gone off. But he managed to injure himself pretty badly, with third-degree burns on his face.

The story is still developing. Here’s a quick video report from the AP:

Dan Calabrese

It may be too early to tally the final results of this year’s war on Christmas, but it’s well past time to assess the worthiness of the whole tiresome affair.

The Christians lost. Beaten by themselves, because the fight was never worth having in the first place. Christmas – like most supposedly special holy days – was always destined to be bastardized by the secular world and misappropriated by the Christian world.

You win. You can have it.

For the purpose of glorifying God, Christmas is too far gone to ever have a chance at redemption. The vote here is for dumping it entirely.

Let’s start with the premise: Christmas is Jesus’s birthday. We’re throwing him a birthday party. Uh, OK. Aside from the fact that we have no idea what time of the year Jesus was born, this is a curious sort of birthday party.

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Kelly Anderson Wright

A Sodahead blogger who railed against Sarah Palin’s “stupidity” made the following comment. “I agree with Vidal, Obama is too intelligent for America.”

I ripped off a snarky comment, “If smarts and a high IQ had been required to vote, Obama would never have been elected. As ACORN proved, you don’t have to be intelligent, educated or speak English to vote. Any idiot can, and many did, more than once!”

If we only had a brain.

Just a little peeved with the arrogant lib, I continued my rapacious rant. “You’ve got it bass-ackwards. America has never needed super-intelligent, ivy-league snots who parade around thinking they are better than most Americans. What we need are common-sense men and women who understand the will of the people and listen to what we want. Did you forget the meaning of the phrase, “A government of the people, by the people, for the people?”

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Steven Hutson

A U.S. Army general in northern Iraq has issued a new directive to his troops: Don’t get pregnant – or don’t get someone else pregnant – or you could face a court-martial.  This new policy from Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo was announced to the troops in early November, and publicly revealed last week.

Intimate fraternization has been a problem within the armed forces for years, of course, and it’s particularly problematic in a war zone.  A pregnant woman, after all, is unfit for such demanding duty.  She becomes unable to do her job well, and the stress is harmful to her health and that of her unborn child.  Thus, she gets a free plane ride home.  The only new wrinkle here is the prospect of criminal prosecution.

The enforcer at work

The public reaction to this development has been swift and fierce.  Bloggers around the world have weighed in, both pro and con.  Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, complained to ABC News, “How dare any government say we’re going to impose any kind of punishment on women for getting pregnant!  This is not the 1800s.”

Oh, really?
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Kelly Anderson Wright

“This fight [is] about people, real people.”

Harry Reid unwittingly elucidated a perfect right-wing war cry for the New Year, as he basked in the Democratic glory of his health care win in the Senate.

Right back at ya, buddy.

In securing the Christmas Eve win, the Democrats compared the Senate Majority Leader’s strength and perseverance to that of several biblical figures, and even Babe Ruth.

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