Rick Perry, the govern of my home state of Texas, released a new book earlier this month entitled “On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scounts are Worth Fighting For”.

So far this is a pretty good book, and confirms my high opinion of Governor Perry. While he comes down on the wrong side (IMHO) on the “nature vs. nurture” discusion, he certainly pulls no punches in his defence of the Boy Scouts and his attach on the ACLU.

The Statesman.com has published a list of Excerpts from his book. Here are some of my favorite:

“Only they know, but isn’t it odd that the ACLU, which champions First Amendment rights, wants them applied selectively? It seems some of the most intolerant acts occur in the name of tolerance; a paradox that seems to describe much of the ACLU’s political agenda.”

“The ACLU’s focus is almost exclusively on efforts to curb Christianity.”

“The ACLU is nothing if not tenacious in its determination to have atheism (represented by approximately 5 percent of the population) prevail in the public square and to force the Boy Scouts to accept gay activists as scoutmasters and assistant scoutmasters.”

“It’s as if the mere mention of a Creator is too powerful an idea for their own Godless ideology to withstand. Perhaps that’s because there is a grain of truth to the idea that, indeed, all of Creation does speak to the existence of God.”

“The ACLU’s purpose—protecting individual liberties—is a prime example of a virtuous cause becoming subverted by an extreme interpretation.”

I am glad to see that more prominent political people come out strongly against the ACLU. I can think of no more vile, corrupt, and dangerous organization in America, with the possible exception of Planned Parenthood.

Well done Governor Perry.

Well, I guess even killing innocent Christians can get boring - so why not attack that evil Wikipedia?

Nearly 100,000 people worldwide have signed a Web-based petition asking Wikipedia to remove all depictions of the Prophet from its English-language entry.

“I request all brothers and sisters to sign this petitions so we can tell Wikipedia to respect the religion and remove the illustrations,” the creator of the petition at The Petition Site asks.

[…]

All four images on the English-language Wikipedia page are rather lovely Persian and Ottoman miniatures from the 14th through 16th centuries. The two later ones depict Muhammad’s face as covered by a white veil, but the earlier pair show his full face.

You can find the petition itself here. There you can find some very stellar artwork like the following high quality picture. Nothing like the pictures they are trying to remove from Wikipedia.

The goal was to get 10k signatures, and by the time I visited they had 134,846, so a bit more than expected. (…and no, i didn’t sign).

Here is the text from the Petition itself:

In Islam picture of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and other Humans are not allowed. But Wikipedia editors are showing illustrations with face illustrated and face is veiled or white washed. But still they are offensive to Muslims. I request all brothers and sisters to sign this petitions so we can tell Wikipedia to respect the religion and remove the illustrations.

Note that is is not a petition to “ask” Wikipedia to remove the illustrations, but to “tell” them. All of the pictures (see below) are from 13th - 15th century art - nothing insulting or degrading. Note the comment in the above text about (and other Humans). While it seems crazy to even suggest that Islam would go from here to banning even artistic or even actual representations of Humans, but I am convinced that there is nothing to extreme from these zealots.

It just boggles the mind. I hope Wikipedia doesn’t cave in to the pressure, and so far it looks like they are not. Wikipedia posted a lengthy FAQ talking about how uses can turn off the images, and why the images on Wikipedia do not actually fall under the ban.

Lastly, in a lame effort to get someone to make a petition against me - here are local copies of all the pictures mentioned on the petition. Should Wikipedia give in, I will keep them here.

This is a picture believed to be the earliest surviving depiction of Muhammad, dated approximately 1315. How did this author escape beheading?

This is a picture from c. 1595 showing Muhammad’s face being veiled - but even the veil is not enough to avoid this insult to Islam.

This image shows Muhammad preaching in Mecca and is believe to have been created in 1489.

Also Reporing:
Stop the ACLU
The Free For All

Another cartoon, another set or riots, and three more people dead. Is it really worth killing for?

From the AFA:

Three persons including a police officer were killed after Muslim students rioted over a caricature of Prophet Mohammed by their Christian colleagues, police and teachers said Friday.

Students of Government Secondary School Sumaila, some 76 kilometres (47 miles) south of the northern city of Kano, went on the rampage late Thursday, after a Christian student suspended for two weeks returned to the school.

He had been suspended for having drawn a caricature of the Prophet and posted it on a wall inside the school.

“Two people and a police inspector have been killed in the violence while the divisional police station and everything inside including ammunition have been burnt by the rioters”, Kano police chief Aminu Yesufu told reporters outside the burnt police station.

He said aAbout 20 others were badly wounded, including the divisional police officer, who suffered a deep machete cut to the head.

[…]

This is the second time in a week in the mainly Muslim northern Nigeria that an allegation of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed has sparked violent protests and an attack on the police.

On Thursday last week police shot dead one rioter during rioting irate Muslim youth in the city of Yana (Bauchi state) over alleged blasphemy by a Christian woman.

According to Bauchi police chief, Adnan Tolman Gaya, Yana police shot into the crowd to disperse a mob that calling for the lynching of the women who besieged and burnt the police station. The woman escaped unhurt.

After the death of the youth, the other rioters went on rampage and looted houses of policemen in town and burnt shops belonging to christians.

It is aways something with this bunch. A violent religion, filled with programmed killers. Islam has nothing to offer humanity but death and destruction, as they have proven time and time again. There is no provocation to small, no slight so insignificant that Islam can’t turn it into an excuse to spill some blood.

Malkin has it right, they are the Religion of Perpetual Outrage.

H/T to Jiad Watch

Also reporting:
Wake up America
Hot Air

Keith Olbermann is always rich in content for conservative bloggers. I tend to ignore him just due to the attention he already gets from others. However, this one is just to good to pass up.

Kudo’s to Obermann Watch for an excellent video.

Also Reporting:
Instapundit
Sister Toldjah
OTB
The Anchoress
Hot Air

This is an old Wizard of ID comic that just came to me through e-mail, and I thought I would share it.

Sums up my thoughts rather nicely.

This is the first post in what I hope to make a regular update the relentless attacks against our 2nd Amendment rights. As you may have picked up from reading here, I support the right for law abiding citizens to own and even carry a gun. With the same vigor I oppose those convicted of violent crimes, substance abuse (including alcohol abuse), or mental instability from being permitted to own and keep a gun. However, to many people are pushing for more and more restruction on the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.

1. The NRA has filed a “Friend of the Court Brief” in the upcoming Supreme Court case DC vs Heller. You can ready about the brief here. You can also see a full brief here, including which of the 55 senitors, and 250 Representatives signed the brief. If you are not aware of DC vs Heller you can ready about it here.

2. The America Jewish Committee also published a brief supporting DC in the DC v. Heller case. you can read about the brief here, though I cannot find a copy of the brief itself. My main reason for mentioned this is how incredable stupid this stance seems to me - or how short the memory can be. I would have expected the AJC and related groups to remember how dangerous centralizing power in the state truly is.

3. Our friend Edward Kennedy has joined with California congressmen Xavier Becerra to introduce new “Microstamping” legislation, and is co-sponsored by the normal democrat bunch (Feinstein, Menendez. Lautenberg, Durbin, Schumer, and Reed). Microstamping (also called ballisting engraving or imprinting) is a technology which engraves microscopic markings on the firing pin of a firearm. The markings are transfered onto the casing of every round that gun fires. The goal being to provide the police a way of quickly identifying which gun fired the round. You can read all about Microstamping here. I have several issues with this concept but rather than go into it here, please take alook at the NRA’s fact sheet on Microstamping. I can’t yet fnid a copy of the proposed legislation, but when I do I will update this post.

4. 46 Senators, led by Tennessee Senator Tim Burchett have sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior ask that National Park Gun Ban be lifted. It has been illegal for law abiding citizens to carry a firearm in a national park for some time. This has, surprisingly, not stopped the criminals from taking guns into the parks and preying on the unarmed citizens who are there. You can read more about the Senators letter here. You can also ready the specific text of the Code of Federal Regulations which prohibit firearms in a National Park here.

Today would have been Ronald Reagan’s 97th Birthday. In honor of his, here are some good quotes from the Gipper. Enjoy!

“Here’s my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.”

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; It’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”

“Of the four wars in my lifetime none came about because the U.S. was too strong.”

“I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”

“The taxpayer: That’s someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.”

“Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”

“The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.”

“I’ve laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me, even if it’s in the middle of a Cabinet meeting.”

“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”

“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”

“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.”

“No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.”

“If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

“Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.”

“How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”

“I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves.”