Better Late than Never...

I know that I've established a tradition here at Confederate Yankee of posting at least once during the morning and then often making at least one more comment during the day. Well, since my employment status changed (I now have no employment, which is disconcerting to say the least), I've been busy looking for technical writing or web-related employment either in the New York metro area or in my home state of North Carolina, as well as trying to catch up on an ever-expanding "Honey do" list.

This has forced most of my blogging to afternoon hours, but I just wanted to let my readership know (especially as it is expanding) that I am far from backing down in my blogging, I'm just "differently focused" at the moment. I'll still be posting frequently, just later in the day.

More coverage of the Minutemen Project to come later in the day...

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 12:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Border War

Yesterday, The Minuteman Project began in ernest, with hundreds of volunteers spreading out at quarter-mile intervals in the Arizona desert along the U.S.-Mexican border. Their stated goal is to function as a neighborhood watch along the most-vulnerable part of the U.S. border. Arizona Monthly said in November that "the most important nexus for international jihad outside of Pakistan and the Middle East has been Arizona," in their cover article "Al Qaeda Among Us."

1.1 million illegals were captured along the 2,000 mile southern border last year, with half of those captured coming through Arizona. Among the majority millions of illegals that crossed successfully last year were violent Central American gang members and 25 suspected Chechen terrorists in July that to this day have not been captured.

The national MSM/DNC has predictably taken the side of the illegal aliens. The NY Times is running an article this morning by Eduardo Porter claiming (with no supporting hard facts and evidence that can be described as circumstantial at best) that illegals pump "as much as" $7 billion into Social Security each year. Porter completely, and in my opinion dishonestly, avoids mentioning the tremendous burden illegals place upon social services programs, such as the $200 million each year illegals cost hospitals in New Jersey alone.

Interestingly enough, local media is hardly as monolithic as their national counterparts, with some news organizations already claiming some success, and another claiming that the Minutemen are exactly that; a militia doing exactly what Article 1 of the Constitution requires, "suppressing insurrections and repelling invasions."

In 2004, the equivilent of 160 12,500 military divisions simply walked northward across the U.S.-Mexican border to disappear into our country's interior. Opposing them is an apathetic federal government, a complicit media, an overworked Border Patrol, and now, the militia
the Constitution intended.

The Minuteman Project is firing a very public media shot across the bow of an apathetic, perhaps complicit, White House and Congress. Hopefully this negative exposure will force the government to shore up our borders.

I'd hate to see another 9/11 take place because terrorists were able to walk unmolested across the border. I can only hope President Bush and Congressmen up for reelection in 2006 have that same concern.

Update: As mentioned above by the NY Times reporter Eduardo Porter, illegals put a maximum of $7 billion into Social Security. Riehl World View comes through with data to show that illegals create a net loss of $10 billion a year that the U.S. taxpayer has to make up for, putting $16 billion into the system in taxes, and taking out $26.3 billion. Read the whole thing. You won't find this in the Times.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 01:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And the Banned Played On

It is past the point where the ineffectual Gomery Commission publication ban into fficial&sa=N&tab=wn" target="_blank">Adscam can be taken seriously as a deterrent. It now only exists as an apparent abuse of power by an already corrupt government.

In what could easily be called "Captain Ed vs. Canada," a lone American blogger, Ed Morrisey of Captain's Quarters blog (latest update here), has done something quite extraordinary; he's helped turn a little known (in the States) north-of-the-border corruption scandal into a major freedom of speech issue.

For those of you just catching up (and I readily admit to being one of those myself), a massive and apparently widespread kickback scheme may have been in effect at least since the 1990s, where tens of millions of dollars were funneled from members of the ruling Liberal government in Canada to advertising agencies for little or no actual work. At this point, some of the money may have been diverted back to the Liberal party in some form of kickbacks. A nice scam, to be sure.

This scandal has been ongoing for two years, but the defining moments seem to be breaking in the past week. The Gomery Commission was formed over a year ago to formally investigate the scandal, and most of the investigation has been open to the public, but Judge Gomery decided there would be a publication ban on the testimony of three key witnesses.

This was done under the auspices of protecting the rights of the three witnesses, but the Liberal Party, perhaps fearing what the results of the investigation may show, seem to be trying to force a snap election so they will not have to answer for their actions to the voters.

It was in this environment that Captain's Quarters brought to light the apparent testimony of Jean Brault, president of the ad agency Groupaction, one of the three witnesses that had their testimony covered by the publication ban.

The Liberal Party and the Canadian government, of course, cannot touch an American citizen, but ridiculously still seems to think that they have some control over the information. Gomery is apparently still threatening Canadians who not only publish the banned material, but those who simply utter which American blog (now blogs) are discussing the banned material.

The Gomery assault on Canadian free speech has the potential of becoming every bit as big a story as Adscam.

I just hope the Canadians realize how fruitless this ban is, and what a threat is poses to their freedoms. The Internet was designed to withstand nuclear war. Somehow, I don't think Gomery is much of a threat to it.

He is far more a threat to Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 09:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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To Hell and Back... Again

Perhaps the most memorable scene in Audie Murphy's autobiographical To Hell and Back was when Murphy jumped up onto the back of a burning tank destroyer to single-handedly beat back a German assault using the .50-caliber M-2 machine gun mounted on top, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor, this nation's highest military award for valor.

Two years ago today, in Baghdad, Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, would almost exactly mirror Murphy's achievement. The parallels are staggering, the heroism and love of their fellow soldiers unquestioned.

Sgt. Smith was leading three dozen soldiers when they came under attack by an estimated 100 of the elite Iraqi Republican Guard armed with RPGs, machine guns, and mortars.

From Sgt. Smith's official Medal of Honor citation:

While an engineer squad began to clear debris in the courtyard, one of the guards saw 10-15 enemy soldiers with small arms, 60mm mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG). These were the lead elements of an organized company-sized force making a deliberate attack on the flank of Task Force 2-7. Sgt. 1st Class Smith came to the position and identified 25-50 more soldiers moving into prepared fighting positions. Sgt. 1st Class Smith instructed a squad leader to get a nearby Bradley Fighting Vehicle for support. While waiting for the Bradley, Sgt. 1st Class Smith had members of 2nd platoon retrieve AT-4 weapons and form a skirmish line outside the gate. By this time, the number of enemy identified rose to 100 soldiers, now a confirmed company-sized attack. Three of B Company's M113A3 armored personnel carriers (APC) oriented .50-cal. machineguns toward the opening in the wall and the surrounding guard towers, now occupied by enemy soldiers.

Sgt. 1st Class Smith's actions to organize a defense against the deliberate attack were not only effective, but inspired the B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion Soldiers. He then began to lead by example. As the Bradley arrived on site and moved through the hole in the wall toward the gate, Sgt. 1st Class Smith ran to the gate wall and threw a fragmentation grenade at the enemy. He then took two Soldiers forward to join the guards and directed their engagement of the enemy with small arms. The enemy continued to fire rifles, RPGs, and 60mm mortars at the Soldiers on the street and within the courtyard. Enemy soldiers began moving along the buildings on the north side of the clearing to get into position to climb into the towers. Sgt. 1st Class Smith called for an APC to move forward to provide additional fire support. Sgt. 1st Class Smith then fired an AT-4 at the enemy while directing his fire team assembled near the front line of the engagement area.

Running low on ammunition and having taken RPG hits, the Bradley withdrew to reload. The lead APC in the area received a direct hit from a mortar, wounding the three occupants. The enemy attack was at its strongest point and every action counted. Not only were the wounded Soldiers threatened but also more than 100 Soldiers from B Company, the Task Force Aid Station, and the Mortar Platoon were at risk.

Sgt. 1st Class Smith ordered one of his Soldiers to back the damaged APC back into the courtyard after the wounded men had been evacuated. Knowing the APC 's .50-Cal. machinegun was the largest weapon between the enemy and the friendly position, Sgt. 1st Class Smith immediately assumed the track commander's position behind the weapon, and told a soldier who accompanied him to "feed me ammunition whenever you hear the gun get quiet." Sgt. 1st Class Smith fired on the advancing enemy from the unprotected position atop the APC and expended at least three boxes of ammunition before being mortally wounded by enemy fire. The enemy attack was defeated. Sgt. 1st Class Smith's actions saved the lives of at least 100 Soldiers, caused the failure of a deliberate enemy attack hours after 1st Brigade seized the Baghdad Airport, and resulted in an estimated 20-50 enemy soldiers killed. His actions inspired his platoon, his Company, the 11th Engineer Battalion and Task Force 2-7 Infantry.

Sgt. Smith and Second Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy both mounted heavily-damaged, lightly armored vehicles to man exposed .50-caliber machine guns. They did so to repel enemy assaults that threatened to overrun their positions at great personal risk and with tremendous valor to save the lives of their soldiers.

Sgt. Smith's Congressional Medal of Honor was just the third Medal of Honor awarded since the Vietnam war, and the first of the Iraqi War.

Not just American Heros
In Al Amarah, Iraq on May 1, and June 11 , 2004, Private Johnson Beharry, driver of a Warrior IFV ( infantry fighting vehicle similar to the U.S. Bradley) in the British Army, won Great Britain's highest award for valor, the Victoria Cross. It was the first Victoria Cross awarded since the Falklands conflict, and the first awarded to a living recipient since 1965.

Note: Unfortunately, not everyone respects Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 03:03 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Not Banned In Canada

So click here already for Canada's Adscam updates.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 12:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Lame Canada

I hear such wonderful things about our northern neighbor, Canada, and what it has to offer the world: free government-sponsored healthcare (if you survive the wait), hockey (well, most years), and uh...

Anyway, freedom of speech is not apparently one of the wonderful things Canada has to offer. If you are Canadian and dare link to American blog Captain's Quarters, you could face legal action from your government. Shockingly enough, liberal message board Democratic Underground failed to mention freedom of speech issues in Demotopia when they advocated fleeing northward after November 2.

Who the hell does Canada think they are restricting free speech, San Francisco?

If you've missed the backstory, tens of millions of dollars of government contracts were funneled into advertising firms connected to the Liberal government for little or no work, and the money apparently went right back into the pockets of Liberal politicians. There is a corruption investigation, but there has been a publication ban in Canada on the testimony of three witnesses whose testimony maybe damning enough to threaten the entire Liberal government.

Being American, Captain's Quarter's is not subject to the publication ban, and so ran an expose on some of the testimony that the Liberal Canadian government doesn't want the world to see, testimony saying that the corruption ran to the highest levels of the government.

Now Canadian bloggers who merely link to Captain's Quarters are being threatened with legal action for simply linking to those trying to expose the truth.

Massive amounts of web traffic are now flowing southward to Captain's Quarters as Canadians trying to find out what their government is trying to hide.

I'd expect this kind of behavior from China or Cuba, but to have such a restriction on free speech in a theoretically free Canada is unsettling, to say the least.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 09:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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MSM/DNC Bias

Cassandra has an awesome article up on MSM/DNC bias (Hat Tip: Instapundit) that anyone interested in the media or politics should read.

I've always thought about Democrats and the media being two separate entities, but in another post, Cassandra provides a definition of the MSM/DNC as "two arms of the same beast" that makes near-perfect sense to anyone who followed the apparent lockstep coordination between the media and the DNC in the 2004 election cycle.

I think you'll be seeing that new acronym (MSM/DNC) a lot from now on, and MSM/DNC is going to hate every mention for it's accuracy.

That's one buzzword that isn't going down the memory hole.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A Well-Deserved Promotion

Karol J. Wojtyla, a field representative extraordinaire for the Almighty, took a well-deserved promotion to the head office at 9:37 PM (2:37 PM EST). His presence will be greatly missed by the millions he touched around the world.

More:
Pope John Paul II: Biography (Vatican, Short Version)
Pope John Paul II: Early Year Biography (CNN)
Pope John Paul II: The Priesthood Years (CNN)
Pope John Paul II: The Papacy (CNN)

Pope's choose their names, and this one choose to be called John Paul II.

So who was Pope John Paul ?

Choosing the Next Pope (From Riehl World View)

Update:
A list of possible candidates to be the next Pope.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 03:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I Knew Nominating Hillary Was A Bad Idea...

From the Jerusalem Post:

A thorough analysis of the Koran reveals that the US will cease to exist in the year 2007, according to research published by Palestinian scholar Ziad Silwadi.

The study, which has caught the attention of millions of Muslims worldwide, is based on in-depth interpretations of various verses in the Koran. It predicts that the US will be hit by a tsunami larger than that which recently struck southeast Asia.

"The tsunami waves are a minor rehearsal in comparison with what awaits the US in 2007," the researcher concluded in his study. "The Holy Koran warns against the Omnipotent Allah's force. A great sin will cause a huge flood in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans."

If they would only nominate Joe Lieberman instead in 2007, this wouldn't happen.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A World Turned Upside Down

After reading this, I knew it must be April Fool's.

This just confirmed it.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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