Sign of the Times: Voice Of The Deplorables

This billboard was paid for by a businessman in Boerne, Texas! It reads "ABC News: I grew up with you. We are through. The Russians didn't elect Donald Trump. I did. Kyle Courtney "

At Accuracy In Media, Don Irvine reports:

 "[Kyle] Courtney released the following statement to News4 in San Antonio:
“ABC News was the only channel I watched as a child growing up in Texas but I think they have lost touch with America and forgotten the working man. They don’t represent our voice anymore. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was funded by the Clinton Foundation in close coordination with the media, and now we’re seeing them try to fix what they couldn’t fix during the election. They are doing everything they can, night after night, to create narratives and sway people’s direction to impeach Donald Trump. Our democracy is at stake when a major political party and the media are in bed together. I’m not asking anyone to boycott the Democratic party. I’m not in the brainwashing business, but the liberal media is.” "

Thank you, and God bless you, Mr. Courtney. Many millions of us share your thinking -and also proudly voted FOR Donald John Trump without apology or equivocation.




*Photo Credit: Wellstar Groundwater Technologies, Mr Courtney's company

FBI Hate Crime Data Excludes Victims Targeted Because Of Their Religion In Terror Attacks

The FBI recently released its annual report on Hate Crime Statistics for 2015.  It appears fairly straightforward, and clarifies certain changes in definition. But some high-profile events are missing: mass attacks, including those designated as "Terror Attacks" seem to be omitted from the FBI's  Hate Crime database.

More on that in a minute. First, let's look at the misleading use of percentages to inflate some very tiny numbers. And at the mixing of data with opinion with rumor to create something that does not exist... I think the word for it this week is Fake News.

Fake News or "a filtered product to readers"

Pew Research Center has put out a small analysis that, in keeping with the globalists' anti-Trump narrative, purports to show a huge increase in "anti-Muslim assaults" under the headline:
"FBI Data shows Anti-Muslim assaults reach 9/11-era levels",  quotes a few stats of year-old data, shows a graph, cherry picks mentions of other religions, then throws in a bunch of  opinion polls - all of which is slanted to create the impression that anti-Muslim discrimination is far worse than that against any other religion. The article wraps up with a dire-sounding number of reports, admits those reports can't be confirmed (indeed, most have been proven hoaxes), and gets to the whole reason for the article with this phrase: "in the five days following the presidential election alone."

Here's some reality to keep in mind: that's only 91 cases over the entire USA covering an entire year, from a year or more ago - all occurred before the presidential election campaign got off the ground, and particularly,  occurred before the elite media's obsession with Muslim immigration began after the San Bernadino Massacre in December 2015.

There is no evidence at all, no statistics, no data, nothing but rumor to indicate any increase in crime against people for their Muslim faith in the year 2016.  But Pew put out this article in a way that creates the appearance that there are both an increase in criminal targeting, and evidence for it.

Why is Pew Research suddenly trafficking in rumor and nuanced innuendo?

325 Million people live in the US,  three million of them are Muslim,  and  of those, 257 Muslims reported being mistreated because of their religion last year. This includes what the FBI labels "intimidation", vandalism, theft: only 91 were physical assaults.

According to the FBI's database, almost as many Christians, 244, were criminally victimized for their faith, and Jews were targets a whopping 237% more often than Muslims: 731 Jewish people in the US were victims of hate crimes last year, with a population of approximately 6 million.

Meanwhile, the Southern Poverty Law Center is still reporting dozens of false reports (and Pew Research is still happily citing their unverifiable "anecdotes" in which people pretended they were targeted "by Trump voters" or by so-called "white" people, and later admitted they made it all up.
In at least one case, a Muslim woman was charged for the false police report she made - shouldn't this be listed as a "hate crime" as well?

Pew did not bother to report that the DOCUMENTED assaults on Trump supporters before and  after the election have included brutal beatings of people - including children, one only 11 years old in his elementary classroom - targeted by multiple assailants. Many of the hate crimes against Trump supporters have been actively reported as harmless fun  or even with deliberate blamed placed on the victim by pro-Democrat elite media.

According to the FBI: " 88.4 percent of agencies participating in the Hate Crime Statistics Program reported that no hate crimes occurred in their jurisdictions."

As some of the above articles show about bias against President Trump's supporters, "hate crimes" against people hated by the elite media and Globalists are likely to be under-reported. It is very difficult for Christian victims to get a "hate crime" designation for their suffering.  Often, where Christians are criminally targeted there is a tendency within law enforcement as well as elite media to ignore the perpetrator and blame the victim for holding or declaring unpopular beliefs or practices.

Confusion in recording anti-Christian "hate crimes" is also caused in part because the FBI statistics break anti-Christian bias down into denomination, so if the assailant didn't specifically "hate Catholics" or "Mormons", the crime is more likely to go unreported in anti-Christian "hate crime" statistics. The FBI does not itemize various Islamic sects or Jewish ones, despite the existence of multiple branches of these religions.

Generally, there's also a great disparity in calling a crime "hate related" that depends on who the perpetrator is. Many violent assaults committed by avowed Muslim perpetrators are never classified as "hate crimes" against Christians, Jews, White Americans, Gays, Women, Children, or other groups that radical Muslims  (& often the perpetrators themselves) specifically say should be targeted: ie, the Fort Hood Massacre was labeled "workplace violence" despite the murderer's multiple and continual statements that he wanted to kill non-muslims because of their religion which was not Islam.

The Final Straw: Hate Crimes that are designated "Terror" Events aren't included in Hate Crime stats.

Even worse, and most significantly, when a massacre is  classified as an Islamic "terror attack" it is apparently excluded from law enforcement Hate Crime databases, as reported to the FBI.

In example, four non-muslims were stabbed in a terror attack at UC Merced, California, in November 2015, when Muslim student Faisal Mohammad, carrying a photocopied ISIS flag in his pocket and smiling the whole time, slashed four people with a hunting knife in a classroom & hallways. CNN reported the FBI said Mohammad had visited ISIS & terrorist websites, and that his attack was "terror-inspired".

But still, both Merced and the University of California reported zero religion-motivated hate crimes for 2015, despite the FBI's confirmation.

The Garland, Texas terror attack at an art show in May 2015, which resulted in a heroic school security guard being shot in the ankle, and the deaths of the two  Islamic jihadists, is not listed in the FBI's "hate crime" database. It should be in there, and the guard should be numbered among the victims. There is a category for "Religious bias: anti-other (unspecified) religion that should be used for these crimes.

The December 2015 San Bernadino Massacre is not listed in FBI data as a "hate crime".  Despite the deaths of 14 people and the serious injury of 22 others at a Christian religion-connected event, and despite the clear targeting of the group because of their not-muslim religious status as "infidels", all 36 people, mostly Christian but also of other faiths, are missing from the totals of religious hate crime victims, and 6 people are missing from the totals of religious hate crime perpetrators.

However, so-called "anti-Muslim" "hate crimes" arising from the jihadist massacre of innocents are included:
"In the aftermath of the shooting, CAIR reported an escalation in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the U.S., including the throwing of a pig's head at a mosque in Philadelphia, the beating of a Queens shop owner, and incidents of death threats and vandalism.[287] A number of attacks and incidents of vandalism in southern California in the weeks following the attack were investigated as anti-Muslim hate crimes"

"On December 15, 2015, three senior White House officials‍—‌Valerie Jarrett, Cecilia Munoz, and Ben Rhodes‍—‌met with American Muslim and Sikh leaders to discuss the increase in violent attacks upon members of the American Muslim and Sikh community following the attack (Sikhs are not Muslims but have been occasionally targeted in anti-Islamic bias-motivated crimes)"

The White House officials did not meet with American non-Muslim leaders to discuss the increase in violent anti-Infidel attacks upon members of their communities following this or any other attack.

Edited to add: The nine innocent people shot to death by Dylann Roof in Charleston because of their race were also not reported as victims of a racial "hate crime" in the database.

These few events alone add another 41 victims that were targeted because of bias against their religion, and 11 who were killed, injured or terrorized because of their  race, but whose deaths and suffering are not counted worthy of being considered "hate crimes".

While the FBI explicitly cautions on every page against using this data for "Ranking", and notes that the information is provided by each of thousands of jurisdictions, it is up to each user to familiarize themselves with what is and is not contained in the database.  And by "user", I think we have to include readers of articles such as this one, and the ones written by Pew Research.

Bottom line?

Bias.

Bias.

Bias.

BIAS.

BIAS:  Dec 6 2016 UPDATE:  New  York Post reports the Southern Poverty Law Center falsified the results of a survey it used to push a FAKE NEWS "narrative" against President Trump and his supporters. In particular, the SPLC omitted 2,000 reports in which students were attacked or bullied at school for being "white", and the SPLC also claimed that saying "Build the Wall" was a "racist hate crime",when in fact it is neither "anti-immigrant" nor "racist", and in fact does not indicate any bias for or against anyone, but asimple willingness to abide by the rule of law.

BIAS: Dec 11 2016 UPDATE to add the Hoax Map image, and link to the source, Sondrakisten.com and article "Hate Mischief"

BIAS: Dec 15 2016 UPDATE:  Yasmin Seweid charged with filing a false police report and with obstructing governmental administration for her hoax in which she falsely told "the police that three white men screaming “Donald Trump!” attacked her on Dec. 1 on an uptown No. 6 train at East 23rd Street, DNAinfo.com reported. She told the police that the men had called her a terrorist and that when she tried to move to the other end of the subway car, one of them followed and tried to pull off her traditional head scarf. " She made up the whole thing. Nothing happened. 

Les Deplorables For Trump

Veteran Ray Starmann Writes An Open Letter to Mr. Khizr Khan

Clear, rational truths from the article "An Open Letter to Mr. Khizr Khan" at usdefensewatch.com, written by a Veteran who first offered his sincere condolences to this Gold Star family who falsely criticized Mr Donald Trump in a speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention: 

"As a former US Army officer, and a veteran of the Gulf War, I can certainly understand the pain and anguish that you and your wife endure every day. 

"Your son died saving the lives of his fellow soldiers. As John wrote, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.


"Captain Khan is a hero. I am sure the soldiers he served with regard him as one. I know you and your wife do. Rest assured that millions of veterans regard your son as a hero as well."

Starmann clarifies Mr Trump's reasonable ideas, and  the Constitutional requirement to limit immigration in ways that defend the Nation:

"Mr. Trump’s plan to temporarily halt immigration from Muslim countries that are known to either support terrorism or harbor terrorist groups is not only pragmatic, but indeed it is constitutional. It is the constitutional duty of the President of the United States to protect this nation."

Starmann continues with the hard truth:

"Whether you, your wife, the Muslim world and millions of Democrats are offended by Mr. Trump’s realistic view of the world is irrelevant. ..... 

"Whether you, your wife and son would have been prohibited from emigrating from Pakistan to America under Mr. Trump’s wartime plan is irrelevant. The security of this great land supersedes your desires and the desires of others who wish to come here now. The United States of America has no obligation to open its doors in order to placate foreigners and liberals in our government. 

"To adopt any other course but Mr. Trump’s would be a cause for further endangering the lives of Americans every day. That, sir, is unacceptable. 

"You attacked Mr. Trump in front of a worldwide audience, yet you can’t understand the fact that he defends himself against attacks from you, Hillary Clinton and the left. What else is one to do sir? 

"We must live in a world of reality, not a world of denial, delusion and fantasy the Democrats inhabit every waking day of their lives."

Click here to go read the whole good, fair, wise article.

The First Amendment and Hand Cranked Printing Presses

On this Independence Day, a little history lesson. "The Press" did not mean "journalists" when our nation was founded. It did not mean television, radio, or the internet. It did not mean respectable owners of newspapers or members of the White House Press Corps or people with Journalism Degrees or writers who make their living as full time reporters or only respectable bloggers or official licensed anything.

It meant "The Printing Press" of the type seen above, which is what Benjamin Franklin, Printer, used to print newspapers, broadsides, editorials, and -  to make a living - various advertising and other works for hire.  It meant anyone who owned a press or who could pay for something to be printed.

Franklin had a LOT to say about "freedom of the Press" and the right to freely publish things that offended some people.  

Most of the concepts we still apply to "Freedom of the Press" came from Franklin's own experience. His older brother James was a Printer, and was jailed for a month for printing some political outrage and then refusing to divulge the name of his source. Franklin, his apprentice, was 16 at the time and the court tried to force him to share the name as well. He stubbornly refused. He later wrote:

"During my brother's confinement, which I resented a good deal, notwithstanding our private differences, I had the management of the paper; and I made bold to give our rulers some rubs in it, which my brother took very kindly, while others began to consider me in an unfavorable light, as a young genius that had a turn for libelling and satire. My brother's discharge was accompany'd with an order of the House (a very odd one), that 'James Franklin should no longer print the paper called the New England Courant.'" 

James got around that ban by releasing Ben from his apprenticeship (basically "graduating" him), and putting Ben's name on the masthead.

Then, as now, stubborn and recalcitrant "printers" are essential to prevent the never-ending attempts to censor Everyman. "Hate Speech" laws and "Blasphemy" laws are two sides of the same anti-Constitutional coin.  Freedom of the Press means both the right to print things the Printer himself disagrees with, and the right to print things that offend some people or even "all" people.

Just like in Franklin's day, sometimes the *authors* will need to be anonymous. But the Printers need liberty to make their platforms - whether Google or Facebook or Amazon or Wordpress or the New York Times  - available to all viewpoints without any government interference whatsoever.

In 1731, Franklin printed an advertisement from a ship captain who said he would not accept priests from the Church of England as his passengers.  Since America was still a colony of Great Britain, the Church of England was the OFFICIAL government-supported religion, and King George was the head of it. Other denominations were persecuted and "upstanding community leaders" were indignant over the advertisement.

Below is the full text of Franklin's response to the mob of pre-Twitter outrage:


An Apology for Printers by Benjamin Franklin

"Being frequently censured and condemned by different persons for printing things which they say ought not to be printed, I have sometimes thought it might be necessary to make a standing apology for myself, and publish it once a year, to be read upon all occasions of that nature. Much business has hitherto hindered the execution of this design; but having very lately given extraordinary offence by printing an advertisement with a certain N.B. at the end of it, I find an apology more particularly requisite at this juncture, though it happens when I have not yet leisure to write such a thing in the proper form, and can only in a loose manner throw those considerations together which should have been the substance of it. 

I request all who are angry with me on the account of printing things they don't like, calmly to consider these following particulars: 

1 . That the opinions of men are almost as various as their faces; an observation general enough to become a common proverb, "So many men so many minds"; 

2. That the business of printing has chiefly to do with men's opinions; most things that are printed tending to promote some, or oppose others; 

3. That hence arises the peculiar unhappiness of that business, which other callings are no way liable to; they who follow printing being scarce able to do anything in their way of getting a living, which shall not probably give offence to some, and perhaps to many; whereas the smith, the shoemaker, the carpenter, or the man of any other trade,  may work indifferently for people of all persuasions, without offending any of them; and the merchant may buy and sell with Jews, Turks, heretics and infidels of all sorts, and get money by every one of them, without giving offence to the most orthodox, of any sort; or suffering the least censure or ill-will on the account from any man whatever; 

4. That it is as unreasonable in any one man or set of men to expect to be pleased with everything that is printed, as to think that nobody ought to be pleased but themselves; 

5. Printers are educated in the belief, that when men differ in opinion, both sides ought equally to have the advantage of being heard by the public; and that when truth and error have fair play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter. Hence they cheerfully serve all contending writers that pay them well, without regarding on which side they are of the question in dispute; 

6. Being thus continually employed in serving both parties, printers naturally acquire a vast unconcernedness as to the right or wrong opinions contained in what they print; regarding it only as the matter of their daily labor. They print things full of spleen and animosity, with the utmost calmness and indifference, and without the least ill-will to the persons reflected on, who nevertheless unjustly think the printer as much their enemy as the author, and join both together in their resentment; 

7. That it is unreasonable to imagine printers approve of everything they print, and to censure them on any particular thing accordingly; since in the way of their business they print such great variety of things opposite and contradictory. It is likewise as unreasonable what some assert, "That printers ought not to print anything but what they approve;" since if all of that business should make such a resolution, and abide by it, an end would thereby be put to free writing, and the world would afterwards have nothing to read but what happened to be the opinions of printers; 

8. That if all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed; 

9. That if they sometimes print vicious or silly things not worth reading, it may not be because they approve such things themselves, but because the people are so viciously and corruptly educated that good things are not encouraged. I have known a very numerous impression of Robin Hood's songs go off in this province at 2 s. per book, in less than a twelvemonth; when a small quantity of David's Psalms (an excellent version) has lain upon my hands above twice the time; 

10. That notwithstanding what might be urged in behalf of a man's being allowed to do in the way of his business whatever he is paid for, yet printers do continually discourage the printing of great numbers of bad things, and stifle them in the birth. I myself have constantly refused to print anything that might countenance vice, or promote immorality; though by complying in such cases with the corrupt taste of the majority I might have got much money. 

I have also always refused to print such things as might do real injury to any person, how much soever I have been solicited, and tempted with offers of great pay; and how much soever I have by refusing got the ill-will of those who would have employed me. I have hitherto fallen under the resentment of large bodies of men, for refusing absolutely to print any of their party or personal reflections. In this manner I have made myself many enemies, and the constant fatigue of denying is almost insupportable. 

But the public being unacquainted with all this, whenever the poor printer happens either through ignorance or much persuasion, to do anything that is generally thought worthy of blame, he meets with no more friendship or favor on the above account, than if there were no merit in it at all. Thus, as Waller says. "Poets lose half the praise they would have got Were it but known what they discreetly blot;" yet are censured for every bad line found in their works with the utmost severity. 

I come now to the particular case of the N. B. above-mentioned, about which there has been more clamor against me, than ever before on any other account. 

In the hurry of other business an advertisement was brought to me to be printed. It signified that such a ship lying at such a wharf would sail for Barbados in such a time, and that freighters and passengers might agree with the captain at such a place. So far is what's common; but at the bottom this odd thing was added, "N. B. No Sea-hens nor Black Gowns will be admitted on any terms." I printed it, and received my money; and the advertisement was stuck up round the town as usual. I had not so much curiosity at that time as to enquire the meaning of it, nor did I in the least imagine it would give so much offence. 

Several good men are very angry with me on this occasion. They are pleased to say I have too much sense to do such things ignorantly, that if they were printers they would not have done such a thing on any consideration, that it could proceed from nothing but my abundant malice against religion and the clergy. They therefore declare they will not take any more of my papers, nor have any further dealings with me, but will hinder me of all the custom they can. All this is very hard! 

I believe it had been better if I had refused to print the said advertisement. However, it's done, and cannot be revoked. I have only the following few particulars to offer, some of them in my behalf, by way of mitigation, and some not much to the purpose; but I desire none of them may be read when the reader is not in a very good humor: 

1. That I really did it without the least malice, and imagined the N. B was placed there only to make the advertisement stared at, and more generally read; 

2. That I never saw the word Sea-hens before in my life; nor have I yet asked the meaning of it. And though I had certainly known that Black Gowns in that place signified the clergy of the Church of England, yet I have that confidence in the generous good temper of such of them as I know, as to be well satisfied such a trifling mention of their habit gives them no disturbance; 

3. That most of the clergy in this and the neighboring provinces, are my customers, and some of them my very good friends; and I must be very malicious, indeed, or very stupid, to print this thing for a small profit, if I had thought it would have given them just cause of offence ; 

4. That if I had much malice against the clergy, and withal much sense, it's strange I never write or talk against the clergy myself. Some have observed that it's a fruitful topic, and the easiest to be witty upon of all others; yet I appeal to the public that I am never guilty this way, and to all my acquaintances as to my conversation; 

5. That if a man of sense had malice enough to desire to injure the 
clergy, this is the most foolish thing he could possibly contrive for that purpose; 

6. That I got five shillings by it; 

7. That none who are angry with me would have given me so much to 
let it alone; 

8. That if all the people of different opinions in this province would engage to give me as much for not printing things they don't like, as I can get by printing them, I should probably live a very easy life; and if all printers were everywhere so dealt by, there would be very little printed; 

9. That I am obliged to all who take my paper, and am willing to think they do it out of mere friendship. I only desire they would think the same when I deal with them. I thank those who leave off, that they have taken it so long. But I beg they would not endeavor to dissuade others, for that will look like malice; 

10. That it's impossible any man should know what he would do if he were a printer; 

11. That notwithstanding the rashness and inexperience of youth, which is most likely to be prevailed upon to do things that ought not to be done, yet I have avoided printing such things as usually give offence either to church or state, more than any printer that has followed the business in this province before; 

12. And lastly, that I have printed above a thousand advertisements which made not the least mention of Sea-hens or Black Gowns; and this being the first offence, I have the more reason to expect forgiveness. 

I take leave to conclude with an old fable, which some of my readers have heard before, and some have not: 

"A certain well-meaning man and his son were traveling towards a market town with an ass which they had to sell. The road was bad, and the old man therefore rode, but the son went afoot. The first passerby they met asked the father if he was not ashamed to ride by himself, and suffer the poor lad to wade along through the mire; this induced him to take up his son behind him. 

"He had not traveled far, when he met others, who said, they are two unmerciful lubbers to get both on the back of that poor ass in such a deep road. Upon this the old man got off, and let his son ride alone. The next they met called the lad a graceless, rascally young jackanapes, to ride in that manner through the dirt, while his aged father trudged along on foot; and they said the old man was a fool for suffering it. 

"He then bid his son come down, and walk with him, and they traveled on leading the ass by the halter, till they met another company, who called them a couple of senseless blockheads, for going both on foot in such a dirty way, when they had an empty ass with them, which they might ride upon. The old man could bear it no longer. 'My son,' said he, 'it grieves me much that we cannot please all these people. Let me throw the ass over the next bridge, and be no further troubled with him.'" 

Had the old man been seen acting this last resolution, he would probably have been called a fool for troubling himself about the different opinions of all that were pleased to find fault with him. Therefore, though I have a temper almost as complying as his, I intend not to imitate him in this last particular. I consider the variety of humors among men, and despair of pleasing everybody; yet I shall not therefore leave off printing. 

I shall continue my business. I shall not burn my press and melt my letters. "

                                                             ~B. Franklin, 1731, Pennsylvania Gazette

Culture & Values: Donald Trump Stood Up For Carrie Prejean in 2009

Da Tech Guy says it well in his great post: "The test of the honor of a man isn't if he behaves honorably when it’s to his advantage, it’s if he acts with honor even when it’s to his disadvantage."

Here's what Da Tech Guy uncovered: Trump's unyielding defense of Carrie Prejean when she was being given the Chick fil A treatment by the media over a simple answer to a political question about gay marriage in the Miss USA Pageant.

(From ABC News May 12, 2009): "Donald Trump's not letting...conservative beliefs stop Carrie Prejean from being Miss California USA.

"The real estate mogul and co-owner of the Miss USA organization announced Tuesday that the scandalized beauty queen, who spoke out against "opposite marriage" at the 2009 Miss USA pageant, igniting a fire storm of scrutiny about her stance on gay marriage and her modeling career, will keep her crown.

"[Prejean] gave a very, very honest answer when asked a very tough [question] at a recent pageant. It's the same answer that the President of the United States gave. It's the same answer that many people gave," Trump said. "If her beauty wasn't so great, nobody really would've cared."

Trump was the final decision maker. The Miss California organizers had already announced her replacement, and were combing the rules to find some bogus pretense to remove her title.

As Da Tech Guy says:  "It would have been the easiest thing in the world to have thrown Carrie Prejean under the bus.  Such a move would have guaranteed him good press, kudos from the cultural elites and cemented his position as a forward thinking man in the new age."

Instead, Trump over-ruled them all, defended her appropriately and with maturity, and let her keep her crown.

That is the kind of integrity I like in a President.

Lest They Died In Vain: Pamela Geller's Courageous Choice Defends Liberty For American Muslims, Christians and Jews

After Charlie Hebdo, Pamela Geller stood up as an example to show the world, and the extremists, that IF Americans of any background treat the tenets of any faith with respect, it is because we choose to - not because we are afraid of murderers and bullies who try to force others to comply with their demands.

While many safely tweeted "Je suis Charlie" and pretended to stand in solidarity with an edgy and trendy French magazine whose staff were murdered for publishing cartoons, few actually did anything to truly show how important the right to a free press is. Pamela Geller honored their sacrifice by coordinating a free speech event in Garland Texas.

Without Ms Geller's legal, non-violent free speech exercise, others would be more intimidated and less willing to stand firm against other extremist demands, while the brutal would be encouraged to expand - and the sacrifices of Charlie Hebdo's staff, Theo van Gogh, Daniel Pearl, Steven Sotloff,  Fabrizio Quattrocchi,  and the dozens of journalists murdered all over the world every year, would all be for naught.

We all know this.

We all know that without Ms Geller's courage, gentler groups will suffer indignities and circumscription at an increasing and discriminatory rate, while belligerent ones will be allowed to ride roughshod over us.

We know this. Even those who fear to admit it to themselves, know this.

The discussion about whether it is polite or ethical in America to disparage Christianity or Judism or Islam does need to happen, because that is how Americans do things, but not now. It needs to happen at a time when every example of radical free speech (from Mapplethorpe and Serrano to Charlie Hebdo and Geller) receives equal treatment in that discussion.

And only after coercion, intimidation, and threats of violence or "law-fare" have been eliminated as factors of influence.

A fundamental truth on which America was founded, and which we still believe, is that without religious freedom for everyone, which must of necessity include complete freedom of speech and freedom of the press, the very root of all liberty for all people is endangered.

If legal or social coercion and threat of violence are what keep people silent, then there is no free speech, and it builds a wall.

Those who wish to avoid such walls between people must be aware of the reality of danger faced by Christians and other liberty-practicing peoples in this 21st Century.

At a time when lawful protections for freedom of religion in America itself are being eroded at a rate unimaginable 20 years ago; when Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world (mistreated for their faith in 151 countries since 2006, at least 41 of which are Muslim nations, and in Muslim-dominated regions of others); when "80% of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians"; when antisemitism against Jews is rising at an alarming rate on US college campuses; when Jews are persecuted in 95 countries despite being only 1% of the world's population; when the brutality of religious persecution in the Middle East, Africa, Indonesia and Asia is erasing or enslaving whole populations of Christians and other minority religions and this violence is undertaken by extremists claiming - even if wrongly - the flag of Islam for their unholy mayhem...

...at such a time, it is no wonder that usually-accepting Americans, even if they are not Christian, have a very reality-based fear of similar instability being launched here.

At the same time, Muslims also faced persecution in 135 countries between 2006 and 2012. Persecution they should also be protected from - as they have been protected in majority-Christian America since our founding. In America, we make no distinction: we believe all people should have equal liberty to think, speak, pray, study, publish, associate, live, work, and abide by the same laws.

Muslim people of good will can find commonalities with Christians & Jews, if they wish to do so, and as so many have done for generations before these troubles started. In the United States at this time, Christians, Muslims and Jews share the serious and real threat of complete loss of freedom to actively practice our faith. We also share interest in moral and ethical matters such as public decency and modesty, marriage and divorce, home and family, children's education that respects parents' beliefs and decisions, honest business practices, ethical local government, stewardship and freedom from debt.

If Muslim people of good will wish to engage others of different faiths, they must remove fear and threat of violence from the picture. That includes letting go of the name-calling: mislabeling Pamela Geller a "bigot" or falsely claiming she is "racist" or pretending her honest factual statements are "hate speech" is just another form of violence against freedom of speech and the rule of law in a nation of free people.

As Governor Bobby Jindal said on Monday, a firm and truly unequivocal statement (not one that uses the word unequivocal but goes on to slander Ms. Geller) "is not too much to ask.":

"The truth of the matter is that even though President Obama will not admit it – Islam has a problem, and it is called radical Islam. And the proponents of radical Islam hate our First Amendment, they hate freedom of speech and they want to destroy it and us.

"We can never deal with this problem without admitting it exists. It’s time for our President to stand up and speak the truth to the American people and to the world.

"It is also time for Muslim leaders everywhere to step up and declare that perpetrators of such violence are the enemy, they are wrong, and they will NOT be rewarded in the afterlife. These Muslim leaders also need to directly state that they are tolerant of every person in the world who does not share their religious views, and they condemn anyone who commits violence in the name of Islam. This is not too much to ask." 

We know that most Muslim people do not practice radical Islam and do not support it. It is unfortunate but necessary that such Muslim people of good will must now also be brave and stand up against radical Islam alongside Pamela Geller and other people of good will and differing faiths and beliefs: united despite our differences in a passion to preserve equal liberty for all.

Pamela Geller's courageous work shows that Americans - of any faith or none - Christian, Jew, Muslim - are polite and civilized by choice, that our Constitutional freedoms are a valuable heritage we can share that protects us all from being forced to comply with anything - and that we will ALL always choose to extend that same freedom expressly to others of differing faiths and opinions.

To the credit of Ms Geller, the other organizers, the participants and attendees, the Muslim community of Garland and surrounding areas, and the City of Garland, the event was almost completely uneventful: a model of what the ordinary exercise of free speech at an art show should be. The two attackers had to drive a long way to attempt to repeat the Charlie Hebdo massacre, and they failed.

In their failure,  Pamela Geller succeeded, and there is now a new standard in the world. America, and Texas, overwrote the Charlie Hebdo atrocity with a defiant "LIBERTY FOR ALL", writ as large as ever.






.

UPDATED Best Article About Texas Ebola Outbreak as of 10/1/14: 5 Dallas Students Possibly Exposed to Ebola - kcentv.com - KCEN HD

As we had surmised, this gentleman is not an American, but is a Liberian national, who was in the US for 8 full days before the hospital decided to quarantine him:

"Mai Wureh says her brother, Thomas Eric Duncan, went to a Dallas emergency room on Friday and they sent him home with antibiotics. She says he said hospital officials asked for his Social Security number and he said that he didn't have one because he was visiting from Liberia."

As of end-of-day on Oct 1st, no one official has bothered to contact the manager or other tenants of the apartment complex where he has been staying, according to KCEN:

"The patient who was diagnosed with the Ebola virus was staying at a northeast Dallas apartment complex, according to a Dallas police spokesman.

Lt. Joel Lavender confirmed the patient was transported from the Ivy Apartments to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas on September 28.

Residents and the manager at the complex said no one from the CDC or health department have contacted them."

The Dallas Liberian community are very concerned, and say they do not trust the CDC, who have since only quarantined a single person out of all the people - including children who attended 5 different Dallas schools - that Mr Duncan has had contact with since his arrival in the States on Sept 20th:

"Stanley Gaye, president of the Liberian Community Association of Dallas-Fort Worth, said the 10,000-strong Liberian population in North Texas is skeptical of the CDC's assurances because Ebola has ravaged their country.
"We've been telling people to try to stay away from social gatherings," Gaye said at a community meeting Tuesday evening. Large get-togethers are a prominent part of Liberian culture."

By the way, KCENTV and WFAA are good local sources for information about this. The national news outlets are still heavily censoring information and details. Read the rest of the article here:

Miles: 5 Dallas Students Possibly Exposed to Ebola - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen


UPDATED:  It gets worse, in the sense of our Federal government failing to do due diligence to protect Americans:  Mr Duncan was deliberately trying to escape Liberia. His  landlord's brother died of Ebola a week before Duncan quit his job as a taxi driver in Liberia and came to the US to "visit relatives" on Sept 20. He became ill on Sept 24th. He went to the ER on Sept 26th. He was then at his family's apartment for two more days before being taken by ambulance back to the hospital on Sept 28th. From an NBC News article:

"Four days before he flew to Dallas to visit family members, cargo driver Thomas Eric Duncan helped his landlords take their 19-year-old daughter, Marthalene Williams, to a clinic that was so crowded with Ebola patients that it turned her away, The New York Times reported. The family, which had tried and failed to get an ambulance, took the convulsing woman back home, where she died hours later. "He was holding her by the legs," a neighbor told the newspaper.

"Williams' brother, who was also in the taxi, started getting symptoms a week ago and quickly died, the family told the Times. Three other women from the same area also got sick at the same time. By then, Duncan was already gone from Liberia.

"After quitting his job on Sept. 4, Duncan left Monrovia on a Sept. 19 flight and arrived in the U.S. the next day. He started showing symptoms Sept. 24 and went to a Dallas hospital for treatment Sept. 26. He was sent home, only to be brought back by ambulance on Sept. 28 and diagnosed with the deadly virus."

So far, none of the people exposed to Ebola by Mr Duncan have been quarantined. The 5 schoolchildren were sent home from school but are not under quarantine.  The hospital has "dedicated a whole ward" to Mr Duncan's quarantine, but has not bothered to quarantine any of the people he exposed:

 "Dr. Zachary Thompson, director of the county health department, told NBC News late Wednesday that he wouldn't be "shocked" if a second case of Ebola were to emerge among those being monitored. But "there has not been any indication that any of the contacts that we have been tracking show any signs or symptoms," he said.

"Officials said five students at two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school had had contact with the patient over the weekend. They are being "monitored" at home but are not quarantined."

I guess they are waiting for those people to become ill and expose even more people.  I wonder if they have bothered notifying people at the apartment complex yet?

Shame on Etsy for Colonialism: Shouting Down Genuine Minority Voices & Abusing Honest Businesses in Favor of Trendy Political Fads

The business platform Etsy has decided to go down the ugly road of identity politics, banning The Washington Redskins name and logo from stores on the site.  By doing so, they are, intentionally or not, joining an attempt to destroy the livelihood of the players and owners of this team, and of the businesses who have invested in merchandise using this name and logo.

Worse, they don't even realize they are behaving in the worst possible practice of Colonialism: dictating "we know what is best for you" to all of their store owners and all of the customers who come to Etsy - and to all members of American Indian Tribes who have not found fault with the team's name or logo. No legal means of attacks on this name or logo have been successful, and The Washington Redskins name and logo remain fully and completely compliant with all applicable American laws.

When it emerged, Redskins' owner and management "traveled to 26 tribal reservations and met with 400 tribal leaders..." They also "took a survey of tribes across 100 reservations..."  What they found is that the large majority of genuine Native Americans actually support the team and its name. Unlike the protesters, the Washington Redskins have actual statistics and genuine data to support their assertion.

In a quick search, I found more unique reports of members of American Indian tribes who don't have an issue with the name - or even appreciate it - than the (often repetitive) reports of those whose own personal names are becoming well known because of their decision to create and push controversy over the word.  Supporters like Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Chairwoman Mary L. Resvaloso who said  "There are Native Americans everywhere that 100% support the name," "I believe God has turned this around for something good." She told [Snyder] that "it was far more important for us to focus on the challenges of education in Native American communities."  

Supporters like these, quoted by Paul Woody in the Times-Dispatch:

“It doesn’t bother me,” said Robert Green, 66 and chief of the Patawomeck Tribe in Virginia. “About 98 percent of my tribe is Redskins fans, and it doesn’t offend them, either.”
Kevin Brown, 58 and chief of the Pamunkey Tribe of Virginia, said, “I’m a Redskins fan, and I don’t think there’s any intention for (the nickname) to be derogatory. The majority of the people in my tribe don’t have a problem with it. There are a few who do, and we respect their feelings.
“I like the uniforms. I like the symbol (logo).”
G. Anne Richardson, chief of Virginia’s Rappahannock Tribe, had to stifle a laugh when asked her feelings on the Redskins’ nickname.
“I don’t have an issue with it,” she said. “There are so many more issues that are important for the tribe than to waste time on what a team is called. We’re worried about real things, and I don’t consider that a real thing.
“We’re more worried about our kids being educated, our people housed, elder care and the survival of our culture. We’ve been in that survival mode for 400 years. We’re not worried about how some ball team is named.”

A few months later, a special report by MMQB found that no more than "a dozen members of Congress want the name changed, as do some civil rights groups and vocal members of the national media.", and the reporter herself, obviously sympathetic to those wanting the name change, had to admit after speaking with members of 18 tribes "By no means is there a consensus" among Native Americans themselves.  There are 532 members of Congress, and only 12 of them think this is an issue.  At least a dozen tribes she contacted didn't care enough about it to bother even responding to her inquiry.

The reality is that if this is a genuine issue, and not a made-for-PR art project, it is the prerogative of the tribes and people themselves to take their own actions and speak for themselves - with their own voices.
People like Stephen Dodson,  a "full-blooded American Inuit chief originally from the Aleutian Tribes of Alaska, and said he was tired of being spoken for as a Native American" and went on to say:

“People are speaking for Native Americans that aren’t Native American. Being a full-blooded Indian with my whole family behind me, we had a big problem with all the things that were coming out [of the discussion],” he said. “I think they were basically saying that we were offended, our people were offended, and they were misrepresenting the Native American nation.
“We don’t have a problem with [the name] at all; in fact we’re honored. We’re quite honored.”
As the eldest member of his blood line, Dodson represents more than 700 remaining tribe members and talked to Redskins Nation about the positive power of the Redskins’ name.
“It’s actually a term of endearment that we would refer to each other as,” he explained. “When we were on the reservation, we would call each other, ‘Hey, what’s up redskin?’ We would nickname it just ‘skins.’”
“‘Redskin’ isn’t something given to us by the white man or the blue eyes, it was something in the Native American community that was taken from us. [It’s] used also as a term of respect, because that’s how we were. We respected each other with that term.”

Every individual has preferences for how they prefer to be identified. I am from Oklahoma, and I can attest that every American Indian I have ever known called themselves an Indian.  The fact that many academics prefer "Native American" doesn't mean a thing without surveying the actual tribal members themselves. It is very likely that most people understand the word "native" to mean "a person born here", and agree with the late Russell Means who insisted "The one thing I've always maintained is that I'm an American Indian. I'm not politically correct. Everyone who's born in the Western Hemisphere is a Native American. We are all Native Americans."

Those elitists who are jumping on this manufactured bandwagon, who are not themselves American Indians, are guilty of the worst kind of patronizing colonialism, behaving as though the tribes or their members "need help" from these elitists, as though the members of these tribes can't speak for themselves as individuals and as a corporate body.  By usurping this natural God-given authority, elitists like those running Etsy are setting themselves as arbiters of right and wrong while pretending not to hear the genuine voices telling them to butt out and mind their own business.

Etsy used a long, convoluted blog post to announce the censorship, trying to justify their outrageous, unjust interference with the lawful, legitimate, and time-proven business of the Redskins Football Team and all of the Etsy sellers who sold Redskins licensed memorabilia, by pretending that they are able to speak for "the minority group itself", when in fact, they are not only following the latest elitist trend that ignores the genuine in favor of the romanticized fashion of the moment, but using it as justification for dictating unpredictable rules without warning to honest people who thought the company practiced legitimate governance:

Like the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, we at Etsy find the opinion of the minority group itself to carry most weight in determining whether the mascot is disparaging. In no uncertain terms, Native American groups have consistently advocated and litigated that the term “redskin(s)” is disparaging and damaging to Native Americans. Therefore, it will no longer be permitted in our marketplace.
We understand that fans wish to support their favorite football team, and we do not believe that fans who are attached to the mascot have any racist feeling or intent. We also understand that some fans view the name and mascot as an homage to Native Americans, and we do not doubt their noble intent, but the fact remains that Native Americans themselves find the term unacceptable.
Sellers are welcome to continue selling items that contain the team colors and location, but items containing the name or the logo will no longer be allowed. This change takes effect today. Our Marketplace Integrity Team is contacting members by email whose listings are affected by this updated policy. If you have questions about a specific item in your shop or that you might want to list on Etsy, please contact us using the Help Center.

Etsy does not provide an easy way to contact them, but as a blogger, you can use their Press email address:
press@etsy.com

Progressive Blacklists Get Uglier: Dinesh D'Sousa's "America" (#5 Best Seller on Amazon) Removed From Costco Shelves

At least McCarthy was loyal to the United States of America. The Progressive Blacklisting of anything decent and normal and American is getting too ugly to tolerate.
On Monday, Dinesh's book "American: Imagine The World Without Her", the companion text to his latest hit movie, was #51 on Amazon overall. Today it is #5, thanks to patriotic Americans' reacting to Costco's disgusting attempt to control what the public reads.

When you finish reading, please go to your favorite blog and use their affiliate links to buy your copy through Amazon. I am not an affliliate, but that is no reason not to share the wealth with the other conservative bloggers who keep us informed and thinking for ourselves.

Here is Dinesh's statement on the matter (click here to go to the Facebook post):

Dinesh D'Souza   July 08, 2014 at 5:28 PM
"Yesterday I was stunned to learn that Costco had pulled my latest book, America: Imagine The World Without Her, from all of its stores. This was despite the fact that the book had sold very well at the chain and that my movie of the same name was releasing on over 1,000 screens the very next day. Today, I am disappointed to learn that this news has been confirmed by Costco . This action confirms the suspicions of all freedom-loving Americans and is a direct attack on my livelihood which I take very seriously. In a free society, Costco is free to ban my book, but their customers are also free to shop at other stores which don't censor books. In the book and the movie, I talk about the shaming of Americans and a culture of intimidation and censorship that has been spearheaded by the President himself. It's one thing for Costco executives to pal around with President Obama and donate almost exclusively to Democrats. But to turn their company into a tool for suppressing dissent against the government is another matter. I urge all Americans to watch our film in their nearest theater and buy the book from an establishment that honors freedom of speech. Once they do that, they will understand why the President and his allies are so afraid of this message and determined to keep it from reaching the American people."

I do not EVER want to hear any liberal try to talk about some 50 year old events of any kind again.  Not ever. Not ANY. What matters is what is happening today. They are aggressively blacklisting Christians, people who support ACTUAL EXISTING LAW, people who support sexual constancy as a virtue, people who support honesty in all things,  people who don't give a damn what YOU do but are willing to say when asked that they support the only kind of marriage any society in the history of the world has ever recognized, people who support legitimate elections, people who oppose concentration camps and support defended borders, people who expect citizenship to mean something that it has ALWAYS meant.

In general any person who loves, lives and speaks out in favor of legitimate American Culture is embattled by hateful people who are not thinking at all, but taking marching orders like zombies.

The zombie apocalypse is here, and the brain eaters call themselves "Progressives".


UPDATE 7/9/14:  Newsmax reports that Costco has retreated following the loud outcry and promises to restock the books. The company's official reasoning shows how recursive Progressives are - everything runs in a closed circle with these people:  Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti  "said that the company's national goal is to market books that are on The New York Times' bestseller list, but that "America" has not been on the list. A company statement on the Costco Facebook page stated."

BUT of course (and Costco's people know this), The NYT has refused to place Dinesh's book on their list at all, despite strong debut sales:  the Washington Examiner reported previously that America has been "banished" from the famous list, despite far outselling one by Hillary Clinton:

"The New York Times bestseller list hasn't waited a millisecond to put Hillary Clinton's book atop its influential chart after just a week of sales, but has totally ignored another top-10 hardcover from noted conservative and critic of President Obama, Dinesh D'Souza.

"His new book, on sale for three weeks, isn’t just absent from the top 10 lists already set for the next two Sundays, but totally missing from the list of the nation’s top 25 nonfiction hardcovers despite having sales higher than 13 on the latest Times chart.

"According to sales reports provided to Secrets, D'Souza's new book America: Imagine a World Without Her, sold 4,915 in the first week and 5,592 in the second week. Had it been included on the upcoming June 22 Times hardcover nonfiction list, it would have ranked No. 8, and then No. 11 on the June 29 list that puts Clinton's sales at 85,721. The lists are widely circulated in the publishing industry before they go public.

"The Times is somewhat mysterious in how it calculates its list, but it includes several books selling well under 3,000 copies in a week. A spokeswoman said, “We let the rankings speak for themselves and are confident they are accurate.”

"America is expected to explode when the accompanying movie debuts next month. In America, D’Sousa slams Obama’s agenda and targets Clinton too — maybe one reason the Times hasn’t recognized it."

Click through to read the rest of the article by Examiner's "Washington Secrets" Columnist Paul Bedard.

Remember this every time some Progressive tries to convince you of anything. All of their arguments are self-referential and meaningless. As one would expect from zombies.

UPDATE 7/17/14:  The New York Times had to relent finally, too, or risk losing what shreds of authority the gray old thing has left, and allowed "America - Imagine A World Without Her" on the NYT Best Seller List. Result?  America will debut at #2. From Dinesh's site:

" Dinesh D’Souza’s publisher at Regnery recently sent this note about his latest book:
“I am happy to report that for the week of July 27, America will appear on the New York Times best seller list at second place for hardcover books as well as eBooks!”
This comes following the New York Times past omissions of the book from the best seller list, despite its rise to #1 on Amazon’s best seller list." 

Congratulations, Dinesh - and all red blooded Americans of all heritage. The zombies are still outside the gates, but chalk one up for reality this week!

APIII% Peaceful Rally Against Release of Terrorist Leaders - Anaheim on Saturday 6/14

The American Patriots III%  (or the AP3%) is holding a peaceful rally this Saturday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.  These guys have been awesome in supporting Ethan's protest (America's One Voice), and we appreciate their carrying it forward. In particular, Andrew Wark, who carried his sign last Saturday in front of Camp Pendleton, has organized this protest in Anaheim. We salute you Mr Wark!

If you are nearby, this is a good time to Stand Up. Keep cool but use your right to speak out. Support our Military, both active and veterans, and let other Americans know they are not alone in being outraged about the illegal release of five enemy generals, including two mass murderers, during wartime.

UPDATED: An American Son, An American Sign: Standing Up Against Negotiating With Terrorists

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little."                                                                                                                                 ~ Edmund Burke.

UPDATE 6/4/14  -  A group of Vets from the American Patriots III% (AP3%) and friends are planning to join Ethan in a protest at 5:00 pm Thursday, June 5th, outside the gate at the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot. See Facebook Group "America's One Voice" for more details.
~~~~~~~~
Original Post: When I first heard that Bowe Bergdahl had been released, I was really happy. I was very uneasy to learn that he had been traded for five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Prison. Then, my son Ethan filled me in on some of the facts, and I understood that this is not a time to rejoice.  (Pat at SIGIS has a roundup of info on the troubling details)

Ethan Arguello is a former Marine, a veteran who served in Iraq. I have written before about him, and his brothers in arms who were killed in support of liberty there.

Ethan sees this trade, this ransom, as a betrayal of our military, of the good men and women who gave their lives and their bodies for America, and of the Gold Star families we honor for the terrible sacrifices of loss they live with every day.

So for the past two days, and continuing for the rest of this week, Ethan is standing out on the road holding a sign, protesting against abandoning our 200 year old policy against ransom. His hand lettered sign reads "AMERICANS Do Not Negotiate With Terrorists".

Here is what he told me about it:
"Mother, to be honest with you, I'm angered by this just as much as I am and was with my fellow Marines deaths. I'm mourning for every Gold Star parent, the fact that we captured their child's killers then released them is disgusting.  Most of my hurt in my heart is for the parents (Gold Star) of the brave ones that step up to protect others."

Later on, he added this:  "I will continue to be an American in accordance with our Constitution and the ideals of our founding fathers.  Even though Americans are becoming non American, I will continue.  I believe in the enabling of every deserving person to succeed in every effort that they shall embark on.  If they are productive members of society, they will represent the the average hard working American that pulled their own weight and managed their own responsibilities as done before in history.  "

If you happen to be driving along Highway 278 in Bluffton, South Carolina, look for him there.

He said he is getting great support, lots of honks and people yelling their approval. Thank you to the nice lady who brought him a bottle of cold water! People are glad to know they are not the only ones angry about this  - and people who didn't know the hard truth (like me at first), are becoming angry when they find out what has really happened here.

And some pics taken from cars are starting to show up on Facebook and Instagram, with great comments, so he is getting a little "viral" coverage.

There isn't a lot one man can do in the face of something like this. But there is always something. And Ethan is Doing Something on his own, without waiting on anyone else. He is standing up for what he believes, not hanging about to see if anyone else is willing to stand with him.

And that is the kind of courage that makes America, America.

My sons are all three very fine men, and they continually amaze and impress me. Pride in my children is something they have earned by their own actions and lives. Every once in a while, they will each do something that takes my breath away. And that is how I feel right now.

I'm very proud of my American Son today.

"If You Break Faith With Us Who Die" : Memorial Day Thoughts on What It Means To Keep The Faith

"If you break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep..."

I learned the poem "In Flanders Fields" when I was in 7th grade, and can still, like most Americans, recite it by heart. Nearly a hundred years after it was written, it is a concise imperative to remember our war dead, and carry forward the battle for freedom.

What does it mean to keep faith? How do I keep faith with someone who sacrificed their very life - for me, for my own, for mine? I am a Christian, and have been since I was old enough to try to comprehend the universe. It is impossible for me to think about the sacrifices American soldiers have made without knowing it as a very real calling-forth of the One sacrifice that Jesus made when He died to make me free.

And I've come to understand that thinking about it in that way IS keeping the faith with American fighting men all the way down through history. Because without Christ, America would not exist. Because whether our fallen soldiers as individuals were Christians or not -  most were Christian, but others were Jewish, Hindu, Athiest, Buddist, Moslem, Pagan, Agnostic - no matter their faith, America never could have, never would have existed at all had Jesus Christ not risen from His grave for us.

It is because of this that America IS and always has been a Christian Nation. I include Israel in the list of "Christian nations" because Israel as a nation would not exist if it were not for the Christian nations that demanded its creation as a modern political entity to restore the ancient homeland to Jewish people everywhere. Christianity is the extension of God's relationship with us that began with Adam and continued through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, through the twelve tribes of Israel.

Only a Christian nation will allow complete freedom to hold and practice any faith. No nation that was not majority Christian in its basis has ever existed that affirmed true Freedom of Religion.

Only Christian nations allow you the freedom to Think For Yourself and follow your conscience.  Moslem nations demand that everyone born into a moslem family must remain moslem. You are not allowed to be an atheist in Afghanistan. All such nations discriminate against anyone who is not moslem.  Communist nations promote atheism and hereditary succession. Where they allow churches, it is by license under control of the State and they are not real churches but propaganda arms for the State.

No nation that was not majority Christian in its past has ever promoted Freedom of Speech to hold and share one's honest opinions about government leaders or religion or the police or anything else.  This freedom is under attack now, in great part due to the fact that it is incredibly rare in the world. Many Americans do not know that the United States of America is one of the last bastions of Free Speech anywhere. Europeans no longer have free speech: when they gave up Christianity, they started imposing laws prohibiting the people from saying particular words or discussing particular subjects. Our media is attempting to push us in the same direction, and we must stand against it.

No nation that was not majority Christian in its governance has ever legally and morally protected Freedom of the Press to report the truth without fear. Un-Christian nations jail, torture and execute reporters who dare to publish anything that looks bad for the leader, the party, the prophet, the god. This freedom is under attack now, but the fact that everyone outside the Obama Administration is outraged by abuses highlights how important all Americans still understand this to be.

No nation that was not majority Christian in its legal philosophy has ever existed that applied the Rule of Law to its highest, wealthiest, most powerful citizens along with provision of legal mercies for the least and the poorest. This primacy of existing law is also under attack right now, and needs robust defense: no one is above the law in America, and no one can be if our nation is to survive.

No nation that was not majority Christian has ever adopted equality at birth of ALL people as its first creed. Without Jesus Christ's mandate for personhood, all non-Christian countries who have attempted this have not succeeded, but eventually devolved into classist societies in which heredity privileges the few at the expense of the many.

No nation that was not majority Christian has ever abolished slavery in all its forms. Oh a few are making noises like they will do so now, but that is only because the still-Christian-majority Western nations are pushing them to do so in this age of World Bank Remittances. Some like to beat America over the head for the hateful practice of human slavery that existed before the civil war, but this was never a practice accepted without conflict and in the end, the devout and ancient interpretation of Bibilical and Christian scripture won out.

The slaver governments of the Barbary States declared war on the United States at our beginning, and America sent the Marines to the shores of Tripoli to put an end to the kidnapping and enslavement of Americans like Robert Adams on the seas. We keep trying to declare peace with such agents of evil but they keep declaring war on Christian Civilization again.

It was Christians who led the fight against slavery in Europe and in the United States. Today, it is still Christians and nations with a majority Christian heritage who lead the fight against slavery. Today, involuntary human bondage is still actively practiced in legalized and tolerated forms in almost every nation that does not have a Christian heritage. Saudi Arabia, Thailand, China, India, Pakistan, and nearly every moslem nation are all examples of modern nations that continue to tolerate active slavery. Open borders policies and refusal to demand adherence with our laws only aggravate this by opening up transportation avenues to the modern slavers and their vile partners.

No nation that was not majority Christian has ever managed to establish governmental systems that are not based on bribery and patronage, but that put everyone in the same line for the same services under the same rules.  This is a very simple way to keep corruption out of our government. Every so often, we have to clean house and imprison some governors and representatives and senators, but for the most part, the American system is free of outright individual graft.

We have only to look around at the remains of those places that have never been Christianized, or that were overrun by any government that is not Christian, to understand what the world would be had Jesus Christ not come and saved the world.

So, I try to keep the faith with our hallowed dead by trying to keep The Faith. To stay in touch with God, to follow Jesus, and to practice Christian Americanism. What is Christian Americanism?

To Keep Faith is to pray in public, not as a way of showing off or being "holier than thou", but as a way of humbly helping others know they are not alone, that "it is good, and right, and our bounden duty to give Him thanks and praise".

To Keep Faith is to think about the consequences of silence, and to be willing to speak up - and to use words that mean what they have always meant. To say that abortion is evil, and those who promote it are engaging in evil. To call the brutal dismemberment of babies in their mothers' wombs a holocaust. If you have had an abortion, or led others to do so, and you now understand the truth,  please come now to our loving Father God, ask for and accept forgiveness.

To Keep Faith is protect young men and women from the abortionists' seduction by cultivating the true knowledge that Babies are Good. To rejoice in every pregnancy and cheer for each mother-to-be, no matter her age or circumstances. To renew the holy & natural understanding that babies and happiness go together.

To Keep Faith is to pray for courage and words to preach the Gospel of Jesus where ever I am, at work or at play, in public or in private, to try to use my voice as a Christian to offer Jesus's own redemption to all, and thus give others the choice to want it. To tell those who were deceived, and who now repent that they ARE forgiven.

To Keep Faith is to learn to be quick to forgive, and not to ever try to "get back at" anyone for any reason. To never allow myself personally to get away with gossip or revenge. To treat with special loving care anyone I am tempted to hold a grudge against.

To Keep Faith is in working hard to be sincerely ethical in spirit as well as in "the letter of the law". To "be no respecter of persons" - not just to outwardly treat everyone the same, but to inwardly care just as much for everyone. To try to be good to people who are not members of my party or faith or family, just as I am to those who are. To try not give one better service because I am intimidated or impressed by them.  To try to go out of my way for the meek who will not ask. Not to suddenly be a stickler for rules as a way of getting back at someone who was annoying to deal with.

To Keep Faith is to refuse to hand out political favors, or political punishments. To not be impressed or led by celebrity or wealth. To pray for the courage to think for ourselves, without regard for popularity, and to stand up for what we believe.

To Keep Faith is to take responsibility through our own free will, not under compulsion from the mob or the government. To know that whatever it is, it is our job to do without needing permission or reward. To accept our own consequences.  That is ultimately the heart of America: the freedom to make our own decisions, and to try to do so in ways that enable others the moral health to make their own decisions, too.

To Keep Faith is to try to protect our own little part of America against any threat to the peculiar American liberty that respects EveryMan as his own governor, king of himself.

To Keep Faith is to Choose for ourselves - and not demand others like our choice. That is American freedom in a nutshell: not to accept the default false-choices of the latest political marketing campaign, but real choices. The choice to do better or not, to become better or not, to change my own life, to make my own living.

In America, just like in Christianity, that means we do not have to be defined by our past or our ancestors or our race or our income or anything else. That we can start over, that we can freely choose a new path toward our personal best.

That is Christian Americanism. And that is how we keep faith with those who died, that we - and those Americans who come after us - might live free.