by Debbie Schlussel

So when do the excuses about post-traumatic stress disorder and claims he was called a “camel jockey” and was under stress start for this guy?  There are already excuses coming out of a police detective, absurdly comparing him to Christians. Yes, now Christians must live in fear wearing a cross at a mall in America. This is how far we’ve fallen.

Police arrested 22-year-old Abdul Walid Hamid of Hayward on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 4, after he reportedly tore a crucifix from a person’s neck and scared others at Stoneridge Shopping Center.

Hamid, an employee at a mall kiosk near Starbucks, has been charged with battery, terrorist threats and grand theft.

According to reports, Hamid was yelling “Allah is power” and “Islam is great” while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police.

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By Debbie Schlussel

When I was in high school, I won college scholarships from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts in my Detroit-area community.  And as a winner, I went to their posts’ weekly or monthly dinners to read my award-winning essays.  There were several things in common about all of the people there:  they were all patriots, they had all been in the military (most of them having fought in wars), . . . and they were all very old.

That was two decades ago.  Now, the members of the American Legion and VFW aren’t extinct, but they’re well on their way.  Many of them have died out, and the current members are even older and grayer than the ones I saw two decades ago.  The local VFW post, in the city where I grew up and still live–where I read my essay on “What It Means to be an American” at a potluck dinner they held– is now gone.  In its place is a Walgreen’s drugstore.  And, sadly, that is the path of many American Legion and VFW posts. Even the beautiful art deco logos of both organizations are a symbol of a much richer, long gone past.

Today’s younger veterans and soldiers don’t join the VFW or the American Legion.  To them, it’s just a bunch of old people.  And it’s not hip.  That’s too bad.  These organizations and their local posts were a common meeting ground for America’s masculine men, America’s patriots, and, for the most part, America’s working class.  You would think these places–where man can be men–would be popular.  But the contrary is happening.  (The same goes for a Jewish version of these groups, the Jewish War Veterans, which is largely made up of older members.)

Unfortunately, as the American Legion and VFW groups die out and younger vets stay away, the groups are making more and more cuts to survive.  It seems it’s a melancholy aim at prolonging ultimate death:

GALESBURG, IL–The future of VFW Post 2257 might hinge on the life span of its worn-out, 50-year-old boiler and attendance at weekly bingo games this winter.

Like many Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts, Post 2257 in this western Illinois city of 31,000 people is struggling to survive as older members die and younger veterans decide not to join.

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By Debbie Schlussel

Here’s an inspiring Veterans Day story . . . sort of.  On the other hand, it’s interesting to contrast the way even common criminals treat our soldiers versus the way American Muslims, like Nidal Malik Hasan, do.

Honor Not Just Among Thieves

A Milwaukee Army reservist’s military identification earned him some street cred Tuesday, when he says four men who mugged him at gunpoint returned his belongings and thanked him for his service after finding the ID.

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By Debbie Schlussel

I’m tired of hearing the claims that Islamic terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan “acted alone” when he massacred soldiers at Fort Hood, last week.  He didn’t act alone.  He acted with Islam and the Koran and his imam and his mosque.  And with the celebratory support of the Arab and Muslim Streets all over the world.

Famous But Incompetent: Looked the Other Way on Al-Awlaki & Islam

But now there’s evidence that Hasan’s attack was part of several attacks on U.S. military bases and personnel planned, coordinated, and orchestrated by Islamic clerics.

Remember the Muslims who planned to attack Fort Dix, the military base in New Jersey?  They wanted to kill as many soldiers as possible, but their plan was discovered by a Circuit City employee.  Court records in that case indicate that Hasan’s imam, Anwar Al-Awlaki, was the inspiration for that planned attack . . . just like he inspired Nidal Malik Hasan to attack Fort Hood.  That makes the FBI and U.S. Army’s insistence on looking the other way at Hasan’s e-mail contact with Al-Awlaki all the more disgusting.

And then, there’s the other attack on U.S. military personnel on U.S. soil.  Remember Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the American Muslim who converted to Islam, traveled to Yemen, and studied with radicals linked to Al-Qaeda?  Remember how he murdered two servicemen at an Army-Navy recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas, back in June?

Who inspired that?  Was it coordinated with Al-Awlaki, who is also in Yemen (where he’s been since 2002), to which Muhammad traveled and where he studied Islam with extremists?  Were there contacts between Muhammad and Al-Awlaki?

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By Debbie Schlussel

Their Women’s Volleyball . . .

Our Women’s Volleyball . . .

Any Questions?

By Debbie Schlussel

On Sunday, McCormick & Schmick’s celebrated Veterans Day early with free meals for U.S. military veterans and currently serving personnel.  But, today, many other restaurants and retailers are giving out free meals, free stuff, and discounts to our great former and current American soldiers.

For the meals, if you’ve already had lunch, try dinner.  Here are the details:

Applebee’s is offering a free entree on Wednesday to veterans and all active-duty military from 11 a.m. to midnight at all 1,900 locations. Although Applebee’s requests some kind of military ID, “We’re not going to argue with folks who might forget to bring it,” says Sam Rothschild, senior vice president of operations.

Find your local Applebee’s here.

Outback Steakhouse offers a free Bloomin’ Onion appetizer and beverage to past and present military members on Wednesday, and Krispy Kreme has free doughnuts. Home Depot and Lowe’s are offering 10% discounts to military and vets.

Find the closest Krispy Kreme here.

On Monday, Golden Corral is offering free dinner buffet meals to veterans and current military personnel.  I’ll post the details then.   Stay tuned.

By Debbie Schlussel

I’m sure the fact that this guy was Muslim had nooooothing to do with this.  Time to channel the Dr. Phil psychobabble about how this man, Ahmedov, was suffering Post-Tramautic Stress Disorder by proxy from hearing all the stories about Iraq at Walter Reed Medical Center and because he was called a “camel jockey.”

Rustam Ahmedov: Yet Another Violent Muslim Alien on U.S. Soil

Oh, wait, this guy didn’t work at Walter Reed.  So, what’s the excuse this time?

A 36-year-old man accused of assaulting a woman he was dating in Canton last month is back in Wayne County after being arrested trying to leave the United States, the Canton Public Safety Department said.

Rustam Umidilloevich Ahmedov was arraigned Monday in 35th District Court in Plymouth on charges of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, a 10-year felony, and aggravated domestic violence, a 1-year misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty, and Judge James Plakas set bail at $100,000.

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By Debbie Schlussel

As you know, today is Veterans Day, the day we honor those who served our country– both those who survived and those who gave their lives–so that we could be free. As longtime readers know, I have several veterans in my family, including my father–who was an Army doctor, my great-uncle–who became the highest-ranking U.S. Army medical officer over the South Pacific serving in World War II and beyond as a career military man, and my cousin who currently serves and did several tours in Iraq.

Even though we are extremely proud of our military veterans and the years of their lives they gave in service to our country and protecting its citizens, this Veterans Day has an especially sad pall over it, in light of the Islamic terrorist attack, last week, by a Muslim soldier who was endlessly promoted and helped by ceaseless political correctness. Sadly, I see no end in that, as our top military brass, over the weekend, continued to defend the efforts at “diversity,” which led to the murder of 13 soldiers and the wounding of 30 others. Those thirteen soldiers are now veterans up there in a different place.

Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Graunke, Jr., Iraq War Vet, Hugs Pearl Harbor Survivor/WWII Vet Houston James (Graunke Lost a Leg, Hand, and Eye Defusing a Bomb in Iraq)

Wounded American Marine Salutes President Reagan’s Casket

You’ve seen these photos on this site before, but above are my two favorite pictures that I think well document why Veteran’s Day deserves, at the very least, some pause and reflection on the invaluable contributions veterans have made to the establishment and continued existence of this great country.

On this Veterans Day, I salute reader and blogger, John Robert Mallernee, a highly-decorated career U.S. Army man and veteran who proudly served in Vietnam and Korea and came from a military family. He lives in the Armed Forces Retirement Home a/k/a “the old soldiers home,” and I very much recommend you watch this short video he made of a tour of his room there. It’s not just a “tour of a room,” but a story of a life in the military that isn’t always easy during or after.

By Debbie Schlussel

So, my car was stolen, and I had to deal with that and other associated and non-associated probs, today–a giant headache (plus, to top it off, the rental car is a P.T. Loser).  Thus, the absence of much on this site, today (lots to put up, but didn’t get  to it yet.   Stay tuned.)  Sorry, it happens.  As they say in that song, “I’m in Detroit, Trick.”

Still, gotta have a sense of humor about it all, and that’s why I post this video (F-bomb alert).  Yes, I’m no prude, and sometimes profanity has its place.  If there were more games called this way, I think I’d watch more of them. All the good stuff happens in the first 24 seconds. Skip the rest. I’m guessing this guy is now looking for work outside the broadcasting industry. Not a smart move for him. But quick, cheap thrills entertainment for the rest of us.  He said exactly what I’ve been thinking at the end of soooo many games.

By Debbie Schlussel

Last month, I published a column on, Sullivan v. Florida and Graham v. Florida, two cases the U.S. Supreme Court is considering, which challenge life sentences in prison for juveniles, claiming they are cruel and unusual punishment.  There are 110 juvenile convicts, nationwide, who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Joe Sullivan: At 13, He Raped 72-Year-Old.

As I noted then, at least one of the parties challenging this, Joe Sullivan, is in prison for life for a very good reason:  he raped a 72-year-old woman.  And that was after 17 other offenses, including animal cruelty.  As the judge in the case noted, he’s hopeless.

Yesterday, the Supremes heard oral arguments on the case. 

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