The Violence Worker!

WA Democrats Spending Our Future

Here in Washington State, the numbers are rosie.  Revenues are expected to increase by about 2 billion dollars - give or take.  And the Democrats that run both houses and hold the Governor's office want to spend almost all of it.  The budget calls for salting away about 766 Million,

From KOMO-TV

Senate Democrats on Wednesday offered a new two-year state budget plan that would spend heavily on schools, colleges, health care and salaries, but would sock away $766 million into savings.

Remember, we'll only have that money IF the projections are correct.  Not only that, the Democrats political masters (If you think they work for the people, you are deluded) the unions and specifically the WEA, want the state to spend every dime of it.

Some advocacy groups, such as the Washington Education Association, faulted the Senate budget for failing to use the record surplus to make bigger gains in education and other services.

But here's what;' is all the way ath the bottom of this news item:

But Republicans said the Democrats ware setting up the state for huge future deficits by spending too heavily and not saving enough.

"If this budget is adopted, it is forecast that the Legislature will be confronted with a $1.2 billion deficit in two short years as a result of creating new programs now without a way to pay for them in the future," said Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, the Senate Republicans' budget leader. "In total, the proposal increases spending by 15 percent while revenues are forecast to grow at only half that rate."

What that means is that by next year or the year after, the Democrats will have to dramatically raise taxes to keep the spending going.

The last time this happened was with Governor Lowery in the nineties.  The Democratically controlled state spenders taxed and spent us into oblivion.  We then elected Republican majorities that managed to straighten out the mess.  As soon as that happened, the Democrats re-took power. 

We'll probably have t work extra hard to clean up this mess.

VW

From illegals to you, dengue fever

Another great post from Right Truth!

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The hemorrhagic form of dengue fever is on the rise with an increase by more than 600 percent in Mexico since 2001. Hemorrhagic is defined as 'spontaneous bruising, bleeding from mucosa, gingiva, injection sites, etc.; vomiting blood, or bloody diarrhea.' Sounds lovely.

According to this report, "Dengue has been found along the U.S.-Mexico border, where 151 classic and 46 hemorrhagic cases were recorded last year in the Gulf state of Tamaulipas, south of Texas." There is no vaccine and no drug to treat hemorrhagie dengue fever.

The deadly hemorrhagic form of dengue fever is increasing dramatically in Mexico, and experts predict a surge throughout Latin America fueled by climate change, migration and faltering mosquito eradication efforts.

More alarming is that a deadly hemorrhagic form of the disease, which adds internal and external bleeding to the symptoms - is becoming more common. It accounts for one in four cases in Mexico, compared with one in 50 seven years ago, according to Mexico's Public Health Department.

While hemorrhagic dengue is increasing around the developing world, the problem is most dramatic in the Americas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Like a poster child for the downside of humanity's impact on the planet, dengue is driven by longer rainy seasons some blame on climate change, as well as disposable plastic packaging and other trash that collects water. Migrants and tourists - including the many thousands of Americans expected for spring break this year - carry new strains of the virus across national borders, where mosquitoes can spread the disease.

The CDC says there's no drug to treat hemorrhagic dengue, ...

The Canadian Embassy in Mexico City issued an alert about dengue after five Canadians were sickened in Puerto Vallarta earlier this year. Acapulco, a city of 700,000, has documented 549 cases of classic and hemorrhagic dengue in the first two months of 2007, up from just 86 for the same period last year. (read it all here)

On a side note, the Minuteman Project is activating on the border again, but they will have supervision this Spring, ... the ACLU will be there watching. The ACLU wants to make sure the illegals are treated with respect and the rights they deserve.

This infectious disease is manifested by a sudden onset of fever, with severe headache, muscle and joint pains (myalgias and arthralgias — severe pain gives it the name break-bone fever or bonecrusher disease) and rashes; the dengue rash is characteristically bright red petechia and usually appears first on the lower limbs and the chest - in some patients, it spreads to cover most of the body. There may also be gastritis with some combination of associated abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Some cases develop much milder symptoms, which can, when no rash is present, be misdiagnosed as a flu or other viral infection. Cases of DHF also show higher fever, haemorrhagic phenomena, thrombocytopenia and haemoconcentration. A small proportion of cases lead to dengue shock syndrome (DSS) which has a high mortality rate. (Wiki)

As the author of the article notes, 'Paraguay declared a state of emergency in March after 17 people died of hemorrhagic dengue and an estimated 400,000 were infected with the milder "classic" form of the disease -- Someone can be in Paraguay, where there is a big outbreak, with type-one virus, and six hours later be in Mexico.'

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.

Chocolate Jesus

The story and pictures are all over the web.  Some nut job artist decided to sculpt a figure  out of milk chocolate that is supposed to depict Jesus Christ.  Some folks are understandably upset over it.  It appears to be quite insulting.  To me, Cosimo Cavallaro is just another nut job in the style of Andres Serrano (he, of Piss Christ fame)

Personally, I don't particularly care.  Not because I'm not Christian, but because my bible says idolatry is a sin. 

An image of Jesus in whatever form is nothing more than just that, an image or depiction.  It is not holy nor is their any particular power or magic in it.  I do consider it disrespectful which is why I've chosen not to post it here.  A lot of folks, particularly Roman Catholics, think it's blasphemous. 

But there is one important difference in the publishing a disrespectful image of Christ and one of the Muslim prophet Mohamed.  Cosimo Cavallaro might have pissed off a lot of Catholics, but unlike some Danish cartoonists, I doubt he'll live in fear of his life.

VW

Immigration legislation, it's all smoke and mirrors

From Right Truth:

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The image is from  Michael Cutler's article, "Congress Shadow Boxing with Illegal Immigration Crisis" discussing the latest attempts at immigration reform in congress. It's a very good article and you should go read it all. He discusses the Guest Worker Amnesty program, the step-across-the-border-and-back-again citizenship, the the Real ID Act

Mr. Cutler quotes some very interesting statistics from a report for the Center for Immigration Studies by George J. Borjas, a noted economist and the Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

To sum up some of Prof. Borjas' findings:

• By increasing the supply of labor between 1980 and 2000, immigration reduced the average annual earnings of native-born men by an estimated $1,700 or roughly 4 percent.

• Among natives without a high school education, who roughly correspond to the poorest tenth of the workforce, the estimated impact was even larger, reducing their wages by 7.4 percent.

• The 10 million native-born workers without a high school degree face the most competition from immigrants, as do the eight million younger natives with only a high school education and 12 million younger college graduates.

• The negative effect on native-born black and Hispanic workers is significantly larger than on whites because a much larger share of minorities are in direct competition with immigrants.

• The reduction in earnings occurs regardless of whether the immigrants are legal or illegal, permanent
or temporary. It is the presence of additional workers that reduces wages, not their legal status.

His report was prepared in 2004. Obviously, the rapid increase in the number of illegal aliens in the United States can only have exacerbated the impact on wages since then.

What I find particularly interesting is that in the news article, the AFL-CIO complains that the proposed legislation would permit 400,000 additional alien workers to enter the United States resulting in depressed wages for the labor market. (read it all)

It seems pretty clear to me, so why is congress having such a difficult time passing legislation? I'll tell you why, because they have no intention of passing a comprehensive immigration bill before the 2008 presidential elections. It's that simple.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.

I'm Honored

Yankee Mom over at You Betcha I'm a Proud Army Mom give me quite the compliment the other day.  I was a bit under the weather and not up to much blogging so this is coming a few days late. 

Apparently, instead of some mindless meme where you name your 5 favorite ex-wives or some such nonsense, you get to award the five blogs that make you think.  Well She picked me as one of her five.

In keeping with the spirit of the thing, I will pass this along to five blogs that make me think.

This is in no particular order.

So we'll start with Mondo-Canukistani.  Sometimes Canucki and I don't agree and it can get a little hot, but it's never in anger and always with the greatest of respect.  If you haven't been over there or it's been awhile, Go- NOW!

Any list of this sort would have to include The Diary of the Mad Pigeon.  The Pigeon and MOGS are a couple of USAF types that simply defy the liberal stereo type of the dumb GI.  If you aren't thinking after you leave the Mad Pigeon, you haven't got a brain to think with in the first place.  I haven't had time to keep up comments over there with school and all, but I check in everyday.

Aubreyj.org is next on our tour of thinking bloggers,  Not only does he have up to the minute news and commentary, he's one of the nicest guys you'll find on the web.

Next would be Jenn's Jungle or more formally named Screw Politically Correct B.S.   It's wild and wooly in the comments section.  She has a few resident trolls that just can't get enough of a beat down.

And last but certainly not least would be Cop The Truth. From his description:  "Cop the Truth is a former paratrooper, veteran police officer and martial artist, currently living in the occupied territories of Southern California. Don't stalk me, I'm heavily armed!"   Lots of good stuff here for ya.

There ya have it.  My five thinkers.  Pass it on.

VW

 

James Dobson Is Wrong!

James Dobson has a right to endorse whomever he wants for President.  I don't have a problem with that.  What I have a problem with is Dr. Dobson pronouncing qualifications based on religion.

From US News and World Report:

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also weighing a presidential run, in a phone interview Tuesday.

"Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression," Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party's conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination.

I'll leave alone his support for Gingrich at the moment.

All of you who claim to be Christian, please show me the article and clause in the United States Constitution where there is a requirement for anyone to have any religion for any office.  You can't!  It's not there and there is a reason it is not there.  That would be tantamount to a state religion and the First Amendment would then be contradictory.

Dobson is bordering on un-American behavior by using religion as a benchmark.  He is wrong, very wrong.

I can understand that he would prefer a candidate have similar beliefs, but that should NEVER be the deciding factor.

He openly supports Net Gingrich and I gotta tell ya,  That bothers me.  I like Gingrich, but he is not the person to lead the party into the '08 election.  Newt is an idea man.  He is a thinker and planner.  His personal life is almost as amoral as Clinton's! 

I'm nominally LDS.  I am not supporting Mitt Romney at the moment, although I prefer him over Rudy.  At the moment, I'm considering Fred Thompson over any of them.  I wouldn't vote for anyone just because they are LDS.  It is just not the American way.

If Mitt gets the nomination or if Senator Thompson gets it, will Dobson support a Democrat?

There should NEVER be a religion test for public office.  It is un-American!

VW

I Am John Doe!

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I am John Doe!

This is the John Doe Manifesto:

Dear Muslim Terrorist Plotter/Planner/Funder/Enabler/Apologist,

You do not know me. But I am on the lookout for you. You are my enemy. And I am yours.

I am John Doe.

I am traveling on your plane. I am riding on your train. I am at your bus stop. I am on your street. I am in your subway car. I am on your lift.

I am your neighbor. I am your customer. I am your classmate. I am your boss.

I am John Doe.

I will never forget the example of the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who refused to sit back on 9/11 and let themselves be murdered in the name of Islam without a fight.

I will never forget the passengers and crew members who tackled al Qaeda shoe-bomber Richard Reid on American Airlines Flight 63 before he had a chance to blow up the plane over the Atlantic Ocean.

I will never forget the alertness of actor James Woods, who notified a stewardess that several Arab men sitting in his first-class cabin on an August 2001 flight were behaving strangely. The men turned out to be 9/11 hijackers on a test run.

I will act when homeland security officials ask me to "report suspicious activity."

I will embrace my local police department's admonition: "If you see something, say something."

I am John Doe.

I will protest your Jew-hating, America-bashing "scholars."

I will petition against your hate-mongering mosque leaders.

I will raise my voice against your subjugation of women and religious minorities.

Hat Tip:  Michelle Malkin

VW
aka John Doe

An Honest Spammer?

Spammers resort to all kinds of keyboard gymnastics in order to  defeat spam filters. You'll see Viagra represented as \/|/\Gr/\, etc.

You'll see varios scammers trying to tell you they have a gazillion dollars they want you to help them steal and for your help you'll get 10% of the take. 

Another one is  a lottery scam.  They tell you that you just won the grand prize in a lottery you never bought a ticket for and all you have to do is give them your social security number and bank account number and you will be an instantly rich person.

Again, they all use some sort of symbol letter combinations in hopes of bypassing the spam filters.

Today, I got one of those imaginative attempts to defeat my spam filter.  It didn't, but I review message headers to see if  a legit message got trapped.  This one got trapped, but the subject was so on target:

World Wide Lootery agent

Finally, an inadvertantly honest spammer!

VW

600,000 Fugitives Missing

Posted by Debbie at Right Truth for CAII

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Fugitive: (noun) a person who is fleeing, having taken flight. In this case we are talking about 600,000 foreigners who have been ordered out of the United States, but cannot be found. Breitbart.com reports that "Homeland Security Department's inspector general found that the effectiveness of teams assigned to find the fugitives was hampered by "insufficient detention capacity, limitations of an immigration database and inadequate working space."'

That sounds bad, but the 600,000 number is really just a drop in the bucket, because those are the illegals that we KNOW about. There are no reliable statistics on those we don't know about.

Even though more than $204 million was allocated for 52 fugitive operations teams since 2003, a backlog of 623,292 cases existed as of August of 2006, the report said.

The number of illegal immigrants in the United States has been estimated at between 11.5 million and 12 million. About 5.4 percent of them are believed to be "fugitive aliens," those who have failed to leave the country after being ordered out.

Until the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, attempts to catch such fugitives were mostly carried out by teams not exclusively devoted to the task. After the attacks, an Absconder Apprehension Initiative was created within the Justice Department to find, apprehend and deport such immigrants. When the Homeland Security Department was created in March 2003, it assumed responsibility.

We see how well that's working for us.

Could it be that some of these fugitives, known and unknown, are Hezbollah suicide bombers that Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggests are here and awaiting orders to activate their cells? Or could it be that some of these are Jamaat ul-Fuqra at the Muslims of America compound known as “Aliville”, near Odum, Georgia. Perhaps some of these fugitives are at camp Islamville in Hancock, NY, or maybe or Madinah Village in Commerce, GA, just to name a few?

Constantinople Again (hat tip Gates of Vienna)  tells of his visit to Aliville after the Gathering of Eagles.  Go see the pictures, maps and read his experiences.

The truth is we have fugitives from all over, coming across the northern and southern borders, and entering the U.S. legally, overstaying visas, ... and we don't know how many there are, where they are, who they are, and thus we cannot round them up and ship them home. Money has been spent, agents have been assigned, and yet still we cannot get the job done.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate

I'm Back!

I was a bit under the weather the past couple days.  I'm back at it.

VW