By Debbie Schlussel
I haven’t watched the stale, sagging FOX show, “24,” in ages. It gets tiresome to watch so many Muslims as either terrorists who are ultimately puppets for the evil White man or completely innocent and framed.
And that’s why the show long ago hit the wall and jumped the shark. I believe it started with Kiefer Sutherland’s monkey-like performance of the apology to Muslims (extracted by CAIR and MPAC) before one “24” episode. This “repentance” act was the beginning of the end. I’ve been critical of this on “24” for a while, and have had sort of a running friendly debate with Rush Limbaugh about it, which he touched on when one of my readers/his listeners e-mailed him about it.

“PC 24” by David Lunde/Lundesigns
Again, though, I haven’t watched the show in like forever, for this very reason. I see enough propaganda when I review movies. A person can only take so much. I choose to opt out when it comes to this dying, now-irrelevant show. The show is so desperate to avoid Muslims as the real terrorists, it even made agent Jack Bauer’s dad and brother the terrorists and, this season, brought a Hispanic man back from the dead to be the TV Bin Laden of our day.
But, last night, as serendipity would have it, I accidentally landed on FOX. And guess what? More of the same. An innocent pair of Muslims–one of ’em was named “Jibran Alzarian”–were once again framed by an evil White (well, in this case it was a Hispanic) man. The were totally ignorant of the plot at hand and the bomb wasn’t theirs, but the evil tighty Whities knew it would make it easy to frame them as terrorists because the rest of us evil big, bad Whities would eagerly believe it. And, of course, in the end the liberal fashion-designer-head-butter drunk-driver Kiefer Sutherland is there to save the day and show us that these Muslims are just poor innocent people.
So, remind me again why you watch this G-d-awful show. Remind me again why most of the right keeps praising this piece of excrement, just ‘cuz a self-described conservative, Joel Surnow, is the executive producer. Why is this stuff worthy of our criticism when, say, Mark Cuban, or Brian DePalma, produces it, or when Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon star in it . . . but not when a “conservative” who hobnobs at Heritage Foundation events is making it?
Please explain it to me. ‘Cuz the only answer can be that perhaps these people are starstruck that a Hollywood producer actually claims he agrees with them . . . but does otherwise on TV to make his bread and butter, or perhaps he gives a good chunk of that bread and butter in donations to them.
I don’t know what the reason is. But Joel Surnow and others from “24” remain the toast of the town in the conservative half of Washington and movement politics, whether it’s at the Heritage Foundation (which gets a good deal of funding from Arab Muslim sources procured for it by friend and pan-Muslim Grover Norquist) or the David Horowitz Freedom Center/Center for the Study of Popular Culture, which regularly features Surnow on its anti-Hollywood Hollywood panels and forums.
Don’t believe the hype. If the “24” people can’t do the right thing on-screen, who gives a damn what they say or do off of it?
Certainly not me. I’m more interested in the latest recounting of why liberal Canadian Sutherland found it necessary to headbutt a gay fashion designer and how much more time he’ll do in jail for that.
For me, Jack Bauer died a long time ago. Rest In Peace.

By Debbie Schlussel
Although there have been some good westerns in recent years–my fave is the remake of “3:10 to Yuma” (read my review)–they are sparse and few.
And that’s sad. Even more disturbing, though, is one commentator’s belief as to why this is, which I was disappointed to read in this weekend’s “USA Weekend” celebrity gossip column:

Will actors Sam Elliot, Tom Selleck or Bruce Boxleitner, who have played memorable cowboys, star in a new TV western? No one makes them anymore.
Roy McCallen, Aurora, Colo.

Gary Edgerton, author of a new history of American TV, says westerns are on the wane because we’re “less enamored with a sense of manifest destiny and nation-building than 50 years ago.” Creators of new TV westerns need to freshen up the formula, Edgerton says. As for the actors you mention, none of them has a western in the works.

Well, I’m all against “nation-building”–which is something we did and had no business doing in Iraq and something which the Nation-Builder-in-Chief, Bush, campaigned against. (Now we’ve built a “nation,” indeed–a greater Iranian Shi’ite nation.) But there is nothing wrong with the best era of American’s boldness–our manifest destiny, with the great old west and discovering, conquering, and settling new lands in the west and the south.
I don’t agree with Edgerton that “we’re” less enamored with that era. Hollywood is. And that’s because that’s an era of American pride, where Americans worked hard, sold hard (there’s a great tradition of Jewish traders and salesman out west, including the ancestors of late Senator Barry Goldwater), and succeeded. Hollywood doesn’t like to remember times when America was great, and when they do, we’re usually portrayed as rapers and murderers of Indians. So, maybe it’s best, they no longer make those films.
Still, it’s sad that there are less Westerns. They can be fun, exciting movies. And I wish we had more, instead of the giant heap of crap Hollywood has been serving up lately.
So, what is your take? Why have Westerns “gone out of style”? Why aren’t they making them? Have Americans really lost interest in them? Are they too slow for the IPod, Playstation, Wii, post-post-MTV generation?

By Debbie Schlussel
So, yesterday, the price of a First-Class stamp went up two cents to 44 cents. Makes me feel old that I remember when stamps were ten cents.
But, despite the price increase, the United States Postal Service continues to decline and lose money. And it’s not just the internet, faxes, and scans over e-mails that are putting it out of business.
It’s horrible mismanagement by USPS brass, at the expense of the mailman. And it’s not just the absurd six-figure bonuses and perks the top Postal execs, including Postmaster General John E. Potter, awarded themselves.
In my view, one of the Post Office’s biggest missed opportunities and biggest loss centers is the Forever Stamp. It’s the only stamp I buy anymore, and the USPS is selling tons of them.

Selling forever @ Current Market Rates is a Loser
But every time they sell one, it’s a loser. I have the Forever stamps I bought for 42 cents, the same price as any First-Class stamp at the time I bought them, and now they are worth 44 cents. I’m gaining value, and the Post Office is losing value . . . without charging a premium for that assured gain in value. People are stocking up on and hoarding the Forever stamp, diluting the full value to the Post Office of a stamp price increase like yesterday’s.
And yet, the Post Office doesn’t charge a premium for the extra value of the Forever stamp–the fact that, unlike currently-priced First-Class stamps, it will never lose value and will always be good for full First-Class. It’s like a company issuing a never expiring coupon to buy a good at a pre-inflationary price from several years ago. Companies don’t even issue non-expiring coupons for a few cents off anymore. On the contrary, they’ve moved up expiration dates, because the longer a coupon is good, the longer they lose money.
So, if they were smart at the USPS–and that’s not seemed to be the case–they’d charge one cent over the current price for a Forever stamp. I’d pay it, because I’d know that those stamps would last me past all future price increase, so it would be worth the investment. And if I wouldn’t pay it, the Post Office still wouldn’t lose money on me because I’d pay the current price on current First-Class stamps, which is the same price as the Forever Stamps, right now.
But don’t expect the Postal Service to get wise. That’s part of why the quasi-governmental, regulated service is losing and dying faster than it should. They’re giving away value–like the future value of a Forever Stamp–without harvesting that value in any way.
And it’s running a business that way–not like a business–that will be the death of the Postal Service.
They’re already considering canceling Saturday delivery to save money. But just think if they charged 1 cent extra per Forever Stamp. I’d bet they could cover the cost of Saturday delivery or at least a good chunk of it.
It’s simply brainless to sell a forever-lasting First-Class stamp at the same price as the current price for First-Class postage. And that’s why we all keep buying them in droves.
And part of why the Post Office’s death is being sped up.
Selling Forever at non-forever prices is a loser.

By Debbie Schlussel
So sad, too bad. The most enlightening part of this story–for the previously clueless–is that these illegal alien parents were not “doing the work that Americans just won’t do.” Americans won’t take a $40,000 job at a bank? And which bank was it that was employing an illegal alien at that price? Americans won’t take jobs as hairstylists working at salons? I’ve never had my haircut by a non-American ever. This is the work Americans will do, if illegal aliens, like this couple, don’t steal the work from them as they remain on our soil illegally . . . for 17 years.
If this family didn’t want their son to have culture shock, they shouldn’t have been here illegally. It’s not like their anchor baby son had to leave. He could have stayed here with friends and leeched off the system like his parents did, and he can now return to the U.S. at age 18. It’s not like they were deported to Greater Barbaristan. It’s Mexico, right at our borders, where they were supposed to be in the first place. But leave it to CBS to shed tears for them.

By Debbie Schlussel
. . . Good-Bye.
**** UPDATE, 7:09 p.m. Eastern: YAY! The plane is taking off. Good work, ICE! ****
Live Coverage of the deportation of Nazi mass murderer John Demjanjuk a/k/a Ivan the Terrible, who helped snuff out 29,000 lives at Sobibor Concentration Camp. (Thanks to reader Mary for the tip.) Check out the video of Deported Nazi Airlines. Reports are that the flight is scheduled to leave tonight. Thanks to the tireless Fred Taub of Boycott Watch for his constant Demjanjuk Watch updates.
Rot in Munich prison, scumbag. And then, rot in hell.

Nazi Death Camp Guard John Demjanjuk Then (Third From Left)

By Debbie Schlussel
**** SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE ****
While I’m glad the Pope finally walked out AFTER–and NOT during (as he should have done)–the anti-Semitic diatribe of Sheikh Taysir Al-Tamimi (also spelled, “Tayseer Tamimi”) at an interfaith “dialogue” session in Israel, today, pardon me if I don’t buy the Vatican’s claim they didn’t know Tamimi would be part of the agenda. And pardon me if I think it’s nauseating that the Pope chose to sit by as this occurred, without walking out on this while it was occurring. And pardon me if I think it’s disgusting he shook the guy’s hand on the way out–the hand of a well-known anti-Semite and pan-terrorist inciter.
What good does it do that he walked out after? Big deal.

Pope (center) Flanked by Anti-Semitic Jihadist Sheik Taysir Al-Tamimi (far right); Haifa Chief Rabbi Shaar Yashuv Cohen is at far left
And excuse me, if I don’t believe Tamimi’s presence onstage with the Pope at this event was a surprise to anyone. The fact is that Tamimi, about whom I’ve written plenty over the years, is a well-known anti-Semite and HAMAS supporter. He got his job as chief Islamic judge when his buddy, Yasser Arafat, appointed him. He openly urged Palestinians and Christians to become homicide bombers against Jews. Shame not only on the Vatican for allowing this, but on Haifa Chief Rabbi Shaar Yashuv Cohen, who also sat onstage with this scumbag. He should have his smichah [rabbinical certification] yanked for that.
From my January 2005 column on Al-Tamimi:

“Palestine’s” Islamo-Fascist Enforcer
There’s Al-Tamimi, the Palestinian Authority’s Chief of Judges and chairman of its Islamic law high council.
He uttered these words: “Islam is escalating and cannot be resisted. I pray that Allah may tear apart America just as the Soviet Union was torn apart.”
As the chief Palestinian judge and Muslim cleric, Al-Tamimi frequently appears on Palestinian Authority Television praising homicide bombers and spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and fatwas.
In 1994, Al-Tamimi said, “The Jews are destined to be persecuted, humiliated, and tortured forever, and it is a Muslim duty to see to it that they reap their due. No petty arguments must be allowed to divide us. Where Hitler failed, we must succeed.”
In August 2003, Al-Tamimi, a personal friend of Yasser Arafat (who appointed him Chief Islamic Judge), was arrested for inciting terrorism. Al-Tamimi’s extremist sermons are well-known for urging attacks on Israel and calling upon Arab nations to wage war. In March 2000, Al-Tamimi delivered a hate speech during the Pope’s visit to Jerusalem, accusing Israel of “genocide” and “strangling Jerusalem.” He called on Christians to join Muslims in a jihad to oust Jews from all of Israel.
In a recent Palestinian Authority appearance, Al-Tamimi defamed late Israeli Prime Minster Golda Meir, claiming she and the Israelis conspired to burn down the Al-Aqsa Mosque [which Muslims built on top of the Jewish Temple]. He decreed Jews have no right to pray at the “Cave of the Patriarchs,” (where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are buried), one of the holiest of Jewish sites, which Al-Tamimi claims is a mosque. “Jews have no right to claim any bond or connection . . . . Jews are foreign interlopers.”

As we all know, the Vatican security–especially after an attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II–is extremely tight. Not just anyone can walk up to a podium at an event at which the Pope is speaking, must less be in the auditorium. But Tamimi was sitting just a seat away from the Pope on-stage, tonight. That didn’t happen by accident . . . nor was it a surprise, despite what organizers of this event are claiming. Do you think you or I could jump onstage, sit a seat away from the Pope and give a fiery speech onstage while the Pope listened, had we not been welcomed, pre-arranged guests and participants? Think again.
Organizers and the Vatican never said they didn’t invite Tamimi to sit onstage near the Pope. They only said he was not on the list of scheduled speakers. And that’s disgusting enough. They knew what Tamimi is about. It’s not a secret. Yet, they didn’t object to his presence onstage with the Pontiff.
Here’s what probably happened. The Vatican–which is extremely open about its support for a Palestinian nation and quick to condemn Israel at every instance (though it was remarkably silent about the Jews during the Holocaust)–agreed to the Tamimi appearance, knowing full well of his well-known background. But the Vatican probably assumed or had an agreement that Tamimi wouldn’t engage in his usual vitriol. Sadly, old habits die hard. And they knew better.
Sorry, but there’s no way I believe that an open HAMAS supporter–who has consistently sermonized from the Islamic pulpit calling on both Muslims and Christians to engage in homicide bombings against Jews–just suddenly ended up on stage a seat away from the Pope, without anyone from the Vatican knowing about it and endorsing the idea, and just suddenly ended up speaking from the podium without interruption while the Pope sat by and said nothing, nor did his Vatican minions. They’re just not that lax with Vatican security or public relations that this happened with any degree of serendipity.
This was planned. And predictable.
And that the Vatican allowed the Pope to even sit on stage with this man is beyond sickening. Shame on them.
Also while in Israel, the Pope vowed to fight anti-Semitism. But that’s all lip service when he sits quietly, politely onstage with one of the world’s most vocal, vicious anti-Semites and passively listen to his anti-Semitic utterances.
**** UPDATE: Carl in Jerusalem has extensive coverage of the Pope’s disappointing speech at “Yad VaShem,” the Israeli Holocaust Museum.

By Debbie Schlussel
Over the years, I’ve written about the many movies in which Hollywood changes the villain or the terrorist in the original script or novel from a Muslim to something else out of politically correct deference to Islam, the religion of whiners (and ultimately, murderers).
Now, Hollywood continues in this tradition. This week, “Angels & Demons“–the controversial second installment of Dan Brown’s already controversial “The Da Vinci Code”–opens in theaters. My review will be posted at Midnight/early Thursday Morning (stay tuned).
But I’m already learning that the movie has been “disinfected” by Islamopanderers (Director Ron Howard) not wanting to upset our dear friends in the “Religion of Peace,” who might do something “peaceful” if the movie had stayed true to the book.
Reader Michelle writes:

Well, Debbie, Hollywood has chickened out again.
I read the book last year, and the Hassassin was muslim.
I just checked the cast list in IMDB, and the Hassassin is now Danish.
They mustn’t offend, now, must they?
Barf.

Double Barf.
For readers who think Michelle typoed, using the word, “Hassassin,” she actually didn’t. You see the word, “assassin,” comes from the Arabic word, “Hashashin” [hashish user] because Muslim assassins smoked hashish before they murdered.
But don’t worry. They won’t use the word Muslim or “assassin” or “hashish” in the same sentence because that would be wrong. Instead, Director Ron “Opie” “Richie Cunningham” Howard will vilify the Catholics because that would be . . .oh so right. Right?

Howard admitted he took “a lot more creative license” with this adaptation of a Brown thriller, changing both the ending and an assassin, who is Muslim in the book. . . .
One theater trailer, however, claims the church “ordered a brutal massacre” to silence scientists, and another focuses on the “war”
between science and religion, a key theme explored in the book.

And if you look at the credits, the “Assassin” character isn’t played by an Ahmed Baba Ganouche or a Mohammed Tabbouli. Nope. It’s played by some dude named Nicolaj Lie Kaas. Yup, just like reader Michelle said, a Scandinavian name. Because everyone knows that those blond Scandinavians are the original Middle Eastern assassins who introduced us to the marvels of hashish and khat.
Alhamdillullah [praise allah] for Hollywood and Ron Howard. And where’s Pottsie and Ralph Malph (or is that “Mouth”?) when you need them to inject a little sanity?

By Debbie Schlussel
**** UPDATE: Read FBI Special Agent Scott H. Mayne’s Affidavit on this frightening group and their plans, and ask yourself why the FBI–the lead agency on terrorism (NOT immigration)–is involved in this case and not Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They obviously think there’s a terrorist connection, here. Al-Shabaab, anyone? ****
Ah, immigration absorption. They’re always telling us that once aliens are exposed to American culture–like Levi’s and McDonald’s and multiplex movie theaters showing garbage–they’ll adopt our values.
And here’s yet another great example of the great American immigration absorption experience done right. Notice the conspicuous appearance by at least two of our friends from the “Religion of Peace.”

Immigrant Absorption

Four men accused of planning to kidnap two Roanoke County women and hold them for ransom were indicted Thursday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
Joshua Kasongo, 19, of Roanoke; Mohammed Hussein Guhad, 19, of Roanoke; Luke Musa Elbino, 19, of Vinton; and Anthony Eugene Muse, 18, of Roanoke are each charged with conspiring to kidnap and attempted kidnapping.
Guhad and Muse are students at Patrick Henry High School. Elbino is a student at Virginia Western Community College.
The men drove through Hunting Hills and other Roanoke County neighborhoods throughout March and early April looking for houses of residents who were wealthy enough to pay the ransom, the indictment states. . . .
Three of the four are African nationals: Guhad is a citizen of Somalia, Elbino of Sudan and Kasongo of Rwanda. They are all legal residents of the United States. Muse is a U.S. citizen.
The indictment alleges that Kasongo would plan the kidnappings and conduct negotiations for the ransoms, Elbino would research and identify possible targets and Guhad would find a location to hold the women until the ransom was paid, the indictment said.
Guhad also recruited Muse, who agreed to provide an unoccupied trailer in a secluded area of Roanoke County, according to the indictment.
Three of the men also researched their intended targets on the Internet.
On April 6, investigators believe the men tried to kidnap one of the women from her Southwest Roanoke home. She slammed the door closed and called police, thwarting their attempt.

Yes, we need more aliens in America. More of them to bring this kind of activity onto our shores. Because, G-d knows, we don’t have enough already.
Let’s hear it for the great immigration experience. And remember, these four are apparently here legally. Yup, let’s hear it for assimilation!

By Debbie Schlussel
Don’t expect the people in Hollywood to have a clue . . . ever.
Last night on ABC’s prime-time soap, “Desperate Housewives,” a Canadian-born character who is not a U.S. citizen was arrested and taken away in cuffs and a cop car. He asked a character to perpetrate marriage fraud with him, and she agrees. (Yup, the majority of marriage fraud is by Christian Canadians, not Muslim Arabs and some Latinos, right?) But before they can undertake the wedding and get the marriage license, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detain him.
Or do they? Nope. Actually the agents who arrest the man are from a mythical agency called “Immigration.” The word–and not ICE–is emblazoned on their jackets and shirts. Yup, there is no ICE on the fictional Wisteria Lane. Kind of like, there is no ICE in real-life America, with DHS chief Janet Napolitano a/k/a “The Lesbionic Woman” investigating agents for arresting illegal aliens and granting those aliens work permits to stay and work here. First, ICE gets snubbed by Michelle Obama, now by an ABC soap opera. It’s the Rodney Dangerfield of federal law enforcement.

ICE is Persona Non Grata on “Desperate Housewives”
But, hey, “Desperate Housewives” is written by a rich gay liberal, Marc Cherry, who long ago openly announced his detestation of all things conservative (and his support for Obama).
Can’t expect him to get things right. But it’s ironic that ICE can’t even get credit for the job–immigration enforcement–it’s now not allowed to do. Still, ICE pays someone to work with Hollywood, and clearly it’s not getting its money’s worth. (Time to fire that person and use the money on real immigration enforcement personnel and action.) Also ironic is that since ICE won’t be enforcing much immigration law (thanks to Napolitano and Obama policy), it will now focus on the function it’s largely neglected, customs law enforcement.
But, then, I got something wrong, too. As readers know, I write a lot about ICE. And recently, I wrote about a new “green,” eco-friendly immigration center in Detroit, which was designed specifically to be more friendly and “attractive” to alien immigrants.
I mistakenly referred to the center as an ICE building because the media reports referred to it as an “immigration center” and didn’t delineate which agency it was for. The story also referred to the old immigration building, which is the one that has always housed ICE’s DRO operations. But ICE agents recently informed me that they are stuck in their old, dark, dank building, and that this new building is for Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)–you know, the agency I told you is soon to be headed by Alexander Mayorkas, freer of drug kingpins.
Sorry, ICE agents. You deserve the newer building more than the grunts at USCIS–who spend less than six minutes checking the background of each citizenship and green card applicant and rubber stamp the golden tickets of some of the most dangerous terrorists and criminals.

By Debbie Schlussel
A clueless e-mail from a “classy” gay guy who thinks Muslims are his saviors, rather than what they really are: his future executioners. You keep telling yourself that, Alex.

From: alex fox g.alex.fox@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, May 10, 2009 at 11:27 PM
Subject: Terrorist Scarf
To: writedebbie@gmail.com
Debbie, I’ll wear whatever the fuck I want, whenever the fuck I want. No amount of spin is going to convince me that muslim culture and arabic paraphernalia is to be feared. As a gay man and a non violent person, I am disgusted with your behavior. Do something productive for the world that you ALSO live in and stop promoting fear and hate.
-Alex

***

From: Debbie Schlussel writedebbie@gmail.com
Date: Sun, May 10, 2009 at 11:39 PM
Subject: Re: Terrorist Scarf
To: alex fox g.alex.fox@hotmail.com
Are you really that ignorant of how that religion and culture treat gays? Perhaps when you experience it yourself, you’ll learn, but then it will be too late to fear the keffiyeh. Nick Berg learned the hard way. So did a ship full of gays off the coast of Egypt.

***
Had to redact most of his lengthy response, which was full of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda, which I won’t give a forum for here.

From: alex fox g.alex.fox@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, May 11, 2009 at 2:01 AM
Subject: RE: Terrorist Scarf
To: writedebbie@gmail.com
The best way to go is to understand how we can benefit from their [Muslims’] teaching. . . . It’s really important to understand that you will only succeed by promoting peace and understanding.

We are the world, we are the children . . . .

Arab culture is very rich and beautiful. . . . Rachel Ray wore a scarf. It was cool. I wear a rainbow sarong in the same fashion to school every day. . . . We are each a separate color. . . . Working together, we can become a rainbow and merge into a pure white light. Hopefully, my metaphor means something to you.

So typical, so idiotic. And sadly, so many misguided Americans–especially gays like him, who’d be murdered by these barbarians–are drinking the Kool-Aid, er . . . the “rainbow” Kool-Aid.
Yup, Rodney King has morphed into a gazillion clueless Americans.