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Scott Spraggins, a Connecticut state trooper and former U.S. Marine, recently returned from a Christmas vist to the African nation of Ghana, tells of a harrowing encounter with armed intruders invading their quarters in Accra. Here is the headline and lead from today's Hartford Courant:

Menacing Eyes, Shotgun In The Dark

Connecticut Trooper Prevails In Ferocious Fight To Defend Family In Ghana
December 31, 2006
By TRACY GORDON FOX, Courant Staff Writer

"Trooper Scott Spraggins opened his eyes to the African darkness, awakened by a strange scraping noise. It was different from the crickets and the whir of central air conditioning in the gated, elegant home where he and his family had been staying during their trip this month to Ghana"......( Spraggins lunged at a man with a shotgun and a viscious fight broke out eventually involving the troopers wife and mother, all were injured but the 3 intruders were routed)......"Scott and Angelica Spraggins, 39, and his mother, Lyla Mills, 63, now back home in Newtown, recalled how they fought with the three armed intruders. Scott Spraggins slashed one of the bandits in the abdomen and blinded another in one eye."


Trooper Spraggins and Family (Hartford Courant photo)
To top off an amazing year there's this....honestly folks you couldn't make this stuff up....
(Martina).....Navratilova defended the “right” of sheep to be gay. She said: “How can it be that in the year 2006 a major university would host such homophobic and cruel experiments?” She said gay men and lesbians would be “deeply offended” by the social implications of the tests.

The experiments in question are being conduceted Oregon State University (excerpt below)
Experiments that claim to ‘cure’ homosexual rams spark anger
SCIENTISTS are conducting experiments to change the sexuality of “gay” sheep in a programme that critics fear could pave the way for breeding out homosexuality in humans.

The technique being developed by American researchers adjusts the hormonal balance in the brains of homosexual rams so that they are more inclined to mate with ewes.

It raises the prospect that pregnant women could one day be offered a treatment to reduce or eliminate the chance that their offspring will be homosexual. Experts say that, in theory, the “straightening” procedure on humans could be as simple as a hormone supplement for mothers-to-be, worn on the skin like an anti-smoking nicotine patch.

From Timesonline (UK) via Drudge
Now these experiments could be described as "ewegenics".Here's more about this sort of word play; Ewephemisms.

Time to Swing!

In his Friday sermon, a mosque preacher in the Shiite holy city of Najaf called Saddam's execution "God's gift to Iraqis." "Oh, God, you know what Saddam has done! He killed millions of Iraqis in prisons, in wars with neighboring countries and he is responsible for mass graves,Oh God, we ask you to take revenge on Saddam."



Worthy of note is this statement, issued yesterday, from Ed Koch........

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

George Bush is a Hero

Edward I. Koch
Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006

President George W. Bush, vilified by many, supported by some, is a hero to me.

Why do I say that? It's not because I agree with the president's domestic agenda. It's not because I think he's done a perfect job in the White House.

George Bush is a hero to me because he has courage.

The president does what he believes to be in the best interest of the United States. He sticks with his beliefs, no matter how intense the criticism and invective that are directed against him every day.

The enormous defeat President Bush suffered with the loss of both Houses of Congress has not caused him to retreat from his position that the U.S. alone now stands between a radical Islamic takeover of many of the world's governments in the next 30 or more years. If that takeover occurs, we will suffer an enslavement that will threaten our personal freedoms and take much of the world back into the Dark Ages.

Our major ally in this war against the forces of darkness, Great Britain, is still being led by an outstanding prime minister, Tony Blair. However, Blair will soon be set out to pasture, which means Great Britain will leave our side and join France, Germany, Spain, and other countries that foolishly believe they can tame the wolf at the door and convert it into a domestic pet that will live in peace with them.

These dreamers naively believe that if we feed the wolves what they demand, they will go away. But that won't happen.

Appeasement never works. The wolves always come back for more and more, and when we have nothing left to give, they come for us.

Radical Islamists are very much aware that we have shown fear. For example, we have allowed the people of Darfur — dark skinned Africans — to be terrorized, killed, raped, and taken as slaves by the supporters of the Sudanese government, radical Islamists.

The countries surrounding Iraq — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan — made up of Sunni Arabs, know that for them, the wolves who are the radical Shia are already at their door. The New York Times reported on Dec. 13, 2006, "Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq's Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats . . .

"The Saudis have argued strenuously against an American pullout from Iraq, citing fears that Iraq's minority Sunni Arab population would be massacred . . . The Bush administration is also working on a way to form a coalition of Sunni Arab nations and a moderate Shiite government in Iraq, along with the United States and Europe, to stand against ‘Iran, Syria and the terrorists."

This Saudi response will take place notwithstanding that until now, according to the Times, "The Saudis have been wary of supporting Sunnis in Iraq because their insurgency there has been led by extremists of al-Qaida, who are opposed to the kingdom's monarchy. But if Iraq's sectarian war worsened, the Saudis would line up with Sunni tribal leaders."

The Times article went on to state the opinion of an Arab expert, Nawaf Obaid, who was recently fired by the Saudi foreign minister after Obaid wrote an op ed in The Washington Post asserting that the Saudis were prepared in the event of an American pullout to engage in a "massive intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis."

Obaid went on "suggest[ing] that Saudi Arabia could cut world oil prices in half…a move that would be devastating to Iran."

The Times reported, "Arab diplomats . . . said that Mr. Obaid's column reflected the view of the Saudi government." When writing about affairs of state in distant places, unless you are on the scene talking to knowledgeable participants, the most reliable sources to support conjecture with "facts" are the superb reporters of the great international newspapers like The New York Times.

Surely this turn of events in Saudi Arabia undoubtedly replicated in other Sunni-dominated countries — Sunnis are 80 percent of the world's Muslim population. This will give support to my proposal, advanced nearly a year ago, that we tell our allies, regional and NATO, that we are getting out of Iraq unless they come in.

That may well work, and they will come in, in large part and share the casualties of combat and the financial costs of war.

Doing what I suggest is far better than simply pulling out, which is the direction in which we are headed, notwithstanding the president's opposition. I think at the moment simply getting out and not making an attempt to bring our allies in is supported by a majority of Americans and would be supported by a majority of Democrats in the Congress.

For me, staying is clearly preferable, provided we are not alone and are joined by our regional and NATO allies, aggressively taking on the difficult but necessary task of destroying radical Islam and its terrorist agenda if we don't want to see radical Islam destroy the Western world and moderate Arab states over the next generation, or as long as it takes for them to succeed.

Two other requirements are needed to bring the war in Iraq to a successful conclusion: First, require the Iraqi government to allow greater autonomy for the three regions — Kurd, Sunni, and Shia. The second requirement is that the national Iraqi government enact legislation that will divide all oil and natural gas revenues in a way similar to that of our own state of Alaska.

The Alaskan state government takes from those revenues all it will need to finance government and provide services and the balance is divided among the population of Alaska, in a profit sharing program. That would settle the major Sunni problem which has been being cut out of oil revenues because the country's oil is located only in Kurdish and Shiite areas.

If the Iraqi government refuses our demands, our reply should be "Goodbye. You're on your own." This proposal was suggested to me by Mike Sheppard in Chapel Hill, N.C.

It won't be easy to implement this proposal. But President Bush has courage.

Now is the time to use it.

Edward I. Koch, author, lawyer, and talk-radio host, was a member of the U.S. Congress and, for 12 years, the 105th mayor of New York City.

.......And a Merry Christmas to All!

For information about the above image by Dean Morrissey and for links to everything Santa click here.

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The Great Christmas Night Raid: 1776

“My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do, and more than could be reasonably expected, but your country is at stake … The present is emphatically the crisis which is to decide our destiny.”
Gen. George Washington in an appeal to his troops following the surprise attack on the Hessians at Trenton, December 1776

A must read is this article by W. Thomas Smith Jr. about the "special operation" that changed the course of history and turned the war in favor of the continentals 230 years ago. Excerpts:

Continental Army General George Washington’s celebrated “Crossing of the Delaware” has been dubbed in some military circles, “America’s first special operation.” Though there were certainly many small-unit actions, raids, and Ranger operations during the Colonial Wars – and there was a special Marine landing in Nassau in the early months of the American Revolution – no special mission by America’s first army has been more heralded than that which took place on Christmas night exactly 230 years ago........The factors in Washington’s favor were clear: The weather was so bad that no one believed the Continentals would attempt a river crossing followed by a forced march, much less at night. The Continentals were numerically – and perceived to be qualitatively – inferior to the British Army. The Hessians, mercenaries allied to the British and who were garrisoned in Trenton, had a battlefield reputation that far exceeded their actual combat prowess. And no one believed the weary Americans would want to attempt anything with anyone on Christmas.

Here is an illustrated account of the Battle of Trenton from the BritishBattles.com website.



Listen to an excerpt from the stirring conclusion to David McCullough's "1776" read by the author. Here he tells of the perilous crossing of the Delaware and the victory over the Hessians at Trenton. (MP3 File - 36:42)

Flying While Muslim!

The 6 imams removed from U.S. Airways flight 300 on November 20 are shown to be engaged in an elaborate, premeditated scheme to extort money from the airline in the guise of being victims of "Flying While Muslim" profiling. Debra Burlingame, whose brother Chip was captain of the hijacked airliner whcih struck the Pentagon on 9/11/01, was a guest on Fox and Friends this AM. She is a member of "9ll Families for America" on whose website you will find new information about the imams' actions to provoke and terrorize. Follow the links below for further details.

Expressions of support are needed to U.S. Airways for their correct actions in defusing this provocation in a professional manner which received high praise from the affected passengers on the flight. Protests should made to U.S. Department of Transportation against caving into CAIR's demands for sanctions against the airline.

www.911familiesforamerica.org
Fox and Friends (video on Pajams Media)
Mark Levin Show 12/12/06 Download Audio WMA
Debra Burlingame/Mark Levin 12/12/06 (download audio WMA)

Dr. Seuss on Appeasement - His WW II Cartoons

A Catalog of World War II Cartoons by Dr. Seuss


Before his series of successful children's books as Dr. Seuss brought him prominence, Theodor Seuss Geisel had been a lifelong cartoonist. During the World War II years, 1941-43, he drew editorial cartoons for "PM," a New York City newspaper. In fact, he published more than 400 panels based on the current events of the day. He was particularly concerned about pacifist and appeasment views among the U.S. populace and drew many cartoons with that theme in mind. Above is an example and another below.

How the Left Stole Christmas

A Parody of Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas,"
New words by Kris Avalon


Every Who
Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas a lot...

But the Folks
Who lived just Left of Who-ville,
Did NOT!

The Left hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that their heads weren't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that their shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that their brains were two sizes too small.

But,
Whatever the reason,
Their brains or his shoes,
They stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos,
Staring down from their caves with a sour, grouchy frown
At the warm lighted windows below in their town.

"All those holiday trees!" they snarled with a sneer.
"Tomorrow is x-mas! It's practically here!"
Then George Soros growled, his fingers nervously drumming,
"I MUST find a way to keep Christmas from coming!"
For, tomorrow, he knew...

...All the Who girls and boys
Would wake up bright and early. They'd rush for their toys!
And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!

Then the Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast.
And they'd feast! And they'd feast!
And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
They would start singing carols with Jesus's name
Imagine the scandal! Imagine the shame!

And THEN
They'd do something he liked least of all!
Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with grace and finesse.
And say merry Christmas, in public no less!

And they'd sing! And they'd sing!
AND they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!
And the more the Left thought of the Who-Christmas-Sing
The more the Left thought, "We must stop this whole thing!
It's unconstitutional! We must stop it now!
We MUST stop Christmas from coming!
...But HOW?"

Then they got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE LEFT
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

"I know just what to do!" Michael Newdow declared
With a cold twisted smile and cold twisted glare.
And he chuckled, and clucked, from his head to his heels
"I'll go to the ninth circuit court of appeals!"

"All I need are supporters..."
The man looked around.
But in Who-ville support was quite scarce to be found.
Did that stop Mr. Newdow...?
No! The man simply said,
"If they don't see it my way, I'll make them instead!"
So he called up his friends at the ACLU
To pursue every caroling, Christmasing Who.

THEN
They sued all the cities
Each park and each town
Wherever a Jesus or Mary was found

With funds from George Soros
They hired the best
Until even the Who's
Became filled with unrest.

Caving in to the pressure, they fell to their knees
And their shops started marketing holiday trees
In Who-ville the grandeur had turned to unease
The Salvation Army was asked to leave too
In case it offended some sensitive Who

And all the Who plays in all the Who schools
Sang carols acceptable with the new rules.
Like 'Merry Little Winter,' 'White Holiday' too.
But which holiday, no Who really knew


Then the leftists applauded, they thought they had won
Till one grouchy Who came and spoiled their fun
With a stick up his butt and a frown on his face
O'Reilly stepped forward, 'Oh, what a disgrace!'
"They're secular pinheads, yes, that's what they are!"
"Their little agenda has gone way too far!"

Then he put on a coat, and a hat and a beard
And hitched up a sleigh while the Leftists all jeered
He rode into town, shouting "Christmas for all!"
"You fascists can suck on my Christmas tree ball!"

And the Left became angry, so very irate
But some others in Who-ville said, "Wait, now just wait"
"Perhaps this O'Reilly has something to say"
"Perhaps we've let Christmas just whither away"

And some but not all of the shopkeepers then
Began shouting out "Merry Christmas" again
And children sang carols aloud in the snow
While Christmas trees stood in the midst all aglow

And as for George Soros
Well...in Who-ville they say
The vein in his forehead
Grew three sizes that day!

The Grinch Rogues Gallery

.......And a Merry Christmas to All!