HOT5 Daily 1/10/2011

1. "Man-caused disaster: us and them" Pretty much says it all about the left and its attempt to exploit the Arizona shooting.

Representative Sample: So far, it would seem the vicious, hate-mongering Left has beclowned itself yet again with another cheap attempt to score political points off the bodies of those killed yesterday, murdered by a guy who, it appears at this writing, leans far more Left than he ever did Right. But it’s worse than that

2. "Violence, Government Violence, and Anti-Government Rhetoric" Worth thinking about.

Representative Sample: I long for the day that our political and media figures get as indignant about innocent Americans killed by their own government—killed in fact, as a direct and foreseeable consequence of official government policy that nearly all of those leaders support—as they are about a government official who was targeted by a clearly sick and deranged young man.

3. "Iran Nuclear Sabotage Helps Delay Inevitable" Keep it coming.

Representative Sample: Sabotage operations include the widely publicized Stuxnet virus, which has wreaked havoc on Iran’s facilities. But there have also been other less-reported operations that have helped slow the nuclear process.

4. "Saudi Arabia: rape victim to be whipped" Why people have negative views of Islam & Muslims, reason #5540409890.

Representative Sample: In the Islamic police state of Saudi Arabia, however, which is governed by the totalitarian Sharia code of religious law and which treats women as little better than a man’s property, that same rape victim gets sent to jail and given 100 lashes

5. "5 Reasons Why Meoweh is Better than Yahweh" Amusing.

Representative Sample: It's a series of graphics.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.

No HOT5 Today

Sorry, I've been wrapped up with the NFL playoffs. It will return tomorrow.

HOT5 Daily 1/8/2011

1. "This Week at War: Gates's China Syndrome" Operating on the basis of wishful thinking about China? It wouldn't be the first time.

Representative Sample: Gates continues to hope that a sustained military-to-military relationship between the United States and China will allow both sides to discuss their intentions and thus avoid dangerous misunderstandings.

2. "A New Bomber and What Else?" Good points.

Representative Sample: Washington has a single-minded focus on the unit cost of military projects instead of examining the warfighting and intelligence-gathering advantages that advanced systems provide.

3. "Americans: not as religious as they think they are" Interesting.

Representative Sample: We've known for a long time that, when asked, people report going to Church more than they actually do. That's not too surprising. It's well known that, when you ask questions that relate to personal esteem, people will tend to tell you what they wish was true, rather than what actually is true.

4. "Legal Crap: Cat Fight Erupts Over Kitty Litter Ads" Ridiculous lawsuit of the day.

Representative Sample: the makers of Arm & Hammer have filed suit against Clorox over some kitty litter ads that they claim are deceptive and seem to show that cats prefer one brand over the other.

5. "The Left Can’t Even Fake Mainstream Anymore" It's hard to appear maintream when you are radical, way out of step with most of the country.

Representative Sample: ook at the past couple years with liberals in charge. Basically every mainstream idea — stopping out of control spending, protecting the border, not letting a mosque be specifically built on the site of an Islamic terror triumph — has been dismissed as racist. That’s because liberals can’t even understand mainstream thought to even debate it anymore.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.

A Christian Who Gets It

At the Christian Post there's an article called "How Not to Fight Atheism." The author, R. Albert Mohler Jr. is writing in reaction to the controversy caused by a recent atheist bus ad campaign in Fort Worth, Texas. To recap, a local secular group ran bus ads with the slogan, "Millions of Americans are Good Without God." Naturally that was far too much for the easily offended religious, and a Christian group responded with both a bus boycott and complaints to municipal government. The end result?

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority voted December 15 to ban all religious ads on buses. The policy took effect January 1, 2011. According to press reports, “both sides cheered the decision.”

Mohler points out that by silencing an atheist message, Christians cut off their own noses to spite their faces, and also managed to silence their own religious messages.

Christians are sometimes our own worst enemy, especially when we claim to be offended. Those pastors and concerned Christians who demanded that the transportation authority ban the atheist ads actually gave the secularists the Grand Prize. By precipitating (and, of all things, celebrating) a ban on all religious messages from this public space, these Christians surrendered Gospel opportunities simply because they were offended by an atheist advertisement.

And he asks a great question,

Are Christians so insecure that we fear a weakly-worded advertisement on a public bus?

Yes, as a matter of fact many of them are. It's also good to see a Christian declare that Christians don't have a right not to be offended.

Being a Christian does not mean never having to be offended.

Would that there were more Christians (and members of other religions) with this writer's attitude and sense.

HOT5 Daily 1/7/2011

1. "When It Comes to CBO Reports, Trust but Verify" Things to keep in mind whenever any politician or partisan pundit cites a CBO report.

Representative Sample: it can’t favor one party over the other, it is also not allowed to think for itself. When Congress asks the CBO to score the cost of a bill, it can only use the assumptions given to it.

2. "Killer Drones, Jamming Jets Win Big in New Pentagon Budget" Good news?

Representative Sample: Gates’ plan to trim around $100 billion from Pentagon accounts over the next five years — the details of which he announced today — is being billed as a budget cut. Actually, Gates’ latest (and likely last) budget exercise represents a net boost for stuff that flies, swims, crawls and shoots. Especially the things that fly.

3. "Why Are Believers So Hostile Toward Atheists?" A perceptive analysis.

Representative Sample: Why is it so important for so many believers to see religion as the only possible source of hope and joy and meaning... and to see religion-less people as intrinsically cut off from everything that makes life worth living?

4. "What happens when you reduce regulations?" Cutting government red tape stimulates business growth -- something most Democrats don't understand.

Representative Sample: Entrepreneurs create jobs, wealth and happy customers.

5. "UFC Fighter Earns a Visit from the Secret Service" Some people still haven't learned that the Secret Service does not have a sense of humor when it comes to anything that might be perceived as a threat against the president.

Representative Sample: Jacob Volkmann, a lightweight mixed martial arts fighter affiliated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, isn’t very fond of President Obama’s health care reforms.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.

Stay Away From Iran

Yet another American has been arrested in an Iranian border area and charged with spying. This time it's a 55 year-old woman who supposedly crossed the border from Armenia without a visa. As an American I hope that she and other Americans detained on what are almost certainly trumped-up charges of espionage are released unharmed. But on a personal level I have very little sympathy for stupid people.

Iran is not just a hostile rogue state, it is an open enemy of the United States. We are currently fighting a low-level war with that country in which Iranian proxies, and Iranian personnel themselves attempt to kill American troops. There is almost certainly a covert war going on beyond the things the public knows of. Iran has made all sorts of wild threats against both the U.S. and Israel, and the latter two countries have publicly speculated about a possible preemptive strike to destroy Iran's nuclear program. In this climate, with the current regime in charge in Tehran, any ordinary American who either goes to Iran, or travels to a border area of a country adjacent to it is a complete fool. Iran is actively looking for American hostages to seize. Americans with an ounce of basic common sense should avoid Iran like the plague.

No HOT5 Today

It will return tomorrow.