Islam, that religion of "Peace"

Ever since 9/11 the portrayals of Islam as a "religion of peace" have bothered me. Anyone who has studied Islam at all both historically and in its various modern forms will know that the statement is simply untrue. When politicians parrot it they are either ignorant, are attempting to "bring out the best" in the Islamic community, or they do understand how devastating Islam can be and are attempting to pacify them. Islam has one goal: to dominate and subjugate the entire world under its rule and under Allah. You will either convert, will become subjugated, or you will die. It's that simple.

An excellent documentary on the subject is the movie "Islam: What the West Needs to Know". (Netflix, Amazon, also on Google Video). This should be required viewing in our schools - yet I fear that we are too "sensitive" and politically correct to take such a step.

Sharia law is the legal framework that Islamic people are ruled by. While in historic times it was praised for being much more fair and just than other legal systems - and is even an antecedent and inspiration for common law and our own constitution - we Americans would never wish to live under such a system.

It always befuddles me that liberal and well-educated Americans decry honest denouncement of Islam as being politically incorrect. They refuse to allow honest discussion about Islam. Yet, they simply do not understand what would happen to them should they fall under Sharia law.

For example:

• The 16 year old girl executed in Iran for not being chaste (in the public square, no less).
• On a Muslim woman with a Christian husband: Divorce him.
• Is it not convenient that the Prophet said that anyone who criticizes the Prophet should be killed? You do know the penalty for blasphemy? So much for your "First Amendment" protection. So much for freedom of speech.
• In Indonesia you can be stoned for adultery (Note the date of that article - Sept of '09, not 1509. That's today. Now. Want that in America?)
• If a child is born of Muslim parents, it is not permissible for him to leave Islam.
• Honor killings of women/daughters by husbands and fathers.
• Update: Stinks to be a Sikh in Muslim/Taliban controlled areas. Pay jizia or lose your property.

Make no mistake - this is an on-going and high stakes war. Islam is almost as old as Christianity and claims a pedigree that predates it to the time of Abraham. Today it is very active. Even now as you are reading this apologists and strategists are promoting their agenda in a variety of ways. Their spokesmen release statements whenever a "Muslim" does some violent or atrocious act by denouncing any suggestion that the act was in the name of Islam as bigoted or racist. There are websites dedicated to educate and push back such as JihadWatch.org.

Americans like to think of religion as a personal decision - as something that each individual believes and observes. Islam is not a personal religion. It is a corporate system of governance and permeates every aspect of life. If a cleric issues a "fatwa" it is considered binding. We think of the "dark ages" when the Roman Catholic Church was powerful and was able to dictate even the laws and actions of civil leaders. In our own country we joke about the abusive and controlling church leadership who tried to make this country a "theocracy". That is the goal of Islamic clerics - you will be required to obey and to live under their control.

Am I being overly critical? Research what happens in countries that are tightly controlled by Islamic leadership - countries that are filled with a strong majority of Muslims. Look at Indonesia and African countries. Read the very well-written book Infidel; this will give a personal account of how women are treated even today in these countries.

If "Islam is a religion of peace" is true - if all of these violent acts and abuses are not in line with Islam, then what is the harm is strongly denouncing them? Why would Islamic clerics not join with civic leadership and help to bring those who do stuff like "honor killings" to justice and see them serve strong prison sentences. If these actions are not in line with Islam, they should be denounced loudly and strongly. The reality is, however, they are not. We would do wise to fully understand the foundation, history, and current manifestations of Islam before it is too late. This is not being a bigot. This is not racist. This is not an anti-liberal stance - it is not an ignorant stance. It is a wise and educated and very realistic assessment of the situation that we are facing. If we value our American ideals of individual freedom of religion and the pursuit of happiness; if the experiment in our country means anything to us and to this world, we would do wise not only to ensure that we continue to be true to our roots of freedom, but that we defend ourselves against the invasion of Islam. We successfully fought against Nazi and Communist Soviet Union threats; this is no less of a threat we now find ourselves faced with.

Men in Funny Dresses...raping children

Every now and again I find a link to yet another program, article or what not about the scandal - I'd say atrocity - of priests raping children. This video is about a year old from this time and done by the BBC's program Panorama.

Every time I encounter one of these I get mad - really mad. I have a son who is of an age that were we good, devout Catholics would be of a prime age for abuse. That makes me doubly mad.

Anyone who is still a Roman Catholic needs to seriously investigate for themselves this scandal and the policies that enabled it. This is real. It's serious. It has not been resolved. It will continue. The men in funny dresses that swing smoking censors around while chanting in an ancient, dead language are dangerous. They are dangerous to our intelligence and they are dangerous to our children. They should be considered as such and treated with extreme caution. Those who are noble have nothing to worry about in having this attention; those who have skeletons in their proverbial closets should fear. I suspect, however, that the relationship of the noble to the sinister is far imbalanced toward the sinister.

More Resources:

• Wikipedia on the scandal
• The Boston Globe's coverage
• Second Irish Bishop offering to quit - oops!
• Movie: Deliver us from Evil. Stream from Netflix or order from Amazon
• BishopAccountability.org
• Pope under fire

Sony updates Playstation's policy.

I received an automated email from Sony. Everything Sony does has a sort of flippant flair to it. This one does not disappoint. It seems they've updated their privacy policy and would like we users to know about it. That's nice enough; the part that's especially "precious" is this paragraph:

If you do not agree with the new Privacy Policy, please contact
Customer Service to terminate your PlayStation(R)Network account(s)
and do not visit our websites. Continued use of your PlayStation(R)Network
accounts or any SCEA website means you agree to the new policy.

Basically, if you don't agree with it, F off. Sweet. Maybe they should send out their updated policy on memory sticks?

No "botax" - A tan tax?

In a move that will surely send a shudder of terror to high school girls across the country our fearless [baz]zar of health Harry Reid has removed the so-called "botax" and replaced it with a tax on tanning. Yes, you heard right - to pay for this monstrosity of a health "reform" bill our Robin Hood warriors have decided that highschool girls who tan will now shell out 10% of their bill to pay for his.

He had originally proposed a 5% tax on cosmetic surgery procedures; the medical community proved to be a formidable opponent to that. He now is picking on the tanning industry who doubtless have any strong forces in the ready to swoop onto Washington.

For my part I find this shriekingly stupid on several fronts. First - tax on tanning? WTF? Second, I absolutely hate how government looks through the economy to find defenseless industries that they can slap with a new tax. Tax on gas. Some have proposed a tax on driving in general. Tax on "bad" food. Is there no end to this insanity? [answer: no]

Oh - my bad. Think of the children. They're simply trying to make sure that kids have health care. What kind of a mutant Neanderthal am I?

A View into Economic Realities

Lest anyone think that the meltdown over junk mortgages and other factors was not real, there are examples very near to my house. Take, for example, a subdivision that never quite made it out of the starting gate. This project has sat dormant for the past couple of years - enough time for pine trees to reach about 3 feet high in some places. The grass is like a nice wheat field and when I walk through the area I can hear the scurrying of mice and what not in the grass.

It always makes me a little sad when I see it. There are 4 model homes partially completed. They long ago removed the office trailer though the railing is still there. The houses are framed, have windows and roofs and look like they would have been nice homes for someone. There just were to be no "someones" who could have bought them due to the economic timing; they now sit lonely as a reminder that this economic downturn is all too real.

What is the story? I'm not sure. Was this a small eager developer who got caught over leveraged and is now out of business? A large developer who decided to cut their losses? (Probably, given how large the development was.) This represents loss of work and income for countless craftsmen, truck drivers, real-estate agents, and vendors who sell the parts that make a house a home.

See the photo album here.

Field of Dreams...shattered