In Iran: There ain't no cure for the Summertime Blues

Equal opportunity oppressors - now they're going after the dudes.

Police to start crackdown on young boys.

With summer time heath (sic) reaching new peaks, the commander of Tehran Police announced new crackdowns, this time targeting mostly young boys wearing “perverted western dress and hairs cut according to “pervert western models”.

From the first of Mordad (the Iranian month starting on July 23) police numbers will double to confront immoral behaviour", Tehran police chief stated, quoted by the media.

Boys with shorts panties, dresses having “pervert western marks and hairs cut using western pervert styles would be arrested, taken to special police detention centres where they would have to give the name of the hair dresser who has cut their heirs (sic)using “pervert western patterns” before asking their parents to come for taking them away, the Commander said, quoted by “Aftab” news website.

If the boy has a “perverted western hair dress, the parents have to take him to a hair dresser to arrange his hairs “normal looking”. If he is wearing “perverted western dress”, like short pants, or dresses having “western pervert marks”, the parents have to bring with them “normal clothing” to be changed at the detention centre before taking their progenitor away.

Hoo-boy. There's more about the 'monkerat'(morality po-lice)at the link.

And not so fast there, Missy. We aren't forgetting about you! Government to put more pressure on women's covering. And it's like something out of a spooky science fiction movie.

During an ongoing exhibit titled “My Land’s Women,” deputy governor of Tehran announced, “200 new chador designs, 50 superior hejab designs and 60 new dress designs, which have all been approved by university professors, will be unveiled for female participants at the exhibit.”

Iran-US Face-Off goes Sci-Fi: Spy Squirrels and Godly UFOs

No lie this is from Kamangir.

You can relax about that whole nuclear Iran thing, Rocket J Squirrel is on the job.

And the Mahdi? He is going be arriving in a UFO.

According to IRNA, the official Islamic Republic news agency, the national Police chief has implicitly verified the news about the confiscation of a number of squirrels, equipped with eavesdropping devices, on the Iranian borders. He has declined to give any more details, but, reportedly, when asked about the confiscation of 14 spy squirrels, he stated, “I have heard about it, but I do not have precise information”. IRNA adds, “These squirrels were equipped by foreign intelligence services, but were captured two weeks ago by the Police”.

2- The Iranian blogger Gameeron reports that he has heard on a state-run radio station that a cleric has been talking about the twelfth Imam, who is supposed to rise and make earth all Godly. He has reportedly mentioned, “It is not like Imam will use his sword to defeat the enemies. Have you not heard about the occasional news about the UFOs which are spotted in the sky? We know nothing about the passengers of those objects. Maybe, Imam will use UFOs to attack his enemies. Because, when the time comes, he will call you guys and will tell you, ‘You! Go and become the governor of London, You! Go and become the governor of Shicago. You! Go and become the governor of Berlin. You have to be ready for the time, when he calls on you to become the governor of Paris’”.

Unh-huh. The governor of Shicago.

Joe Lieberman calls Iran on the Persian carpet for their proxy wars

From the WSJ via Iran Focus. Yeah, what he said.


While some will no doubt claim that Iran is only attacking U.S. soldiers in Iraq because they are deployed there -- and that the solution, therefore, is to withdraw them -- Iran's parallel proxy attacks against moderate Palestinians, Afghans and Lebanese directly rebut such claims.


Iran is acting aggressively and consistently to undermine moderate regimes in the Middle East, establish itself as the dominant regional power and reshape the region in its own ideological image.


The involvement of Hezbollah in Iraq, just revealed by Gen. Bergner, illustrates precisely how interconnected are the different threats and challenges we face in the region.


The fanatical government of Iran is the common denominator that links them together.


No responsible leader in Washington desires conflict with Iran. But every leader has a responsibility to acknowledge the evidence that the U.S. military has now put before us: The Iranian government, by its actions, has all but declared war on us and our allies in the Middle East.


Gen Bergner's claims.
Iranian outrage and denial.

Khamenei speaks: Women - don't play with sharia law

you'll get lashed.

Activists should not try to change Islamic laws relating to women's rights, Iran's supreme leader said on Wednesday, two days after one campaigner was reportedly sentenced to 34 months in jail and ten lashes.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also lambasted the West for using women as a tool to advertise products, make money and to satisfy "disorderly and unlawful sexual needs," state television said.

He was addressing a group of women, most dressed conservatively in head-to-toe black chadors, in Tehran ahead of Thursday's anniversary of the birth of Prophet Mohammad's daughter, Fatima, when Iran honors mothers and women.

The Islamic Republic rejects allegations it is discriminating against women, saying it follows sharia law.

(Sharia law = The official handbook of the 'He-man-woman-hater's-club also known as Islam'.)

More on Delaram Ali, the protestor who is going to feel Khamenei's lash.

Shaking hands with the devil...with the blue dress on.

But who was wearing the blue dress? Khatami!

As you know, ex-Iranian prez Khatami has been brought up on legal charges for shaking hands with a woman. He denies the claim, asserting that the tape had been edited to make it appear that he shook hands when really he didn't. Not to be outdone, the Iranian press claimed that he fell prey to a CIA plot. Well, the videographer is speaking out although no one has explained what a couple of grappa heiresses are doing attending a Khatami speech.

Man who filmed ex-Iranian president and grappa heiress speaks.

Video footage showing former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, a Muslim Shiite cleric, shaking hands with several women - a taboo gesture for Islamists - including two Italian grappa heiresses, has provoked controversy in Iran. But the man who filmed the scene, Marco Orioles, a university sociology lecturer from the northeastern Italian town Udine, has told Adnkronos International (AKI) he didn't want to provoke a commotion. Khatami's office has denied that the cleric during a trip last month to Italy intentionally shook hands with women - as shown in Orioles' footage broadcast on the 'YouTube' website.In a statement the cleric's office said that the footage had either been edited to give a false impression, or else Khatami had shaken the hands of people in a crowd without realising they were female."None of the 67,000 people who in the first few days viewed the 'incriminating' footage will have had any doubt as to its authenticity," Orioles told AKI. He was referring to the number of times the footage was viewed.

Regarding the CIA allegations:

"I think the CIA only discovered it had a modest sociology lecturer as an agent in Udine, the day after Kayhan published its editorial," Orioles said.

Pretty funny that.

Muftis miffed by bald actress.

Sharifah and her dad

It's unIslamic. And sinful.

An award-winning Malaysian actress who shaved her head for a film role has attracted criticism from influential muftis who say her act is unIslamic and sinful, a report said Thursday. Sharifah Amani Syed Zainal Rashid, 21, drew widespread shock and interest after she went bald Tuesday, with photos of her splashed across the front pages of Malay-language newspapers a day later. But muftis in the conservative Muslim country have called on authorities to issue guidelines to prevent Malay Muslim artistes, especially actresses, from extreme behavior or dressing, the New Straits Times reported. "Unlike Muslim men, going bald for women is forbidden in Islam. It is sinful for men to act or behave like a woman and vice versa," the mufti of central Selangor state, Mohamad Tamyis Abdul Majid, was quoted as saying.

The mufti of northern Perak state, Harussani Idris, said Muslim artistes were becoming increasingly daring and warned them against being influenced by the actions of their foreign counterparts. "As Muslims, we should not sacrifice our religion for the sake of wanting to be popular," Harussani was quoted as saying. "I have been observing that nowadays our artistes are becoming too open and daring, either in their actions or attire," he said. "It is only appropriate for the relevant authorities such as the information ministry to introduce regulations to make them toe the line."

A well-known actress, Sharifah Amani is featured in current perfume advertisements with her long, straight hair. She shaved her head for a role in a movie by critically-acclaimed Malaysian independent filmmaker, Yasmin Ahmad.

Yasmin's first and best known film, Sepet, broke social taboos by depicting an inter-racial romance between a Muslim Malay girl, also played by Sharifah Amani, and a Chinese boy. The film was attacked by film industry leaders, who said the movie threatened Malay Muslim culture and could corrupt Muslim audiences.

Commenting on her decision to go bald, Sharifah Amani was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times Wednesday: "I have no regrets. My hair will grow back."

On a personal note: I curse the ignorant mufti and all that he stands for. My soul sister and my sister in law are both bald because of their chemo treatments. My former best friend, the witchy woman immortalized in Lois honey, is that you? was bald. I say let's wrap his ass in a niqab and make him stand in the damn hot corner on one leg. In heels. And control top panty hose.

More Shia Mischief: This time in Iraq?

Iraq's top Shi'ite party changes name, platform.

Iraq's biggest Shi'ite party on Saturday pledged its allegiance to the country's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in a move that would distance it from Shi'ite Iran where it was formed. The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) said it had introduced significant policy changes and changed its name to the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) -- dropping the word "Revolution".

Party officials told Reuters on Friday that the changes were aimed at giving the party more of an Iraqi flavor and to reflect the changing situation in the country since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

They said the party had been close to Sistani for some time, but a two-day conference on Baghdad that ended on Friday had formalized relations with the influential cleric.

"We cherish the great role played by the religious establishment headed by Grand Ayatollah Sayed Ali al-Sistani ... in preserving the unity of Iraq and the blood of Iraqis and in helping them building a political system based on the constitution and law," said Rida Jawad al-Takki, a senior group member, who read out the party's decisions to reporters.

The party pledged to follow the guidance of the Shi'ite establishment, he said.
Sistani, a reclusive figure who lives in the Iraqi holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, is the spiritual leader of Iraq's majority Shi'ites. He rarely makes public statements but his utterances are closely monitored by his followers.

Officials said the party, which was formed in Iran in the 1980s to oppose Saddam, had previously taken its guidance from the religious establishment of Welayat al Faqih, led by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran.

Who the "Faqih" is in charge now?

Islamic experts say the authority of the Faqih, who "surpasses all others in knowledge" of Islamic law and justice, is not limited to his home country, but extends to all Shi'ites who pledge obedience and believe in the Faqih.

The Faqih has the final word on matters related to Islam from political, social and religious issues. SIIC's leader, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, is a powerful cleric who has good relations with the United States.

A key player in post-Saddam Iraqi politics, SIIC holds around a quarter of the seats in parliament occupied by the ruling Shi'ite Alliance of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Oink-oink! Why Islam forbids pork

From this week's issue of Muslim Weekly:

Consumption of swine-flesh reduces the feeling of shame and as such the standard of modesty. Those nations, which consume pork habitually, have a low standard of morality with the result that virginity, chastity and bashfulness are becoming a thing of the past.

The formula of "skin to skin is no sin" is taking its toll but there is hardly any feeling of shame or remorse over the end-result. Since the Western nations have become addicted to wine and pork, sexual freedom with all its attendant evils has got ingrained in their culture.

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

Christians attacked in al-Doura.

Leave, convert or pay the jizya

An armed Iraqi group has in recent days begun targeting Christians in the residential al-Doura neighbourhood of Baghdad, according to an interior ministry source quoted by the pan Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat.

Information obtained during probes and the interrogation of various terror suspects arrested last week indicate that this group is linked to al-Qaeda and is made up of 200 militiamen, most of them foreigners.

The terror formation has threatened with death any Christian in the mainly Sunni area.

To combat the presence of what appears to be an al-Qaeda-linked cell, the Baghdad security forces last week began a series of raids, backed by US combat helicopters, which led to the arrest of various elements of the group.

In a recent interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) a Christian parliamentarian in Iraq's Kurdistan region warned that Christians in the country face mounting threats.

"Thousands of Christian families are being told to leave the country or convert to Islam or pay the jizyah (a tax traditionally imposed on non-Muslim men in Islamic states)," said the parliamentarian, Romeo Hakkari, an ethnic Assyrian of the Chaldean Church - a Roman Catholic oriental rite denomination.According to Hakkari, who heads the House of the Two Rivers Democratic Party, which promotes the rights of Assyrian-Chaldeans, many Christians living in Mosul and Baghdad have fled those cities and sought refuge either in remote parts of Iraqi Kurdistan or abroad after receiving threats from Islamists.

He cited the example of pamphlets, purportedly distributed by the al-Qaeda-linked "Islamic State of Iraq" group that threatened to kill Christians if they did not abandon the city.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime Christians in Iraq, and in particular Baghdad have faced persecution for the first time in the history of this country."

Stunned.

Iranian Fashion Victims: 150,000 arrested. 100 to stand trial.

IRAN: 100 WOMEN TO STAND TRIAL OVER NEW DRESS RULES
An Iranian judiciary spokesman said Wednesday that 100 women have been ordered to stand trial after the first week of a moralisation campaign imposing stricter Islamic dress code rules. Alireza Jamshidi said the women were charged with breaking the law on the veil and instigating prostitution with their dress style. Jamshidi added that thousands of others stopped by police on the street over the past week for failing to respect the Islamic dress code would not be tried because "they were not covered by the veil properly, but not in an evident matter and not intentionally."

Iranian authorities said last Friday they had arrested 150,000 women for breaking dress codes in the first week since the new rules were implemented.Under the new regulations, women found guilty of infringing Islamic dress rules can be sentenced to jail.

More local color on the situation from Persian Journal. It states that 13 are being held for trial not 100 - but is dated a few days ago:
Iran president manages to connect gooz-be-shaqiqe, "again"


P.S. I'm still trying to find out what gooz-be-shaqiqe means.

Divorce: Arabian Style

High Divorce Rates Alarm Gulf States.

Yet to attain the heights of industrialized countries, divorce rates have been climbing in every Arab Gulf state. In Saudi Arabia, a divorce rate of some 20 percent was reported in the last couple of years. Translated into real numbers, this means that 33 Saudi women get divorced daily. The high court in Jeddah reported last year divorce rates in the Red Sea city had jumped by 60 percent over the previous two years while it reached 39 percent in the capital Riyadh. In a symposium held late last year in Kuwait, a study presented by Dr. Abdulaziz Alahmed estimates the divorce rate in Kuwait at over 25% while in Qatar at 38%. In the UAE, the rate amounted to 46%. The statistics have created intense debates over the issue with experts cite many reasons for the staggering figures which alarmed local government officials and religious leaders.

Those newfangled career gals...
The rapid technological development the GCC states witnessed in the past decades is one of the major reasons for the rise in divorce rates, according to social experts. The "oil boom" gave a boost to women's education, but this has not been accompanied by a parallel change in traditions and attitudes. Thus, many men, experts claim, don't know how to cope with educated women.

The most telling paragraph at all...
Experts also claim that the strict rules segregating the sexes are blocking the couples from creating "normal" relations after they get married. In a conservative country like Saudi Arabia couples simply can't go out before they get married, and some don't see their spouses until their wedding night. Even after they get married, it is difficult for couples to go out together.

I wonder if they get my favorite soap, The Young and The Restless?
In a recent seminar held in Riyadh, many specialists claimed the proliferation of TV shows which do not reflect traditional and local values as a principle culprit. One study even indicated that 78 percent of Saudi youth rely on mass media for their sex education.

The second most telling paragraph. New fatwas from the He-Man-Woman-Haters-Club.:
Other types of marriages with less economic responsibilities for the husbands also damaged the tradition. Among these are “summer marriages” and “Mesyar marriage” whereby they relieve men of financial responsibilities and other obligations, including having to reveal them to family or other wives. The popularity of these arrangments have grown in the Gulf after new fatwas (Islamic edicts) supported them.

As things seem at this stage, it is likely to assume that divorce rate in the Gulf region will continue to rise unless authorities take serious steps to curb it.

Look for a rash of honor killings, stonings, floggings and hangings.

Geert Wilders: "It is the eleventh hour..."

Close All Islamic Schools.

Freedom Party PVV faction leader Geert Wilders is arguing that all Islamic schools in the Netherlands should be shut down immediately. He says this measure is necessary in order to "protect children against the spread of Islamic doctrine."

Wilders writes this in a column that appeared today on the website Nieuwnieuws.nl. "Islam is rapidly pushing our Western civilisation close to the edge of the abyss. We have too much Islam in the Netherlands. Islam is more a violent political ideology than a religion," the MP writes.
He admits that he has taken a strong position in the debate on Islam. That is necessary, he says, because it is "the eleventh hour."

Wilders also talks about the recent incident with the National Coordinator for Anti-terrorism (NCTb). He says that during a talk at the NCTb office last month an employee told him he should tone down his comments on Islam. Wilders doesn't think that the fact that Tjibbe Joustra, head of the NCTb, corrected his employee diminishes the situation at all.

"It certainly was intimidation and of the worst kind," the MP writes. He says he has heard from two other individuals who are outspoken against Islam that they have been subject to similar treatment by officials.

"A subordinate urges that the comments be toned down in the debate on Islam and the boss corrects the criticism. So the criticism is uttered, but is then also "corrected." This way Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Justice Minister Hirsch Ballin can wash their hands of it."

Hirsch Ballin stressed on Friday that there was no case of intimidation and that the freedom of speech is not at stake. He says the talk with the NCTb was intended to inform Wilders about his security situation. The minister will send Parliament a letter on the matter this week.

Wilders also referred in his column to a website with quotes from people who have turned away from Islam. "Mohammed was a narcissist, just like Hitler, Saddam or Stalin," they write.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Wilders adds

Me, either.

Wudu in Space...

Ah! The Perils of being a Muslimnaut.

How do you pray facing Mecca five times a day when you are circling the Earth 16 times every 24 hours? This is one of the problems facing Malaysian authorities as they prepare to send their first man into space.

There are others: how to hold the prayer position in zero gravity, ensure that only halal freeze-dried food makes it into your space cupboard and perform your ritual ablutions before worship? They have all been answered by a team of Islamic scholars and scientists that has spent more than a year (!) working on guidelines for the astronaut.

Listen to this craziness "...Islamic beliefs "mandatory in every situation, time and place."
Oh, but there is no compulsion in Islam:

Malaysia insists, however, that maintaining Islamic beliefs “is mandatory for Muslims in every situation, time and place”. Mustafa Abdul Rahman, the head of its Department of Islamic Development said: “Circumstances on the ISS that are different from circumstance on Earth are not an obstacle for an astronaut to fulfil a Muslim’s obligations.”

Supreme Leader commends Iranian workers...

Al Khameinei plays pander bear.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday highlighted the significant status of labor in the country's economic development. In a meeting with several thousand workers in Tehran on the eve of Labor day, May 1, the Supreme Leader said that the government should draw up a suitable program to clarify relations between the workers and investors and help remove the concerns mainly that of the labors.

Ayatollah Khamenei said that clarified relationship between the labors and investors is effective to speed up economic boom through proper investment and generating value added.

Islam has dignified the glorious status of workers, said the Supreme Leader, adding that our laborers have always stood by the Islamic Revolution in the campaign against political plots and never abandoned their efforts to reconstruct the country.

Iranian laborers are very pious, noble, revolutionary and committed to the aspirations of the Islamic Revolution, pointed out the Supreme Leader.

"Workers, investors and government are considered as three angles of economic development in any society."
It gets deep at the link. And don't forget to check out Kamangir. He has the lowdown on who al Khameini was pandering to. Looks like it was his homeys - oh and his guards.

Evil with a little hat on top.

You're looking at evil, folks. That's Sheik Feiz Muhammed, the controversial Australian imam much in the news as of late. He left Australia after his last boneheaded remark about uncovered meat made headlines around the world. Since then he has been hiding somewhere in Lebanon like a momma's boy. (What is it with all these big bad Muzlims that at the first sign of heat they go in hiding like big, fat chickens?)

Anywho. Watch a short video clip from his Death Series here.

Want to blow a carotid? Peruse this list of his 'lectures'. I listened to The Enemy's Plot. I couldn't stomach much of it and as I listened I could only think of Hitler, but with an Aussie accent. Listen for as long as you can. Time-saving tip. He doesn't really get going on 'the enemy'til about 1:20. Then ask yourself what kind of wack job would leave the comment. "Check out his lectures, really good!".

The Kingdom takes on Takfeer

The menace of fanaticism.
The Kingdom has recognized the dangers of radical fanaticism to our society and has publicly launched a zero-tolerance drive to rid itself of the threat posed by those spreading the message of “takfeer”, which labels anyone not following their interpretations of Islam as non-Muslim.

Funny how the Saudis are getting around to fighting the War on Terror at the time the Defeatocrats are saying it doesn't exist
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is to address the Shoura Council today. Undoubtedly, a portion of his speech will touch upon the government’s war on terror. Along similar lines, Prince Naif, the minister of interior, stated last week that the government’s battle against extremism would broaden in scope to include those clerics who are found guilty of spreading militant messages among the youth, and directing them toward the path of intolerance and subsequent violence.

Funny how the Saudis are calling on the media to assist them in this fight against radical islam while the Defeatocrats wouldn't think of such a thing (ed. note: Come to think of it neither has George Bush, grrr!)
The media and cultural agencies must do more in confronting the phenomenon of terrorism, by rooting out terrorist ideology and addressing social and international factors that promote terrorism,” was the statement attributed to them by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Funny how the Saudis are starting to speak out against the threat of radical islam, while the Defeatocrats kowtow to radical imams and do everything but kiss their a$$ in Macy's window. Religious edicts (fatwas) were being issued by self-appointed clerics on everyday matters coupled with threats of hell and damnation, and some radical teachers infiltrated our schools to poison young and impressionable minds. There is no denying that this held our country back when it should have moved forward.

Funny, how the Saudis are calling on the public to do their duty as well. And the Defeatocrats? Why they are all for allowing 'John Does' who report suspicious behavior to be sued.
It is time the public joined the campaign against extremism and put a stop to the message of fanaticism.

It's a crazy world we're living in, folks.

Muqtada goes Iranian

Surf's up Moondoggie. Militiamen return to Sadr City

Shi'ite militiamen, who melted away from Baghdad when U.S. and Iraqi troops began their security crackdown seven weeks ago, are rolling back into the city with fresh Iranian training, Iraqi and other officials said. It is not clear whether the radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in control of the newly trained group, which some Iraqis describe as a "secret army" trained and equipped by Iran...Videotapes and other evidence of Iranian propaganda have been found on people recently detained in Sadr City, said a member of one of the multiple Iraqi and U.S. security forces trying to return security to Baghdad.

I found this assessment of the challenge to be quite unnerving:

"We are 120 men and 17 Stryker [armored vehicles] facing 2.9 million people and staring right at the fangs of the beast," said one member of the U.S. forces who faces that challenge daily.

And meanwhile back here in the US, the Dhimmicrats can't surrender fast enough.

Britain Considering Iranian Demands

to kiss Iran's ass in Macy's window...

Well, almost. The Iranian "demands" have not been disclosed but the Iranians did deliver a formal letter to the British Embassy and the Brits: "are giving the message serious consideration and will soon respond formally to the Iranian government."

In keeping with the spirit of friendship and comity an Iranian official threatens legal action:
If Britain continued its current approach, "this case may face a legal path," Ali Larijani, the main negotiator in Iran's foreign dealings, said on state radio. "British leaders have miscalculated this issue."

And in a classic pot calling the kettle black moment:
Iranian state television reported what was believed to be Ahmadinejad's first comment on the standoff, saying he accused Britain of using propaganda rather than trying to solve the matter quietly through diplomatic channels.

Muslim Cleric gets the UK boot!

From the UK Telegraph:

Radical Muslim preacher Abu Qatada today lost his appeal against deportation from Britain. The hardline cleric, believed to have close ties with Al-Qa'eda in Britain, will be sent back to Jordan after John Reid, the Home Secretary, won his legal battle against him.

Those 6 Torched Sunnis Today???

Remember Shiites burn six Sunni worshipers ?

Well, just like the many stories that didn't turn out to be true during the days of Katrina it seems that AP is once again blowing smoke up our skirts!

The 6 Sunnis didn't get roasted after all and once again AP is turning out to mean Al Propaganda.

Flopping Aces has broken it all down here.

Turns out that there are numerous denials to the Sunni bar-b-q ever happening and in all the breathless MSM versions there's only one witness cited as a source. Get this. He's the Iraqi version of Palestine's Green Helmet Guy and/or Hurricane Katrina's Looter Guy.

Curt over at Flopping Aces is coming up golden. Check out how he busted the LA times for using the enemy as their source here.

Hat tip: Gateway Pundit