Short Poem Written in the Dark at Night

Short Poem Written in the Dark at Night

Full moon

and stars

peek through trees

scribbling patterns of light

on the ground below.

 

Outside my window I hear

cars on the 15

coyotes baying

something rustling

in the leaves

beneath the trees

sirens 

 

A cool breeze

wafts through the screen

scented of flowering jasmine 

and smoke

 

San Diego is on fire again.

Notes: Santa Ana winds arrived early this season. 

The Left is Out of Control

Here is an audio file of a voice message left by a Florida school teacher named Swornia Thomas on a student's home phone. The student's name is Giovanni Rubeo. He is in the fifth grade.

Please note that the "religious book" in question is the Bible. 

Note, too, that Giovanni was reading the Bible during free reading time, which is when students read a book of their own choosing. 

Here's the story on Breitbart. 

And here's a link to the Liberty Institute, which is assisting the Rubeo family in this case. 

As Usual, It's Not About Tolerance

Once in a while, you just have to let the facts dictate the narrative, not the other way around. And the fact is, contrary to the fiction being spread by the Democrats about the racist, intolerant, bigoted Republicans, it's the left that's intolerant, not the right. 

Here's former While House Press Secretary Dana Perino, writing about Carl DeMaio, a San Diegan running for Congress. DeMaio is a Republican who happens to be gay. Writes Perino:

DeMaio has been the target of homophobic attacks. But where are those attacks coming from? It’s not always from the far right social conservatives you’d expect; rather, it’s been from DeMaio’s left—the liberal and Democrat-affiliated groups that you’d think would be proud that an openly gay successful businessman has decided to run for office.…"I’ve found more tolerance, acceptance and inclusion from social conservative groups who have to reconcile that I’m a Republican who happens to be gay…versus the intolerance the LGBT leaders see me as a gay man who happens to be a Republican," DeMaio said.

"Power over Partisanship."

Good luck, Mr. DeMaio. You're going to need it. The Left plays dirty. I don't know much about you, but you have my vote. 

Here's Perino's article:

"Straight Talk About Gay Republican Congressional Candidate Carl DiMaio," by Dana Perino

Pity the Left and Its Offspring

2014 may well be remembered (by those who recall beyond the 24-hour news cycle) as The Year The Left Showed its True Colors. Of course, people who study the Left are not surprised. Leftism is a religion, and its devotees, fanatical. Unlike devotees of true religion, however, Leftists are not content to simply believe their creeds and coexist peacefully with those who differ. Leftists, at their core, are at war with those who differ from them. 

I looked up the word jihad, and the definition seems apropos. In the context of Islam, it means "a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty." But the broader meaning, "a crusade for a principle of belief," sums up what the Left is engaged in. 

A few recent examples:

• Calling those who believe the jury's still out regarding man-caused climate change deniers (word association: Holocaust deniers).  

• Calling those who adhere to the the time-honored, Judeo-Christian, Biblical definition of one man/one woman marriage bigots and pressure them to resign unless they recant (you heard that correctly, recant). 

• Denying someone an honorary doctorate and refusing to let her speak at college commencement because she has the temerity to tell the truth about radical Islam. 

This is the strategy of the Left. Don't merely disagree with those who hold different views or challenge them to a debate. No, you must shun them. Debate is not an option since to debate is to concede that maybe a middle ground exists.

And so the Left traipses merrily along. 

I pity its followers, in a way, especially the young people, so proud of their progressive views, blissfully ignorant of what they're missing out on when, for instance, in the case I mentioned above, Brandeis decreed that they should not be exposed to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's views. The students, knowingly or not, are the poorer for the exclusion. 

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: What I Would Have Said at Brandeis

* Note: updated for clarity July 2018

Said the Pot to the Kettle

An article in the Los Angeles Times this week about the despicable Harry Reid calling David and Charles Koch "un-American" because they choose to donate their millions to conservative politics got my dander up so I wrote a letter to the editor which did not get published so I'm publishing it here. 

Linked at the bottom of this post is the original article in the LAT as well as a 53-second video clip of Reid's speech on the Senate floor on February 27th of this year. No mention by the dishonorable Senator Reid of the mega-millions George Soros and others of his ilk donate to Democrats, so I'll include a short write-up about Soros, as well.  

Dear Letters Editor, 

Re. “In Campaign, Democrats Target Kochs” (Friday, April 4, 2014).

Senator Harry Reid calling David and Charles Koch “un-American” brings to mind this nursery rhyme: 

"Oho!" said the pot to the kettle; "You are dirty and ugly and black! Sure no one would think you were metal, Except when you're given a crack."  

"Not so! not so!" kettle said to the pot; "'Tis your own dirty image you see; For I am so clean – without blemish or blot – That your blackness is mirrored in me."

Which is more un-American: to donate money to political causes or to vilify those who do? I believe it’s the latter, especially when you’re an elected official, ostensibly representing all constituents, not just those with a “D” after their name.

So in this little drama, which apparently passes for Democratic political strategy, here’s the scenario: the “pot” (smarmy Senator Reid and his lackeys) calling the “kettle” (decent, reputable Koch brothers) un-American.

Not so. ‘Tis their own dirty image they see.

Sincerely, etc.  

LINKS

"Democrats Target Republican Ties to Koch Brothers," by Michael A. Memoli (Los Angeles Times, April 3, 2014) 

"Koch Brothers and George Soros Bankroll 2014 Midterms," by Christopher Spencer (Liberty Voice, March 24, 2014)