Talk about your all-time confusion. I’ve been misled for years on the meaning of the word “peace”. According to the dictionary, it means, “The absence of war or other hostilities.”

But according to the Left, it means something very different:

Nobel Peace Prize recipient has this to say about President George W. Bush:

“Right now, I would love to kill George Bush.”

How peaceful of her.

And don’t forget what they call the Religion of Peace:

At least five people have been killed in Afghanistan as protests against European cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad swept across the country.

…and:

Hardline Islamic courts shut cinema halls and barred residents from watching the World Cup, prompting scores of civilians to protest the ban in which two people were killed, court officials and residents have said.

The gunmen loyal to the Joint Islamic Courts (JIC), cut electricity, cleared cinema halls and warned residents against watching the football tournament in areas they control, forcing a violent protest late on Saturday in which two people were killed, residents said Sunday.

…and:

19 men affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. Each team of hijackers included a trained pilot. The pilots of two teams crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one plane into each tower, causing both towers to collapse within two hours. The pilot of the third team crashed a plane into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. Passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth hijacked aircraft attempted to retake control of their plane from the hijackers; that plane crashed into a field in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Approximately 3,000 people died in these attacks.

Of course, they also have their Peace Protests:

A protest march of at least 1,500 demonstrators against war in Iraq turned violent Sunday in downtown Brussels when dozens of youths clashed with police and attacked American-owned businesses.

Masked, stone-throwing youths broke windows at a McDonald’s fast food restaurant and a Marriot hotel, as well as a local temporary employment agency.

Let’s also not forget how they defined the Clinton years as the longest period of “Peace” and prosperity. A period when we saw:

- The first World Trade Center bombing (March, 1993)
- The bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City (April, 1995)
- The bombing of a U.S. military barracks in Saudi Arabia (June, 1996)
- The bombing of U.S. embassy in Kenya (August, 1998)
- The bombing of U.S. embassy in Tanzania (August, 1998)
- The attack on the U.S.S. Cole (October, 2000)

Maybe Bush was wrong to declare a “War on Terror”. If he’d followed the Left’s example and declared a “Peace on Terror” we could’ve eliminated more terrorists by now. We could’ve sent in “peace” activists to unleash “peace” on them instead of our brave soldiers. Peaceful threats, peaceful protests and peaceful, and simultaneous, coordinated bombings of their residences. Maybe that’s what John Kerry was referring to when he called for a more sensitive war.

UPDATE: Condoleeza Rice has just declared that “the United States wants an “urgent and enduring” peace” in the Hezbollah conflict. Maybe she’s had a moment of clarity like me!

Irrelevancy, thy name is John Kerry… who by the way served in Vietnam. Like North Korea launching missles everytime the middle east starts receiving the focus of world attention, so too do irrelevant liberals start screaming like 4 year olds craving the spotlight. This time, John Kerry, who by the way served in Vietnam, is claiming that if the Democrats had perpetrated just a little more fraud in some swing states, the current conflict in the middle east wouldn’t be happening.

For once, I agree with him.

You see, if John Kerry, who by the way served in Vietnam, had become President of the United States, there likely wouldn’t have been an Israel left for arabs to kick around in 2006. Afterall, it was John Kerry, who by the way served in Vietnam, that promised to handle Iran just like his useless predecessor had handled North Korea… by accepting baseless promises from terror-loving regimes and in exchange, providing them with the nuclear fuel they seek for peaceful terror-loving purposes.

And since Iran is declaring that “Israel is doomed to destruction”, one can only imagine how quickly they would’ve used President Kerry’s, who by the way served in Vietnam, free nuclear fuel to accomplish this goal. I suspect it would’ve happened before July, 2006, hence Kerry’s, who by the way served in Vietnam, claim that the current conflict wouldn’t have happened is correct.

This doesn’t make me feel comfortable.

There are still 300,000 without power in the St. Louis area after storms rolled through 4 days ago.

And there are still 100,000 without power in New York since a “mysterious power failure” occurred 6 days ago.

Doesn’t bode well for us should our enemies target our power grids.

From ABC News:

Saddam Hussein was hospitalized Sunday on the 17th day of a hunger strike and being fed with a tube, the chief prosecutor said as the former Iraqi leader’s trial nears a verdict that could lead to his hanging.

Isn’t it telling that we live in a world where we’ll force-feed a maniacal, mass-murdering dictator when he doesn’t want to eat and we’ll intentionally starve and dehydrate an innocent woman who may have wanted to live?

I’m not sure why he is being force fed with a tube. Afterall, he has made his advance directives quite clear:

Saddam Hussein reportedly told one of his lawyers he is ready to die in a rare show of personal feelings to the lone female, Shiite attorney on his team.

Maybe it’s time we send Michael Schiavo over to Iraq to represent Saddam’s “final wishes”.

Fox News is not popular because it’s conservative (it’s not, it’s balanced, but compared to other MSM outlets “balanced” appears to be “conservative”), it’s popular because it’s accurate. Here’s a clear example… compare a Fox report to a report from the BBC relating to Israel and Hezbollah.

*5 Updates below*

Authorities are investigating an explosion at an apartment complex in Texas City (home to one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world) yesterday which killed one man and injured another. (hat tip: Nita Rene)

One man died Wednesday in an explosion at a Texas City apartment complex, KPRC Local 2 reported.
…
A resident was working with combustible materials inside a unit, sparking the explosion, investigators said. That man, whose identity was not released, died at the scene.

Today, investigators have identified the materials:

Authorities ordered two apartment complexes evacuated and set off a small explosion inside a unit today in an attempt to remove a substance believed to have caused a fatal blast Wednesday.

In a news conference today, federal and local officials said they believe the substance was peroxide-based.
…
The FBI refused to say whether it believes the men were preparing some kind of attack.

But Texas City Mayor Matt Doyle said: “If we thought this was a terrorist act, the action would be a lot different than we’ve seen here today. Certainly, the FBI would have raised the level of security inside the city.'’

Salway described the substance as similar to TATP, organic peroxide and a primary high explosive. It takes the form of a white crystalline powder with a distinctive acrid smell and has been described as a weapon of choice for suicide bombers.

TATP was also the explosive of choice of suicide bomber Joel Hinrichs outside a packed football stadium in Oklahoma last Fall, as well as the 07/07/05 London bombers.

Of course, the official line is… “Authorities … don’t believe terrorism was involved.”

Here are photos of the scene, courtesy of the Galveston County Daily News:

UPDATE:
The two victims have been identified.

The survivor of yesterday`s explosion, Curtis Jetton, is charged with making a false police report. Police say Jetton and the victim, 21-year-old Matthew Rugo, were working with chemicals inside the apartment when the first explosion took place.

According to public records, it appears Matthew Rugo was arrested two years ago on a misdemeanor weapons violation.

He was also charged in March 2005 with burglary of a habitation. Kohen said Rugo and co-defendant Christopher J. Distefano, 20, of Bellville, were accused of stealing rifles and other items from a home. He had pleaded guilty in the case but had not yet been sentenced. Distefano also was facing sentencing.

UPDATE 2:
Contradictory reports about their possible affiliations:

A college student killed Wednesday afternoon in a blast at the Lakeview Apartments likely was part of a growing subculture of young people who like to see things blown up, authorities said.

Those same authorities insist he and a friend injured in the blast were not associated with any terrorist group — domestic or otherwise.

That word contradicted TV news reports attributed to unnamed, highly placed federal sources that said the pair might be members of a four-person domestic terrorist group.

UPDATE 3:
The injured man had recently been fired from his job cleaning offshore storage tanks and oilrigs:

Mickey Greene, the operations manager for Will Duett, a Galveston firm that specializes in cleaning offshore storage tanks and oilrigs, confirmed Jetton worked for him until recently. He said he told Jetton he wasn’t needed anymore after failing to report to work Saturday.

UPDATE 4:
A friend of Matt’s has posted a tribute to him here.

He had a special interest in explosives and firearms, as many guys do at the age. The only thing is he was a little more active in his interest. I have no doubt he enjoyed just seeing what he could accomplish with them and knowing that he had the knowledge and ability for them. If it wasn’t for this accident, I bet he could have truly been a great pyrotechnician someday or something of the sorts.

I’m not condoning what Matt did, but I just want to clear up any question on his intent. Matt was not a violent person and there really isn’t a doubt in my mind that he did not meant any harm to anybody or anything. I’m sure the most he would have done with any of his materials was take them out to some pasture or somewhere and see what he could do with them. They where basically his toys, though dangerous as they where. He had no more intent with his actions then someone with a bottlerocket aimed at an object in a junk heap.
…
Rest in Peace, Matt. The one true regret I have about this is that I can’t tell you all the stir you made after the fact… with the FBI, news reporters, bomb squads, the police blowing up the apartment complex, and helicopters going crazy. You would have truly loved it, and thought it an extremely befitting end.

UPDATE 5:
(hat tip: Mrs Peel) Stories still not adding up. Despite what those close to the guys are saying, Jetton is telling a different story…in his own words:

Texas City police told a different story in a court affidavit released Friday. That affidavit alleges Jetton told police he not only knew about the explosives but went with Rugo to purchase the items used to concoct the volatile mixture.

“He was fully aware of the ingredients for making an explosive in detail,” according to the affidavit.

The document states that moments after the fatal blast, Jetton told police there were no more explosives in the apartment. Police said Jetton later changed his story and said the items could be found in a closet.

That bit of misdirection is what led to the charge of filing a false police report.

Jetton also described what happened in the moments leading up to the blast that killed Rugo, according to the affidavit. In the report, police said Jetton explained that Rugo was taking the explosive material, believed to be similar to a peroxide-based explosive known as TATP, out of a container. That is when the explosion occurred.

Jetton bonded out of state jail and was promptly picked up by federal authorities. Questions remain…

You want to know why a Republican President will never be able to have an “open dialog” with Democrats or racist groups like the NAACP? It’s because of stuff like this:

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois warned NAACP delegates to be cautious of any civil rights promises Bush offers when speaking to the group today. The senators criticized Republicans for allowing the landmark 1965 voting act to nearly expire and said the Justice Department has failed to aggressively pursue allegations of disenfranchisement.

“Don’t be bamboozled. Don’t buy into it,” Obama said, trying to anticipate Bush’s speech, which is expected to touch upon his support for extending the act.

So after 5 years of the Left clamoring over Bush’s refusal to speak to the racist organization, he finally agrees and what does the Left do? They come out with preemptory comments insinuating a distrust that Bush’s words may not be sincere… that he’s just there to pander. (Though I will credit Democrats for knowing exactly what pandering to minorities looks and feels like… they’ve perfected the act) They create an environment of distrust before he even speaks.

In fact, after whining for 5 years that the President of the United States isn’t speaking to their racist organization, you’d think it would be worth mentioning on the racist group’s site when he finally does speak to them. But, not surprisingly, there’s not a single mention of the President speaking to their annual racist meeting on their website.

When Democrats call for bipartisanship or “open dialog”, it just simply means do what they want or risk being called a closed-minded, bigoted, racist, puppy killer.

That’s where I’m headed tonight. Sometimes you just gotta have some fun. It will be my first time at Wrigley, it feels like a rite of passage. I’m also excited because the starting pitchers are Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux.

Clemens (1-3, 2.96 ERA) and Maddux (7-10, 4.99) have combined for 667 wins and 11 Cy Young Awards and pitch against each other for the third time in their illustrious careers.

Despite the fact that both teams are fighting to see who can suck the most, the pitching matchup and the fact it’s my first time in such a historic ballpark should make the game memorable anyway.

Think again. Michelle points out that the Jew-hating terrorists are right here among us.

Just look at the message they’re promoting… in San Francisco, CA:

And don’t be fooled for a moment into thinking this is just some radical fringe element conducting these protests. The probable 2008 Presidential Democrat candidate had this to say about hosting militant Islamic groups in the White House while her husband was President:

“I think what you’re referring to,” she said, “is that over the course of the last seven years as part of the administration’s efforts to open lines of communication and build bridges with Muslim Americans and Muslim leaders from all over the world, many, many people have been invited to the White House. I have been part of some of those events. I have hosted some of them. I would imagine that some of the people who were invited were members of organizations with whom I would have had serious disagreements about some of the things those organizations have said. . . . So I think that if you want to talk about what the White House has tried to do, what the administration has tried to do to try to promote a framework for peace, it certainly included lines of communication to many different groups and many different individuals.”

Those “different groups” included the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the American Muslim Council (AMC) and the American Muslim Alliance (AMA). They’ve publicly shared their “diverse” views on many occasions:

On Oct. 13, 2000, CAIR and the AMC sponsored a rally outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington where the speakers led the crowd in a chant: Khybar, Khybar, ya, ya Yahood, jesh Mohammed sofa ya’ud. (Translation: “Khybar Khybar, oh Jews, the army of Mohammed is coming for you.”) It is a refrain used by Hamas threatening the annihilation of Jews as was done to the Jewish tribe in Khybar, Saudi Arabia, by Mohammed in the year 628.

At another Washington rally, on Oct. 28, 2000, the AMC’s Mr. Alamoudi led the thousands in attendance to chant their support for Hamas and Hezbollah. “Hear that, Bill Clinton, we are all supporters of Hamas,” he declared. “I wish they argued that I am also a supporter of Hezbollah.” (When the New York Daily News asked about these comments earlier this week, Mr. Alamoudi denied making them, telling the reporter: “You better check your Arabic.” When the reporter noted that he had given the speech in English, Mr. Alamoudi replied, “It was in English? Oh my God, I forgot!”)

In 1998 AMC, CAIR and AMA hosted a rally at Brooklyn College where Islamic militants exhorted the attendees to carry out “jihad” and described Jews as “pigs and monkeys.” In 1999 these same groups, together with MPAC, sponsored a rally in Santa Clara, Calif., where speakers accused Israel and the U.S. of carrying out “a conspiracy” to “kill Muslims.” One speaker called for the death of Jews.

So if you think Hezbollah and Hamas are just problems for foreigners to deal with, think again. This is a problem for all of us.

First of all, the practice of experimenting on embryonic stem cells is not banned, as proponents would lead you to believe.

In fact, there are dozens of groups studying them, including major stem-cell centers recently launched at Stanford and Harvard.

If the promise of breakthrough discoveries is real, you can bet there will be for-profit organizations undertaking the research.

But the real question centers around who is going to pay for experimentation that deals with many Americans’ closely held religious beliefs. This debate is not about defining when life begins, it’s about using taxpayer money to fund research that many find morally wrong.

Bottom line, if you want to conduct research that is morally offensive to me and many others, use your own money… not mine.