Post #237 George W. Bush is a Towel-Head *

Well, well, well, it makes sense now Connect the dots, peeps.

Who was the President who issued a Christmas stamp for Muslims on 9/01 in 2001?

Who forgot the Muslim bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon?

Who forgot the Muslim bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

Who forgot the Muslim bombing of the WorldTradeCenter in 1993..

Who forgot the Muslim bombing of the American embassies in Africa.

Who forgot the Muslim bombing of the USS Cole.

And who forgot the Muslim bombing of 9/11 and renewed the stamp in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008?

Who was the President who let Osama bin Laden go and turned his attention to the secular Saddam Hussein?

I think, when George W. Bush gave up alcohol and began 'paling around' with Daddy's Saudi friends, that he converted. I hope he enjoys his 72 virgins when he gets to heaven.

* This is satire aimed at those who get their news from e-mail. If you'd like to know more about the e-mail I'm making fun of:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp

Post #236 Human Decency

"conformity with the commonly accepted standards of what is right and respectable"

In life, there are certain things you just do not do. You do not mock somebody's religion. You do not make fun of someone's handicap. You do not take pot shots at race. Some things are off limits because of basic human decency.

Mark Williams is indecent. A Tea Party Express spokesman, he wrote an online post of a fictional letter from what he called "Colored People" to President Abraham Lincoln. He called it satire.

I'm sure that many will breathlessly jump to defend Williams' Constitutional right to write satire Nobody is arguing against Williams' Constitutional right to be indecent -- just as surely nobody is arguing that Williams should be accepted and his views endorsed.

Now, I like satire and enjoy all sorts of humor. Of course, Williams can joke. Nobody has to laugh.

That's why the National Tea Party Federation expelling a member group after it failed to rebuke and remove Williams was the right thing to do. "They have no intention of taking the action we required for their group to continue as a member of the National Tea Party Federation," the federation stated. "Therefore, effective immediately the National Tea Party Federation is expelling Tea Party Express from the ranks of our membership."

Federation spokesman David Webb, interviewed Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," called the blog post "clearly offensive."

Yes, it was. The racial hatred shown by some at Tea Party events dooms the overall movement. Many moderates would much rather vote for a Democrat than a Tea Party candidate -- probably some Republicans, too.

Good call, David -- keep it up!

Post #235 The Haircut

One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied,'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop came in for a haircut, and when he tried to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I can not accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were adozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut....

Post #234 God Bless Texas -- Texans Need It

"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God."
--Thomas Jefferson, 1782

Hmph! That attitude makes it harder for people who believe correctly to impose their beliefs on those heathens who do not.

One female school board member in Texas, who home-schools own her children, by the way, and therefore doesn't have a dog in this fight, said, "There seems to be a denial that this was a nation founded under God. We had to go back and make some corrections."

I got news for ya, lady: Ya wouldn't recognize the God of most of the Founding Fathers.

For example, Jefferson, that guy ya want to downplay in history, said, "... the whole American people which declared that their Legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."

Ooo, dang, there is that confounded idea again. No wonder Jefferson is to be downplayed in the history taught to Texas children -- they might get the idea that religion is nobody's business.

I remember the assignment I had in 4th grade U.S. History class: Who are the four Presidents on Mt. Rushmore, and why were they chosen? Maybe Mt. Rushmore can be downplayed, too.

Post #233 Newt says "maybe;" America yawns

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday he's seriously considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination and will announce his decision early next year.

Why? What will Gingrich bring to the table as a candidate? And why make this announcement now?

Gingrich, 67, said that he would focus on helping Republican candidates through the midterm elections in November, then decide in February or March whether to seek the GOP nomination.

"I've never been this serious," Gingrich said. "It's fair to say that by February the groundwork will have been laid to consider seriously whether or not to run."

Gingrich predicted President Barack Obama would be a one-term president. Obama's poll numbers have dropped below 50 percent, and Gingrich predicted they would continue to fall, making him vulnerable in 2012.

But why, Newt, why? You smell opportunity and...

Gingrich had a long congressional career and was House speaker from 1995 to 1999. He was given much of the credit for the Republican takeover of the House in 1994. But he abruptly resigned from Congress in 1998 after his party faired poorly in midterm elections. He also was reprimanded by the House ethics panel for using tax-exempt funding to advance his political goals.

The former speaker, who championed a family values agenda, spearheaded efforts to impeach President Bill Clinton for perjury over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Ah, yes, that is why the Republicans faired poorly in midterm elections. So much for Gingrich's political nose. :p

I, personally, was proud to see Lindsey Graham on the House floor reading the impeachment charges -- the rule of law, ya know. I also was proud that the Senate voted NOT to remove Clinton -- a political smear is what it was, ya know. Is Gingrich proud of his role?

Gingrich later admitted having an extramarital affair of his own in 1998 with a former congressional aide. He married her after divorcing his second wife whom, I believe, had also been a former congressional aide. His second wife was dying anyway.

Is that Gingrich's calling card, a hypocritical political opportunist?

Post #232 Merry 4th!

The signers of the Declaration of Independence showed courage -- by putting their names on a document that repudiated their own government, they had every reason to believe at the time that they might well be hanged for having done so. We should honor that.

I got a stirring "Fwd" e-mail that told of the hardships some of the signers endured. Unfortunately, the e-mail was full of 'embellishments,' politely speaking.

Have you ever wondered what really happened to the 56 men who signed The Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British.

Four were captured during battle and served time as a prisoner of war. George Walton was captured after being wounded while commanding militia at the Battle of Savannah in December 1778, and Thomas Heyward, Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge -- three of the four signers from South Carolina -- were taken prisoner at the Siege of Charleston in May 1780. All four men were eventually released.

Only one signer -- Richard Stockton of New Jersey -- was taken prisoner specifically because he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was able to get a pardon and his release from imprisonment by disavowing his signature on the Declaration and signing an oath of allegiance to King George III.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned -- as did thousands of other colonists who lived in the war zone.

One lost his son serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. John Witherspoon of New Jersey had his eldest son, James, killed in the Battle of Germantown in October 1777. Abraham Clark of New Jersey had two of his sons captured.

Nine died during course of the Revolutionary War. Eight died of natural causes, and Button Gwinnett of Georgia died of wounds received in duel in May 1777.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty could be death if they were captured.

But no one was hanged, tortured or died in poverty -- as all the signers were able to recover at least some of their fortune. To 'embellish' the hardships of the signers diminishes the courage and sacrifices to support the revolutionary cause by people whose names are not immortalized on a piece of parchment.

Let's honor them all.

If you'd like to know more about the e-mail I got:

http://snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp