Qur'an Project

Thank you for finding me here again....

After my host decided to be a JACKASS and cut off hosting WITHOUT WARNING or even answering my repeated emails, I am forced to put the blog back on blog*spot.

Please update any links and bookmarks. I hope to have quranproject.com hosted again soon, at least as a pointer to this site. Anyone out that that can set up a forwarder, please email me.

Thanks again for re-finding me!

Just in case, and I hope it is not, one of my tens of loyal readers is the lone viewer of MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann"...

STOP WATCHING HIM DAMMIT! He's an idiot/hack that cannot get his staff to check simple facts.

OLBERMANN CAN 'COUNTDOWN,' BUT CAN HE COUNT UP?

(Hat Tip:Ace who has more.)

In the spirit of all the news coverage the last few days on the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchanging status of the oldest terrorist in the world, I thought I would declare that:


The Qur'an Pundit is also not dead.

I expect the network news trucks to be outside my door to report on my status 24/7. They should arrive any minute now...

Have you seen this?

Who's the angry hate-filled moron now?

Oliver Willis has a post that I completely agree with! Maybe there is a chance for National Unity...

In the interest of not tipping the balance of power, I need to link Ace. Lucky for me he has a related post!

Thank you Senator Kerry (D-MA). I suddenly have a great deal of respect for you.

Yahoo! News - AP: Kerry Calls Bush to Concede Election.

Ohio is over, what part of "over" don't you understand? The "o" or the "ver"?

Andy McCarthy:

MSNBC reported this morning that, for the small amount of time they have been in use (so data may not be the most reliable) legitimacy rate of provisional votes in Ohio is about 90%. If that holds up, there would be about 139,000. Statistically inconceivable that Kerry could overcome Bush's lead since he'd basically need 100%. But is it enough for the Dems to justify to themselves dragging this out? I'm afraid it probably is because the MSM will not kill them over it.

Kool-Aid:

All this "reconciliation" stuff is nonsense. These guys run one of the dirtiest campaigns ever, and we're just supposed to wrap our arms around this fraud of a president? Gimme a break. The Dems need to grow a backbone for once, and fight the way those monsters do.

Add me to the The Blogging Machine that Dan Ra^ther says will provide the drumbeat for a Kerry concession.

Something tells me that these polling places will not show up in Ollie's favorite map. I am shocked and appalled, but not surprised.

BTW: In case you didn't notice Ollie has a new "daddy".

UPDATE: Another example of a problem not on Kool-Aid's radar. (H/T CathyF)

(Note: Cross post from LGFWW)

It's Election Day and I hope everyone reading this has or will vote. Informed voters are our only defense against the stupid and the crazy. In the spirit of Election Day, I will tell my story of political coming of age.

My journey through the landscape of American Politics begins well before I was old enough to vote. The year was 1976 and I was a teenager with parents that were Democrats. Being a good son, I helped my Mom and Dad as we all volunteered at the local Carter for President office. The mood of the country was fowl, very much like today, due to the stain of Watergate on the system. President Carter was the beneficiary of all the anger against Nixon and the Republicans. I stuffed envelopes, walked with my parents as they went door to door and generally did what I could to help out. It was all very exciting and fueled my interest in politics. Of course, Jimmy won and erased the memory of Watergate only to replace it with economic malaise, a weakened military and the start of real trouble for the US in the Middle East.

In 1980 the parties were again on even ground. Watergate was a memory and the economy was a mess. I was now of voting age and had a very deeply felt distaste for the Democrats because Jimmy Carter betrayed me. In the arrogance of youth I got it in my head that the failing of President Carter was directly tied to me and he did it just to make my life miserable. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but at least I felt that it was an affront to my generation. These feelings and the Freshman Economics class I was in really pushed me away from the Democrats. The Governor of California was not the direction I was going, my Econ professor made sure of that. I joined up with my state's Socialist Party. I even found myself on the ballot that year because of ballot access rules. I don't even remember the name of the candidate, but I voted Socialist that year. There goes any hope of a cushy government job for me!

In 1984 something happened that changed my view of politics and Government forever. I got a real job. I had crappy high school jobs (fast food, newspapers etc), but never a full time gig. I looked at my first paycheck and my jaw dropped. I was positive that the payroll department made a mistake and had my salary down for half of the agreed upon number. I went to the payroll office to clear up the mess and the payroll supervisor chuckled and took me into her office to talk about it. She showed me all the places where the Government reached into my paycheck and got paid before I even got the check, let alone cashed it. Socialism didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. I voted Reagan.

In 1988 The Vice President George H. W. Bush was running against Michael Dukakis. I remembered Mr. Bush's criticism of Mr. Reagan's policies from the 1980 campaign (voodoo economics) and thought that he would revert to that sort of thinking as President. I was a solid Reagan guy and really wanted a solid Reagan-like person to vote for, too bad I didn't have the choice. That year reminds me of this year in that I didn't want to vote for either candidate. Dukakis was an idiot and Bush was a former CIA guy and known critic of Reagan economic policies. I flipped a coin and it fell for Dukakis.

By 1992, President Bush (41) had confirmed my suspicions in office by ignoring his "No New Taxes" pledge. Ross Perot entered the race and stole many Bush (41) votes, putting Bill Clinton in office. My view was the Clinton was a disaster waiting to happen, Bush (41) was a disaster that already happened and Perot was just nuts, I mean what Presidential candidate runs on the platform of raising gas taxes by 50 cents a gallon? I voted Clinton because I couldn't bring myself to vote for someone who lied in office, irony abounds. Clinton won and I didn't care until he raised taxes on income earned BEFORE he was in office. Vice President Gore was the deciding vote; I would remember that action and hold it against him.

1996 was another Perot year and the Republicans put up Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kansas). I never could get along with the notion of an "anybody but..." vote (just as I can't understand it today) so I could not bring myself to vote for Sen. Dole. He is a good man, but didn't really offer anything except "I am not Clinton", just like Sen. Kerry's (D-France) "I am not Bush". This is the year I found Harry Browne and the Libertarian Party. I love the Libertarian message on the size of government (WAY too big) and on Taxes (WAY too high). I like the way Mr. Browne poses the question "Would you give up your favorite Government program if it meant never paying Income Taxes again?". The Libertarians are also right on social issues and personal freedoms. I found a home politically, or did I? More on that here.

In my opinion in 2000, George W. Bush and Al Gore were exactly the same fool packaged in different speaking styles and clothes. It really made no difference to me because they would both expand government and tax me in different (and higher) ways. National Security was not a concern, the Soviets were gone and it was morning in America again. Harry Browne was running again and I worked on his campaign in my home state. I even made donations to the campaign and the state and national parties.

Here are my thoughts on this year's election.

I no longer can base my vote solely on my pocketbook, taxes, size and scope of government or any other domestic policy. September 11th made that impossible. After all the shock and horror of the events of that day faded and thoughts again turned to politics, I was so grateful that President Bush prevailed. A "President Gore" could have been very bad for the survival of Western Civilization. This thought was proven correct numerous times in the time since 9-11, but none more striking as Mr. Gore's speech to MoveOn PAC. My thoughts on that speech are right here.

National Security can never again be taken for granted or influenced by foreign powers. The biggest, some say only, responsibility of the Federal Government is the protection of the homeland and the citizenry. Showing weakness in the face of terrorists only invites more terrorism. This election is just the first of many to come where the proponents of weakness and global cooperation will be in conflict with the forces defending America. It is imperative that we continue to elect the person that best understands this concept.

In this election, that person is President Bush.

(Cross Posted from LGFWW)

When asked, I will tell anyone that asks that I am a Libertarian. The Libertarian view of government, taxes, Social Security, personal freedoms are spot on. Government should be limited in size and scope. The Income Tax is unfair and counter-productive. On many, many issues I am with the party. On very few I am against or conflicted. Abortion is one of these, I don’t want the government as an ally in the fight to stop abortions and protect life. Another is the Global War on Terror. I desperately believe that the future of the country is best served by Libertarian ideals. I have voted twice for Libertarian Presidential candidates (both times it was Harry Browne).

Now that there is no doubt of my Libertarian bona fides, I want to persuade my Libertarian brothers and sisters to forsake Michael Badnarik and vote for President Bush. On size and scope of government, Bush is wrong. On taxes, Bush is wrong. On personal freedoms, Bush is wrong. On Second Amendment issues, Bush is wrong. If he is wrong on all these issues, why would I ask you to vote for him?

First and foremost, Sen. Kerry (D-France) is worse on all of these issues. His Senate record shows him a fan of tax increases, massive government program (Government Health Insurance anyone?), and gun control. Add the fact that despite his recent pandering he voted for the Patriot Act. Sen. Kerry and his party are drifting, some say speeding, to the left. The left might appeal to some Libertarians but it shouldn't, for down that path lies totalitarianism and that is not the Libertarian dream. Your vote really matters no mater where you live. Imagine if even half of the 2000 Flordia Nader voters would have cast their ballots for Mr. Gore? As Bill Murray would say (paraphrasing) "Real wrath of God type stuff! Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! ... Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria".

The Libertarian Party actually thinks that their impact on the Bush vote is something to be proud of, even if it serves to put in a bigger enemy of freedom and Libertarian Ideals in office. Is 4 years of higher taxes, less freedom, weaker security and more terror worth your protest vote? If you think that the party is not targeting Bush voters, think again.

Finally, the most important reason. On the war and terrorism Bush is right, Kerry is wrong and Badnarik is dead wrong. This is the only thing that matters in this election year. The Libertarian plan is to withdraw from Iraq immediately. As hard as it is to fathom, this is a more extreme position than Ralph Nader. The Kerry plan to set a date certain, 6 months, to withdraw would make the Vietnam analogy complete. Right down to the final helicopter scene leaving the embassy. Nothing would be more damaging to the future security of the United States than the Kerry/Nader plans except the Badnarik/Libertarian plan.

No matter what happens tomorrow, Michael Badnarik will not be the President-Elect. Even if it were possible, it would not be a positive for the future of our country or Western Civilization. This election is a referendum on Western Civilization, should it continue to flourish or should we give the Islamic nutjobs a fighting chance to take it down. A vote for Kerry will send a message to Osama and his whackjobs that we are ripe for more terror and willing to give in. A vote for Badnarik is essentially a vote for Kerry. A vote for Bush just might keep them in their holes for another 4 years when we will have this discussion again.

This would not be so funny if it weren't true...