Baseball, Politics and Pain (the connection)

Baseball season is coming up very soon and if the past few weeks of Spring training is any indication, the Texas Rangers are in position to lose a lot of games. Besides playing badly, their suddenly piss-poor pitching staff looks to be a weak spot on this team. But what really has my pessimism roaring is the injury bug. They had already lost Derek Holland for 2-3 months, as well as Matt Harrison (coming off of major back surgery) and Colby Lewis (trying to come back after getting injured during last season). In addition, Neftali Perez is nowhere near ready to return to any meaningful playtime and last season's set-up man, Tanner Scheppers is being moved to the rotation, leaving a huge void that needs to be filled.

You may consider that the additions of Shin-Soo Choo and Prince Fielder will help this team. Had the Rangers been able to have Choo for last season, the team would have easily won the AL West. As for Fielder, his numbers were down considerably last season and it's possible that the trade of Ian Kinsler for Prince is but a wash. Personally, I believe that Fielder will have a great season attacking the short right field porch at the Ballpark in Arlington (Oops, I mean Globe Life Ballpark, or whatever they named it).

Now comes word that Jurickson Profar may miss up to 2-3 months with a shoulder injury.

Bad luck does seem to follow these local teams a lot. Between the Cowboys, Rangers and Mavericks, it seems that lady luck is definitely not on her side. For those of us who have been consistently watching these teams for the past 20 years, this should come as no surprise. I really just hope that by the time the Rangers get their players healthy again, that there is still time on the schedule to make a legitimate run. But right now, I do not feel too optimistic.

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I can't tell if Nancy Pelosi is truly delusional, or of she is simply saying what she needs to say to keep her party together. Being that she is a life-long politician, I have to give her the benefit of the doubt. As for Harry Reid, well that man is just bat-shit crazy.

It may seem deadly obvious, but it really is time for French Jews to get the hell out of France. If this story doesn't show them what the future holds, nothing will. And while we're at it, keep praying for the Jews in the Ukraine. Nothing spells gloom and doom for Jews than a Russian civil war. As was in the past, the Jews will be scapegoated first. I hope it isn't too late for British Jews, as well. I have said this prophecy before and it still scares the crap out of me - but I fear the day the Queen will be forced out to the courtyard at Buckingham Palace to be executed by the Muslim majority. They have invited the beast to dine without realizing they are on the menu. I just hope it doesn't happen in my lifetime (or my children). But you have to know that this is the goal of Islam 4 UK, the illegal Muslim group headed by Anjem Choudary. Choudhary is perhaps the most vile and extreme supporter for terrorism in Great Britain. Sadly, England has long since lost her will to survive and Choudary easily fills the void left behind.

Great Britain was once under the power of the Church of England. But two world wars sapped whatever life force the Island once had. Losing that connection to faith, Great Britain simply surrendered that void to Islam and Islam is taking full advantage. Sadly, most European countries have been following in England's path. To be honest, who can blame them? Watching their young soldiers die young in not one, but two great wars was just too much to bear. So better than dying, Europe gave up the fight and basically decided to let the United States fight to protect them. Yes, England and France (and many other European countries) field armies. However, their existence is pitifully weak without America's intervention. And just as sadly, President Obama is committed to weaken the American armed forces as well. But that's a tale for another day.

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There are so many scandals and problems created by the Obama administration that much of it gets dismissed by a cynical populace. Obama's approval is still far higher than it should be, given the bald-faced lies the President has uttered. Include the fact that Mitt Romney was proven correct regarding Russia, one would have to admit that without a sycophant media making sure that Obama is held blameless for anything that occurs during his administration, Obama's approval rating would be somewhere around 25% at best. No doubt the Republicans are partially to blame for this. The problem the GOP has had is picking the right fight to fight. ObamaCare alone should have brought this (or any other President) down. If not thrown out of office, certainly brought up on charges of impeachment. President Bush, and even President Clinton would not have survived the outrageous lies and misdirections perpetrated by the current administration.

Of course, ObamaCare is just the tip of the iceberg. Fast and Furious, IRS targeting, NSA surveillance and extreme cronyism in regard to the $800 million stimulus all individually fall into the "major scandal" category. Of course, for sheer chutzpa, the lies told by Obama, Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice (to just mention the top culprits), are off the charts in regard to the terror attack in Benghazi. Keep in mind, no one died because of Watergate. And even if Benghazi were inevitable, the cover up and lies surrounding the scandal made a tragic situation criminal, as well. There was no reason for Obama, Clinton or Rice to have said anything other than the truth. But to lie about the event when by that tie the real story had been discovered is simply arrogance on the administration's part. It simply showed the American people that the Obama administration holds her citizens in contempt and unworthy of the truth. Seriously, the arrogance of these people easily rival that of LBJ and his contempt for Blacks.

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Today has been a particularly bad day health-wise. The pain from my herniated disk has continued to get worse - to the point that there is no longer a position I can lay down where there is no discomfort. Lifting myself up from a sitting position (like getting out of bed) has gotten progressively more painful. In fact, there have been a few times where I needed help from my son just to stand. I'm only able to walk with a cane to hold me up. I find I can stand in one place for up to 10 minutes, as long as I use a small stool or step under my foot. Driving had been most difficult because of the pain of getting in and out of the car. But now, in addition to that, using the accelerator and brake are becoming equally painful.

So I made an appointment with a neurosurgeon to discuss my options. I really do not want more surgery. But continuing to feel this way is becoming more untenable. So, I guess you should wish me luck as my appointment is in 9 days. Plus, I will get another epidural injection around then, also.

The Case Against the Ground Zero Mosque

I apologize for not writing over the past couple of weeks. Sometimes, life happens and my attention to my writing is just not available. For the three of you who look forward to my posts (I think I'm being optimistic here), my immediate future plans will also keep me away from my blog. So please, bear with me over the next few weeks and I think my writing will start up again then.

And now to the topic....

A lot has been written and said about the plan to build a community center/Mosque near ground zero, in Manhattan. While the left, as well as Mayor Bloomberg (who really has never been confused with being a conservative) have no problem with it, many of us - and not all on the right side of the aisle - do.

What I find sad is that many who do not oppose the project, feel compelled to attack those if us who are opposed as being Islamophobic and racist. Over the weekend, Time magazine's Joe Klein strongly condemned ADL Director Abe Foxman because the Foxman came out against the building of the Islamic Center.

In a Sunday morning blog post Klein condemned Foxman for being "intolerant." But like all good leftists, Klein did not bother to investigate why the ADL opposes the Mosque. As usual, he simply assumes the worst because, I figure, that's how he thinks.

But the reason Foxman opposes the center is not because he doesn't believe Muslims have a right to worship where they want, but because it is a slap in the face to the 9/11 community, who strongly oppose it. Here is the ADL announcement:

The Anti-Defamation League said it rejects any opposition to the center based on bigotry and acknowledged that the group behind the plan, the Cordoba Initiative, has the legal right to build at the site. But the ADL said "some legitimate questions have been raised" about funding and possible ties with "groups whose ideologies stand in contradiction to our shared values."

"Ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right," the ADL said in a statement. "In our judgment, building an Islamic center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain - unnecessarily - and that is not right."

These are two very legitimate concerns. But Klein doesn't answer these questions. Instead, he assumes that anyone who is against this "cultural center" must be a bigot. Why? Because he disagrees with anyone who opposes it and again, as we have been seeing time and again, liberals are never tolerant of the views of those on the right (or in Foxman's case, not left).

The same can be said for the left's strong dislike of Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration laws. It can't be that the right likes this law because ILLEGAL immigration is ILLEGAL.

Of course not. The only possible reason has to be that the right hates Mexicans. Forget about the fact that no one on the right oppose LEGAL immigration from Mexico. That doesn't matter.

As far as the "Cultural Center" is concerned, I have three issues with it:

1. Because of the proximity to the place where Islamic terrorists killed 3,000 Americans, in the name of Islam, the idea of building a place of worship for those who follow this "religion" is a real smack in the face to those who not only lost their lives that day, but those they left behind.

2. As the ADL points out, the funding if this center is very questionable. The head of this center has direct ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, who are strict adherents to the very strain of Islam that brought the towers down. Furthermore, the Brotherhood is recognized worldwide as a terror organization and a supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah.

3. Islam has, over the centuries, used symbolism in all their conquests. When they conquered Jerusalem, they built the Dome of the Rock (Mosque of Omar) on top of the Jewish Temple's ruins. The conversion of the former Byzantine basilica Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey as “Exhibit B” in the symbolism of Islamic conquest. In both instances, the mosques are perceived in the world of Islam as iconic symbols of victory over a beaten, subservient populace. Their importance in Islamic history and current significance relative to the stated objectives of Islam to dominate rather than coexist cannot be overstated, but is unfortunately overlooked or characterized as irrational hyperbole. Such oversight has always had longstanding adverse consequences to nations and their people who have failed to learn from history - (Douglas Hagmann).

All you need for proof is the name of this new Islamic Center - Cordoba House. Cordoba was, of course, the seat of the caliphate established in what is now modern Spain after the Islamic invasion from North Africa in the 8th century A.D. The medieval occupation of Spain – “al-Andalus” – is considered by Islamic theorists to have been an inevitable step in the manifest destiny of Islam, and its eventual reversal through the lengthy European “Reconquista” a tragic but temporary triumph of the infidels. The great mosque at Cordoba was built on the foundation of a Christian cathedral, and when Europeans retook Cordoba in the 13th century they turned the magnificent mosque back into a cathedral (Hot Air).

In addition, I have a question for of those who feel this center is a good idea?

Why? Why does it have to be right where it is? There is no shortage of land to build another Mosque in New York. Furthermore, does it not strike you as insulting that the dedication of this center is on September 11, 2011 - exactly 10 years from the day the towers fell?

I've heard the argument that opposing this center goes against American values? Really? Has there never been an instance where a Church, or a synagogue have been denied? Are there no zoning laws in this country? How about if the Japanese built a cultural center in Honolulu, a few years after Pearl Harbor? Would that be okay? Perhaps, Neo-Nazis should build a cultural center next to Auschwitz. Would that be allowed?

The very fact is that this that many of those in support of this cultural center have no idea what it represents. They are so crippled by political correctness that they can not stop tripping over themselves to prove they aren't "Islamophobic." All the while, those who wish nothing but our submission are laughing themselves silly over our self-destruction.

The madness has to stop and the lines need to be drawn already. If a majority of New Yorkers were for this center, then I would simply say they get what they deserve. But this isn't the case. Overwhelmingly, they are against this travesty and our political elite are once again ruling against the wishes of the very people they have sworn to represent.

This too must end. And it must end now.

Here's an excellent article from James Lewis, at the American Thinker:

Obama and the Rising Mob Against Israel

The Middle East is now teetering on the brink of war because a vast international mob has been loosed, with the tacit approval of Barack Hussein Obama. That is the real meaning of the Gaza martyrdom stunt of May 31, 2010. That purposeful provocation is not past. The Gaza suicide operation is still being used all over the Middle East and Europe to whip up hatred and violence.

As Mark Steyn just reported from a dingy cafe in Morocco,

I can just about make out the plasma TV up in the corner on which Jimmy Carter, dubbed into Arabic, is denouncing Israel. Al Jazeera doesn't so much cover the Zionist Entity as feast on it, hour after hour, without end. So here, at the western frontier of the Muslim world ... the only news that matters is from a tiny strip of land barely wider at its narrowest point than a rural Canadian township way down the other end of the Mediterranean. ... (there is) saturation coverage of the "Massacre In The Med" (as the front page headline in Britain's Daily Mirror put it)."

Iran, Lebanon, and Islamist Turkey have just announced new flotillas to break the Gaza blockade. If they succeed, it will not stop with Gaza. The conquest of Jerusalem and rest of Israel is the target. That is why Ahmadinejad has trained all his life in the "Al-Quds" (Jerusalem) Brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the shock suicide brigade for reconquering Jerusalem. That is why the Hamas flag shows a green Islamic Jerusalem. It is why Kofi Annan at the U.N. proudly posed in front of a map of the Middle East with Israel erased.

Mob psychology has now been loosed upon the world again -- in the European media, the U.N., and the Middle East, all of them against the common scapegoat of Israel.

cartoon by Ronny Gordon

Lynch mobs have a psychology. They need agitators to whip up popular rage against their victims -- like the "community organizers" in Chicago, who once upon a time used to proudly call themselves communist "agitators." But agitators need followers, who do the actual work of running riot, killing, raping, and burning their helpless scapegoats in their homes and businesses. Think ACORN and the Black Panthers.

Finally, mobs need enablers, the authority figures -- the cops, military, and politicos who give the signal that it's now okay to run riot and kill the helpless victims of the moment. Political authorities usually try to control incipient mobs, because their power depends on keeping order. But in Russia and the Dixiecrat South, politicians and cops commonly withdrew their protection at critical moments and signaled the mobs when it was okay to run riot against victim groups like the Jews or the blacks. It happens all over the world, and the race, ethnicity, religion, or wealth of the victims makes no difference. A group label is enough.

Barack Hussein Obama is now playing the biggest role in the mob psychology of the Middle East. Why? Because he is the authority figure who has given the signal that it's okay to attack Israel. That is why Islamist Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran just announced that they are sending new flotillas to challenge Israel's small coastal navy. Intentionally or not, Obama has given the green light for Israel-haters to attack. In fact, this appears to be his strategy to put pressure on Israel to appease the Arabs, Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Fatah, the unappeasable mobs that want only to kill Israel.

That is how Obama's Cairo speech was interpreted by the agitators and mobs of the Middle East. It is how his middle name was interpreted, and how his reported remark to the Egyptian Foreign Minister that "I am a Muslim" is perceived. If Obama really is a Muslim, then he must follow the Quran. Turkish PM Erdogan has openly said that "a Muslim cannot commit genocide" -- because the Quran explicitly demands genocide against infidels who do not surrender to Islam. That is why the Turkish suiciders on the cruise ship Mavi Marmara screamed "Khaibar! Khaibar!" while attacking Jewish commandos rappelling down one by one with paintball guns. Khaibar is the name of a Quranic genocide committed by Mohammed against the Jews. It's like Neo-Nazis screaming "Auschwitz! Auschwitz!"

For almost a century, the United States has been the cop on the world beat, as the British Empire declined and crumbled. The U.S. was the great, civilized power that supported freedom of trade; resistance against the Kaiser, Hitler, and Stalin; relative peace in the third world; and the protection of post-World War Two stability, ranging from Japan and South Korea to Israel and Berlin. Europe today would not exist were it not for American protection; it would be a Soviet colony. India and Pakistan might be in a hot war. China might be attacking Japan to retaliate against the horrors of World War Two, which are constantly repeated in the Chinese media. Ancient hatreds exist all over the world, ready to explode when the cop on the beat gets drunk or just resigns.

The United States has preserved the balance of power and kept it on the side of civilization against the mob. All the feeble regimes in the third world depend upon us to come to their aid against their own mobs and agitators. In fact, those regimes are just the mob agitators who won the last round.

We are the cop on the beat that keeps the world from bloody anarchy. When the president of the United States signals that it's okay to run riot against the scapegoat of the moment, all the tottering regimes know they have to give in to their domestic mob agitators. That's what Mark Steyn was watching on Al Jazeera TV in Algiers.

This is what William Butler Yeats saw during the rise of the Nazis, when he wrote his poem "The Second Coming":

TURNING and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Mob psychology has now been loosed upon the world again. Only an assertive superpower can stop them, and that is the United States. If Obama fails to understand that, the Gulf, Israel, and perhaps the Indian subcontinent will explode.

No to Mohammad, but yes, yes, yes to anti-Semitism

A few weeks ago, Comedy Central was simply just a funny television network. Then, some crackpot Jihadist became offended by the fact that the show "South Park" dared to include Mohammad in a spoof of all religious icons.

Was South Park's humor odious? Absolutely. But because that show is offensive to each religion equally, the sting of it's debasing humor comes across as truly harmless. The fact is, South Park has always pushed the limits of society (or has at least tried to) since it's launching, a number of years ago.

By the same vein, Comedy Central makes no apologies, at least never used to, for it's outrageous comedy. Certainly, with perhaps the exception of Jon Stewart's "Daily Show," is there any anti-religion sentiment that isn't shared amongst all faiths equally.

But then the threats came and the network coward to political correctness. Or perhaps it was cowardice. Whatever it was, Comedy Central pulled the episode in deference (or fear) to Islamic extremists. It didn't matter than Christianity, Judaism and a host of other faiths were lampooned as well. All that did matter, again, was the Islam was held to a different standard.

When the story first broke, the network issued a statement, saying: "In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision."

And what world events were those? Well, I don't have to tell you.

I thought perhaps this little incident would have tamed the networks attacks on religion. Perhaps, in light of the huge scandal, Comedy Central would take a hard look at who they offend.

I was wrong. And in a very big way.

From the Israelinsider:

Comedy Central website has published an anti-semitic game called "I.S.R.A.E.L. Attacks," in which a murderous robot called Israel is called upon to wipe out every cartoon character on the show. The short animated movie that introduces the premise of the game portrays a "Jew Producer" being "busted" for stealing cartoon characters. "I.S.R.A.E.L" is then sent out to destroy them all.

Here is the video of the game. Check it out for yourselves:




So, what does this tell us? Well, for one, making fun of Jews - in an very disturbing, anti-Semitic way (take a look at the way the creator of the robot looks, with the hook nose and greedy eyes) - is a-ok. But to even show any image of "the prophet" is absolutely against their moral code of ethics.

Generally, when some stupid television show makes fun of religion, I don't give a damn. As the old saying goes, I may not like what you say, but I will fight for your right to say it. However, when that show belittles one individual religion - even if it's Islam - it goes over the line.

Yes, Muslims are way too overly sensitive and need to not get all Jihadi over a cartoon depiction of Big Mo. I mean, he was just part of an attack against religion in general. You see, it wasn't as if the show depicted Muslims in a stereotypical way.

And thus lies the problem. It isn't enough that the network finds humor in mocking religions and there icons. But Comedy Central went to a further extreme and licensed a game that is so blatantly anti-Semitic that it makes my skin crawl.

The network, which cowered to Muslim threats of extreme violence, feels no shame whatsoever about debasing not only Judaism, but of Jews individually. That, my friends, is the ultimate in cowardice. And for a network that has so many Jewish people in it's hierarchy, it is way beyond shameful.

Perhaps that's why they did it. After all, so many Jews in the past felt that if we just bow down to the whims of others, they'll treat us better. So what better way to do that than to honor Mohammad, while belittling themselves?

After all, that kind of attitude saved us from the gas chambers, right? Oh, wait.

Comedy Central has really gone over the line and deserves nothing less than a boycott of their shows. I rarely believe that boycotts work, but in this case I feel so angry at their cowardice and egregious anti-Semitism that I will do everything I can do to punish the network as best I can. Certainly, my TV will not turn to the channel, and my family will never watch it again. I will write to their advertisers and demand to be heard. I suggest anyone who finds this kind of "humor" unacceptable to do the same.

The sad truth is this helps explain why Islam is conquering the world. By censoring any mention of Mohammad, they are showing the world - especially the Islamic world - that we respect their religion over our own (and anyone else's). Of course, that only proves to them that their religion is supreme. And that, my friends, is why they are winning.

Consider the situation at Ground Zero. Mayor Bloomberg has not said one word about the plans to build a Mosque on the grounds were 2,996 innocent people were slaughtered by Islamic terrorists. The fact that the dedication of said Mosque is 9/11/2011 - exactly 10 years to the day of the World Trade Center attack notwithstanding. Then, consider the fact that the 9/11 memorial in Shanskville, PA was created in the shape of an Islamic crescent, with the top pointing towards Mecca.

And none of this is by accident, either. Wherever Islam conquers, they defile what was there before. When they conquered Jerusalem, they made a point to build the Mosque of Omar (the Dome of the Rock) right on top of the Jewish Temple. With the building of the Mosque in lower Manhattan, they are doing it again. And if you think this is being built in the name of friendship building between two religion, you are sadly mistaken, I'm afraid. Here is more on the travesty at Ground Zero.

Islam dominates and America has become far to scared to fight it. Whether it be through the feckle behavior of our political leaders, or the cowardice of our media, we are slowly succumbing to the real radical change in society. Political correctness, the cornerstone of liberalism, has neutered our country and created a void in our faith. By allowing Islam to be viewed above all other religions, we are destroying the fabric that create our nation and our heritage. Make no mistake, Islam takes no prisoners.

And clearly, Comedy Central has no clue.

The true face of evil - and now out in the open. Make sure to watch till the end. It should remove any doubts about what the real objective of so-called moderate Islam is.

Why Don't They Get It?

Brain dead. That's what David Horowitz says and I agree with him.

That's the only explanation I can logically deduce about our media, and by extension, our culture.

Or perhaps a better definition is suicidal.

Here we have a man, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim with an Internet site praising Islamic suicide bombers as defenders of their comrades. As an officer in the U.S. Army, he had access to military intelligence and lethal weaponry. In fact, the military was well aware her was an Islamic fundamentalist as e was under investigation for six months because of his anti-American, jihadist rantings.

But despite the fact his beliefs were counter t the very ideals he swore to protect, and despite the fact he was being investigated for his possibly treasonous actions, the U.S. Army allowed him to remain an officer and continue to counsel soldiers, in his job as a psychologist - even after complaints were levied on him for abusing his position by attempting to convert his patients to Islam

Yet the media, and not just here in America, continue to question what possible motive Hasan might have had for the shooting death of 13 soldiers at Ft. Hood. Even when they do mention the fact that he was a "Palestinian," it is often done so with the charge that it is "Islamophobic."

Forget about the fact that had this been a Republican "tea-bagger", there would be no end to the bashing of all things conservative. Keith Olbermann would host a 3 hour special about the "New Nazis - the GOP" (although, in retrospect, I think he does that nightly on MSNBC anyway).

Had this been a Jew, the condemnation of Zionism, about dual-loyalties and about how Jews are filled with bloodlust would lead to another UN resolution and mass self-flagellation of Jews worldwide.

But because Hasan was a Muslim, the press bends over backwards to play dumb and ignore the obvious.

I really appreciated what Mark Steyn wrote on the National Review blog:

The Headline of the Day, from the BBC:

Shooting Raises Fears For Muslims In US Army

Really? Right now the body count stands at:

Non-Muslims 13
Muslims 0

Mr. Horowitz asks, "is everybody out of their mind?"

In response, former CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) news producer, Deborah Gyapong, had this interesting observation:

Yup. And those who aren't out of their mind get banned from university campuses and tracked by human rights commissions.

As Jim Treacher tweeted recently:

If this idiot had been wearing an I Kill Unbelievers 4 the Glory of Allah t-shirt, they'd still be going, "Whuh-whuh-why did he do this?"

Adds Gyapong, "Our culture is suicidal, folks. Somehow the part of us that is still awake has to rouse the lethargic body and grab the phone and call 911. As I said, this is NOT about Muslims. It is about the decay of western civilization and its embrace of some strange death wish. We're the ones who love death---our own."

I'm not sure it is all of us who feel this way. But the same blindness that led to the election of Barack Obama is leading us down a very dark and dangerous street. I was never a fan of Bill Clinton. But I was never afraid about the future of my country when he was President.

This fear is neither Islamophobia, or racism. It is my taking the blinders off and actually looking at the world around us. Unfortunately, our nation has been so deceived by political correctness, we are now impotent to notice.

But there is still yet hope for us. The election results in New Jersey and Virginia confirm that the Obama phenomenon was, as Charles Krauthammer so eloquently stated:

"The '08 election was a historical anomaly. A uniquely charismatic candidate was running at a time of deep war weariness, with an intensely unpopular Republican president, against a politically incompetent opponent, amid the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression. And still he won by only seven points."

It really is no wonder why Nancy Pelosi was so desperate to pass her monstrosity of a health care bill so quickly. She knew darn well that with each passing day, the Obama "mandate" diminishes to nothingness. Even though the bill barely slipped through congress yesterday, the fact that it passed by only 5 votes (in a House that is over 60% Democrat) sends a clear signal that is destined to fail in the Senate.

What all this means is that while the media, and the Obama administration may still have their heads up their proverbial asses, more and more Americans are waking up to reality.

I can only hope it isn't too late.