Keeping Egyptian Christians in Line: Allahu Akbar vs. Kyrie Eleison

Egyptian troops shooting as they advance on the Monastery of St. Bishoy

Last week, an ancient Coptic Orthodox monastery sitting in the middle of an Egyptian desert was attacked by the Egyptian army. Two unarmed monks were shot, one wounded very seriously; six unarmed young Coptic workers who had been building a wall intended to protect the monastery and its occupants from the lawlessness of the January 25 uprising also were shot, one wounded very seriously.

The Egyptian army blamed the attack on the wall: it shouldn't be there, they maintained, and to support their case against the unarmed monks and workers, they brought in a bulldozer supported by five tanks, armored vehicles, and armed troops to knock it down. As the wall fell, the troops yelled "Allahu Akbar"; as they entered the monastery grounds, Coptic monks, who had been fleeing for their lives, stood and chanted, "Kyrie eleison," an ancient Greek prayer that translates to "Lord, have mercy." Some monks were arrested, and there are reports that the injured were not permitted to be transported to a hospital. The tanks, it should be noted, were paid for by U.S. taxpayers.

Egyptian soldiers stand over rubble created by tanks and bulldozers

The monastery in question, the Monastery of St. Bishoy, stands in the Ascetics (Scetes) Desert, named for the early Christian hermits and monks who lived there in stoic self-discipline. Hundreds of years before Islam was founded, this region was home to a number of hermit saints, the most famous of whom in the West was St. Augustine, the enormously influential author of City of God. On this soil, the first Christian monasteries were founded, and, on this ground, the Holy Family rested in their flight from a Roman slaughter of innocent babies into an Egypt far more welcoming of Christ than the Egypt of today.

Coptic icon of St. Bishoy (320-417 A.D.)

It is difficult for most Westerners to imagine the monks who venerate St. Bishoy as threats. St. Bishoy, who is known to the Coptic Orthodox faithful as the Star of the Desert, was a fourth-century hermit-monk whose virtues of simplicity, wisdom, self-denial, prayerfulness, and kindness attracted a group of Christian monks who gathered around him and considered him their spiritual father. Tradition holds that Christ appeared to the gentle monk more than once as a stranger to whom Bishoy offered aid. The monks at St. Bishoy have carried on their tradition for 1650 years and, to this day, St. Bishoy's remains are preserved in a chapel at the monastery.

Attacks on the monasteries of St. Macarios of Alexandria and of Saint Paul also have been reported, as well as the demolition of a Coptic church in Tahta. There are reports of torture of priests and monks who have been arrested. A Coptic Orthodox priest recently was stabbed to death by a group of thieves reportedly overheard to be repeating "Allahu Akbar."

It is easy for some Americans to imagine that such reports are inaccurate or that some other motivation besides antagonism toward Christianity by Muslims lies behind these attacks.

When considering those possibilities, it bears keeping in mind that, although 10% of Egypt's population is Christian, 80% of the people who emigrate from Egypt are Christian. That statistic does not argue well for tolerance of Christians in mostly Muslim Egypt.

Hat tip to Atlas Shrugs and Jihad Watch, where cell-phone video of the attack on the Monastery of St. Bishoy is posted.
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Show this to the next Dem who complains to you about taxes

Hat tip: theblogprof via Adrienne's Corner.

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Standing on the Promises - Alan Jackson

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Space Shuttle Launch Viewed from Air

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Andrew Klavan Explains Multiculturalism

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Troops Machine Gun Libyan Children, Obama Parties; Newt Says "Pink Slip Eric Holder"

An American family reaches safety in Malta.

From the UK Daily Mail:

Passengers aboard the Maria Dolores, a small catamaran chartered to evacuate 167 Americans and other nationalities from Tripoli, spoke of the immense suffering for the Libyans left behind.

Speaking to CNN, one unidentified American citizen on the Dolores said: 'I saw carnage.

'Helicopter gunships were shooting at them [protesters].

'The army were using heavy machine guns and automatic rifles against little children throwing rocks.'

Meanwhile, Michelle Obama made it back from her Vail, Colorado ski vacation in time to attend the White House Motown Black History gala.

Making history in the presidency is just what Michelle Obama's husband is doing. Today, Newt Gingrich observed that "President Obama overstepped his constitutional authority by ordering his administration to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act, a duly instituted law. Gingrich's idea is that, if push comes to shove, the House of Representatives should vote to stop paying the Attorney General's salary. Said Gingrich:

I believe the House Republicans next week should pass a resolution instructing the president to enforce the [Defense of Marriage] law and to obey his own constitutional oath, and they should say if he fails to do so that they will zero out [defund] the office of attorney general and take other steps as necessary until the president agrees to do his job.

Eric Holder: First U.S. Attorney General to qualify for a job retraining program.
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Discovery's Last Lift-Off

For a man who just recently was exhorting America to pursue a new "Sputnik moment," President Barack Hussein Obama was conspicuously silent on today's final launch into orbit of the veteran Space Shuttle, Discovery:

That's understandable for a president who went out of his way reduce America's space program to the point of having to hitch rides from Russia, after first making NASA's "foremost" mission "to improve relations with the Muslim world."

Here's a quick review of how that plan has been going today:

• A 20-year old Saudi Arabian chemistry student, Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, was picked up by the FBI when he was just one chemical purchase away from implementing his plan to hide bombs (detonated via a cell phone) inside realistic-looking baby dolls in strollers to blow up George W. Bush's Dallas home, the homes of servicemen who had served at Gitmo Abu Graib, nuclear plants and dams. Oh, yeah, and numerous targets in New York City.
• Obama refused to send U.S. Navy ships to rescue Americans stuck in Libya and instead chartered a boat too small to cope with the Mediterranean sea. Result: hundreds of Americans are spending a second night aboard a passenger ferry in Tripoli, after waving goodbye to the citizens of Greece, Turkey, China, Britain, and Italy, countries that were able to get their citizens to safety.
• Rebels have taken control of Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi:

How 'bout that idea of giving the Muslim world access to space technology? It kinda makes me nostalgic for the good ol' days when Lubbock, Texas made news by giving the world Buddy Holly and the Crickets singing, "That'll be the day . . ."
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The New Democrat Mascot

Democrats originally chose the donkey for their mascot because so many Americans were calling their presidential candidate, Andrew Jackson, a "jackass." Now it's time for a change with so many Americans calling Democrat-supporting public sector unions "parasites."

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Allen West Tells CAIR Where to Go . . .

CAIR is ashamed of Allen West? That tells me all I need to know.

Watch this to the end.

H/t Weasel Zippers.

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George Washington's Birthday: Quote of the Day

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

~ George Washington

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Oh Boy: Wisconsin "Sick Note" Doctors are Medical School Faculty

Yes, from the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Imagine what inspirations they are to their students.

According to the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, "On Saturday, family physician Lou Sanner, 59, of Madison, said he had given out hundreds of notes. Many of the people he spoke with seemed to be suffering from stress, he said."

Here's a screenshot from the Department's directory entry on Lou Sanner MD, Associate Professor:

This is the same Dr. Lou Sanner who was videotaped outside the Wisconsin State House defending his right to "have private consultations" with union members needing doctor excuses so that they could be paid to attend a political rally:

***

ABC affiliate WKOW-TV in Madison reported that Dr. Kathy Oriel told their reporter that the doctors realize they could get in trouble for their offer. "We think its worth the risk," she said. "Teachers have no choice."

Dr. Oriel also is an Associate Professor as well as Madison Residency Program Director:

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The name of James H. Shropshire, MD showed up on this doctor's excuse signed at the protest rally:

James H. Shropshire is a Clinical Associate Professor:

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For links to the identities of more MDs associated with the University of Wisconsin who managed to find the time to write doctor excuses for teachers who are "sick" of their state's governor, visit Pundit Press.

Will the Madison School System accept these doctors' medical slips? According to U.S. News & World Report:

It's not clear how well-received the notes will be. 

Madison Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad, who closed his district's schools from Wednesday through Friday because so many teachers called in sick, said officials were aware of the doctors' note-signing station.

"We're reviewing how we go forward in case where those types of notes are provided," he said Sunday. "I don't know yet what the conclusion will be."

And what about the doctors who so publicly exposed their willingness to play fast-and-lose with their signatures in order to ensure that taxpayers fund a teachers union "sick-out"? Dr. Sanner is reported to have said that:

he and his colleagues planned to meet Sunday night to figure out how to deal with the firestorm they touched off. The consequences could extend to their employer, which said it was investigating the events.

It will be interesting to see what response, if any, will be issued by a medical school whose faculty are so visibly disappointing America's faith in the integrity of this country's medical profession.
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How Great Thou Art - The Priests

The Priests are a classical music trio of Catholic parish priests in Northern Ireland. They have been singing together since they were college students.

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Do You Sometimes Wonder If You'll Be the Last Honest Person on Earth?

Doctors and teachers team up for fraud:

William Jacobson has posted two videos of doctors explaining what they are doing. One of the doctors in those videos openly states that about a dozen MDs are "practicing" this kind of "medicine" at the Wisconsin demonstration. Another claims that he is protected by doctor-patient confidentiality. Those are real doctors, by the way. Name, photo, and bio links are available here.
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Obama Administration to Judge Vinson: We Can't Read

On January 31, District Court Judge Rodger Vinson ruled that Obamacare is unconstitutional and told the federal government to stop implementing it by stating that his ruling "is the functional equivalent of an injunction" and that he expected the executive branch to "adhere to the law as declared by the court." As of today, Judge Vinson's ruling is the law of the land unless and until he is overruled on appeal.

Obama and his Obamatons resolutely covered their eyes and stuck their fingers deeper into their ears. As reported in Investors Business Daily:

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services continued to implement ObamaCare and began adding 650 employees to dispense information about ObamaCare and conduct oversight of health insurance. 
• The Obama administration also issued hundreds of "waivers" to specially selected businesses and groups that won't have to be bound by Obamacare like the rest of America. 
• The IRS continued its planning to add new 1,000 new auditors and staffers plus new facilities to hold them, at an initial cost of $359 million. 
• Obama included $465 million in his budget to implement the unconstitutional law. .

Finally, the Obama administration is taking notice by asking Judge Vinson to tell states that they have to comply with the law that he just ruled unconstitutional:

Attorneys for the Obama administration filed what is known as a motion to clarify late Thursday, asking U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson to make clear that states cannot ignore the new health care law while his ruling is being appealed.

Why is the administration even bothering to go through the motions of pretending that they can't understand Judge Vinson's clearly worded ruling?

Annoyingly, for Obama, the group of Americans who can read plain English includes the governors of the 26 states that brought their case to Judge Vinson. These governors are responding to Judge Vinson's ruling, including Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, who has made public his decision not to implement Obamacare. Parnell says he is concerned that doing so would violate his oath of office.

He said the Florida judge's ruling is the law of the land, as it pertains to Alaska, barring implementation of the federal law here. 

Alaska has thrown down the gauntlet in support of our Constitution and our legal system. We'll see what the good judge has to say.
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Ain't it the Truth!

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Rockford, IL TEA Party Sights Fleeing WI State Senators

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Hey Wisconsin, Don't Bother to Phone Your Dem State Senators

Only these Republican state senators swore the Pledge of Allegiance yesterday in Madison.

They're hiding out in Illinois. Somewhere.

They may have made it to the bus to a Rockford, Illinois resort where they stayed briefly and then checked out, but they missed the bus to fiscal sanity, along with thousands of called-in-sick Wisconsin teachers and their hapless students, who are being prepared to spend their lives as work serfs in a declining economy in which they will enjoy a lower standard of living than their teachers and possess even fewer readin', writin', and 'rithmetic skills.

It's all about a move by Wisconsin's governor to force unionized teachers to chip in to their pension plans and health care coverage. From Stilton Jarlsberg at Hope 'n Change Cartoons:

So what we have here . . . is a perfect microcosm of the difference between the way Conservatives and Liberals intend to deal with the fiscal crises which will soon cripple (if not outright destroy) our nation. The Conservatives want to address the problem honestly, and take necessary - albeit painful - steps.

The Liberals refuse to deal with the financial issues in any way whatsoever and, if the voters are against them, they'll leave their posts rather than cast a vote for fiscal responsibility. And all while Barack Hussein Obama raises the level of anger and hate, attempting to turn simple budget-balancing into class warfare and, quite possibly, violence.

The defection of the Wisconsin Democrats and the reaction of the president seem to indicate that if America's budget is ever to be balanced it won't be through the actions of bills, bookkeeping, and legislation (all of which are unacceptable to the Left)...but will instead be the result of fighting in the streets.

That's not what Conservatives want. But it seems to be what the Liberals and the president of the United States are insisting on, and are trying to provoke.

God help us all.

Read the rest.

Via Backyard Conservative, a little 'rithmetic lesson for Democrats:

Click here to watch it spin. 
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Dearbornistan's Prosecution of Christians Continues

Or is it persecution?

Negeen Mayel, a young Christian woman whose parents fled from Afghanistan, was arrested at the 2010 International Arab Festival in Dearborn, Michigan and then jailed, prosecuted, tried in court, and convicted. Her so-called "crime"? Videotaping a few of her Christian friends preaching the gospel and distributing copies of the Gospel of John in English and Arabic, something Arab Muslims don't tolerate, even of Arab Christians.

Shariah law being enforced by U.S. police on U.S. soil:

Background on this story is available here and here: "Keeping the Peace" by Arresting (Non-Violent) Christians.

H/t: Thomas More Law Center
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You-Can't-Make-This-Up Quote of the Day

Via Shout First and Ask Questions Later comes this observation:

Okay, so the US Administration's mission is WTF (winning the future) and Her Majesty's Government's is BS (Big Society). The EU's, meanwhile, is FU (Financial Union).

Is there anything more we need to know?

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Barack Hussein Obama: Case Worker-in-Chief

During his defend-the-indefensible budget press conference, I was astonished to hear President Obama regret that he is not a caseworker who can pick up the phone and make things happen for Americans who are down on their luck. Tough luck for all of us. He is only the president of the United States and the most powerful man in the free world.

The Washington Post reported it in the Great Orator's own words:

I -- I -- I -- look, I definitely feel folks' pain. . . .

But sometimes I'm also just frustrated by the number of people out there who are struggling and, you know, you want to help every single one individually.

And I -- you know, you almost feel like you want to be a case worker and just start picking up the phone and advocating for each of these people who are working hard, trying to do right by their families . . . .

So, yeah, it -- it's frustrating. 

That's really some disconnect, and I'm not talking about the President's phone service.

Apparently, Obama still has not figured out that it does no good to advocate for someone who needs help unless there is someone around with the means to help that person.

When case workers advocate for the people they are trying to help, the buck stops at the drawer in which Case Worker-in-Chief Obama keeps his "stash." The money in that "stash" is put there by none other than private sector businesses and private sector workers trying to make a few bucks despite the mountain of obstacles shoveled into their way by Obama's policies. The bucks that they don't make will not be "spread around" via tax revenue into the federal "stash" that funds the goodies that case workers dispense and the salaries that keep case workers showing up for work.

Nevertheless, in recognition of Obama's pain-feeling abilities, I bring you the following snapshots:

Obama feeling your pain during linky love 

Obama feeling your pain on the court

Obama feeling your pain on a Honolulu beach

Obama and the Mrs. feeling your pain between martinis and a Broadway show

Yep, that's one empathic guy.

Instead of feeling America's pain, the president could make a few calls and do something about that pain. He could start by promoting a budget that seriously reduces the runaway debt destroying this country's economy, a debt of his own design.

That wouldn't take care of every single individual, but it sure would help.
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