Egyptians mock Morsi and “Merchants of Religion” and show they aren’t completely down with the concept of Islamic Pharaoh quite yet.

Welcome Instapundit readers! If you like ancient Egypt, please check out my post on 2 other Egyptian Queens – Ahhotep and Tausert. Fans of Medieval History will like Deadliest Blogger’s “Age of Arthur” series and superb podcast.

Dear Readers:  I am throwing up a two quick link summaries and a graphic that all caught my eye, as they deal with Egypt.  First, the graphic:

It seems that it may still be “Egypt for the Egyptians” – Egypt opposition shuns Morsi move

Egypt’s opposition has rejected an attempt by President Mohammed Morsi to end an increasingly bitter face-off.

Mr Morsi annulled a decree that gave him huge powers, but vowed that a vote on a new constitution would go ahead.

Opposition leaders rejected the move and called for protests on Tuesday. Later, Islamist groups said they would hold counter demonstration

It seems that Egypt’s version of “The Daily Show” poked a whole lot of fun at the ‘merchants of religion’, too:

For a brief moment on Friday night, Egyptians got some respite from the ongoing political crisis tearing the country apart. The comic relief came courtesy of Bassem Youssef’s satirical news show “Al Bernameg“ (The Program) which has just decamped from one ‘secular’ privately owned Egyptian TV channel to another….

By unleashing a deluge of satire on Egypt’s leaders – to great comic effect – Youssef is not only making light of the situation but also openly questioning authority and holding elected officials to account.

When I spoke to Youssef, shortly after taping his latest show, he told me “I don’t criticize, I satirize. I make fun, which is even more shocking. Whoever is in authority will have to deal with our program.”

In the newest episode, broadcast on Friday Dec. 7, as tensions in country remained on a knife-edge, Youssef raised the bar significantly by calling out those he describes as ‘merchants of religion.’ After mixing politics with religion, they were now using violence and sowing hate in the name of religion, he said.

In a country where the lines are blurred between politics and religion, Youssef says he gets a lot of heat from Islamists whom he considers Egypt’s right wingers.

“Our right wing here in Egypt is different from the U.S. because people here are more emotional about religion, they can’t differentiate between politics and religion. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis are the right wing, I don’t deal with them as religious groups but as political groups,” he said.

Other links of note:

• From Word Warrior – Egypt’s Draft Constitution: Religious Freedom Undermined
• Doo Doo Economics:  Europe in double-dip recession.
• Beers with Demo recounts the best of the week, including Korean pop sensation Psy’s apology for his anti-American song 8 years ago.
• B-daddy: Deficit Agenda for Obama’s Second Term

Finally, Lonely Conservative offers the first bit of good news related to the administration post-election: Obama Admin Caving On Lunch Menus

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Egypt’s Morsi and Military Partner for Power

Dear Readers: To celebrate Advent this year, I am planning to feature some of my favorite Christmas-time pieces over the next few weeks. The Young Prince lead the procession in Mass today, which is the first day of Advent. O Come, O Come Emmanuel was being sung by the choir…so I thought this would be a good choice to kick off the season:

The prince also starting opening up his chocolate Advent calendar yesterday.

On a slightly more somber note: Morsi Reaches Islamist Dictator Deal With Egyptian Military

Yesterday, Obama-approved Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi declared that he would have a referendum on December 15 to greenlight the newly rammed-through draft constitution that enshrines Shariah law in Egypt. Morsi has bought the support of the military via the new constitution, which prevents the military from having any civilian oversight, and allows the military to prosecute civilians.

Now Muslim Brotherhood protesters have shut down the Egyptian Supreme Court, forcing them to postpone their ruling on the legitimacy of the constitutional assembly that originally ratified the new constitution.

So much for the Arab Spring. The Muslim Brotherhood has now reached a compromise solution with the army that makes both of them unanswerable within the country. And the Obama administration remains silent.

As a result, Egypt’s opposition groups are planning to march on the Presidential Palace (via Egypt Daily News).

Several Egyptian political parties and groups have issued a joint statement announcing their intention to peacefully march to the presidential palace in Cairo at 5pm on Tuesday to voice opposition to President Mohamed Morsi’s recent decisions and the date that has been set for a nationwide popular referendum on Egypt’s draft constitution.

“The constitution project that Morsi wants to put before a referendum is in fact a project for tying down the political, civil, social and economic freedoms of Egyptians,” read the statement, published on the Egyptian Popular Current’s official Facebook page.

In a nutshell: Morsi gets complete freedom to enact extreme Islamic law, and the Egyptian military gets complete freedom to take care of themselves and handle the civilian population as it pleases. What’s not to love???

As places dear to me in this world are being challenged, I take comfort in this thought offered on the Day #1 Advent calendar item: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

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The Poland-Egypt Connection!

Dear Readers: As a wrap-up to the Shrine’s homage to Poland this week, I want to thank Rik Fox for sharing his insights and perspectives. Please check out the CANTO TALK podcast: Polish Americans and US-Poland relations today . And because I can and will tie in Egypt to everything I do, I am delighted to share some information on one of Rik’s illustrious ancestors:

Joseph Sulkowski

Sulkowski was a Polish captain in the French Revolutionary Army and friend and aide de camp to Napoleon Bonaparte. He he played an important role in Napoleon’s first Italian campaign and his efforts led to the capture of the Saint-George batteries. He was wounded at the battle of Arcole.

As my readers know from previous posts, I consider Napoleon’s most significant achievement to be his Egypt Expedition. By bringing artists and scientists along with the army, Napoleon opened up Egypt to the Western World. The publication of the expedition book, Description de l’Egypte, became a European style guide for decades (HISTORY GEEK ALERT - Check out this thesis discussing the importance of Napoleon’s approach).

Sulkowski went with Napoleon to Egypt. He was involved in the famous “Battle of the Pyramids”:

Sadly, things went down from there:

He died in the revolt of Cairo on 22 October 1798 and his body was given to the dogs (he was still suffering from wounds received a few weeks earlier). On hearing of his death Bonaparte showed remorse and, asked why he did not honour him more when he was alive, replied “On first meeting him, I saw in him a commander in chief”.

Rik indicated that Napoleon considered Sulkowski a potential rival. Sulkowski seems like he was a force-of-nature, rather like Rik himself. We look forward to chatting with Rik again on Canto Talk — and I would like to conclude with one of Rik’s favorite quotes:

“Do not go where the path may lead….go instead, where there is no path, and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson–

For further information check out:

• Rik’s Polish Winged Hussar Group: Suligowski’s Regiment.
• Deadliest Bloggers:  THE LAST HURRAH OF THE WINGED HUSSARS

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SHRINE in MOURNING: ““Egypt not an ally!”

Dear Readers:  I am feeling a bit rantish today.  So, before I take a deeply impassioned analysis of the crappy current events, I wanted to take care of some programming business.  I will be hosting a game-show style CANTO TALK Program today (7 pm Pacific Time/9 pm Central Time).  The focus will be on ‘WE THE PEOPLE FIGHT TYRANNY” (Facebook page HERE). See item post-rant for my daily question and fun details.

Last night, I went to bed after reading:  I don’t consider Egypt an ally, says Obama 

Via HotAir.com

WTF X 1,000,000. Damn. I knew Obama was going to be a toxic president — but he has been an  offensive amalgam of radioactivity and carcinogencity on both domestic AND foreign policy. Now, that’s quite an achievement! And it seems the press people, who went all Journolist to defend him yesterday, are recognizing how potently poisonous the man is, too: NBC chief foreign correspondent blasts Obama’s “Egypt not an ally” statement

OBAMA: HITS ROCK BOTTOM, THEN GRABS A JACKHAMMER.

TAMMY BRUCE ALSO WENT ON A RANT now ON PUBLIC PODCAST, DO PLEASE LISTEN TO HERS AS WELL!!!

Long-time readers recall that I have long said the ancient gods have fled Egypt. A friend of the Shrine reminds me that the new Muslim Brotherhood President of Egypt is none too brotherly, either: “The Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our path and death in the name of Allah is our goal.”

For Egyptians and Obama, who seem to think making Israel and the Jews a target is a fantastic game plan, I offer them a reminder that such an approach has been historically FULL OF FAIL.

The Professor at Legal Insurrection has a great post summarizing events as they now stand: Middle East and Journalism in flames.

Obama’s Middle East policy is in flames. Literally, at multiple U.S. diplomatic locations which are sovereign U.S. territory. The latest is the storming of the Embassy in Yemen, which is ongoing as of this writing.

Journalism also is in flames. It’s back to 2008, with the media openly siding with Obama and colluding to damage Romney.

As Hillaryis44 notes, Team Romney needs to only repeat this message: OBAMA IS GOING TO GET US ALL KILLED.

Any person who thinks Romney hurt his campaign with his critique is being dangerously deceptive and/or willfully ignorant.

More from my good friends, here:

• WORD WARRIOR: OBAMA MID-EAST POLICY COLLAPSING AS AMERICAN AMBASSADOR MURDERED: WHERE WAS MARINE GUARD?
• Scratching Post: Frankly, This Is All Your Fault
• Left Coast Rebel: Islamists Attack and Kill Libyan US Ambassador Christopher Stevens; U.S. Embassy in Cairo’s Orwellian Anti-Free Speech Response
• Beers With Demo; Good News…
• The Liberator Today: Asymmetric Retaliation

In terms of Libya, this comes from Canto Talk freind Humberto Fontova on his Babalu blog! Advice from a Genuine Libya

In conclusion:

*****************************************************************************
WE THE PEOPLE FIGHT TYRANNY SHOW TONIGHT

Switching gears a bit, this is a reminder that several Canto Talk favorites from the SLOBS will be representing Team California tonight: Barry Jacobson/Word Warrior, Dawn Wildman/Blogger-in-Chief, and Charles Fettinger/DooDoo Economics.

There are six categories of questions, as noted below:

In light of my rant, this question seems apt:

 Which progressive asserted the following:

“Consider the “fairness doctrine,” now largely abandoned but once requiring radio and television broadcasters: …[I]n light of astonishing economic and technological changes, we must doubt whether, as interpreted, the constitutional guarantee of free speech is adequately serving democratic goals. It is past time for a large-scale reassessment of the appropriate role of the First Amendment in the democratic process.”

A. MICHAEL MORE
B. JOE BIDEN
C. THEODORE ROOSEVELT
D. CASS SUNSTEIN

Click HERE for Answer.

There will be even more CANTO TALK fun:

Noted screenwriter/director/producer and Cuban dynamo Orestes Matacena will be calling in, and he has kindly donated copies of his hilarious political thriller: TWO DE FORCE!It’s now available on-line and on DVD!

MUT NOTE: I totally adore JESSE WANG as the Chinese Chairman.

Powerhouse American music man Karl Brunig has also donated two CDs, when they are released. Silvio is an extremely generous game-show host, so it should be a ton of fun.

*******************************************
MUT FUN ITEMS

Two items that helped return me to sanity and serenity:

• Word Warrior has the 6th part of his exceptional series on the Spartans posted! 
• This, via Facebook today.  I do adore Halloween!!!!

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CA’s Senate Attacks Citizen Petitions, and other DISASTERS around the USA & World!!!!

Dear Readers: My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Colorado, who are having the kinds of wildfires that are normally experienced in my part of California. Via fellow Silvio’s Angel, Melanie Sturm’s, paper, the Aspen times:

Colorado blaze too dangerous to assess damage

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A raging wildfire destroyed dozens of houses overnight and charred land on the edges of the Air Force Academy on Wednesday, while thick smoke and intense, towering flames kept officials from learning the full scope of damage to Colorado’s second-largest city.

The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles, and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents, Colorado Springs emergency management director Brett Waters said. Among those urgently evacuated Tuesday evening were residents at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Shrine friend, Capt. Freedom of the American Freedom Network, lives in those parts. He indicates he is OK, but the smoke is hard to take and he is off to assist emergency services. Also, new media star Michelle Malkin has been evacuated from her Colorado Springs home — she has photos and details.

Via CNBC

Speaking of disasters, California is poised to create one for our citizens: Our state Senate has cooked-up a bill to stop the citizen initiative process we Tea Partiers have been using effectively for the past few years, and the one that resulted in the taypayer-wealth-saving Proposition 13. The details are here — SB1233 SILENCING YOUR VOICE.

Short summary: Senate Democrat Alex Padilla created SB 1233 to effectively cut off California citizen’s ability to use the initiative and referendum processes. SB 1233 would make that process cost prohibitive by forcing signature gathers to, at all times, carry the initiative or referendum in up to 11 different languages!

This will price grassroots campaigns out of the market of government reform as the cost of printing the petitions in these languages would skyrocket. Citizen activists could be fined $1000 or jailed for failing to the complete suite of languages!

Click this LINK to get contact California Senators most involved in this outrage; click this LINK for California Senate contact information. If we don’t act, we loose one of the important tools in the Tea Party arsenal that actually works in the Golden State.

I guess we don’t have to wait for Santa Ana’s to destroy our way of life this year. Thanks Sacramento!

Speaking of wildfires, firefighters are battling blazes outside Jerusalem, Israel. Here is a part of the report that is most concerning, in terms of this being an act of terrorism a man-made-disasaster:

Seven people have been arrested in the past month for allegedly lighting fires in open areas. Abras said in the past two weeks firefighters have dealt with more than 200 cases of suspected arson in open areas and forests around Jerusalem.

And for Israel’s Bonus Extra: Courtesy of Tammy Bruce, I heard that one of the Muslim Brotherhood “Foreign Relations” heads refused to answer questions during a French TV interview, because the second panelist was an Israeli.

{Nader} Amram’s unwillingness to take part in a discussion with an Israeli is a good indication of the possible troubles ahead in relations between Egypt and Israel. When the panel’s host pointed out that the two countries are at peace, Amram said he was not speaking for his country, just himself. The problem is that the Brotherhood certainly has many, many more men like Amram in its ranks. Anti-Semitism is in the Brotherhood’s DNA.

See the 15:10 mark in the video here.

At seems the new Egyptian leadership is doing no better with “Domestic Relations” either, as they seem to hate Christians as much as Jews. Salafi Islamists (the ones that have the great idea of waxing the pyramids) are at it again. The group has threatened to burn a church down while Christians prayed inside.

According to a story in yesterday’s Mideast Christian News, Muslims in the village of Basra in Alexandria, Egypt, surrounded the local Coptic church, St. Lyons, during divine liturgy, “demanding that visiting Copts leave the church before the completion of prayers, and threatening to burn down the church if their demand was not met.”

. . . As they drove away, Muslims hurled stones at their buses, and the priest was warned by “salafis and extremists” never again to allow visitors to the church, otherwise they would “destroy it.”

What is that smokey smell??? It’s the scent of Arab Spring!

Yep — Even Isis, Osiris, and Amen-Ra have fled Egypt at this point.  Legal Insurrection has more about “Arab Spring” in Syria.

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MUT’s Music Mix: Honoring Israel Edition – Ofra Haza, “Love Story” & “Daw Da Hiya”

Dear Readers:  Israel in the cross hairs, as my greatest fear for Egypt has been realized — the country has subsumed its ancient roots to toxic Saudi theocrats.  It seems the Muslim Brotherhood has won the “Presidential Election” and their President-Elect has set-out the next goal: Make Jerusalem the capital.

So, in honor of Israel, I thought I would share the songs that started my passion for World Music, which many of you have indicated is an enjoyable aspect of the Shrine.  First, I am featuring the Israeli singer Ofra Haza’s version of “Love Story” from the “Song of Songs“.  It is sung a capella in Hebrew, and is fresh and amazing to hear today as it was when sung 20 years ago):

A translation (MUT Note – the term “Pharaoh” is used, a hat-tip to the Egyptophiles in the audience):

UPDATE: Courtesy of a comment from Lee, here is the passage:

The part of Song of Songs that Ofra Haza sings is from Chapter 8 (for 8.6, click HERE):
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

And some background:

Set me as a seal upon thine heart – It was customary in the Levant and other places to make impressions of various kinds upon the arms, the breast, and other parts. I have seen these often: some slight punctures are made, and the place rubbed over with a sort of blue powder that, getting between the cuticle and cutis, is never discharged; it continues in all its distinctness throughout life. The figures of young women are frequently thus impressed on the arms and on the breasts. If the bride alludes to any thing of this kind, which is very probable, the interpretation is easy. Let me be thus depicted upon thine arm, which being constantly before thy eyes, thou wilt never forget me; and let me be thus depicted upon thy breast, the emblem of the share I have in thy heart and affections. Do this as a proof of the love I bear to thee, which is such as nothing but death can destroy; and do it to prevent any jealousy I might feel, which is as cruel as the grave, and as deadly as fiery arrows or poisoned darts shot into the body.

Haza was an Israeli singer of Yemenite Jewish origin, an actress and international recording star. I cannot stress how influential she was in initiating the “World Music” movement that many of us enjoy today! A review of her career is a must-read for any music aficionado — the Wiki entry provides an overview (another can be found HERE). A brief summary -

Inspired by a love of her Yemenite Jewish culture, the appeal of her musical art quickly spread to a wider Middle Eastern audience, somehow bridging the divide between Israel and the Arab countries. As her career progressed, Haza was able to switch between traditional and more commercial singing styles without jeopardizing her credibility. Her music fused elements of Eastern and Western instrumentation, orchestration and dance-beat. She became successful in Europe and the Americas; during her singing career, she earned many platinum and gold discs.

During the 80′s and 90′s she collaborated with many artists famous during this era — Thomas Dolby, Paula Abdul, Sarah Brightman, and Iggy Pop. Her work is featured on many soundtracks, several of which I own and highly recommend:

* Queen Margot
* Wild Orchid (the soundtrack is the ONLY thing to recommend this movie)
* The Prince of Egypt
* The Governess

Sadly, she died in 2000 at the age of 42 of complications due AIDS frm an apparent blood transfusion. However, courtesy of YouTube and modern technology, her influence lives on. I am sure you will be seeing more of her songs in future editions. However, in light of the events in Egypt, I would like to give everyone an idea of the “new world order” in that country, courtesy of the second featured song “Daw Da Hiya”:

The song tells the story of Daw Da Hiya who was the youngest daughter and fell in love. Tradition demanded that she must wait until all her sisters were married before she could marry but her love was so great that she married anyway and soon became pregnant. As a result she was brought before the religious courts to face the judges who pronounced that for her crime she must die.

UPDATE – a side of Egyptology news that is related to all the chaos described in the first paragraph: Seventy Egyptian artefacts found in illegal possession are authenticated

The archaeological committee of the central administration for confiscated antiquities, led by Youssef Khalifa, verified the authenticity of a collection of ancient Egyptian objects that were found in the possession of three people in Giza… Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim revealed on Monday that 70 out of the more than 110 objects found were authenticated, including:

• A collection of 17 late pharaonic period amulets, depicting the lioness goddess of joy and blessings, Sekhmet; the god of the universe, Toth; goddess of magic and life, Isis; god of the afterlife, Osiris and the fertility goddess, Tawert
• nine eye scarabs
• rings
• bronze spoons
• many coloured seeds of different shapes and sizes
• two sets of Roman and Islamic bronze coins
• glass bottles

Khalifa said that these objects were not registered with the ministry’s antiquities list, which means that they were stolen from illicit digging in archaeological sites.

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MUT’s INFLUENCE SEEN IN DRUDGE REPORT!

Dear Readers:  As a long-time follower of the Drudge Report, imagine my surprise and delight when I saw the following headline:

It is the first time I have seen such a vividly ancient Egyptian graphic used on Drudge’s site. If you recall, I recently did a post featuring the chaos in Egypt, “The Egypt Games”. Drudge is reporting that the military has taken over, it has gotten so bad:

Egypt’s highest court declares parliament invalid

Cairo (CNN) — Egypt’s highest court declared the parliament invalid Thursday, and the country’s interim military rulers promptly declared full legislative authority, triggering a new level of chaos and confusion in the country’s leadership.

The Supreme Constitutional Court found that all articles making up the law that regulated parliamentary elections are invalid, said Showee Elsayed, a constitutional lawyer.

The ruling means that parliament must be dissolved, state TV reported.

Parliament had been in session for just over four months. It was dominated by Islamists, a group long viewed with suspicion by the military.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in control of the country since Mubarak’s ouster, announced that it now has full legislative power and will announce a 100-person assembly that will write the country’s new constitution by Friday.

Frankly, after reading about the whack-jobs elected to Parliament who wanted to wax the Great Pyramid, I am not too sad about this development. In fact, I am reading my current issue of KMT magazine, which cites numerous archeological sites that have been pillaged by local people in quest for “Pharaoh’s Treasure”. I can’t see a downside to this, and am hoping that Egypt’s military leaders recall their country’s special place in history and act as Egyptians first and foremost — not as minions of Saudi extremist theocrats.

UPDATE: Hot Air’s Allahpundit provides further details on the whys for this take-over:

What’s bizarre about this power play is that it comes at a moment when the Brotherhood’s popular support had slipped a bit. Read this Marc Lynch post from late last month on how the MB’s recent political missteps, including/especially their decision to field a presidential candidate despite initially promising not to, has made some Egyptians leery of granting them more power. (That’s one of the reasons why Mubarak’s stooge Shafik made it to the run-off. Some Egyptians, the Copts most notably, prefer the old regime to an Islamist hellhole.) I can only assume that the military/judicial coalition had held off on taking drastic measures to neutralize the Brotherhood in hopes that Shafik’s candidacy would gain momentum and he might win the election semi-legitimately, but now for whatever reason they’ve decided that that’s unlikely and they need to step in with a power grab.

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MUT’s Flaming Hot Capitalism Celebration — Day after Tax Day Edition

WELCOME PROFESSOR JACOBSON/LEGAL INSURRECTION FANS!!!  I have a lot of great tidbits in this post, which I hope you enjoy.

Dear Friends: HAPPY DAY AFTER TAXES. I hope you survived relatively intact and solvent.

I am slowly getting all systems back on-line after recovering from hip-replacement surgery following a freak accident. I thought I would have more energy to blog, since sitting and typing is about all I am good for. However, after walking 5 minutes without the walker today, I feel I have run a marathon.

So, I hope you all remain patient with me, as I hope to get back to more regular opining by next week. There is a ton of news, and developments related to the June and November elections this year, that need to be shared. That being said, I have kept up with my surfing — the internet, that is. Here are some great news tidbits that were amusing or informative, which I thought you might enjoy.

After all, laughter is a great analgesic.

1) Via Lipstick Underground, a blog-worthy new entry that will please many of my independently-minded PUMA friends: TEXTS FROM HILLARY.

2) Legal Insurrection/Professor Jacobson cover the penultimate response to the charger Romney is cruel to pets: Obama has actually eaten dogs. Team Hillbuzz once was very concerned about how Seamus-on-cartop stories would be used against Romney: I think that this concern can be put to bed….with a side of fries.

FLAMING HOT CAPITALISM PROMOTION: Charles Caesar is marketing #ObamaDogRecipe T-shirts (click HERE to order).

(Bonus – Instapundit highlights this story with humor and graphics)

I am thrilled to see that between Ann Romney’s Nuclear Response to “Rosengate” and the plethora of tweets, t-shirts,buttons, and graphics related to #ObamaDogRecipes, Team Romney seems to have the “fire in the belly” to defeat the Once.

UPDATE:  HOTAIR POSTS THE HILARIOUS HITLER PARODY VIDEO OF OBAMA EATS DOG.  MUST SEE YOUTUBE!!!!  Also, check out #ObamaDogMovies on Twitter.  My Tweet:

3) Speaking of taxes, Beers with Demos opines about Americans renouncing their citizenship because, in part, of the punitive tax system.

4) B-Daddy details push-polling from the Nathan Fletcher campaign, and gives a great example of how to handle it. I don’t know about you, but I have been inundated with calls for “research”, “opinions” and “polling”.

5) For those of you with a scientific bent, Word Warrior covers NASA’s Global Warming Inanity.

6) Fore more humor, check out Shane Atwell’s blog piece featuring some hilarious political cartoons from Michael Rameriz: LOOK! Rich People!!!

7) Today is “Equal Pay Day”, and Shrine friend Teri O’Brein details why it is a scam!A snippet of this really great piece: ….unmarried college-educated males between the ages of 40 and 64 earn nearly 15 percent less than their female counterparts. In addition, female college students tend to major in “soft,” touchy-feely pseudo-sciences like psychology, education or English, while men are more likely to choose accounting, computer science or engineering, the latter being known as majors in which students actually learn to something extremely productive and therefore high-paying.

8) NoOneofAnyImport is weighing if Rosengate is important, or a distraction from all sorts of really bad, sad news. I will just point out that Instapundit covers another aspect, which I view as far more important: The Tea Party is America’s Greatest Feminist Movement. As SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition, the San Diego area’s premier tea party group, was co-founded by three working moms, I can attest to the truth of this.

Sitting on the Edge of the Sandbox expands a bit on this topic, with how to afford the luxury of NOT working at home.

9) Political Junkie Mom offers a funny and insightful graphic:

Related, but far less humorous (though inspiring and life-affirming in many ways) is this story: Canadian, American Fight to Save India’s Disappearing Daughters

10) KT Cat touches upon the fruits of Eurosocialism, but I think a better view comes from this story: Angry Roman centurions besiege Colosseum – Complete with red skirts, tunics, armour, swords and feathered helmets, the protesting centurions clashed with police in front of the city’s tourist attraction, the Colosseum, built in the times of Ancient Rome. As my family took a few pics with these entrepreneurs while we were in Rome, this story caught my eye.

11) For even more merriment, check out Lonely Conservative’s post: Clown Auditions for Job Outside GSA Hearings — “It’s a tough economy, so it makes sense for an experienced clown and mindreader to submit resumes to a federal agency that’s shown a willingness to hire for those positions. In all seriousness though, the outrageous bills racked up by the individuals at GSA are symptomatic of the sprawling federal bureaucracy and its lack of accountability to taxpayers. Bankrupting America hopes this tongue-in-cheek show will highlight the wasteful spending occurring throughout the federal government.”

Finally, three pieces for my history-lovers:

• Part 8 of Word Warrior’s Age of Arthur series.
• TWITTER BACKLASH TO PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T REALIZE “TITANIC” WAS AN ACTUAL EVENT…NOT JUST A MOVIE.  Sadly, some of these people will be voting in November.
• EGYPT ALERT!!!  Check out The Sirius Project: Founded by Dr. John Ward and Dr. Maria Nilsson in cooperation with the Historical Preservation Society (HPS). The team members document the origin and development of ancient symbolism, and how it spread with the exodus of Egyptian priests throughout the Mediterranean World and beyond.  A topic that caught my eye: Ptolemy II and Arsinoë Philadelphos and the ancient roots of consanguineous marriages

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Of California, Crucifixions, and Cleopatra

Dear Readers: Before I provide another round of Egypt-based updates, I would like to apologize to you all. It seems I may be indirectly responsible for another California Teacher Union money/power grab. This news, via Instapundit and Hot Air:

In Culver City, Calif., a local union wants to force unionization of — get this — parent volunteers at the local public schools. At several schools in the city, parents have banded together to form non-profit booster clubs to fundraise for and hire part-time teacher’s helpers, who also mostly come from the ranks of the parents themselves.

The local union — the Culver City Association of Classified Employees — is not OK with that kind of initiative. The union wants the parents to continue to fundraise, but to send the funds directly to the school district so the district can then hire union employees to fill the part-time positions.

Yes, money is the heart-and-soul of the bureau-strocracy of the California public employee unions. However, I personally know many conservative and independent-minded citizen activists who have become much more involved in school activities (e.g., setting up US Constitution Day Activities). Certainly, we can’t have our children learning anything other than union-approved statist template material!!!

I feel responsible, at lease indirectly. Last month, as part of Valentine’s Day week, I wanted to feature the romance tales of King Arthur. So, I arranged to have King Arthur, via Chivalry Today, to come down and give a lesson on the Western Martial Arts, valor, and history. Now, this doesn’t correspond progressive desire to feminize of our schools — but we have an awesome teacher who loves the legends of Camelot and is cool enough to allow me to set up this special program.

King Arthur with the Young Prince

The kids are still talking about how awesome this program was, a full month later.  Be sure to check out the series on the Age of Arthur being written by the Shrine’s Hero on the Deadliest Blogger site.

The, as if that indiscretion weren’t bad enough, last week I gave a lesson on the art of political cartooning. Now, I did make it politically “neutral”, had it reviewed by the teacher for acceptability, and entertained the kids with tales of how Egyptian pharaohs were insulted by the commoners in ancient versions of this art form. However, elites can’t be none too happy about some of the results:

Just when I thought I could not be even more disgusted with the California Teachers Unions, they go that extra mile to generate even more outrage.

Now, onto Egypt. This gem via Weasel Zippers – Egyptian Presidential Candidate Calls For The Implementation of Islamic Punishments: Execution, Crucifixion And Amputation of Opposite Hands And Feet…

Then, there is this bit:

Egypt: Thousands of Muslims attacked a Coptic church, and demanded the death of its pastor, who, along with “nearly 100 terrorized Copts sought refuge inside the church, while Muslim rioters were pelting the church with stones in an effort to break into the church, assault the Copts and torch the building.” They did this because a Christian girl who, according to Islamic law, automatically became a Muslim when her father converted to Islam, fled from her father and was rumored to be hiding in the church.

Finally, to end on a slightly more upbeat note: It looks like the “Cleopatra” starring Angelina Jolie is slated for 2013.

A bit more background. David Fincher (who recently directed “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) will direct and states: My ‘Cleopatra’ Film With Angelina Jolie Won’t Be ‘Sword-and-Sandal Epic

He continued, “I’m not interested in a giant sword-and-sandal epic. We’ve seen scope; everyone knows we can fake that. That stuff doesn’t impress in the way that it did even 10 years ago. We expect that from Starz [now]. So that’s not the reason to do that. What is it about this character that has purchased this place in our history and imagination that is relatable today?”

“Cleopatra” will present the fabled Egyptian queen as a firm ruler and military tactician who embarks on a ruthless rise to power. She twice married her brothers, killing each of them as well as a sister. Romantic alliances with the much-older Roman honchos Julius Caesar and Marc Antony help her solidify power, but her dalliance with Antony undid both of them.

Good to know, though I do like sword-and-sandal epics.

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The Mayan Apocalypse has started in Egypt

Dear Readers: Christmas eve for me came with the news that Egypt’s second richest library was burnt; New Year’s eve brought this news: The Salafist party’s plan for the Pyramids? Cover them in wax:

For now members of the Nour (The Light) Salafist party, which won 20 per cent of the vote in recent elections, are talking about putting an end to the ‘idolatry’ represented by the pyramids.

This means destruction – along the lines essayed by the Afghan Taliban who blew up the Banyam Buddhas – or ‘concealment’ by covering them with wax. Tourists would presumably see great blobs rather than the perfectly carved steps.

Professor Jacobson/Legal Insurrection has a summary of the vast turmoil in the entire Middle East, and its root cause, today: He lost the Middle East, but he got bin LadenThe “He” is Barak Hussein Obama — our 4th best president, evah. As one of the Professor’s commenters noted: By losing the Middle East, a thousand Bin Ladens may now flourish.

While looking for a graphic, I came across this interesting insight from America Stands with Israel:

The Salafis we see taking control in Egypt are predominantly Saudi Wahhabis not the moderate Salafis they pretend they are.

More information on Salafis from Hudson NY: …The term “Salafi” refers to a Muslim who emulates the first three generations of Muhammad’s companions and successors. Traditional Muslims and conscientious historians recognize the falsity of the Wahhabis masquerading as “Salafis.” For moderate Muslims, comparing oneself to the pioneering figures in Islamic history is offensively arrogant. In addition, a “Salafi” reform movement existed in the 19th century, but unlike the Wahhabi “Salafis,” the 19th century “Salafis,” such as Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905), an Egyptian scholar and writer, were not violent and did not preach against the West.

The 19th century “Salafis” sought to modernize Islam and adapt it to Western modes of thought. They also condemned spiritual Sufism, as do today’s Wahhabi “Salafis.” But unlike the recent Wahhabi “Salafis,” the 19thcentury group did not demand the right to expel Muslims from the global Islamic community over doctrinal differences, and then kill them as “apostates” – as the Wahhabi “Salafis” have been doing in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, and Iraq, among other countries. The 19th century “Salafi” reformers appealed to Muslims to imitate the personal integrity and dedication of the early Muslims, but did not seek to reinforce abuse of women, hatred of non-Muslims, or limitations on free thought. They, in fact, prized freedom of inquiry as an Islamic value.

Wahhabis know that Muslims hate and fear them for their terrorist acts and repressive practices in Saudi Arabia. Few Egyptians admire or to desire to live under a Saudi-Wahhabi system. That is why, with the complicity of Western media, the Egyptian Wahhabis have adopted the term “Salafi”. But they should not be allowed to pretend that they are conservative imitators of the early Muslim generations when instead their views are radical…

Sadly, it seems that the first sign of the 2012 Apocalypse would start in one of the cradles of civilization?

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