Random-American

Ugh, here we go again.  More tragedy at the hands of an illegal alien.  When is this madness going to stop?

From CBS2.com:

A  57-year-old woman was killed in a pileup caused by a drunken, unlicensed driver who was carrying fraudulent immigration and identification documents, authorities said.

…

The woman from Harbor City whose vehicle was initially struck, was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, Porter said. Her name was withheld.

The 29-year-old man who caused the accident was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries. He was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, Porter said, adding that he was unlicensed and had no proof of insurance. He may also be charged with providing fraudulent immigration and California identification documents, Porter said.

MAY be charged with fraudulent immigration and ID documents?  He damn sure better be.  He shouldn’t even be here.

Meanwhile, President Bush has criticized anyone who doesn’t want to support the new “comprehensive immigration reform” amnesty bill as saying they ”don’t want to do what’s right for America.”  Sorry, Mr. President, but you are completely wrong on this one.  The RIGHT thing to do for America is to secure the friggin border and put an end to this madness of illegal immigration, not try to push an amnesty down our throats while saying it’s not amnesty.  Call it what you want, but if the illegal aliens are rewarded for ignoring our laws and sovereignty by sneaking in here, and not being forced to leave, then that is amnesty.  Simply saying it’s not amnesty does not make it so.  To use a bit of colloquialism that you might understand…You can put kittens in an oven, but that don’t make em biscuits.

Secure the border.  Enforce the existing law.

In a self-aggrandizing farewell letter, dear Cindy Sheehan has decided to step down as the face of the radical raving lunatic, err, I mean, far-left anti-war peace movement.  On one hand, Ms. Sheehan is a grieving mother who lost her son, which I’m sure is completely devastating, and I can’t even begin to relate.  She has my sympathies for her loss.  However, that does not give her carte blanche to be a looney nutjob, bash America at every whim, and expect no criticism.  It’s very important to note, which is rarely mentioned anywhere, that her son volunteered and reenlisted in the army before he was killed.  Apparently, he believed in his mission.  But dear mother Sheehan bashes everything that her son gave his life in service of.  And why is she the only mother who lost a son that gets any publicity?  There are thousands of mothers that support and believe in their son’s or daughter’s mission, but they get nary a peep in the media.  Gee, why is that?

In some of her musings, Ms. Sheehan has labeled George Bush as the “biggest terrorist in the world,” has referred to radical Islamic terrorists as “freedom fighters” and has cozied up to Venezuela’s socialist dictator Hugo Chavez, saying “I admire him for his resolve against my government and its meddling.” 

I’m sorry for your loss, Cindy, but I am not sorry to see you go away. 

She closed her farewell letter by saying “Good-bye America …you are not the country that I love…”

Well, Cindy, good-bye to you too.  If this is not the country that you love, then might I recommend Venezuela since you apparently think your ol’ buddy Hugo is doing a smashing job?  I hear it’s just wonderful there right now. 

This is an example of something seriously wrong in this country.  Some people put their race above everything else, above beliefs, above someone’s intentions.  That’s wrong.  That’s flat wrong.  That’s supremicist beliefs.  It’s no different than if white racists chose to vote for a particular candidate simply because he’s white.  It’s wrong.  Did I mention it’s flat wrong?  Whatever happened to Dr. King’s dream of a person’s worth being determined by their character, and not the color of their skin?  To not like someone because of their actions and character is perfectly normal and acceptable.  But to not like them based solely on their skin color is just idiotic.  This is the kind of crap we end up with, when we constantly point out our differences and label each other according to skin tone and ethnicity.  We have to stop it.  Should whites only vote for white folks?  Hell no.  Should blacks only vote for blacks?  Hell no.  Should Hispanics only vote for someone because they’re Hispanic?  Hell no.  To choose a leader based primarily on the color of their skin is beyond idiotic on all counts.  We have to quit putting race first, stop being devisive, and just be one people…Americans.   

From Austin American-Statesman:

As a consultant in six Republican campaigns, dating back to Ronald Reagan in 1980, Texas ad man Lionel Sosa tried to persuade Hispanic Democrats to back non-Hispanic Republicans for president.

This year, after serving as a Hispanic outreach consultant and high-dollar fundraiser in President Bush’s national campaigns, Sosa is putting his money on a Hispanic Democrat.

“Blood is thicker than party,” Sosa said in explaining his support for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s bid to become the nation’s first Hispanic president.

The lure of heritage and potential political history also moved Houston lawyer Hector Delgado, another former top fundraiser for Bush, away from a lifetime of backing Republican presidential candidates.

“He is Hispanic,” he said without pause when asked why he backs Richardson.

That being said, I think Richardson is generally a nice guy, even though I don’t agree with some of his policies.  I just think it’s wrong for anyone to base their vote primarily on a candidate’s skin tone.

For all those who either don’t know what Sharia is, or think it’s just a quaint way of expressing Muslim religious beliefs…I encourage you to read more about it.  This story is a prime example of what Sharia can and will do, anywhere it’s allowed to gain a foothold.  It’s utterly amazing that people don’t realize how good we have it here concerning real freedom.  Because, with Sharia, freedom of religion is illegal.

From ABC News:

Malaysia’s best known Christian convert, Lina Joy, lost a six-year battle on Wednesday to have the word “Islam” removed from her identity card, after the country’s highest court rejected the change.

…

“You can’t at whim and fancy convert from one religion to another,” Federal Court Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said in delivering judgment in the case, which has stirred religious tensions in the mainly Muslim nation.

He said the civil court had no jurisdiction in the case and that it should be dealt with by the country’s Islamic courts.

“The issue of apostasy is related to Islamic law, so it’s under the sharia court. The civil court cannot intervene.”

…

In practice, sharia courts do not allow Muslims to formally renounce Islam, preferring to send apostates to counseling and, ultimately, fining or jailing them if they do not desist.

They often end up in legal limbo, unable to register their new religious affiliations or legally marry non-Muslims. Many keep silent about their choice or emigrate.

Lina Joy, 43, was born Azlina Jailani and was brought up as a Muslim, but at the age of 26 decided to become a Christian. She wants to marry her Christian boyfriend, a cook, but she cannot do so while her identity card declares her to be Muslim.

…

Malaysia, like neighboring Indonesia, practices a moderate brand of Islam, but Muslims account for only a bare majority of Malaysia’s population and are very sensitive to any perceived threats to Islam’s special status as the official religion.

Yep, sure sounds tolerant to me!  (hat tip: MM)

I know, I know… just here to work…yadda, yadda…

From KPHO Phoenix, AZ:

A Mesa [AZ] girl had a rude awakening when she awoke to find her father’s friend masturbating in her room, Mesa police said.

Police said the girl’s father allowed his landscaping co-worker of two years to spend the night at their trailer after they’d been drinking.

When a noise in her room woke the girl that night, police said, she found 37-year-old Gonzalo Morales Eufrazio standing in her room with his pants around his knees.

…

Eufrazio is an illegal immigrant from Sonora, Mexico, according to police.

Gonzalo Morales Eufrazio

This story absolutely infuriates me.  As a veteran, I am saddened and disgusted.  As an American, I am utterly appalled. 

From AP via Yahoo!News:

Vandals burned dozens of small American flags that decorated veterans’ graves for Memorial Day and replaced many of them with hand-drawn swastikas, authorities said Monday.

Forty-six flag standards were found empty and another 33 flags were in charred tatters Sunday in the cemetery, authorities said. Swastikas drawn on paper appeared where 14 of the flags had been.

Members of the American Legion on this island off Washington’s northwest coast replaced the burned flags with new ones Sunday afternoon.

The vandals struck again on Memorial Day after a guard left at dawn, the San Juan County sheriff’s office said. This time, the vandals left 33 of the hand-drawn swastikas.

“This is not an act of free speech. This is a crime,” Sheriff Bill Cumming said in a statement released Monday afternoon.

This was clearly an act of raving lunacy and hatred of our nation’s veterans.  I don’t give a high flying googley damn if people want to argue political viewpoints and their opinions of the war in Iraq.  But to deface the graves of veterans with swastikas, many veterans of which fought to defeat the Nazis in World War II, is beyond the pale and reaches new depths of depravity.  I’m willing to wager that the vermin who did this are of the far-left variety, and when they’re caught, they’ll come out with the same old tired line of “but we support the troops.”  Sorry, but with an act like this, that argument is pure bovine excrement.

Think this was a remote incident local to Washington?  Unfortunately, it wasn’t.  Flags were burned in Boston, eggs were thrown at a Memorial Day color guard, and 1000 flags were stolen from veterans’ graves in Danville, Virginia.

Disgusting. Pathetic. Shameful.

In my not-so-humble opinion, Hillary Clinton is a socialist.  She recently gave a speech in which she said it’s time to replace an “on your own” society with one based on shared responsibility and prosperity.  Think about that for just one second.  She wants to eliminate everyone’s personal responsibility and accountability.  She wants to take money, your money, away from you and give it to someone else.  She believes in income redistribution.  She doesn’t want people to save, keep, invest, and spend the fruit of their own labor, their earnings.  She doesn’t believe in people being able to keep all of what they earn.  She wants to seize part of those earnings and give it to someone else.  That, my friends, is socialism.  Redistribution of wealth.  Seizing from one, to give to another.  She doesn’t want people to be self-sufficient, she wants people to have to rely on others, namely the government.  She doesn’t believe in the freedom, liberty, and capitalism that has made our country great.  She believes in the socialist platforms of a total nanny state.  She believes that “it takes a village to raise a child” when really it should take parents and a family.  And in 1993 she said, “We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society.”  People better remember her true beliefs come election time.  Think your paycheck gets jacked enough now?  Think you already pay too much in taxes?  Think there’s already a push for a bigger nanny state and a war on individual freedom?  If she’s elected, you ain’t seen nothin yet.

From AP via Yahoo!Finance:

Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined a broad economic vision Tuesday, saying it’s time to replace an “on your own” society with one based on shared responsibility and prosperity.

Now please read this definition of socialism from American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition via Dictionary.com:

socialism

An economic system in which the production and distribution of goods are controlled substantially by the government rather than by private enterprise, and in which cooperation rather than competition guides economic activity. There are many varieties of socialism. Some socialists tolerate capitalism, as long as the government maintains the dominant influence over the economy; others insist on an abolition of private enterprise. All communists are socialists, but not all socialists are communists.

Now, someone please explain to me that what she wants is not socialism? 

Take the time today to remember and honor those that gave their lives in service of our country. 

Never forget those that gave the last full measure of devotion.

From CongressionalGoldMedal.com:

Audie Murphy was a thin, shy, baby faced eighteen year old in 1942. He tried to join the Navy, Marines and Army paratroopers, but was turned down each time because of his height. Audie Murphy was only five feet, five inches tall, and when he finally was able to join the United States Army, they nicknamed him “baby” because of his boyish looks. But when Audie Murphy left the service, he was a giant that cast a shadow over any other soldier that this country has ever known. Audie Murphy was the most decorated soldier of World War II, including the prestigious Congressional Medal of Honor.

…

On January 26th, 1945, Audie Murphy cemented his place in history with one of the bravest displays ever seen during a time of war. Somewhere near Holtzwihr, France, his Company B, with him in command, was attacked by six tanks backed up by plenty of infantry. He ordered his men to withdraw to the forest, while he remained behind to give artillery directions over the phone on where to fire at the approaching wave of enemies. In back of him to his right, a US tank destroyer suffered a direct hit. As its crew scrambled to safety, Murphy continued to direct artillery fire that killed many of the enemy. With the German tanks now bearing down on him, he climbed onto the burning destroyer, which could have blown up at any time. Using the vehicle’s .50 caliber guns he began to mow down dozens of the adversary, despite being under fire from three sides. The tanks fell back; they were losing their infantry support due to Murphy’s steadfastness. For a solid hour, the Germans tried to kill Audie Murphy with everything they had, but he held his ground atop the destroyer. When an entire squad of Germans tried to sneak up on him on his flank, he mowed them down. Soldiers got within ten yards of him, but were killed by his non-stop shooting. Ignoring a leg wound, he finally ran out of ammunition. He retreated back to his company and refused first aid. Instead, he organized a counterattack that routed the Germans and held the woods for the Allies. Audie Murphy was credited with killing a total of 240 of the enemy, either directly with his own fire or indirectly with his artillery orders.

For his unflappable gallantry in WW II, Murphy received the Congressional Medal of Honor. He also won a Purple Heart and an Oak Leaf Cluster. In fact, he accumulated every single medal that the United States had to offer for valor, some more than once. France and Belgium added five medals themselves to this fighting hero, making him the most decorated soldier of World War II. 

…

Audie Murphy was killed on May 28th, 1971, along with six others, when the private plane he was a passenger in crashed in fog and rain into a mountain near Roanoke, Virginia. He was only forty six years old at the time of his death. Fittingly, he died on Memorial Day weekend.

He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, near the Amphitheatre, with full military honors. His gravesite is the second most visited one in Arlington, behind only the resting place of John F. Kennedy. Congressional Medal of Honor winners traditionally have their tombstones decorated with gold leaf, but Murphy had requested that his should remain plain. The headstone reads as follows-

Audie L. Murphy, Texas. Major Infantry, World War II, June 20,1924 to May 28, 1971, Medal of Honor, DSC - SS & OLC; LM - BSM & OLC; PH & two OLC. (DSC-Distinguished Service Cross; SS-Silver Star; LM-Legion of Merit; BSM-Bronze Star Medal; OLC-Oak Leaf Cluster; PH-Purple Heart).

The baby faced youth from Texas, who became a national hero, should never be forgotten. His determination to become a soldier despite his five foot, five frame, and the heroism he displayed in the battle to end Nazi rule, lives as an example to all.

From Colorado Springs Gazette:

Last May, Teresa Taylor was watching climbers pad up to the summit of Pikes Peak in shorts and sneakers. This year, she’s warning everyone that beyond Barr Camp, you’d better be dressed for the worst.

This is the snowiest spring on Pikes Peak in more than a decade. Barr Camp recorded 231 inches of snow this winter. (It only saw 50 inches in 2006.)

Hikers venturing above treeline will find that the peak is more wintry this May than it usually is in January, and they should be prepared.

Whew, thank God for global warming.  *rolls eyes*

Yet another story of an illegal alien “just here to work”…yadda yadda…

This story is a prime example of what is so messed up with our lack of border security and methods of dealing with the problem of illegal immigration.  Had local police bothered to contact immigration authorities, then perhaps an innocent 3-year old girl would still be alive.

From NJ.com:

When Randy Lopez-Rivas was arrested on charges of burglary and theft, no one contacted federal immigration authorities to determine whether the teen was in the country legally.

It wasn’t until last month, when he allegedly murdered his girlfriend’s 3-month-old daughter in Vineland and stuffed the infant behind a basement dryer, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reached out to locals and determined that Lopez-Rivas was an illegal immigrant from Guatemala.

In New Jersey, local police departments are not required to contact federal officials when they arrest someone suspected to be in the country illegally.

read entire article here

Ugh.  Stories like this are gonna make my hair catch on fire.

I know, I know…just here to work…yadda, yadda…

Ugh, this is so horrible, and my heart goes out to this little girl and her family. 

From IndyStar: 

A 27-year-old man admitted today in court he abducted and assaulted a 7-year-old neighbor at a Southside apartment complex.

The victim underwent surgery after the attack and remained in Riley Hospital for Children this morning, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Sgt. Matthew Mount said.

Castillo admitted his guilt, despite the court commissioner’s routine entry of a not guilty plea on Castillo’s behalf during his initial hearing this morning in Marion Superior Court.

“I agree with what I did, and I know what I did,” Jonathan Castillo said through a Spanish translator after Commissioner Steven Rubick read the five charges against him. “I was drunk, and I can’t just fix things just because I’m drunk.”

…

Prosecutors asked Rubick for Castillo’s $100,000 bond to be increased to $250,000, citing the risk to the community and a flight risk because Castillo is an undocumented immigrant. Castillo had told Rubick he is a dual citizen of Mexico and Honduras and works as a day laborer.

Jonathan Castillo, 27, shown in a jail book-in photo, admitted in court today that he abducted

and attacked a 7-year-old girl. - Photo provided by Indianapolis metropolitan police

Radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is apparently back in Iraq, after his little “vacation” in Iran. 

From AFP via Yahoo!News:

US urges Sadr to play ‘positive’ Iraq role

The United States on Friday urged radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to play “a useful and positive role” in Iraq after his dramatic return to frontline Iraqi politics.

“Now that he’s back from four months in Iran, we hope he’ll play a useful and positive role in the development of Iraq,” said White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

Meanwhile…

From The Washington Post:

Sadr Reappears With Nationalist Ambitions

The influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr emerged publicly on Friday for the first time in months, calling for U.S. forces to leave Iraq and vowing to defend Sunnis and Christians. His appearance, and remarks, seemed part of an ongoing tactical shift by Sadr to recast himself as a nationalist who can unify and lead a post-occupation Iraq.

Flanked by 10 bodyguards, the 33-year-old, black-turbaned cleric entered his gold-domed mosque in the southern holy city of Kufa as crowds chanted “May God pray on Muhammad” — a greeting, evoking Islam’s prophet, used to welcome a person who has reappeared after a long absence. Sadr, glowering, stepped up to the rostrum, and before launching into a fiery sermon, ordered the faithful, some in tears, to repeat three times after him:

“No, no to America. No, no for the occupation. No, no for Israel. No, no to imperialism. No, no to the devil.”

Yep, I’m sure he’ll play a “useful and positive role” in Iraq.  I just can’t imagine what could possibly go wrong. 

I know, I know…just here to work…yadda, yadda…

Just doing the jobs Americans won’t do, eh?  You know, we have enough criminals, thugs, and drug dealers that are already here, including many American citizens.  Do we really need to import more? 

From AP:

Police say the jingle of this ice cream truck meant pot-sickles. Police say elementary school students tipped them off to an ice cream truck driver who was apparently selling $5 and $10 bags of marijuana from the truck. Most customers were in the third, fourth, and fifth grades.

“It’s a scary thought, but that’s the info we received,” Mission police Chief Leo Longoria said.

Raymundo Flores, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, was arrested Thursday on charges of possession of marijuana. He was transported to Hidalgo County jail after a judge set bond at $30,000. His case will likely be turned over to federal immigration officials, Assistant Police Chief Robert Dominguez said.

Can we please secure the border?  Pretty please?

The next time someone tries to tell you that Islamic countries are all peaceful and tolerant, please be so kind as to remind them of this story from Saudi Arabia.

From Jerusalem Post:

Saudi officials have arrested a man in Mecca for being a Christian, saying that the city, which Muslims consider to be holy, is off-limits to non-Muslims.

Nirosh Kamanda, a Sri Lankan Christian, was detained by the Saudi Expatriates Monitoring Committee last week after he started to sell goods outside Mecca’s Great Mosque.

After running his fingerprints through a new security system, Saudi police discovered that he was a Christian[...]

“The Grand Mosque and the holy city are forbidden to non-Muslims,” Col. Suhail Matrafi, head of the department of Expatriates Affairs in Mecca, told the Saudi daily Arab News. “The new fingerprints system is very helpful and will help us a lot to discover the identity of a lot of criminals,” he said.

Some large cities in the Middle East are entirely off-limits to non-Muslims.  Where’s the world outrage?  Could you just imagine if a city in the U.S., or any Western country for that matter, declared that no Muslims were allowed?  Imagine it.  Just imagine the riots, howls of outrage, threats of beheadings and bombings, the outcry from Amnesty International in the name of “tolerance,” screams of Islamophobia and lawsuits from CAIR, the U.N. resolutions denouncing the U.S., you name it.  But, in this case, the world is silent.  This is how Christians and other non-Muslims are treated?  Entire cities are off-limits and people’s religion is recorded in databases so they can ensure non-Muslims don’t go where they’re not allowed.  Ah yes, our dear friends the Saudis.  My, how “tolerant.” 

And, of course, let’s not forget this story.