A Mountain Out Of A Molehill?

Once upon a time a few years back, I remember a very small break in the integrity of the vinyl covering of an old recliner that had sentimental value to me. It was an old chair that was very comfortable, it belonged to my grandmother, and they just didn't make them like that anymore.

At first, the hole was so small you wouldn't notice it unless you were right near it and looking for it. But over time, it got bigger.

It took awhile, because I babied it.

As my kids got into the age when they saw a button so it had to be pushed, and a hole that had to be messed with, it eventually got bigger. At that time, I put a cover over it to prevent it from getting bigger with the hard usage by the children and to cover what was rapidly becoming an eyesore of an otherwise sound and comfortable chair.

If only I had sealed it with a vinyl repair kit, when it first appeared.

So...where am I going with this story? The answer lies here in this article from the St. Petersburg Times.

The question of what law applies in any Florida courtroom usually comes down to two choices: federal or state.

But Hillsborough Circuit Judge Richard Nielsen is being attacked by conservative bloggers after he ruled in a lawsuit March 3 that, to resolve one crucial issue in the case, he will consult a different source.

"This case," the judge wrote, "will proceed under Ecclesiastical Islamic Law."

Nielsen said he will decide in a lawsuit against a local mosque, the Islamic Education Center of Tampa, whether the parties in the litigation properly followed the teachings of the Koran in obtaining an arbitration decision from an Islamic scholar.

Most of our states base their laws on the English system. Louisiana bases their state's law on the French system. And this is how attorneys are taught in Law School.

The story about the hole in the chair's upholstery is an appropriate metaphor in this case. I used this analogy because, all it takes is a small opening by Muslim activists who believe that Sharia Law should be in effect worldwide and they will poke, prod, rip, and tear until the opening becomes bigger and more difficult to manage.

Today, we can say with the utmost certainty that this very incident is a small hole that will be used to create a bigger one down the road, one that will eventually become too big to manage... if we do not demand that it be sealed now.

The first course of action should be to get this turned over on appeal, when the opportunity is presented. Then, this judge should be impeached by the people of Hillsborough County. While these things are taking place, the Florida legislature should immediately take this issue up and work to pass a law that forbids the use of a barbaric system of justice from being used, as a paradigm for resolving any issue within the territorial boundaries of the great state of Florida.

And.....why stop there?

Every other state should do the same thing in their legislatures, the U.S. Congress should take this up at the federal level too. If not, we will soon see Muslims demanding civil and (in some cases where infidels are the accused) criminal cases be judged under Sharia Law, in our courtrooms all across the nation.

If this is permitted to happen unabated, think about how law students will need courses on Islamic law just to contend with these outrageous demands. Think about how many cases will need to be thrown out at some point, because the judge, jury, and counselors were not educated in Islamic law to accommodate and appease.

What about other cultures and religions? Should we accommodate someone who wants to be judged according to Scandinavian, Russian, Chinese, or some other law that does not apply here under our Constitution? Would they do the same for us, if we asked them in their countries?

See how big this can become by one idiot judge trying to be politically correct and disregard the rule of law? This is how activist judges have taken over our judiciary, and how we will lose this nation someday.

The Inconsistent Foreign Policy Of Barack Obama

I am sure a few of my regular readers will disagree with me on this post. But nevertheless, I have to say some things about Libya and the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.

Before we discuss Obama's usual inept handling of another foreign crisis, there are some inconsistencies we must think about... long before before we draw any intelligent conclusions. As in any case, there are things we know and things we don't. Let's start by looking at what we know.

We know that Obama likes dictators (at least the Latin American versions).

He loves Hugo Chavez. We all know Chavez fits the socialist model that the President was educated to believe in. We all know that Bro. Hugo is the modern-day replacement for Fidel Castro's failed leadership in Latin America, for failing to implement the true communist paradigm in Latin America.

We know that he loved former President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras. You may remember him as the man who tried to illegally modify the Honduran constitution, so he could run for another term... for the purpose of implementing a Chavez style economic and political system. When the Honduran Supreme Court ruled against Zelaya and his underhanded plan of action, both Obama and Chavez did everything they possibly could to subvert the rule of law in that country.

What we do not know is why Obama is not supporting dictators a half a world away in the Middle East.

He did not support Mubarek of Egypt during its recent popular uprising and by all appearances now, he is not supporting Libya's Muammar Gaddaffi in favor of another "so-called" populist uprising.

It's hard to make sense of this approach until we realize that Obama clearly has no consistent values or core principles. Then only thing consistent with Obama is, he will do what is best for Obama, and those who will help him. We do know that those who support Obama's Presidency the most are the people who have in years past advocated for revolution. Bill and Bernice Ayers are two names that prominently stick out, as well as many others.The people I speak of are those who follow the Alinsky model. They never want a crisis to go to waste and if there is no crisis, they can create one.

I firmly believe that at the time of Obama's election, there were unseen forces overblowing the economic crisis at the time, for the specific purpose of getting the man elected. Not that everything was hunky dory mind you, it was a downturn that was bound to happen and not be denied. But these forces used a complicit media (who merely wanted to see history made in the form of electing a black man as president) and all other means within their reach to drive the frenzy of what was then described as a looming depression never before seen. They made a bad situation even worse.

But to be fair about it, this goal and objective was set by forces much larger than Obama. I say this because as we see today, Obama is an extremely ineffective leader at almost every level. Instead of focusing on important things like the Japanese crisis, the Middle East, and important domestic issues, he plays golf, he fills out brackets, and he tours Latin America to create diversions from his incompetence as a leader.

In short, he doesn.t know how to manage a Burger King, much less a country. He is only a prop and a poor one, at that.

But back to Libya, and let me be blunt.

Obama and Soros Inc. want instability in the Middle East for the purpose of replacing the U.S. Dollar as the primary oil trading currency. Soros makes his money by getting currencies devalued, so it stands to reason that he may be hedging his bets on a new currency for the specific purpose of buying and selling oil. (Maybe if he is successful, we can call it the Soro. But I digress.)

So instability is their friend right now. Nothing can cause more willingness to change what has always been, except turmoil and fiercely uncertain conditions in such an important commodity. But as with every diabolical and contrived plot, there are strong possibilities of unintended consequences, which are not being thought about right now in the midst of this mess.

We are signing on to support the "so-called" pro-democracy forces in these nations where tyranny has reigned for so many years. But in the middle of this, we are failing to remember the Iranian Revolution.... whereby one form of tyranny was replaced with another.We are risking all of this for one man who had billions already, to stand the chance of making even more.

We are forgetting that groups that are supportive of al-Qaida (and the dangerous anti-freedom message of Muslim imperialism) is playing a huge role in these demonstrations. What makes us think that al Qaida will make a better form of government than the low-life tyrant we know as Gaddaffi?

Even more troubling is the liberal school of thought, that opportunistically used the Iraq War as political fodder against the GOP and George W. Bush, Now that Obama is President, they are magically supportive of a regime change in Libya and openly for these Sharia Law loving rebels taking control of the oil supply, in the Middle East. And Obama falls directly into this category. He and his Leftist friends questioned the use of military force to effect a regime change in a sovereign nation back then, But now it's okay.

In Iraq, we have spent much time in country and we sacrificed many American lives to see that these groups did not take control of Iraq. How is it that we can be assured this will not happen with no ground troops in Libya?

So to my friends who regularly read this sleepy little blog, I must ask you to think about some things in the closing of this post.

These people have never been able to handle freedom in the past. They seem to need authoritarian leadership of some kind or another. They are not doing well under dictators, but how well will they fare under the tyranny of forces that subscribe to harsh medieval conditions? Will they allow for free elections? I doubt it. Will they allow freedom of speech? Nope. Will they use their oil producing capabilities as weapons? You know they will. And they will use whatever profits they can make, to destroy all those who are not willing to submit to Allah (starting with Israel).

How will it affect other Middle East nations? Will Saudi Arabia fall next with encouragement and military help from the civilized world? Polls show that Osama bin Laden could win an election there, if there were elections. Would that be worth ridding that nation of the monarch whose hand was kissed by President Obama?

Most importantly of all let's think about one more thing. Knowing how ungrateful many people in the Arab world have been concerning the huge toll on American blood spilled to make Iraq free from a brutal dictator, do we really think Libyans will appreciate any effort the U.S. or its allies will put forth?

Personally, I think Gaddaffi is a thug, a creep, and a terrorist responsible for the killing of many of my countrymen. I think he deserves to be dropped into a pit full of hungry crocodiles. But I am not sure he is worth spilling any American blood over, especially when the Libyan people will very likely not appreciate any of it.

Another Blast From the Past

I am in complete disagreement with this week's featured artists. One is never too old to rock and roll, but it's still a great song:



Enjoy.

Sequiter: It Really Does Follow

Did you hear the latest out of Wisconsin? Check these stories out:

Stoughton Trailers To Reopen Plant

Stoughton Trailers plans to get back into the business of producing domestic rail containers and truck chassis with up to 300 employees at its closed Evansville plant.

The new product lines also could mean adding jobs at the company's plants in Stoughton and Brodhead.

Illinois Company Relocating To Wisconsin

A border war has broken out as an Illinois company decides to take its business to Wisconsin. Governor Scott Walker made the announcement Thursday morning.

It seems Wisconsin is aggressively trolling for new businesses and new jobs. A cold call from Wisconsin's lieutenant governor started a dialogue. And, from a business perspective, the company's owner says it was an offer too good to pass up.

It's amazing how business flourishes when unions are not involved in the process.

I know, it's only two businesses out of many. But it is a start and hopefully businesses that went down because the union wouldn't budge can reconsider reopening their doors. And hopefully more businesses will bail out of Illinois where taxes continue to rise, while programs are not cut and unions write their own tickets.

It's not that I wish the people of Illinois any ill will. It's just that I cannot stand states that refuse to look out after their citizens, while bending over backwards for union thugs and every other thug-like special interest group that makes noise.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I was going to put up an Irish drinking song, but I came to realize that not many of my regular readers drink much. So here's some soothing Irish music with a shot of a castle that will make you want to go to Ireland, right now.

HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY

Leadership We Can Count On

The aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami is showing pure devastation, the radiation levels are climbing steadily and are a clear threat to the West Coast of the United States. Libya is in civil war. The entire Middle East is quickly destabilizing right before our very eyes, threatening the world's oil supply.

Gas prices are on the rise with no end in sight. Jobs are still missing from the U.S. economic recovery. The American government is still squabbling over cutting spending, with the big spending liberals failing to read the writing on the wall. The Democrats are walking out of statehouses on orders from mafioso-style unions who are losing their grip on power, thus shutting down the necessary business the state must conduct just to operate.

Basically the world is crashing and burning before out very eyes and what is President Obama doing about all of this?

This morning, as Japan’s nuclear crisis enters a potentially catastrophic phase, we are told that Obama is videotaping his NCAA tournament picks and that we’ll be able to tune into ESPN Wednesday to find out who he likes.

Saturday, he made his 61st outing to the golf course as president, and got back to the White House with just enough time for a quick shower before heading out to party with Washington’s elite journalists at the annual Gridiron Dinner.

But we need to be fair about this. When he's not doing something totally unrelated to any of these self-created distractions his crack team of experts really are thinking about the future. And what are they thinking about? The title of the article says it all:

Obama's team seeks new ways to fire up his base

Now that's leadership we can count on and leadership we can truly trust.....if we want to be led off of a cliff.

Enjoy the tournament folks, this may be the last one we ever see because this nation may in the tank this time next year.

Recall Obama In 2012

The Ignorance Factory

When the Progressives lose the argument, they will resort to the most despicable human behaviors. Herman Cain has come up with an appropriate acronym for this phenomenon, SIN.

S=Shift

First they try to shift the subject to something completely unrelated so that their ignorance is not on open display. Like when we talk about how bad Obama's Administration is failing the American people, somehow they try to switch the topic to George Bush.

I=Ignore

If shifting the subject away from the original subject doesn't work them, they will flat out ignore facts. They will discredit them with robotic pat answers given to them by the people who produce the daily talking points.

N=Name call

Once the first two strategies fail, they must resort to the overt demonization of anyone who disagrees with them, to include you or whoever is trying to civilly discuss an issue of great importance.

This only applies the debate process and is light duty compared to the tactics they use, when they lose the argument in a legislative forum. When they lose a floor vote and see that they have failed to persuade enough legislators to vote their way on an issue, they then will resort to even lower tactics like threats and intimidation.

Here is a snippet from the actual letter found at that link and is pretty much the crux of this matter:

In the event that you cannot support this effort to save collective bargaining,
please be advised that the undersigned will publicly and formally boycott the
goods and services provided by your company.

Another E-Mail communication on display can be found here. The guy that is posting this for public consumption made the astute observation that Milwaukee Area Technical College's (MATC) website and e-mail addresses were being used in an official capacity to punish those who are in in line with the pro-union dogma.

When we take a moment to analyze this, it isn't surprising. MATC has a long history of training skilled laborers who are usually well-equipped to take jobs in the workplace that are traditionally union jobs. The indoctrination starts here at the training center and usually lasts an entire lifetime.

Now, let me make something clear here. It is not my intention to denigrate those who study and graduate from technical schools. In today's high tech world, we need skilled workers to do jobs that require more than just a high school diploma, where shop classes were offered and taken.

Not everyone can grasp the nature of a university level education that offers and requires courses outside a person's chosen major, for the specific purpose of making a person a more well-rounded individual. There is no dishonor in graduating with a two year degree that will lead a person to a job or career that will feed a person's family and put their children through school, so they can attain whatever goals and dreams they may have.

But just as I have problems with a state-funded university indoctrinating students to support Leftist ideology (based on flawed doctrines that have historically failed everywhere they have previously been implemented), I also have problems with tech schools promoting public sector unions and encouraging their students to use union-like tactics to do so. But evidently, MATC has no problem teaching their students to believe wrongly or make utter fools of themselves, in their later lives.

One of the more prominent graduates of this "fine" institution has made her way to government. Remember this women? If not, take a moment and listen to a prominent graduate of MATC in action just a short while back, when the Arizona immigration law debate was in full bore:



My suggestion to the administrators of MATC is that they worry less about political activism and offer some basic courses for people to at least have a functional understanding of what they are trying to talk about, when they open their mouths to speak. It's not that people do not have the right to their own opinions and beliefs. It's not that they do not have the right to use their pocketbooks and wallets as a means of communicating their displeasure with a business and company, for any reason they deem important.

The point is, it is important to know that others have the same right to express their beliefs and to support candidates that reflect those beliefs, without the fear of having threats leveled against them.

But more importantly, how long will the people whose tax dollars go to support institutions like MATC, allow the money to be wasted on political activism, while they fail to educate the students properly? Ignorance needs no factory. It's already there. And it damn sure doesn't need instructors to dumb the students down any further, all they need to do is watch MSNBC or the MSM newscasts.

Sunday Reflection

This is not a post to toot my own horn or pat myself on the back. And I am not seeking anyone to do that in the comment section either. So please bear with me a moment, while I develop this line of thought.

The purpose of this post is to make a point about charity.

I know that I have no need to point out to my acutely intelligent readers that charity is not just money given to worthwhile causes or organizations. It is that.... but it is also the giving of oneself to help others. Time counts in that equation as well as the very acts of kindness that do not necessarily involve the transfers of funds.

Recently, I took a new job within the same corporate system. Now, I am again working alongside a lady that I once worked with in the same system for years. She is one reason I chose to work in this new area and is probably a big reason why I got the job to begin with. She knew what my work ethic was back in the past and she also knew that I know what I am doing. But i know know that it was probably a little more than this.

When I started in the new role, she was introducing me around to the people that I did not already know and she told a story that I had forgotten about.

Many years ago when this lady had shoulder surgery, she wasn't able to cook for herself, while she was Vicodined out and with her arm in a sling. So, I made some of my famous Italian Beef and along with Mrs. Sunsett, we took it over to her with all of the trimmings that go with it. It was no real trouble at all. But I honestly had forgotten about it until she reminded me.

So here's the point I want to make. My parents instilled a code of ethics within me that I have internalized deeply enough for it to manifest itself, without much thought being put into it. That is to say, I just instinctively help people who need it.....if it is within my power to do so

Through this instance and others, it tells me something that rings clear.

When we help people for the right reasons, others will remember it. And someday down the road, we will need help and those who we have helped will find about it and will rise to the occasion much like we did, when we had the opportunity.

Doing the right things for the right reasons means we do not need to keep score. Someone else is doing that and we just need to keep playing like we are behind. In the end, our rewards will come to us without having to call them in like political favors.

Another Blast From the Past

This week, we feature a Chicago-based band I loved from the 90s....one that didn't make it very big, despite being incredibly talented and having a unique, refreshing sound. The guy who formed the band found the vocalists singing in a subway station for tips.

They only had one hit single, which reached #1 in Australia but only made it to #29 here in America. It's quite the catchy little tune, give it a listen:



Next up is the first song I ever heard by these artists and I think shows the real depth of their talent. If you listen to it, let it develop before you judge it. If you do, I bet you won't get the bass line out of your head all day:



Enjoy.

Friday Funnies

From The LASunsett mailbag:

Don't Mess With The U.S.

A doctor from Israel says: "In Israel the medicine is so advanced that we cut off a man's testicles; we put them into another man, and in 6 weeks he is looking for work."

The German doctor comments: "That's nothing, in Germany we take part of the brain out of a person; we put it into another person's head, and in 4 weeks he is looking for work."

A Russian doctor says: "That's nothing either. In Russia we take out half of the heart from a person; we put it into another person's chest, and in 2 weeks he is looking for work."

The U.S. doctor answers immediately: "That's nothing. You are way behind us. In the USA (about two years ago) we grabbed a person out of the Senate with no brains, no heart, and no balls. We made him President of the United States , and now ... the whole country is looking for work!!!!!!"