to Don Singleton for bringing this post to our attention. 

It is a MUST read:  A Silent Arab Speaks

For two days I've read various op-eds and blogs RE: the title above.  The most succinct response I've read to date is Don Singleton's one-word summation:  Sickening.

One of my life-long goals has been to return to the land of my heritage.

As a child, I would sit at my grandfather's knee for hours, listening to stories told to him by his grandfather .... about two brothers who were driven from (what is now) Israel to Germany, and subsequently traveled to America in the mid-1700's. 

From Pennsylvania, they migrated with a Moravian delegation to what would become Salem Colony in North Carolina .... 

My grandfather always believed that the brothers hid their Jewish heritage and claimed the Moravian (or Luthuran) faith to avoid continuous persecution.  It did not matter, he would say. 

What mattered, he espoused, was that many years later, the last surviving brother disowned his children and grandchildren because they refused to honor the language (Yiddish) and traditions of their heritage.  The family argued and split into two factions:  one remained in the southern mountains and the other moved to the higher mountains -- one claiming their ethnic background as German; the other as English -- both denying their Jewish heritage. 

(The surviving brother subsequently died a lonely man -- alienated from family and friends -- to have his land and wealth scattered among survivors ... his only legacy being his name on the road that still traverses his once-prosperous estate.)

------

The young brothers were stone masons by trade (albeit womanizers by night) and earned their keep by laying the foundations and walls of buildings which still stand in historic Old Salem.

In the most socially acceptable of terms, my grandfather would explain how at least one female acquaintance became with-child, precipitating the brothers' expulsion (with two women) from Salem settlement -- highlighted by head-shavings and (for the brothers, at least) a ferried rail-ride across the (once) mighty Yadkin River. 

The disgraced four-some traveled westward toward the Blue Ridge Mountains, likely stopping in settlements developing in (once the Great State of) Wilkes ....

My grandfather always insisted (for the sake of propriety, I'm sure) that the brothers and their trail-mates were properly married (in the old Boone region) long before they settled in the northwest section of Surry County to raise their families.

As evidence of these stories (sans my grandfather's embellishments), I have letters written by my grandfather's grandfather to his cousins and brothers .... in Yiddish ... pleading with them to honor and cherish the traditions of their heritage.

Possibly I or my children will one day be able to honor the traditions of our heritage.  To deny anyone that right -- much less to denigrate that right --  bespeaks a disrespect more base, more despicable than sickening, however.

Godspeed, Israel.  May you find peace and security in the Land and Traditions you honor.

  ROFL ------------ love it.  Love it.  LOVE IT!

President Bush obviously took his cue (in using the C.H.I.T. reference, that is) from a recent Perish the Thought post.

Herd'em up, Cowboy!

OKOKOK .... to appease those who nevah NEVAHHH cuss or those who may be offended by a socially-unacceptable-but-appropriate word, substitute the word "dung" (after all, it is biblical) -- as in camel, donkey, lion, etc. .... or for the poetically inclined -- it rhymes with stung and hung.  As opposed to c.h.i.t. -- which rhymes with snit, fit, hit, bit and QUIT!!!

-----  

ummmmm ... but Mr. President?  I ain't too keen on talking wif your mouth full o butter roll, though, yanno?  I bet Laura lectures you when you get home ....

From PajamasMedia:

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt says Lebanon has become a proxy battleground for Iran in its resistance to US-led pressure on its nuclear program: "Iran is telling the United States: You want to fight me in the Gulf and destroy my nuclear program? I will hit you at home, in Israel," he told Arab news channel Al Arabiya.

Continuous updates at TruthlaidBear.

Unbelievable.  Truly treasonable.  Unforgivable.

That an American Newspaper, specifically The New York Times' photography staff would refer to the "incredible courage" of a photographer who stood by as a terrorist sniper took aim at American troops.

Beyond belief.

Exactly where are the guidelines that determine WHEN and HOW a response to terrorist aggression is "proportionate?"

Someone forgot to send Israel a copy.

Unperturbed by international criticism, the Government of Israel continued to pound Lebanon's civilian infrastructure, destroying roads, bridges, fuel dumps and mobile telephone installations as well as Hezbollah targets, including a Beirut radio station.

It believes that Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shia group, badly overplayed his hand on Wednesday by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers in a daring cross-border raid and killing eight others.

Israeli generals and diplomats are now arguing that their attacks are simply a belated effort to achieve what the Lebanese Government and United Nations have consistently failed to do: implement UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for all Lebanese militias to be dismantled.

"As long as Hezbollah is in the south of Lebanon this will lead to a destabilised region," Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister, told The Times.          - www.timesonline.co.uk

* Bold type added for emphasis.

The puppet-states who have allowed Syrian and Iranian terrorist groups to manipulate their policies and "proportion" the massacre of Israeli citizens may have finally awakened the sleeping giant. 

Ahhhhhhh ... here it is. 

Page 16, paragraph 34: when the sleeping giant says "Enough is enough" -- the guidelines state to cry, "Disproportionate!!!"

Suggestion for the G-8 Agenda:

1) Since some of our global neighbors' most profitable commodity is producing terrorists, why not tax exporters and importers? 

-- Hold nations that specialize in global terrorism accountable.
-- Let those who harbor them pay doubly.
-- Quadruple the fines if commodities enter another country illegally.  
-- Add a few excise taxes to get everyone's attention.  
-- Charge astronomical non-refundable fees for returning "goods that damage." 
-- Tax on the basis of potential threat, language(s) spoken and training. 
-- Brand (with butt iron) their foreheads with a special stamp to indicate "bearer has been specifically packaged as a Certified Hate-mongering International Terrorist."     

C.H.I.T. for short.   

And if nations refuse to pay taxes -- Reuters, MSM and the New York Times can post their names and write op-eds about them.

Walmart, Big Lots, Roses, General Dollar, Eckards, Best Buy, Dollar Tree, Pic n Pay, Target and other discount conglomerates will likewise agree to NOT import any more of their name-brand knock-offs.

The World Bank will foreclose on their land and auction it off to an info-mercial kingpin. 

That'll show those CHIT-heads somebody means business.

Cindy Sheehan's started a pick-a-time-slot fast to bring the troops home.  Slogan:  "Bring the troops home FAST" .... catchy, eh?  And a few Hollywoodites, Pink Cods (oops, I mean, Pink Codes) and bleeding heart libs are joining her. 

One or more days a week, mind you.  You just sign up.  Like, take turns.  And bring your own bottled water. 

Well, heck.  Why not? 

It's just the principle, yanno?  Like, who has the time to fast full-time anymore?  Good God -- folks could die fasting ALLLLLL the time!

Plus ... Gotta your hair done on Friday.  Gotta exercise at least once a week.  And there is the all-you-can-eat shrimp special at the bar on Tuesday's.  Book signings, blog writing and interviews on Monday.  You absolutely must play cards with the buds on Wednesday.  There's the Thursday girls-nite-out party.  Gotta get the nails done Friday afternoon .... Laundry?  Kids' soccer match? ... Church on Sunday ...  Cleaning the litter box.  Weekly staff meeting?  Don't forget the sauna ....  And political rallies -- can't miss a political rally. 

Fast????  As in go-without-food-for-a cause-until-you-die fast? 

ummmm .... Let me check my calendar....

OK, pencil me in for Saturday, 3 until 6 -- no, no, no -- make that 5.  I have a dinner party at 8.

In a previous post, Gull suggested (quasi-tongue in cheekish) several points:

Establish regional offices to register illegal immigrants. Offer a moratorium for employers of illegal immigrants.  Issue interim registration cards to illegal immigrants, allowing them 2-3 years to complete monitored citizenship requirements.  Begin immediately to collect taxes on current incomes.  

What will happen? 

-- Local, state and federal tax bases will rise, in partial compensation for the cost of caring for/educating illegal immigrants and their offspring. 
-- INS employment will expand, including but not limited to bilingual citizens -- who could also be employed to patrol US borders .....
-- More American dollars will remain at home because untaxed income (previously sent "home" to support non-resident families) will be monitored by extensions of Homeland and National Security agencies.
-- Landlords will be required to notify authorities (subject to monumental penalty) if more than 3 persons per bedroom are residing in one dwelling.
-- Driver's license agencies will be required to issue provisional licence to drivers who fail to provide proof of residency and domicile (i.e., social security card, utility bills, tax returns, voter registration, etc.).
-- Tell-tale fancy vehicles (which any of us could afford if we didn't pay taxes) will be legally profiled -- indirectly creating a boon for public transit systems and used car sales, coupled with a decrease in pimping prostitutes and crack house deliveries -- which will benefit everyone. 
-- Yard sales, fruit stands road-side venders and flea markets would require fee-based permits (obtained by proof of social security card, driver license, utility bill, tax return, voter registration, etc.), issued individually to families/site venders.

What Gull does not address is the issue of work permits to allow illegal immigrants to remain -- to perform low-paying jobs which legal citizens shun .....

Herein may lie the rub on the issue of illegal immigration. 

... Flashback to the epoch of slavery and the treatment of non-white immigrants ....   Those who survived did so at the bottom levels of a social and economic caste system. 

If a work permit program is to be a component of immigration reform (and I feel it should), regional agencies must closely monitor the registration system to ensure that work permit holders aren't again victimized (even willingly). 

Paramount will be monitoring employers and related custodial programs -- including but not limited to provisions for housing, health care and education. 

The key, in my assessment?  Holding employers accountable through a strengthened monitoring system.

..........

Afterthought:  Some legislators want to collect back taxes on salaries earned by illegal immigrants.  Phooey. 

There is absolutely no way to monitor the collection of back taxes uniformly and equitably.  No way.  Forgive and forget.  After all, it was our current system that has allowed illegal immigration to flourish. 

Move forward.  Not backward. 

Please. 

  I love the cool(er) weather.  It was in the low 50's this morning and has warmed up to the high 60's.  Color me fall.  Remind me next week (when we're back in the 90's) that it's almost August.

Watched part of CBS news this morning -- only because they were discussing blogs.  Seems most bloggers are unread, educated, intelligent, make good money and are trend-setters ..... No mention of spelling skills.  Strange how they interviewed "Wonkette" -- the woman (who began the blog), which is now written by maybe 2 men ... I no longer read the blog for that reason ---- ever appreciative of the reality that it usually takes two men to do the job of one woman.

Yeah, that's my photo above.  I'm so dang-nabbed tired of hiding from the stalker who shadowed me for years -- on and off line.  A recent incident (or more realistic -- a string of incidents related to my work) has me carrying a gun 99.9% of the time.  When I'm not armed, I have an instrument which can be used as a club.  I've adjusted to my mind-set and have decided that any fool who wishes to do me physical harm best make their first blow fatal.  If I can get up, I'll kill the bastard(s).  Meanwhile, as the weather allows, I'm now roaming about more freely in the dusk and darkness than I have in a long, long time.  May God have mercy on his/their soul if I meet those who wish to do me harm.  I certainly won't.

I love playing the lottery and those silly scratch-off cards.  Always have.  Always will.  I "invested" $25 in 4 cards and 5 quick-picks back in May.  To date, I'm several coins to the good .... I call it my mad money.  I use it to purchase medicines I don't want my employer to know I'm taking and for 5 weekly quick-picks .... Years ago, I would have thought nothing of driving to the casino or hopping a red eye to Atlantic City.  No more.  I feed my gambling habit playing scratch-offs and Pogo.  Everytime I lose at poker (on Pogo) I replinish my tokies via Pogo slots or at the roulette table.  What I lack in skill I make up for in perserverence.  Bottom line: I hate to lose tokies.  I could care less about badges or tournaments.  It's the thrill in "possessing" 4 million absolutely useless tokens that keeps me clicking.  Cash them in for chances to win prizes?  You gotta be kidding.  They're mine.  I won them.  If my account were to get screwed up and my tokies were to be lost -- I'd be devastated.  I'm not sure how wise Pogo admins are to the addictive nature of owning a few million useless tokens.  I hope they don't increase the annual fee.  I might have to spend some more of my mad money.

Tiger's back.  He looks great.  I love that kid.  Sports analysts may put him down or chink away at him personally or professionally (always from a distance, noticed?), but networks and tournament sponsors worship him.  When he's not in the field -- ratings drop.  When he's on his game, scores and records tumble.  Skill and personage aside -- he's the greatest marketing influence ever to lace a shoe.  And as a testament to the quality of his competitors and the manipulation of course layouts  -- he's likely the greatest golfer.  Ever. 

                                                         Politics aside: 
North Korea best be glad they're firing duds.  Japan is not a nation they want to intimidate ....

The need for Immigration Reform didn't begin with the Bush Administration.  For all their humanistic posturing, libs dropped the ball on this issue longgggggggg ago.  Illegal immigrants have historically contributed to local economies while concurrently draining localities fiscally.  Once Congress determines how these non-sanctioned residents can legalize their citizenship, the sooner we can collect taxes on their incomes. 

My suggestion? 

Establish regional offices to register illegal immigrants. Offer a moratorium for employers of illegal immigrants.  Issue interim registration cards to illegal immigrants, allowing them 2-3 years to complete monitored citizenship requirements.  Begin immediately to collect taxes on current incomes.  

What will happen? 

-- Local, state and federal tax bases will rise, in partial compensation for the cost of caring for/educating illegal immigrants and their offspring. 
-- INS employment will expand, including but not limited to bilingual citizens -- who could also be employed to patrol US borders .....
-- More American dollars will remain at home because untaxed income (previously sent "home" to support non-resident families) will be monitored by extensions of Homeland and National Security agencies.
-- Landlords will be required to notify authorities (subject to monumental penalty) if more than 3 persons per bedroom are residing in one dwelling.
-- Driver's license agencies will be required to issue provisional licence to drivers who fail to provide proof of residency and domicile (i.e., social security card, utility bills, tax returns, voter registration, etc.).
-- Tell-tale fancy vehicles (which any of us could afford if we didn't pay taxes) will be legally profiled -- indirectly creating a boon for public transit systems and used car sales, coupled with a decrease in pimping prostitutes and crack house deliveries -- which will benefit everyone. 
-- Yard sales, fruit stands, road-side venders and flea markets would require fee-based permits (obtained by proof of social security card, driver license, utility bill, tax return, voter registration, etc.), issued individually to families/site venders.

Will it work?  Maybe.  Maybe parts of this suggestion will.  At least I have made a suggestion -- which is a heckova lot more than some of our bleeding heart critics have offered ......