Posted on 05/21/2004 10:31:48 AM PDT by Mudboy Slim
"Dubyuh's Got Faith!!"
(To be sung to Eric Clapton's "Running On Faith"
One...two...three...four...
Lately Right's been running on Faith...
Searchin' fer Justice and Truth.
But our World will be Right...
When Dubyuh sings our tune.
Lately, I've been wond'rin' why I FReep...
Shrinkin' government's that fer which I pray.
Protect the World from Left's slime...
Please Dubyuh, join the fray!!
Right's always been...
Willin' to help thru taxes that we pay.
Seems like by now...
Right'd find a Prez who cares...fer Liberty!!
Then we'd go running on faith
All of Right's dreams shall come true!!
All the world will be Right...
When Dubyuh loathes Big Guv'ment, too!!
(Sweet guitar pickin' by the BigMan)
Right's always been...
One to fight fer that fer which we pray!!
Seems like by now...
We'd find a Prez who cares...fer Liberty!!
Won't believe Pubbies on faith...
All of Right's dreams shall come true!!
Lead the world 'cuz we're Right...
George Dubyuh, you can join US, too!!
Yes, you can...
And Rush shall support you...
Then Sean shall support you...
And MUD shall support you...
All of Right's dreams shall come true...
The Right shall support you...
Truth shall see you thru...
Mudboy Slim
Hey, ya'll might wanna check this out for yourselves. See the link at #353.After seeing what the 3D graph looked like, I pretty much pegged where I would be on the chart.
The Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 5.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 2.31
Authoritarian Left
Right Libertarian No wonder I don't have much disagreement with President Bush:
From the FEDERALIST....
Top of the fold -- Federalism for Iraq...
This week, one month ahead of the 30 June deadline for transfer of sovereignty back to the Iraqi people from the Coalition Provisional Authority, the Iraqi Governing Council named both a prime minister and a president. Then the council itself was dissolved. Said new President Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer at a press conference, "We Iraqis look forward to being granted full sovereignty through a Security Council resolution to enable us to rebuild a free, independent, democratic and federal unified homeland." A Sunni Muslim, al-Yawer will help to balance the selection of Shi'ite Iyad al-Allawi as Prime Minister last Friday.
UN-preferred candidate Adnan Pachachi withdrew from consideration for the presidency, perhaps fearing that he would be seen as a UN puppet. Pachachi, a former foreign minister, was the top choice of UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.
While the presidency is largely a ceremonial position, al-Yawer pledged to work toward "complete sovereignty of our country and establishing a democratic and federal system under which people enjoy a free citizenship in a state of laws and freedom."
President Bush was pleased with the progress, saying in a Rose Garden press conference Tuesday, "The naming of the new government brings us one step closer to realizing the dream of Iraqis -- a fully sovereign nation with a representative government that protects their rights and serves their needs. This is a very hopeful day for the Iraqi people [and] for the American people."
The Iraqi government will certainly face an uphill battle. Not only must it build sovereignty and legitimacy in the international community -- it must also fight terrorism at home. Indeed, as the announcement of the new president was made, a car bomb exploded outside the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, located near the green zone headquarters of U.S. forces in Baghdad (reports claim three dead, and more than 20 wounded). A second bomb exploded in Baghdad Wednesday leaving us to wonder what on earth these "freedom fighters" could find so frightening about a free and democratic Iraq right smack in the middle of the Arab world.
Also among the first challenges facing the new government will be the negotiation of an agreement with the U.S. on control of coalition forces. There has been some disagreement about "veto" power given to the Iraqi government -- Iraqis are, of course, calling for a greater say in the operations of the 135,000 coalition troops in their country. However, they also realize that due to the ongoing threat of the aforementioned "freedom fighters" (known here in our humble shop as terrorists), they'll need plenty of help from coalition forces in the coming months. It's barely worth noting that France, along with the rest of the UN, is calling for full "veto" power for the new Iraqi government. (Regarding the UN's "support" of Iraq, tune in next week as we shine a long-overdue light on the UN's utterly corrupt Oil-for-Food program.)
Prime Minister al-Allawi is expected to rehire some of Saddam's military leaders -- those from the intelligence service or secret police -- in order to combat terrorism. "Yesterday and today, there have been terrorist attacks," al-Allawi said. "As Iraqis, we want to work with the multinational force and with friends and our brothers in the region to defeat these continued threats to Iraq and the Iraqi people." It remains to be seen whether rehiring Saddam's men is the right course of action, but Iraqis also have reason to fear a government without authority. Perhaps al-Allawi is seeking to address this issue.
Early 2005 is the expected time for a new constitution to be completed, including provisions for national elections. As Iraqis work toward a constitution that will bestow upon them unprecedented liberty, they might do well to consider our own young republic as a model. The solution, we believe, is federalism -- separate states, perhaps on the basis of ethnicity, unified by a federal government to retain the regional balance of power. Federalism, more than any other alternative, could bring eventual resolution to the inchoate nature of post-war, post-Saddam Iraq.
How so? Federalism allows for a decentralized authority that can address the legitimate concerns of Iraq's ethnic-regional populations, also addressed in the appointment of Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds to the new government. In addition, federalism allows the central government to be strong in its own spheres, primarily those of defense and commerce. The specifics of how to begin the transition from occupation to federalism are best left to those on the ground in Iraq: U.S. and allied planners, and the Iraqi people themselves. The interim Iraqi Constitution is a good beginning, in that it shows an essential awareness of Iraq's abiding regionalism.
Yet the thing that stands ominously in the way of federalism and liberty in Iraq is the continued presence of radical Islam. Some would argue that Islam as a whole is not conducive to freedom; that it fosters tyranny and subservience. If this is so, then federalism can succeed in Iraq only by adapting to the needs of a secular/Islamic society. Federalism in our republic was comprehensible because of our virtuous foundation in Christianity. Islam is much different in its worldview, and so must the concept of federalism be different.
That being said, Americans and Iraqis alike need look no further than our own Constitution, the timeless logic of The Federalist Papers, and the guiding documentation of the Declaration of Independence. For Iraq to become a stabilizing and democratizing force in the Middle East, stability and democracy must first take root within. In the end, we believe that federalism is Iraq's, the Middle East's, and the West's last best hope for securing the blessings of liberty.
Quote of the week...
"Our terrorist enemies have a vision that guides and explains all their varied acts of murder. Our actions, too, are guided by a vision. We believe that freedom can advance and change lives. These two visions have now met in Iraq and are contending for the future of that country... America's task in Iraq is not only to defeat an enemy, it is to give strength to a friend -- a free, representative government that serves its people and fights on their behalf. And the sooner this goal is achieved, the sooner our job will be done." --President George W. Bush
FReegards...MUD
We could do worse at backup. I doubt the old man will beat out Quincy for the starting job, and if he does, it's just a matter of time before he gets injured again anyway. IMO, Carter will get one more chance to prove he's got potential, and after 5-10 games, if it doesn't work out, then Drew Henson steps in (having been groomed by Parcells and Testaverde).
Anyway, you really think Marc Brunell's the answer for the 'Skins? He sure did wonders for Jacksonville, didn't he. He'll be great for leading the charge to a 7-9 record. =)
LOL...I've played that game before and I'm down in the lower-right quadrant. As you'll notice, there ain't no world leaders sharing my philosophy.
FReegards...MUD
Nawww...Gibbs will lead us to the playoffs this year...MUD
I don't blame ya...the self-professed ignorance of Lib'rals is tiring to me as well...MUD
"The D.C. Chapter of Free Republic invites all FReepers and lurkers in good standing to join us at two events we will be holding on Saturday, June 5, in D.C. to counter the "antiwar" rally and march being held by International ANSWER that day. We will be joined by Iraqi exile leaders and some of the men who had their hands amputated at Abu Ghraib on orders of Saddam Hussein. ..."
"From 2 p.m. to about 5 p.m., we will gather outside the home of Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld in the 2200 block of Kalorama Rd., NW, and hold a peaceful demonstration of support for him, President Bush, our troops and their mission fighting the war on terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The ANSWER march will arrive at Rumsfeld's between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m."
WOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Face-to-face with THE Enemy...MUD
I think we need to help as many people as possible understand the true nature of Islam, if we are to ever win this war on terror.
I found a very interesting book "The Quest for the Historical Muhammad" edited by Ibn Warraq, author of "Why I Am Not a Muslim"
Here is Warraq's quote about Muslims:
"Muslims do not need patronizing liberals to meet them halfway; Muslims need to write an honest biography of the prophet that does not shun the truth, least of all cover it up with the dishonest subterfuge of condescending Wetern Scholars" -Ibn Warraq, Author of "Studies on Muhammed", and the "Rise of Islam".
From www.danielpipes.org |
Original article available at:
www.danielpipes.org/article/853
"The Quest for the Historical Muhammad"
Edited by Ibn Warraq
Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2000. 554 pp. $34.95
Middle East Quarterly
September 2000
Reviewed by Daniel Pipes
" Look up the Prophet Muhammad in any reference book and the outlines of his life are confidently on display: birth in C.E. 570 in Mecca, career as a successful merchant, first revelation in 610, flight to Medina in 622, triumphant return to Mecca in 630, death in 632. There are, however, two major problems with this standard biography, as explained in this fascinating collection of essays. First, the massive documentation about Muhammad derives in every instance from Arabic written sources - biographies, collections of the prophet's sayings and doings, and so on - the earliest of which date from a century and a half after his death. Second, the earlier sources on the prophet's life that do survive dramatically contradict the standard biography. In part, these are literary sources in languages other than Arabic (such as Armenian, Greek, or Syriac); in part, they are material remains (such as papyri, inscriptions, and coins).
Although the unreliability of the Arabic literary sources has been understood for a century, only recently have scholars begun to explore its full implications. They look skeptically at the Arabic written sources and conclude that these are a form of "salvation history" - self-serving, unreliable accounts by the faithful. The huge body of detail, revisionist scholars find, is almost completely spurious. For example, an inscription and a Greek account leads Lawrence Conrad to fix Muhammad's birth in 552, not 570. Patricia Crone conclude that Muhammad's career took place not in Mecca but hundreds of kilometers to the north. Yehuda Nevo and Judith Koren find that the classical Arabic language was developed not in today's Saudi Arabia but in the Levant, and that it reached Arabia only through the colonizing efforts of one of the early caliphs.
Startling conclusions follow from this. The Arab tribesmen who conquered great swathes of territory in the seventh century were not Muslims, according to Judith Koren and Yehuda Neva; perhaps they were pagans. The Qur'an is a not "a product of Muhammad or even of Arabia," John Wansbrough suggests, but a collection of earlier Judeo-Christian liturgical materials stitched together to meet the needs of a later age. Most broadly, Ibn al-Rawandi concludes, "there was no Islam as we know it" until two or three hundred years after the traditional version has it (more like C.E. 830 than 630); it developed not in the distant deserts of Arabia but through the interaction of Arab conquerors and their more civilized subject peoples. Patricia Crone and Michael Cook go yet further, doubting even the existence of Muhammad.
Though undertaken in a purely scholarly quest, the research made available in Quest for the Historical Muhammad raises basic questions for Muslims concerning the prophet's role as a moral paragon; the sources of Islamic law; and the God-given nature of the Qur'an.
From www.danielpipes.org | Original article available at: www.danielpipes.org/article/853
Have a great summer, everyone.
Catch you in the fall.
Regards,
FBD
Stay well freeper friend and don't stay away until fall!
Absolutely politically-incorrect, but quite interesting nonetheless, my FRiend. Perhaps I'll add one of yer recommended reading books to my "To Do" list fer this summer.
If I don't see you before the Fall, have a great Summer...still, I hope you'll pop in and visit whenever you get the chance.
Utmost FReegards...MUD
Get back in here and get to work!
And all this time I thought you were a flaming liberal!
hehe ! :^D
haha !
Man, I miss FBD already. Maybe Sam can take his place while he is on hiatus. Remember FBD used to be called "Formerly Brainwashed Democrat". Perhaps Sam will be an FBD one day!!
Oh, man !After this post, I'm going to take a break from posting, and I promise not to
bother anyone with all this Islamo-phobia, that I've been projecting! :) ;^DNow, whatcha wanna go and do dat for ??
Diva, ma'am, do you have this tune in yer repetoire?! If you could FReepMail me a link, I'd be much obliged.
NEIL YOUNG LYRICS
"Days That Used To Be"
People say don't rock the boat,
let things go their own way
Ideas that once seem so right,
now have gotten hard to say
I wish I could talk to you,
you could talk to me
'Cause there's very few of us left
my friend
From the days that used to be.
Seem like such a simple thing
to follow one's own dream
But possessions and concession
are not often what they seem
They drag you down
and load you down
in disguise of security.
But we never had
to make those deals
In the days that used to be.
Talk to me, my long lost friend,
tell me how you are
Are you happy with
your circumstance,
are you driving a new car
Does it get you where you wanna go,
with a seven year warranty
Or just another
hundred thousand miles away
From days that used to be.
Pre...MUD
To the soundtrack of Shane..."FBD! FBD!! Come back, FBD!!"
Heh heh heh...he'll be Bach...MUD
After listenin' to Rush describe George Soros as "The Left's BagMan," I figgered I gotta update this one.
"Behind Left's Lies"
(To be sung to The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes"
No one knows what it's like...
To be Left's BagMan...to be Slick's Stag, man...Behind Left's Spies!!
No one knows what it's like...
To be hated, Lib'rally-jaded, believin' all Dem LIES!!
Folks, my dreams...fer "T." McAuliffe...
Help my Prescience come to be!!
RightWing Power, only lonely, Right's Goal is Vengeance...fer Tyranny!!
No one knows what it's like...
To feel these feelings...like I do...and I blame you!!
No one bites back this hard on their anger...
None of my pain and woe...can show through!!
Folks, my dreams...they aren't that risky...
Heed my prescience...follow me!!
Po' McAuliffe, he's MUD's only...
Right's GOAL is Vengeance...fer Tyranny!!
When my fist clenches, crack it open, before I use it and lose my cool!!
When I smile tell me some bad news before I laugh and act like a fool!!
And if I swallow the Med'yuh's EVIL... Strap yer fingers roun' my throat
If I shiver please give me a blanket...
Keep me warm let me wear your coat
No one knows what it's like...to be the bad man
To be the sad man, behind blue eyes.
Before and........MUD
Four Hunnerd...MUD
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