LEARNING TO READ

I really wish I could remember learning to read. For an unknown, to me at least, period of time I had "read" Green Eggs and Ham to my Dad every night. I had memorized the book from his prior reading to me and could recite every line on each page so I must of had some idea of the relationship between the words on the pages and the words coming out of my mouth. Although I think I associated the words I remembered with the pictures on the pages.

I have lots of memories from the first grade but do not recall the exact moment when I learned how to read. Kindergarten was optional at the time and no one had ever heard of pre-school. The first grade was my first experience with formal education. I clearly remember standing with the class and reciting the alphabet. There was also a version we did that went "A, apple, B, Ball etc. In that version X was a bit sticky as none of us had ever seen or heard of a xylophone. I later remember sitting in a circle on the floor of the classroom reading aloud when my turn came. I don't recall the reading matter but think I was in the "best readers" circle. Imagine the hue and cry if in today's first grade classroom the teacher tried to designate a small group as "the best" anything and allowed them to read from more advanced texts.

Still, I am sorry I cannot recall that moment of enlightenment when I realized that the letters made words and the words contained meanings. It must have been like discovering an amazing decoder ring that could unlock the mysteries of the universe. Or maybe it was just a quick "Ahhh" moment.

DO WOMEN HAVE FEET?

It is amazing how much time and money women spend on their feet. Shoes are a passion with most women and the prices for designer footwear are off the charts. A pedicure, once a luxury, is now a monthly necessity for almost all women. Why do we put so much effort into the most overlooked feature of our bodies? Sure your girlfriends notice your shoes but men don't. Most men are barely aware that women have feet. By the way, if you meet a man who takes notice of your shoes, kick those shoes off and run for your life!

CARTER SUPPORTS HAMAS

Former President Carters latest outrage clarifies his inclination to support thugs and terrorists.

Carter says the U.S. should stop favoring Fatah over Hamas. In a speech to a group of Irish "human rights activists" Carter said that "the Bush administration's refusal to accept Hamas' election was criminal". Funny, Carter thought his own refusal to accept the 1979 election results in Zimbabwe during his presidency was just peachy keen. Thanks to Carter and others on the Left who ignored the elected leader Abel Muzorewa and continued to support Robert Mugabe he was able to steal the 1980 election and seize power. How has Mugabe worked out for Zimbabwe? Well in the past 27 years thousands have been tortured and murdered, there has been genocide and mass starvation the world's highest level of inflation and lowest life expect ency. Carter leter claimed he had done the right thing but that Mugabe had become corrupted by power.

Since the last Palestinian election there has been a Fatah-Hamas power-sharing government. Last week Hamas fighters seized control of the Gaza Strip by force, driving Fatah out of the area. President Abbas then dissolved the government and set up a Fatah-led administration to govern the west bank. The Bush administration and the European Union (how often do these two entities agree?) decided to provide aid that has been withheld since the election to the interim Fatah government.

Despite the fact that there was a full out civil war going on in the region Cater claimed the decision to give aid to the new Fatah government only was an "effort to divide Palestinians into two peoples". Carter cares not a whit that the Hamas leadership refuses to renounce violence and continues to call for the destruction of Israel.

On Monday of this week as hundreds of terrified civilians tried to flee the Gaza Strip for sanctuary in Israel, disguised Hamas gunmen blended in with the crowd and then threw hand grenades at Israeli soldiers. They killed one Palestinian and injured 15 others at Erez. That is the tactics of the group Carter wants us to treat like an ally.

Are We Ready NOW To Admit Israel Is NOT The Problem?

For the past week the so called "Palestinians" have been busy killing each other in the Gaza Strip. This is the stretch of land formerly occupied by Israeli forces that was handed over as a step in the "road map to peace". Well, thanks to Ha mas and Fatah we have veered sharply off the "road map to peace". Sympathy for the innocent aside I have no problem with these two groups of people killing each other especially if it precludes them from blowing up children and their grandmothers having pizza in Israel.

Hamas got a foot in the door in the recent election and are moving to take full control by force. If you have doubts about the need for us to finish the job in Iraq just look at Hamas in the Gaza Strip to see what Iraq will turn into if we leave prematurely.

Democrats Work Toward American Defeat

Please compare the following statements made by Democrat Harry Reid.............

WP reports that Senator Harry Reid provoked by an article in USA Today took some cheap shots at General David Petraeus. Petraeus, was unanimously approved by the Senate to take command in Iraq four months ago. Still after approving Gen. Petraeus Reid now claims that the General "isn't in touch with what's going on in Baghdad." Reid also indicated that he thinks Petraeus has not been sufficiently open in his testimony to Congress. Noting that Petraeus, who is now on his third tour of duty in Iraq, oversaw the training of Iraqi troops during his second stint there, Reid said: "He told us it was going great; as we've looked back, it didn't go so well.

The quote in USA Today was that the general sees "astonishing signs of normalcy" in the Iraqi capital. "I'm talking about professional soccer leagues with real grass field stadiums, several amusement parks -- big ones, markets that are very vibrant," Petraeus told the newspaper.
Reid went on to say "I was a little disappointed, to say the least, today reading the USA Today newspaper, where he's saying things are going fine." Seeing signs of normalcy is hardly saying "things are going fine." I sincerely doubt that you could find any instance of General Petraeus saying "things are going fine," in a war zone.

Reid had a conversation Tuesday with liberal bloggers, according to The Politico, in which he disparaged both Petraeus and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff whom the administration recently did not nominate for a second two-year term. Reid called Pace "incompetent," and then questioned the integrity of Petraeus by saying he is "waiting to see if General Petraeus can be a little more candid with this."

Compare to statements made by Harry Reid at the time of his last visit to Iraq, March of 2005. "I came away with the feeling that we cannot leave Iraq." He was one of seven Senate Democrats and Republicans that took a week-long trip to the Middle East and several countries near the region. He said, "I came away with the feeling we cannot leave Iraq. If we do, the terrorists will have won." Reid must have forgotten all about that as he actually said "Now I believe myself............that this war is lost" on April 19, 2007.

Harry Reid is a corrupt Democrat. It is well known that you cannot do business in the state of Nevada unless you grease the palms of one or more of the members of the Harry Reid family. However, for the majority leader in the Senate to undermine our war efforts in this way is much more egregious than his ethically questionable and highly profitable land dealings.

Who is more likely to be "out of touch" with the way things are going in Baghdad, the general running our operations there or a fat cat senator sitting in Washington D.C. trying to think up more ways to thwart the President and enrich himself? There is only one accurate description of Harry Reid's behavior and the word is treasonous.

"Bush Lied" Not!

Multiple Democrats have repeatedly tried to assert that President Bush "Lied us into the war in Iraq". Nothing could be further from the truth, but the truth is a small obstical to the left and their obedient minions in the media. Long ago it was alleged that Vice President Cheney pressured analysts in our intelligence organizations to find that Saddam hissain had WMD's. That fallicy was disproved by the 9.11 Report. So the left just waited a week or two and began again to make their "Bush Lied, Kids Died" claims.

Now that allegation is disproved by none other than Al Gore. A video taped speech from 1992 has surfaced. In it Al Gore, then running for Vice President, criticises the first President Bush for not confronting Saddam Hussein. Gore makes all the same arguments for attacking Iraq that were made by President Clinton when he made removal of Saddam Hussein the policy of the United states of America. Clinton never followed through on that policy with the exception of a few high altitude bombings.

If one had the time and the inclination you could put together an impressive collection of leading Democrats calling for action against Iraq and explaining how very dangerous Hussein is to us and the world. It is convenient for those Democrats to pretend that they never made those statements and that no one ever considered action against Iraq until Bush 43 came along. The Media willingly complies by reporting the Democrats current criticism and never mentioning the conflicting statements these same people made just a few years ago.

Unfortunately for the Media and the Left, some of us do have more than short time memories and there is always YouTube to fill in the blanks for those who have forgotten.