tongue bath

The Last Temptation of Al Gore

?!???

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani ...has checked into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a series of medical tests that could last for a few weeks, the clinic said on Monday.
He arrived at the medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, on Sunday, the announcement said, “for a comprehensive examination, including a series of medical tests.”

...Talabani, a former Kurdish guerrilla who is in his 70s, had announced earlier this month that he was going to the United States “to undergo general medical checks and to reduce my weight,” according to his office in Iraq.

but it’s obviously notable and made me go wow:

Don’t lead the vulnerable astray

At the risk of falling into the cavern of rigidity, I feel compelled to publicly disassociate myself from Mary Olney-Loyd and the inference she makes that Christians can believe that there are many pathways to God as stated in her recent Perspective column.

As a Christian, I DO NOT believe that there are many pathways to God in the way Olney-Loyd suggests. There are perhaps many ways God uses to draw his people closer to himself but Jesus says of himself that he “is the way, the truth, and the life” and that no one comes to the Father but by him.

For me, that rules out the ways practiced by Buddhists, by those in the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is, Muslims, Hindus and any other belief system for which Jesus is not rightly understood to be lord and savior alone.

Indeed, that is the central truth which distinguishes Christianity from every other religion. Her declaration that she is a Christian while stating that there are many equally valid ways to God reveals a fatal error.

Contrary to what is often stated in the media, one cannot agree with Olney-Loyd and truly call himself or herself a Christian. The danger of my falling into the cavern of rigidity of which Olney-Loyd speaks is more attractive to me than the danger faced by those who, under a guise of spiritual leadership, lead astray the vulnerable.

Kathleen Winterstein, Olympia

as reported by MSLSABCDFOXXXCNNBC^BS ?

p. 54

There’s More:

More:

p. 10 ...there are approximately 850,000 Muslim Americans under the age of 18 in addition to the 1.5
million adults, for a total of 2.35 million Muslims nationwide.

p.12 ...In 2002, Tom W. Smith, director of the GSS, published a review of every major national survey conducted over the previous five years that produced an estimate of the Muslim American population.  Overall, these polls, on average, estimated that Muslims constitute 0.5% of the total population. That average, combined with an estimate of the number of Muslim children, produced an estimate of the Muslim population of about 2 million.

p. 13 ...An ambitious 2001 survey led by researchers from Hartford Institute for Religious Research provided a basis for the frequently cited estimate of 6-7 million Muslim adults and children. The study, sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, ... concluded that 2 million Muslims in the U.S. are involved with a mosque, at least tangentially. Based on this number, the authors surmise that “estimates of a total Muslim population of 6-7 million in America seem reasonable.”

p. 14 ...American-born converts to Islam also increase the U.S. Muslim population, and researchers say getting accurate estimates of this group may be the most difficult challenge of all. Data on conversion from another religion to Islam is virtually non-existent, and what estimates exist are based on conversion rates to other faiths that may not apply to the Muslim experience.

[“the Muslim experience.”—izzat one o’ them disney things?]
[all emph mine e-C]

IOW… Uselessly-Rough Ball Park = 2-6 million :: Estimate by those needing a large “base” *cough* = 7 million :: SWAG = 2.5 million.  Let’s work with that last.

So what *I* read [and please—knock me inna head if I’m seeing things.  please.] is that about 125,000 Moslems [5%] in the US are willing to tell a stranger on the fone that they have a “a very favorable view of alQaeda.” and 675,000 Moslems [27%] decline to answer or ”don’t know” what their view of alQ is. [???] A cynic would lump those together: [32% = 800,000 Moslems] A real cynic would add in the 250,000 [10%] who declare a ”somewhat unfavorable view of alQ,” and come up with 1,050,000 Moslems [42%] will either admit to a stranger onna fone that they have an outright “favorable” or an only “somewhat unfavorable” view of people who want to kill US.

Hell—let’s stick to the 125,000 Moslems overtly, proudly favorable toward alQ:  How is that not the lead story on each and every newscast today?  There are 125,000 people in the US who agree with those who want to kill US:  how is that not the subject of a considered and clear statement from the White House today?

...strong hostility toward al Qaeda varies widely – 63% of foreign-born U.S. Muslims say they have a very unfavorable opinion of al Qaeda, compared with 51% of all native-born Muslims, and just 36% of African American Muslims. 

Back that truck up, there Accccccchmed:  49% of all US-born Muslims and 64% of African American black Muslims have a “somewhat” unfavorable to fully favorable view of alQ and 30% “jes’ don’ wanna talk ‘bout it.”

More generally, native-born African American Muslims are the most disillusioned segment of the U.S. Muslim population. When compared with other Muslims in the U.S., they are more skeptical of the view that hard work pays off, and more of them believe that Muslim immigrants in the U.S. should try to remain distinct from society. They also are far less satisfied with the way things are going in the United States. Just 13% of African American Muslims express satisfaction with national conditions, compared with 29% of other native-born Muslims, and 45% of Muslim immigrants. [p. 6]
[Thank You al Jessie!  You too Loo!  The Great Society.  The War on Poverty.  The Plantation.  Y’all cut ‘em loose from the American Dream and these splodeydopes wandered in gave ‘em just the weapons they wanted.  Fine work.]

As best I can figger, there were around 140,000 American troops in the original invasion of Iraq; just for comparison.

The population of the US is ≈ 301,902,780

That’s an incredibly rough 300:1 0R 3,000:1.  Exclude kids and the ill/handicapped, think about 300/3,000 of your neighbors and hand me the single malt.

Here—this’ll make ya sleep tight:

p. 6

Impressions?

Close the book.

So, am I the only one who says to themselves take THAT!!! Algore! HA! every time they turn something on?…

take THAT!!! Sheryl Crow! every time they flush the toilet?…

take THAT!!! Ted Kennedy you bloated turd!!! every time you poop scoop?…

Because I’ve been called mean like 6 times in the last week....

Not only is Edwards pampered to the point of getting $400 haircuts, but he’s also pampered to the point where he has to hire people who themselves hire people to come and cut his hair?

Venezuela is to give the American actor Danny Glover almost $18m (£9m) to make a film.........

The teacher who supervised the yearbook staff at Conifer High School issued an apology Monday after parents complained about pictures and pages in the book they said glorified drug use and underage drinking.

“I hope that as we move forward you will allow me to become part of a positive and constructive response to this situation,” said English teacher Amy McTague in a prepared statement released by Jefferson County Schools.

District administrators said they were investigating the controversy and will take action if necessary.

A 33-year-old woman has been jailed on allegations she exposed herself to her 13-year-old neighbor and made him touch her, police said.

Michelle Seddon, unemployed and disabled, was booked into the Washoe County Jail on Thursday on suspicion of lewdness with a child, authorities said.

According to a police report, the charge stems from incidents in March that occurred in her Booth Street apartment where she lived with her girlfriend.

Her upstairs neighbor, a 13-year-old middle school student, told police that he had visited Seddon at her apartment one day where she stripped and asked him to touch her, the report said. Her girlfriend was not home.

So just what kind of a monster did this?  Click if you dare.

RandyM

Close the book.

Presidential hopeful John Edwards said Monday that Americans should speak out against the war in Iraq this Memorial Day weekend, renewing an anti-war call that has been criticized by the leader of the American Legion.

Edwards also said all young people should serve their country, ”not just poor kids who get sent to war.”

After the event, Edwards said he had not meant to imply that only the poor go to war, only that everyone should serve in some way.

“We have people from all walks of life in America who are serving, including Reservists and National Guard,” Edwards said. “What we want to do is to have all Americans to have a chance to serve their country.”

What we want to do is to have all Americans to have a chance to serve their country ????????

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Syria last month, and the related question of whether or not the U.S. should formally re-engage this Baathist republic, remains as controversial a topic on the streets of Damascus as it was in the days afterwards among Beltway bloggers. And, perverse as it may seem to some American liberals, it is the Syrians who are most sympathetic to their progressive values who have been most critical of Ms. Pelosi’s attempts to begin a dialogue with Syria’s government.............

Newsbusters

.......... the terrorist phenomenon that is alien to the values and nature of the Palestinian people.........