Stand Your Ground

Getting the Kids Involved Already

Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and a whole host of liberals of all stripes are enraged over the incident in Sanford, Florida on February 26th. News broadcasts are uniformly led with the story of Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old black male who was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch man, George Zimmerman. We've even got a "Million Hoodie March", in honor of the hoodie Trayvon wore that night.

The president has also weighed in, curiously thinking that it mattered to anyone that "if [he] had a son, he'd look like Trayvon". And while all this outrage swirls around us, the tragic death of this young man is being exploited by the very people who profess to care the most about him. Those who perpetuate the race game as a cottage industry for retention of relevance, and those who would strip Americans of their Second Amendment rights for preserving power, are all shamelessly using this poor kid's death for personal gain.

Now there are reports that may pour cold water on their efforts to exploit the tragedy and render the outrage moot.

To briefly recap, George Zimmerman is a Neighborhood Watch captain in his community. He has a penchant for frequently calling police, and some reports allege that this is because they have had a bit of a crime wave in the community. On the night of February 26th, Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin walking in the rain, and began to trail him, phoning police as he did. In the end, Trayvon Martin was dead of a single gunshot.

Sean Hannity has been discussing this with guests on his syndicated radio show for most of the previous week, and he's played audio of Zimmerman's call to a police dispatcher as he pursued Martin. Also, Hannity has played audio of a neighbor's call to 911. On that call, a man can be heard screaming just before the fatal gunshot is heard, and it has been assumed that they were the screams of Trayvon Martin, particularly by Al Sharpton.

Now, however, it is being reported by MY FOX Tampa Bay that there was a witness to the shooting, one who paints a different picture of that night than has been painted for us thus far. Sanford police have in their possession a file containing the deposition of this witness, known only as "John", to be presented to a grand jury in a matter of weeks. The report states that the information from the witness was key in determining whether to arrest Zimmerman that night.

According to the accounts, Zimmerman's claim to self defense appears valid based on the eyewitness deposition and corroborates Zimmerman's statement that he was attacked by Martin while returning to his SUV. The witness says that Martin was on top of Zimmerman and was beating him. Police described Zimmerman as having a bloodied face and a wound to the back of his head.

MY FOX Tampa Bay writes the following:

"The guy on the bottom who had a red sweater on was yelling to me: 'help, help…and I told him to stop and I was calling 911," he said. 

Trayvon Martin was in a hoodie; Zimmerman was in red.

And further: "When I got upstairs and looked down, the guy who was on top beating up the other guy, was the one laying in the grass, and I believe he was dead at that point," John said. 

 Based on this information, one would reasonably surmise that the screams were not Martin's, but rather Zimmerman's.

None of this negates the tragedy of it all in the slightest bit, but instead promises to exacerbate it. It remains true that Zimmerman may well be innocent of murder, but no less guilty of poor judgement. He should have heeded the dispatcher when told to break off pursuit, and he should have adhered to the "rules" of the neighborhood watch committee. He may have been attacked by the smaller Martin, that will come out in court, but even if true, the likelihood that -- absent the gun -- anyone would have lost their life would have been greatly reduced.

What will be truly tragic for the Martin family will be if Zimmerman's story holds up, along with that of the witness. When all of the agenda-driven "support" from the left wanders off seeing no further profit in remaining, and the Martins are left alone to grieve, who will be there to comfort them? Who will care then?

The answer is equally sad; the same silent Americans who had the good form to remain apart from the circus will care and pray for them. Regrettably, the Martins will never know it.

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The Crazy Kabul Kabuki Dance

And Then the Trouble Started

Most people know that the troops in Afghanistan burned some Qur'an's, and they also know that the locals quickly became unhinged, predictably rioting and causing other acts of enraged "hijinx". Beyond that, the attention of those who know these two pertinent facts has long since been drawn away by such important things as the latest reality show episode or when the next unemployment check will arrive.

They may be peripherally aware that, to date, four American servicemen have been murdered by Afghans they have trained to fight alongside them, and they might be even somewhat aware that the United Nations is calling for the prosecution of the troops that have thus far survived the treachery suffered by their comrades. But they remain oblivious to any mitigating facts in the entire episode, and it is not completely due to selfish ignorance; it is because the mainstream media is not trumpeting those facts and defending those who make their profession possible.

It began on February 20th after NATO workers -- including Afghans -- burned some Qur'an's at the library at Bagram Air Field in the Parwan Province, used to detain Taliban captures. Shortly after the incident, which was initially reported as "an inadvertent act" on the part of the NATO workers, hundreds of protesters arrived. World news outlets were quick to report the ensuing violence, Muslim groups and their sympathizers were quick to condemn the actions of the international forces, and our troops' own Commander-in Chief was fast on his obsequious trigger, leaping at the opportunity to deliver yet another heartfelt apology to the Muslim world.

As our Secretary of State reinforced the President's claim that his apology "calmed things down" in Afghanistan -- despite the fact that two of our murdered soldiers were killed after said apology -- it is infuriating that neither high-level figure has demanded of the Afghan government an apology for the lives of those kids. And it might be noted with a modicum of pride and gratitude that, for the simple fact that average Americans are nothing like the mindless Islamists who will riot at the drop of a hat, we have not begun to demand the destruction of the entire region after learning that our troops may face Afghan trials for their "crimes".

This is where the entire affair may cause our neighbors to come similarly enraged as their Muslim counterparts. This is where the actual facts come to play.

On February 20th, the workers at the Bagram Library discovered that many of the books in the base library -- including Qur'ans --  were being used by Taliban detainees as message boards. As part of their "torture routines", as many so-called human rights activists might call them, detainees were permitted access to the base books for recreational use. They chose to write messages in them for their cohorts to read in an effort to coordinate future attacks on the NATO forces.

Among the books so desecrated by Muslim prisoners -- ostensibly required to kill those who desecrate the Qur'an -- were copies of... the Qur'an. In the Muslim tradition, the proper disposal of a Qur'an in a state of disrepair is burning. Still with me here? Muslim Afghans are burning and killing anything within reach because Americans, they believe, actually showed the ultimate respect for their Holy Book which was desecrated by their own brothers. And then our president, who reportedly studied Islam as a child in Indonesia, apologized for the alleged transgression.

To miss the sad irony in all of this would require being in a coma.

Lt. Col. Oliver North was a guest on Sean Hannity's radio show yesterday. North had just returned from Afghanistan, and he said that among all the damaged books that were burned at Bagram, four were the Qur'an, yet the mainstream media would have us believe that some soldiers cavalierly burned a whole pile of them.

Despite the fact that four of our soldiers have been murdered at the hands of their Afghan "partners" in the war -- that would be one for each Qur'an burned -- President Karzai is calling for those responsible for the book burning to be tried in an Afghan court. Shortly after Karzai made the demand, President Obama sent a three page letter, which stated, in part:

“I extend to you and the Afghan people my sincere apologies. We will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible.”

That is such a vague assurance from Obama, yet there has been no official denial from Washington that NATO has agreed to "hand over" the soldiers involved for trial. For an American Commander-in Chief to vacillate on a matter of such magnitude is unconscionable, for it would, in effect, allow American soldiers to be tried under Shar'ia Law, which requires death to those who desecrate the Qur'an.

Obama has allowed the opportunity to demand an apology for our murdered soldiers to pass unseized. There is still, however, time to firmly tell Karzai that we will not be turning our soldiers over to anyone for trial.

UPDATE: As of this writing, two more American soldiers have been murdered, bringing the number now to six. Rather than apologize and appease, perhaps the time is drawing nigh for Obama to unleash our troops to put a stop to this outrage immediately.

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Obama's Obnoxious Proselytization

Arrogant Hubris Defined

One of the lefts' favorite pastimes is mocking religion, particularly Christianity, for they find it a form of validation of their notion that conservatives and religious people in general are uneducated. It convinces liberals that they are somehow superior to conservatives. And when the left isn't denigrating religion, they also like to use it to taunt their right-leaning counterparts. 

A favorite tool of the left is the acronym, WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) How many times have we heard the ridiculous claim by the left that "Jesus was a liberal"? President Obama whipped out this tactic last week at the Washington Hilton during the annual prayer breakfast.  

First, it is telling that the president is incapable of ceding the annual prayer breakfast to the Lord, instead using the opportunity to further his political agenda. Rather than speak of the blessings of God, Obama took the time to claim that Jesus would approve of his plan to raise taxes on the wealthy, saying that it was inherently unfair to ask struggling middle class families to "shoulder the burden alone". Incredibly, he concluded, "But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’ teaching that, from to whom much is given, much shall be required." (He should be careful because I doubt whether George Stephanopoulos was there to correct him if he slipped and mentioned his Muslim faith). 

As a matter of convenience, Obama solicits the Lord to give credence to his plan, which would not be a bad thing if (a), he truly believed it or (b), he was consistent in abiding the Word of God. For example, one must wonder what God thinks of the gluttony of Mr. and Mrs. Obama. Would He approve of the opulent lifestyle of the first family, in such times of distress when people are suffering? 

When someone on the left smugly asks, "What would Jesus do?", it might be prudent to remind them that Jesus would certainly disapprove of murdering gifts from God; unborn babies. Yet the left insists that abortion is a right, while the president himself thinks that one of daughters would be "punished" if she was with child. Is that also in accordance with the teachings of Jesus, Mr. President? 

There is also the issue with lying, misleading or otherwise obfuscating the truth, something this allegedly devout Christian, Obama, does with regularity. Claiming to seek "fairness" in our tax system, Obama lies repeatedly when implying that the poor are paying the tab while the rich ride free. With nearly half the population of the United States (forty-seven percent) paying no federal taxes -- while the top ten percent of the wealthiest pays fifty percent of all taxes -- the question then becomes, who is getting the free ride? And those forty-seven percent are voting for themselves more free stuff. 

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.” ― Alexis de Tocqueville  

Perhaps, then, Obama doesn't even understand the Jesus quote he so cavalierly used, "From to whom much is given, much shall be required". For the forty-seven percent to whom much is indeed given, it seems the only thing required of them is their vote. And if Obama is referring to the gifts God bestows on the successful, then who is he to require anything? Or did he confuse Jesus' words with those made popular by Karl Marx, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need"?

As evidenced by the selective nature of Obama's faith, the left thinks conservatives are too dumb to realize that they are being duped.  Obama thinks that no one will remember that in his first few months as president, he blew off the National Day of Prayer. He believes that the majority of the slobs he once accused of "clinging to their guns and their religion" will hear him invoke the Gospel and immediately fall into line. 

Democrats have for decades been pushing the notion that compassion can only come from government, and that to resist their magnanimity is somehow cold and heartless. Just as parents, through coddling, raise a child poorly equipped to deal with the realities of adulthood, so have the democrats been fitting the populace for the velvet shackles of dependency, claiming that theirs is the humane way of governing. Now they're resorting to Jesus to sell their wares.

This is one conservative who isn't buying it. 

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