Here is a bit of Irony for you, courtesy of Reuters:

Iran, whose president has vowed to wipe Israel off the map, complained to the United Nations on Wednesday that the Jewish state was repeatedly threatening to bomb it.

The threats were “matters of extreme gravity” and the U.N. Security Council should condemn them and demand that Israel “cease and desist immediately from the threat of the use of force against members of the United Nations,” Iranian U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif said.

Yeah, that’s it. Iran is going to wipe them off the map, and would love for the UN Security Council to be nice enough to condemn Israel for even discussing doing something about it. Better yet, Iran has voiced its contempt of the UN in general and the Security Council in specific on several occasions.

Bolton called it right:

“I would say this is perhaps an example of the Iranians trying to learn ‘chutzpah,’” Bolton told reporters, using a Yiddish word for unmitigated gall or outrageously arrogant behavior.

I sure am going to miss good old Bolton.

This article, from Fox News, was quote and interesting read, if a bit on the odd side:

This will be the third year that Target has banned the bell-ringers from its stores. But Salvation Army spokeswoman Melissa Temme said other changes could make up much of the $9 million the charity used to raise each year in front of Target stores.

Besides the cash donation, Target will donate the profits from a $9.99 Salvation Army ornament that is hitting store shelves this week, Temme said. It will also put a link on its Web site to accept Salvation Army donations.

“We expect it to be successful. We don’t know what to expect as far as the ultimate monetary gain,” Temme said. “But we know that this will enable us to help more people simply because we’ll be bringing in more money.”

Target said it has “a long-standing relationship that includes providing financial resources for disaster relief, as well as supporting local chapters through grant and volunteer programs.”

I understand what Target is trying to do here,. In order to make up blocking the Salvation Army from collecting donations in front of their stores, Target is donating $1 Million, proceeds from ornament sales, and offering online shoppers a way to donate. Good, that goes a long way to make up for it.

The thing I don’t understand is why? Why block the Salvation Army in the first place, why take a major departure from practically every other national store chain, and why offend people who see the good value of the Salvation Army? It seems much easier, for everyone involved, to just let holiday tradition go on.

I respect Target’s choice, and see they are reaching here, but there has to be more to the story. I will admit, the blocking of the Salvation Army, the greatest charity of the past several decades, was the main reason Target got none of my family’s spending last Christmas. This Christmas I will shop at Target because of the steps they have taken – but they sure are taking the long complicated route.

Maybe their marketing department just can’t admit they screwed up.

A little humor with just enough fact thrown in to be worth reading… or is it fact with just enough humor thrown in to be worth reading? You decide. :)

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Iran or Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical changes in the earth’s climate and more affected by cigarette smoke (Gore) and soccer moms driving SUV’s.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial, but being homosexual is natural.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can’t teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that hunters don’t care about nature, but PETA activists do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make “The Passion of the Christ” for financial gain only.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Edison!

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried is because the right people haven’t been in charge.

17. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag queens and transvestites should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

18. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right-wing conspiracy.

I wrote earlier in the week about a UN Attempted Security Council Resolution against Israel for its “attacks” on Gaza.

Lets view that in light of the following from Fox News:

A Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza exploded near the home of Israel’s defense minister on Wednesday, killing one woman and raising the prospect of a new Israeli military offensive against militant rocket squads.

[…]

David Baker, an official in the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Israel’s battle against rocket squads clearly had not ended.

“The continued Palestinian rocket attacks on Sderot and surrounding communities inside Israel are clear evidence that Israel cannot let up in its defense of its citizens and must root out these rocket launchers as well as those who perpetrate these attacks,” Baker said.

Although the homemade projectiles are primitive and rarely cause casualties, they have killed eight other people since 2001, most recently in July 2005. The near-daily rocket fire has badly unnerved residents of places, like Sderot, that are frequent targets.

Peretz planned to convene a special meeting of senior security officials later in the day.

“Terror organizations will pay a heavy price,” he warned in a statement.

So, why is the Israel desire to stop attacks on its people from Hezbolah armed, Syria funded Hamas Terrorists who insist in targeting civilians? The UN should focus its efforts, as fruitless as they are, on the aggressors not the defenders.

Cross Posted from Revealing the ACLU: The Weldon Amendment, also knows as the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act is a 2004 law which stops federal, state and local governments and agencies from discriminating against heath care providers who choose not to offer abortion services, including coverage or referral services. The Weldon Amendment was a response to local laws which where requiring health care organizations to provide abortion services despite ethical, moral, or religions beliefs.

Naturally the ACLU, NFPRHA and Planed Parenthood jumped all over the Amendment, and took it to court.

I am glad to report, they lost.

From the Alliance Defense Fund:

A federal appeals court today upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a pro-abortion group challenging the “Weldon Amendment.” The Weldon Amendment is a federal statute that prohibits the federal government or state and local governments receiving certain federal aid from discriminating against medical professionals who refuse to perform or refer for abortions.

“Doctors and nurses should not be forced to participate in abortions against their religious beliefs or conscience. Under the banner of ‘choice,’ the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association asserted a supposed right to do this, but the court didn’t buy it,” said Casey Mattox, litigation counsel for CLS’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom. “This decision turns back the effort to enshrine abortion as a right above even the First Amendment.”

NFPRHA challenged the Weldon Amendment just days after it was first signed into law in December 2005. After a federal district court upheld the law, NFPRHA appealed, arguing that the Weldon Amendment was too vague to enforce and that their member organizations had a constitutional right to force medical professionals to provide abortion referrals.

You can find the complete court decision here.

Once again we see how freedom is, in the opinion of organizations like the ACLU, Planed Parenthood, and NFPRHA, a one way street.

I am sure this challenge will go further. As I hear more, I will be sure to update you here.