J O S H U A P U N D I T: Fred Thompson Makes A Serious Error

In my previous post I stated my reasons for no longer supporting a bid by former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, for President, in the upcoming 2008 race. I see others have also made this same decision.

I wanted to share with my readers, just one more post, by another respected blogger on this important and disappointing turn-of-events.

Please read the following post, and then ask yourself,

"Was this just simply a matter of bad judgement ??"

Or, something much more dangerous ???

Living in Tennessee, and having supported Fred Thompson in his Senate race, I was very saddened, and deeply concerned, to learn of his recent selection of Spencer Abraham, former Senator from Michigan, as his campaign manager.

It just didn't make any sense to me, why he should do such a thing, and after many days of investigation, unanswered questions, and frankly, a good dose of self-flagellation, that I could have been so fooled by this man, I did the only thing that I could do, I openly stated my objections, and then publicized my withdrawal of support for Fred Thompson, stating that I can no longer trust either his judgement or his loyalties.

A good friend and fellow blogger, with a sharp eye, and keen insight, had already arrived at this same conclusion, and had posted his assessment of Fred Thompson's actions over at JOSHUA PUNDIT.

I would encourage everyone to read what Freedom Fighter had to say in his post dated, Thursday, July 26, 2007, then to ask yourselves the same difficult questions that Freedom Fighter and others like myself asked, and then come to your own conclusions as we have done concerning Fred Thompson and his choice of Spencer Abraham as his new campaign manager.

Please read Freedom Fighter's post below:

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Fred Thompson Makes A Serious Error

By his works ye shall know him ....

Up until now, I've had a `wait and see' attitude towards the candidacy of Fred Thompson, in spite of his light resume. The fact that a lot of people, especially in his home state seem to have a fairly high opinion of him was reason enough for me to keep an open mind, pending further data.

That's no longer true. Fred Thompson just revealed a lot about himself by picking, of all people, ex-Michigan Senator Spencer Abraham as his campaign manager.

I'm actually quite familiar with Abraham. As Michigan's senator, he was a major proponent of open borders and actually received a major award from The National Council of La Raza in 1997 for his sterling work in obstructing any kind of control of immigration.

And as Michelle Malkin reveals here, Spencer Abraham was also instrumental in preventing the implementation of two different tracking databases–one for foreign student visa holders and the other for all temporary visitors mandated by US law. On September 11, 2001, neither of those databases was in place, and they remain incomplete as I write this.

Even worse, Abraham, an Arab-American of Lebanese decent has consistently come down on the wrong side when it comes to Islamic terrorism, consistently voted against Israel and was actually a lobbyist for Arab nations after he stepped down as energy secretary under President George W. Bush's administration.

Blogpal Debbie Schlussel, who knows him quite well has the details here,
including Abraham's being one of only two Senators in the U.S. Senate who refused to sign a letter calling on President Clinton to condemn Palestinian terrorism and Yasser Arafat, at the height of the homicide bombings in Israel in the last part of Mr. Bill's second term, and his shilling for CAIR, and other questionable Islamists, as well as his sponsorship of USAid grants fro aid to Hezbollah controlled South Lebanon to the tune of over $200 million. No one who's serious about winning the War Against Jihad would want a tool like Abraham anywhere near him.

Either Thompson was ignorant about Abraham's background, which means he lacks the judgment to be president, or he knew about it and appointed Abraham anyway...which means that no one who's serious about fighting this war should remotely consider supporting him.

I'll be interested to hear what Thompson himself has to say about this...and his supporters, many of whom I know to be extremely decent people.

posted by Freedom Fighter at 12:25 PM

Gates of Vienna: Those Ripping Sounds You Hear…

After much investigation, and soul searching, I have arrived at a decision which has been very difficult for me.

As many of my regular readership are aware, I have openly supported Fred Thompson for a presidential bid in 2008.

I thought he was both a Conservative, and a friend and supportor of Israel, both of which are central to obtaining my support in the upcoming race for President.

It now appears, due to a recent shake-up in the Thompson camp, that my faith in him was mis-placed.

He could not, I feel, have been unaware of Spencer Abraham's Islamic connections, and therefore, is not the man I had hoped he was.

He either is unaware (which would mean politically blind), or he actually is fully aware and does not consider Abraham's affiliations to be a problem (in which case, he too would have to be a sell-out to Islamic interests, and therefore, a danger to both America, and to Israel).

In either case I have decided to withdraw my support and to remove all Thompson related blogrolls and links from my site.

Please read why I have taken these drastic steps below. I no longer feel I can trust Fred Thompson's judgment, or where his loyalties lie. It's as simple as that, and it is very dis-heartening to me.

Please read the post from Gates of Vienna below ....

Original post: Gates of Vienna

Gates of Vienna: Those Ripping Sounds You Hear…

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Those Ripping Sounds You Hear…

by Dymphna


Darn. He sounded so good for awhile. Then Fred Thompson made a fatal mistake for anyone concerned with the infiltration of this country by Islamists. He hired Spencer Abraham as his campaign manager:


Although Abraham, of Lebanese descent, is a Christian, he is a career water carrier for Islamists of the most extremist stripe and made that the cornerstone of his failed, one-term Senate career and equally lousy tenure as Energy Secretary.

As a Senator, he took marching orders from James Zogby of the pan-Islamist Arab American Institute, opposing profiling of Arabs, the use of secret evidence against Muslims (at the behest of Muslim groups), attempting to repeal the Clinton counterterrorism package, refusing to fund computer tracking of student and other foreign aliens, giving millions in our tax money right to Hezbollah, and putting CAIR on the map on Capitol Hill (taking the group’s officials around to meet other Senators and Members of Congress). He took campaign contributions from the relatives of Hezbollah-backed top Lebanese officials after he got the group millions in our tax money.

It gets worse…

Spence was one of only two Senators in the entire U.S. Senate who refused to sign a letter calling on President Clinton to condemn Palestinian terrorism and Yasser Arafat. This was at the height of a series of homicide bombings in Israel in 1999 and 2000.

As Energy Secretary, he gave top secret tours of nuclear facilities, as well as detailed information on how we secure them to Muslim nations who are our enemies. And he gave out undue post-9/11 awards to Al-Qaeda money-launderers . . . at the White House. The money launderers were raided by U.S. Customs Service agents.

After he left the Bush cabinet, Spence became a lobbyist for Mid-Eastern Muslim countries that practice the Arab boycott of Israel and don’t really like us too much either. He took their money and until the Thompson race, did their bidding.

Then there’s Jamal Barzinji. Abraham enlisted him to find parties who helped and reached out to Muslims after 9/11, with Abraham hosting an awards ceremony for them. Problem is, Barzinji is an officer and/or director in SAFA Trust, Mar-Jac Poultry, and International Institute for Islamic Thought, all raided by Customs in March 2002 for laundering over $1.7 billion to Al-Quaida and Islamic Jihad (through indicted University of South Florida professor and alleged Islamic Jihad frontman Sami Al-Arian).

Read more at Right Truth on Mr. Abraham. Lots of links, none of them reassuring.

How long will it be before the conservative “Blogs for Thompson” slowly melts away in the light of Fred’s decision to hire Spencer Abraham?

Those ripping sounds you hear are the “I’m with Fred” buttons being removed from the sidebars of disappointed conservatives.

And Giuliani is hunting for Fred so he can throw a rose on the “Fred Thompson for President” coffin as this nail is hammered in like a stake through the heart.

A Tour of the Temple Mount (OneJerusalem.org)

OneJerusalem.org has produced this wonderful video presentation, "A Tour of the Temple Mount."

Please watch, and as you do, remember to, "pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

As yet another Tisha B'Av approaches, contemplate the significance of these immortal words.

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither, let my tongue cleave to my palate if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy." (Psalm 137, 5-7).

You will find an enlightening post pertaining to the Temple Mount, and the desecrations being perpetrated by Arab Muslims (those who have been entrusted with it's preservation, ironically), over at, "Yid With Lid", please read more at the link below:

http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2007/07/if-i-forget-thee-o-jerusalem.html

Also, please visit OneJerusalem.org to learn of ways YOU can make a difference:

http://www.onejerusalem.org/blog/index.asp

I've Been Tagged

My good friend and fellow blogger,

Mr. Bagel

has tagged me with a meme:

Here's how it works:

Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

8 things you didn't know about Elaine:

So here goes ........

1. I was born during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The last thing my mother remembers hearing my father and a neighbor of ours discussing, just before they came in to wheel her down to surgery (I was also very stubborn even at birth, my mother had to have a C-section), was that there might not be a tomorrow, but then I arrived, at exactly 5 minutes until midnight, and everything got better !!

2. When I was about eight years old, my father promised me that if I would catch a skunk (some folks here-abouts call them poll-cats), he would take it to the vet for me and have it de-scented, so I could keep it as a pet.
So, I went looking and found one, and I caught it. I managed somehow to get it home, (touting it by it's tail) without being bitten, (but, it sprayed me numerous times on the way to the house). I placed it inside an old rabbit pen that I had, and went to tell my father. He was, to say the least, shocked !!
I didn't get my pet though. Somehow it escaped (I thought), from the cage I had it in. I have spent most of my life believing that a skunk could escape through very small holes. It wasn't until recently, that my mother told me the truth about the skunk. My father had lifted the lid and let it go (using a pole about ten feet long) !! I kept my end of our deal, but he had not !! It was probably for the best though, I had to take several bathes in tomato juice before anyone could stand to come near me !!

3. When I was about eleven, I piloted my first plane. It was a small single engine plane, and I was with my cousin, (a professional pilot). He asked if I would like to take the controls, and I said, "Sure" !! I followed his instructions and we flew for about an hour, needless to say, he took the controls when we landed, but it was so exciting and I loved it !!

4. I know it's frowned upon, but I actually met, and married, my best friend when I was only fifteen. We have been happily married now for almost thirty years. We have three grown children, two boys, and our daughter (the baby) now 21.
Although I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, our early marriage worked out great for us. Not only are our children grown, but our two sons have given us four grandchildren between them, (our daughter is still single and about to graduate college next spring), while I still have the energy to keep-up with them !!

5. I began public speaking when I was only ten, by 18, I had given a speech before our governor and his cabinet. It was a spur of the moment thing and had I had the time to get nervous, I'm certain I would have, but it happened so suddenly, that I never had time to think about it. I opened with a joke and before I knew it, I had given an impromptu speech and had received a standing ovation. Just goes to show what you can do when your put on the spot.

6. In 2004, our middle child, Daniel, was in a terrible accident. It happened when he and his older brother, Gerry, and baby sister, Sarah, had gotten together and gone swimming, at the lake. After several hours of fun and swimming, Daniel suddenly cramped-up and disappeared beneath the surface. His brother tried to get to him in time, but could not. Daniel was under water for between 15 and twenty minutes (in warm summer waters, not frigid), before they found him and pulled him out.
He was blue and not breathing. His brother began CPR (Gerry was a certified EMT), the park ranger arrived with a defibrillator , and soon after the ambulance arrived. They had to use the defibrillator twice on the beach and again in the ambulance on the way to the nearest hospital, where he was put on life support and then airlifted by helicopter, to the nearest trauma intensive care unit.
They did not believe he would survive at all. The doctors told us he could not survive off of the respirator, and that he would remain in a "continuous state of vegetative coma" and if he survived would need to be cared for in a hospital and later nursing facility for the remainder of his life. He was nineteen at the time of the accident. They also told us that his personality and any awareness of his surroundings, as well as his memory, his ability to communicate, to walk, or even to swallow were gone permanently, but we refused to except this.
We trusted G-D and never gave up the hope that G-D would totally heel our son, and (to make a much longer story short), Daniel is back to his former sweet loveable, active, intelligent, and opinionated self. He retained all his memory and personality, and is able to not only walk again, but run, not only talk again, but never stops talking (he gets that from his mother), not only to swallow, but eats like a one man army.
I share this as often as I have the opportunity, to encourage others never to lose hope in G-D. We got our son back, and there just aren't words sufficient to express what that meant to us both !! 2004 was an incredible year for us !!

7. In 2005, my mother had a heart attack, and had to undergo a quadruple by-pass. She came through it with flying colors, and absolutely amazed me with her courage and strength !!

8. In 2006, our oldest son was involved in a head-on collision, and was nearly killed. He was airlifted to our nearest trauma unit, where he remained in intensive care, in a coma for a week, and then he was kept another three weeks in intensive care before undergoing numerous surgeries on his hip, his legs, and his feet.
He had to learn to walk again, and was in rehabilitation for his hips and legs for an additional year, but again, G-D brought him through !! We've had a few difficult moments over the past three years, but I wouldn't trade them for anything, because I am more convinced than ever that nothing is to big for G-D !!

Well that's probably far more than you ever wanted to know about me, so now I'll move on to the "8" people I have chosen to tag next !!

They are:

A Simple Jew

Treppenwitz

Oleh Musings

JoshuaPundit

Hear, O Israel

Busy Wolf

Baleboosteh

The American Israeli Patriot

John Smeaton: The BBC tribute

John Smeaton: The BBC tribute

In a day and age when we are confronted with a scourge of global terrorism, we must make some difficult decisions. Will we cower before the enemy, or will we stand and fight?

This video celebrates an average person, not unlike you or I, who chose the latter, and has been hailed a hero by many.

John Smeaton, of Glasgow, a baggage handler, by occupation, and a very modest man, is the subject of this BBC video.

When suddenly faced with the choice, to become a part of the solution, or to stand idly by, and to do nothing, this man chose to get involved, and for that, we hail him a hero.

Just ask yourselves for a moment, what would happen if we all chose, as John did, to get involved, to put aside our own self interest, and to fight against this modern day plague called "terrorism" ??

I, for one, salute Mr. Smeaton, for his valiant stand, and I would hope that, placed in a similar situation, I would choose, as he did, without hesitation, to get involved, to fight against this evil, and to become a part of the solution, instead of a part of the problem.

In a day when evil masquerades as good, and good is judged to be evil, we need more men (and women), like John Smeaton, to take a stand against this evil, to choose to fight, to say, "We're not going to allow this evil to go on any longer" !! It is then that we, just might, see things begin to turn around.

Terrorism breeds fear, that is what it is intended, by it's perpetrators, to do !!

Fear makes us vulnerable and weak, but we can choose not to let fear control us. We can control our fears. We must, if we are to win over these monsters. They want us immobilized by fear. We must not let our fear prevent us from becoming involved. We must overcome fear, if we are to win, and win we must !!

Please watch the video, and ask yourself, "What would I have done in his situation" ??

There is a truth that the terrorists don't want us to realize, and that is, good is stronger than evil, and right does make might !!

Let the actions of John Smeaton, and two other brave individuals at the Glasgow airport bombing, (a cabbie, and another man returning home from holiday), challenge us all to greatness !!

Jerusalem Chumash celebration - Maor Chaim cheder

Lazer Brody: A Rare Glimpse of Chassidic Jerusalem

With so much troubling news from day-to-day, we need to be reminded of the good, on a daily basis.

I was so encouraged by this video, that I felt I just had to link it.

Rabbi Lazer Brody posted this video of his grandson, and the other precious children, as they celebrated the start of their Torah study.

Torah is so powerful to lift us to great heights of joy and awe, but especially so, when we hear the sacred text from the mouths of these precious children of Yisroel.

The energy can be felt so powerfully, and emuna is the result, lifting us for the moment out of this world of uncertainty and fear, and into the world of emuna, where all things are possible.

Watch this wonderful video above, and let your hearts be encouraged, as mine was, by these precious children of Yisroel.

Original post: Rabbi Lazer Brody; of Lazer Beams:

Date: Monday, 02 July 2007

Lazer Beams: A Rare Glimpse of Chassidic Jerusalem

Emuna Outreach invites you to take part in a Chumash Seuda, the celebration when our five year-olds are already reading fluently and begin learning Torah. This off-the-tourist-track clip was filmed live at the Maor Chaim cheder un Jerusalem. The little guy with the eyeglasses is Brody-grandson Yitzchok, the son of Rabbi Ben-Tzion Brody. Enjoy!

Posted at 12:02 AM

The original post may be read at:
http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/2007/07/a-rare-glimpse-.html

Be sure to read more of Rabbi Brody's powerful, emuna inspiring posts at:

http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/