Conservatives more generous than liberals!

So here's a little interesting tidbit: conservatives donate more of their money to charitable organizations than liberals do, in spite of the fact they they earn slightly less money; and they are 18% more likely to donate blood!

20/20 (with John Stossell), conducted a test in Sioux Falls, S.D. and San Francisco, CA. They wanted to test the various myths about who "gives" and who doesn't. Liberals have always been touted as caring more about helping the poor, so they arranged for the Salvation Army to collect money in front of a Walmart in Sioux Falls and a Macy's in San Francisco, and Sioux Falls collected twice as much as San Francisco. So much for 'bleeding heart liberals'.
Apparently, of the top 25 states that 'give' the most, 24 were 'red' states, at least in the last presidential election.

They also found that those who give the most are the 'working' poor and the rich. The middle class, apparently, gives the least amount.

And as for Americans in general, we are the most generous people in the world, according to Dr. Carol Adelman at the Hudson Institute. We give more, as individuals, than any other country. We give, annually, billions of dollars in foreign aid through private organizations. Even more than the U.S. government does.

And so much for the myth that Americans are cheap.

"March of the Penguins" - Are penguins more human than humans?

I watched "March of the Penguins" last night, for the first time, and was so incredibly moved by the story of these truly amazing creatures. It was nominated for and won a slew of awards including an Academy Award, in 2005, for Best Feature Documentary, and understandably so.

Director Luc Jaquet spent 12 months in the Antarctic filming the Emperor Penguins and their annual 50 to 70 mile trek to their breeding grounds where they court, mate, hatch one egg and raise their hatchling until it is old enough to go off on its own; that is, if they all survive which, considering what they have to endure, is a major achievement.

They start their trek in March (the beginning of the Antarctic winter) from the sea, and journey inland to their ancestral breeding grounds. Emperor penguins have done this for centuries, walking single file, sometimes sliding on their bellies, until they reach their destination where the courtship, mating and nesting take place. Several months after conception, each female lays one egg which she then carefully transfers to her mate to safeguard while she makes the long trek back to the ocean to feed. After months without food they need to not only nourish themselves, but provide food for their babies, upon their return.

While the females are gone, the males must endure the severe winter blizzards standing huddled together to provide warmth. With the egg nestled on top of their claws and underneath a flap of feathered skin called a brood pouch, they carefully protect the egg they have been entrusted with. They can not let the egg fall or it could crack or freeze before it is has hatched. Several months later the females return, fully fed and thus able to feed their babes, which have, by then, hatched.

The males, after 4 months without sustenance, begin their trek in search of food. This time their trip is not so long. With the commencement of spring and then summer, the ice begins to melt and the distance between the breeding grounds and the water's edge decreases. They return after several weeks and then the male and female alternate searching for food to provide for their chicks. They feed their young by regurgitating a milky substance into their open beaks. After several more months, when the penguins are old enough to fend for themselves, they all return to the sea. The young penguins will wait 4 or 5 years before they embark on this yearly trek.

I think what struck me the most was the total and absolute devotion these animals have for their young; their willingness to endure such extreme and almost unbearable hardship to ensure their offspring survive. Yes, they are animals, yes it is instinctual, but I can't help but wonder why these 'animals' are more human than some human beings. Every day you read about the abuse, abandonment and murder of children: A newborn found dead, abandoned in some garbage dump. Parents who kill their own children, for whatever warped reason they have. Mothers in the Middle East who encourage their children to become suicide bombers. What happened to their maternal or paternal instincts? What makes them less human than some penguins in the Antarctic? "March of the Penguins" should be shown to every couple or person who is about to give birth, perhaps they can learn from some animals what true parenting is all about.

GOP blew it, according to Dr. James Dobson

According to Dr. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family fame, the major losses the GOP sustained these past mid-term elections were a direct result of the Republican Party abandoning the 'values voters'. On Larry King Live, November 22nd, Dobson claimed, "Republicans were given a marvelous opportunity, they had a 10-vote margin in the Senate - that's about as good as it gets - and a 29-vote margin in the House, and they essentially did very little that so-called values voters care about. I think people remembered."

So in other words, the "values voters" punished the GOP by voting Democratic or not at all? Can someone please explain the rationale behind this kind of reasoning? What did they think that would accomplish? Corruption and scandal is not an exclusively Republican activity, even though the mainstream media, Hollywood and the liberals love to portray it that way. In TV and films, every sleazy, evil, corrupt government official (or Judge) always happens to be a conservative. The Dems have had their fair share of corruption, past and present, and voting for them was like the proverbial 'cutting one's nose...'. I don't understand that kind of mentality. Did they stop to think about the repercussions? Granted, many of the elected Dems are Blue Dog Democrats, but we will still have to deal with people like Pelosi, who is now Speaker of the House. And with a Democrat majority, what does that bode? What kind of judges are going to be nominated? Did they happen to think about that? I think not. You have to look at the bigger picture, which people rarely seem to do. I hope they change their outlook before 2008, or we're in major trouble!

For more of Dobson's interview on Larry King Live, check out this Newsmax article.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks! A day to reflect upon all our blessings, and as Americans we are extremely blessed to be living in one of the greatest countries in the world.

So we're not perfect. Which country is?! We have our problems. But in spite of all our shortcomings, and as often as foreigners vehemently claim to hate and despise us, the U.S. is the country most people dream of coming to. Because this is the "land of opportunity" where, with a little effort and sometimes no effort at all, anyone can be anything they choose to be. Where education is encouraged for both men and women. Where a woman can do a man's job and vice versa. Where we can criticise our government and politicians without being thrown into jail and tortured or killed. Where our politicians are (usually) held accountable and we can vote, in or out, for whomever we choose, and we do and have. Where we have access to news that is not censored. Where we can demonstrate, if we choose to, against or about pretty much anything we choose to. Where women can wear what they want without being beaten and stoned for showing their arms or a tuft of hair. Where we can worship in a temple, church, synagogue, mosque or wherever we choose to commune with God, or not worship at all. Where we have access to alternative medicine and our supplements and herbs are not rigorously and overly regulated. Where we can travel, without restriction, throughout this country and abroad. Where life is what you make of it, and you can make anything of your life. Where we don't live in fear of daily suicide bombings.

This is what freedom and democracy are all about. The freedom to choose what we want for our lives. Not to have those choices dictated by militant religious or political dogma. This is the "land of the free" and "the home of the brave."

God Bless these United States of America and those brave men and women who serve in our armed forces who fight to maintain the freedoms that we have!

We have much to be thankful for!

CAIR urges probe after Muslim scholars removed from flight

Not surprising that CAIR (Council on American-Islamic relations) would immediately call for a probe into the removal of 6 Imams from a U.S. Airways flight this past Monday, alleging religious and ethnic profiling. Apparently several of the Imams were praying in the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport terminal prior to boarding a plane headed for Phoenix. I have written, in previous posts, about my belief in religious tolerance, but frankly, what do they expect post 9-11??

Nihad Awad, the executive director of CAIR stated, "We are concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam."

10 years ago observing a group of Muslim men involved in 'evening prayers' might have raised a certain amount of curiosity and interest, but not fear. 9/11 unfortunately changed all that, and the progressively violent and murderous actions of an ever increasing radicalized Muslim faction increases that fear and yes, sadly, prejudice. The claims of Islam being hijacked by a few means nothing when the majority of the Muslim world population has remained largely mum on the actions of these supposed few. Virulent anti-western sentiment in middle-eastern countries doesn't help matters, either. Go to memritv.org and watch any of the many videos they have on their website. Some very chilling footage.

I admit that since 9/11, when traveling, I have become far more suspicious of anyone who looks in any way, shape or form Middle-Eastern, even women. Yes, it's religious and ethnic profiling and no, it's not ignorance, it's human nature! On September 11th, 2001, 19 Muslims of Arab descent hijacked and crashed 4 commercial passenger jet airliners, killing 2,973 people.

A collection of photographs of those killed (except for 92 victims) during the terrorists attacks on Sept 11, 2001.
Source: United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui (Criminal No. 01-455-A), Prosecution Trial Exhibits, Exhibit number P200336

You bet I'm going to wonder if that person praying to Allah before boarding the plane, or on the plane, is perhaps saying his last prayer. Irrational, perhaps, but it's going to cross my mind, regardless.

There are, of course, differing versions about what actually occurred. What we do know is that a passenger handed a note to a flight attendant voicing their concerns about what they felt was suspicious activity by the Imams, which then prompted the removal of the 6 Muslim men. Reports claim the Imams refused to leave the plane and that they were also heard chanting "Allah" and spouting anti U.S. sentiments, however the men deny these accusations. Who knows what the actual truth is, but I do know that Muslim/Americans are first and foremost Muslims and therein lies a major problem, which I will go into in another post.

Until the moderate and secular Muslims start criticizing and disowning the radical element of their own religion, people will continue to profile, and with good reason.

VOTE, PLEASE

Don't forget to Vote! It's our privilege and duty to do so. People in many countries do not have this right.

But just remember what hangs in the balance.

And don't cheat!! That goes for both sides. Last night I heard that some people involved with ACORN were doing just that. Unfortunately, you don't hear much about Democratic voter fraud in the main stream media. Had this been Republican cheating it would have been plastered everywhere.

Kerry apologizes for ‘botched joke’ on Imus

Go to the MSNBC website for the full text. Link above. It's too wonderfully funny! It shows Kerry in all his glorious arrogance and ignorance. Note how many times Imus begs Kerry to "stop" and he just babbles on. Also interesting how people are asking Kerry not to attend any campaign functions.

And an interesting sidenote, apparently Kerry's GPA was actually lower than GWB's. I think I heard our Prez say on TV last night that even those with a "C" can become President! And I know there are many in our military who have higher GPAs than Kerry and Bush, who at least acknowledges his "C" average.

BERLIN OPERA UPDATE

Well, it seems that the Deutsche Oper Berlin's production of Mozart's "Idomeneo", which was cancelled in September because of fear that a particular scene showing the severed head of Mohammad (and other religious figures) could potentially inflame the Islamic community, might be reinstated, after all. They are hoping to schedule several performances sometime in December, with assurances from Berlin police that they face no overt threats.

I wrote about this back in September. At the time it appeared as if everyone was in agreement that it was the best thing to do, however, it seems that even government officials were critical of manager Kirsten Harms' decision to cancel. Chancellor Angela Merkel called it: "self-censorship out of fear." I had no idea there was such a backlash, as the article I read made no mention of this. I guess I should have read several other articles before commenting.

Good for them!!

POLITICIANS NEED TO THINK BEFORE THEY SPEAK

Why don't politicians think before they speak..... or act, for that matter? Seems to be happening a lot lately and, to be fair, in both parties. Are they too stupid to realize that being in the public eye exposes them to greater scrutiny and judgment, or are they just too darn arrogant to believe that anyone will hold them to a higher standard (befitting their office) simply because they happen to be who they are.

John Kerry finally (albeit begrudgingly) apologized for his idiotic remark denigrating the intelligence of our troops, but only after being pressured by the White House and fellow Democrats to do so. Had the Dems not piped in as well, he would have dug in his heels and refused. As it is, it took him a while to acquiesce and even then it was far from an apology. In his supreme arrogance he blamed the listener (and primarily those offended by it) for misunderstanding his intentions. As with most Dems, blame always has to be placed elsewhere.

And the obvious reason the Dems that did join forces with the White House in demanding an apology was out of fear that this could turn off those undecideds who might possibly vote Democratic on November 7th. And we know how desperately they want the majority.

Then Howard Dean comes along and defends Kerry calling what Kerry himself claimed was a "botched joke": a "blooper". Blooper, joke .. I call it stupidity, and Dean and Kerry: 2 peas in a pod. Regardless of one's stance on the war in Iraq, supporting the troops has always been something everyone has agreed upon. So when Kerry, at a campaign event at Pasadena City College for gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides, says: "You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq" , our troops deserve a sincere apology. Unfortunately Kerry, in all his arrogance, is incapable of that.

And Kerry was the man half the U.S. population wanted as President!

As for Florida Rep. Ralph Arza-R, he claims he was drunk when he left some obscenity filled messages (along with racial slurs referencing Miami-Dade School Superintendent, Rudy Crew, who is black) on fellow Republican Rep. Gus Barreiro's voicemail . Barreiro, who like Arza is Hispanic, apparently filed a complaint which then resulted in calls for his resignation. He has complied and since resigned, although he claims he never used a racial epithet when referring to Crew. There is also talk about witness tampering, but I'm not sure of the details.

Drunk or not, there are consequences for our actions and maybe our politicians will start thinking, for a change. Yeah, right!