Memo To Barack Obama: A Middle East Reality Primer

To: Senator Barack Obama:

From The Negotiating Team:

Have you ever wondered why there were never any Palestinian demonstrations against the building of the Israeli settlements? Can you imagine the PR value of a hundred little blue eyed school girls, sitting in the road, shaking in feigned terror as they blocked bulldozers?

The reason those images never materialized is because PA ministers own the construction companies that build the apartments. Israeli settlements are being built by Palestinian companies, owned by PA ministers and big wigs- including Hamas bigshots. They are in no rush for a peace deal- the Israelis always pay , other Arabs don’t. It’s been going on for years and the matter has barely been discussed in the Arab press. ‘Cementgate,’ as the scandal was referred to, is no longer on the Arab media agenda. Settlements are built because Arab construction companies promise they wil be built on time and on schedule.

The 'peace process' has never been about negotiating for peace. It has been about negotiating and legitimizing the pervasive corruption and bigotry. If the Palestinians 'negotiate' away israel, they are negotiating their way to perpetual poverty- a disaster for the corrupt Palestinian 'leadership.' Senator Obama, will your 'negotiations' center around usurping the Palestinian corruption and institutionalized racism, bigotry and hate, so that real peace might be arrived at?

In Saudi Arabia, state approved and employed Imams talk about how it is incumbent on Muslims to rape and take as slaves, Jewish and Christian women and girls. We have open and ongoing relationships with the Saudis. They are comfortable espousing their beliefs with no fear of repercussion.Senator Obama, will your negotiations with the Saudis address these ugly realities?

We have open dialogue with the Saudis, Gulf Arabs, Egypt and Jordan and yet the Muslim world has done nothing as the tragedy in Darfur continues to be ignored. Hundreds of thousands have died at the hands of the Arab militia Janjaweed- and not before the women are raped as the Janjaweed women sing. Senator Obama, will your 'negotiations' make a diffence? Over a million died in Rwanda as a result of protracted negotiations. How will your negotiations be different?

Senator Obama, let's go back to the Palestinians. The negotiating team suggests you are read Who Is Samir Kuntar? by Shrinkwrapped. he clarifies and puts into perspective, exactly who it is the Palestinians consider heroes. Here is an excerpt:

I emphasized the joy and hatred in their voices for a reason. It is hard for anyone with normal sensibilities to comprehend how someone can feel joy and hatred while smashing in the head of a 4 year old child. What kind of pathology can cause a society to celebrate such evil? The myth of the poor, wretched Palestinians, driven to suicide bombings by despair, persists among the foolish of the West. For Palestinians, murderers are not wretched, they are heroes…

A Palestinian grade school teacher was interviewed on BBC radio this morning and the interviewer asked if perhaps it was a mistake to elect Hamas, considering the hardships the teacher was facing. He has five children, there is no food in his house, and he doesn’t know when he will be paid because the donor countries have cut off funding for the PA until Hamas gives up their dream of murdering Jews. His response was that Hamas represents the Palestinians highest aspirations; they are willing to give up their lives for freedom. Noble sentiments; however, the freedom they seek is the freedom to murder, not to build, and no one should mistake their goals.

We seem to be all too willing to attach complex ‘root causes’ to immoral behavior and actions only after the bad acts and immoral behaviors. Yet before these bad behaviors occur, we are told the perpetrators are ‘just like us.’ Well, you can’t have it both ways, Senator Obama. Either the perpetrators are ‘just like us’ or or they are dysfunctional. The Palestinians are either ‘just like us,’ people from whom we can expect civilized behavior, or they are dysfunctional.

While poverty, child abuse and corrupt politics may influence a person or society, in the end, the ‘root cause’ of most ugly, vicious and immoral acts is an immoral character.

Senator Obama, will your negotiations address these truths? Will you address the unadorned ugliness of radical Islam and the impact that it is having on civilized society? Will you chastise the media for their gross and blatant misrepresentation of reality so that a particular agenda might be advocated over the truth?

Iran fought a war that resulted in the death of over a million people, many of them children, used as fodder. The choice to use children as land mine detectors was not the result of their aversion to America or Israel.

In Algeria, the GIA did not rape and dismember thousands of children because of America or Israel.

Saddam did not invade Kuwait, or threaten Saudi Arabia because of America or Israel.

Poison gas was used in Yemen, in the 1960’s. The perpetrator? Our friends, the Egyptians.

You cannot negotiate with people who are broken.

What were once acknowledged as universal laws, no longer exist in the Arab world. What was once assumed to be understood as universal expressions of civilized behavior are no longer a reality in the Arab world.

The civilized world understands the rule of law. The ideals of human rights are meant for all, rights that include free speech, a free press, and the need for rules that cross borders and languages. The fact of the matter is that today, we face an enemy that that uses hospitals and schools to shield terrorists, and Houses of Worship are used as armories. Senator Obama, you can negotiate with like minded people who share similar values. To be clear- you cannot negotiate as equals with people who believe for example, that children are fodder, to hide behind and used as human shields, counting that our civility will not address their barbarity. We cannot deal with as equals those who believe that children are disposable chattel, as they were in Beslan.

Senator, why on earth would you believe that negotiating with people for whom beheadings and kidnappings are celebrated with fervor and joy might be productive? You aren't even speaking the same moral language! What do you think can be accomplished with people for whom the mutilation of corpses takes place within view of frenzied, dancing mobs? How can you negotiate with people decapitated and then used his head used as a soccer ball and later displayed that head on a table during on a Palestinian TV talk show? Senator, do you really believe you can enter into negotiations with these people as civilized equals?

Palestinian 'leaders,' by their own admission, are racing to develop weapons of mass destruction- and proudly announce their intent to use them.

In plain view, they proudly pronounce their aims and intent. They want to destroy us Israel and kill as many Jews as possible. Officially appointed Palestinian government clerics reiterate those goals in mosques and on television. School curriculum's educate from an early age, the Islamic destiny, to be fulfilled by a never ending Jihad. These aren’t matters of debate or issues up for discussion. Those are the facts. Senator Obama.

The Nazis attempted to hide their evil and deny it. The Palestinians, including the elected Hamas government, can’t be bothered.

Senator Obama, negotiations are about 'give and take.' Given these realities what exactly is there to negotiate?

Should we demand the Israelis extend full civil rights and equal status to those who’s stated aim is to destroy them? Should they be obligated to respect the sanctity of a Holy Shrine if it is being used to as a military base from which to shoot and bomb?

Should they target schools and hospitals used by terrorists? Should the Israelis refrain from searching women, knowing that terrorists have used pregnant women to smuggle explosives? Now that women have publicly volunteered and formed a brigade of wanna be suicide bombers, should the Israelis exercise restraint? In a time and place where ambulances are used to transport murderers and ammunition, can the excuse of ‘cultural differences’ be considered adequate?

All these scenarios are examples of what the Israelis face, day in and day out.

It isn’t just the Israelis that face the collapse of universal laws in the 21st century. Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan face the same challenges- and they met those challenges head on. The results are undeniable and unambiguous. When we make clear that we do not negotiate with barbarians and that we will confront them head on, they run.

Desperation is not the magical elixir that makes weapons, explosives and rockets appear out of nowhere. Neither does despair turn a whole society into one that supports and rejoices at the death of innocents, the mutilation of corpses and indiscriminate terror. These are cruel people, with no regard for human life, including the lives of their fellow countrymen. No amount of negotiation will change that, Senator Obama.

Suicide bombers and those deliberately target innocents are calculated, cold and vicious. These behaviors are taught. They do not come naturally or spontaneously. Terrorists leaders and their enablers- some in this country- however, care a great deal about themselves and are entirely focused on their own power, control and wealth. It is an effort that is succeeding, largely because of the backwardness of a people, and their willing, desperate search for an escape from their dark medieval prisons. As has often been repeated, there are no sons or daughters of Arab religious or political leaders to be found among the legions who claim to want to blow themselves and others up, in the name of Allah. The promise of heavenly sexual delights and pleasures apparently, is a message that does not get passed on to some.

The promise of the respect and recognition by a grateful Ummah, are also not enough to inspire the children of religious and political leaders in the region- or here. It is enough to send money or support the cause as loudly as possible, and to divert attention away from the reality. Those to whom the message is passed, are the easily influenced. The poverty stricken (the promise of money for the shahid’s family has been referred to more than once as a motivating factor), children or women somehow disgraced, are offered redemption instead of ‘honor killing.’

Terror organizations and terror supporters are using our own language to defeat us. Suicide bombers and terrorists are now ‘military factions,’ while those that plan and pay for the crimes are now referred to as ‘political factions’- as if patterning themselves after the IRA will somehow camouflage their identity and objectives. Ever dutifully, the media parrots these ridiculous assertions as credible. Palestinian strings are being pulled by others that have paid the Palestinian ‘leaders’ a few pieces of silver. All the while, the Palestinians are made to suffer because their leadership sold them out.

We are still working on the premise that we in the west and the Israelis are somehow contributory to the problems of the Middle East. Well, here’s a reality pill. If there were free and democratic governments in the region, the problems they face would have been long since overcome. The problems remain because those despots and tyrannical regimes want those problems to remain, to deflect attention away from their own evil.

We- and the Israelis- have allowed ourselves to be ‘dumbed down,’ in an attempt to negotiate a way out of an impossible situation.

Sooner or later, we’re going to have to deal with reality and deal with the problem clearly and substantively– and we’re not going to be able to talk our way out it. Until the Arab community deals with the reality that we and the Israelis and our support for Israel are not their biggest problem they face, they cannot possibly contribute or achieve their own salvation and redemption- and no amount of negotiations can change that.

With each passing day, the distance between the Arab world and universal laws of decency and behavior, grows greater- and no amount of negotiations, no matter how well meaning, can turn a dysfunctional, corrupt and bigoted society into a successful one.

Late Night Laugh: Read Me A Bedtime Story, Mommy

"The Americans: The Most Under Appreciated People In The World"

On June 5, 1973, Gordon Sinclair sat up in bed in Toronto and turned on his TV set. The United States had just pulled out of the Vietnamese War which had ended in a stalemate - a war fought daily on TV, over the radio and in the press. The aftermath of that war resulted in a world-wide sell-off of American investments, prices tumbled, the United States economy was in trouble. The war had also divided the American people, and at home and abroad it seemed everyone was lambasting the United States.

He turned on his radio, twisted the dial and turned it off. He picked up the morning paper. In print, he saw in headlines what he had found on TV and radio - the Americans were taking a verbal beating from nations around the world. Disgusted with what he saw and heard, he was outraged!

At 10:30, on his arrival at CFRB to prepare his two pre-noon broadcasts, he strode into his office and "dashed-off" two pages in 20 minutes for LET'S BE PERSONAL at 11:45 am, and then turned to writing his 11:50 newscast that was to follow. At 12:01 pm, the script for LET'S BE PERSONAL was dropped on the desk of his secretary who scanned the pages for a suitable heading and then wrote "Americans"" across the top and filed it away. The phones were already ringing.

Gordon Sinclair could not have written a book that could have had a greater impact in the world than his two-page script for THE AMERICANS. A book should have been written on the events that followed. But, no one at CFRB, including Sinclair himself, could have envisioned the reaction of the people of the United States - from presidents - state governors - Congress - the Senate - all media including TV, radio, newspapers, magazines - and from the "ordinary" American on the street. Nor, could have the Canadian government - stunned by the response to what has come to be regarded as one of Canada's greatest public relations feats in the history of our relations with the United States of America.

But, how did Sinclair's tribute to Americans reach them? It had been swept across the United States at the speed of a prairie fire by American radio stations - first, a station in Buffalo called and asked to be fed a tape copy of the broadcast with permission to use - both freely given. Nearby American stations obtained copies from Buffalo or called direct. By the time it reached the Washington, DC area, a station had superimposed Sinc's broadcast over an instrumental version of BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER, and was repeating it at fixed times several times-a-day.

Congressmen and Senators heard it. It was read several times into the Congressional Record. Assuming that it was on a phono (33 1/3 rpm), Americans started a search for a copy. CFRB was contacted. To satisfy the demand, CFRB started to make arrangements with AVCO, an American record company, to manufacture and distribute it as a "single".

As they were finalizing a contract that would see all royalties which would normally be due Gordon Sinclair be paid (at his request) to the American Red Cross. Word was received that an unauthorized record, using Sinclair's script but read by another broadcaster, was already flooding the US market. (Subsequently, on learning that this broadcaster had agreed to turn over his royalties to the Red Cross, no legal action was taken).

Sinclair's recording of his own work (to which Avco had added a stirring rendition of THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC) did finally reach record stores, and sold hundreds of thousands of copies, but the potential numbers were depressed by the sale of the infringing record. Other record producers and performers (including Tex Ritter) obtained legal permission to make their own versions. In Ritter's case, because of the first-person style of the script, Tex preceded his performance with a proper credit to Sinclair as the author. The American Red Cross received millions of dollars in royalties, and Gordon Sinclair was present at a special ceremony acknowledging his donation.

Advertisers using print media contacted CFRB for permission to publish the text in a non-commercial manner; industrial plants asked for the right to print the script in leaflet form to handout to their employees.

Gordon Sinclair received invitations to attend and be honoured at many functions in the United States which, by number and due to family health problems at the time, he had to decline. However, CFRB newscaster Charles Doering, was flown to Washington to give a public reading of THE AMERICANS to the 28th National Convention of the United States Air Force Association, held September 18, 1974 at the Sheraton Park Hotel. His presentation was performed with the on-stage backing of the U.S. Air Force Concert Band, joined by the 100-voice Singing Sergeants in a special arrangement of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

8 years after the first broadcast of THE AMERICANS, U.S. President Ronald Reagan made his first official visit to Canada. At the welcoming ceremonies on Parliament Hill, the new President praised "the Canadian journalist who wrote that (tribute)" to the United States when it needed a friend. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had Sinclair flown to Ottawa to be his guest at the reception that evening.

Sinc had a long and pleasant conversation with Mr. Reagan. The President told him that he had a copy of the record of THE AMERICANS at his California ranch home when he was governor of the state, and played it from time to time when things looked gloomy.

On the evening of May 15th, 1984, following a regular day's broadcasting, Gordon Sinclair suffered a heart attack. He died on May 17th. As the word of his illness spread throughout the United States, calls inquiring about his condition had been received from as far away as Texas. The editorial in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune of May 28th was typical of the reaction of the United States news media - A GOOD FRIEND PASSES ON.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan: "I know I speak for all Americans in saying the radio editorial Gordon wrote in 1973 praising the accomplishments of the United States was a wonderful inspiration. It was not only critics abroad who forgot this nation's many great achievements, but even critics here at home. Gordon Sinclair reminded us to take pride in our nation's fundamental values."

Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau: "Gordon Sinclair's death ends one of the longest and most remarkable careers in Canadian Journalism. His wit, irreverence, bluntness and off-beat views have been part of the media landscape for so long that many Canadians had come to believe he would always be there."

Following a private family service, two thousand people from all walks of life filled Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto's City Hall for a public service of remembrance organized by Mayor Art Eggleton. Dignitaries joining him on the platform were Ontario Lieutenant-Governor, John Black Aird; the Premier of Ontario, William Davis; and Metro Chairman Paul Godfrey. Tens of thousands more joined them through CFRB's live broadcast of the service which began symbolically at 11:45 - the regular time of Sinc's daily broadcast of LET'S BE PERSONAL.

As Ontario Premier William Davis said of him "The name GORDON SINCLAIR could become the classic definition of a full life."

Memorial Day And The Mirror Of Hope

A couple of hundred years ago- not even an instant on the cosmic clock- America took her first tentative steps towards freedom. Since those tumultuous days, this nation and the freedoms she represents, have grown, prospered and has served as a source of inspiration for billions of people in their own search for freedom.

When we see veterans marching in a Memorial Day parade, we are watching the men and women that are a living testimony to those who would defend the principles and ideals of freedom. They fought for more than geography and they fought for more than country.

From the time of our inception as a nation, there have been forces determined to destroy what it is we stand for. Entire political ideologies are predicated on vilifying us and our belief that freedom serves all of mankind. Even some religious ideologies, under the thumb of the oppression, have become a tool of those who would sooner kill others and their own, rather than see people live free.

Some people regard culture and society as an extension of Darwinian theory. Current versions and models are the 'latest and the greatest,' with past cultures and societies as flawed and limited. The leaders of other cultures and societies co opt and rewrite the past to support their own ideologies, reinterpreting that past to fit, support and endorse their particular vision.

Americans are different. We are raised with the conscious understanding that those that came before us were giants, and that we are obligated to defend and build upon those principles and ideals of our Founding Fathers. We are not better than them. Their legacy serves as our guiding light- we do not need to reinterpret freedom with each new regime or to serve successive generations. We are beholden to our founding fathers and those who came after, for having elevated successive generations and for having instilled in us the morals and obligations that come with freedom.

Indeed, when we think about, consider and debate our freedoms, we go back in time and become participants in the meetings that that took place in Philadelphia. We share in the arguments, passions and dedication to an ideal that will shape the future.

Americans talk about freedom so passionately because we are passionate about that great ideal.

Freedom is the foundation of our beliefs. Because of freedom we free to choose the things we believe in, without fear of violence or repercussion. Freedom is the only ideology that wants to make the world a better place, a place where each and every one of us can author our own destiny- and do so without without stripping others of their rights. In a free society, we are free to exercise free will. We can choose to believe in God or we can exercise that free will and choose not to believe in God. In a free society, God takes care of His affairs. In a society that isn't free, the tyranny du jour takes it upon itself to handle God's affairs for Him.

The fight for freedom has not been easy. It never is. There are those that see the cost of freedom and want us to abandon the citizens of nations that so desperately need liberation from tyranny. It is tempting indeed to walk away, in the myopic and absurd belief that we would be forever extricating ourselves from a problem.

There is an undeniable truth. Freedom supports righteousness and make the world a more civilized and moral place. Notwithstanding the reality that much of the world doesn't care about those ideals, that truth about freedom is unassailable. Those that resist and resent our involvement in helping to secure freedom for others, may at times, seem to prevail, but in the end, even that is illusory.

There are those that will go to great lengths to keep us from bringing freedom to others. They will excoriate us, berate us, laugh at us and even support violence against us. There are those who would align themselves with evil so as to hurt us- and rejoice in our pain. There are those that would support the propaganda and ideologies that would demoralize and weaken us. With all their might, deceit and hatred, they would relentlessly attack us- but in the end, it will all be for naught. Americans will defend freedom, from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

They may at times kill the messenger, but the world cannot kill the message.

There are really only two ways you can hurt someone. Take away their dignity or take away their hope. When a tyranny oppress a citizen, they take away dignity. When that oppressed citizen no longer believes that there are free and good people who care about them, there are left without hope. What is hope? Well, it is an average American, from an average place, that put on a uniform and fought to liberate oppressed people- and then went home.

Of the almost 7 billion people on this planet, only 300 million are Americans. In other words, less than 5% of the population of this planet are Americans- and yet, the world is obsessed with our existence. In the course of 200 odd years, we have provided the world ideas, contributions and realities that are in the consciousness of every human being on the planet. Given our numbers and short history, we should not have had this profound influence on history and mankind. The secret to our our successes and influence can be attributed to one powerful word: Freedom.

The notion that all men are created equal, is a biblical concept. It took America to make that a reality, in those ideas called freedom and democracy. "They will beat their swords into plowshares...nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore," can only come about as the result of freedom and democracy for all mankind. It is an illusion to believe that anything less will bring about peace. The one thing we have learned is that democracies don't wage war with each other. They do not take up arms to settle disputes.

We wrote, in Our Way, No Exceptions And Freedom Is Not Subject To Negotiations, that

"To presume that we must somehow persuade populations that freedom is better than tyranny is absurd. It presumes that tyranny and freedom are of equal value and standing. In fact, we appear foolish- and weak- when are forced to plead our case. In reality, when we argue the case for freedom as equal to tyrannical regimes, we belittle freedom. A casual observer would ask why we would denigrate ourselves in such a manner...

What kind of impression do we make if we are willing to belittle ourselves to plead the case for democracy over tyranny? That is like lowering ourselves to argue the merits of kindness over evil"

If you see an average looking man or woman today, marching in parade, walking around or even on TV, wearing a veterans cap, beret or hat, remind yourself that is what hope looks like- and that is more precious and beautiful than anything in any museum, anywhere.

Happy Memorial Day.

Portion of this post have been previously published.

Late Night Class: Today's Lesson

Selected Reaction From Around The Globe

MHNN (Ann Arbor, MI)- This past week the 2008 race for the White House was trumped by news from the offices of Dr Patricia M Santy (PMS), NASA organic waste in space specialist, author of the weekly Carnival Of The Insanities (COTI) and well known blogger. In a prepred statement released by her she noted that

"I need a break from all the daily insanity. Unfortunately, I am suffering from "blogger burnout", and consequently my level of enthusiasm for blogging has declined. Add to that some significant personal and professional issues; as well as the fact that there are several other major writing projects I have been putting off for a long time now and would like to begin/finish--well, it was either take a long vacation, or quit the blogging rat race entirely."

Despite repeated requests, Dr Santy refused all requests to be interviewed.

Political analysts throughout the nation and around the world were caught off guard by the announcement:

Here are few reactions from around the globe.

Vladimir Putin, former two term Russian President and current Prime Minister, had this to say:

While we regret the decision, we in the Russian Federation wish to extend an invitation to Dr Santy to come to Moscow and blog from here. We would make sure there would be no other blogging psychiatrists.

Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister:

Dr Santy's contribution to the blogosphere cannot be underestimated. Her work has influenced an entire generation that have followed in her footsteps and because of that calling, our efforts to secure the world from the threat of those who would usurp us, we will continue to fight the dark spectre of evil with courage abd determination.

Bill Clinton:

She looks pretty hot in a lab coat.

Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbollah:

What do I care? I have to stay in hiding because the Israelis want to kill me. Killing Jews as a life's work is a hard business, I tell you.

Nikolas Sarkozy, President of France:

Her dedication to the Liberte, Fraternite and Egalite of free people's has made a symbol for the free world. With french wine and cheese to fortify this angel of democratic values, there was nothing that would stop her. It is as if she were the model for the Statue of Liberty.

Barack Obama, Democrat candidate for President:

Our nation needs to have a serious discussion about blogging.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia:

We would like to offer Dr Pat M Santy 28 billion dollars for her promise to never blog again- of course only because we want her to retire. We would never want to influence her stated position that the Arab world is broken, dysfunctional, oppressive and sponsors and tolerates the persecution of women, children and non Muslims.

Angela Merkal, Chancellor of Germany:

Dr Pat M Santy has proved to be a most efficient and effective critic of regimes that oppress and strangle nations. Her arguments are precise and she cuts her opponents as if she were wielding a scalpel, and then ties them into neat little bundles to be4 disposed of.

Khaled Mashal, leader of Hamas in Damascus:

What do I care? I have to stay in hiding because the Israelis want to kill me. Killing Jews as a life's work is a hard business, I tell you.

Charles Krauthammer, psychiatrist and political commentator:

There is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Pat is up to something. She won't walk away from a fight. I wouldn't be surprised to see her write a book that changes everything.

Juan Williams, political analyst:

Charles may be right. She certainly has more moxie than Hillary Clinton and she has never been known tp throw in the towel. What is she up to? Who knows, but if I were a critic, I would take little comfort in her temporary blogging hiatus.

Mara Liasson, political analyst;

I think she's tired. Look, she lives in Ann Arbor- what could be more grating than that? Can you imagine living with some of the most irrelevant people in the nation- and I'm a liberal!

Mort Kondracke, political analyst:

I don't see how her taking some time off is going to make a difference. The Blogosphere is full of psychological analysts, including those 3 dead guys, toilet habit experts, and cosmic travelers.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority:

What do I care? I have to stay in hiding because the Israelis want to kill me. Killing Jews as a life's work is a hard business, I tell you.

Dick Cheney:

If Dr Santy has retired- and I hope she hasn't. but if she has- I'd like to offer up a suggestion: Take the time to learn how to hunt ducks. It is a relaxing and fulfilling pastime offering up some real excitement every now and then.

Leo Buscaglia, psychologist:

Does this mean I can come out now? I hope so- after being cooped up with my inner child for so many years, I realize there are anger issues I have to deal with.

Maureen Dowd, columnist, New York Times:

That's just great. Now I have to compete with her. I know why she went on this blogging hiatus- to make me look bad.

Jimmy Carter:

While I respect Dr Sanity, her unwillingness to make room for tyrants, despots, murderers and avowed anti semites has always troubled me. I hope she takes this time to think about that.

Bashar Assasd, President of Syria:

What do I care? I have to stay in hiding because the Israelis want to kill me. Killing Jews as a life's work is a hard business, I tell you.

George W Bush:

I am saddened to learn of Dr Sanity's decision. I can only offer up the prayers and best wishes of a nation that eagerly waits her return to blogging. Nucular- Nuculeer- nuclear proliferation is a problem that must be addressed by all free men and free women of good will, everywhere.

From the Daily Kos:

That ***** is gone! **** her! I hope she and her kid burn in hell!

John McCain:

Pat Santy has served her nation with great distinction and determination. I believe she is fit to serve for many more years.

MHNN would like to remind readers that despite her hiatus from blogging, Dr Santy will continue to meet with leaders from around teh globe and will continue to post the Carnival Of The Insanities.

Late Night Laugh: We Don't Care How It Gets Broken

Enviro Grand Slam, Love, The Cleavers And Bob’s Main Squeeze

Canadian kid may just have hit an enviro homerun!

Getting ordinary plastic bags to rot away like banana peels would be an environmental dream come true.

After all, we produce 500 billion of them a year worldwide, and they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. They take up space in landfills, litter our streets and parks, pollute the ocean and kill the animals that eat them.

Now a Waterloo teenager has found a way to make plastic bags degrade faster -- in three months, he figures...

Finding love...

Edward Smith, who lives with his current "girlfriend" – a white Volkswagen Beetle named Vanilla, insisted that he was not "sick" and had no desire to change his ways.

"I appreciate beauty and I go a little bit beyond appreciating the beauty of a car only to the point of what I feel is an expression of love," he said.

He added: "I'm not sick and I don't want to hurt anyone, cars are just my preference."

Mr Smith, 57, first had sex with a car at the age of 15, and claims he has never been attracted to women or men.

But his wandering eye has spread beyond cars to other vehicles. He says that his most intense sexual experience was "making love" to the helicopter from 1980s TV hit Airwolf...

He added: "There are moments way out in the middle of nowhere when I see a little car parked and I swear it needs loving.

"There have been certain cars that attracted me and I would wait until night time, creep up to them and just hug and kiss them.

"As far as women go, they never really interested me much. And I'm not gay.”

Mr Smith is now part of a global community of more than 500 “car lovers” brought together by internet forums.

The Cleavers

Brenda Hecht said she's tired of her son's behavior. She said her 18-year-old son, Chamborg Hecht, hasn't worked for four months and sleeps all day. And when she goes to work at night, she said he plays video games until she returns home.

The frustrated mom's efforts to get her son's attention landed her in jail, charged with attempted murder after allegedly cutting him with a meat cleaver...

"I popped him in the head with the wrong thing. It was just there. I didn't try to kill my son," Hecht said...

During the confrontation, he told police his mother picked up a meat clever and struck him in the head. He said they fought for the instrument and during the struggle, his mother bit him. Chamborg said his right hand was cut when she attempted to slice his fingers off. He said she then threatened to cut off his head and his genitals.

"He talks about it too much anyway; there's more to life than that," Hecht said.

Larry Craig bobblefoot

While lots of sports franchises hand out bobblehead dolls, usually depicting their players, the Saints are handing out 2,500 "bobblefoot" knicknacks.

The keepsakes consist of a miniature bathroom stall with a couple of lower legs and feet. One of the feet is springloaded and "taps," which, the Saints' press release says, is in honor of National Tap Dance Day.

Right.

The team also takes pains to note: "It doesn't matter if your tapping style is done with a 'wide stance' or is used as some sort of code."

Squeezing Bob- again

Mr Jane's barrister David Collins said Laree Madonna Jane was "profligate" and unable to live on $800,000 a year.

After their marriage collapsed, Mrs Jane - a mother of three - was put on an allowance of $30,000 a month plus expenses but she could not live on that either, Mr Collins told the Supreme Court.

"Laree was an extremely extravagant spender," he said.

"She was unable or unwilling to curb her spending.

"When a limit was placed on her spending - of $800,000 a year - she was unable to stay within it."

Mr Collins said that when there was a need for more money the answer invariably was "put the squeeze on Bob".

Have They No Shame?

Europe has not seen the propagation of a lie that has caused so much death in a very, very long time- until France2 TV and Charles Enderlin decided to have a go at it.

As a result, hundreds of lives have been lost, 2 peoples have been traumatized and journalists privileged to live and work in a free nation have deliberately deceived the entire world.

Joe McCarthy was a poseur next to Charles Enderlin and France2.

The French courts have pointed out only the obvious, that Emperor Enderlin and his court, France2, are bereft of a wardrobe. Like the other great European deceivers that underwrote so much death, Enderlin and his court are blaming the eternal scapegoat for his problems.

"Have they no shame?"

Clearly, they do not.

From Breath of the Beast:

We have to admit we were angry with you for libeling Israel that we wanted to get you to take it back. It wasn’t just anger. We wanted to make it impossible for you to ever release such a tidal wave of violence and blood on us again. After the disastrous aftermath of your al Durah report, so many people suffered and died, we have come to think of you more as a war criminal than just an unethical journalist. Really, we do not feel that you deserve to be thought of as an honorable journalist. Fortunately for us your character flaws have relieved us of the responsibility to attack you. If you had ignored our criticism, let the whole thing drop and not sued anyone you would still be on top of the world today and Israel and the Jewish people would still be blackened by your libel...

Now that the judgment is published, Charles, we are very pleased to see that you are going to do your best to help us to help you to complete your self-destruction by taking it to a higher court. We never had the stomach for the dirty fight you are waging we do not like to destroy other people- no matter how richly deserved. We, therefore are especially grateful to you that you have not had the moral fiber to resist you darker instincts and have thereby undertaken to do the job yourself.

Read it all.

From The Research Labs Of The SC&A Institute