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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania

Hat tip The Blaze

Philippe Bourgois- Anthropology professor University of Pennsylvania


Adding to our cavalcade of dopey professors, here is Professor Philippe Bourgois from the University of Pennsylvania. (He's a Marxist.)

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/professors-appalling-rant-to-students-cops-are-piggish-conservatives-are-schmucks-america-is-perverse-place-need

Sean Hannity featured a clip of Bourgois on Fox tonight. Fasten your seat belts. In this clip, Bourgois is speaking at Bryn Mawr University.





I wonder if any of these captive audiences in these schools can ask this guy what kind of  system would exist in a Marxist country since the good professor is so worried about cops in North Philadelphia beating people up. Maybe he could tell them how great things were in the Soviet gulags. Maybe he could show them old film clips of Tianamen Square in Beijing that would make those north Philly cops blush.

At least he is a talented speaker and presenter.


Teaching Law at the University of Texas

Murphy's Law at the University of Texas



Texas has come a long way from Judge Roy Bean to University of Texas law professor Sanford Levinson, who has written an op-ed in the New York Times that the US Constitution is "imbecilic".

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/our-imbecilic-constitution/

The progressive professor doesn't get it. The last thing we need is to have a president (like Obama), who can just decide what he wants to do, appoint the hacks in Congress he wants, and not have to worry about no stinking constitution. If he doesn't like it, just tack on a few amendments and presto! We have the Soviet Union. What is this pea-brain thinking? Has he never read about FDR trying to pack the Supreme Court?What is the NY Times thinking allowing this crackpot to have a platform? That's a lot of money for that much space in a fish wrap.


"Where's my wrap?"


This is why we have a constitution o vaunted law professor. Without our constitution, our laws, or congressional procedure, and separation of powers, ponderous as it all may be, it is designed to safeguard against the next Hitler who wants to come along and pass an Enabling Act that allows him to round up members of the opposing parties.


"Fuehrer befiehl. Wir folgen." (The Fuehrer orders. We follow.)

Gridlock can be a good thing especially when you have a bunch of boobs running the country.

Sanford Levinson, Ladies and Gentlemen. He makes Roy Bean look like Aristotle.





Hypocrisy of Bill Clinton

Hat tip Hot Air



"Don't do it."

So Bill Clinton is headed to Wisconsin to support the recall of Governor Scott Walker.

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/05/31/bill-clinton-headed-to-wisconsin-to-campaign-against-scott-walker/


Not only is that unseemly for an ex-president (in my view), but I recall a few years back when we in California were recalling our incompetent governor, Gray Davis. Clinton came out here and solemnly told a crowd,

"Don't do this thing. Don't do this."

The way he worded it, you would have thought he was begging for  a stay of execution.

Clinton is a hypocrite. But everybody already knows that.

John Edwards Into the Dustbin of History


John Edwards
2008 Fousesquawk Jerk of the Year winner


The trial of John Edwards ended today in Greensboro with an acquittal on one count and a hung jury and mistrial on the remaining counts. He has given one last public statement accepting responsibility for his moral failures while denying any legal guilt. It is doubtful that the government will attempt to re-try Edwards on the five other counts. I think most of us in the public are fine with that.

God only knows what Edwards plans are.  Hopefully, he has no plans to re-enter the political arena. His reputation is in tatters. He will never be taken seriously or regarded with respect again. He knows that.

So hopefully, Edwards will have the good sense to live a private life. Nobody wants to hear any more speeches about "two Americas". Assuming the remaining counts are dropped, Edwards can claim innocence, but the 2008 Fousesquawk Jerk of the Year award winner has fully justified that honor.  That is how Edwards will be remembered (as a jerk). It is his scarlet letter so to speak.



Obama: "Where's my 3 Bucks?"

Here's the latest from Obama to me.
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Friend --

Think about this: Today, our opponent is facing the same fundraising deadline we are.

But the people I'm counting on at this crucial moment could not be more different.

He's relying on high-powered special-interest groups and a TV personality who's spent the last week questioning where I was born.

Our campaign is built by millions of ordinary Americans chipping in what they can, when they can.



Will you help out before midnight? Make a donation of $3 or more right now:

Thank you, as always.

Barack
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Dear Barack,

High-powered special interest groups? You mean like the unions? TV personality? You mean like George Clooney and all those big shots in Hollywood who throw fundraiser parties for you?   How about your pals at Solyndra? I'm sure they can chip in three bucks. Oh, yeah. They are bankrupt.  How about those "dinner parties" that cost tens of thousands per plate?

And you want 3 bucks from me?



Sheeeeeeeeeet!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

About That Planned Parenthood Scandal


"You want to rob the bank? Please fill out this form, Sir."


Where was James O'Keefe? Well, I guess they couldn't send him in as a pregnant woman could they?  However, a woman posing as a pregnant er, woman went into a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas and said she wanted an ultrasound to see what sex her fetus was and if it was a girl, she wanted to schedule and abortion. And just like those women in the ACORN offices, the gal behind the counter never blinked an eye and proceeded to give her advice.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/30/house-debates-bill-to-ban-sex-selective-abortions/

Here is my question:

Planned Parenthood says they fired the girl and gave everyone else in the office remedial training.

Planned Parenthood also states that the video is edited and a "hoax".

So my question is why did Planned Parenthood fire the employee and give remedial training to everyone else in the office if the video is an edited "hoax"?

But the stretch of the day has to be from Ms Miriam Yeung who said this...

"Miriam Yeung, director of The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, worries that the proposed law would also subject Asian-American women seeking abortions to inappropriate screening because of the stereotype that male children are preferred in Asian families. 

"The decisions of Asian-American women, in particular, would be extra scrutinized," she said."

Yes. And that would be discrimination, wouldn't it?

Is it not strange that feminists don't see the obvious gender discrimination against females that gender-based abortions represent? And yes, the overwhelming majority of gender-based abortions involve female fetuses. I am confident that Ms. Yeung has heard of a place called China.

By the way, Planned Parenthood today endorsed Barack Obama for re-election.

Another Diplomatic Flap: "Polish Death Camps"

That's the phrase President Obama used while recognizing a Polish war hero who reported the presence of death camps in Poland during World War II. The remark has been noted in Poland, and they are none too happy with it.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/30/white-house-says-obama-misspoke-after-poles-demand-apology-over-polish-death/?test=latestnews

To be clear, Poland was occupied by the Germans when the death camps were constructed during the war. Aside from the most infamous, Auschwitz, other camps were set up in Poland with the express purpose of exterminating people. They were Treblinka, Sobibor, Majdanek, Chelmo and Belzec. They were either located in the area annexed by Germany or the so-called General Governement, occupied by the Germans and run by Hans Frank (executed at Nuremberg as a war criminal).

The distinction is sensitive for the Poles. That is not to say that Polish history doesn't have its own historical issues with anti-Semitism. Many surviving Jews were killed in Poland after the war ended.

Is this an innocent semantic mistake by Obama, or does he suffer from a lack of knowledge about world history?


Honor-Killing Fugitive May be Driving a Cab in NY

saidsisters copy.jpg

The next time you get a rude cab driver in New York, you might want to take a close look at his face. According to this Fox News report, it could be the guy pictured above.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/29/alleged-honor-killing-suspect-yaser-said-could-be-hiding-in-plain-sight-as-new/

Conservative writer Phyllis Chesler, who writes often about these kinds of "problems", thinks the Mom should be arrested.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/05/30/arrest-mother-as-accomplice-in-texas-honor-killing/




Syrian Honorary Consul Finally Resigns

Hazem Chehabi, the Syrian honorary consul in Orange County and Chair of the UC Irvine Foundation has finally resign his former position. Chehabi, who has been the subject of several critical posts here and the subject of numerous student protests at UCI going back to last year, gave as his reason, the recent slaughter in Houla, Syria.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/05/syrian-diplomat-in-california-defects-from-assad-regime.html?dlvrit=99665

I think a couple of comments are in order. First, I doubt if "defect" is the proper word. Chehabi is an American citizen. As such, his position with the Syrian government was "honorary", a position filled by local residents when a country does not have the resources to establish consulates throughout a country as big as the US. Thus, I would also not describe him as one of Syria's highest-ranking diplomats in the US.

Second, while Chehabi's resignation is welcome and the right thing to do, it comes much later than it should have. Was it the slaughter in Houla that was the tipping point? Why not the slaughters in other towns going back to last year? This has been going on for over a year now.

For many months now, protesters have been saying that Chehabi had to choose between one of his positions. His continued presence with the UCI Foundation was becoming a bigger embarrassment for the university as the deaths in Syria continued to mount. I can only speculate as to whether the university pushed him to make his decision.

At any rate, it is a welcome decision, belated as it is.

The Obama "Hit List": So What?

I'm not so sure I can get all worked up about this New York Times report that President Obama personally signs off on who gets targeted in these drone attacks during those staff meetings.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/29/white-house-defends-drone-attacks-kill-list/?test=latestnews

It is true, I suppose, that killing the bad guys with these drones is cutting down on the number of prisoners we can capture and waterboard, er, interrogate. That leads to less intelligence. Maybe, we are just getting war-weary and questioning whether we are still killing off the enemy or just nation-building in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. As for the latter, I am ready to tell that country to go pound sand, cut off all aid, and make a public display of building a strategic partnership with India as Charles Krauthammer suggests.

But back tio Obama. While, we may not want to see too much control coming out of the White House on combat decisions, a'la LBJ and Viet Nam, there are legitimate geo-political concerns when it comes to sending drones into Pakistan. (It doesn't take Henry Kissinger to figure that out.)

So, for  now, I'm OK with it. You may proceed, Mr President.....with certain reservations, of course......





"Eric, who do you think we should target next?"





Tuesday, May 29, 2012

CAIR LA Head to Be Delegate to Democrat Convention

Hat tip Squid and Family Security Matters


Hussam Ayloush (l) with Muslim Brotherhood cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi
(Photo LA Times and Family Security Matters)


This report from Family Security matters should tell you all you need to know about the direction of the Democrat party. Hussam Ayloush, who is the head of CAIR in Southern California, has been selected to be a delegate at the Democrat convention.

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/cair-official-elected-delegate-to-democrat-convention?f=must_reads

CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) is an un-indicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation trial, which involved Islamic charities in the US funneling money to terrorist organizations like Hamas in the Middle East. This organization is a creation of the Muslim Brotherhood and supports Hamas, no matter how much they deny it.

Last year, when I and several other people protested at The Grove in  Anaheim at the Orange County Human Relations Commission event which gave an award to local imam Muzammil Siddiqi, Ayloush was present. He made it a point to walk from the convention center entrance to where we were standing at an intersection and proceeded to take pictures of us with his cell phone-then tried to verbally antagonize us until Tom Trento of The United West turned on his own camera and took him on telling him he (Ayloush) represented a "despicable organization" (CAIR). At that point, one of Ayloush's horse holders came across the street to lead him away. Ayloush knew he was over-matched and walked off.

As for Ayloush's links to Yusuf al-Qaradawi, if the FSM link isn't enough to disgust you, try this link to hear some of Mr Qaradawi's past statements about Jews and fighting infidels.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2010/05/words-of-yusuf-al-qaradawi.html

Al Qaradawi-Ayloush-CAIR-and now the Democrat National Convention.



In Honor of Israel's Recent Birthday: The Women of IDF

Hat tip to Miggie

On the occasion of Israel's recent birthday, they produced this video showing some of their female warriors. I am pleased to post it here.





What a clear distinction. Young women putting on the uniform of their country and fighting against the barbarians of Hamas and Hizbollah, who take their own women and send them forth as suicide bombers to kill innocent men, women and children.

And you wonder who is right in this conflict?

On the Treadmill With MSNBC


Tom Brokaw would be rolling in his grave-if he were dead.


One thing that's for sure when I get on the treadmill in the afternoon and tune in to the Obama News Network, also known as NBC or MSNBC, is that I'm going to get a lot of laughs and material for another blog post.

That's what happened today catching the last half of Chris Matthews' dopey Hardball show and the first half of Al Sharpton's pathetically amateurish Politics Nation show. And the big breaking story of the day is.....

Mitt Romney attending a fund-raiser in Las Vegas today hosted by that despicable guy named Donald Trump. Don't get me wrong; I am no fan of The Donald, nor am I a birther. But my reaction to this news is-so what?

Well, according to Chrissie and REVEREND AL, the so what is the fact that Trump was on a binge last year demanding Obama produce his birth certificate. Trump never claimed that Obama wasn't born in the US; he just thought Obama should produce the birth certificate. Now he doubts the authenticity of the birth certificate. Big deal.

And what did Mitt Romney say to reporters when asked about this "brewing scandal"? It went something like this:

"I only have to get 50.1% of the vote. I may not agree with everything my supporters say, and my supporters may not agree with everything I say...."

"This is leadership?" asked the incredulous MSNBC mad-hatters?

If you are wondering what is missing here in this "discussion", let me fill in the blanks left by Chris and Al.


This.

That's right. Putting aside the ridiculous implication that Donald Trump is some kind of evil character nobody would want to be associated with, let's compare this to a couple of President Obama's "associations" and what kind of leadership he displayed when asked (rarely) by the media about things they had said and done.



Jeremiah Wright

"God Damn America"

Obama: "I sat in the pew of his church for 20 years, and I never heard anything like that."


Bill Ayres

Obama: "Just some guy who lived in the neighborhood."


That's leadership? No, that's lying.

All I can say, if you want to talk about associations, I'll take Trump over Wright and Ayres any day.

And then there was this gem from REVEREND AL:

He brought up the recent incident in which the evil Rush :Limbaugh referred to Sandra Fluke, who wanted her condoms to be covered by insurance, as a "slut" on the radio then used Romney's response that he would not use language like that as being incredibly weak. Well, perhaps, but REVEREND AL neglected to mention the time his fellow talking head Ed "Boom-Boom" Schultz called Laura Ingraham a "slut" on the radio. What did Obama, who personally called Fluke, have to say about that?

Nothing.

It's easy to shoot arrows at the other guy, but if you are going to ignore the same faults on the part of your own guy, it comes back to bite you on the you-know-what.


"Chris Matthews, you've got a weak show."


As for you, REVEREND AL, you don't even have a show.




Sharia4Holland's Threat Against Geert Wilders




Holland's Telegraaf, in reporting the conference of radical Islamists in Amsterdam this past week, speculates on the potential for violence on the part of Islam4Holland. At a speaking appearance this week on Dam Square in Amsterdam, one of the Islam4Holland speakers made a thinly-veiled threat against Geert Wilders ("Who we will deal with when Islam rules Holland"), as well as reminding listeners of the fate of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh (who had his throat slit in a city street after making a movie critical of Islam's treatment of women).

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/12241282/___Risico_geweld_Sharia4Holland___.html

According to the article, the speaker of the above words on Sunday was detailed by police, but later released.

Also according to the article, a Justice minister has already raised the issue of whether the words spoken on Dam Square about Wilders and Van Gogh have already crossed the line. Of course, we are talking about Dutch law here, but since they have already prosecuted Wilders (unsuccessfully) for warning his countrymen about this clear threat, why not prosecute those who threaten people with death? Wilders must be thinking to himself, "I told you so", but, of course, if he says that publicly, he risks being prosecuted all over again.

That's Holland.

Chris Hayes Apologizes



Chris Hayes of MSNBC
Youthful indiscretion?


Add Chris Hayes to the MSNBC roll of honor of talk show hosts who have been suspended, fired, reprimanded, or, in Chris' case, just forced to apologize for outrageous comments on air.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/28/host-draws-vfw-rebuke-for-saying-uncomfortable-calling-fallen-soldiers-heroes/?test=lates

That's OK, Chris. We understand. Just another youthful indiscretion. I can't wait till you say something else stupid (probably on your next show).

US Expels Syrian Diplomat


Hazem Chehabi (r) receiving the UCI medal


Since that UN cease fire with UN observers has turned out so well in Syria, the US has decided to expel that country's top diplomat in retaliation. (Ninety people were killed Friday.)

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/29/us-expels-top-syrian-diplomat-from-washington-joins-other-nations-in-protest/

Meanwhile out here in Irvine, where UC Irvine just went through its annual contortions over Israel, the Syrian honorary consul Hatem Chehabi remains as the chair of the UC Irvine Foundation in spite of repeated protests.


Monday, May 28, 2012

Univ of Michigan at Dearborn Professor Praises the Unibomber

Hat tip to Family Security Matters


Ted Kaczynski-Notable critic of technology


The below video is produced by the Chronicle of Higher Education and features philosophy Professor David Skrbina of the University of Michigan at Dearborn. You are going to want to watch this sitting down because this promises to be a classic when it comes to documenting the lunacy going on in our universities.

In this piece, Skrbina, who is gravely concerned about the growth of technology in our society, sings the praises of Ted Kazcynski, the Unibomber nut who lived in a cabin in the woods and sent  packages with bombs that killed a few folks a few decades ago-all in the name of fighting technology-or some other demons in his head. Yet, just like Hannibal Lecter, Kazcynski has his fans out there, among them Prof. Skrbina, who describes Kaczynski as "a notable critic of technology".

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1399136188?bctid=1646323856001



"He's been described as a 'radical'"...


"A potential prophet and savior of humanity and the planet".





"Dear David, Thank you for your latest letter.........."


I can just envision the headlines now. "Retired professor David Skrbina, living alone in a cabin somewhere in the woods of the Upper Michigan peninsula..........................."

Higher education can't get much higher.

Fousesquawk Travel Destinations-Irvine, California



Irvine


That's right, fellow travelers-Irvine. Forget about Paris, Rome, New York, and all those other dreary places full of tourists. For your next vacation, consider Irvine. In fact, you should plan a full week.


Let me tell you why. First of all, you don't have to worry about being hustled back and forth from one tourist trap to another with a bunch of other tourists. There are no tourist traps, and there are no tourists.

But there are attractions. Shopping? The Irvine Spectrum is the place. And after a full day of shopping, you'll be ready to eat and unwind. If you happen to be in Irvine on a Monday, the Spectrum is the place to be. And if you like beer, the Yard House is the perfect place to while away the hours sampling the 144 brews they have on tap from all over the world, which all taste the same.

And don't forget; Irvine has been voted year after year as "America's Safest City". You can go anywhere in Irvine at any time day or night and not be bothered. The only exception is UC Irvine during a few days in May when we have a full moon and all kinds of strange people show up on campus to stand on a soapbox and bay at the moon talking about a mythical land far away called Palestein ( I think that's how it would be spelled if it even existed.) After a day of that on a Tuesday afternoon, I suggest heading to the Spectrum to unwind.

Aside from the Spectrum, you can also visit the Great Park. There are plenty of signs conveniently located around the city telling you how to get there. You can't miss it because it is located not too far from Downtown Irvine.

Left: Great Park                                                                    
Right: Downtown Irvine

I recommend the Great Park on a Wednesday when you can see the gopher races. After several hours of that, it will be time to head for the Spectrum to unwind and sample some more of those 144 brews on tap at the Yard House that all taste the same.

For Thursday, I suggest a historical tour of Irvine. Charter buses can take you and your entire family on a guided tour of Irvine's places of historic interest. You can see the first McDonald's of Irvine, built in 1965. The first mall in Irvine was built in 1971, and of course, the final stop will be the Spectrum, where you can finish your day with a glass of Schweinfurter Schweinbrau direct from Germany.

On Friday, I suggest you explore the political side of Irvine with a trip to City Hall (if you can find it). If you're lucky, maybe you will meet the mayor and the famous revolving city council, which consists of Sukhee Kang (It's his turn to be mayor, but he's running for a seat in Congress)...


Ahem. Beth Krom, who recently ran for a seat in Congress...



Ahem. She lost....


.....and former mayor Larry Agran. He's the man to see in Irvine whether he's mayor or not. You want a pothole filled? See Larry. You just want potholes? See Larry. After you see Larry, you'll need to unwind, so the Spectrum is where you will want to be.



"132 bottles of beer on the wall, 132 bottles of beer...."


Here's a fun fact; Did you know that the corporate headquarters of the Yard House is located in Irvine?





Don't take my word for it. (It's the tallest building in Irvine.)

If sports is your bag, Irvine is just a stone's throw from Anaheim, where you can go to Angels Stadium and pay a fortune to see some boulders in center field and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Irvine play baseball or the the once-Mighty Ducks play hockey at the nearby Pond or whatever corporate name they call it this year. The Angels are all the rage this year since they signed 11-year veteran slugger Albert Pujols to a ten year contract, which means they will have him till he's 42 years old. It's the greatest deal since the Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano to that 8-year deal that still has 2 1/2 years to go.

But I digress.

Anyway, after taking in an Angels' loss on Saturday and watching Old Al go 0-4, it's back to Irvine for dinner at the Spectrum and a couple of nightcaps at the Yard House. The special Saturday brew is Belgium's  Delirious Monk which is 23% alcohol. If you don't like it, you can take it home to your wife or girlfriend and tell her it's perfume. She won't know the difference until her face starts wrinkling up like a Kellogg's corn flake.

Sunday is get-away day, and it's good-bye to the Spectrum, the Yard House, and Irvine with all its memories. As your plane lifts off from John Wayne Airport and passes one last time over the city of Irvine, you gaze out of the window at the charming city below nestled scenically between the 5 and 405 freeways...



...and promise her that one day you will return.


Two Names on the Wall (Re-post and Update/2)

As I did last Memorial Day, I am re-posting my original article, "Two names on the Wall", in honor of Dorian Houser and Michael Vinassa, two friends from my youth whom we lost in Viet Nam, with an update.

  
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/two-names-on-wall-reposting-and-update.html



Two Names on the Wall- Reposting and Update

What follows is a post I originally put up in December 2007 and re-posted last Memorial Day. There is a brief update at the end.

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I've been thinking about what kind of posting I would put up to mark Memorial Day. I finally decided to re-post an essay I originally put up in December 2007 in connection with the Viet Nam memorial in Washington DC. It will always be appropriate. I hope you appreciate it.





Dorian Jan Houser (1946-1967)
Michael G Vinassa (1946-1966)



The recent news that someone had defaced the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington served to bring back my memories of two of my childhood friends whose names appear on that wall. Mike Vinassa and Dorian Houser were both from west Los Angeles, where I also grew up. We belonged to the same high school social club. All three of us entered military service after high school. I was assigned to Germany; they were sent to Viet Nam. I returned and went on with the rest of my life. They died in Viet Nam. Forty years later, with our country once again at war and American soldiers sacrificing their lives for America, we should also remember those that gave their lives in Viet Nam.

Dorian

I first knew Dorian in the 1950s. He and his brother, Lee, played on my little league team. Their father was our coach. Later, my relationship with Dory continued in school. In high school, we both belonged to a club called the Chancellors of Venice. As was common in west LA, there were many (off-campus) clubs formed for social purposes. We all had our club jackets, with the name of the club and locale (Venice or WLA) embroidered on the back. The colors of the clubs varied (ours was green). As we ended our high school days, these clubs disbanded as we went our separate ways-off to college, work or military service. In Dory's case, he entered the Marines in 1966, and after training, was sent to Viet Nam. On May 10, 1967, one month before his 21st birthday, he was killed in Quang Tin. He was hit in the chest by shrapnel and killed instantly.

I happened to be home on leave from Germany when we got the news that Dory was dead. I was able to attend his funeral before returning back to Germany. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it after all these years, but I chose not to wear my uniform to the funeral, simply because I was afraid his family might react emotionally to it. I have always regretted that decision.

Dory was the kind of guy that no one could dislike. He was friendly and unassuming. Needless to say, his funeral was a sad and emotional event. In the last couple of years, I have visited his grave a couple of times since my mother-in-law is interred in the same cemetery. About a year ago, I came across a posting about Dory by his sister. She described her brother and was looking for anyone who knew Dory and remembered him. I answered her post, but the email is no longer valid. As yet, I have not been able to contact her.


Mike


Mike Vinassa was also a member of the Chancellors. He was a stout, barrel-chested kid with a big tattoo on his shoulder, something unusual at the time for someone so young (still in high school). Needless to say, he was tough and didn't mind a good fight. Most other kids knew not to mess with him, but among his friends, he was well-liked. I remember one night we were at a party and he wanted to (playfully) roughhouse with me. We started slap-fighting and wrestling on the front yard of the house, and (somehow) I was able to throw him to the ground and fall on top of him. As you may know, innocent roughhousing among teenagers can easily turn into a real fight, and I remember thinking that Mike might suddenly get mad, so I rolled over and let him get on top, thus letting him win the match.

After high school, I went on to complete 2 years of college before I entered the Army. I basically lost touch with Mike and Dory at that time.

I had recently arrived at my post of duty in Germany when I came across Mike's name while reading the Viet Nam obituaries in the Army Times. It wasn't until several months ago that I learned the circumstances of Mike's death, which occurred on May 22, 1966.

Mike was a member of C Co, Ist Bn, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cav Division (US Army). Ironically, Mike was a short-timer, soon to return to the US, and, on that day, assigned to non-combat duties. Yet he insisted on accompanying his unit on a final combat mission in the Vinh Thanh Valley. It was on that final mission, that Mike lost his life-under heroic conditions. He personally led a group of his comrades in charging and taking out a machine gun nest that was pinning down his unit, but was fatally shot in the process. For his actions, Mike was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. His sole survivor was his mother.

In subsequent years, I have been able to find both their names on the Viet Nam Memorial. (I was living in the Washington area at the time.) As stated, I have visited Dory's grave, but as yet, have not identified Mike's cemetery. When I look back at my life after the Army, I contemplate how I finished college, began my career, got married, had children, retired, and now find myself in my 60s. But as I looked down on Dory's grave, I realized that he and Mike are frozen in time-forever 20 years old. I wonder what became of their parents, the rest of the families.

In a sense, today's soldiers are more fortunate than those who went to Viet Nam. The overwhelming majority of the American people greatly respect them (with the notable exception of the usual mindless idiots who are not worth further mention in this essay). Soldiers returning from Viet Nam were often subject to dispicable treatment from those of their own generation who did everything they could to avoid military service. Once the Viet Nam War ended, the country wanted to forget about it as quickly as possible-after all, it was just a tragic period in our history. We also forgot about our Viet Nam veterans who came back alive-in so many cases, as walking wounded. They deserved so much better from us. They are still among us, and in many cases, still wounded.

All of us who lost friends or family members in Viet Nam should try to keep their memories alive and honor them. God rest their souls.

Michael G Vinassa- Panel 07E, line 104
Dorian Jan Houser- Panel 19E, line 082

Update:

My original post was discovered on the internet by Dory's sister, who was naturally shocked and deeply touched. She currently lives in central California. We exchanged a couple of e-mails. I learned that Dory's dad had passed on, but that his brother was still around and doing fine.

I finally discovered that Mike was interred at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills. As yet, I have not gotten up there to visit his grave, but I will. I learned from a mutual childhood friend that Mike's father had been killed in the Korean war. Mike was all his Mom had.
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Update:

Last year, I was finally able to pay my respects at Mike's grave at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills. Even though I was able to obtain the grave marker and a map from the office, finding graves at Forest Lawn proved to be tricky since the little stone markers they use to give row and plot numbers are worn. (I was also looking for my aunt's grave, but never could find it.) In addition, there was a driving rainstorm. It took over 30 minutes, but I finally find Mike's grave. His Mom, who lost Mike's father in Korea, now lies next to him.  Because of the weather, I wasn't able to linger long. The next time I am in LA, I will try and return.

Last year, I was also contacted by a high school friend of Dory's (whom I had not known). He also served in Viet Nam, was living in Florida, and was trying to find where Dory was buried. I was able to give him the information he needed, plus put him in contact with Dory's sister. He is determined to come to California and pay his respects to Dory in the near future.

One way or another and to one extent or another, our generation was marked by Viet Nam, whether we served there or not. For Dory, Mike, 58,000+ other Americans and millions of
Vietnamese, the scar was total. In addition, we still have survivors among us from World War II, the Korean War, and the wars since Vietnam, not to mention that still on-going in Afghanistan. This is why Memorial Day is an important day for us all. If we ever forget their sacrifices, then we will have lost our greatness.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

CAIR's Director in Michigan: A Man of Many Tongues


Dawud Walid

Hat tip Republican Party Animals


CAIR's director in Michigan, Dawud Walid, still has a few people thinking he is a true Muslim moderate. That's because when he speaks at those interfaith events, he is all sweetness and roses. What he says to his Muslim audiences is apparently a different thing according to which audio tapes you care to believe. The below article by my friend and colleague David Stein at Republican Party Animals is well worth a read.

http://www.countercontempt.com/archives/3623#comment-7636

Also worth a read is what the Investigative Project on Terrorism says about Walid.

http://www.investigativeproject.org/profile/183

Here is Walid speaking to a crowd in New York's Foley Square during a protest against the NYPD surveillance program. Here he invokes the name of his late friend, the gun-toting Imam Luqman Abdullah, who had been killed in a shootout with the FBI in Detroit.



Nice friends Walid keeps-at least when he isn't at those inter-faith meetings.





Sharia4Europe Conference in Amsterdam


                                                     Anjem Choudary (center)            

This week, Amsterdam has been "graced" with a conference of all the loony tunes who are demanding Sharia law in Europe. Anjem Choudary, the disgusting mope from the UK is there. They are telling the Dutch and the Europeans in no uncertain terms that Islam is going to conquer them and install Sharia in place of democracy. The below tape courtesy of Gates of Vienna with translation by Vlad Tepes spells it out-in their own words. In the below link you can watch the representative of Sharia4Holland, speaking in barely comprehensible Dutch with German mixed in. He is followed by Anjem Choudary. Check out the goons behind them.

Apparently, there were only five people present on Dam Square to watch these clowns. One was a Dutchman who decided he had heard enough, and the other 4 were plain clothes cops who arrested him.

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2012/05/sharia-is-only-solution-to-topple.html#more

This is why we don't want Sharia in this country, folks.

Down With Chris Hayes


The "Uncomfortable" Chris Hayes


Here's another nugget from MSNBC. Chris Hayes, one of their insufferable commentators, had this to say about Memorial Day observance. He is uncomfortable calling fallen soldiers, "heroes".

http://www.mrctv.org/videos/chris-hayes-im-uncomfortable-calling-fallen-military-heroes

In spite of the title of this post, which is a spoof on the title of his pathetic show (Up with Chris Hayes), I am not calling for MSNBC to fire him. He has the right to say whatever drivel he wants to, and if that is what MSNBC's viewers want to hear-fine. I am sure that audience won't even take much note. We all know what MSNBC is. Unlike the far-left, I don't try to silence anyone.

They are heroes, Chris. They are heroes because without their sacrifice, jerks like you couldn't sit there in your studio and pontificate about war and soldiers without getting dragged off to some gulag.

So that is my Memorial Day contribution for today; just putting Hayes' video up there for another few hundred people in the country to see for themselves what clowns he and his colleagues at MSNBC are.

Another Indication Scott Walker Will Win the Wisconsin Recall

Hat tip Hot Air


Debbie Wasserman-Schultz meeting with President Obama about the time of the Anthony Weiner scandal


Hot Air is interpreting DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz's words as a hint that the Democrats are not counting on defeating Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in the big recall coming up.

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/05/27/democrats-giving-up-on-wisconsin-recall/comment-page-3/#comment-5868312

Perhaps that's why another famous Schultz (Ed) issued his urgent call for Obama to personally go to Wisconsin last week.



Ed "Boom-Boom" Schultz about the time of the 2010 mid-term elections.




Why Does the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine Call Michael Oren a War Criminal?


Michael Oren
Israeli ambassador to the US


In February of 2010, the Israeli ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, came to speak to a largely Jewish audience at UC Irvine. The UCI's Muslim Student Union, an organization that has brought a bad reputation to UCI for a decade, was also there. They did not come to listen, however. They came to disrupt. When it was over, UCI was once again in the international spotlight.

During the recent week of anti-Israel diatribes at UC Irvine hosted by the Muslim Student Union, I twice had the opportunity to ask four members of the so-called "Irvine 11" why they could not extend the same right of free speech to their opponents that they were enjoying themselves. One of the reasons given was that the Israeli ambassador (Michael Oren) whom they had disrupted at UC Irvine in 2010, was "nothing less than a war criminal".

Really?

Michael Oren, who is the current Israeli ambassador to the US, was actually born in the US to a Jewish family, but later emigrated to Israel, where he served with the Israeli Defense Forces. His bio is here on Wikipedia.

So Oren served in a theater of combat with the IDF (Lebanon). Does that make him a war criminal? Not in my eyes, but to the one-sided view of Israel's enemies and the MSU, it seems just the mere fact that Oren served with the IDF in combat against the terrorists (and those always charming Syrians) who are trying to destroy Israel makes him a war criminal. You know the line; genocide against the Palestinians (whose population keeps exploding notwithstanding the "genocide"), apartheid, etc.

This is not to say that some soldiers never commit war crimes. They do, but a decent nation (like Israel) has a system of justice to deal with those things-something that Hamas, Hezbollah and all the rest lack.

So what specific action did Oren commit that makes him a "war criminal"? It is true that during the Israeli incursion into Lebanon, the infamous massacres at the Shatila and Sabra refugee camps took place committed by Lebanese Phalangists in 1982. Israel was accused of allowing the massacre to take place since the area was under their occupation. Even if that is true, does that make Oren or every IDF soldier in Lebanon at that time a war criminal? Oren was also a media relations officer for the IDF during the 2006 war against Hezbollah and the 2008-09 fighting in Gaza. That and his current position as ambassador, make him a "war criminal" since he defends Israel's "war crimes".

According to the MSU.

I also take note that these reckless accusations are being thrown around by young men who have never served their country in uniform. What do they know of these things? Not even I would be so careless to throw that charge around although I have served the US Army in uniform-but not in a combat theater. I would be very cautious in calling someone a war criminal.

But to the former UCI students and MSU members, caution or facts mean nothing. Oren served in combat against Israel's enemies, gave the media Israel's version of the conflicts in 2006 and 2008-09, and now serves as Israel's ambassador. Thus, he is a "war criminal".

But who are the war criminals involved in the 2006 abduction, torture and murder of two Israeli border guards in 2006-which led to the fighting?

Who are the war criminals who send missiles from Gaza into Southern Israel, which sparked the 2008-09 Gaza conflict?

Who are the war criminals who snuck into the Fogel family home in Itimar and massacred an entire family including three children? Who are the war criminals who danced in the streets and passed out sweets in honor of the so-called "soldiers" who committed that horrific act? Apparently, slitting the throat of a months-old infant as it sleeps in its crib is not a war crime-it is an act of "heroic resistance", just as sending men and women into buses and pizza parlors to blow themselves up is not a war crime, but an act of "heroic resistance". Shooting rockets into Israeli schoolyards is not a war crime. It is "heroic resistance".

This past month, four arrogant young men told an audience that if the Israeli ambassador came back to speak at UCI, they would be there to disrupt him again.....because he is "war criminal". They spoke without disruption, but could not face the fact that they had denied that courtesy-that right- to the Israeli ambassador.

I suggest these four young men and the other seven who took part in that disgraceful disruption that gave UCI such a bad name take a few years off and serve their own country in uniform, as Oren did. It would be an education for them.

One they never got at UCI.






The 2012 Rusty Awards in Orange County

The Rusty Award

Rusty Kennedy
named after Rusty Kennedy, CEO Orange County Human Relations Commission

Darn! The month of May has passed by, and I completely overlooked the 2012 Orange Country Human Relations Commission's annual Rusty awards, passed out by none other than OCHRC CEO Rusty Kennedy.

If you click the rusty link below, you can see who got the awards this year. (Click Awards 41-41 is for the number of years this white elephant has been sucking the taxpayers dry of money-now $300,000 a year.

http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Info%20OC/Departments%20&%20Agencies/OC%20Human%20Relations

No, I am not going to waste my time researching the recipients this year (I spent tons of time on that last year when Muzammil Siddiqi got an award). I will assume they are all wonderful people seeing that they are mostly schools, kids, cops, judges, doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs.

Yet, seeing all the community policing groups being honored, I noted that Fullerton PD is not on the list possibly as a result of the beating death of homeless man Kelly Thomas last year. But I ask why not? Kennedy has already absolved the cops, the department, the city, and the city council for the death. After all, it was "us", you and me who are responsible, according to the Ruster.

"As Fullerton convulsed in reaction to the violent death of Kelly Thomas a mentally ill homeless man, many were eager to point the finger of blame for this tragic death at the police, city, city council, mayor…anyone but themselves."


Who is "themselves, Rusty? 


Is it true that in 1999, Rusty, a Fullerton native,  handed out a community policing award and a thousand dollar check to Fullerton PD, whose then-chief was Kennedy pal Pat McKinley, who also sat with him on the OCHRC, and was the same chief of Fullerton police who hired many of the very officers who have been involved in the Thomas incident as well as other scandals? And then guess who now-Fullerton city councilman McKinley recommended to head up a task force to save Fullerton with homeless sensitivity classes for Fullerton cops after the Thomas incident.




Rusty Kennedy




You guessed it. It's not hard to connect the dots when they go around in a circle. It's one big incestuous family.


Yet, here goes this windbag empty-suit, Kennedy, blaming "themselves" for the death of Kelly Thomas-just as he goes around like Paul Revere telling anyone who will listen that Orange County is infested with bigots riding through the night terrorizing people, and only he and his $300,000 a year OCHRC and its annual Rusty Award can save us.


This is the same clown who traveled to South Africa on our dime to attend that Durban Conference against Racism, which basically zeroed in on Israel. He also found time to help fete that great humanitarian Yasser Arafat when the UN gave him their own Rusty Award, otherwise known as the Nobel Peace Prize.






I invite the reader to peruse the OCHRC website. This is what $300,000 a year gets us.