When Deafness Can Kill

Sad and utterly tragic. An Italian deaf tourist was killed and numerous other deaf tourists injured when a century-old tree fell on a group of deaf tourists in central Italy on Sunday, killing a man and injuring seven deaf people. None of them heard the warning cries from a bus driver warning them to get out of the way of the large Chestnut tree apparently falling slowly toward the group until it was too late.

When the "Anything but Bush" Vote Meant a Vote for John Kerry

Yes. Remember the good old days when liberal diehards were running around screaming something about "Anything but Bush" vote? At a time when weeks before the November election in 2004 that John Kerry would be your guy for the next President of the United States? And now, let's look what Kerry had to say in NY Times on his faith and how it influenced his politics and you'll soon realized just how close you came to God that day had he been elected the next President:

Kerry is not only a Roman Catholic but also an ecumenicist. Once again I rely on the Times: Kerry asserted that "the Koran, the Torah, the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles had influenced a social conscience that he exercised in politics." My God, what bullsh*t politicians feel obliged to utter! Or maybe the bullsh*t is already second nature, or even first. But since Kerry raised it, let me ask: What hadith of the Prophet influenced him the most, and why? And here I have a personal interest: Which of the injunctions of Leviticus and who among the Prophets have the most meaning for him? Ordinarily, of course, I wouldn't ask such personal questions of a politician. In the spirit of Jesus, Kerry will certainly forgive me for doing so.

Yes, that close. All I can say is "Holy crap!"

Matt Hamill - First Deaf UFC Fighter? Blog #2

The deaf community’s reaction to Matt Hamill who wants to be the first deaf UFC fighter to reach the “Octagon” ring seems to be a very favorable one. While the minority few Deaf people are not as favorable toward Matt's endeavors. Even wishing a slow a death of some sort like Schiavo’s, and perhaps even exaggerating the story a bit as well just to generate some hatred. One deaf forum is already talking about the show. You could almost hear the deaf community rooting for Matt Hamill. I am, too. How often do we get to see this happen? Not very.

Now, it takes balls, the homemade steel kind, to enter into the Octagon ring not knowing what the outcome will be when it could literally be your last breath. Professional boxers have died from getting punched in the head. Imagine getting punched, kicked, choked, and slammed onto the mat. But one thing for sure, it's not easy training in the mix-martial art where you literally puke your guts out during intense training exercises. I've been there. It ain't fun. These are not wimps training for the UFC contest. Wimps are the ones who insist that lifting 10lb dumbells and a 10 minute stationary bike run constitute as an exercise program. Until you actually puke and can barely crawl up the stairs the next day because every muscles in your body is screaming with pain, then you will understand what a real exercise program is like. Rule#2 - never under-estimate what a person can do to you. See Rule #1.

If you have missed the first episode TUF3 show on Spike TV. Fear not. You still have a chance to grab the first show on Monday. There are 12 episodes altogether. Lots of opportunity to watch!

Season Schedule (Eastern Time):

Thursday, April 6th @ 10:00 pm-Episodes 1
Thursday, April 6th @ 1:00am-Episode 1
Saturday, April 8th, @ 10:00 pm-Episode 1
Monday, April 10th,@ 11:00pm-Episode 1
Thursday, April 13th@ 10:00pm-Episode 2
Saturday, April 15th@ 10:00pm-Episode 2
Monday, April 17th @ 11:00pm-Episode 2
Thursday, April 20th@ 10:00pm-Episode 3
Saturday, April 22nd @ 10:00pm-Episode 3
Monday, April 24th@11:00pm-Episode 3
Thursday, April 27th @ 10:00pm-Episode 4
Saturday, April 27th @ 10:00pm-Episode 4
Monday, May 1st@ 11:00pm-Episode 4
Thursday, May 4th@ 10:00pm-Episode 5
Saturday, May 6th@ 10:00pm-Episode 5
Monday, May 8th @ 11:00pm-Episode 5
Thursday, May 11th@10:00pm-Episode 6
Saturday, May 13th@ 10:00pm-Episode 6
Monday, May 15th @ 11:00pm-Episode 6
Thursday, May 18th@ 10:00pm-Episode 7
Saturday, May 20th @ 10:00pm-Episode 7
Monday, May 22nd @ 11:00pm-Episode 7
Thursday, May 25th @ 10:00pm-Episode 8
Saturday, May 27th @ 10:00pm-Episode 8
Monday, May 29th @ 11:00pm-Episode 8
Thursday, June 1st @ 10:00pm-Episode 9
Saturday, June 4th @ 10:00pm-Episode 9
Monday, June 5th @ 11:00pm-Episode 9
Thursday, June 8th @ 10:00pm-Episode 10
Saturday, June 10th @ 10:00pm-Episode 10
Monday, June 12th @ 11:00pm-Episode 10
Thursday, June 15th @ 10:00pm-Episode 11
Saturday, June 17th @ 10:00pm-Episode 11
Monday, June 19th @ 11:00pm-Episode 11
Thursday, June 22nd @ 10:00pm-Episode 12
Friday, June 23rd @ 9:00pm-Episode 12
Saturday, June 24th @ 9:00am-9:00 pm- Marathon
First blog on Matt Hamill - First Deaf UFC Fighter?

UPDATE: Apparently, some people are thinking that I went over to MMA or other similar Martial Arts forums where I "informed" them about this link I provided in this blog earlier. I have no interest in getting in MMA forums and did no such thing. I have no interest in doing so.

Now, if you go on Google and type in "UFC" and "TUF3" and "Hamill," you'll see the search results put me at the top. Or type in "UFC" and "Hamill" and I'm at second from the top search result. Or "TUF3" and "Hamill" where the search results put me at the top. You can see why people are raining on this one guy's parade.

I report. They decide. Apparently, whenever you open your mouth a wee too big, especially if you go after UFC guys (wrong and very boneheaded move), you could find yourself in a heap of trouble. Nothing bitter about what I wrote. Just that there are people who are either supportive of Matt Hamill's endeavor or not inside the deaf community. I just blogged about it.

Enjoy.

Check out all of my up todate Matt Hamill bloggings.

UFO Crashes into Bushrod Park in Oakland, California.

It's true. Unbelievable! An unexplained falling object slammed into the grounds of Bushrod Park in Oakland, California. Officials and upset observers who arrived at the scene of the impact could actually see little green stuff and white parts as far as 20 feet away from the source of the impact which left an impressive crater 3 feet by 3 feet by 2.5 feet deep.

When Whinners Scream About The So-Called "Leak" By President Bush

Now we have some deaf and hearing bloggers screaming that it was president Bush who leaked classified information in the Libby case. Now, for those who do not understand, it's impossible for the president of the United States to "leak" classified information soley by virtue of an executive order from 1982.

Simply put for the Simpletons, when the president of the United State says something classified and he broadcasts it, it is immediately declassified. It is well within the President's powers and granted authority to declassify such information and use it to answer the questions of the press. President Clinton did the same thing to justify his actions on the bombing of the al Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan! So what did president Bush do? He informed Cheney to pass on the now declassified information to the press.

Get with it folks. Stop being hypocrites by playing up with the MSM press motives to try and slam president Bush at every turn. Again, it's IMPOSSIBLE for a president of the United States to leak information since a president has the sole authority granted to him/her by act of Congress signed in 1982 and under the Constitution.

Classified information belongs to the executive branch. Under the Constitution, the executive power is vested in a single official, the president. As Justice Scalia pointed out in his classic dissent in Morrison v. Olson, this does not mean some of the executive power; it means all of the executive power. The president can make a bad de-classification decision, but it is his decision to make. (In this case, it happens to have been a good decision, made to balance the misinformation put into the public domain by Joseph Wilson and others trying to mislead the public about Iraq’s nuclear intentions.)

The word "leak" as in leaking of classified information really belongs to the MSM press and those outside of the Executive branch authority since it is they who do not have the authority to leak classified information in the first place. And they are the ones who ought to be either shot or jailed. Scooter Libby never had any authorization to “leak” information from the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate.

Administrations leak — or, better, disclose — sensitive information in response to political conditions. All presidents do it, and there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, it is hilarious to hear the media, which constantly carps about government secrecy, now complaining about government disclosures.

I agree. If ya'll want to be a part of the stuck on stupid crowd, be my guest.

UPDATE: Again, once more for further clarification for those who have not been following the news for the past 2 1/2 years on the Libby case is that the so-called leak authorized by President Bush had nothing to do with Valeria Plame but in fact the, gasp!, "leak" actually covered Iraq war intelligence that was mostly already in the public domain. Even the perpetual "Stuck on Stupid" CNN's Jim Clancy tried to pass on this breaking live news "discovery" to the public that the leak was about Valeria Plame's identity. Not so.

Please! The President of the United States did not "leak" information to Cheney or Libby regarding the identity of Valeria Plame. And as a further hint, I support that a U.S. President has the power and authority to declassify any classified information just by talking about it to the public. This includes president Clinton as well if you hadn't noticed.

Prison official punished over 'Brokeback' screening

Prison official punished over 'Brokeback' screening. Correctional Officer broke prison protocols on which films are appropriate for prisoners. Don't want to get those sexually and violence deprived prisoners all riled and sexed up, do we? Ugh. Ain't gonna watch that film, either. Double ugh. I think it's time prisoners watch Disney movies with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse from now on.

Matt Hamill - First Deaf UFC Fighter?

I just watched TUF3 on Spike Tv tonight with Matt Hamill who wants to be the first deaf UFC contender and be the first to make it to the "Octagon" ring. Should be an interesting season to watch and see the results. Also, somebody took up http://www.matthamill.com and parked it. Better hope that guy is friends with Matt to do that stunt.

At my gym where I work out, there are several people who are training for upcoming "UFC" type competitions here in New Mexico and Texas. I talk to them whenever they come out of their converted racquetball court sparring room to get a drink of water and discuss with me the injuries, fighting techniques, etc. I've even sparred with them a few times while I did my Aikido martial arts (since 1997) over there. My Aikido is hold right now while I do my strongman thing. But 90% of all fights usually go down to the ground. Little did they know about my background other than Aikido when they tried to spar with me. That's for you to find out. Rule #1 - Don't think you know everything about the person you're about to attack. But if I were younger, it might have been fun to try this type of mixed-martial art competition. But since when you get older, you have a harder time recovering from injuries. You start to feel it by your mid-30s. Even harder still to try and recover after a hard workout session.

Check out all of my up todate Matt Hamill bloggings.

Veteran Rock - Rock Solid Patriotism

Check this one out. It's not Plymouth Rock but it's known as "Veteran Rock." Inspirational and patriotic paintings honoring our history and those who gave their lives to ensure that America is still the land of the free with law abiding citizens. We even remember Hispanic American soldiers who gave their lives for a free and law abiding America. So did black Americans. Asian Americans. European-descent Americans. Native American Indians. And so on. Anybody who burns the U.S. flag also insult every ethnic groups who have given their lives in wars in defense of America.

Education Poll Among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Readers

If you are deaf or hard of hearing reader of Kokonut Pundits, what is your highest level of education? Select your answer here and see the poll results!

Rep. McKinney - A Master on Red Herring

McKinney continues to flap her mouth, again, along with her friends backing her up thinking everything was set up just to get her. Set up? Oh, please. Enough with the race card conspiracy theory. I think McKinney and friends are trying to make as much noise as possible because the security tapes that her lawyer had probably seen might be quite damning that support the Capitol police's action in stopping her.

I think it’s time for all Congress members to walk through metal detectors just like everybody else and avoid all this nonsense the next time it happens. And if it does happens, then I'm sure many members are not going to look too favorably at McKinney for starting all this brouhaha nonsense. Maybe a BS detector would help, too, as well but I digress. But, if they are serious about the security of our nation’s Capitol and the Halls of Congress, they should go through metal detector as a show of support rather than favoring conveniency. They shouldn't be above law for the sake of conveniency. They're already pampered enough. If they are forced to take off their shoes at the airport before getting screened, then they certainly can walk through a metal detector inside the Capitol building entrance. If McKinney and her friends gets away with this using her Red Herring tactics, then this may create hesitancy for any Capitol police to try and stop a well dressed black woman (or man) who avoided a metal detector without the lapel security pin while inside the Capitol.

I urge you to contact, conveniently hyperlinked on one page, all of the 41 black House of Representative members that they support the Capitol police for their work on helping keep the Capitol and the people inside secure.

Now, what do I want? I want to see the security tape of the McKinney scuffle!!

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets – Part III of III

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets – Part III of III

The biggest problem is that not all victims report rapes on or off campus to the proper authorities, and thus colleges and universities' official tallies do not necessarily reflect the true and full extent of the crimes that have occurred on campus. Diane Clark, a professor at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., says that "Part of the problem is simply underreporting," She also says that victims are somtime confused about what constitutes rape and that universities often fail to inform them on the issue. (Campuses May Be Developing Tactics to Hide Rapes. Gretchen Cook. Women ENews. 5/25/03). "I'm not convinced that many college students really understand when their rights have been violated and that they don't feel they're at least somewhat to blame," says Clark who have conducted a study on how male and female students perceive sexual assault. (Campuses May Be Developing Tactics to Hide Rapes. Gretchen Cook. Women ENews. 5/25/03).

In the past "..little effort has been made to monitor the crime nationally," according to Women ENews. "It wasn't until 1990 that the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act was passed, named after a student at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., who was raped and murdered in her dorm in 1986. The law requires any schools receiving federal aid to notify victims of their right to report their assaults to law-enforcement authorities. Schools must also issue annual reports on crimes committed on their campuses."

Since rape and sexual assault crimes are a national problem on all college and university campuses. But for a college campus full of deaf students who live in dormitories breed their own special problems when it comes to rape and sexual assaults. The biggest problem seems to occur in the dormitories as one the more common places for a rape to occur. Dormitories are seen as central meeting places for socialization (and sometimes fraternization) among students and their invited (or uninvited) guests. Environmental settings and circumstances make rape more likely to occur in dormitory rooms.

The night would began innocently when a deaf female student invites her male friend into her dormitory room on a Saturday night and the two would engage in long conversations into the wee hours of the morning, at a time when her deaf roommate has since long retired and already asleep. A moment such as this provide an opportunistic moment for the male (deaf or otherwise, student or not) to commit a sexual assault against the female student. The victim’s roommate who is soundly asleep unaware of the muffled noises of desperation, screams of help and the shouting and signing of "no" her male acquaintance who is raping her. The whole dormitory is full of deaf students where screams or cries would virtually go unheard. This example has actually happened but not only once but many times. The screams or cries could never be loud enough to attract attention for potential witnesses to see the assault occurring.

This sexual assault tactic may have been a common occurrence in deaf dormitories whether in deaf residential schools or on university campuses simply because the attacker took advantage of other people’s deafness and surroundings. And sometimes these incidents occurred when the victim, the attacker or both were drunk or had taken drugs which worsened the situation to the detriment of the female victim.

During a national survey on how rapes are reported the National Baseline Study on Campus Sexual Assault reported that "Research shows that the accused and/or the accuser were likely to have been using alcohol or other drugs prior to a sexual assault. In order to have an additional gauge as to the degree to which alcohol or other drugs use is a factor in sexual assault cases, participants were asked to report the number of cases heard in the past three years in which alcohol or other drugs use by the accuser or accused was a factor" (National Baseline Study on Campus Sexual Assault: Adjudication of Sexual Assault Cases. A Study by the Inter-Association Task Force of the Association for Student Judicial Affairs. Sophie W. Penney, Ph.D.; Lawrence Tucker, Ph.D.; and John Wesley Lowery. 2000).

There are supporting data regarding rape on school campuses but many are anecdotal evidences from the victims themselves who have come forward. This could have been literally a silent epidemic going on campus for many, many years where everybody knew it was going on but nothing much was being done to counter it. The environment on deaf campuses makes it harder for rape not to occur. The empowerment and knowledge must be given to students entering college for the first time and to live in dormitories such as the case for RIT where there is a large presence of deaf students. However, in reality, many of those who were brave enough to report the sexual assaults were often dismissed because of "insufficient evidence" in a student-led judicial court. Many of the offending attackers were reprieved from charges of sexual assault due to the lack of or insufficient "evidence." Often time witnesses were in short supply. And in the end it often turns out to be the male attacker’s words against the victim’s.

Clearly, there are some differences on how sexual assaults occur on deaf college campuses and deaf residential schools but they all share a common thread and that’s "Deaf culture." Deaf culture is not a religious group of any sort. It is a vibrant community. However, many people may see Deaf culture as being the "cultish" type of society with very different mindsets that exist apart from the hearing society. Common themes reported from deaf students who were sexually abused in the past or were raped while attending at a deaf residential school:

"If I report my rape or sexual assault then the school may close."

Their love of Deaf culture was so great, some would fear more for the loss of their Deaf residential school or the college’s reputation than themselves. It is almost akin to a wife or girlfriend that gets beaten but will not leave the abuser because she says, "I love him too much." The Deaf community loved their residential schools so much that even rapes would not budge them into action until many, many years later to the point when it became possible to report these incidents without fear of reprisal or fear for the loss of their school.

Now, this may be somewhat an unfair description on why many do not report these sexual assaults. Other factors were involved compounding the problems with the constant history of rapes and sexual assaults. Some schools or college campuses had little or no support for the protection of students because they lacked the proper awareness or the educational means to inform the community. Victims were often too distraught to report a crime. Apathy sometimes compounded the problem. Threats from abusers prevented many victims from reporting to the proper authorities. Schools sometime had improperly planned protection of students or had poorly designed programs to help reduce the risk of crimes against students. Often times it was the embarrassing stigma of being a rape victim that prevented the victim from reporting or warn other students, even years later, about the perpetrator. Despite all of these possible factors, people must acknowledge that there were certain ideological holds that were quite strong within the Deaf community. It was so strong that many Deaf people had to suffer first so that the ideology of a Deaf culture would continue uninterrupted. This may have helped further the perception that the Deaf community is a "cult" of some kind. Rape among the silent community should never be a silent crime.

Rape on campus is not to be overlooked or shoved to the side simply because it’s not news anymore. Or believe that administrators on deaf school campuses have a fix on these things when in fact official reportings of crimes have gone up while student population have gone down. Rapes and sexual assaults on campus are just as bad of an experience for the victims today than when it happened in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. There is always a victim who suffered. Rape is about power and dominance. Learn how to protect yourself before becoming a victim. Learn to report a sexual assault to the proper authorities as soon as possible no matter how minor the incident may seem to be. Sex abuse, assaults and rapes are not to be taken lightly. If you know somebody who got raped or sexually assaulted, it’s important to try and help that student report the rape as soon as possible.

© Copyright 2006 Mike McConnell

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Part I

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Part II of III


If you have a story about your rape on deaf college campuses, please send your email to Kokonut Pundits. Or if you are a deaf or hard of hearing blogger and want to report your rape experience, please link your story to my blog.

Knowledge is power.

Sick People with HIV

It's a delusion to say that with HIV cases dropping in San Francisco constitutes as an "improvement" when we have sick people going around like bunnies.

"It looks like we're on the waning side" of this wave in the epidemic, said department epidemiologist Willi McFarland.

But here's a potential irony.

One possible downside to the apparent drop in HIV cases: If cases dip below certain thresholds, San Francisco could lose federal dollars for prevention and treatment, and city funds could be shifted elsewhere.

And I bet if that drop ever happens, a big if I remind you, I'm sure there'll be an outcry against the Federal government for making such a move by calling them homophobic people, gay-killers, etc... They'll probably do a condom burning or something like that just to protest the funding pull.

Hey, if you get HIV. Whose fault is it? Look in the mirror when you say that. Stupid people will do stupid things. Lots of sick people we have out there. Even in San Francisco.

McKinney Plays the Race Card While 42 Black Congress Members Stay Quiet

Georgia Congresswoman (D) Cynthia McKinney may likely face an arrest warrant against her for striking a police officer in a "scuffle" last week. She tried to get past metal detectors which is what Congress people are allowed to do but didn't have her lapel pin on her identifying her as a congresswoman. A Capitol police officer "body blocked" her after the officer asked her three times to stop. Miffed and angers, probably so, she struck the officer. This story gets more and more ludicrous while she and her lawyer go on about playing the tried and true but very, very old race card tactic.

Her lawyer, James W. Myart Jr., said, "Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, like thousands of average Americans across this country, is, too, a victim of the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials because of how she looks and the color of her skin."

A lot of hot air and full of baloney, too. Was it excessive when a Capitol Police officer manning the metal detector booth asked her to stop, three times, all because he didn't recognize her when she went around the metal detector? All Congress members wear lapel pins identifying them as Congress members so they can quickly go around metal detectors at the Capitol entrance. McKinney didn't wear hers. And now she's on the defensive saying all this is a black thing.

Members of Congress wear identifying lapel pins and routinely are waved into buildings without undergoing security checks. McKinney was not wearing her pin at the time, and the officer apparently did not recognize her, she has said.

"Congresswoman McKinney, in a hurry, was essentially chased and grabbed by the officer," Myart said. "She reacted instinctively in an effort to defend herself."

Several Capitol Police officials have said the officer involved asked McKinney three times to stop. When she did not, he placed a hand on her and she hit him, they said.

She certainly makes it sound like as if inside the Capitol building is a place where people are routinely mugged. So much for her "self-defense" excuse. And the officer "attacked" her bcause of the change in her hair style?

Congressional staffers who have worked with McKinney said several factors may have contributed to the officer's failure to recognize McKinney as a member of Congress.

McKinney usually does not wear the special lapel pin given to members of Congress to make them easier to identify, and she apparently was not wearing it Wednesday morning, congressional and police officials said. Kerri Hanley, of the House sergeant-at-arms' office, said members are not required to wear the pin, though most do.

Police also keep books with pictures of each member at security checkpoints in the Capitol and in House and Senate office buildings to help them recognize lawmakers. However, even if the officer had consulted the book, he may not have recognized McKinney, who has altered her hairstyle since her official House photo was taken, congressional aides noted.

This is not the first time McKinney has had an encounter with Capitol Hill police. When she first arrived in Congress in 1993, an officer failed to recognize her because she was new and not wearing the congressional pin. After she complained, police put pictures of McKinney up at each security checkpoint to ensure it would not happen again.

McKinney also once ran into problems at the White House. USA Today reported that when McKinney, who is African-American, and a young white aide arrived at a welcoming ceremony in May 1998 for then-Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the guard at the gate deferred to the aide as the person of authority. Once in the executive mansion, McKinney said, another guard tried to stop her until Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) stepped in.

"I am absolutely sick and tired of having to have my appearance at the White House validated by white people," McKinney wrote in a complaint to then President Bill Clinton. "I don't need to be stopped or questioned because I happen to look like hired help."

The White House apologized to McKinney.

She was just angry because some police officer had the audacity to stop a black Congress member from attending her duty. Gasp! The thing is. She is not the only black Congress member to work inside the Capitol building. And all of them do, supposedly so, wear lapel pins identifying them as Congress members rather than the color of their skins. "What’s a surefire way to identify Members of the House amid the swarm of faces on Capitol Hill? Look at their lapel."

Currently there are a record number of 43 black or "African-American" congress members that serve in the 109th Congress with 42 in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. Freshman Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is the first black, male, Democrat to serve in the Senate. While fourteen black women serve in the 109th Congress, all in the House. One of them is lunatic fringe Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Black Congress members make up nearly 10% of the total House of Representative population of 440 members.

Maybe we should ask these black Congress members for their opinions on this McKinney matter that this was all about racism? Here are the names.

Black Congress Members, 109th (2005 - 2007) - House:

Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
Corrine Brown
Julia M. Carson
Donna Christian- Christensen
William Lacy Clay, Jr.
Emanuel Cleaver
James E. Clyburn
John Conyers, Jr.
Elijah E. Cummings
Artur Davis
Danny K. Davis
Chaka Fattah
Harold E. Ford, Jr.
Al Green
Alcee L. Hastings
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.
Sheila Jackson Lee
William J. Jefferson
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Carolyn Cheek Kilparick
Barbara Lee
John Lewis
Cynthia McKinney
Kendrick Meek
Gregory W. Meeks
Juanita Millender-McDonald
Gwen Moore
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Major R. Owens
Donald M. Payne
Charles B. Rangel
Bobby L. Rush
David Scott
Robert C. Scott
Bennie G. Thompson
Edolphus Towns
Maxine Waters
Diane E. Watson
Melvin L. Watt
Albert R. Wynn

Black Congress Member, 109th (2005 - 2007) - Senate:

Barack Obama


The whole thing will be resolved soon enough because the whole incident was captured on security camera to see whether there was any "inappropriate" touching according to McKinney.

"Let me be clear. This whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me, a female black congresswoman," McKinney said. "I deeply regret that this incident occurred."

I think she keeps digging a deeper hole everytime she opens her mouth. And now points to her "afro" hair as another reason for the "racist" attack by a Capitol police officer who attempted to stop her.

In a draft of a statement that McKinney did not release, she said the officer "body-blocked" her during the incident, and she blamed his failure to recognize her on a recent makeover.

"It is ... a shame that while I conduct the country's business, I have to stop and call the police to tell them that I've changed my hairstyle so that I'm not harassed at work," McKinney said in the draft, which was obtained by WSB-TV of Atlanta and posted on its Web site.

Will McKinney ever stop flapping her mouth and just let the investigation continue its course? Next time, McKinney, if you don't have your identifying lapel pin on you that identifies you as Congress member, better listen to the Capitol police next time. They are only doing their job to protect and secure the Capitol building. Wear the lapel pin. Makes it a whole lot easier on everybody.

Will Garofalo Play the Role of Kidnapped Carroll in Future Made for TV Movie?

Will the ultra-liberal actor Janeane Garofalo play Jill Carroll, the reporter who was kidnapped and held for 3 months by Islamic terrorists who threatened to behead her, in an upcoming made for tv movie? Both seems to be dead ringers of each other. Allah Pundit has more via Michelle Malkin on Carroll's mental state and health. But will Carroll have to nod and wink to potential publishers that she'd be story material just like one Canadian hostage, James Loney of Christian Peacemaker Team, who did his winking to the press? Despite the fact that Loney and his partner kept secret of his sexual orientation for fear that his terrorist captors would find out.

I bet there will be a made for tv movie to made this year who will no doubt use some of the captors' stories and use a twisted story line to humanize the Islamic terrorist kidnappers while demonizing U.S. soldiers and the GOP party before the November 7, 2006 Congressional election. The whole thing is ripe to make a movie right now.

Will Garofalo play?

How Readable Is Your Deaf Blog?

Found this neat and informational website where it uses the Gunning-Fog Index to determine readability of texts written. Just enter your blogsite to see what your scores are based on different formulation used. Professional editors often use readability formulas to gauge how well writers are meeting an audience's reading levels, and one of the most famous of readability formulas is Gunning's Fog Index.

The premise here is that the bigger the words you use and the more complex your sentences are, the more difficult your written texts will be to the average readers, or so we think. The higher the score, the more complex it becomes regarding the use of the English language and structure. The lower the score, the more simplistic it becomes in the use of the English language and structure. Note the differences between comic book and Atlantic Monthly. The Gunning-Fog Index is a proven method of analyzing written material to see how easy it is to read and understand.

Gunning-Fog Results "Grade level" or "reading level" on Well Known Magazines
12 — Atlantic Monthly
11 — TIME, Harper's
10 — Newsweek
9 — Reader's Digest
8 — Ladies' Home Journal
7 — True Confessions
6 — Comic books

I tracked down some of the well known and/or popular deaf blogs to determine their readability and reading level of their contents needed to understand what was written. Ranking goes from the highest to lowest on the Gunning-Fog Index score.

Gunning-Fog Index Score Results on Deaf Blogs

Kokonut Pundits - 10.88

Sonny James - 10.14

Deaf Attorneys - 10.08

Jason's Ruminations - 9.84

Semi-Cathartic Skribblings - 9.80

Bionic Ear Blog - 9.66

Tactile Junkie - 9.08

DeafBiz - 8.93

Deafscribe - 8.83

Deaf in the City - 8.73

Quiescent Voices - 8.68

Deaf DC (Adm Stone) - 8.64

Daveynin's Thing - 8.19

Ridor Live - 7.71

Deaf DC (Dave Evans) - 7.68

SerendipityNow - 6.74

It's My Life..Don't You Forget - 6.19


Try it. See what your score is for your blog on readability.

Republicans Slam Democrats at Congressional Basketball Game at Gallaudet University

A nice win for Republicans over Democrats at the 12th Biennial Congressional Basketball Classic that was held at Gallaudet University yesterday. Senator John Ensign (R) was the key player who helped get those 3-point shots from the outside leaving the GOP with a 35-28 win.

Stupid People and Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude: "pleasure taken from someone else's misfortune. "

That's exactly what some people have been doing by taking pleasure and delight on Tara Rose McAvoy's tragic train death by making fun of the situation. Ragged Edge has a good piece with lots of examples of idiots with, obviously, very low IQs who think it's funny to hear about a deaf person getting killed by an oncoming train and not hear it. Also, see here and here. Remember this old adage, what comes around goes around. What's lacking is any real common sense and respect. Just be careful on what you say about other people's misfortunes. You might jinx yourself thinking nothing as tragic like that will happen to you.

UPDATE: Haloscan comment is now turned on. I just now realized I had it turned off. My apologies for the error.

Family of Gay Hostage Kept His Secrets for Fear of Getting Murdered

If this isn't stuck on stupid moment then I don't know what is.

Fears that Iraqi captors might harm a Canadian hostage if they knew he was gay forced his partner to remain silent as loved ones called for an end to the ordeal, a director from the freed hostage's aid group said Monday.

During his four months of captivity, James Loney's sexuality was kept out of the media at the request of his family, said Doug Pritchard, co-director of the aid group Christian Peacemaker Teams.

Loney is from the same moonbatty peace activist group who didn't give deserving thanks to U.S. soldiers who risked their lives to get Loney and others out of a very dangerous predicament that THEY THEMSELVES GOT INTO!! What's more, Loney mentioned only the British troops that cut the chains that released him from the holds of terrorists as seen in his press release comments upron returning home to good old America on March 27, 2006 by thanking them effusively:

.... and the hands of the British soldier who cut our chains with a bolt cutter. That great hand was able to deliver three of us from the shadow of death. I am grateful in a way that can never be adequately expressed in words.

.... For the British soldiers who risked their lives to rescue us, for the Government of Canada who sent a team to Baghdad to help secure our release, for all those who thought about and prayed for us, for all those who spoke for us when we had no voice, I am forever and truly grateful.

It was a joint US-British operation that freed Loney and others from their acts of stupidity! Not just the British soldiers. What these morons would do to avoid saying thanks to every US soldiers who risked their lives for their acts of utter, sheer stupidity!

Loney's action is a far cry from Douglas Wood's comment about his rescue last year in June.

"I'm proof positive that the policy of the American and Australian governments is the right one," he said.

Mr Wood says his rescue by local police is evidence of the successful training by Australian and American troops.

"I think the quicker we hire, recruit, train police and the Iraq Army up to speed, then, when they're fully engaged and ready, they can start going around door to door and start developing confidence in the Iraq population," he said.

Indeed. Give credits where credit is due.

As for Loney and others, it's nothing but a Stuck on Sheer Stupidity (SSS) moment.

First off, there's a bunch of volatile mix here. He's gay. He's white and has that American/European/Canadian look. He and three others went to Iraq carrying nothing but sheer stupidity. Iraq is predominantly an Islamic country and Islamic terrorists aren't too keen about Christians, apostates, and gays. Loney's a part of the Christian Peacemaker Team and was, ironically so, abducted by the Swords of Righteousness Brigades (see here). He gives thanks only to British troops and not include the US troops. He gushes about his upcoming love fest and passes some winky winks toward any book publishers who may want to pay for his acts of stupidity story.

Loney (and the rest of the peace activists who were held captive by blood-thirsty and absolutely crazed Islamic loonies) was looney in doing what he did, and to the risk and detriments of US and British troops who had to yank his sorry ass out of a desperate situation that he and others created. It was their faults alone that caused their dire predictaments. No one elses but theirs. Accept that responsibility and blame.

So, next time, just sign a waiver if you're a peace activist wanting to go to Iraq and do stupid things (like wear a sign that says "KIDNAP ME!"), who don't want to be rescued and don't want to give thanks to US soldiers who'll no doubt risk their lives for your acts of sheer stupidity.

NAD Gets a Big Red "X" for Spam

Interesting Google search results using the free Site Advisor (recommended for download) when I put in NAD. Site Advisor gave NAD a big, red "X" warning that you will get spam email from that organization. See my screenshot where NAD gets a big red "X" for spam from my Google search results.

Sean Penn Has Voodoo Doll of Ann Coulter

Sean Penn has a voodoo doll of Ann Coulter and whenever he gets angry he likes to "violate" his personal Ann Coulter look-alike doll. A sign of losing control. However, according to "The Therapist’s Notebook Homework, Handouts, and Activities for Use in Psychotherapy,"

The use of a voodoo doll helps a person make the distinction between feelings and behaviors, and specifically helps him/her gain control of his/her anger.

Wasn't Sean Penn famous for going after photographers and beating them up to a pulp? Wouldn't it be better to come up with an Iranian president Ahmadinejad voodoo doll and stick pins in it instead? Besides, since Sean Penn is playing with a female Ann Coulter doll with cigarette burns in unmentionable places, perhaps he's trying to tell us something?

Spurlock and His "Supersize" Idiocy

Michelle Malkin reports on the idiocy that Morgan Spurlock did while doing a speech appearance at a public high school that was laced with profanities. I've reported last year on Spurlock's own idiocy and, for the most part, his false reporting seen in the "Supersize Me" film seen here and here.

One FROGgy Year at Gallaudet University

Back in around 1990 or 1991 on the campus of Gallaudet University there was this new independent “fraternity” group who called themselves “FROG” with the Greek capital letters phi (F), rho (R), omicron (O), and gamma (G) or (Φ­РОГ ). When finger-spelled it is spelled out as the letter “F,” “R,” “O,” along with an upside down “L” to look like the capital Greek letter “rho” which spells "FROГ."

This was a fine and dandy thing except that some of the fraternity members on campus were whining about the fact that “ FROГ “ was not a legitimate Greek organization. Probably because somebody misunderstood what this whole "FROG" thing was about. I remember hearing about this complaints and just laughed over it. The hilarity was over the fact that some of the campus fraternity members actually felt threatened by a group of people who wanted to sell green T-shirts with large greek letters that spelled "FROГ" on the front. This was never meant to be an official Greek organization. The people who brainstormed this idea just wanted to sell T-shirts to make a point and for people who are proud to be independents and not frat members. It was Robert Johnson, creator of Sextoon who was killed last year in a car accident, who helped set up and organize this short-lived ad hoc “Greek” organization.

This ad hoc "Greek" organization, "FROГ," was all about poking fun at the Greek organizations during their infamous Rock Festival weekends.

The beauty of FROГ was that anybody can join, except for members of legitimate Greek organizations on college campuses. Also, no hazing is required to be a member. Just buy the T-shirt and, voila, you're a member of the Greek "FROГ" organization. Ribbit. Ribbit.

Anybody from Gallaudet University remember this incident? Is there an article buried deep inside the Buff and Blue about this so-called Ad Hoc greek “organization” ? I believe there was an article about it. So funny it was, I'm sure a few people "croaked" over it.

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Part II of III.

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Part II of III

The national statistics on reported rape on college campuses estimate that 350 women were sexually victimized in colleges of 10,000 students. (Fisher, cullen, & turner. 2000) That is 1 rape for every 28 people on campus or 3.5% of the 10,000 student campus population. Most rapes are not reported and half of those raped defined the behavior as “rape.” According to the FBI, about one college woman in six will be a victim of rape or attempted rape during her college years or a 16% chance of being a victim of a rape crime (Silent Screams: a People Weekly report on sexual assault at the nation’s only university for deaf students. By Mary H.J. Farrell. People Weekly, June 20, 1994, v41 n23 p36(6)).

More than half of all college rape victims are attacked by dates or acquaintances. More than 4 out of 5 rape victims know their attackers. 1 in 15 rape victims contract a sexually transmitted disease as a result of being raped. 1 in 15 rape victims becomes pregnant as a result of being raped. (Statistics on Sexual Violence Against Women. Woodruff & Koss - A Criminological Study August 1990). In comparison to Gallaudet University the percentages of rape were exceedingly high for such a small campus. It was estimated that 60 students out of 2,200 students were raped during a 15-month period. (People Weekly – 6/20/1994, v41, n23 p36(6). Silent Screams: a People report on sexual assault at the nation’s only university for deaf students (Gallaudet University) by Mary H.J. Farrell) according to People Weekly that documented the pattern of sexual assaults.

According to one Freshman Advisor at Gallaudet University during the 1991-1992 school year said that "there is a least one rape a weekend in the freshman dorms" (see “Silent Screams”). It is noted that female freshman students are usually vulnerable during their first year on campus and away from home for the first time. But if what the Freshman Advisor said was true from his/her observation, then this would come out to be about 4 rapes a month (minimum) for an estimated total of 32 rapes (minimum) during a typical school year [note: this figure does not include older students (e.g. sophomore, junior and senior)] who may have been a victim of rape or sexual harassment during the 1991-1992 school year. According to Fisher, Cullen, & Turner in a 1995 study, over 80% of sexual assaults were never reported. What turns out to be disturbing was the number of rapes that were officially reported by Gallaudet University as required by Federal Law that year.

Gallaudet University officially reported only one rape during the 1991-1992 school year when the national statistics at that time showed it to be 3.5% which would be like having 77 rapes or sexual offenses among the 2200 students at Gallaudet University during a typical school year. Despite the 3.5% national reporting average for a large 10,000 student campus population, how can such a low number of rapes go reported when the “eyes and ears” of freshmen advisors were noticing “....at least one rape a weekend” on the campus of Gallaudet University in freshman dorms during the 1991-1992 year? Do Freshman Advisors advise or encourage victims to report the crime to the police? Even that alone presented problems back then whenever student victims tried to report the rapes.

One student related her story in detail in the article named above (ie "Silent Scream" - People Weekly). She was a 23-year old junior and a Student Resident Assistant (SRA) who counseled other students in her dorm. A male SRA suggested that they study together in his room. She agreed.

When coming out of the bathroom, he assaulted and raped her. She tried to push him away. She told him "no" several times. When herealized what he had done, he pleaded with her not to tell anyone. But she didn't listen to him anymore than he had listened to her.

She was taken to the school infirmary the next day and laterto the D.C. police. Accompanied the following day by a campus security officer, she had to type her own statement at the police station. The police officer orally said that her case was not strong enough to consider. There was no interpreter, no questioning of the victim, no investigation of the alleged crime.

The young woman refused to let the matter stand. She took her case to the campus administrative board (ie. Judicial Affairs) and was granted a hearing. Another student present at the hearing was quoted as saying "that when the accused testified, he more or less admitted he attacked (the young female SRA). He said, 'Maybe she said no, but I didn't see it.'" According to the victim, "The verdict said I did not use the word 'force,' even though I described in detail what he had done to me."

- September 1994, Women & Guns

There are lots of questions here. Was it fear, intimidation or power that stopped student victims in their tracks from reporting? Was it embarrassment that prevented victims from properly reporting the crime? Did a "good old boys network" exist on campus that protected each other in order to stymie student victims from getting the justice they deserved? Or was it a breakdown in ASL and communication? What about the Judicial Board? What were the board members relationship to other organizations such as fraternities or Student Life on campus? Did improprieties exist among Student Resident Assistants? What about Peer Advisors? What were their relationships to the upper management such as the Coordinators of Residence Education (CRE)? Did unprofessional behaviors exist that caused breakdowns in ethical conducts between staff members and/or toward vulnerable students? Were there any behind the scenes subtle "threats" to try and keep things quiet? Were there always an equal number of female and male Judicial Board members presiding in a student court room whenever the accused student was brought in to face charges? Were there differences of opinions among the female and male members when it came to rendering a judgement against the accused? Does all this really matter? However, People Weekly reported an insidious problem seen on the campus of Gallaudet University back then when it came to rape issues.

More troubling still, many sources interviewed by People Weekly say the Gallaudet administration has either denied the problem or failed to deal with it effectively. "I have talked to many women who have been raped, assaulted and harassed," says Allen Sussman, a professor of psychology and former dean of student affairs. "They would tell me that they were afraid to face the administration. Gallaudet has a history of covering up." An administrator who, like many, asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal, agrees. "In many ways this is a sick, secret community," he says. "It is time for the administration to put this issue out on the table, but they're afraid if they do, students won't come."

- Silent Screams.

Was there ever an existance of a "big boys network" back then during the 1991-1992 academic school year that served to protect each other's interests? Were there always an equal number of female and male Judicial Board members presiding in a student court room whenever an accused student was brought forward? If we look at Gallaudet University year book during 1991-1992 year, it showed 9 males and 4 females who were members of the Judicial Board committee. And that was the year when Gallaudet University officially reported to the Federal Government of only 1 rape for that year while one Freshman Advisor reported that "there is at least one rape a weekend in the freshman dorms" as reported in People Weekly magazine.

Why the very low numbers reported even though most rape victims end up not reporting the crime? Gallaudet University back then was known for it's alcohol drinking problems among deaf students on campus in their dormitories back then when you had drunk students blacked out in dormitory halls and vomits in the stairwells and elevators.

Several years ago Gallaudet University instituted a new policy mandating dry dorms on campus. But even with dry dorms the number of rapes and sexual assaults on campus continues to go up when you compare official reports of 1 rape for the 1991-1992 year and fast forward to 1999 and beyond. For the year 1999 Gallaudet University officially reported 2 instances of forcible sex offenses or rapes. Even with the mandated dry dorms over the last several years official reports on forcible sex offenses or rapes did not stay low. In fact, it had gotten worse in most years since. In 2000 (3 forcible sex offenses or rapes), 2001 (5 rapes), 2002 (3 rapes), 2003 (7 rapes), and in 2004 with an official report required by federal law that 2 forcible sex offenses or rapes took place on the campus of Gallaudet University. Why has the number of officially reported rape increased from 1991 to 2004 when the campus student population went from a high of 2200 in 1991-1992 school year down to 1658 for 2005 while at the same time maintaining dry dorms? Despite these problems even with "guarantees" of confidentiality student victims are sometimes simply embarassed not to even discuss it, do not want to put up with extra efforts in overcoming the administration's hoops in filing a case or, incredibly so, do not want to risk putting "shame" upon the university.

According to Donna Ryan, a history professor at Gallaudet, the insularity of the deaf culture has made it hard for Gallaudet women in particular to come forward to tell their stories. "Part of the difficulty for deaf women in dealing with women's issues like rape involves a fear of trashing the deaf community," she says. In many cases, the women are afraid of being put down by their fellow students for bringing shame upon the university. "The deaf community is small and close-knit," says Denise Snyder, executive director of D.C. Rape Crisis Center. "If you make a fuss at Gallaudet, you've closed a big door."

- Silent Screams.

In a verified, exclusive report for this part II article one deaf student came forward and explained in great details that she was contacted by People Weekly magazine back then for a potential rape interview with her for the upcoming 1994 "Silent Scream" article. The problem with the People Weekly contact was that this deaf victim never confided to anyone else about her on campus dormitory rape ordeal. Wholly surprised, she declined for an interview. She quickly became angry upon realizing that the reporter of People Weekly somehow found out that she was a rape victim. How? After she declined for an interview she was soon contacted by her mother who said that People Weekly wanted to know more about about the rape of her own daughter. The mother never knew that her daughter was raped and had nothing to offer to the reporter of People Weekly. This deaf student NEVER once told her mother about her rape keeping the entire incident secret from her family and friends. The incident was only known by the rapist, campus police and the people who have access to confidential campus files on students. Who spilled the beans?

© Copyright 2006 Mike McConnell


Next week part III on Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets.

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Part I

Jan Benvie, Christian Peacemaker, The Next Terrorist Hostage?

Remember the three Christian peacemakers who were rescued by the U.S. military didn't give thanks to the US soldiers who risked their lives to get them out their own stupid predictament that THEY THEMSELVES CREATED? And now, Jan Benvie from the same organization is going to Iraq this summer is asking that she not be rescued.

Jan Benvie, 51, an Edinburgh teacher who is due to go to Iraq with the same organisation this summer, said: "We make clear that if we are kidnapped we do not want there to be force or any form of violence used to release us."

In other words, she would rather be tortured and then subsequently beheaded by terrorist kidnappers. Better put that in writing and give it to the U.S. military. Might be a good idea to include that ransom ought not to be paid since money encourage more violence (ie more kidnappings).

One Reason Why There's No Hope for Uber-Leftists

When it comes debates many liberal lefties like nothing more than to smear, accuse and call names thinking their responses are a substitute for an intellectual debate. They are not. Trash talk is trash talk. Such talks offer no redeeming value in a debate. There's no hope for those who prefer to call names and issue threats rather than to allow a person the chance to say his/her side of the story. Incredibly, but not surprising, all of this happened when Washington Post decided to hire a conservative blogger to blog in blogsite called "Red America" of which Ben Domenech was soon promptly accused of plagiarism and received foul words and threats the moment he signed on.

Red America, my new blog at washingtonpost.com, has been under attack since its launch. It is a conservative blog on a mainstream media site, so many of the attacks were expected. If one bothers to read it, I believe it stands as a welcome addition to the opinion debate.

The hate mail that I have received since the launch of this blog has been overwhelmingly profane and violent. My family has been threatened; my friends have been deluged; my phone has been prank called. The most recent email that showed up while writing this post talked about how the author would like to hack off my head, and wishes my mother had aborted me.

But in the course of accusing me of racism, homophobia, bigotry, and even (on one extensive Atrios thread) of having a sexual relationship with my mother, the leftists shifted their accusations to ones of plagiarism. You can find the major examples here: I link to this source only because I believe it's the only place that hasn't
yet written about how they'd like to rape my sister.

I know that charges of plagiarism are serious. While I am not a journalist, I have, myself, written more than one thing that has been plagiarized in the past. But these charges have also served to create an atmosphere where no matter what is said on my Red America blog, leftists will focus on things with my byline from when I was a teenager.

Yet, Ben Domenech was unable to defend against the plagiarism charges by those outside of the Washington Post (i.e. those name callers and yahoos) until now.

I can rebut several of the alleged incidents here. The most recent accusation, is that I stole a music review from Crosswalk and passed it off at National Review Online. In fact, I wrote both lists myself; I was one of Crosswalk's music review contributors at the time.

The Left has also accused me of foisting Sen. Frist quotes and some descriptive material from the Washington Post for a New York Press article on the Capitol Shooter. But the quotes I used were either properly credited or came from Sen. Frist’s press conference, which I attended along with many other reporters. So it is no surprise that we had similar quotes or similar descriptions of the same event. I have reams of notes and interviews about the events of that day. I also went over the entire piece step by step with NYPress editors to ensure that it was unquestionably solid before it ran.

Virtually every other alleged instance of plagiarism that I’ve seen comes from a single semester’s worth of pieces that were printed under my name at my college paper, The Flat Hat, when I was 17.

In one instance, I have been accused me of passing off P.J. O'Rourke's writing as my own in a column for the paper. But the truth is that I had met P.J. at a Republican event and asked his permission to do a college-specific version of his classic piece on partying. He granted permission, the piece was cleared with my editors at the paper, and it ran as inspired by O’Rourke’s original.

My critics have also accused me of plagiarism in multiple movie reviews for the college paper. I once caught an editor at the paper inserting a line from The New Yorker (which I read) into my copy and protested. When that editor was promoted, I resigned. Before that, insertions had been routinely made in my copy, which I did not question. I did not even at that time read the publications from which I am now alleged to have lifted material. When these insertions were made, I assumed, like most disgruntled writers would, that they were unnecessary but legitimate editorial additions.

But it wasn't the plagiarism charges that helped him decide to resign from "Red America" blogging, it was the total and planned malfeasance by liberal yahoos who bashed him simply because he is a conservative. Nothing more. They'll look for excuses, any excuses, to try and level charges simply because they don't like him. Enough so that the Washington Post decided to pull the plug only after a week much to Ben's disappointment.

I guess the thing that bothers me the most about this is that the Post didn’t give this a chance to either blow over or work itself out,” he said. “And I feel that if they had done that, the blog would have been a great addition to their site.”

It'll be an interesting day to see whether Washington Post will apologize after they complete their investigation "into these allegations" of plagiarism to Ben Domenench. The early plug pulling also parallels to that of the Deborah Howell's blogging for WaPo only a few months ago. Again, another spineless move committed by WaPo. If the Washington Post ends up apologizing to Ben it will surely alienate further many of the liberal leeches who continue to suck blood out of America until it becomes weak allowing the enemies to move in for the kill. However, I think WaPo will want to keep their leeches.

Details of Russian Info to Iraq Prior to War

Foxnews report that Russian officials gave pertinent information days before the fall of Baghdad to Saddam.

The Russians relayed information to Saddam during the opening days of the 2003 war, including a crucial moment before the assault on Baghdad, according to the documents in the report Friday.

The unclassified report does not assess the value of the information or provide details beyond citing two captured Iraqi documents that say the Russians collected information from sources "inside the American Central Command" and that battlefield intelligence was provided to Saddam through the Russian ambassador in Baghdad.

A classified version of the Pentagon report, titled "Iraqi Perspectives Project," is not being made public.

However, a document was uncovered today as part of the DOCEX ("Operation Iraqi Freedom Documents" which began a few weeks ago) release program that is being made public today gives us an idea of what info Russian officials were giving to Saddam. This document was translated into English from Arabic gives details on the strength and whereabouts of American Forces weeks before the war on March 2, 2003 into the hands of Saddam.

3- During the meeting the ambassador gave us the following information about the US military presence in the Gulf as per the 2nd of March:

Number of troops: 206,500 out of which 98,000 naval forces and 36,500 infantry. 90% of theses forces are in Kuwait and on the Navy ships.

US troops have reached the island of Bubiyan (Bubiyan is largest Kuwaiti island in the Kuwaiti coastal islands chain).

Number of tanks: 480
Number of armored cars: 1132
Number of artillery: 296
Number of Apache helicopters : 735
Number of fighter planes: 871
Number of Navy ships: 106. 68 in the Gulf and the rest in Oman (State of Oman), Aden (Yemen), the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Number of air carriers: 5. One nuclear powered. Three in the Gulf one in the Mediterranean and one on its way.
Number of Cruise missiles: 583 based on the US Navy and distributed on 22 ships.
Number of Cruise missiles on planes: 64
Number of heavy bombers B-52 H: 10 in the Indian Ocean.
Number of B1-B: 8 present in the US base of Thumarid in Oman.

4- The ambassador pointed that what worried us (most probably “us” refers to the Russians) was the increase in the number of planes in Jordan where the number of planes in Al Sallt base was as follows:
24 planes F-16
10 planes Tornado
11 planes Harrier

He also mentioned that there were 10 A-10 tank destroyers in the Jordanian base of King Faysal.

5- The ambassador also pointed that a certain number of the 82nd Division (82nd Airborne) which was deployed in Afghanistan started coming to Kuwait. The number of troops has reached 750 soldiers.

Makes you wonder what else we'll find among the 2 plus million of Iraqi documents that were captured in Iraq. Should we be at all surprised that the Russians helped Iraq be the eyes and ears of Saddam's Army?

Wild 94.9 = Really Messed Up

Got a tip from a reader leading me to a story of how DJs on Wild 94.9 made fun of the tragic death of Tara Rose McAvoy by laughing at the tragic situation and the hearing loss that deaf/hh people experience.

I just learned from a teacher friend, Vanessa Sandez, that Wild 94.9 a "popular" hip hop radio station in the Bay Area has picked up the story and are making light of "the Miss Deaf Texas who died in the train accident" with comments such as "why was she on a cell phone texting...so she has some hearing??" And "we want to hear from the Deaf people (said in a joking way)". They were also making loud train wreck sounds (on air) with the calls they're getting and "pretending" they couldn't hear the callers. According to Vanessa, they are saying "it's only a few people calling in to complain - that they are people who work with "deaf special ed. kids" and saying they are "special".

It's one thing to be politically incorrect and another to be insensitive. This affects everyone in the Deaf community. To think this is coming from the Bay Area.

Write/call and let them HEAR from us.Contact information for the radio station:

Wild 94.9
340 Townsend Street
San Francisco, CA 94107

In this world, there are even bigger idiots who like to wear their hats sideways.

Hostages Freed. Christian Peacemaker Organization Snubs Military Who Rescued Hostages

Good news. US troops rescued 3 left-wing, anti-war Christian peace activists who were held hostage in Iraq. Bad news? Moonbatty peace activist group whose members were taken hostage snubs US troop's rescue effort and still blames them for "allowing" the kidnapping to take place. And they didn't call this a rescue but called this a "release."

You can thank the troops here.

Remember the "whiny" study? Guess psycho researchers got it backward. Liberals continue to whine, be unapologetic and unforgiving while undermining the war efforts at the same time.

Nice going. More "stuck on stupid" people.

When Islam has a place for those who convert over to Christianity

You'd think Islam is all about peace and love? How sorely mistakened you are.

Abdul Rahman told his family he was a Christian. He told the neighbors, bringing shame upon his home. But then he told the police, and he could no longer be ignored.

Now, in a major test of Afghanistan's fledgling court system, Rahman, 42, faces the death penalty for abandoning Islam for Christianity.

Prosecutors say he should die. So do his family, his jailers, even the judge. Rahman has no lawyer. Jail officials refused to let anyone see Rahman on Monday, despite permission granted by the country's justice minister.

"We will cut him into little pieces," said Hosnia Wafayosofi, who works at the jail, as she made a cutting motion with her hands. "There's no need to see him..."

Not a problem you say? Remember this one?



Yeah, right. Peace lovers. You don't know what you're missing.

When Islam Has a Place for Homosexuals

Check out Gateway Pundits " Don't Worry, Leftists... Islam Has a Place for the Homosexual."

Yes, the Muslim World has a very special place for homosexuals. Juan Cole at Informed Comment suggests that homosexuality has a warm place in the heart of Islam. Juan describes it this way:

"Islam as a culture/ civilization has made a place for homosociality in
history that is far greater than anything in premodern Christendom, and there is
nothing in the Quran about gays at all (the Lot story is repeated from the
Bible, but so telegraphically it cannot be used for these purposes.)"

Cox and Forkum sees a different place.

Now, how dumb is this Juan Cole? Dumb enough to think that Islamic countries actually embrace homosexual perversions? Yet, the Leftists continue to cry and whine on how bad the West is toward homosexuals and transgendereds but no doubt would give a thumbs up to Islamic countries who are trying to wage Jihad against the West and their values. Despite rumors surfaced last week that Iraqi cleric Ali Sistani came out with a Fatwa against homosexuals.

Now, if it's that bad here in the United States, then move to Iran or some other Islamic country for god sakes! Either you are with us or against us. Make up your mind! Or else, join the ever growing "Stuck on Stupid" crowd and invite Islamist fanatics and Sharia Law into your world. At least this heterosexual blogger has the common sense to know the difference.

Democratic Party's Game Plan on How to Use War Against Bush

From the Drudge Report:

The Dem Recess Packet; A Map Of Dems' Midterm Political StrategyMon Mar 20
2006 08:07:38 ET

THE DRUDGE REPORT has obtained a copy of the "game plan" devised by the office of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) office for Democrat Senators with political tips on how to use the war in Iraq against the Bush administration in their home states over recess break. The Reid recess packet, "Real Security: Recess Events 3/18 to 3/26" was originally reported on in the WASHINGTON TIMES on Saturday. [Click for .PDF file of document]

The recess packet offers tips such as using American flags, holding political events at veteran halls. Dems should conduct panels to discuss the "mental health crisis" Iraq vets face, visit military bases, tour a factory and visit the home of a family who purchased body armor with their own money.

Interesting. Check it out.