THE TERRIFYING INCOMPETENCE OF OUR IMMIGRATION SERVICE
Just how incompetent has our government become in preventing terrorist suspects from becoming American citizens? According to a Government Accountability Office report released this week, tens of thousands of foreign applicants were granted naturalized status in the United States in 2005 despite their background files being missing during the citizenship screening process. "It only takes one missing file for somebody with links to a terrorist organization to become an American citizen," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. "A terrorist can be unsuccessful thousands of times, but we have to be perfect all the time. We can't afford to be handing out citizenship with blinders on." The GAO report revels that 111,000 naturalization alien files (A-files) were missing at 14 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices. Nevertheless, about 30,000 of those foreign applicants were given citizenship.
WE CAN RUN BUT WE CANNOT HIDE
Americans voted as they did in the midterm elections in large part because they are tired of the war in Iraq. But to slightly paraphrase one of the founders of the Soviet Union, Leon Trotsky: "You may not be interested in the war, but the war is interested in you." A major part of our problem in Iraq is that we think our problem is Iraq. It's much bigger than that. We are at war with Islamic extremism, which is by no means restricted by the borders of Iraq. Many in the Democrat Party think we can quit the war in Iraq at little cost to ourselves, as we did in Vietnam 30 years ago. But this is a war that will follow us home. Our enemies hate us because we are not like them, and they will go on trying to kill us unless we become like them, whether we are in Iraq or not. They cannot be appeased. We can destroy them, or let ourselves be destroyed by them. There are no other choices.
THE CREATION OF AN ANTI-ISLAMOFASCISM MOVEMENT
[This memo is being sent to the leaders of every major conservative organization in America] TO: Conservative Leaders FR: Jack Wheeler & Steve Baldwin RE: The Creation of an Anti-Islamofascism Movement One cannot write the history of the Cold War without acknowledging the key role played by the American Anti-Communist Movement. It was a broad movement involving many different organizations that, for four decades, kept its focus on the defeat of the Soviet Empire. And it succeeded. Indeed, Anti-Communism was the defining issue that brought hundreds of thousands of people into the conservative movement from the 1950s through the 1980s. There was a sense that this movement had to be successful if not only America but Western Civilization itself were to survive. Today, the forces of Islamofascism have picked up where Communism left off, and have embarked upon a World War of global conquest that may last for decades if not longer. But we don't seem to be prepared for this war. Unlike the movement created during the Cold War, there doesn't seem to be much of an infrastructure to combat Islamofascism. If we truly care about our children and grandchildren, then we must create an Anti-Islamofascist Movement modeled after the Anti-Communist Movement. Here's a few areas that an Anti-Islamofascism Movement could be addressing:
THANKFUL WITH NO BUTS: A CONSERVATIVE THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving is the unique American holiday. We share Christmas and Easter with every other Christian nation. Most every country celebrates its Independence Day, and the birthdays of their founding heroes. Thanksgiving is ours, where we give our deepest thanks to Providence for the extraordinary gift of America to mankind. Other countries have their special times to celebrate their uniqueness, when their citizens take justifiable pride in their country's achievements, and all to the good. Thanksgiving is America's Day, the time when all Americans - all - get to celebrate the achievements of the most successful society in human history. Tragically, however, there are Americans who do not have the capacity to celebrate being American. They are called liberals. Especially those currently dominating the Democrat Party. The purpose of Thanksgiving is to be thankful for being American. Thankful with no buts. No whining and moaning about what happened to the Indians, or about slavery and poverty and racism. No buts. Think that Democrats can do this? Let's see.
MAKING MONEY ON YOUR BLOG
Got a Web site? How about a blog? A Myspace page? If you do, you could be raking in the bucks - if you play your cards right, that is. All you have to do is figure out how to draw thousands of people to either click on your site and/or link to it. That's the dream, at least. Once upon a time, the dream was to write a script that would be bought by a Hollywood TV or movie producer, or maybe writing the Great American novel. But with YouTube and its ilk everybody's a producer - and who has time to read books anymore? Today, making big money from a Web site or blog is the latest quick-rich fantasy. Is it attainable? Let's see.
THE AFRICAN CHRISTIAN CRUSADE
Three years ago (November 2003) in The Chinese Christian Crusades, I told you about the program of Chinese Christians to evangelize the world's Moslems. The program is called Back to Jerusalem -- referring to the lands between China and Jerusalem (Central Asia and the Middle East) which are overwhelmingly Moslem. Getting back to Jerusalem and the birthplace of Christianity means Chinese missionaries in these lands preaching the Gospel and saving Moslem souls for Christ. Now the largest Christian movement in Africa has decided to do the same. From the other direction: across the Moslem lands of North Africa and into Saudi Arabia itself. The Saudis are about to find themselves inside an African-Chinese Christian sandwich.
RANGEL TO THE RESCUE
Are the Democrats determined to give the House back to the Republicans in 2008? It sure seems that way with Nancy "The Shrew" Pelosi's petty vindictiveness on such national display that already there's Democrat talk of replacing her as Speaker. And now right on the heels of her Jack Murtha/Steny Hoyer, Jane Harman/Alcee Hastings debacles comes Charlie Rangel riding to the Republicans' rescue by advocating a return to the military draft. The extreme hate-America left-wing Democrat from Harlem will be Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in the 110th Congress, a position of extraordinary influence and power. His is one of the key public faces of the new Dem Majority. And he has handed the GOP Minority a diamond-studded opportunity to explain to every young voter in America the Democrat threat to their personal liberty.
THE DEMOCRAT’S TIMETABLE TO DEFEAT
Nancy Pelosi has yet formally to become Speaker of the House, but she already is taking steps which could cut short her tenure - the first being her support of the extraordinarily corrupt Jack Murtha in his bid for majority leader over the current number two Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer. Mr. Murtha is known to most Americans as the chief tenor in the Cut & Run chorus. Ms. Pelosi said in her endorsement letter that she was backing Mr. Murtha because of his stand on Iraq. Exit polling indicated corruption was even more on the minds of voters than was Iraq. Understandably so, because four GOP lawmakers were forced to resign because of ethical lapses. But the current Democratic advantage on this issue is likely to diminish if voters come to believe that Ms. Pelosi's primary interest in corruption is to change its beneficiaries.
TAKE IT TO COURT: The Enumerated Powers Solution for Limited Government
The Republican Congress is history. While I will work to restore Republicans in both the House and Senate, there are many worthwhile objectives which they failed to accomplish while in power. Further, there are many worthwhile objectives which they failed even to address. For example, they passed President Bush's "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," Pub. L. 107-110, although one may search in vain among the enumerated powers granted to Congress in Art. I, section 8 of the Constitution for the authority to legislate with respect to education. The question is, what may we do now, other than prepare for the 2008 elections, to advance a conservative agenda? The answer is go to court. Liberals have been doing this for a long time. To a great extent, they have succeeded in their objectives. I will explain how they did it. Then how we can do it too.
THE DEMOCRATS’ QUAGMIRE IN IRAQ
The Democratic dog just caught the Iraqi firetruck it's been chasing for almost four years. Now what? Wetting the back tires won't be enough. The victorious party's hard-left wing (which provides much money and selects the candidates to run for top office) is anxious for an American humiliation. But that's not what the majority of Democrats want and it's a scenario that Dems on Capitol Hill, eyes on 2008, know they need to avoid. With just a few missteps, Iraq could become their debacle.