URGENT: Stop The Execution Of Farzad Kamangar

"On 25 February 2008, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Farzad Kamangar to death on charges of "endangering national security" and "enmity against God" (moharebe). The death penalty was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 11 July. "

A teacher, former member of a Kurdish teacher's union (until outlawed) and human right's activist, Farzad Kamangar was scheduled to be executed today! Thankfully, according to one source (International Campaign For Human Rights In Iran), he was not, although 10 others (including a woman) were, and there is still the likelihood that Kamangar will be hanged, at some point.

In a letter from prison, Kamangar describes the details of his arrest, and the torture he has endured while incarcerated:

In July of 2006 I came to Tehran to follow upon my brother's medical treatments. My brother is a Kurdish political activist. Upon my arrival in Tehran I was arrested and taken to an unknown place, it was a very small, dark basement. The cells in this place were empty, there were no blankets or rugs or sheets. They took me to a room and as they were interviewing me they asked me about my ethnicity. When I told them that I was of the Kurdish Ethnicity they lashed my entire body. They also lashed me because of the Kurdish music which I had saved on my mobile phone. They would tie my hands, make me sit on a chair and put pressure on the sensitive areas of my body. They would also strip me naked and threaten me with rape by various objects such as wood.

His trial was a farce. According to Khalil Bahramian, Farzad’s lawyer:

“Nothing in Kamangar’s judicial files and records demonstrates any links to the charges brought against him.” He described the trial as “lasting no more than five minutes, with the judge issuing his sentence without any explanation and then promptly leaving the room.” {snip} the closed-door trial violated the Iranian legal requirements that such cases must be tried publicly and in the presence of a jury.

Please send an email to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requesting, at the very least, that Kamangar get a fair trial. You can email him directly at: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir

or via the Education International website by clicking here, which has a pre-written letter

Being sentenced to death for being Kurdish, a human right's activist or trade union member, or all of the above, is outrageous.

Please take a moment to do this. That moment could save an innocent man's life.

Holiday Cheer For Our Service Members

The holidays are fast approaching and as you make out your holiday card list, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Year, why not add a soldier to your list:

The American Red Cross is partnering with Pitney Bowes to send holiday cards to military personnel, veterans and their families both here and abroad. The deadline is December 10th. Click here for guidelines. For the cost of a card and a stamp you can bring good cheer to someone who deserves it. They also have free cards you can download.

If you feel like sharing a little more than a card, there are organizations that send care packages, year round, to soldiers across the globe. Some of my favorites include:

Treats For Troops- You pick a soldier to shop for, and then have at it. You can also adopt a troop to send a package to. There is a wide variety of items to choose from.

Operation Gratitude- This is a wonderful organization that is totally voluntary, every penny you send them is used to ship packages to our service members. Corporate donors provide all the items, but each box costs $10.00 to ship, and as of today they only have enough funds to ship one-quarter of the 70,000 packages. The organization receives names of soldiers and each care package is personally addressed to them. Especially during the holidays, our service members can feel homesick and depressed, and receiving a card or care package can brighten their spirits. In fact, one soldier wrote to the founder of the organization the following letter:

"HI Carolyn Our unit will be leaving Iraq in a few weeks. I just wanted to thank you for your support of all soldiers over here. Your care packages helped lift morale here greatly and you should know helped save the life of a young soldier.

We had a soldier who never got mail, care packages, or anything. He did not have much family and as it turns out was planning on committing suicide on Christmas, but because that soldier received your care package it was like a Christmas gift. It made the soldier change his mind.

soldier now writes letters and emails to folks whose names were in the box and the soldier's attitude and outlook on life has really improved. This is not a story--it is true. We found out when the soldier finally opened up and talked to the Chain of Command about what was going thru his mind and got help for his depression.

Your care package made a major difference in a human life. Because of your organization, one less family received terrible news at Christmas time.

This has been my third deployment here and I remember how on my first deployment, I almost never got mail and then received a care package from your group. It made me feel much better about being separated from my loved ones. Is there anything I can do to help out? Your group has helped me so I think I should return the great favor. What can I do to help out? Send $$ donations? Just name
it. V/R, SFC J.S."

Our men and women in the military need and deserve our support. $10.00 isn't too much to sacrifice for those who put their lives on the line for us every day.

Obama's Tax Plan or What Will Happen To The Rich

I came across this clever analogy regarding Obama's proposed tax plan. This has been circulating the Internet for quite a while, and no-one knows who wrote it, but it does explain, in layman's terms, what happens when you tax the rich.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

"Since you are all such good customers", he said, "'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80."

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings)
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20" declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,"but he got $10!''

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

''That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!''

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

The same goes for corporate taxation. What's to stop some company from picking up roots and planting them in a country with major tax incentives, like Ireland. That's what happened to the U.S. film and commercial industry; production companies shoot their projects in the states and countries that offer the most tax incentives. Canada has a booming film industry with great incentives, and so we've lost a great amount of film production to Canada and other countries.

If you think the unemployment rate is high now, wait until all those overly taxed corporations and the rich move their operations to other lands. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

11/11/08- Veteran's Day

In honor of our veterans-

"You gave for peace with courage

That families may be free

So children could grow strong

And safe they'd ever be.

In giving for the sake of peace

You may have suffered loss

Your body may still show its wounds

From taking up the cause.

May remembrance of your time away

Your sacrifice for peace

Spur us on to strive more strongly

For freedom, that there'll be release.

From causes that sent some away

To fight that we may freely live

With gratefulness we thank you, veterans

For all you gave and give!"

by Susan Helene Kramer

And for those who want to help.

Treats for Troops
Freedom Alliance
America Supports You
Any Soldier
Operation Gratitude
Troops Support

To send e-cards:
Military E-Cards
Hallmark
Let's Say Thanks

How Obama Won The Presidency - 2008

The dust has settled, it's been a few days since Barack Hussein Obama was elected 44th President of the United States Of America, and a little over half the population are still riding on a wave of euphoria. They're talking about how, once again, they are proud of their country (how Michele Obamaesque!), and how "completely inspired" they are by the "new President-Elect and the promise of great things ahead!"; others say they're "smiling and celebrating the brightest new hope this country has had in decades!" Yes, we can be dang proud that a country, with a history of racism and other nastyisms, elected the first black president ever, and that's something to be celebrated. Had Obama been a Republican or even a moderate Democrat I would have jumped on the Barack "hope and change" bandwagon, as well. Who doesn't yearn for new beginnings? However, this was not the right African-American to have chosen to lead our country- a politician who won the dubious title of "Most Liberal Senator in 2007". Add to that his many questionable affiliations including Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, Tony Rezko and a host of others. As much as he would like to deny those relationships, there is a slew of evidence (including videos) that contradicts those denials. Claiming he had no clue what was going on in a church he attended for 20 years (that Oprah Winfrey left after a few), proves categorically that he is either a prodigious liar or totally out of touch.

I would have accepted his win with more grace and equanimity had it not been for what I consider to be the potentially fraudulent manner in which he won this election- directly and by proxy:

***We have the ACORN fiasco and all the Mickey Mouse, dead-men registered to vote. How many homeless people were bussed around the country to vote?

***We have the obscene amounts of money he spent plastering the airwaves and Internet, including a 4 million dollar vote-for-me-'cuz-I'm-going-to-save-the-world infomercial. Obama outspent McCain, by more than double, and raised and spent more funds than any other political campaign in history, 650 million dollars. What kind of precedent is that going to set? Campaign spending is already in dire need of reform. And what kind of hypocrite, claiming to be for the people, concerned about the working class and poor, allows his Kenyan aunt to live in a slum in Boston (illegally, at that), and does the following:

At a February 2007 rally in Las Vegas, Obama volunteers fanned through the crowd, gathering the names and e- mail addresses of people who could be asked for small donations again and again. Almost half of Obama's money came from people giving $200 or less.

The Obama campaign actively solicited money from working shlubs, those who could least afford it. Then, with their money, he purchased ad after ad. Everywhere you happened to look Obama's face was urging people to vote early or falsely claiming that McCain was a Bush 3rd term, and chanting his "change we can believe in" mantra. I noticed on one of his ads "Obama- President", not "Obama for President". Flash these soundbites and images in someone's face long enough, and the foolish begin to believe it. I wouldn't be surprised if there were subliminal messages in those ads.

***Then we have the iffy sources for donation monies. $300 million worth, of which Obama refuses to release the names of donors. Granted McCain had some of those, too, but far fewer than Obama. Then factor in the many individuals who donated over the $4,600 election limit who were never refunded, and the possibility of huge amounts generated from foreign donors.

***And don't forget the racial issue. Those of us who were smart enough not to be seduced by the Obama-hype, and chose to vote for McCain instead, were being labeled racists by people like Democratic Rep. John Murtha. Murtha declared that (western) Pennsylvania "could reduce Barack Obama's victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points. " Those self-same 'bitter, clinging to their guns and religion' Pennsylvanians Obama quipped about, while speaking to some affluent San Franciscan donors, actually voted for him.

Some people would like us to believe he won by a landslide, and if you count electoral votes ( an antiquated system that boggles the mind) he did; but as for the popular vote, he did NOT win by a landslide. A 3 to 6 % lead does not a landslide make.

In spite of the myriad of negatives associated with Barack Obama, he continued to be the darling of the media and the proverbial pied-piper of the Democratic Party throughout the election. The media with its unprecedented bias against McCain and its uber favorable coverage of Obama helped propel him to the top. I find this incredibly shameful.

I also blame, for the Obama win, the far right of the Republican Party who either chose not to vote for McCain or backed his campaign far too late. James Dobson of Focus On The Family, the same man who claimed Fred Thompson wasn't a Christian, initially refused to endorse McCain, although he finally did. But it was far too little too late. McCain never had a chance. He had an uphill battle from day one, trying to galvanize the base. Why would anyone else want to vote for him if so many of his own party were hesitant. Admittedly, he was not my first choice, but he was our choice, and I knew how important it was to back him, and so I did, wholeheartedly. However, considering all the challenges he faced, he did remarkably well. He should be proud.

We will survive because we have no expectations of our new president, but those on the other side are setting themselves up for monumental disappointment, if and when Obama does not, or is unable to follow through with his so-called "promises". People have been duped into thinking of Obama as some kind of Messiah, even Louis Farrakhan calls him that; they think he will change their lives, pay their mortgages and gas for their cars. This isn't going to happen folks. He's a mere human. He is NOT GOD. I just pray he doesn't mess this country up too much, and I actually even hope I have to eat my words, but in the meantime, I am going to do my best to make sure this country remains strong and free.

There are those who are disappointed that we have not embraced their 'savior' with open arms, but after 8 years or being bashed and vilified and forced to remain in the political closet, do they really think we would join hands and sing kumbaya Obambi has risen? Be real. I will attempt to be less vitriolic and mean-spirited than they were. I won't call for "Impeach Obama/Biden" for ludicrous reasons, but I will keep his feet to the fire if he tries to take away my freedoms, or attempts to hijack this country down the road to Socialism. You can count on that.

In the meantime, unlike many on the other side who have wished ill on Bush and others, I wish Obama the best. I hope he does try to reach across the aisle and create unity, as he has claimed he would, though never has done as a Senator. I'm now actually glad we didn't win, because at least for the next four years, we won't have to put up with the blame-game. Then again, I'm sure they will find something to blame on us.

Good luck President-Elect Obama, you will need it,

Barack Hussein Obama is Prez

The American people have spoken- Barack Obama is President! So be it.

The American people will deserve what they eventually get under an Obama presidency.

Will weigh in on this this later.

Election Day, November 4th, 2008- Vote!

So, today is THE day- the most important election of my lifetime. I'm off to vote and then hand out McCain material. I have never been this active during an election. I have manned phones, marched, and yesterday I participated in flag waving at a major cross-street near a mall. I have never donated money to an election before, but gave what I could this time, even though I'm not working and have no upcoming projects. This one was just too pivotal not to do anything. At least I know I have done my bit regardless of who wins.

I am still cautiously optimistic about a McCain win, I have hope in the American people that they will do, in the end, do the right thing. But whatever happens, life will go on and I will continue to fight for what is right. I'm actually glad this will be over, I can now get back to fighting against radical Islam and posting about other injustices around the world. And if Obama wins, we will all have more fuel for our blogs. If Obama does happen to win, and he makes this country better, than I will happily eat my words, but if he drags this country down the tubes, which I am confident he will, we will easily regain the presidency and the house and senate in 2012. We will have 4 years to court people to the party. I will be posting about that, in the future.

In the meantime, God Bless you all.

Onward and upward!

Joke of the day: "Little Johnny Was Republican"

A little election day humor!



A teacher in Elmira , New York asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans.
Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for Little Johnny.
The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different...again.
Little Johnny said, 'Because I'm not an Obama fan.'

The teacher asked, 'Why aren't you an Obama fan?'

Johnny said, 'Because I'm a Republican.'
The teacher asked him why he's a Republican.
Little Johnny answered, 'Well, my Mom's a Republican and my Dad's a Republican, so I'm a Republican.' Annoyed by this answer, the teacher asked, 'If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you?' With a big smile, Little Johnny replied,'That would make me an Obama fan.'

NObama08 Tuesday Blog Burst- Today's The Day-Vote McCain

As we count down to the remaining hours of this election, Social Sense and Confession of A Closet Republican urge their readers who have not yet voted to continue listening to what the candidates are saying; feel free to question their rhetoric.

If it is true that most Americans are worried about the economy, then there is no reason to vote for Barack Obama. None. If readers need a quick review, they will find an excellent crib-sheet of the Obama/McCain platforms at Jus’ Sayin'; check it out.

Ultimately, American voters and the Electoral College will make the final decision as to which candidate will serve as our next president. This is not the time to be lulled into accepting false promises and sugar coated solutions to serious challenges. We hope (and pray) Americans will select the one candidate who will best serve the interests of our Nation. Chose wisely, America.

Participants: Always on Watch; And Rightly So; Big Girl Pants; Cheese In My Shoe; Chuck Thinks Right; Confessions of a Closet Republican; Defending Crusader; Farmer’s Letters; Fore Left; GeeeeeZ; Has Everyone Gone Nuts?; Learn Something Today; Long Range; Palace for a Princess; Papa Frank; Mind of a Misfit; Paleocon Command Center; Political Yin and Yang; Pondering Penguin; Right Truth; Social Sense; The Amboy Times; The Bitten Word; The Crank Files; The Jungle Hut; The Logic Lifeline; The Merry Widow; TSOFAH;

"Twas The Night Before Election"-

Inspired by an email that PatJKnowistall sent me, my Democratic Dad (who is not voting Obama and is an amateur writer/songwriter) came up with the following:

'Twas the night before election, and I was Biden my time,
Wondering out loud if it would turn out a crime.
Then I heard a barry loud noise, like, Oh,- Bam! an' I thought,
Was it just fireworks or a socialist plot.

I grabbed My Cane 'cause I had A corn on my toe,
And fast as I could, hobbled out the front doh.
My face turned Pale 'n I felt like I'd faint.
I wasn't Putin on Ayres 'cause a phoney I aint.

Were the Russians invading across the "Bridge to Nowhere"?
Al-ask-an Inuit if I see one out there.
Wright or wrong I'll address a big crowd,
"Vote for the Elephant", and I'd say it out loud.

But I'm happy to say, it was nothing at all,
Just some Republican voters out having a ball.
'Cause an E-Mail from Santa said "You've nothing to fear,
'Cause the last North Poll shows "It's a Republican year!

Alternate ending. We weren't sure which was better:

'Cause an E-Mail from Santa said "It's a close race but you have nothing to fear.
My North Poll has the Donkey nosed out by an Elephant's ear."

From your lips to God's Ears, Pops!

Yes WE can win this!! Marching For McCain!

I've been busy manning phones at our local McCain headquarters, and yesterday joined a march for McCain/Palin, incognito, of course. Accompanied by my camera and several hundred people, I took some pictures of the march as we traipsed along some major streets waving our signs and U.S. flags. What I found very heartening was the extremely positive reception we received from people driving by. Granted we did get the occasional, incredibly rude, Obama supporter, but that was to be expected. For the most part, almost all the cars driving by honked enthusiastically, in support.

Thought I'd share some photos I took of the microcosm of people attending. We had representatives from every ethnic and religious group, people from all walks of life, gays and bikers. This is what America is all about!!

We started off at a sandwich shop across from the McCain/Palin Victory HQ.

Heading to the streets.

Several hundred strong. Not bad for an unpublicized event. Group was estimated to be from 200 to 400 people.

Men, women, children, babies and doggies in strollers.

Women in wheelchairs.




Dads and their baby girls.

Democrats and their baby dogs.

And we even had some special guests.. :-)

And last but not least, look who is supporting McCain...

Yes WE can, win this, go out and vote McCain!!

"It 'Aint Over 'Til The Fat Lady Sings"- Vote! McCain!

All you hear from the liberal media, and other biased idiots, is that the race is over, Obama has it in the bag, fughettaboudit, don't vote; but as I have commented before, polls can't be trusted. Remember Dewey? Most papers predicted a Thomas E. Dewey win: The New York Times proclaimed “Thomas E. Dewey’s Election as President is a Foregone Conclusion.” Life Magazine also predicted a Dewey win, when months prior to the election they published a photo of Dewey with the caption: “The Next President of the United States." The Chicago Daily Tribune even plastered "Dewey Defeats Truman" on their front page, on November 3, 1948. But incumbent Harry S. Truman (Democrat) trounced Dewey, in spite of Gallup Poll predictions that Dewey would win, and endorsements by only a measly 15% of U.S. daily papers.

Polls these days are liberally biased, and the media's pro-Obama stance will have you believe there's no point in voting. An AP Poll claims that 'Obama backers are gleeful, McCain backers glum.' George E. Marcus (political scientist from Williams College) says this is not good for McCain. Feeling discouraged can cause people to not vote, because of what they perceive as the futility in voting for a candidate who they presume will not win.

Don't fall for it. Get out there, and vote..... McCain!!

Gary Trudeau's "Doonesbury" comic strip has apparently created a cartoon for next week, presupposing an Obama win.

Let's hope we have another Dewey/Truman scenario, but that it's the Republican who wins, this time around.

Crossposted at Red County.

Black, Republican and Voting For McCain!

This guy is brilliant. Worth the viewing. Too bad McCain didn't have Zo do some of his campaign ads.