I had a very long discussion with a good friend of mine recently regarding the abortion debate. Normally, as much I try not to shy away from controversial topics, abortion is one that I have stayed pretty much away from - mostly because as a man, I can't fully appreciate an issue that predominately affects women.

But there has always been one issue with abortion that I feel very strongly about.

In some ways, I do consider myself "pro-choice." Of course, I am anti-abortion in most cases. But in the grand scheme of things, just because I don't believe I would want my partner to ever have an abortion, I do not believe it is my place to tell someone else they can't.

However, what concerns me greatly is the notion that we are becoming a "disposable ' society. You see, in years past, unwanted and unexpected pregnancies happened - of course they did. However, what is missing today is that there is no longer that sense of shame that used to accompany these situations. Sure it still happened. But it was with far less frequency than today. By removing the stigma and the shame, we have accomplished what pro-life supporters always knew what would happen (but feminists and the pro-choice lobby refused to acknowledge) - the slippery slope of what is acceptable and what is immoral.

Liberal politicians (Hillary Clinton comes to mind) have often stated that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare." I can not argue with that sentiment. However, just saying that does not make it so. Instead, we have evolved (de-evolved?) into just safe and legal. Is anyone truly surprised?

What is it that made me come up with this post today? I'm glad you asked. I just read this following article:

British Children as Young as 14 Made to Watch Video Promoting Abortion

This goes back to my original thought of us creating a disposable society. Unfortunately, while it may be true that some people consider abortion to be the absolute last resort, we slowly erode our our human values to the point where we allow it to go unchecked and - according to this article - consider it as just a viable option to be chosen out of convenience. Remember, we just elected a President who actually said, "I wouldn't want my daughters to be punished with a baby."

When we start considering children to be a punishment, instead of a blessing and the future of our society (after all, isn't that how Islam is spreading so rapidly?), we have already begun to destroy ourselves.

The chance of this turning into a slippery-slope (as well as gay marriage) is unfortunately a very real possibility. If we don't draw the line somewhere, there will be no lines left. And then where will we be?

Again, I am not advocating back-room abortions or, G-d forbid, wire hangers. I'm simply advocating that we take a step back from the abyss we are creating and start to realize that just because we can do something, we should.

My friend made a wonderful point to me when she said that in her view, most women (Whom she knows, or am aware of) who have ad to face the decision of abortion, did not take this decision lightly. In most, if not all cases, the emotional scars are still very real and tragic. In many cases, she said, those who went through it once, wanted to never have to deal with it again. As painful and cruel as this may sound, that's the way it should be.

There is no reason we should eliminate shame from our society. Every day, our schools (and many unfortunately liberal parents) remove the stigma of shame and we are left with a class of children who are way too full of themselves and unable to bear the burdens of real life. We outlaw games like tag and stop our youngsters from keeping score in soccer games, just so we should avoid hurt feelings.

Yet when these children grow up, they are unequipped to deal with the real world and the competition that breeds a great society.

In making abortion into a viable alternative, instead of a last resort, we are once again telling our children that we can do whatever the hell we want and there are no consequences to our decisions and desires.

In Judaism, the Torah teaches us that we should abide by the laws regardless of the society we live in. When we start to decide for ourselves which law is apropos for today's world, we fall under the trap we were warned against. Once we decide commandment A doesn't count, who is to say commandment B should count. Every time we compromise on our core values and beliefs - whether they be religious or secular - we erode the foundation that sets us apart from our darkest tendencies.

Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. But we should honestly believe that as a sacred trust to ourselves and to our children. Unfortunately, even those who say this don't honestly mean it. What is happening in Britain is just the first bit of truth.

10 Great Songs from One Great Year

1972

For this 10-year-old Dallas Cowboys fan, this year was THE year the team finally won it all, defeating the Miami Dolphins 24-3 in Super Bowl VI. Had I been an adult at the time, I probably would have been mortified by the appointment of former SS guard Kurt Waldheim as Secretary General of the United Nations. January also brought multi-billionaire Howard Hughes out of his own hideaway as he – via telephone hookup – denounced Clifford Irving’s autobiography of Hughes. Although Irving was forever branded a fraud, history tells us he wasn’t that far off in his assessment of the physically and mentally challenged tycoon.

In the Movies, the Godfather was all the rage as it became cool to be a gangster again. But Richard Nixon took it too far as in May; the break-in in the Watergate Hilton Hotel soon became the story that took down his administration.

This was the year that Jane Fonda toured North Vietnam, becoming the latest in a growing list of “useful idiots” who know not what harm they do. That summer, Democrats commited mass suicide as they nominated George McGovern as their Presidential candidate, along with Thomas Eagleton for Veep. Eagleton would soon be removed from the ticket as it becomes known that he suffered from “manic depression" and had "suicidal tendencies."

But the true black mark on 1972 was on September 5^th and 6^th, when 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage and subsequently slaughtered by Arab terrorists during the Summer Olympics in Munich. Of course, since the dead athletes were only Jews, the games went on.

Brandy - Looking Glass

Lead singer and guitarist Elliot Lurie wrote this song based on a girl he knew. He made up the story about falling in love with a sailor who cannot be with her because he loves the sea. The band was signed by Clive Davis, a legendary record executive who has nurtured the careers of many successful artists, including Santana, Billy Joel and Whitney Houston. Davis has a knack for knowing a hit song when he hears one, but he got this one wrong, releasing it as the B-side of their song "Don't It Make You Feel Good." Harv Moore, a disc jockey in Washington DC, flipped the record and played "Brandy" instead. It became very popular in the DC area, and quickly spread nationwide. This was not typical of the band's sound, which caused a problem at concerts. While audiences expected Pop songs like this, the Looking Glass played Rock, which left the crowds disappointed. The band broke up less than 2 years later.

Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan

This was Irish singer Gilbert O'Sullivan's only American #1. It sold 2 million copies, spent 6 weeks at the summit in America and earned him 3 Grammy Award nominations (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year). It was the second best-selling single of the year in America behind Don McLean's "American Pie.” This is a rather sad tale of the lonely, suicidal subject of the song being left at the altar and then telling the listener about the death of his parents. O'Sullivan has denied that this song is autobiographical or about the death of his father when he was 11. O'Sullivan said: "Everyone wants to know if it's an autobiographical song, based on my father's early death. Well, the fact of the matter is, I didn't know my father very well, and he wasn't a good father anyway. He didn't treat my mother very well." In the first half of the '70s O'Sullivan enjoyed a succession of hits in the UK including 2 #1s. They were "Clair," which was inspired by the daughter of his manager Gordon Mills, 3-year-old Clair Mills, whom O'Sullivan baby-sat. The other one was "Get Down," which was a plea to his dog to get down off the furniture. He was the first Irish recording artist to have 2 UK #1 hits. In 1982 O'Sullivan took Mills to court over his original contract, ultimately winning back the master tapes to his recordings as well as the copyrights to his songs. Nine years later in 1991, O'Sullivan went to court again to sue the rapper Biz Markie, who used an unauthorized sample from this song in his track "Alone Again," which appeared on Markie's third album, I Need A Haircut. The judge made a landmark ruling in O'Sullivan's favor that the rapper's unauthorized sample was in fact theft. From this point on, artists had to clear samples or be subject to costly lawsuits.

Sandman – America

Sons of American fathers and British mothers, their fathers being military personnel stationed at the USAF installation at RAF West Ruislip, London, the three original members of America – Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek – met while playing for different local bands. After Peek left for the United States for an abortive attempt at college in 1969, he returned to the UK the following year, the three hooked up and began to collaborate on making music. Starting out with borrowed acoustic guitars, they developed a sound which incorporated three-part vocal harmony in the vein of contemporary folk-rock acts like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Eventually the trio dubbed themselves America, honoring the name of the homeland they had hardly ever seen during their many travels around the world. The liner notes to the 1975 compilation album History- America's Greatest Hits, state the band took their name while listening to an Americana juke box. They played their first gigs in pubs and clubs in the London area, including some highlights at the Roundhouse, where Pink Floyd had played at the beginning of its career. Their first LP was produced by Ian Samwell, best known as Cliff Richard's lead guitarist and the writer of his 1958 breakthrough hit, "Move It". Jeff Dexter, Ian's roommate and a fixture in the London music scene, co produced the album and became the trio's manager. Dexter also gave them their 1st major gig, December 20, 1970, at "Implosion" at the The Roundhouse Chalk Farm as the opening act to The Who, Elton John, Patto and The Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band & Choir for a Christmas charity event. Although the trio initially envisioned recording the album along the lines of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Samwell steered them toward perfecting their acoustic style instead. The album, simply titled America, was released in 1971 to only moderate success, although it took off in Holland where Dexter had taken them as a training ground to hone their stagecraft. Samwell and Dexter subsequently brought the trio to Morgan Studios to record several additional songs. One of them was a piece written by Bunnell called "Desert Song", which Dexter previously demoed during studio rehearsals in Puddletown, Dorset at the home of Arthur 'God of Hellfire' Brown. The song had its public debut at The Harrogate Festival, four days later, to great audience response. After several performances and a TV show, it was re-titled "A Horse with No Name". The song became a major worldwide hit in early 1972. America's debut album was re-released with the hit song newly added, and quickly went platinum. The album spawned a second major chart hit with Beckley's "I Need You", which peaked at #9 on the U.S. charts. “Sandman,” while not officially released as a single, received significant airplay (and still does) because it was on the flip side of “Horse” and was included in their first “Greatest Hits” package.

Sauvecito – Malo

Malo was a Latin tinged rock and roll group. The San Francisco, California based ensemble was led by Jorge Santana, the brother of famed Latin-Rock guitarist, Carlos Santana. Four of the original members (Santana, Garcia, Tellez, and Bean) were previously in a band called the Malibu's. The other three founding members (Abel Zarate, Roy Murray, and Richard Spremich) were in a band called Naked Lunch together. The band had a huge Top 20 hit single with this song that was written by timbale player Richard Bean, who initially wrote it as a poem for a girl in his high school algebra class. The song has been called "The Chicano National Anthem" and was arranged for Malo by Richard Bean, bassist Pablo Tellez, and Abel Zarate. Tellez and Zarate also received co-author credits on Suavecito. In addition, guitarist Abel Zarate gave Malo a distinctive two-guitar sound, with intricate harmony and dual solos the norm. The band featured full horn and percussion sections, in the style of contemporary bands Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago and others. Some of the best musicians in the bay area played in Malo, including Forrest Buchtel, Jr., Ron Smith, Luis Gasca, and Tom Harrell in the trumpet section. Malo's music also had a huge following in Central and South America, especially the songs "Chevere", "Nena", "Pana", "Cafe" and "Oye Mama". After the release of its first album, Malo had a well-documented rift that saw the group eliminate many of its band members. Buchtel went on to play with Blood, Sweat and Tears, Jaco Pastorius and Woody Herman - Harrell has become one of the most lyrical trumpet soloists of all-time, working often with saxophonist Phil Woods. Abel Zarate went on to play with Latin-jazz legend Willie Bobo and continues to play Latin/Brazilian Global jazz in San Francisco with his group Zarate Pollace Project. Richard Bean formed the group "Sapo" with his brother Joe, and is still touring throughout Northern California. Jorge Santana has embarked on a solo career, and still plays frequently with the current Malo band. Malo is also still touring, with only two of the original members, including Arcelio Garcia Jr., who took over the band in the late '70s.

Heart Of Gold - Neil Young

This song is one of a series of soft, acoustic pieces which Young wrote partly as a result of a back injury. Unable to stand for long periods of time, he could not play his electric guitar and so returned to his acoustic guitar, which he could play sitting down. Originally, this song was meant to segue with the song "A Man Needs a Maid", and was therefore played on piano. It was played in this manner during Young's solo shows in 1971, but he abandoned this approach midway through the tour and began to play it on guitar as it is now known. Additionally, one line that was cut when the two songs became separate entities was "Afraid/A man feels afraid." An example of the segued version appears on Young's Live at Massey Hall 1971 release. James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt sang backup, though they don't come in until the end of the song. In 1999, Young used the guitar riff again on CSN&Y's "Slowpoke." After “Heart of Gold” topped the chart, in March, America’s “Horse with No Name” followed to the top spot for the next three weeks. Many record buyers were confused as they thought both songs were performed by the same singer. Dewey Bunnell often credited some of the commercial success of “Horse with No Name” to this phenomena, but also accepts the fact that both their voices were similar and he never tried to change it to sound more like Neil Young.

I Saw the Light – Todd Rundgren

This song is about a mixed-up young man, perhaps a teenage boy, who stumbles into his first affair and doesn't know if he loves the girl. This was the first song on the album. According to the liner notes of Something/Anything?, Rundgren thought it would be a hit, so he placed it first just like Motown used to do with their records. Rundgren began his career in Woody's Truck Stop, a Philadelphia-based group created on the model of Paul Butterfield Blues Band. However, he wanted to pursue a more pop/rock-oriented sound and left the band to form the garage rock group Nazz in 1967. The group gained minor recognition with the songs "Open My Eyes" and "Hello It's Me" (#41 Canada) - (He later recorded a solo, uptempo version of "Hello It's Me"; it became a Top Ten hit and remains one of his signature songs). After a moderately successful solo career, Rundgren established a band called Utopia. This band featured an interesting character completely disguised in a silver suit, M. Frog Labat (Jean-Yves Labat de Rossi) on synthesizers, who also put out his own electronics/keyboards-based solo album. In late 2005, rumors began circulating that The Cars were planning to re-form despite bass player Benjamin Orr's death and the oft-mentioned refusal of former lead singer Ric Ocasek to even consider any reunion. Eventually it was revealed that The New Cars were to complete their lineup with veteran bass player and former Rundgren bandmate Kasim Sulton and studio drummer Prairie Prince of The Tubes, who had played on XTC's Rundgren-produced Skylarking and who has recorded and toured with Rundgren. They were joined by original Cars band members Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes. The New Cars' first single, "Not Tonight," was released on March 20, 2006. A portion of the song is featured on a promotional teaser for the band online. A live album/greatest hits collection, The New Cars: It's Alive, was released in June, 2006. The album includes classic Cars songs (and two Rundgren hits) recorded live plus three new studio tracks.

(Last Night) I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All – The Fifth Dimension

In the early 1960s, Lamonte McLemore and Marilyn McCoo, a former beauty pageant winner, got together with two other friends from Los Angeles, Harry Elston and Floyd Butler to form a group called the Hi-Fis. In 1963, they sang at local clubs while taking lessons from a vocal coach. In 1964, they came to the attention of Ray Charles, who took them on tour with him the following year. He produced a single by the group, "Lonesome Mood", a jazz-type song that gained local attention. However, internal disagreements caused Butler and Elston to go their own way, eventually leading to their organizing the Friends of Distinction. Lamonte sought to form another group and started looking for members to join him and McCoo. One was Florence LaRue, who had received training as a youngster in singing, dancing and violin, and who also won the talent portion, as McCoo had the year prior, at Miss Bronze California. About the same time she was approached to join the group, Lamonte recruited an old friend of his, Ron Townson, who at age six had started singing in choirs and gospel groups in his hometown of St. Louis. Lamonte's cousin, Billy Davis Jr., started singing in gospel choirs at an early age. He later saved enough money to buy a cocktail lounge in St. Louis, which he used as a base for experimenting with various musical groups. When he was asked to join his cousin's new group, he immediately said yes and the rest became music history. Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb supplied the group with their breakthrough hit, "Up, Up and Away", a top 10 hit in mid-1967, which won five Grammy Awards. After a number of top 40 hits, the band reached gold again with “(Last Night) I didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” which reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1975, McCoo and Davis, who married in 1969, left the group to do both collective and individual projects. They went on to have success singing as a duo after leaving the group in 1975, including the chart-topper “You Don’t Have to be a Star (to be in my show).” In the following years, Davis and McCoo started in their own television variety show and soon she was hosting the very popular series Solid Gold. In 2002, the Fifth Dimension were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Oh Girl – The Chi-Lites

This was written and sung by group leader Eugene Record. The other three Chi-Lites contributed a few wordless harmonies and one line per verse. Of the many cover versions (by Paul Young, Leo Sayer, Smokey Robinson among others), nearly everyone swipes the harmonica part, proof of how key it is to the song's arrangement. According to the Independent newspaper from July 25, 2005, Eugene Record initially dismissed this song. Record is quoted as saying, "I gave Carl Davis 7 songs on a tape and he called me to say there's a #1 tune on there. I named them all before 'Oh Girl' and I thought he was kidding." Formed out of Chicago, the Chi-Lites were heavily influenced by the other popular Motown groups of the day, most notable the Four Tops and the Temptations. However, they never signed with the famous Detroit record company and it took them many years to finally breakthrough. In 1968, they signed with Brunswick Records, whose creative side was headed by an established Chicago-based producer Carl Davis. He had been brought in by Brunswick a couple of years earlier to revive the label, including Jackie Wilson's recording career. Davis and Record initially worked together on producing the group and early the following year, "Give It Away" became their first national hit single, reaching number ten on the U.S. R&B chart. Despite the moderate success of "Let Me Be the Man My Daddy Was," the group was not able to deliver another big hit until "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)" climbed into the R&B Top Ten in early 1971. That release began a string of ten Top Ten hits that ran intermittently over the next four years, which included “Oh Girl” and “Have You Seen Her,” which was covered by MC Hammer in 1990 and reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Chi-Lites were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005, shortly before Eugene Record died after a long bout with cancer.

Day After Day – Badfinger

Badfinger was a formed in Swansea, Wales in the early 1960s and was one of the earliest representatives of the power pop genre. During the early 1970s the band was tagged as the heir apparent to The Beatles, partly because of their close working relationship with the 'Fab Four' and partly because of their similar sound. However, Badfinger fell victim to some of the worst elements of the music industry, resulting in its two principal singers and songwriters committing suicide in 1975 and 1983. As a well-received stage act on the London circuit, performing a wide range of covers from Motown, blues, soul to Top 40, psychedelic pop, and Beatles, The band (originally named the Iveys) consistently garnered interest from record labels. Ray Davies of The Kinks auditioned to produce them by recording three of their songs at a demo studio in London. However, it was not until Mal Evans, the longtime "roadie" for The Beatles and an employee of their Apple Records label, took up their cause that they were finally signed to a label - Apple – in July, 1968, the first artists signed to the label. Griffiths later said in a Mojo magazine interview: "The ultimate goal was to get a recording contract, but to get one from Apple was really exciting. Yet we were still living at Golders Green, getting £8 a week each." Mal Evans had pushed several demo tapes of the group to each of the individual Beatles and got approval for signing them from Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon, who couldn't believe they were recorded on a sound-on-sound 2-track tape recorder. Each of The Iveys was also signed to Apple Corps' Apple Publishing. In October 1969, while the release of "Come and Get It" was pending, the band and Apple Records agreed that a name change was critical. "The Iveys" were still sometimes confused with "The Ivy League", and the name was considered too trite for the current music scene. After much debate, the group changed their name to Badfinger. Other suggestions had included: "The Glass Onion," "The Prix", and "The Cagneys" from John Lennon, and "Home" by Paul McCartney. After a series of successful hits, Badfinger released “Day After Day” in December 1971 and it became their biggest hit. Although the band eventually moved away from Apple and its troubled management, they signed with Warner Brothers in 1974. However, due to major infighting amongst the band, and their labels, production of their debut WB album Wish You Were Here was shelved before it ever hit the market, thus ending the band’s career. On April 24, 1975, lead guitarist and singer Pete Ham hanged himself in his garage studio in Surrey. His suicide note, addressed to his girlfriend and her son, seemed to blame Stan Polley, the band’s manager, for much of his internal despair and he cited his lost ability to cope with his disappointments in life. The note read: "Anne, I love you. Blair, I love you. I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better. Pete. P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me." Ham had shown a growing mental illness over the past months as he burned cigarettes out on his hands and arms. Ham's daughter Petera was born a month after his death. On November 19, 1983, Band members Tom Evans and Joey Molland had an extensive heated argument on the telephone regarding past Badfinger income still in escrow from the Apple era, and some songwriting royalties Evans was now receiving, which Molland, former manager Bill Collins and Gibbins all wanted a share in. Following this argument, Evans hanged himself in the garden at his home.

How Do You Do? – Mouth & Macneal

Mouth & MacNeal was a pop duo from The Netherlands. They were formed in 1971 when record producer Hans van Hemert brought together the solo talents of Big Mouth (born Willem Duyn, March 31, 1937) and Maggie MacNeal (born Sjoukje van't Spijker, May 5, 1950) together. Big Mouth had previously sung in a number of 1960s bands, including Speedway. In contrast, MacNeal had had an unsuccessful career as a solo artist. The duo released their first single almost immediately, "Hey You Love", which reached #5 in the Dutch Top 40 while the next two singles "How Do You Do" and "Hello-A" both reached #1. In 1972, Mouth & MacNeal reached the top of the charts all over Europe, with their fame (especially in Germany) reaching almost hysterical proportions. "How Do You Do" was made popular in the United States by the Boston-radio personality Jim Connors. The song eventually reached #8 in the U.S. in July 1972. This propelled their 1972 album How Do You Do into the Billboard 200 (US #77). More hit singles followed in 1973, and in 1974 Mouth & MacNeal represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest placing third, behind ABBA and Gigliola Cinquetti with their song "I See a Star", which went on to be a #1 hit in Ireland. In December 1974, shortly after their success with "I See a Star", Mouth and MacNeal suddenly parted ways. Big Mouth and his wife Ingrid Kup continued and formed the act Big Mouth & Little Eve, whereas Maggie MacNeal went back to solo performing. "Big Mouth" Willem Duyn died from a heart attack in his hometown of Roswinkel on December 4, 2004 at the age of 67

Bonus Track

Day By Day – Godspell

Godspell was a musical created by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since. Several cast albums have been released over the years and this song from the original cast album, reached #13 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the summer of 1972. I list this song, not because of it’s religious message, but because of the pure beauty and innocence of this classic.

I am too outraged and numb after spending the day and night following the attacks in India. So instead, I will copy the posting by my friend, Robert Avrech, at Seraphic Secret:

Jew-Hunting in Mumbai

Last night, my heart sank as I watched an Indian commando raise his automatic weapon above his head and blindly spray gunfire towards Chabad House.

I turned to Karen and said: “That is not good, that is not how special-ops roll. Not the real guys.”

Spraying and praying in a hostage situation?

My head was pounding and I got all of two hours sleep last night.

As of this writing, Friday morning, we know that five hostages in the Chabad House are dead. The body count will probably be higher.

Islamo Nazis came to Mumbai and besides attacking major hotels, centers of commerce, and tourist attractions, they went Jew-hunting. Yes, in a city where Jews are about as rare as the Dodo bird, Islamo Nazis spent months in advance gathering intel on where the Orthodox Jews of Mumbai gather and pray, and when the time came, they struck at these Jews because they knew there would be no consequences.

They went Jew-hunting because the world has come to accept the murder of Jews as a legitimate political act.

They went Jew-hunting because Israel has displayed, in the past few years, a shameful degree of political and military stupidity.

They went Jew-hunting because the U.N. has signaled that Israel is a rogue state and the murder of Jews is a heroic act.

They went Jew-hunting because the international left has aligned itself with the genocidal Palestinians to such an extent that every act of self-defense by the Jewish State is labeled a war crime.

They went Jew-hunting because they knew there would be no payback—ever.

But now that the shameful Olmert-Livni government is, at last, come to an end, perhaps a new government will steer a fresh—actually an old—and necessary course.

For after the smoke has cleared, the bodies counted, the period of shiva properly observed, Israel must take stock of its situation and come to understand, once again, that she is locked in a life and death struggle with international terrorism, of which the Palestinians are but a small cog.

If they kill one Jew, Israel must retaliate and kill a hundred terrorists. If a Jew is murdered by Islamo Nazis, then every Islamo Nazi on planet earth must feel that he or she is a big fat target.

No more fear of using disproportionate response. The definition of war is exactly that, and only a leaky mind demands a policy of national security based on abstract notions of being nice.

The problem for Israel is that the Arabs count on the Jewish fear of the use of power. They also count on the Israeli left—surely the most delusional on planet earth—to enable inaction in the face of proudly genocidal Arab intentions.

Additionally, the Arabs do not fear or respect Jews or the Jewish state; they have contempt for Israel's reluctant use of power. And they prove their contempt every single day as they gather useful idiots from Europe and of course from Israel, in their skillful propaganda machine which works to undermine the very legitimacy of the Jewish state. This is Jew-hatred disguised as “mere anti-Zionism.”

Think of it, no other state on the face of the earth is faced with such unrelenting hostility. Sudan, and Rwanda, guilty of genocide, get a pass. Congo, locked in a barbaric civil war, has a death toll of 50,000 per month; no one cares. Liberia is a death machine so grotesque the MSM can't even write about it.

For too long it has been open season on Jews. During his disastrous tenure, Ehud Olmert enshrined inaction and appeasement as official doctrine. He and his government allow rockets and missiles to rain on Israel, and yet supplies gas, power and food to Gaza, to the very regime hurling these missiles. In short, the welfare of Gazans, the very people who voted for the genocidal Hamas regime, is, to the Olmert and LIvni regime, of higher value than the citizens of Israel.

The first and primary duty of government—any government—is national defense.

All else, is secondary.

Islamo Nazis, in a country of miliions and millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, sought out a handful of Jews, a minority of minorities, because they hate Jews, because they want Israel wiped off the face of the earth, and because they have absolutely no fear of retribution.

This calculus must change.

The long arm of Jewish vengeance must be felt in every corner of the world—or no Jew will ever be safe.

The Masai tribe, known for their bravery, live by a simple code: “He who goes forward into battle may die. He who retreats will surely die.”

Israel must stop retreating.

Or the Jew-hunting will never end.

Update:

It is our sad duty that it has now been confirmed that Rabbi Gavriel, left, and Rivkah Holtzberg were killed in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Indian history. Here, they're seen attending to the wedding of a local Jewish couple.

Full story at Chabad org.com.

You would think, in this the golden age of technological advances, that stories like this would be a sick joke. But unfortunately, Environmentalism - what once was a noble cause - has degenerated into a sickness of the mind and soul.

The classic example is the famous case of DDT. This pesticide (Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane) was used with great effect among both military and civilian populations to control mosquitoes spreading malaria and lice transmitting typhus, resulting in dramatic reductions in the incidence of both diseases.

However, Environmentalist Rachel Carson published the book "Silent Spring," which suggested that DDT and other pesticides may (important distinction) cause cancer and that their agricultural use was a threat to wildlife, particularly birds. Its publication was one of the signature events in the birth of the environmental movement. Silent Spring resulted in a large public outcry that eventually led to most uses of DDT being banned in the US in 1972.

Of course, with the main prevention of malaria banned, millions of third-world natives have perished as a result of the good intentions of the environmentalists.

That is why the news I read today, albeit sounding absurd, causes me a great deal of worry:

Experts call for end of flushing toilets on World Toilet Day

The man goal of these people is to slow - if not stop entirely - the waste of water in our daily hygiene. To be fair to these people, leading health advocates have called for the use of "dry" toilets which separate urine from feces and remove the need to flush. However, until such time as these "dry toilets" become globally available (and affordable), the environmentalists propose to reduce the amount of water wasted through toilet flushing with a proposed new "toilet tax."

Once again, these people shameless hide their real agenda under the premise of "saving the planet." But there real goal is, and always has been, the end of capitalism. Whether it be by promoting the very unproven science of "global warming" - keeping in mind that now there has been such a backlash that the new demon is simply "climate change" (since the Earth has actually been cooling lately) - or by the Kyoto treaty, or even a "toilet tax," the ends always justify the means to these people.

Clearly, they ignore the fact that because of modern technology - toilets included - countless diseases that were rampant in history have been mostly eradicated. The average lifespan of human beings have been growing tremendously in the last hundred years. And who is to be credited for these great advancements?

Capitalists, of course.

We live in the wealthiest country in the world and in countries where democracies flourish, public health is at an all-time platitude. Need an example? Compare the lifespan of a North Koren vs. a South Korean. Or an Israeli vs. an Arab (assuming the Arab didn't detonate a suicide vest in the Israeli's vicinity).

One of the biggest crimes against humankind is the vilification of capitalism and it's meaning towards the health of mankind. Are there exceptions? Of course there are. We are humans, after all. But if anything will destroy the great advances America, and other free countries have made, it is the current environmentalist movement.

In the past, environmentalist worked hand in hand with society to make people more aware of how we treat the Earth and animals. But in coat-tailing with the hippy movement of the 1960's, these people have completely deviated from what was once a very noble cause.

It is time to stand up to the threats and the harm these people have done and can do in the future. Today, it's flushing toilets. Tomorrow, it may be even worse.

There have been many wonderful inventions over the past many years that have made life infinitely better and easier. But I have to say, since the creation of the Internet, the greatest of them all is Facebook.

Well, maybe I'm being shallow. But since my transplant 6 years ago, I have been on a quest to reconnect with anyone and everyone who ever meant anything to me in the past. There include former girlfriends, classmates or just acquaintances who passed through my life over the years.

And I have been very successful in this endeavor. Very successful. Of course, it helps that I have moved around so much throughout the years and that I attended schools in different states. Also, through my past work as a youth director, I was involved in many peoples lives.

Now I am not naive enough to think my 100+ Facebook friends is a large number - not when many of my friends boast as many as 1,000 friends. But I can say, without hesitancy, that the vast majority of my Facebook friends are real friends who I have had a real relationship with.

Today, for instance, I found 2 friends who I only knew when we stayed at a Kosher hotel in the mid to late 70's. I mean, I had not heard from these two people for about 30 years! Yet talking to them today felt like the time never past. I guess I feel blessed that not only did they remember me as well, but they were happy to hear from me too.

Another new found friend was a band mate (the band was awful, but he was a real talent) from 22 years ago. Amazingly, he changed not one bit.

Yeah, this Facebook thing is simply amazing. I first signed up because all of my nieces and nephews were there and it gave me an opportunity to keep in touch with them. Then, two of my own kids joined in the fun (the other two aren't old enough). Now, just today, I created a group for my high school alumni (which has been far too long been ignored).

I'm 46 years old and I feel like a kid again. That is just so cool.

I'm currently nursing an extremely painful foot - the doctor suspects that it is Morton's Neuroma - and that has kept me from keeping most rational thoughts being put to paper (or whatever it is I'm actually writing on). But I came across this article and I was impressed with the notion that perhaps someone in Israel is waking up to reality:

Yaalon - For Arabs We're All Settlers
Amnon Meranda

Former IDF chief, in first appearance since joining Likud, slams documents by Arab Israelis that 'reject our right to independent Jewish state,' claims Livni 'has withstood no test of leadership

Arab Israelis consider all Jewish Israelis settlers, "in Tel Aviv, in Holon, all of us," said former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon Saturday, in his first political conference since announcing his intention to join the Likud party last week.

Yaalon asserted that "Israeli Arabs, with four documents that they wrote over the past two years, are actually rejecting our right to an independent Jewish state. We are settlers, as far as they are concerned." However, he continued, "we have the power to deal with this phenomenon. Both military and economic power."

Yaalon also stated that current peace initiatives are weakening Israel's immunity from attack. "There are arguments about a solution, but we haven't even agreed on how to define the problem," the former general said. "That is why arguing about solutions is the same as arguing about delusions. In fact, a particular solution is being forced on us. We want peace now, food now, everything now, as if this is fast food and fast peace, and along the way we have lost much of our spirit, our power and our deterrence," he told the crowd.

Finally, he attacked Foreign Minister and Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni. "I see signs in the street selling spin, trying to defraud us again, with some sort of depiction that I see as lacking any essence," he said of campaign ads reading 'Livni: What's good for the State.' "I see signs of someone chosen to lead Kadima… When did she actually withstand a test of leadership? She didn't do so during the Second Lebanon War, not during the actual decision-making process and not as regards UN Security Council Resolution 1701," he said.

10 Great Songs from One Great Year

1986

The year started out with the Super Bowl Shuffle, shuffling to the beat of the monsters of the midway Chicago Bears (and their “punky” QB) and ended with the racial disharmony in Howard Beach. In between, tragedy struck when the Space Shuttle Challenger explodes and disintegrates 73 seconds after launch, killing the crew of 7 astronauts including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme is assassinated on his way home from the cinema, the West Berlin discotheque, a known hangout for United States soldiers, is bombed, killing 3 and injuring 230; Libya is held responsible and Pan Am flight 73, with 358 people on board, is hijacked at Karachi International Airport by 4 armed men of the Abu Nidal organization. The next day, Nidal terrorists kill 22 and would 6 others inside the Neve Shalom synagogue, in Istanbul, during Sabbath services.

The New York Mets win the World Series, thanks to the arm of Dwight Gooden and the fielding of Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. The Democrats regain control of the United States Senate for the first time in 6 years, and a Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been selling weapons to Iran in secret in order to secure the release of 7 American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon, thus beginning the scandal known as “Iran-Contra.”.

Addicted To Love - Robert Palmer

"Addicted to Love" is the third song on the Riptide album. The most commonly heard version runs around four minutes, but the full album version runs a little over six minutes. The song topped the Hot 100 and has now become known as his signature song, thanks, in part, to a highly popular video. It was originally intended to be a duet with Chaka Khan. However, her record company at the time wouldn't grant her a release to work on Palmer's label, Island Records. Chaka Khan is still credited for the vocal arrangements in the album liner notes. The guitar part on the song is played by Andy Taylor, then a member of Duran Duran. Palmer met Taylor when they were both members of supergroup The Power Station. The video featured Palmer singing in front of a "band" of beautiful women who looked exactly alike. They wore lots of make-up and identical clothing as they pretended to play the instruments. The video became an icon of the '80s, and is constantly parodied. The funny thing about the video was that the models posing as a band were selected precisely because they did NOT know how to play the instruments. As a result, each girl was keeping her own time and moving to a different beat. The girls in the video were not Palmer's idea. They were filmed separately and edited behind clips of Palmer singing.

Tarzan Boy – Baltimora

Baltimora was an Italian New Wave band active in the mid and late ‘80s. Jimmy McShane, from Northern Ireland, was the frontman and Maurizio Bassi sang lead vocals on all the group's songs, which were written mostly by Bassi and Naimy Hackett. Baltimora is often considered a one-hit wonder because their international success with this single, overshadowed their proceeding efforts. This song is about being free and doing what you want. No hustle and bustle of the city, just the freedom of the jungle. The song was featured in a commercial for Listerine mouthwash which featured the jungle chorus of the song under an animated bottle of Listerine swinging from vines and was used in the movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 and Beverly Hills Ninja. Unfortunately, McShane died of AIDS in 1995 at age 37.

At This Moment – Billy Vera and the Beaters

Billy Vera was born William McCord Jr. Billy Vera & the Beaters was started in 1981 "just to have some fun." A band member remembered this song and suggested recording it for their first album. The song was written in 1977, but no one wanted to record it, although Dionne Warwick and Olivia Newton-John came close to doing so. Vera and his band finally released it in 1981 as the followup to "I Can Take Care of Myself" on the Japanese-owned Alfa label. The band's second LP was issued and three weeks later, Alfa pulled out of the US and stopped distribution. However, the song was revived when it was used in three episodes of Family Ties in 1985 and 1986, as a backdrop for romantic interludes between Alex P. Keaton (played by Michael J. Fox) and Ellen Reed (played by Tracy Pollan, who became Fox's wife in real life). Vera told American Songwriter magazine March/April 1988 the story behind this song: "I wrote about the first 2/3 of it one day and I usually write one song in one day. And if it can't keep my interest in one day I figure it's no good. But this one I just put it aside. For some reason I just couldn't come up with an ending for it. A girl I had just started dating told me about breaking up with her boyfriend and she was very articulate about it so I wrote it from his point of view. But I couldn't finish it. So about a year later when we broke up I knew what the ending should be.”

West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys

Originally calling themselves West End, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe changed their band name to Pet Shop Boys, which derived from some friends who worked in a pet shop. They said that the new name "sounded like an English rap group." Tennant said in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, "We arrived in the studio and Bobby O had programmed Michael Jackson's “Billie Jean” drum pattern. Chris started to play along and I started playing chords. In terms of the lyrics, the inspiration for West End Girls came from The Message by Grandmaster Flash. I remember once staying at my cousin's house in Nottingham and we were watching some kind of gangster film with James Cagney, and just as I was dropping off to sleep, the lines 'sometimes you're better off dead, there's a gun in your hand and it's pointing to your head' came into my head and I thought 'that's quite good' so I went off to find a pen. Another influence was TS Eliot's poem The Wasteland. Said Tennant: "What I like about it is, it's the different voices, almost a sort of collage. All the different voices and languages coming in and I've always found that very powerful. So on West End Girls its different voices. The line 'Just you wait till I get you home' is a direct quotation. The lyric "From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station" refers to the train route taken by Vladimir Lenin when he was smuggled by the Germans to Russia during World War I, and to Edmund Wilson's book on the subject, To the Finland Station. There is further Russian Revolution imagery in the Bobby Orlando produced version of the single, which includes the line, "All your stopping, stalling and starting, / Who do you think you are, Joe Stalin?"; this line was removed for the 1985 version. Neil Tennant has a degree in history and his interest in Russian history is evident in many other Pet Shop Boys projects, such as their soundtrack to the silent film The Battleship Potemkin. Although they have never been able to match the success in America that they had with “West End Girls,” the Pet Shop Boys continue to top the charts in Britain. Their latest LP, Fundamental, was released in 2006 and scored in the top 10 throughout Europe.

Live Is Life – Opus

Opus is an Austrian pop-rock group from Graz which was formed in 1973, and is still active today. In late1985 they released "Live Is Life" which topped the charts in many countries, and a live recording of the song even made the Top 40 in the USA. It reached No 6 in the UK charts and stayed in the charts for 15 weeks. The track remains popular as a sing-along song for crowds at sports events in Europe. Cover versions were also performed by Starkoo, Laibach, Hungarian band Tormentor, Estonian band Kuldne Trio (Laip is Laip) and also DJ Ötzi, as a guest, released a version with the Hermes House Band in 2003. This version stalled at No 50 in the UK charts.

Holding Back the Years – Simply Red

"Holding Back the Years" is the 7th track of Simply Red's debut album Picture Book. The song was a smash success for the group and quickly rose to the top of charts across the world. It remains their most successful single. The single is one of two Simply Red songs (the other being their cover of "If You Don't Know Me by Now") to reach number one on the Hot 100. Simply Red is singer Mick Hucknall ("Red" was his nickname because of his red hair). Hucknall wrote this in his bedroom at his father's house while he was still a teenager recorded this in 1979 with his band The Frantic Elevators. However, the chorus did not come to him until many years later. His mother left him when he was three; the upheaval caused by this event inspired him to write the song. The video for this song was filmed in the English coastal town of Whitby and the famous scene where Hucknall watches the coastal view from his window can be seen on the cover of the single. Although no longer popular in the States, Simply Red continues to have tremendous success abroad, scoring 31 top 40 songs in Britain. Their latest studio release, Stay, was certified gold in 2007.

Life in a Northern Town – Dream Academy

Dream Academy members Nick Laird-Clowes and Gilbert Gabriel wrote this as a tribute to Nick Drake, with references to where he grew up in England. Drake was 26 years old when he died of an antidepressant overdose which may have been suicide. His work was very influential to many British musicians and songwriters, and his legend grew after his death. At the end of this song, where the protagonist leaves on a train, it is a reference to Drake's death. David Gilmour from Pink Floyd helped produce this album with Nick Laird-Clowes. Dream Academy's record label didn't want to release this song; they felt it needed more drums. The band refused and it became a worldwide hit. This was covered by country acts Sugarland, together with Little Big Town and Jake Owen on the Sugarland Change for Change Tour. Their performance was played live at the 2008 CMT Music Awards and this rendition began receiving airplay on country radio. Three months after debuting on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it entered the Hot 100 listing. This represented the first Top 40 chart entry for both Little Big Town and Jake Owen.

Getting to the Point – Electric Light Orchestra

Balance of Power was the last studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra for a period of over 15 years (until Zoom was released in 2001). By this time Kelly Groucutt had departed and the group was pared down to a trio, with Jeff Lynne handling bass (in addition to his usual guitar work) and more dabbling with electronic percussion and synthesisers. ELO played some live concerts in the UK and Europe (their last for fifteen years), and in one UK show George Harrison performed as guest guitarist. The video for this song was shot in Paris, and contains shots of the band playing in front of Centre Georges Pompidou. A number of "ELO firsts" can be attributed to this album: it was the first ELO album not to feature any strings whatsoever; the first to feature a saxophone solo; and the band's first compact disc issued. The album, in its original form, is also the shortest album in the ELO catalogue. The album featured their last top 40 hit, “Calling America,” as well as the single, “So Serious.” “Getting to the Point” is a classic Jeff Lynne tune which features his haunting vocals and and rich harmonies.

I’m Not the One – The Cars

The Cars were at the forefront in merging 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synth-oriented pop that was then becoming popular and which would flower in the early 1980s. Created by Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr, they were soon joined by guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson. After spending the winter of 1976–77 playing all over New England, developing, honing, and ultimately perfecting the songs that would become their debut album. The band caught the attention of Maxanne Sartori, a local DJ on WBCN-FM, who began playing their demo of "Just What I Needed." By virtue of that airplay, the band was signed to Elektra Records. "Just What I Needed" would turn out to be the first single from the band’s debut album, The Cars, released in 1978 and reaching #18 on the Billboard album chart. After three more successful albums, the band hit paydirt with their 1984 album Heartbeat City, which featured 5 top 40 songs (“You Might Think,” “Magic,” “Drive,” “Hello Again” and “Why Can’t I Have You”). Following this album, the band released the The Cars Greatest Hits. This album featured the top 10 smash “Tonight She Comes” and “I’m Not the One,” which stalled at #32. Unfortunately, their next album Door to Door turned out to be their last. Although rumors of a possible reunion were rampant over the years, it never materialized. Ocasek continues to perform as a solo artist, having released over seven studio albums. David Robinson has retired from music and spends most of his time with his restaurant. Benjamin Orr died of pancreatic cancer on October 3, 2000. In 2005, Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes combined their talents with Todd Rundgren, Prairie Prince (The Tubes, Utopia), and Kasim Sulton (Utopia, Meat Loaf) in a revamped lineup, The New Cars, to perform classic Cars songs along with selections from Rundgren's solo work and some new original material.

I'll Be Over You – Toto

Toto guitarist Steve Lukather wrote this with Randy Goodrum, who is a popular Nashville songwriter who co-wrote "Oh Sherrie" (Steve Perry) and "If She Would Have Been Faithful..." (Chicago). According to Goodrum, they came up with this after being asked to write a song for Julio Iglesias. Says Goodrum: "Neither one of us were fans of Julio Iglesias at all. And we could not imagine writing something… we thought we would offend both of our muses and they would never come back. We weren't snobs, it just wasn't us. We said, 'Look, we're going to be writing today. We'll keep that in mind.' So we sat down and we tried to think of something kind of Julio-ish. Steve was messing around with piano, and I was sitting over there with a note pad, and maybe in a petulant way, just purposely wrote this non-Julio lyric. And right away we started messing with it. I played Luke the lyrics that I had, (singing) 'Some people live their dreams...' And he just was floored. And he said, 'We gotta stay with this.' I said, 'Well, you realize we have left Julio land, we are no longer writing a song for Julio.' He said, 'No, that's okay.' So we went on and we wrote what ended up being 'I'll Be Over You.' This song is notable for its cold vocal intro, which is rare in a hit Pop song. Says Goodrum, "Apparently Jeff (Porcaro) had the demo in his earphones, and I think he put the drums down listening to the demo, and then they built it around that, which is interesting, because in the demo there are two bars out front of the drum pattern: (singing) 'tum tum ta ta ta ta, some people…' And so if he was using that as a count-in there wouldn't be a way to play an intro. So that may be why there's a cold start on the record. Even though I think the cold start is one of the coolest things about the Toto record.” Although Toto continues writing, recording and performing, “I’ll be Over You” was their last top 20 hit – climbing up to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bonus Track

Lives in the Balance – Jackson Browne

Lives in the Balance was Jackson Browne’s eighth studio album and the first one where overtly political and socially critical songs dominated, although it also included one of his best remembered songs about relationships, the tragic "In the Shape of a Heart", inspired by his relationship with his first wife. The radio play garnered by "For America" and "In the Shape of a Heart", and the use of "Lives in the Balance" in the show Miami Vice, gained him many new fans who later went back and discovered Browne's earlier works. This song (the unplugged version is presented here) is one of the more outwardly critical songs Browne has written, cryptically implicating the US government in spreading worldwide misery and war. Of course, this is one point of view and not the whole picture. But his poignancy and passion elicit tremendous emotions through his voice and is a must-hear for anyone who follows his music.

I have a friend who is Gay and he recently got married in California. The truth is, issues regarding homosexuality never concerned me. As far as I'm concerned, the government should have no say what goes on in a bedroom (as long as it isn't illegal). However, I do believe in the rule of law. I expressed my congratulations to him because I was truly happy for him. My feeling is that he should express his commitment in whatever legal means available. His marriage does not affect my life other than the fact that he is my friend and I wish him well.

From my perspective, marriage is a religious institution. If not for religious observance, this argument would have never been considered. Why else are most marriage ceremonies (historically) been conducted in front of a Priest, Minister or Rabbi (or any number of religious leaders)? Only in recent times have marriages (before a justice of the peace) been made civilly.

But regardless whether or not that is still true, we live in a democratic republic. Therefore, being that the government has seen to it to put the matter to vote, we must abide by the decision of the voters. Of course, the opponents of Prop 8 will tell you it's a civil rights issue. But that simply is not true. This is not similar to the issues of Black equality - or any other equality. The right to marriage exists for everyone. No one is being discriminated against.

The word "tolerance" springs up now and then. But who is really being intolerant? When Barack Obama won the election a couple of weeks ago, those who voted against him did not protest and/or sue to change the results. What we have done is we accepted the outcome and will go to whatever extent necessary to appeal to Americans to change their minds when the next election comes around. But that isn't good enough for the militant Gay community and that is simply wrong.

Once again, Thomas Sowell makes the case far better than I can:

The Right to Win

Among the many new "rights" being conjured out of thin air, a new one seems to be a "right" to win.

Americans have long had the right to put their candidates and their ideas to a vote. Now there seems to be a sense that your rights have been trampled on if you don't win.

Hillary Clinton's supporters were not merely disappointed, but outraged, when she lost the Democrats' nomination to Barack Obama. Some took it as a sign that, while racial barriers had come down, the "glass ceiling" holding down women was still in place.

Apparently, if you don't win, somebody has put up a barrier or a ceiling. The more obvious explanation of the nomination outcome was that Obama ran a better campaign than Hillary. There is not the slightest reason to doubt that she would have been the nominee if the votes in the primaries had come out her way.

As the election approached, pundits warned that, if Obama lost, there would be riots in the ghetto. We will never know. But since when does any candidate have a right to win any office, much less the White House?

The worst of all the reactions from people who act as if they have a right to win have come from gay activists in the wake of voter rejection of so-called "gay marriage," which is to say, redefining what marriage has meant for centuries.

Blacks and Mormons have been the main targets of the gay activists' anger. Seventy percent of blacks voted against gay marriage in California, so racial epithets were hurled at blacks in Los Angeles— not in black neighborhoods, by the way.

Blacks who just happened to be driving through Westwood, near UCLA, were accosted in their cars and, in addition to being denounced, were warned, "You better watch your back."

Even blacks who were carrying signs in favor of gay marriage were denounced with racial epithets.

In Michigan, an evangelical church service was invaded and disrupted by gay activists, who also set off a fire alarm, because evangelicals had dared to exercise their right to express their opinions at the polls.

In Oakland, California, a mob gathered outside a Mormon temple in such numbers that officials shut down a nearby freeway exit for more than three hours.

In their midst was a San Francisco Supervisor who said "The Mormon church has had to rely on our tolerance in the past, to be able to express their beliefs." He added, "This is a huge mistake for them. It looks like they've forgotten some lessons."

Apparently Mormons don't have the same rights as other Americans, at least not if they don't vote the way gay activists want them to vote.

There was another gay activist mob gathered outside a Mormon temple in Orange County, California.

In the past, gay activists have disrupted Catholic services and their "gay pride" parades in San Francisco have crudely mocked nuns.

While demanding tolerance from others, gay activists apparently feel no need to show any themselves.

How did we get to this kind of situation?

With all the various groups who act as if they have a right to win, we got to the present situation over the years, going back to the 1960s, where the idea started gaining acceptance that people who felt aggrieved don't have to follow the rules or even the law.

"No justice, no peace!" was a slogan that found resonance.

Like so many slogans, it sounds good if you don't stop and think— and awful if you do.

Almost by definition, everybody thinks their cause is just. Does that mean that nobody has to obey the rules? That is called anarchy.

Nobody is in favor of anarchy. But some people want everybody else to obey the rules, while they don't have to.

What they want is not decisive, however. It is what other people are willing to tolerate that determines how far any group can go.

When the majority of the people become like sheep, who will tolerate intolerance rather than make a fuss, then there is no limit to how far any group will go.

I walked across, an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth, beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when, you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.

I came across, a fallen elm tree,
I felt the branches; are they looking at me?
Is this the place, we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when, you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
So if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go, somewhere only we know
Somewhere only we know.

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So, tell me when you gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
So if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything.
So why don't we go, so why don't we go.

Hmmm yeahh.

This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go, somewhere only we know,
Somewhere only we know
Somewhere only we know.

Boy, was it nice to see Tony Romo back in action last night. While a 14-10 win is nothing to write home about, what I watched last night was the best game the Cowboy's defense has played in quite some time. Plus, just by being in the lineup, Romo added that enthusiastic edge the team had been missing since he went down with a broken finger.

The players of the game, however, was not as John Madden and Al Michaels suggested (Marion Barber and Jay Ratliff). While both had outstanding games, the true star of last night's game was Terrance Newman. T-New's return to the lineup - after having surgery to repair a sports hernia - was the big difference. In his last game against the Redskins, his injury caused him to get burned time and again by Santana Moss. But last night was a different story, as Newman blanketed Moss the whole game and also intercepted a pass at a crucial time.

I am loathe to say the Cowboys are back just yet. However, their next two games are both at home - against the 49ers and the Seahawks, on Thanksgiving. Should they beat these two losing teams, which they should, they will be 8-4 and clearly in the thick of things.

Having Romo, Newman, Kyle Kosier and Felix Jones all healthy makes a huge difference. In addition, another week of healing for Jason Witten, who suffered a broken rib three weeks ago, will allow this team to play to their capabilities. Although the Giants, Panthers, Bucs and Cardinals all have a superior record, aside from New York I don't believe any of these teams are better than Dallas. The Cardinals did defeat Dallas while the 'Boys were less than healthy and the Cowboys beat the Buccaneers. The Giants, on the other hand, are currently the class of the conference and should end up winning the division.

But stranger things have happened to teams. If the injury bug that plagued the Cowboys should hit the Giants, well I would expect they would suffer like Dallas did.

*********************

So according to a number of media outlets, President-Elect Barack Obama will be pursuing the Saudi peace plan first proposed in 2004. You know the one - where Israel returns to the Auschwitz borders.

The plan calls for Israel to return the Golan Heights to Syria and the West Bank to not Jordan, the nation who controlled it prior to 1967, but to the poor Palestinians who want nothing less but to live in peace and harmony next to their Jewish neighbors.

I mean, isn't that why - when Israel gave back the Gaza Strip (that Egypt relinquished it's rights to) - the peace-loving Arabs have sent in thousands of rockets inside the "acceptable" borders.

Has it occurred to no one that once you make this deal that the Arabs will turn around and want more? Hasn't that happened EVERY SINGLE TIME??? What makes Obama, Olmert, Livni, et al believe for a second that this will change one bit?

But forget about the foolishness of accepting this plan. Isn't this the same Barack Obama who said this a mere 6 months ago:

"...and Jerusalem must remain the capital and it must remain undivided."

In case you don't believe Obama actually said that, here is the video.

Once again, hope and change rear it's ugly head.

I'll tell you what, I will agree that Israel should return all the land it won in war the minute Obama gives back Texas to the Mexicans. Oh wait - better not give him any ideas.

*********************

Is there a reason PBS still exists? We live in a democratic republic, so why do we need "public broadcasting?" Regardless of the value of Sesame Street, PBS has forever been a liberal organization that exists only because the government tells us it must. If it were not paid for completely by John Q. Public, it would have been very short-lived due to it's inability to attract a minuscule audience. For some reason, we have all been led to believe that just having PBS somehow makes us more cultured

Bull.

In the mean time, in it's latest installment (which I'm sure will be watched by literally 10's of people), "Nova" has decided it's finally time to debunk that fictional story of the Bible. Here is their description of this "must-wretch" TV show:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Bill Maher, on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher," frequently refers to the Old Testament of the Bible as the Book of Jewish Fairy Tales. The description might anger the pious and the fundamentalists, but guess what? Maher's close to the truth.

A visually stunning two-hour special edition of "Nova" examines decades of archaeological studies that contradict much of what is in the Bible. The entire Exodus story is debunked, as is the idea that the Israelites were monotheistic following the contract made between God and Abraham. It turns out idol worship was common through the reign of King David and right up to the Babylonian exile.

Is the Bible the word of God? Only if God dictated it to dozens, maybe hundreds, of different writers, each of whom wrote and modified stories using different patterns of language over a period of centuries.

To be sure, writer-producer-director Gary Glassman does not dismiss the Old Testament as a collection of fairy tales. He asserts that the stories, though provably false in many cases, were intended to give identity to the Israelites, a group likely made up of former Canaanites, nomads and runaway slaves. Also, the Bible provided the Israelites with a moral framework.

The special, narrated by Liev Schreiber, is not likely to sit well with those who believe that the Bible, despite its internal inconsistencies, should be interpreted literally. Then again, science and religion have had a long history of conflict until, ultimately, the former prevails.

I can almost feel the earth shaking beneath me. So, according to what we, the American public, are financing, the Bible is nothing but a collection of fairy tales.

Look, I could care less what LA whackos have to say about religion or the Bible. But the fact that I have to pay for this garbage is just too much. If public schools are forbidden from teaching creationism in schools, then PBS should be forbidden to discuss it on TV. Plain and simple. But liberals don't see it that way. They don't want true "fairness." If they did, they would demand the "Fairness Doctrine" to affect television as well as radio.

True fairness would be to accept every compelling idea as equal. That would mean that creationism be taught alongside evolution. Sex education would teach about prevention And abstention. What the liberals want is to have our way and our ideas silenced.

Just ask Joe the plumber.

10 Great Songs from One Great Year

1979

The decade that began with the turbulence of the Vietnam War ended with the growing rise of fundamentalist Islam. 53 American citizens were taken hostage by the Iranian Ayatollah when the Shah of Iran was exiled. All told, this was a very strange year for President Jimmy Carter. In March, the nuclear reactor at Three-Mile Island experiences a partial meltdown. In April, the President is attacked by a swamp rabbit, while fishing near his Plains, GA home. On the other hand, along with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Carter signs the historic peace treaty between the two rival nations.

The year saw the worst airline disaster in American history as American Airlines 191, a Boeing DC-10, crashes soon after take-off, killing 271 people on board and two on the ground.

The year in sports belonged to the city of Pittsburgh, as the both the Steelers and the Pirates won the championship.

The year ended on a sad note as eleven fans were killed in a stampede at a Who concert in Cincinnati, Ohio. Festival seating was blamed and was soon outlawed in arenas across the country. And in harbingers to things to come, Chrysler Motors asks for $1 billion in order to avoid bankruptcy, Los Angeles passes it’s first homosexual rights bill and the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

Driver’s Seat – Sniff’n the Tears

The song is not really about the joys of driving, according to the official Sniff'n The Tears website. Rather, it is about the fragmented, conflicting emotions that occur after the end of a relationship. The line "The news is blue. I'll never remember my time with you" points out the difficulty of imagining never being with the significant other again. The genesis of the song dates back to 1973 and a demo tape recorded for a French record label by singer/guitarist Paul Roberts for the band Ashes of Moon. However, that band broke up and, at the suggestion of drummer Luigi Salvoni, Roberts reformed it as Sniff 'n' the Tears with guitarists Laurence "Loz" Netto and Nick Dyche and bassist Nick South. They shopped the demo tape and signed with the small Chiswick label in 1977. One of the key decisions made during the recording of “Driver's Seat” was to start the song with Roberts' acoustic guitar and drums and gradually fade in other instruments. “Driver's Seat” reached #15 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1979, and charted strongly throughout Europe. As a testament to the song's durability, it reappeared at #1 on the Dutch singles chart thirteen years later as a result of use of the song in a Volkswagen commercial.

Chuck E's In Love - Rickie Lee Jones

Born in Chicago, Jones grew up in a family she has described as "lower-middle-class-hillbilly-hipster." After moving around a lot as a child, her family finally settled in Venice, California, at the age of eighteen in 1973. She earned her living by waiting tables and playing at local clubs as she began to take her songwriting more seriously. During the mid-1970s, Jones met her long-time collaborator and one-time beau Sal Bernardi, as well as Tom Waits (who became her lover) and Chuck E. Weiss, who would inspire this folksy love song which struck the right cord in its time. It remains her biggest hit. While the follow up to “Chuck E’s in Love” also hit the top 40 (“Youngblood” reached no higher than #40), Jones continues to write and record and was last heard from on 1997’s The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard, which debuted at #158 on the Billboard 200

You're Only Lonely - J. D. Souther

Souther was greatly influenced by fellow Texan Roy Orbison, whose sound he tried to emulate. Following his move to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he met a young guitarist from Detroit named Glenn Frey. They bonded over their Detroit (although raised in Amarillo, Texas, he was born in Detroit) roots and a common love of country and R&B music. In short order, they began working together while sharing a small apartment in Los Angeles' Echo Park area (their downstairs neighbor was Jackson Browne with whom both Souther and Frey would collaborate on numerous projects). After collaborating with the Eagles (“New Kid in Town”, Best of My Love” and “Heartache Tonight”) writing songs for several of Linda Ronstadt's multi-platinum albums, Souther finally hit it big on his own with “You’re Only Lonely.” This song was just one of three chart singles for the singer-songwriter (“Her Town, Too”, with James Taylor in 1981 and “Go Ahead and Rain” in 1984). In addition to recording music, he also played several acting roles, including the character of John Dunaway in the (1989–1990) third season of the television drama “thirtysomething” and Ted in the film “Postcards from the Edge” (1990). On October 14, 2008, Souther released If the World Was You, his first new release in 25 years.

You Can’t Change That – Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio

Raydio was the vehicle for the start of Ray Parker Jr.’s meteoric rise to stardom. After scoring a big hit the previous year with “Jack & Jill,” Parker went back to same formula that had worked so well, with “You Can’t Change That.” Originally a sideman for Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra, Parker appeared briefly in the 1974 film "Uptown Saturday Night" as a guitar player. Parker also wrote songs and did session work for The Carpenters, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder (an association which prompted a permanent move to Los Angeles), Deniece Williams, Jean-Luc Ponty, Leon Haywood, Temptations, The Spinners, Boz Scaggs, Rhythm Heritage, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Honey Cone, Herbie Hancock and Diana Ross, before creating Raydio in 1978. The following year, the band changed their name to “Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio and they had three more top 40 hits with “Two Places at the Same Time” (#30), “That Old Song” (#21) and “A Woman Needs Love” (#4). Raydio broke up in 1981, while Parker continued with his solo career, scoring six Top 40 hits, including the hit single "The Other Woman" (# 4) in 1982 and "Ghostbusters," which went #1 in the summer of 1984. After a 15-year hiatus from recording, during which he moved back to Detroit to care for is ailing parents, get married and raise four children, Parker finally returned to the studio to release the album I’m Free, in 2006.

Lotta Love - Nicolette Larson

Born in Helena, Montana, Larson got her start singing with Hoyt Axton's band and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. She worked as a session vocalist for Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Young, Christopher Cross, Little Feat, Mary Kay Place, The Dirt Band, The Beach Boys, Pure Prairie League, and The Doobie Brothers. “Lotta Love” was origianny wriiten and recorded by Neil Young on his 1978 LP Comes the Time. The song is best known for its cover version sung and released by Larson, which peaked at #8 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart in February 1979, as well as hitting #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. Larson died on December 16, 1997 in Los Angeles as a result of complications arising from cerebral edema. She is survived by her husband, the drummer Russ Kunkel, and her daughter Elsie May Larson-Kunkel.

Cool Change - Little River Band

The Little River Band were the first Australian rock group to enjoy sustained commercial success in the United States. During their career the band have sold more than 25 million records and scored 13 American Top 40 hits. Led by lead singer Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goble and Beeb Birtles, the group found immediate success in Australia, but individual members had greater ambitions and they disbanded. Eventually, the band came back together and reformed in order to crete a market for their music in the States. Fueled by a very successful Australian hit single "Curiosity Killed the Cat", the band began making promotional visits to the U.S. in 1976. This resulted in a U.S. hit single, "It's a Long Way There,” which broke into the Top 30 and galvanized the commitment of the band members. More concert performances in the US followed, and in 1977 "Help Is on Its Way" and "Happy Anniversary" both narrowly missed the US Top 10. From 1978 until 1981, Little River Band achieved six consecutive US Top 10 singles with "Reminiscing" (#3, their biggest hit), "Lady" (#10), "Lonesome Loser" (#6), "Cool Change" (#10), "The Night Owls" (#6) and "Take It Easy on Me" (#10). During their career the band has sold more than 25 million records and has scored 13 American Top 40 hits. In May 2001 the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named "Cool Change" as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. Although the Little River Band continues to work in the US and performs around 100 shows every year, the three original members are no longer a part of the band and are forbidden to perform using the band’s name and often appear together as Birtles Shorrock Goble: The Original Voices of Little River Band.

What A Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers

Kenny Loggins co-wrote this and put a version of it on his 1978 album Nightwatch. He finished his recording of it before the Doobies finished theirs, and his album was released 5 months earlier than Minute by Minute. While he was waiting for Loggins to arrive at his home, McDonald played some of the songs that were "in progress" and asked his sister Maureen which she thought was best. As Loggins was getting out of his car, he heard McDonald playing a fragment of this. According to Loggins, he heard about three-quarters of the verse's melody (no lyrics), but McDonald stopped at the bridge. Loggins' mind continued without a break... and the song's bridge was born. Then Loggins knocked on the door, introduced himself to McDonald, and demonstrated the bridge that he devised before the two of them could sit down. The lyrics were finished over the telephone the next day. This won Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The album won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. They were the only Grammys the band ever won. This was the band's second US #1, after "Black Water." The Doobie Brothers took on a different sound when they lost lead singer Tom Johnston due to illness in the mid-70s. Instead of the album Rock they were known for, they had more of a Soft Rock sound with Michael McDonald as lead singer.

The Logical Song – Supertramp

The lyrics are about how the innocence and wonder of childhood can quickly give way to worry and cynicism as children are taught to be responsible adults. It makes the point that logic can restrict creativity and passion. This featured the sound of a then-popular handheld electronic football game which predated Nintendo. The specific byte occurs near the end with the word "digital." The sound itself indicated a player had lost control of the football. Breakfast in America is the sixth album, and most popular album by the British band, scoring four hits singles – including “Take the Long Way Home,” “Goodbye Stranger,” “Breakfast in America” and “The Logical Song.” The band, formed in 1970 by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, only found moderate success after Breakfast in America. However, they found relevance again recently with the remake of “Give a Little Bit” by the Goo-Goo Dolls and Gym Class Heroes sampling of “Breakfast in America.”

The Sad Café – Eagles

This song was written about The Troubadour, which is a music club in Los Angeles on Santa Monica Boulevard where many fledgling musicians would congregate. Don Henley and Glenn Frey met there and became friends, later began writing together and eventually recruited Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner to form a back up band for Linda Ronstadt. This band eventually became the Eagles. The line, "I don't know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free" is a reference to how some people are lucky enough to get a break while other equally talented people don't and has always been one of the most resonating lines in rock history. This was the final track on The Long Run, which until the Eagles reformed in 1994 and released Hell Freezes Over, was their final album. It's a poignant song ending with a haunting sax solos.

Diary of Horace Wimp – Electric Light Orchestra

This is about a guy who has trouble finding a wife because he is shy and always late. Eventually he finds a girl and marries her. This was recorded at the Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. Group leader Jeff Lynne sang the lead vocals, played lead and rhythm guitar, the piano and the synthesizer. The song was Beatlesque in nature and became a Top Ten hit in the UK. The lyrics omit the day Saturday this is because as explained by Jeff Lynne “The football match is played on a Saturday.” Discovery was the band's first No. 1 album in the UK, entering the chart at that position and staying there for five weeks. The LP contained five hit songs in "Shine a Little Love," "Don't Bring Me Down," "Last Train to London", "Confusion" and "The Diary of Horace Wimp", many of which were heavily influenced by disco (in fact, Richard Tandy came up with its well known nickname, “Disco Very”). The album itself was the first ever to generate four top-ten singles from a single LP in the UK and was eventually certified 2x platinum by the RIAA in 1997. Discovery is notable in that it was the first ELO album not to feature their resident string trio of Mik Kaminski, Hugh McDowell and Melvyn Gale, although they did make an appearance on the Discovery music videos that were created as a substitute for a live concert tour. Shortly afterwards, the members of the string section were deemed surplus to the band's requirements and dismissed (although Mik Kaminski did return for the Time Tour in 1981-82, and as a performer on the 1983 album Secret Messages.

Bonus Track

Spirits (Having Flown) – Bee Gees

Spirits Having Flown is the Bee Gees' thirteenth original album, released in 1979. It was the group's first album after the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The album sold 16 million copies worldwide. The album's first three tracks – “Too Much Heaven”, “Tragedy” and (Love You) Inside and Out” - went to number one in the US. The title track (which, unlike the album title, includes brackets) was also released as a single in the UK and a few other countries in December 1979. It reached No. 16 in the UK chart in January 1980, but its relatively low chart position and its somewhat limited release means that, although it is a well known track, it is often absent from Bee Gees Greatest Hits compilations. The exception is Bee Gees Greatest released in 1979 (for which the single was issued to promote). This compilation was reissued on CD in 2007. Since the Bee Gees were the quintessential disco band and since this was the very end of the disco era, I felt that the list would not be complete without acknowledging the Bee Gees incredible string of number one hits in the late 70’s. Ironically, “Spirits” (Having Flown) is the only non-disco song on the album and is the only one to stand the test of time.