Raven has posted a wonderfully written Christmas greeting, complete with disclaimers where appropriate, that should take care of everyone of every possible denomination or lack thereof, everywhere on earth.

You know, I’ve commented on the tendency of many liberals, in the past, to not only deny that the Mainstream Media leans so far to the left that it’s amazing they don’t fall down, but to even venture that the MSM is biased toward the right. I’ve recently reached the point of simply shaking my head — it has been said that trying to argue with a liberal is like standing in a bucket and trying to pick yourself up by the handle, and in most cases I couldn’t agree more.

Those who try to tell me that the MSM leans to the right are either not paying very close attention, if any at all, to news “reports,” are lying through their teeth fabricating as to their perceptions of what they read in the papers and see on television news shows or, as the only other alternative I can figure, they are hopeless cretins.

It is truly shameful that newspapers like the New York Times are not honest with their readership, filtering the news they print to meet their leftward bias and anti-Bush agenda, thereby giving that readership only the fraction of current events they deem safe(for their political goals) to let the people know. This is highly reminiscent of another publication, called Pravda, during the years of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The NYT has become, over the years, little more than a giant propaganda mill for the left.

As alternative media sources and conservative blogs have begun to fight back against the disinformation put out by the New York Times and other MSM “news” venues and more and more people have begun to acknowledge the profound bias of the MSM, subscriptions have reportedly begun falling off rather noticeably. In their on-line venue, the NYT has recently begun charging a subscription rate for access to their Op-Ed columns, possibly to offset the decline in hard copy revenues.

They crowed loudly at the height of the Valerie Plame affair, hoping to see an indictment for “outing” her come directly out of the White House, claiming that national security was compromised by some traitor or other within, yet they themselves did exponentially worse when they recently “exposed” a Bush/NSA program that has prevented post 9/11 U.S. terrorist attacks they labelled as domestic spying, and inferring that George Bush illegally exceeded his authority as President.

National Security authority and columnist Max Boot has the treasonous and reckless hypocrisy displayed by the New York Times defined perfectly here.

…I eagerly await the righteous indignation from the Plame Platoon about the spilling of secrets in wartime and its impassioned calls for an independent counsel to prosecute the leakers. And wait … And wait …

I suspect it’ll be a long wait because the rule of thumb seems to be that although it’s treasonous for pro-Bush partisans to spill secrets that might embarrass an administration critic, it’s a public service for anti-Bush partisans to spill secrets that might embarrass the administration. The determination of which secrets are OK to reveal is, of course, to be made not by officials charged with protecting our nation but by journalists charged with selling newspapers.

Good column, read it all.

President Bush’s barrage of criticism of the treasonous, suicidal, just plain moronic filibustering aimed at derailing the Patriot Act has paid off,

The terror-fighting USA Patriot Act may have a new lease on life. The GOP-controlled Senate on Wednesday approved a six-month extension of the USA Patriot Act to keep the anti-terror law from expiring on Dec. 31. President Bush gave it his grudging blessing.

The Republican-controlled House is now expected to come back and consider the Legislation keeping the 16 provisions of the law passed after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington from expiring.

Well, that’s something, we’ve gotten a reprieve, anyway, and perhaps this will provide those on the Hill with common sense to convince those whose common sense is on hiatus and maybe even those whose political ambitions or leanings override what common sense they do have to reconsider their profoundly dangerous opposition to the Patriot Act’s renewal.

This latest alert from RightMarch addresses a very disturbing situation regarding the legal right of Chaplains in the United States Armed Forces to administer their religious duties, commanders who are illegally forbidding them to do so and how we all can help do something about it.

ALERT: Time and again, our President has correctly stated that “Freedom is not America’s gift to the world, it is the almighty God’s gift to every man and woman in this world.” The recent elections in Iraq visibly demonstrated the wonders of liberty.

Unfortunately, there is a threat to freedom within the United States that is surprising to the average observer and gravely disappointing to those closer to the situation. It has come to our attention that many chaplains in the military, specifically the Air Force and Navy, are being prohibited from faithfully practicing the faith of their civilian sponsor in accordance with the doctrinal and practical standards of the same. While US Code Title 10 Section 6031 directly permits chaplains to preach and practice their particular faith, various rulings by military superiors have stripped this law of its effectiveness.

One example in particular is that of an Evangelical Episcopal chaplain with status as a Catholic lay-reader. This chaplain has been cited negatively by his superiors for, among other things, praying in the name of Jesus, seeking to procure kosher foods for a Jewish sailor, and opposition to quota-induced attendance at a homosexual-led service during fleet week.

According to the First Amendment and US Code Title 10 Section 6031, this chaplain has perfect freedom to minister according to the dictates of his faith, but currently his job is on the line for these activities due to reckless disregard of his freedoms. This is OUTRAGEOUS, and must be fixed.

President Bush has the power to fix it — and we need to ask him to do so.

TAKE ACTION: This week, a letter signed by many conservative leaders, representing millions of members nationwide, is being sent to the President, asking him to sign an Executive Order to enforce the law that’s been written since 1860. RightMarch.com is one of the signers of that letter — but to be really effective, President Bush needs to hear from YOU.

Join with millions of Americans committed to the freedoms that have made this country great. At this time of year, Christians, Jews, and Muslims all enjoy the freedom of religion that was seminal at the settling and founding of this beacon of freedom called the United States. Click below NOW to urge President Bush to sign an Executive Order to enforce US Code Title 10 Section 6031, which says “An officer in the Chaplain Corps may conduct public worship according to the manner and forms of the church of which he is a member”:

http://capwiz.com/sicminc/issues/alert/?alertid=8332616&type=PR

NOTE: President Bush’s commitment to freedom, his commitment to the military, and his commitment to faith all are obvious and admired. Let’s all ask him to act on each of these commitments simultaneously by signing this Executive Order. Be sure to forward this Alert to EVERYONE you know who wants to help enforce true religious freedom for our military chaplains. Thank you!

Sincerely,

William Greene, President
RightMarch.com

The work of RightMarch.com is funded entirely by voluntary contributions. Help us spread the word with a donation to RightMarch.com!
https://secure.responseenterprises.com/rightmarch/?a=7

A really excellent new post by Michael Yon is here.

– as usual,

Bush Was Right.

And another one from my conservative Democrat(old school as opposed to liberal dominated) Aunt Brenda,

THE LAW IS THE LAW!!

So if the US government determines that it is against the law for the words “under God” to be on our money, then, so be it.

And if that same government decides that the “Ten Commandments” are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it.

And since they already have prohibited any prayer in the schools, on which they deem their authority, then so be it.

I say, “so be it,” because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen.

I say, “so be it,” because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions.

I would like to think that those people have the American Publics’ best interests at heart.

BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I’D LIKE?

Since we can’t pray to God, can’t Trust in God and cannot Post His Commandments in Government buildings,

I don’t believe the Government and it’s employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.

I’d like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter. After all, it’s just another day.

I’d like the US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays. After all, it’s just another day.

I’d like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the “Christmas Break.” After all it’s just another day.

I’m thinking that a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all government offices & services would work on Christmas, Good Friday & Easter.

It shouldn’t cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be “politically correct.”

In fact….

I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshipping God…) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day….

What do you all think????

If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the minority opinions and begin, once again, to represent the ‘majority’ of ALL of the American people.

SO BE IT………..

Please Dear Lord, Give us the help needed to keep you in our country!

‘Amen’ and ‘Amen’

These are definitely things I never thought about but from now on, I will be sure to questions those, in government, who support these changes.

This is what can happen when the public transportation system of a highly populated major city is permitted to be unionized.

NEW YORK - Commuters trudged through the freezing cold, rode bicycles and shared cabs Tuesday as New York’s bus and subway workers went on strike for the first time in more than 25 years and stranded millions of riders at the height of the Christmas rush. A judge slapped the union with a $1 million-a-day fine.

Certain jobs entail a higher degree of responsibility than others, one of these keeping an entity like the Metropolitan Transit Authority(MTA), the vast system of subways and buses that keeps the City of New York up and running, well, up and running. When you go to work for such a concern it is a lot different from selling clothes, running a machine in a factory, building cabinets, plumbing or repairing computers. It is an occupational field in which millions of people are depending upon you to get to and from work, including thousands of employees of other city agencies that are essential to the day-to-day operation of the giant machine that is the city government. You know this going in, and you know, just from years of residing in the city, that there will occasionally be differences with the agency that employs you.

You also know, given the profound necessity of your city agency as vital infrastructure, that going on strike is against the law…

If you have a problem with that, don’t take the job.

Now we know, of course, that union members have to do as their leaders tell them, which puts them in the middle of a management-to-management dispute. They belong to the union, but they work, in this case, for the MTA. For the City of New York. For the millions of taxpayers in the five boroughs of New York. But they owe their allegience to the union.

So maybe critical infrastructure shouldn’t even have the option of being unionized, as the Armed Forces don’t have the option of same, and for good reason — in some situations, for the good of the public, certain organizations should only serve one master.

The $1,000,000.00 per day fine imposed against the transit workers’ union for striking, in my opinion, is well justified, just as Ronald Reagan was justified in firing the air traffic controllers during his term as President. Their strike is not only costing the city hundreds of millions of dollars, but it is negatively affecting some 7 million citizens every day it continues.

The strike over wages and pensions came just five days before Christmas, at a time when the city is especially busy with shoppers and tourists.

The heavy penalty could force the union off the picket lines and back on the job. Under the law, the union’s 33,000 members will also lose two days’ pay for every day they are on strike, and they could also be thrown in jail.

Go for it!

There are a lot of unemployed workers who would love New York City jobs but can’t get them because of long waiting lists. Maybe this is a good time to create some vacancies, pass a law prohibiting union involvement in the city government’s critical infrastructure venues and rebuild the transit system’s employee roster from the sizeable pool of men and women on those waiting lists.

In another column at JWR, David Limbaugh has a rather inclusive list of issues upon which the Mainstream Media lies or distorts as a matter of policy.

These people are not only outrageous, they may as well be propagandists for the enemy.

Debra J. Saunders could not have put things more in perspective.

Some D.C. Democrats are demanding an investigation — impeachment even — in the wake of last week’s New York Times’ story about the National Security Agency’s warrantless eavesdropping on international calls and e-mails from suspected terror players to Americans. The shriller they get, the more President Bush looks like a strong leader who is willing to stick out his neck and take the heat to protect the American people.

George W. Bush protects our country against terrorism, the Democrats find anything they can at fault with him in that regard: They seem to think that playing with our very lives is no big deal, as long as they have the opportunity to score their cheap, scuzzy little political victories. They can obstruct Bush’s Homeland Security endeavors and we can get creamed as a result, no problem, if a few thousand Americans die because of them, they’ll just blame it on Bush.

These are U.S. senators and representatives and the Mainstream Media. People we’re supposed to trust, point blank: committing treason to further their own political interests.

They seem to think that our lives are just fodder for their politics, nothing more. They are the Democrats.

Debra makes an excellent point, before the fact:

As for the get-Bush crowd, I have a little suggestion: Don’t tie the hands of the intelligence community — and then hold hearings about intelligence breakdowns if there is another attack on American soil.

Exactly — the next 9/11 will be as much the fault of the Democrats as it will consist of blame upon the terrorists, because the Democrats are so intent upon sabotaging the Bush defense efforts for political reasons. Our homeland security, yours and my lives, mean nothing to them, their only agenda is attacking George Bush.

Give the column a read, here.