A Muslim College in America...

Muslim liberal arts college takes root in Berkeley
Zaytuna College hopes to address U.S. Muslim community's desire for leaders who understand Islam in a western context.
At a fundraiser in February for Zaytuna College, organizers seemed intent on preempting critical questions.

"Why a Muslim College in America?" the Anaheim event was headlined, as if anticipating the query from audience members.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs-zaytuna-20100828,0,741658.story

Why indeed.

Sarah Palin in Atlanta with Karen Handel

Thought some of you might want to watch the video of Sarah's talk today. She was here in Atlanta to support Karen Handel who's running for Georgia Governor. I'm a huge fan of Karen's, known her for many years and think she'll make a fantastic governor. She's honest, ethical, a "real" person who is tough enough to stand up to Obama and all that Washington is throwing at us... Tomorrow is the run-off --- if you live in Georgia and you're registered to vote, go VOTE. If you're not registered, get your butt off the couch and do it... then start paying attention so you can make an informed choice in November.

Here are the links to Sarah's talk today (2 parts):

http://www.11alive.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=490981532001#/News/Palin+Speech+Supporting+Handel+Part+1/49906865001/50317397001/490981532001

http://www.11alive.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=490987384001#/News/Palin+Speech+Supporting+Handel+Part+2/49906865001/50317397001/490987384001

As Greta said, ouch, this ad hurts...

Greta (@gretawire) just tweeted this and she's right, it hurts... Great ad mainly 'cause it's right on the money (fund raising money ala Obama I suppose).

Watch and share! They done good

Why do government employees need unions?

Someone on Twitter (sorry, flew by quickly) just re-tweeted a point made by @seanhackbarth... This isn't the exact quote, but the gist was, 'why do we government workers need unions, doesn't the government treat them fairly?".

Wow, what an excellent point!

If you take a look at all the stats regarding how much government employees are paid as compared to the private sector, factor in their benefits, it becomes even harder to understand why they need the unions these days... Well, I guess someone has to help them get those extraordinary perks, huh?

Think about the whole picture. You and I pay their salary. Thus, you and I are paying their union dues and keeping the union bosses hoeing in high cotton as my Grandmother used to say.

Soooo, we are paying people to cajole the government to take more of our hard earned dollars to give to government workers. Sweet --- for those who have government jobs!

I've shared before that I used to work for the government. I wasn't union thank goodness or I'd have quit long before I did. The day my previously non-government job was swallowed up in the government bureaucracy is the day I started realizing that my work-aholic tendencies would not work well in that environment. When you're called into the bosses office and told you're working too hard and to cool it 'cause you're making the rest of the employees look bad, it's time to get back into the private sector (unless your a slug).

I'm not a huge fan of the government work force, federal or state, with or without union protections. Where are you treated the worst when interacting with others for services? Think about going to renew or get your driver's license, dealing with the IRS, and other areas that require you to interact with government employees.  In the private sector they have to treat you well or suffer the consequences of a business down the tubes sooner or later. Not so for the government. Bad service? Who's their competition?

It's time to get rid of the unions for government employees. Our tax dollars should not be used to work against the needs of the very citizens who pay those taxes. We need to do more than clean out Congress, we need a clean sweep all the way down. Make the government employees have to live up to the same standards as the private sector and end the crazy protections that have us paying salaries rather than getting rid of the chaff. We can start by getting rid of the union protection racket.

(It crossed my mind a number of times as I wrote the above that I might wake up one day to see union thugs with bats standing on my front lawn... I guess I'm going to be on every government list before it's all said and done.)

Brave New Scary World

Remember the book Brave New World? That book, along with 1984 and similar tombs, portray a future that none of us want to experience. I don't really think we're heading toward Huxley's version of anti-utopia, but there are shades of Brave New World, 1984, We, and maybe even Animal Farm erupting which are far more scary than what those authors imagined. Why? We're living them, not reading them. We can't put the book aside and pick up another lighter story.

We're being driven there by a government that "says" they want to take care of everyone and make sure all are treated well. Unfortunately, their idea of making sure all are treated well seems to be that those who work should pick up the tab for those who don't so everyone is "equal". We're dangerously close to having more have-nots in need of a hand out than producers. We all know that when those with their hands out vote they'll support the ones who make the best promises.

We're in a litigious society which to me is a symptom more of the "I don't want to work for my living" sickness than greed. Those who hire the attorney to fight for more than they deserve want to hit the jackpot. Everyone sues these days. Whether it's vengeance, anger, hurt, or another emotion that starts the ball rolling, ultimately it becomes a quest for money. Tort reform would be fantastic, but it's going to take a re-shaping of the free-world's thinking to truly reform the court system.

Hmmm, a thought... would I trade the current nationalizing of our health care system for nationalizing the court system. Oh, shudder, no. Banish that thought. Tort reform it is!

Similarly, we're going way, way too far in trying to make sure everyone feels good about themselves. Did anyone read that short story by Huxley (I think) where the world had evolved to a point where no one was allowed to excel? I remember a scene where the main character is watching a ballet at the theater. The ballerina's are all wearing various weights on their legs or encumbered somehow so that none dances better than the other. It's been a long time, but it seems that one ballerina ditches her weights and soars, giving everyone a glimpse of true beauty.

No one is bad these days.... as long as you're not a conservative or part of the 9/12 or Tea Party movement of course.  Everyone whines about their civil rights being violated and the government steps in to protect, or sue, or threaten. You as an American citizen are not allowed to think less of someone or create something that isn't equally good for all. If someone out there can't use your product, the government will step in to make you change it...

It really does get ridiculous sometimes as illustrated in the following article. Where are we headed? 1984? Atlas Shrugged? Brave New Scary World? Soylent Green?

Byron York - Why did feds claim Kindle violates civil rights?

Did you know the Justice Department threatened several universities with legal action because they took part in an experimental program to allow students to use the Amazon Kindle for textbooks?

Last year, the schools -- among them Princeton, Arizona State and Case Western Reserve -- wanted to know if e-book readers would be more convenient and less costly than traditional textbooks. The environmentally conscious educators also wanted to reduce the huge amount of paper students use to print files from their laptops.

It seemed like a promising idea until the universities got a letter from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, now under an aggressive new chief, Thomas Perez, telling them they were under investigation for possible violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Obama's Beach Blanket Recovery: It's Happy, Snappy & Incredibly Crappy

This is spot on, funny yet very serious... humorous yet sad... ya gotta watch and pass it along!

State to citizens: No more petitions for you

Proposal would 'virtually eliminate' citizens' right to decide referendums

An amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution proposed by Democrats could virtually put an end to citizen-initiated referendums in the state. The amendment, proposed jointly by state Rep. Byron Rushing in the House and by state Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem in the Senate, would exclude any citizen petition that deals with issues concerning a person's right to "the enjoyment of life, liberty and property, according to standing laws."
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=185741

It's getting stranger and stranger in our world. One has to wonder if the people who propose things like this think beyond the moment. They seem to have an inability to look at the long-term affects of the legislation they propose, just like those who are doing the Obama crew's bidding.

We all keep asking the question of the public and the libs 'would you be applauding if the Republicans or Bush White House did the vast majority of things "your" folks are doing?'. The answer would be a resounding NO. They'd be screaming about the government invading their privacy, curtailing their freedoms, and so on.

We face multi-front ignorance mixed in with willful short-sighted self-interest these days.

The legislators are putting in legislation and acting with an eye out for immediate returns, not thinking about the long-term ramifications... or how the next "regime" might turn their new laws around on the very people now doing their bidding.

On another front we have the ignorance of the masses who embrace the platitudes, slogans and hype. Many are simply good people who believe the love mantra chanted as the cloak for under-the-sheets deceit. Others are just barely voting-age kids who haven't moved outside the cocoon of parental protection into the real world yet. Some are wolves in sheep's clothing. Others play the pied piper. It's a mixed crowd of all types, some who simply see that they can make a profit and believe they'll be part of the new elite.

Then there are those who are simply corrupt and will jump on any bandwagon that keeps them in power and/or riches. There are those who are scrambling to keep their power. There are true believers... it's a huge mixed bag. You have the ultra rich plagued with guilt about their riches who can be easily played, the ultra rich who don't have guilt but love being sucked up to... Then there's the media, a class all its own. Hard to figure out why they're so eager to give up their freedom of speech, their ability to be independent, isn't it?

Ah well, we all know we're at a cross-roads. We all know the very fundamental foundations of our freedoms are being attacked not just daily, but every minute of the day.

The name of the game is power. Every action the current regime has enacted, every attack, every change, ultimately corrals power into the White House and creates a "new" upper power class. We've seen similar actions throughout history. They ultimately fail because they can not be sustained. But oh, the times are dark until the people rebel or their system completely collapses.

We are in a unique situation when compared to similar country take-downs in the past in that we have the Internet, we have the ability to communicate and to shed light on actions. In the past things were done under the proverbial cloak of darkness. Today, everything sooner or later passes through the network and we see what they're doing.

I know Obama and friends are trying to shut down the media and our ability to write, share, expose what they're doing. November can't come soon enough.