Photo (and Caption) of the Year

Sink Hole de Mayo.

Because it happened in Guatemala. That's bilingual humor. Thank you, I'll be here all week.

In all seriousness, my thoughts and prayers are with the Guatemalan people and my sister and her husband as they head down to provide aid with their church.

America's Choice: Stand with Israel or Allow Anarchy, War, and Genocide

Let's suppose you and your neighbor both own dogs. Your dog is well-mannered, obedient, and greets people with a wagging tail. You regularly take walks in the neighborhood without a leash and there's never been an incident. The neighbor's dog, on the other hand, has a history of aggressive behavior. Their dog has been trained to kill and on several occasions has had to be restrained from attacking.

One day you arrive home to find your backyard gate mysteriously open. Upon exploring, you find both your dog and your neighbor's dog lying next to each other badly wounded. The neighbor immediately claims that your dog attacked his dog and demands you put your dog to sleep. He tells all the neighbors this story before you have a chance to respond. What are the chances he is telling the truth? Will you put your dog to sleep to appease your neighbor? Will that solve the problem or make it worse if you get another dog? What if the rest of the neighborhood isolates and puts pressure on you?

For Israel, these questions are a reality as it tries to deal with its Muslim neighbors and their trained attack dogs - Hamas and Hezbollah. These terrorist organizations seek the destruction of Israel. They have launched over 7000 rockets across the border and sent suicide bombers to target Israeli civilians. They celebrate death and martyrdom and are funded by a Muslim authoritarian state in Iran whose leader has expressed his desire to annihilate the Jews. And what exactly is Israel's crime? Trying to protect their citizens from this violent madness.

The Muslim world would have us believe that the family pug is a vicious killer and their pit bulls are harmless rescue dogs. So when Israeli troops armed with paintball guns are forced to board ships in a flotilla whose sole purpose is to break a naval blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip - a group Israel is at war with despite repeatedly offering them land in hopes of peace - we are supposed to believe the ridiculous narrative that Israel is the attack dog.

In one corner we have a democracy where freedom flourishes. In the other, a fanatical group with terrorist ties who wishes for freedom to be diminished. So who do you suppose the U.N. will condemn? Israel of course. What else would you expect from a governing body that appointed Libya to its Human Rights Commission and Iran to the Commission on Women's Rights? Meanwhile, it took weeks to come out with a lackluster statement against North Korea for the unprovoked sinking of a South Korean vessel in what was arguably an act of war. 

Welcome to the Left's version of the new world order where up becomes down, law becomes anarchy, and the U.N. is a completely worthless body that actually legitimizes illegitimate behavior and incentivizes the act of provoking freedom-loving democracies. The word "humanitarian" has never been so defamed.

Call me old-fashioned and oh, what's the word... ethical, but I'm going to side with the people who have a long tradition of respecting the dignity of human life and go out of their way to avoid unnecessary casualties. That happens to be Israel. Should one choose to side with the Muslim "humanitarians", who sang songs about martyrdom on the boat hours before the raid and have a history of attacking civilians and arming Hamas, can there be any hope for humanity?

If we are to listen to the useful idiots in Europe who have already sabotaged their own culture with moral relativism to a lesser degree, the answer is no. Continents of cowards will be cowards. And so once again it's up to the United States to cast light on the truth and stand up for Israel's sovereignty. If they fall, we fall and if we fail, evil prevails. It's as simple as that.

It would be wise to remember that groups who resort to using human shields have no interest in protecting human rights. What happened over the weekend was one more attempt by radical Islamists to use innocent civilians as a front for the cause of isolating and overthrowing the Jewish state of Israel. Don't be fooled by the attempts of the Arab street, the Left, and the media to spin this any other way.

Because They Sacrificed, We Remain Free

For most of us, Memorial Day weekend represents a chance to get away from the office, to see the latest blockbuster or plan a relaxing trip to the lake. But for the families who have lost loved ones in military combat, Memorial Day can often be a day of painful sorrow and deep reflection, a reminder of the greatest sacrifice a person can make for their country. These men and women represent the best of America, heroes who gave their lives fighting for our freedom and defending the liberties we all hold so dear. They are our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and relatives, and we are indebted to them forever. May our thoughts and prayers be with their families this Memorial Day.

President Spent All of Three Hours Touring Louisiana Disaster, Left Early to Shoot Hoops

Frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't listed on his itinerary as a pretty good photo-op. Here's a look at the president's travel schedule released by the White House:

Heck, I spent more time in Austin traffic on Friday than the president spent touring the oil spill and trying to find solutions for cleaning-up the coast of Louisiana. But he wants you to know it's all he thinks about when he goes to bed and the first thing he focuses on when he wakes up. Since day one. Right. This is turning into something worse than Katrina.

Powerline has the full details, including a report he spent the morning playing basketball upon arriving home. This comes the same week Obama skipped a memorial service for the 11 men who were killed in the oil rig explosion to instead attend a fundraiser for "Don't call me ma'am" Barbara Boxer. I don't know about you, but I'm running out of words to describe this man's narcissism.

Andy McCarthy: The Left is More Comfortable with Anti-American Radicals than American Conservatives

Former US Prosecutor under the Clinton administration, Andrew McCarthy, nails exactly how I feel about the New Left. Their faith in transnational socialism has less in common with America's founding values than it has in common with Anti-American jihadists. Of course, jihad is a banned word under this administration. They don't want to offend anyone... unless you're a southern white, Christian, or teabagger.

McCarthy writes in his new book, "The Grand Jihad", out today:

"For the first time in our history, we have a president who would be much more comfortable sitting in a room with Bill Ayers than sitting in a room with me. We have a governing class that is too often comfortable with anti-American radicals, with rogue and dysfunctional governments that blame America for their problems, and with Muslim Brotherhood ideologues who abhor individual liberty, capitalism, freedom of conscience, and, in general, Western enlightenment. To this president and his government, I am the problem."

I would add that this president is more comfortable with a mosque at the site of the 9/11 terror attacks by Islamic extremists than he is with a tea party rally at the capital. Would JFK himself recognize this Democratic Party?

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin

Joe Biden Surrenders American Leadership to Brussels

Mess with Joe. Seriously. Go ahead. It's not a big f*cking deal. He's likely to retaliate by kissing up to every nation he's unsure Barack Obama has issued an apology to. The veep did just that in a recent speech to the European Parliament, doing his best to imitate Obama's rhetoric from Berlin and praising the European Union for their contribution to freedom and democracy by calling Brussels "the capital of the free world."

Here's what the vice-president had to say:

"As you already know, ladies and gentlemen, not only am I pleased to be back here in Brussels for the second time as Vice President — as you probably know, some American politicians and American journalists refer to Washington, DC as the “capital of the free world.” But it seems to me that this great city, which boasts 1,000 years of history and which serves as the capital of Belgium, the home of the European Union, and the headquarters for NATO, this city has its own legitimate claim to that title."

Calling Brussels the "capital of bankrupt nanny states" would have been a lot closer to the truth, but I'm sure it looks like freedom to this intrusive, Marxist-loving administration. Sure, there's no constitutionally protected free speech or right to bear arms and the European Parliament is not a true representative government. As far as what nations Belgium liberated, I can't list them off the top of my head. But why split hairs?

I believe China boasts even more thousands of years of history than Brussels, so perhaps the vice-president can praise Beijing as well. We're already pretending our human rights record is the same as theirs. Biden then added this profound statement:

"We welcome that... to help us tackle the problems of the 21st century, many of which are the same but so many are different than the last century."

Awesome. The country is in such good hands.

Radical Texas Board of Education Replaces Mention of Hip Hop in Social Studies Books with More Thomas Jefferson

This comes from the pick-your-battles-wisely file. Educators (read: progressive bureaucrats who voted for Obama) are all aghast over the changes being made to social studies textbooks by the Texas Board of Education. And what exactly did the radical Texas Board of Education do? They worked overtime to return some sanity to our history books like omitting discussions on hip hop's contribution to society in favor of more coverage of the founding fathers. Shocking, I know. After thirty or more years of the Left using history books to bash capitalism and limited government while celebrating New Deal policies and sympathizing with socialists, crucial beliefs for the Democrats electoral success, conservatives are finally standing up and removing the politically correct gobbledygook that should have never been there in the first place.

For the most part, all the changes are minor and for the better. My personal favorite? Dispelling the myth that "separation of church and state" is in the Constitution. It's not. It comes from Thomas Jefferson's "Wall of Separation" letter, an argument I've had to have hundreds of times with poor Lefty saps who were clearly (mis-)educated in our public schools.

Texas schoolchildren will be required to learn that the words "separation of church and state" aren't in the Constitution and evaluate whether the United Nations undermines U.S. sovereignty under new social studies curriculum.

In final votes late Friday, conservatives on the State Board of Education strengthened requirements on teaching the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers and required that the U.S. government be referred to as a "constitutional republic" rather than "democratic."

The board approved the new standards with two 9-5 votes along party lines after months of ideological haggling and debate that drew attention beyond Texas. The guidelines will be used to teach some 4.8 million students for the next 10 years. They also will be used by textbook publishers who often develop materials for other states based on those approved in Texas, though Texas teachers have latitude in deciding how to teach the material.

The moonbats on the Left will make this out to be a backwoods decision by religious zealots and whine about "politicizing education", but that's only because they've been getting away with doing the same for so long, turning our universities into a bastion of liberalism and our elementary schools into halls of indoctrination for the new faith of environmentalism. Conservatives would do well to fight back more often.

Can Lloyd Doggett Lose in 2010?

If you live in or around Austin, the conventional wisdom is you are stuck with Lloyd Doggett as your Congressman. The former trial lawyer and lifelong politico (he served in the Texas Senate before running for US Congress) has been "representing" the people of Austin in Washington for 16 years now. I put "representing" in quotation marks because he fled a town hall rather than take confrontational questions from his constituents. And I can honestly say that while Austin is a liberal town, that liberalism mostly applies to social issues. We are pro-growth, pro-business, pro-development, and pro-tax relief. As a result, many businesses have moved here and our downtown has been revitalized. Yet Lloyd Doggett never met a tax cut he liked and repeatedly votes for increased government debt and spending. He also goes digging for ways to make businesses pay more taxes, thus killing jobs and causing consumer goods to increase in price. The man is a multi-millionaire and ranks as one of the richest men in Congress, but he's spent the last 20+ years in public service. Kind of makes you wonder where he gets his money from.

Most Republicans have written district 25 off and no doubt Democrats have taken victory there for granted. However, I am convinced that the district won't stay that way for long. There are several reasons I believe that Lloyd Doggett could lose in 2010 and even if he ekes out a victory, 2012 will be no cake walk either.

First of all, the district was redrawn in 2004 and now includes a heavy chunk of Austin suburbia. In fact, the towns just south of Austin have grown nearly 400% since the last election. Hayes County has exploded with growth because it's more affordable than living in Austin, and a lot of these voters are conservative.

Secondly, there is a strong anti-incumbent mood sweeping the country. Being in office 16 years makes Doggett seem like part of the problem, not the solution. He has been there while our national debt has grown out of control and unsustainable. It certainly doesn't help that Doggett votes with Speaker Nancy Pelosi 97% of the time.

Third, while he easily won in 2008, he gave up more votes to his opponent than he ever had in his previous seven elections. This opponent was not exactly formidable, ran very little advertising, got no backing from the Republican party, and spent less than $40,000 compared to $500,000 spent by Doggett.

Finally, he faces a very tough challenger this year. Dr. Donna Campbell is a formidable opponent. She has attracted the attention of many conservative groups, in and out of Texas. One group in particular is featuring her in a reality show about first-time candidates. She has already raised five times more money from individual donors than Doggett's last opponent raised. The name Campbell on the ballot in a town that gave us Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell also doesn't hurt.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been doing some volunteer work for Dr. Campbell, but I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think she had a chance to win. You can go to her website at www.drdonnaforcongress.com or add her on facebook. I would also suggest contacting the RCCC, RNC, HuckPAC, or SarahPAC to tell them this race is winnable and Dr. Campbell deserves her share of support and financial resources.