Peace Was Never An Option

Recommended Reading:

CNN: Gaza death toll from Israeli offensive exceeds 375

Rick Moran: BLOODTHIRSTY JEWS BRUTALLY MURDER HAMAS BABIES

MEMRI: PLO and Fatah Officials: Hamas is Responsible for the Deaths of Its People

A big part of the problem we have as Americans and western Europeans is we continuously attempt to frame the Israeli-Arab conflict through our moral values. We assume, very wrongly, that both sides ultimately want peace. It just is not true.

We are about to witness a New Year's Eve massacre with thousands of Palestinians dead and wounded. We are about to witness a humanitarian crisis of biblical proportions. I'm not trying to be glib or funny or ironic. Hospitals lack supplies and the residents of Gaza lack food and basic supplies.

I don't believe Israel will back off this time. And I don't think they should. What is happening is simply tragic. It is not avoidable.

The leaders of Hamas desire this totally predictable outcome. They are more than willing to spend the only capital they possess: human lives. They want thousands of their own citizens dead. They want live television coverage. They want blood in the streets, the blood of Palestinians.

By ending the tenuous six month old cease fire with dozens of poorly crafted missiles aimed clumsily at Israeli civilians, they counted on the overwhelming military response. Now they are counting on international outrage. And they hope that other Arab countries will join them in the fight. Or that the worldwide moral outrage will leave Israel weakened and without support.

But the real truth is that the Oslo Accords were a tragic mistake. Far from being a "roadmap to peace" they are a monument to Western arrogance and stupidity. In reality the Oslo Accords were simply a delaying action that provided cover to two sets of people who never had the slightest desire to travel any path to peace.

A Two State Solution? Neither side wants one. Neither side will tolerate a two state solution.

Where will this current battle end? Nowhere. Israel cannot wipe out Hamas. And the west will not turn against Israel. Thousands will suffer and die. And they battle lines will remain unchanged.

Frankly, I believe that the only solution is a single state solution. Israel should annex 100% of the disputed Palestinian territory. By force. All Palestinians should then become provisional Israeli citizens.

Then, and only then, can the world begin to treat Israel like they treated apartheid South Africa. Then and only then can a real roadmap to peace be found.

Liberal Intolerance, Hate and Derangement

I simply must take today's five minutes to express my profound disgust at the giant cadre of liberal pundits and bloggers who are mounting an unrelenting attack on Reverend Rick Warren, pastor or the immensely popular Saddleback Church, in Lake Forest, California, a "new age fundamentalist Christian church." Warren's egregious sin? He was chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to give the invocation at Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009.

The level of intolerance and absolute stupidity being portrayed on the pages of The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Slate Magazine and others is stunning and deeply saddening, especially coming during the holiday the celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. So much for peace on earth and good will toward men.

I absolutely refuse to post a single link to any of the crap out on the blogosphere from those who insist on condemning Warren for actually daring to believe the tenets of Christianity. Warren is roundly condemned for daring to both believe the basic dogma of his church and then to actually have the intellectual and moral courage to practice his faith in his daily life.

I am a deeply devout Unitarian Universalist. Warren and I share very few religious beliefs. I disagree with him profoundly on most theological issues. I most certainly disagree on the issues of human sexuality and lifestyle, especially Gay Marriage, which I strongly support.

But I disagree with almost every large and fundamentalist religion worldwide. I strongly disagree with most Islamic teachings and abhor the discrimination against women embedded in many religions.

But I DO NOT EXPECT, LET ALONE DEMAND that Pastor Warren magically abandon his core beliefs, just because liberals find some of those beliefs distressing. Far from it. I actually expect Warren to believe, follow, live and preach the word and commandments of God as he believes them. If Warren failed to do this he would simply not be a fundamentalist Christian.

Many, in fact most, of my close personal friends are Jewish. Many are Orthodox and live very conservative lives, keeping the Sabbath and following the laws of Judaism as closely as they can. Like Warren they reject homosexuality, They also deny that Christ is the savior.

Some day very soon a strongly conservative or ever Orthodox Rabbi will give an invocation at an Obama state function. Likewise I'll bet we soon see a Muslim pray at a state sponsored event. Will we so-called liberals DEMAND that they renounce their most sacred beliefs?

Or do we only demand that Christian ministers give up their beliefs and deny their God, as so many are now demanding of Warren?

And why do these supposed liberals insult and ridicule Christians, but remain reverent and respectful of other world religions? I've actually read these moronic pundits insult Christ in the most foul mouthed and demeaning language possible and then turn around and condemn the Danish who published the Mohammad cartoons for insulting Muslims and failing to respect their "deeply held beliefs."

Frankly, if Barack Obama chose Rick Warren to give the invocation at his Inauguration, I suspect that Barack Obama actually wanted a conservative Christian of deep moral faith to give that Invocation. Otherwise Obama could have chosen one of the many extremely fine and talented Methodists, Episcopalians or Unitarian Universlists to give the Invocation, or perhaps a great rabbi or Buddhist monk.

As to my fellow bloggers and pundits, have the courage to direct your outrage toward the person who chose a fundamentalist Christian to speak. Direct your outrage toward Barack Obama.

Five Minutes....

As we get closer to the heart of the December Holiday Season I want to wish all my friends a Merry Christmas, a Joyous Winter Solstice and a belated Happy Hanukkah.

My time each day has been nearly consumed with the demands of the retail holiday season, but I try to sneak in 5 minutes or so to quickly surf my favorite bloggers and I really appreciate those of you who are doing such a great and entertaining job.

I appreciate all of you but I want to add a really quick "tip o' the Wizard's pointy cap" to Lee over at Lee's Tidbits. Lee has done something I have really wanted to do over the last few weeks and that is to point out the great debate over the issue of "man made global warming." I encourage all my readers to follow all of Lee's blog entries and to be open to a real discussion of this issue. It is far from settled.

Here is additional food for thought. I encourage you to read this news story today CNN Meteorologist: Man made Global Warming Theory 'Arrogant'

You all know I spend 90% of my time on this blog discussing human rights, free speech, politics and Internet issues. As a result I generally point my readers to other blogs that discuss similar issues. But today I want to direct you all to one of the most creative and brilliant blogs I've ever seen. It is a work of art. And a journalistic masterpiece. It is an joy to read each day. So take your five minutes today and visit LIQUID ILLUZION .

I'm especially pleased and proud to point LIQUID ILLUZION out because it is created by a fellow Mississippi resident. I mention this because I guess I'm hoping you will think that because Liquid only lives about a hour from me, some of her greatness is contagious or that it has rubbed off on me. Alas, none of that is true.

Liquid posted the above photograph on her website site as a "gift" to her many readers. I have taken my "gift" and reprinted it here in order to pass it on to all of you. It is certainly illustrative of her creative brilliance.

Happy Holidays to you all.

They Told Me If.......

They told me if I voted for John McCain I would get a bi-partisan moderate President who would often reach across the aisle and would appoint a broad range of people from across the political spectrum to his cabinet.

They told me that if i voted for John McCain I would get a pragmatic, logical and intelligent President who would NOT be captive to dogma or partisanship in making decisions BEST for the American people.

The told me if I voted for John McCain I would get a President who followed an intelligent and protective approach to our withdrawal from Iraq, a man who would listen to our military in the field and would not just quickly and dangerously withdraw troops regardless of the outcome.

So I voted for John McCain....

And I got exactly the type of President I hoped to have!

Good Work President-Elect Obama! I couldn't possibly be more pleased!

The Great Depression

I want to apologize to my readers for the few posts. It is so humbling to actually get comments and emails asking for more frequent postings.

My various business and consulting gigs are all retail related and go into high gear in December. Generally I'm working 18 to 20 hour days and I absolutely love it. If (heaven forbid) retailing gets into your blood, this time of year is the World Series, Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby all rolled into one. Posts will be light until after the holidays.

But....... All you faithful readers already know I've been trying to tell anyone who will listen that we are not in a recession, but are instead heading into a Depression that will dwarf the 1930's. I am appalled that our so called financial leaders in Washington either can't or won't see the coming disaster.

Our current activities in Washington will not help. The proposed auto bailout is a huge mistake. We are plunging the nation into a deep national debt from which we may never recover.

Today's record breaking unemployment report is a harbinger of things to come: Employers cut 533K jobs in Nov., most in 34 years

Make your personal financial decisions based on the coming disaster.