Making a Stand in Charlotte County,VA

The Senior blogger extraordinaire of The 910 Group, the Gates of Vienna was at Charlotte Church Courthouse yesterday, alongside members of the 910 group and allies the Christian Action Network, as they held a demonstration to protest the County's refusal to re-name a county approved road named for known terrorist Sheikh Gilani. CAN and 910 have continued to argue that Gilani is a known terrorist leader in Pakistan, and it is totally inappropriate that a US county allow a road, even a private road, to be named after him. Especially when that road leds to a Jamaat ul-Fuqra compound. 910 Group's Ops Manager Christine did Info-war with the local paper's editor, who did a 180 after claiming that he would publish evidence of Giliani's connections to terrorism as identified by the federal government. But despite Christine doing Clue-based Shock and Awe, the editor refused.

Not that it is in any way suprise. Most of your home town journalists aren't any better than the MSM. The first reaction is Spin followed rapidly by: Challenge, Argue, Deny and finally Ignore.

Waiting on the World... To Tell John Mayer to Shut The Hell Up!

Okay, please read this obligatory rant explanation: I work at an adult contemporary format (AC for those in the biz) radio station. This means that, lucky me, I get to listen to John Mayer sing, "Waiting on the World to Change" about once every three hours. Its easily one of the worst songs I've ever heard, even as far as stupid hippy-dippy songs go.
Now I appreciate that as an artist Mr. Mayer draws from the world around him, and I don't have any problem with his drawing on the war, or even the political conflict over it, as part of his inspirations. But I am a political animal, always have been. I can judged you on your talents as a lyricist, or as musician, but once you interject a political message into your art, than you are being judged on the strength and logic of your political message. Needless to say, Mr. Mayer is not exactly of the James Carville school of Political Pugilism. Anyway, on with the Fisking:

me and all my friends we're all misunderstood
they say we stand for nothing and there's no way we ever could
now we see everything that's going wrong with the world and those who lead it we just feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it

(John Mayer is 30 years old. He can run for the US House of Representatives for God's sake. And presumably his misunderstood friends are either fellow musicians, like his buddy Kanye "Passion" West, or fellow graduates of the Berklee College of Music. Let me tell you, having gone to school in Boston myself, that the BCM kids may have been talented at music, but they were absolutely worthless at anything else. Also, notice how in the very first stanza, Mayer introduces the theme of powerlessness. I'll get on that a little more later. Also notice I'm skipping the chorus, which is repeated a gazillion times, because thats what pop music does.)

now if we had the power to bring our neighbors home from war
they would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door

(And he introduces the war theme here. "We", meaning apparently he and his misunderstood musician friends, want to bring their neighbors home, presumably from Iraq, although I guess he could mean Afghanistan too here. Not bothering at the moment to doubt how many of John Mayer's neighbors are serving their county in Iraq, but why is it so important they come home from war? So they don't miss a holiday. And to get them to take down those stupid yellow ribbons. Note Mayer doesn't say, "no more ribbons on OUR door" No, Mayer and and his Misunderstood Musician Friends, don't have yellow ribbons on THEIR doors. And they wish their backward and unprogressive neighbors would take theirs down too. Yes, I know the phrase is most likely selected because door rhymes with war. But that's the best he could do? There are alot of words that rhyme with war. More, Four, Sore, Lure, Core, Corps, Whore, Nor, Bore, Oar, I can keep this up almost all day. Nope. Mayer says, "take your damn ribbon down, I'm sick of looking at it.")

and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information,
oh they can bend it all they want

(Damn that Right-wing conservative media bias, whipping the people into war fever, and blindly supporting BushCo despite all evidence of his war-mongering tyranny. And actually, if it hadn't been for the preceding context I'd agree with this statement in full.)

that's why we're waiting waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
it's not that we don't care,
we just know that the fight ain't fair
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

(Ooh, it's not fair... the BushHitler regime controls the media, and the government and there's nothing me and my poor, voiceless 30 year old musician friends can do about it but get nominated for a grammy and pound my moronic anti-war blather into your ear 6 times a day.)

Mayer goes on to whimper about how when his generation decides things, it'll be different. Good luck there buddy, apparently you've never read Mark Steyn, cause the demographics tell us that at this rate future generations ain't gonna be ruling nothing. But never mind that.

Even if you are anti-war, it's a pretty piss poor protest song. "ooh, we're against the war, and all this stuff you old folks are doing... so we're gonna wait till you die, that'll show you you Neo-Con ChimpyMcBushitler Halliburton Blood for oil bastards!"

Stick to "Your body is a wonderland" High School dance music Mayer. Leave the politics to others.

Sorry I subjected you guys to that, but the damn song was starting to drive me mad, and what is a blog for but to get things off your chest.

Surge Fails: MSM Says...

I'm listening to the ABC Radio News, at the top of the hour, and in EVERY broadcast they have declared the Surge a failure. "Doesn't seem to be working," was the phrase of choice in the 7 o'clock hour. Wow, what a well sourced and researched statement! What the hell is wrong with these people? It's a military operation meant to last months, that has been underway for several days now, and its being declared an unmitigated failure by the MSM with absolutely NO sourcing at all. Because terrorists were able to detonate a bomb. As if that was expected to suddenly stop. Contrast that with Pajama Media's local Iraqi Blogger (from Iraqi the Model) report, which provides both the bad news, "bombings" and the good news, "people returning to homes, more visible military presence in the streets". Of course the MSM says that folks like ITM are "Biased." Because they want American and Iraqi forces to win? Oh my god, what an atrocious bias. Everyone has bias, it cannot be eliminated. What is important is objectivity, reporting what actually has happened. ITM is more objective then the media reports. We know what he WANTs to happen, but he reports both positive and negative developments in moving towards that goal. by comparison, we KNOW what the MSM wants to happen too, only they only report those things which reinforce their preconcieved desires.

Iran Executes Alleged Bomber...

I was a little flippant about this story earlier. Well apparently only one week after a bombing which killed 11 Revolutionary Guards in Iran, the Iranians captured, tried, and hung the man they claim responsible. Oh, he was also responsible for a bank robbery, and and the deaths of police and others. Some amazing police work that. Just one week, to investigate, try, and capture a terrorist. Apparently the United States should take some notes. No?
The sad fact is, based on the nature of the Iranian Regime, we will never have any idea whether the man you see here was a hardened Sunni terrorist, or some homeless man they swept off the street. What is incredibly irritating is the reporting of the Associated Press, which takes the word of the Islamic Republic of Iran's thug-ocracy without so much as a blink. Take for instance this quality journalism from the AP:

Iran executed the bomber at the site of his attack that killed
several members of an elite military corps, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Monday.The report said the
government hanged Nasrollah Shanbe Zehi in public in Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province, a day after a revolutionary
court convicted him for last week's bombing that killed 11 members of the Revolutionary Guards.

Not alleged bomber. If this was an individual that American officials had accused of terrorism, it would be "alleged" bomber, long after he was tried and convicted, after a five year circus of law enforcement and judicial wrangling. But the Iranians beat the man to extract a confession (JUST LOOK AT THE GUY'S FACE!) and hang him from a crane on the public square the day after their kangaroo court, and the man's guilt is assumed. Like I said, I don't know if he was the terrorist they said he was or not. It's certainly possible, but I overwhelms me how the MSM will take the word of the enemies of the United States at the drop of a hat, yet ignores facts and figures, and the overwhelming evidence of the obvious in its reporting on US claims. "Sky is Blue", US officials claim.

Apparently, being un-biased means taking the word of your country's enemies as the gospel truth. I'm glad I didn't go to J-School to learn that lesson.

When it Rains...

At least it wasn't raining this morning, which is good news, because I had to walk to work this morning. My car wouldn't start for some reason, (I haven't gotten a chance to look at why.) ordinarily I would have called our morning show guy John, and had him pick me up on his way to work. But John is in Florida on vacation, and of course I didn't have the number for the guy filling in for him. So I hoofed it. In all fairness, its not really that fair (2 miles), which I managed to walk in just under 30 mintues. In my defense its pretty hilly.

Anyway, when I arrive, poor George, (the guy filling in for John) is sitting in his car, because no one gave him a key to the station. Everyone had just assumed that I would be here, early, as I almost always am. Well not the case today.

I had to give my first newscast of the morning in short spurts, while cutting off my mic to take a deep breath, because i was still winded from the walk. I'm sure I sounded like an ass, but it couldn't be worse than the other possibility, "this is David UHHHHH Shideler, in the OOOOOOH news center...."

Anyway, I'll keep you updated on whats wrong with the car.

for bonus irony I just had the thing looked at.

Update: So far as I can tell, absolutely nothing wrong with the car. In examination, the lights had not been left on, or any other obvious evidence of what it was that had drained the battery. A simple jump from a fellow Radio station employee got her purring like an overweight cat with ashma, which is how she normally sounds. And no problem this morning getting her going. So who knows. One of those mysteries that may never be solved.

Does Iran Believe in Karma...

Cause it's a bitch, ain't it?

As far as I can tell there was not collateral damage, with the bombing killing only members of the terrorism exporting Revolutionary Guard. Not that I think we had anything to do with this, cause I would doubt it, although international pressure against Iran may have helped embolden whoever was responsible. In all likelihood we wouldn't much like the politics of the group responsible any more than we like Iran's politics. But let's not turn on the moral equivalency machine just yet.

Terrorists killing terrorists? I don't know if you can call it poetic justice, but I wouldn't call it a crying shame.

RIP Charlie Whitlow Norwood

My last interview with Congressman Norwood took place in our little AM studio, and lasted 35 mintues. Not every congressman has to make time for little radio stations, but Norwood was willing to do so.

I remember the first real contact I had with Norwood, was after Hurricane Katrina. We were making preparations for a radio-thon, to raise money, and I was tasked with getting appeals from various officials at the local,state and federal level. So I approached Congressman Norwood, who was at the time in a wheel-chair, with an oxygen bottle. (he suffered from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.) So when I explained what I wanted, He took a big tug on his oxygen tank, and than launched into an appeal. "Give till it hurts my friends..." I remember that line in particular.

Rest In Peace, US Congressman Charlie Norwood, 1941-2007

The Value of a few screaming Hermits...

Sometimes I think we are involved in a people's crusade. The hermits of the internet (bloggers) have been preaching the dangers of Jihad, and the expansion of Sharia for sometime now, and many of us feel compelled to do... something. But none of us are experience in this bizarre sort of information warfare with which we find ourselves involved. We face a skilled, organized, and well funded opponent.

But we have heard the call, and set off on our course. Meanwhile our aristocracy continues to squabble amongst themselves as to whether any such problem exists at all, or if it does, it is very far away, and not central to their power struggles. Indeed to adopt the cause is to risk the loss of one's power and constituency. Santorum in Pa was outspoken about the need to counter the advance of Jihad's cause. And he was ousted from the Senate. Congressman Virgil Goode came under fire after questioning whether a vow on the Koran, (which states "War is deceit") was the same as a vow on the bible, (where to bear false witness is a grave sin). In Denmark, on the front-lines of the counter-jihad, the ruling powers could not find the stomach to allow the people to even speak out. So to the Ivory tower academics of San Fran.

The People's Crusade was disorganized, disordered, and confused. It warred with itself, was easily distracted, and lead to ignominy and slavery for those who undertook it. It was also vitally necessary. Only after the people set off, with a cause, but without a plan, did the nobility too take to the cause. They were more deliberate, and more organized, although they too suffered from confusion and disorder. Nobles, like Godfrey of Boullion, who gave up lands and rights in their own countries in order to move forward with a cause were the ones who were successful. So too, our politicans and leaders of today, will find themselves a new constituency if they take up the cause of countering Jihad, and the spread of Sharia, rolling back dictatorship and theocracy in favor of liberal government. The goal of we screaming hermits must be to convince those in power that the constituency exists, that we, the people, will reward those who abandon old partisan differences in favor of victory in the preeminent struggle of our time.

San Francisco Values...

Time for a quiz here at the DK Republic. Should be pretty simple. Multiple choice. Which one of these flags may you NOT burn or abuse as a statement of protest:






If you guessed the flag of murderous terrorist organization Hezbollah, you'd be absolutely right.

The budding fascists at the college GOP club stomped on the Hezbollah and Hamas flags as part of a protest against terrorism. This offended a number of leftists and muslim organizations on Campus, because it, "incites violence." sound familiar?

It's not just Eurabia anymore folks. San Franistan has joined the ranks of the Dhimmi.

Foreigner Policy...

I'm slow on this story, because I hadn't really made up my mind yet. When Australian Prime Minister John Howard weighed in on Barack Obama's candidacy. I was torn. On the one hand, I like John Howard, and everything he says is absolutely true. Retreat from Iraq is the absolutely wrong strategy, and the enemy knows they can only win by making us pull out. Obviously candidates who endorse pulling out aid the enemy. At the same time however, no country with a freely elected government likes having other governments weigh in on their internal politics. (The dictatorships don't much like it either, but because they are dictatorships, I don't much care what they think.)

I have sympathy for Howard. He's banked much on the Australian-American alliance, and sent troops to Iraq despite high opposition from many in his country. It must be frustrating for him, tied to a policy where the American people's choice of a politican can determine his success or failure. Even so, I think its inappropriate for a representative of a foreign government to weigh in on who we should elect. (of course it happened constantly with Europeans and Bush, course you never saw that in the news, but two wrongs...)

Speaking of people keeping their mouths shut... The Dixie Chicks went 5 for 5 at the Grammys. The Dixie Chicks had felt the icy hand of censorship when BushCo's operatives managed to convince country music fans (usually die-hard liberals and internationalists) to boycott the band for statements made before a british audience.

I've lived outside this country of mine for a long time, most of it during a presidency I was not supportive of in the least. And foreigners love to ask you your opinion of your politicans, especially in China, where the idea of criticising the government is unheard of. All of the expatriates that I knew followed the advice of Winston Churchill:

“When I am abroad, I always make it a rule to never criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home.”

The Role the UN Should Play in the World?

A whooping .0001% of Americans say that the UN is doing an excellent job with its current role in the crucial "Child-Rape and Corruption" category.

Terrorist Lane Remains

the Baron at GOV, who lives in the district, is on top of it.

Sheik Giliani, if I am following things correctly, is a terrorist leader, involved in the murder of the journalist Pearl in Pakistan, amongst other items. The road leads to the Red House Compound of the Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a designated terrorist group.

As a local journalist, I would pound this issue relentlessly. Federal firearms charges filed against people there, a real question about whether the little girls at the compound are being schooled in any substantial way, dozens of reason to keep the eye of the media on it.

As an activist, my proposal (which offered on GOV) was this:

D.K. Shideler said:
perhaps some reverse psychology would be in order? how about every time a new road becomes available, we petition to name it "Osama Bin Laden Lane" or "Saddam Hussein Drive", "Mohammad Atta Circle", "West Al-Qaeda Blvd". If they want their taxpayer funded roads named after terrorists, why don't we help them along?

Dining with Dictators, the Media Obsession

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
- Edmund Burke

"Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty"
-Mahatma Gandhi


Not apparently, if you are Diane Sawyer. (h/t Hot Air)

Click and watch, or read the transcript. Diane sits down with the murdering opthamologist, and the best she can do is ask what's on his IPOD? A man responsible for the assassination of numerous lebanese politicans not to mention vicious repression in his own state. Was Faith Hill playing in the background as you ordered their deaths Assad? That should have been the follow-up question. But not from Diane. She even sits idly by as the fascist takes pot-shots at the value of democracy. "What good is democracy if you are dead," the Baathist dictator asks. He was talking about Iraq, but the question hangs in the air of Beirut and Damascus, and Baghdad. "How many have died trying to bring democracy to Syria?" Sawyer doesn't bother to ask.

These journalists pride themselves on asking the tough questions, but when the opportunity arises to actually ask a tough question, they play patty-cake instead. They squawk and moan about BushCo's repression of the media, but when they sit down with a man whose actually responsible for cracking down on the efforts of people to be free, they fawn like a girl with her first crush.

As Easton Jordan told us about CNN's coverage of Iraq under Hussein, the MSM has no problem with trading the truth for "access." They only dig and churn and demand the truth in societies where there are absolutely no consquences. If you sit across the table from Kim Jong-Il, or Assad, or Ahmadinejad, and you play footsie, you are doing nothing more than serving as a dictator's PR wing. You are nothing more than Goebbels, without even getting to collect a paycheck for the service.

I hope you enjoyed the access Diane. You cooperation with evil has been noted. In the words of someone more eloquent than myself, a reminder for Diane, and the rest of the MSM, that the blood does not come off.

What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,
Making the green one red.