Who are these people in the press that are dumping all over Israel for attacking the terrorists in the Gaza strip? Why are they sitting back in their comfy office chairs and writing such garbage as “Israel has no right to attack Hamas and kill civilians”? Where have they been over the past year when Hamas was firing rockets over the border indiscriminately killing Jewish citizens along with some Palestinians that reside inside Israel? Let us for instance say that that Quebec wanted to take over Eastern Ontario and decided to do it via terrorism. Then they started to fire rockets randomly over the border landing anywhere between Kingston and Toronto. These rockets explode, kill and injure residents on a daily basis as well as damaging a large part of the infrastructure. Would these reporters and other critics of Israel put a finger to their nose, contemplate for a moment and then say, how about we do nothing for 6 months and during this time we will try and negotiate with these guys to stop bombing us. Then after 6 months we will retaliate but we will be careful to only fire the exact type of rockets at the same frequency that the Quebecers have been doing for 6 months. Do you really believe any government on this continent would put up with that type of daily carnage on their citizens without responding in the same way the Israel military has done. Of course they wouldn't, because the local press and the people would be outraged if their Government didn’t respond appropriately to protect its citizens. Not one of these talking heads on TV would dare live in a region being bombed indiscriminately much less try to raise their families there. So why do they continue to espouse this inane drivel? The argument always goes back to 1949 and the apportioning of land for the birth of Israel and the consequential suffering of the Palestinians. Using the past as the sole basis for continuing an ongoing conflict rarely has solved any issue but these terrorists do not care. Their sole purpose in life is to wipe Israel and its people off the face of the earth as they have said time and time again. The Palestinians elected them to be their leaders so why should anyone feel badly for them because they are now getting exactly what they wanted. Until they rise up against Hamas and choose leaders that will try and find solutions for the future instead of revenge for the past, this scenario we are seeing today will go on and on. A representative from the United Nations said today that Israel is going to lose the support of the Global community if they continue their assault on Hamas. So what! The Global community has never supported Israel and they surely won’t protect her citizens. Look at the genocide happening in Africa in several different locales and that will show you what kind of support you will get from the “Global Community”. The only hope is that somewhere at sometime a leader will arise out of the Palestinian population that is interested only in securing a healthy future for their citizens. One free from bitterness and killing, one dedicated to improving the quality of life for all people living within its borders and a future free from the decades of hatred and suicide bombers. Unless and until this person arrives I’m afraid we will have to continue to stomach these hypocrites spouting what they believe are politically correct opinions.

The debate continues although now people prefer to call it evolution vs intelligent design. I guess the words “intelligent design” sounds more scientific to the Darwin believers than the phrase “belief in God”. After some research into the present day arguments I have definitely remained on the side of “intelligent design”. While there are quite a few tangible arguments against Darwin’s theory I will deal with just a few of the very strong ones that convince me that he was wrong. First the theory that man evolved from the ape is taken for granted by the Darwinists but they can’t answer the question as to why there are still apes? Why didn’t the current day apes evolve into human beings like the rest of us seems like a viable question but I haven’t seen a viable answer. The second reason that makes me think Darwin got it wrong was there are no explanations as to how certain complex organs in the body came about. I can understand and I do believe that certain aspects of a living being can evolve to fit their environment. We see this in many animals that adopt features that fit their habitat and even human beings evolve different characteristics such as light and dark skin depending on the climate in which they live. But how do you explain the evolution of the eyeball for instance? This is a very complicated organ of the body and it is hard to believe it developed all by itself with no guiding hand. If you take the time to look into the basis for Darwin’s theory you will find more of these very difficult questions that have no reasonable explanations. For instance the theory is based upon the belief that one day two things floating in space collided and formed the solar system. The planet earth was a piece of rock broken off in the massive explosion that resulted and it ended up in a favorable proximity to the sun which allowed life to begin. Over millions of years amoebas developed into animal life and then one day a human being evolved from one of the animals. Animals, insects and fish basically eat, defecate, breed and die without so much of a thought to designing an airplane. So how did man suddenly evolve a powerful brain with no living link to his ancestry? As Judge Judy always says “if it doesn’t make sense then usually it isn’t true”. There are certainly parts of Darwin’s studies that do make sense as they relate to animals and environment and the changes required for a species to survive but in my opinion they don’t provide the answers as to how it all started. I am not an overly religious person but I do believe that there is a power greater than we little people here on earth espouse and this belief provides the only real and practical answers to the who, what, why and when of the tiny world in which we live. Therefore as “God” is the basis of most every religion then this recognition of a higher power makes them the clear winner of the debate, in my humble opinion of course.

The use of terror has been around for centuries, although called by many other names, it is an effective military weapon for a small group to use against a much larger group. It is effective because the smaller group strikes randomly and targets civilians as well as military which make it very difficult to defend against. This of course creates” terror” and puts pressure on the military and government of the larger group. Unable to differentiate the terrorists from the innocents the larger group faces the choice of striking back at the terrorists selectively which is difficult and less effective or attacking en masse and creating an enormous amount of collateral damage and loss of life. While this decision wasn’t as great an issue in times past it certainly is an important one in today’s world. Political pressure from all around the world can rain down on a group for using the en masse technique in the absence of an acceptable amount of provocation. Although the Middle East gets the most press there are actually multiple terrorist groups in many countries around the world using the exact same tactics on the ruling governments of the day. Many of these governments have no qualms about collateral damage and actually use genocide as a means of eradicating their foes. Israel , however, has always used the selective attack as their response to terrorist attacks except for the last semi-war against Lebanon several years ago. Even though they have chosen this strategy it does not garner them any favor within the international community and the reasons are many but in the end it usually comes down to racism. Fortunately for the terrorists the government of Israel is made up of coalitions which contain religious fundamentalists as well as the usual span of left to right wing ideologues. This causes many compromises and slows down the entire process of governing. I am afraid that one day, after absorbing the constant attacks on its citizens, a strong right wing bloc will arise and decide enough is enough. They will employ the other tactic which will cause the loss of much life and destabilize this entire area for many years to come. Given Iran’s supposed nuclear capability another holocaust could be on the horizon and not necessarily a Jewish one. GW Bush and the US military tried to free Iraq with as little collateral damage as possible and they have encountered the same thing that Israel found “it doesn’t work”. After several frustrating years they eventually added more boots on the ground and obtained some measure of success in pushing the insurgents (terrorists) out of the main centers of population. The question however is “Will the Iraqi’s be able to deal with these groups once the USA ‘s main forces leave?” Because of its geography Afghanistan is becoming another quagmire with the Taliban (terrorists) chipping away at our troops and our resolve. A strong and effective military has only two functions 1) to break things and 2) to kill people and if we limit teir ability to do either they will not be totally successful. The terrible truth is that unless the military uses everything at its disposal, without concern for collateral damage, this current so-called war against terror will go on indefinitely. This belief that we can’t lower ourselves to their level is an illusion that sounds good and compassionate but our soldiers and the innocent civilians in these countries pay with their lives every day because we choose this route of political correctness. You can argue whether it’s right or wrong but the truth is, we have become too soft, lazy and sheltered from the realities of life on the outside of the “Western world” to stomach what it takes to win a war. I am optimistic however as history has shown time and time again this pendulum will swing and the need to survive will outweigh the need to be "PC".

Today is Saturday and it is the one day of the week that I read the front section of the Toronto Star. On the first page staring back at me was a column written by some writer of which I had never heard. His point seemed to be that because the USA electorate had elected Obama they had now returned to an era of intelligence. Therefore he surmised they were moving away from the politics of trying to appeal to the “lowest common denominator”. Now I will concede that most Liberals tend to be a touch arrogant and condescending, however Canadian Liberals take the words to new levels. This elite bunch of “know it all's” have very little respect for anyone that disagrees with them and their outlook on life whether it be politics, education or anything else. Now if you consider that approximately 129 million people in the USA voted and Obama won by 52% that would mean this writer has just called roughly 62 million citizens of the United States of America the “lowest common denominators” and what’s more offensive he has labeled them “unintelligent”. I’m taking a guess but I’ll bet this guy is an academic of some sort who feels his university education gives him the right to demean other groups of people because he is “above” the fray so to speak. There are some simple facts about this election that most of the main stream media choose to ignore. The Republican Party has only itself to blame by choosing to stray away from the strong conservative principles that kept them in power throughout the 80’s, and most of the 2000 decade. They would have probably been in power in the 90’s if it weren’t for the Ross Perot following that split the Republican vote in both 1992 and 1996. Then there was GW Bush who became a “big spender” during his tenure as he never vetoed a spending bill up until his final several months in office. Even before the financial crisis in the last ¼ of 2008 he and the Democratic Congress had built up the highest deficit in US history both in terms of pure dollars and as a percentage of GDP. Then they keep moving left by electing a presidential candidate like John McCain to contest the 2008 election. John McCain is a war hero but he is no Conservative. He has constantly voted against his own party and many conservative policies over his years in the Senate. He was supposed to bring over the Democrats who were in the so-called middle (so the press said). Yes he was the media darling until he won the Republican primary and then they turned on him and he became a decrepit old man who was a heartbeat away from dying in the Oval Office. Sarah Palin brought some energy to the race otherwise McCain would have lost by much more than he did. Of course the main stream media crucified her and made her out to be a dummy like they did with GW Bush, Dan Quayle, and Ronald Reagan etc. You can see the pattern if you look at how the mainstream media portrays Republicans as the dumbest leaders regardless of their University degrees etc. The bottom line is that the Republican Party will not win another election in the USA unless they go back to their roots in Conservatism and develop a strong and articulate leader. No one really knows how Obama will govern but based on his past history it will be far left of center. As a leader we will have to wait and see how he deals with 2 wars, the biggest financial crisis since “the Great Depression” and an enormous deficit. Regardless, of his politics I wish him the best because whatever he does will affect all of us. Next Saturday I’m buying the “Sun”.

The faith of Global warming has all the trappings of a new religion designed to recruit followers through a bombardment of information, usually unsubstantiated and only part true. It has its main evangelist, Al Gore and its legion of followers in the media. They use a most powerful lever to try and convince people to join their sect and of course it is the common Liberal weapon, fear. I will admit I am no expert but I have chosen to look at both sides of the argument and I, as have many other people, have decided that is a monumental hoax. First let’s start with the argument that global warming is a fact due to a consensus of scientists. By definition science is fact, it either is or it isn’t and cannot be something decided by a vote, a consensus or anything else other than fact. The reality is that there are thousands of scientists who are on the other side of the argument seem to make no difference to the mainstream media or the Government. I certainly am not arguing that we as human beings do not pollute as this is a fact but what is so arrogant is the thought that we as part of the human race can do anything that would counteract the universe, the Sun or the planet of earth. Second is the constant barrage of print and video information that promotes the destruction of the planet along with some very visible members of the animal community. Did you know that the film clip in Al Gore’s movie about the Polar Bear on an ice flow was staged? This fact was released a year after the movie came out and was buried very quickly. The main threat to polar bears in recent decades has been from hunting, with estimates as low as 5,000 to 10,000 bears in the 1950s and 1960s. But thanks to conservation efforts, and some cross-border cooperation among the U.S., Canada and Russia, the best estimate today is that the polar bear population is 20,000 to 25,000. The following is a quote from one of the leading experts on the polar bear, Mitchell Taylor, the manager of wildlife resources for the Nunavut territory in Canada: “I have found that the Canadian polar bear population has actually increased by 25% -- to 15,000 from 12,000 over the past decade.” Mr. Taylor also tells us that in many parts of Canada, "polar bears are very abundant and productive. In some areas, they are overly abundant. I understand that people not living in the North generally have difficulty grasping the concepts of too many polar bears, but those who live here have a pretty good grasp of what that is like." Those cuddly white bears are the Earth's largest land carnivores. Third you may ask, why would anyone be against conservation or recycling etc? I and most other people who think this Global warming is scaremongering, are not against these things and in fact I support them wholeheartedly. What I don’t support is burdening our taxpayers with the cost of illogical programs like the “Kyoto Accord” and our industries with more regulation that will do nothing but raise their costs and force them to move to business friendlier climates. Finally the issue of smog and the argument that it is caused exclusively by automobile exhaust needs to be understood. Yes auto emissions contribute to the smog seen over most large cities but it is also made up of ozone (made by the sun) that drops down to lower levels (like clouds and fog) on very hot and humid days. This drives the index up and causes the warnings to be issued for people like asthmatics etc. Have you ever seen this happen in the winter? Of course not because of the temperature and another thing to look for is the fact that not everyday is the smog at warning levels and yet I would speculate that the number of cars on the road doesn’t change that much on a daily basis. Back in the 50’s Nat King Cole sang “ the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” so this is not a phenomenon that has just started in the past two decades. All I ask is that you research this subject for yourself and don’t automatically believe the talking heads and GW evangelists without some personal knowledge of the subject.

It seems like every other day I read in the newspaper or see on the TV news a case involving a child being harmed in some way by an adult. The most egregious of these cases are those that concern child sex abuse by pedophiles. As with most other crimes the Liberal judiciary first looks to rehabilitation before punishment and the rights of the criminal before the safety of citizens. While I believe we need to strengthen our laws and particularly our sentencing practices for all crimes there should be no debate on how society should deal with these scumbags who prey on children. The fact that they have a defect in their brains that has given them an abnormal sexual desire is no reason or excuse for their behavior. Yet there is always some “do gooder” that buys into this argument that their preferences can be changed (brains rewired) or at least controlled. Time after time we hear about repeat offenders and how they just couldn’t control their urges and had to attack another child generally with drastic results. There is no one that requires protection more than our children as they are the most vulnerable members of our society. There are reams of statistics that indicate recidivism is almost a certainty with this inherent behavior characteristic so why does the Justice System keep beating their heads against a wall trying to swim upstream. This is a Liberal theory that doesn’t work and we can’t keep experimenting while kids die. There is currently no cure, therefore these people cannot be allowed to enjoy freedom and liberty within our society…period. Lock these people up and keep them away from our children. There is no other answer at this time and until we can find one that is foolproof we cannot allow our kids to be prey for these deviants. Like most other realities of life that escape the elitists that believe they have all the answers this is one area where they must wake up and do the right thing not the politically correct thing. The “wee ones” are the only innocent human beings on the face of the earth and they represent our future. Let’s not take a chance on losing even one to this type of crime and let us force our Justice System to change before its too late for another child. I want to live to see the day where we never have to watch parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters or anyone else crying over a child lost to this horrendous crime.

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from
its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have
All The Leaders Gone?'.
Lee Iacocca Says: 'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?
Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've
got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff,
we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up
after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad,
everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay
the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the
damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and
maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country
anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys
in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning
and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms'
instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America'
my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How
about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're
not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest
C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis
being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis.
It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or
send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield
yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other
time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes.
A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan
for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great
companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy
policy. Our schools are in trouble.
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the
leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the
people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I
may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than
making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and
all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in
the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen
again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan.
Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car
companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do
about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down
the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care
problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating
away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on
your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being
hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is
everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a
name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom
here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I
believe in America. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of
our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean
War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil
crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by
standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether
it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we
all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book.
It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America'. It's
not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap
and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

I had lunch with a good friend the other day and he offered the opinion that due to the current global economy our overall standard of living would have to move downwards. After thinking about this for several days I have to say that I totally disagree with him. His points, if I recall correctly, were based on the rise of China and India as major producers and consumers within the Global economy and the fact that they now have the technology that was once our edge over other nations. While his current assessment of the world stage is most probably accurate that doesn’t mean it has to remain this way going forward. I believe this for two very good reasons. First the ingenuity and creativity of the people in the “western world” has been proven over the last century with the massive advances in technology. From the beginning of the industrialized world, with Ford’s production lines to the moon landings and finally the PC and the internet. Never before in the history of mankind has the standard of living improved as rapidly as it has for Canadians and US citizens during the last 50 years. There is no question then that we have the capability to continue on this trend for years into the future. The second reason and the one that is the essential ingredient in the recipe for success can be phrased in one word…FREEDOM. While it is a simple word it is not one that many citizens of other countries around the world can use to describe their current lifestyle. If you consider China and the fact that its Government maintains full control over their economy and politics you can surmise that they will face several major problems in the coming years. As the individual citizen becomes aware of the improvements in lifestyle available to them the pressure will mount to allow everyone to partake. After years of strict Communist rule this will be an extremely difficult thing to control and as with the USSR many years ago a decision will have to be made. Either let it happen or clamp down with the military and stifle the rebellion (remember Tiananmen Square). India has its own problems that are centuries old and they revolve around religion which is a potent issue in the eastern world. While the Indians seem to be making stronger gains in the area of personal freedoms the extreme poverty faced in parts of the Country will take years to change. The Indians also have neighbors that are mortal enemies and could become engaged in war at the drop of a hat. So each of these Countries in several different ways does not enjoy the freedoms that we in Canada and the USA do and therefore the ingenuity required to create innovation and improvement is subdued. The European states have embraced socialism which is another blow to individual freedom as it removes enthusiasm and individualism and replaces it with the “Nanny state” which is proving to be its downfall. They are also seeing personal freedoms deteriorate on another front as immigration has forced them to deal with a large population of people that do not believe in their basic laws and tenets. This is why I write so much about the dangers of Socialism and Liberalism because these ideologies increase their citizens dependence on Government rather than their own devices. I believe, as we have in the past, we will rise up and reject the big brother approach and embrace individual exceptionalism. And this is why I am optimistic that our civilization will continue to lead the world in the subject categories.

The recent attacks in India illustrate the stark reality that terrorism is alive and well. Those that have short memories or the pacifists who want to take a conciliatory approach with these fanatics hopefully will begin to understand that there is only one thing that will keep us safe and its not words. These folks must be defeated before there will be any peace in that part of the world or anywhere else for that matter. One of the problems that make this task more difficult is the number of Middle Eastern Countries that support these thugs. They smile and exercise diplomacy while secretly funneling money and other support to the people who are killing our soldiers and civilians. Yet we in North America not only allow this to happen we actually help provide a large part of the funding to these countries through the purchase of oil from this part of the world. If we had continued to drill for oil 30 years ago this would not be the case today but it is what it is unfortunately. Hopefully the Liberal environmentalists will continue to lose their luster with the American population and we all can get back on the road to becoming energy self sufficient. Now that gas prices have dropped substantially the noise will also subside but this shouldn’t change the resolve of North America to become independent of these bandits who operate in the dark. There is a good possibility that the Eastern nations will blow each other up in coming years as more and more of them are attaining nuclear weapons. While this may not be a bad thing for NA it would be a sad thing to see the slaughter of millions of innocent victims who will be killed before it’s all over. Years ago there was a movie about a clandestine group that was dispatched to assassinate any of these rogue leaders that were intent on disrupting the world and killing innocents. Their purpose was to kill one maniac to save millions of lives. Can you imagine if this group had been around when Hitler came to power? But no, we mustn’t do anything this nasty, rather we should stand by and watch the massacres and genocide and sadly shake our heads. If George Bush would have used the full extent of the USA’s military might in Afghanistan and Iraq both wars would now be over but the “Left” in the country would not allow it to happen and therefore they continue the struggle with no end in sight. With the weapons that the USA has in their arsenal they shouldn’t have had to lose a single soldier in the wars against those two countries. Anyway the warning bell has rung again and I wonder how long it will take for the defenders of these radicals to rise up again and
Preach compassion and understanding?

While flipping channels the other night I happened upon 20/20 and John Stossel opining on the auto sector and their request for a bailout. If you are interested in his comments you can pick them up on this website http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/Story?id=6343705&page=2

His points as well as the facts I have raised in earlier blogs seem to be no brainers….common sense but the politicians (surprise) don’t see it that way. People seem to forget that 2/3 of the so-called foreign automobiles sold in the USA are manufactured there. In fact amidst all of this doom and gloom both Honda and Kia are just opening new plants this month in the southern USA. The average wage is $18.00 hr vs the big three at $29.00 hr. I’m not sure what the benefits are but I can guarantee you they are nowhere near the UAW employee’s package. While agreeing to these expensive wages and benefits over the past decades the Big 3 Management had to find a way to get their costs in line to compete so one of the things they had to do was to opt for cheaper materials and guess what that meant. Another thing I saw that amazed me was the so-called job banks negotiated by the UAW. A plant that closes down has to guarantee the employees 4 years work. So they showed a closed down plant where everyone came to the factory everyday and just sat there and did nothing for 8 hours and collected full wages. This is ludicrous at any time but certainly at a time when the Companies are going bankrupt this practice should cease immediately. As I’ve said before I don’t blame the unions for negotiating these deals because Management, who has the decision making power, signed off on these rich benefits. But the time has come after everybody including both the union and the management, who have successfully run the Companies into the ground must regroup and get back to some semblance of reality if they want to survive. Contracts have to be reopened, plants and dealerships closed within a massive restructure of their business. Finally I thought his comment at the end was priceless…” Isn’t it ironic that the employees making $18.00 an hour at the foreign automakers plants have their taxes used to bail out the employees of the big 3 that are making $29.00 hr”?