We The People Got Stiffed: Indymac, The FDIC and One West

An eye-opening Brian Stevens and Frank Garay, of thinkbigworksmall.com (TBWS)video. Shows the shenanigans between our government and the banking system, and how ultimately it's we, the people, who are getting stiffed.

"The Conversion Of David Mamet" on Commentary Magazine

There's an interesting article in Commentary Magazine on David Mamet, playwright, screenwriter and director of blockbusters like, GLENGARRY GLENN ROSS, SPEED THE PLOW, THE VERDICT, WAG THE DOG and a slew of others. He's one of the few who has had as celebrated a career on the stage as on the big screen. So when he first came out as an 'anti-liberal' I, along with most everyone else in the entertainment industry, was shocked to say the least. For my part, quite pleasantly. Of course, he wasn't always that way, as he explained in that 2008 article in the Village Voice entitled- David Mamet: Why I Am No Longer A 'Brain-Dead Liberal- an election-season essay'.

The article in Commentary Magazine by Terry Teachout, talks about a new book of essays that Mamet published (and yes, he's still not a liberal)called "Theatre", which apparently marries his new worldview with the world of theatre.

Although Theatre is not so much a political treatise as a professional apologia, it seems likely that those of his colleagues who write about it (to date, most have ignored it completely) will focus on its political aspect, in which they will doubtless find much to outrage them. Indeed, he offers a working definition of theater that is bound to fill the vast majority of his colleagues with horror:

The theatre is a magnificent example of the workings of that particular bulwark of democracy, the free-market economy. It is the most democratic of arts, for if the play does not appeal in its immediate presentation to the imagination or understanding of a sufficient constituency, it is replaced. ... It is the province not of ideologues (whether in the pay of the state and called commissars, or tax subsidized through the university system and called intellectuals) but of show folk trying to make a living.

Conversely, Mamet dismisses state subsidy for the theatrical arts as no more than a means of propping up incompetent “champions of right thinking” whose work would otherwise be incapable of attracting an audience. Such playwrights, he says, are purveyors of politically correct “pseudodramas” that “begin with a conclusion (capitalism, America, men, and so on, are bad) and award the audience for applauding its agreement.” For Mamet, such plays are the opposite of true theater, whose power lies not in its willingness to coddle our preconceptions but its unparalleled ability to shock us into seeing the world as it really is. “In the great drama,” he writes, “we follow a supposedly understood first principle to its astounding and unexpected conclusion. We are pleased to find ourselves able to revise our understanding.”

Read the rest of "The Conversion Of David Mamet" on Commentary Magazine. It's worth the few minutes to see into the mind of an ex-liberal, entertainment industry maverick.

Boney M Asked To Not Sing Their 1978 Hit "By The Rivers Of Babylon" At Palestinian Music Fest

Just back from working out of town for six weeks. Because of my line load, I was too busy to blog; in fact too busy to read or watch the news, and frankly it was quite wonderful to be in blissful ignorance for a while. But I'm back, and though I'm sure I've missed some doozies, nothing much has changed, since there's still a ton to write about. Would it were not so, but the following caught my eye.

I'm dating myself, but anyone remember that disco-cum-reggae band out of Europe called Boney M? I loved them, and one of my favorite songs (and one of their major hits) was "By The Rivers Of Babylon". Based on Psalm 137 (and some words from Psalm 19) about the desire of the Jewish people to return to Zion after their conquest and exile by the Babylonians, it was initially written and recorded in 1970 by Jamaican reggae band The Melodians. It was, however, made popular by Boney M in the late 1970s. Fast forward to July 2010 and Boney M, obviously still around, is performing in Ramallah, Palestine at an international music festival and the group is asked to NOT sing the hit song. That's right, since the lyrics are all about Zion, and the Jewish people's obvious historical ties to the land of Israel, "By The Rivers of Babylon" is forbidden. That's because the Palestinians don't want any reminders that the Jews have just as much right to live on that land as they do. Maizie Williams, the lead singer said she wasn't sure if it was

"a political thing or what, but they asked us not to do it and we were a bit disappointed."

Well, Maizie, let me enlighten you: it IS a political thing.

I still love the song.

Not All Muslims Support Building A Mosque At Ground Zero

Building a mosque at ground zero is an affront to all those who lost their lives on 9/11 (and thereafter, as a result of 9/11) and all their loved ones. And regardless of the reasons and so-called good intentions for Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to build a mosque where so many innocent Americans lost their lives through an act of Islamic terrorism, not all Muslims believe it's a good thing.

M. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a Syrian/American, and former US Navy lieutenant commander thinks not. In an op-ed in the New York Post he explains why ground zero is not an appropriate place to build

an ostentatious $100 million, 13-story Muslim community center including a gym, a swimming pool, a performance-arts facility and a mosque.

As a man whose parents moved here from Syria, and who helped construct local Muslim community-built mosques in the various towns they lived, he's concerned that some of the funding for the mosque at ground zero is possibly being provided by foreign Islamists, and whatever those ramifications are, could be troubling.

I am an American Muslim dedicated to defeating the ideology that fuels global Islamist terror -- political Islam. And I don't see such a "center" actually fighting terrorism or being a very "positive" addition near Ground Zero, no matter how well intentioned.

To put it bluntly, Ground Zero is the one place in America where Muslims should think less about teaching Islam and "our good side" and more about being American and fulfilling our responsibilities to confront the ideology of our enemies.

Jasser is one of those rare few who appreciate that they are Americans who happen to be Muslim and looks at things from that perspective.

This is not about the building of a mosque or a religious facility. It is not about religious freedom. This is about a deep, soulful understanding of what happened to our country on 9/11.

When Americans are attacked, they come together as one, under one flag, under one law against a common enemy that we are not afraid to identify. Religious freedom is central to our nation - and that is why the location of this project is so misguided. Ground Zero is purely about being American. It can never be about being Muslim.

The World Trade Center site represents Ground Zero in America's war against radical Islamists who seek to destroy the American way of life. It is not ground zero of a cultural exchange.

We American Muslims cannot merely passively avoid Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots. We need to ask ourselves: Are we Americans who happen to be Muslim or Muslims blindly demanding to be American?

This is one of the rare few who realize that radical Islam is just as much a threat to them as it is to the rest of us.

On Sept. 12, 2001, I was first an American. When those planes hit the World Trade Center, they hit at the core of my being as an American. The attack on my faith by the terrorists was secondary to their attack on my homeland.

We need to focus our efforts more transparently on teaching Muslim youth that the American concepts of liberty and freedom are preferable to sharia and the Islamic state. American Muslims represent the best opportunity to fight Islamist radicalization not because we understand Islam but because we have experienced and understood what American liberty provides to the Muslim experience.

Americans must always remember the horrors of 9/11 and must be vigilant in not allowing political Islam to wear down the principles that built our country.

We need more like Jasser to speak up.

To read the entire op-ed click here.

Prostitution And Jihad: The Double Life Of Anwar al-Awlaki

It looks like Anwar Al-Awlaki, spiritual advisor to a slew of jihadists from Nidal Hassan to the Detroit underwear bomber Abdulmuttalab, was a naughty boy prior to inspiring jihad in others.

According to a report on Fox news, the feds just released a mug shot of al-Awlaki for soliciting prostitution in the mid 1990s while he was Imam of the Rabat Mosque in San Diego. Yes, our holy man Anwar was preaching the virtuous Islamic life during the day and hitting the pros at night. He apparently was also arrested for the same thing in Virginia more than 4 years later. Because of a plea agreement he was never prosecuted, although he did perform some community service, given a small fine and forced to get tested for HIV.

As Fox news reporter Catherine Herridge questions, what took so long for this information to be released, particularly in light of the fact that the man is such an inspiration to so many?

Who knows if he's getting any in Yemen, but I'm sure he's probably finding a way. Old habits die hard.

What a hypocrite!

To see the video click here.

Anti-Semite Helen Thomas Retires After Telling Israelis To "Get The Hell Out Of Palestine" and "Go Home"

High profile, geriatric Washington journalist, Helen Thomas, retired after her incredibly insensitive, tacky comments about Israel. What led to her so-called 'retirement' was her response to a reporter's question about Israel. Asked if she had any comments on Israel, she aggressively responded with "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine". After the reporter asked if she had any better comment, Thomas proceeded to cackle like the Wicked Witch of the West and told him to remember that "these people are occupied and it's their land." Asked where they should they go she told the reporter that they should all go home. Poland and Germany and the U.S. or wherever.




After pressure and condemnation from many including the White House Press Corps, the Lebanese American Christian announced her retirement, and issued a statement of apology on her website

“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”

It's obvious she does not deeply regret her comments, and that this is merely a means of saving face. Sadly, many people feel the same way. All you have to do is look at some of the vile comments in response to the above video, on youtube. One called for the need for another Hitler. The Palestinians have done a brilliant job of snowballing a great majority of the people in the world, and those people are too stupid to see the through the lies.

Memorial Day 2010- Please Remember Me

Please take time to remember our fallen troops, those courageous defenders of freedom, this Memorial Day.

Pro-Palestinians And Anger Managment Issues: Or,why did Ali Mallah Assault Pro-Israeli Blogger at anti-Israeli Rally?

One thing that is becoming quite evident is that many Muslims, particularly of Arab and Asian descent, have some major, heavy-duty anger management problems. It's not just any perceived slight against their prophet Mohammad that sends them into paroxysms of rage, any little insignificant thing seems to get them all roiled up, including being videotaped at the numerous anti-Jew/Zionist/Israel rallies that seem to be increasing at an alarming rate. They hate being videotaped, although one would think they'd enjoy having their anti-Israel invective taped for posterity, but I guess they just hate being taped by anyone who happens to be pro-Israel. I've seen the videos of citizen journalists being harassed at Detroit Muslim festivals and elsewhere, and now, one of our own- Canadian blogger Blazing Catfur- was assaulted as he peacefully taped an anti-Netanyahu demonstration in Toronto. Although BCF was not hurt, the man who shoved him, Ali Mallah, needs some major therapy. Mallah happens to be a major player in the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the VP of the Canadian Arab Federation.

BCF, who is often found taping anti-Israel demonstrations, was at this protest of the Annual Walk With Israel event when Mallah, the goon, walked up to him and asked him who gave him permission to take pictures. See the video below for what ensues. Excuse me, but no-one needs permission to videotape any public event. And why did Mallah become so indignant? BCF was just quietly taping the event, which he had every right to do, just as Mallah had his own right to be there. What freedom loving Canadians took offense to, was the fact the anti-event was being sponsored by Palestine House, which happens to be funded by Canadian taxpayers' dollars.

For more detail, or pictures and updates check out Blazing Cat Fur's blog.